Psychic Wars

[allen]

Opening this thread to field questions for the upcoming (2006 sometime) Hero Games product, Psychic Wars.

 

Concerning the nature of the product:

 

As one poster put it, Scanners meets X-Files is a good way of putting it, I think.

 

In a nutshell: Scientists prove the existence of psionic powers, leading to an increased understanding of human consciousness. Psionics establish themselves as the next step in human evolution, break up into various camps, and pursue various agendas.

 

It's for Star Hero, although I'll be begging, borrowing, and stealing from Dark Champions since Psychic Wars will have a near future setting (couple of decades from now, I think). It has a near future setting for a couple of reasons, one of which is I want to introduce psionic technology.

 

It'll have a detailed discussion of rules for psionics, but I need to take a look at the Ultimate Mentalist before nailing anything down.

 

First, from this thread: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=627148#post627148

 

Hmm... what is meant by "psionics" here? And what is the rough power level? As in' date=' how powerful are the psionics going to be? Is this mostly mind control and telepathy or can these guy deflect bullets and crush cars with their minds?[/quote']

 

All of this is subject to change when I start working on it, especially once I sit down with Steve to hash out an outline, so with that disclaimer....

 

PCs will be something 200 or 250 points. Definitely more than just telepathy and mind control -- using your own examples, deflecting bullets sounds reasonable, crushing cars sounds a bit much, but whatever the specifics telekinesis (and other "kinesises"... maybe "kineses" is more correct....) will definitely be more than bending spoons.

 

The goal with the project is to formulate a plausible, or at least not implausible, theory of psionics, and then build power-sets based on that in a logical and rational manner. So for instance: if the theory goes something like 'the map is not the territory,' the nerves aren't the whole of the nervous system. Some people can project their consciousness outside the body to perform various feats. A telekinetic can extend his consciousness to occupy objects and control them. Mind control works by grafting one's consciouness onto someone else. ESP works by projecting one's consciousness far, far away while retaining sense-related functions. And so on.

 

Also, I'd love to get some recommendations, so let me know your recommendations for novels, short stories, comics, movies, manga, anime, and whatever with psionic/psychic themes. Non-fiction recommendations are especially welcome -- I have some stuff around here somewhere, but for the most part too much crystal, not enough science (or psuedo-science, if one prefers )

[allen]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

To answer some questions:

 

Oooo ... basically Psi World Hero then?

 

You mean the FGU game, right?

 

Errr... if so, I've actually never seen the game. That being said, I don't honestly think I've ever heard anything good about the game either -- do you like it? Recommend it?

 

Here's one to answer (please), if you don't mind:

 

Will this be a part of the official Champions/Hero Universe? If so, in what approximate time frame?

 

No.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

You mean the FGU game, right?

 

Errr... if so, I've actually never seen the game. That being said, I don't honestly think I've ever heard anything good about the game either -- do you like it? Recommend it?

 

That'd be the one. The system was "eh" but the idea behind it was pretty cool I'd recommend taking a look at that just as a parallel to what you've described. Beyond the Scanners movies I'd also recommend

Psi Man by Peter David. Interesting idea of a man with massive psychic powers on the run from a shadow corporation. I'd also recommend Akira (Though the manga is much more interesting IMHO), Galaerians is also kind of interesting (I'd also recommend the PS1 Game and the PS2 Sequel, as they both inspired the movie), and ,if you can find the old comic Espers I think it could be useful There's a TON of comics that I could list ... but off the top of my head, the obvious ones are X-Men, Legion of Superheroes and Rising Stars (just for the feel of the world). Babylon 5 has some nice ideas on the whole psi conspiricy and, if you want powerful psi villains, I'd easily recommend Spriggan. I have some other recommendations that I've used in my past Psi campaigns that I'll post a bit later as well

[Susano]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Also, I'd love to get some recommendations, so let me know your recommendations for novels, short stories, comics, movies, manga, anime, and whatever with psionic/psychic themes. Non-fiction recommendations are especially welcome -- I have some stuff around here somewhere, but for the most part too much crystal, not enough science (or psuedo-science, if one prefers)

 

Well... some of what you're describing sounds a lot like what I did do/am doing with the KAZEI 5 setting. The setting uses psychokinetics (called espers or esper weapons), and was inspired by a host of anime with similar themes. Granted, my espers are anime epsers, and hit 500-900 points in several cases. So I'm not sure if that will fit your needs. As for the sources I used (or recommend):

 

AKIRA, BLUE SONNET, DOMU, KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD, MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL, SERAPHIC FEATHER, SILENT MOBIUS, STRIKER

 

GHOST IN THE SHELL mentions espers, and features one in MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE but I have no idea what she does.

