Why hello there! It is I, your lord and saviour, Teldrassil - here to lord and save you. In this thread I shall be posting my opinions and thoughts on things (psionics, it's just psionics) and you cannot stop me. I don't think I need a particularly long introduction for this so... Welcome to my madness!.
Psionic Characters Psionics are an incredibly versatile story device that, when used well, can add to a character’s story immensely. When used not so well - they can cause quite a bit of harm. I think that psionics are best done when they’re deeply intertwined with a character and their story. You want to develop your character, not their powers. Which admittedly sounds really weird because at face value psionics is powers, but it is a lot more both IC and OOC. For now, though, I shall mainly be focusing on what it is IC, and the answer is fucking magic. Your character has magic powers, and they’re likely to respond to that in their own certain way. Some might flat-out deny it, some might fall into a crisis, some might fit it into their existing beliefs and some may become corrupt with power. There are many ways to take it, but it’s best to keep it realistic. How do you think your character would react to the facts that A) Magic is real and B) They are magic? What beliefs do they form about it? Do they attempt to use their abilities for personal gain or for good? How does all this shape them as a person? Maybe they start out as a starry-eyed nerdy comic enthusiast emulating their favourite heroes and end up jaded and bitter at the galaxy, using their powers to step on non-psions. Or maybe they’re a miserable scrooge-type that turns to faith after their awakening, believing their powers to be from a higher power, and now they’re a travelling preacher that aids the unfortunate. Psionics is less about the powers themselves and more about how people interact with the powers. You’re going to get different stories out of different things, that’s a given, but it’s the characters that drive the story - not the powers. Telekinesis is telekinesis, but you're going to get a unique perspective on it (and psionics as a whole) from psion to psion - or at least, you should. Just before I close this off, a section on THE BAD(trademark) of psionics. Obviously there’s no real right way to do things, this is all just my opinion - but it’s my opinion so it’s objectively correct. I think that psionics for the sake of ‘cool powers’ can be actively harmful to the character themselves. Psionics don’t exactly go away, and when they’re not woven into a story particularly deeply you’re left with loose ends that can often end up unsatisfying. I will admit that I myself (shocking, I know) have fallen into the trap of “Woah, so cool.” and rushed to make a concept without really thinking about it beyond the superficial and ended up left with not much more than an ability app with a face. That’s obviously regarding existing psions, but the same applies to awakening psions - if you don’t explore psionics much in their story you can get bogged down with dead weight and can even cause some conflicting themes to occur. But to end this off on a higher note! Thank you for reading all the way through, I hope my opinions have been at least somewhat valuable. This is hopefully the first in many maniacal musings that will definitely cover a wide variety of topics. Until next time, dear reader.
