June 8, 2009: Designer's Note: GURPS Psionic Powers

With GURPS Psionic Powers getting a POD release, I thought I'd share what my goals were when I set out to create it.

I envisioned a straightforward collection of abilities that made choosing psi as easy as picking out spells. "I'll take Cure 3 and Disease Shield 5 from Psychic Healing, and Telescan 2 from Telepathy. Done!" I stole the power groups from Pulver's GURPS Psionics to keep things familiar (and because it was a great way to conceptualize psi).

I also wanted to inject flavor back into GURPS Fourth Edition psi. Psi should use skills -- to represent training, but also so skilled users can bend the rules. Psi Techniques help accomplish the latter, adding enhancements on the fly. One whole chapter is devoted to a unified psionic system, adding both benefits (yes, the Vulcan Mind Meld thingee gives a telepathy bonus) and drawbacks (critical failures can blow out your psi) that fit the concept of "psychic abilities."

There were other goals ("Make almost everything leveled," "Clarify some rules questions," "Add tons of perks," etc.), though the two above were key. Did I accomplish them? Most readers seem to think so, but check it out yourself and let me know on the forums!

-- Rev. Jason "P.K." Levine

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