[Chuk]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Also, I'd love to get some recommendations, so let me know your recommendations for novels, short stories, comics, movies, manga, anime, and whatever with psionic/psychic themes. Non-fiction recommendations are especially welcome -- I have some stuff around here somewhere, but for the most part too much crystal, not enough science (or psuedo-science, if one prefers )

 

At one point I was seriously considering a career as a parapsychologist (luckily, my undergrad degree steered me out of it.) Still, there's a lot of academic stuff out there. A good layman's intro is Richard Broughton's Parapsychology : the controversial science. And you can always check out the Rhine Research Center for a scientific(ish) look at the stuff. If you take their research totally unsalted and maybe build it up with some more cinematic results, it'd be great gamefodder.

 

Oh, and don't forget Stephen King's Firestarter. (The Dead Zone was okay, but Firestarter's more fun.)

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

as far as Psi World goes, Cheron was working on a new edition last year, I dont know for sure if thats going anywhere, but I know how to reach her, and I can check on it, the system wasnt that great, but it had some interesting ideas

[Curufea]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

There was actually a good book I was reading for research in doing a comic - the book was called Psychic Wars, and went into the various covert uses for psychics (mainly remote viewing). And recently hearing of the declassified US psychic soldier program where they were training people to kill with their thoughts by practicing on goats, and walking through walls had me in stitches for a while imagining crack psychich commandos invading hostile countries and devastating local goat farmers - "My God! They just came straight through the wall! It was horrible! Goats falling to the floor all over the place!"

 

Anyhow, back to the slightly more fictional world-

 

Energy. Where does the energy come from to do all these feats, and where does it go when it isn't used? Are the psychics using their own energy or manipulating forces they don't fully comprehend. Is it Force-like?

 

Will normals be able to have defenses or are they the playthings of every psychic?

 

Hmm, Necroscope by Brian Lumley was also an interesting book about covert use of psychics..

 

Then there is the question of visibility - will the be throbing veins and bloody noses from Scanners, will there be complex abstract geometric shapes visible only to psychics from Babylon 5, or will it be totally invisible?

 

That reminds me of the Pliestocene Epoch and Galactic Mileau series by Julian May - great stuff on psychics there too, where they even classified power levels and used devices for defence and control (torcs)

[GreyGuardian]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Fiction recommendations:

 

The Demolished Man

by ALFRED BESTER

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679767819/qid=1109108063/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-4677822-7845669?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

and probably Bester's short stories and other novels.

 

The following might have some relevance - I read them many years ago -

 

all by Ron Goulart

 

Barnum System : Ben Jolsen (as I recall it was about a shape shifting detective but if that fits in with psychic powers (projecting images that you are someone else, stealing identities) then these might be relevant.)

 

The Sword Swallower (1968)

Flux (1974)

Starpirate's Brain (1987)

 

These I think might have been about a psychic detective -

 

Odd Jobs, Inc.

 

Hail Hibbler (1980)

Big Bang (1982)

Brainz, Inc. (1985)

 

I probably read most of these stories in old pulp magazines like fantasy and science fiction. So I have a really distinct memory that Goulart wrote about psychic type stuff I am not exactly sure which books and amazon and the web have been a bit less than helpful in reviving old memory.

[Chuk]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Hmm, Necroscope by Brian Lumley was also an interesting book about covert use of psychics.

 

Yeah, Necroscope was cool, but probably wouldn't really fit into this setting (it sounds like). You should check out GURPS Psionics, though (for 3rd edition).

[Susano]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Allan, go here:

Phenomena Department Psi Powers and scroll down to the psi powers section. The powers I mention were derived from various sources on "real" psychic powers.

[humantorch101]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Picking up some supplements for the Conspiracy X game might be worth doing as the game had an excellent and detailed system for psychic powers and great background to go with it.

 

rgds

Torch

[sinanju]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Fiction recommendations:

 

Patternmaster, Mind of My Mind, and Wild Seed -- all by Octavia Butler. They're written in reverse chronological order. Patternmaster is in the future, MoMM is present day, and Wild Seed covers about 4000 years up to about the US Civil War. They all involve individuals with psychic abilities of frighting power.

 

They also have a good rationale for the existence of psychic powers. Short version: there's a psychic predator (Doro, who is an immortal critter who jumps from body to body, feeding on the life energy thereof) who long ago noticed that humans with marginal psychic powers tasted better. So he started breeding them. At first it was just for food, but it also became a project that filled his (endless) existence, and produced the closest thing to family he'd ever know.

 

He produced phenomenally powerful telepaths, telekinetics, healers, etc. But they don't get along--left to their own devices, they'd scatter and all that work would be wasted (that's why most humans have little or no psychic ability). It's only Doro policing them that prevents that.

[Nyrath]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

And playing in the background is that song from the movie Heavy Metal.

[Stephen Mann]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Pegasus by Anne Macaffrey.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

And playing in the background is that song from the movie Heavy Metal.

 

Hmm...I tend to think of that song as the one on that Blue Oyster Cult CD....

 

Anyway, in Manly Wade Wellman's book The Hanging Stones, there was a theory that werewolves changed shape by accreting ectoplasm to their normal bodies...basically shapeshifting in this manner is a psychic phenomenon. I don't know if this is a real-world theory (Wellman used a lot of historical beliefs and actual parapsychological ideas in his writing), but it may be worth stealing anyway. Depending on how well it fits with the rest of the Psi system.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

And playing in the background is that song from the movie Heavy Metal.

One of the BEST songs BOC ever made Rep pour toi

[Curufea]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Well, the dark-superhero novel series Wildcards bases all superpowers on psychic energy.

[Crimson King]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

I can't recommend the world of the Necroscope books enough. I ran a campaign under Hero that was close to those books, but had more to do with Call of Cthulhu.

 

I've wanted this type of genre book since... well... since Champions II.

 

I'll buy two copies.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Definitely draw from Babylon 5 and Anime/Manga resources, but don't ingnore previously published Role Playing Games. They are what kept the idea alive. It's up to you to make it fresh and exciting.

 

I look forward to seeing it intergrated into the Offical Star Hero setting. My favourite resources for Menatist/Psionics are;

 

Surbrook's Stuff - Silent Mobius Zeta

GURPS 3E Psionics

AEG's Spycraft Psi Section - IIRC

Travller - Socio-Political & Legal remifications

Babylon 5 - same reasons as above

 

 

More later

 

QM

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Good source would be books by Geo W Proctor - especially Esper Transfer - most of his books deal with psi in a modern / near future setting.

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

for Traveller Psionics, the Psionics Institutes book for Marc Millers Traveller should prove useful, its Out of Print, but copies can be had at reasonable prices

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Hmm...I tend to think of that song as the one on that Blue Oyster Cult CD....

Woo-Hoo! One Oldmanship! I tend to think of it as song three, side A, from the album. Got it on Vinyl, baby. My first album.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

will psychic powers be significantly more effective against those who lack them? i.e., will there be any campaign "house rules" which improve the effectiveness of some/most/all BOECV powers vs. normals?

[allen]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

will psychic powers be significantly more effective against those who lack them? i.e.' date=' will there be any campaign "house rules" which improve the effectiveness of some/most/all BOECV powers vs. normals?[/quote']

 

Well... this is something I still need to work out. Ideally, the rules will allow those with psychic powers to easily control "the guy on the street," while at the same time a player can play a non-psychic and still be useful. But I'm not sure how that'll work at this point.

[allen]

Re: Psychic Wars

 

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys; keep 'em coming.

 

I took a trip down to the used bookstore last night and picked up Psi-Man by Peter David (David Peters, actually -- gotta love having two first and last names, surely a sign of a superior person too... haha...). Sadly it's Volume Five of the series, but I figured what the heck. So, Sketchpad, anything I need to know before diving into this?

 

I looked at a Lumley book... Blood Wars, I think, or maybe Blood Kingdom. Whichever it was, it was the third in a trilogy. Judging by the back cover text, it wasn't really appropriate. Are the other Necroscope books less Wampyri (I think that's how it was spelled), more psychic stuff?

 

Some other stuff I picked up, which I don't think have been recommended yet:

 

Psychic Warrior by Robert Doherty. Old Soviet psi-project (remote viewing/aportation) leads to creation of evil super psychic. It falls to a hastily assembled team of Green Berets with cursory training in psychic warfare methods to stop the evil psychic. I'm about fifty pages into it -- the writing's kind of bland, but the plot is a good one for [/i]Psychic Wars[/i].

 

Mindhopper by James B. Johnson. I haven't started reading this one yet. From the back cover: "THE MIND MASTER-- Manuel was a small boy gifted with mental powers that just might be the next step in human evolution. And now, Special Security, the secret arm of the government of what had once been the United States of America, wanted Manny and the secrets his brain contained."

 

A couple of recommendations of my own that I haven't seen mentioned:

 

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. Easily one of my favorite science fiction novels. Thematically it fits pretty well into what I conceive going on in Psychic Wars. The novel To Marry Medusa has some good hive mind stuff.

 

Someone already mentioned The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. The Stars My Destination is also well worth reading (although, as I recall, it's too far future for Psychic Wars -- I need to re-read it).

 

The Three Stigmate of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick. It's probably too surreal for (most) roleplaying games, but the use the corporation has for precogs is interesting.

 

Some random comments concerning other people's posts:

 

Accreting ectoplasm to change shape is an interesting idea. I'll have to look into the Manly Wade Wellman stuff -- I've only read some of the John the Balladeer stories.

 

I do plan to look at other RPGs eventually, QuestionMan, but I prefer to look at that stuff when I'm further along in a project and have a more concrete idea about what I'm doing. I also prefer to rely on "primary texts" than roleplaying games for information.