Psychics for Rules Cyclopedia

I somewhat started working on a Rules Cyclopedia conversion of Dark Sun in my down time... nothing serious, just fiddling about with ideas to make the game when I can't concentrate on other projects. Obviously, one of the first things that need to be addressed when dealing with Dark Sun is "How does psionics work?" Which brings me to making a Psychic class for Rules Cyclopedia.

I don't think I've gushed before, on here, about Erin Smale's "Creating a More Perfect Class" system. I am beginning to think that my ideal is somewhere between class-based and skill-based; namely, that you build your class at 1st level, and then are in that class for the rest of the game. "Creating a More Perfect Class" lets you do that in Rules Cyclopedia. As I work on my Dark Sun conversion, I'm no doubt going to start building specific examples of different things ("Special Abilities" v. "Skills" is a tricky place to adjudicate), but for now, here we are. I really do encourage you to go look at Creating a More Perfect Class, though; even if you're not into RC D&D, it's some solid design that will inspire you. Erin's rules (obviously) didn't include a cost for being psychic; you can see my table for it here, along with my notes for Dark Sun classes in RC (still in development).

Anyway, back to Psychics. Psychics are, functionally, another kind of magic-user, using a type of power different than clerical and druidic magic, but also not Magic-User and elfin magic. For simplicity, I have chosen to have psychic powers be largely the same as spells, though their method of use is the tiring of the self, rather than expending pre-memorized spells. Psychics know only a handful of powers, but can, in theory, use them all day, if they get enough rest. However, each use of a power carries with it the risk that you will fail, injuring yourself. I have also included two General skills related to psychic powers... a Wild Talent skill, allowing someone to have some lesser psychic powers (or a psychic to expand their own), and a Meditation skill, to reduce a psychic's down time (and to allow people to rest during watch times).

Psychic Character Class
(Using the Creating a More  Perfect Class from Erin Smale https://breeyark.org/building-a-more-perfect-class/)

Prime Requisite: Charisma
d4 HD 100
Magic-User Saves 150
Magic-User Attack 100
Restricted Armor 100 (Leather armor, shields, no helmets unless magic or psychic)
Restricted weapons 0 (one-handed melee, staff, sling, crossbow)
Weapon mastery: 0 Non-fighter
Skills: 150 Awareness, Blankout, Mind Blank (as mystic)
Psionics: 1000 On level
XP: 1600 (3rd level at 3200, 4th at 6400, 5th at 12,800, usw)

Like most classes, 9th level and higher psychics can either be traveling or settled. Settled psychics may be independent, forming a domain, and carry the title Master or Sensei. Alternatively, they may choose to serve as a court seer, similar to a magist, or they may create a school inside someone else's domain; this usually does not require express permission.
Traveling psychics require no additional rules; independent, they do not have the organizations that clerics or thieves do, command the social space that a paladin, knight, or avenger might, nor do they have the drive to create dungeons that afflicts magic-users.
All settled psychics attract 1d6 followers of the psychic or mystic class, of levels 1-3. If the psychic forms a domain, they also attract 5d6 "monks"; these are 0-level humans who wish to study from the Master, even if they do not have the ability to become psychics or mystics themselves. No more monks will be attracted than the psychic's Charisma score; an unlucky psychic may receive very few. The followers and monks of a psychic do not need to be paid beyond upkeep and equipage.

Using Psychic powers:

At level 1, a psychic knows 2 psychic powers. Each subsequent level, they learn 1 more psychic power. They may learn 2nd level powers starting at 4th, 3rd level at 6th, 4th at 8th, 5th at 10th, 6th at 12th, and 7th at 17th (same progression as a cleric's spell levels, but with something available at level 1, since it's all they get.)

Psychic Powers are enacted with a Charisma check, minus the level of the power; as a slightly more complex alternative, you may subtract twice the level of the power, plus the highest level of powers you can use; this allows psychics to always get better at their lower level abilities, without disturbing the use of their highest level abilities. Using this second method, a 4th level psychic would use their 2nd level power at Charisma (-4)+(+2), just as a 4th level psychic using the first method would. But their 1st level powers would be at Charisma (-2)+(2), or a simple Charisma check. If capable of using 7th level powers, 1st level powers are enacted at Charisma + 5; -2 for 1st level powers, +7 for being a powerful psychic.

On a success, the power is enacted, and the psychic takes non-lethal damage equal to the power's level (qv. non-lethal damage in RC, p. 267; damage is halved in 2d6 turns, gone in 2d6 more). If the power fails, they still take damage, but 1 point is lethal damage (so a fail on a 1st level power is just 1 lethal damage; a fail on a 7th level power is 6 nonlethal, 1 lethal). If they roll a 20, they must make a saving throw v. spell or ALL damage is lethal. Success on the saving throw means that one point of lethal damage is taken, and the rest is non-lethal (as with standard failures).

Common Powers:

These powers are organized according to their level as psychic powers; the number in parenthesis is the level of the spell they emulate. As a general rule, most spells can be rendered as psychic powers, but psychics are best at abilities which gather information or affect the mind. Thus, something like Charm Person is a 1st level power; mental modifications are relatively easy. Magic Missile (which a psychic would envision as telekinetic bolts) is a 2nd level power; affecting physical things is much harder. In most cases, powers designed to affect the physical world or physical bodies will be one level higher than they would be for a cleric or magic-user. Powers which affect only the mind, or gather information, will be of the same level.

1st
Analyze (1)
Charm Person (1)
Detect Danger (1)
Detect Evil (1)
Detect Magic (1)
Locate (1)
Predict Weather (1)
Read Languages (1)
Remove Fear (1)
Sleep (1)

2nd
Floating Disk (1)
Hold Portal (1)
Magic Missile (1)
Shield (1)
Detect Invisible (2)
ESP (2)
Hold Person (2)
Know Alignment (2)
Locate Object (2)
Phantasmal Force (2)
Snake Charm (2)
Speak with Animal (2)

3rd
Levitate (2)
Clairvoyance (3)
Hold Animal (3)
Locate Object (3)
Speak with Dead (3)

4th
Cure Blindness (3)
Cure Disease (3)
Charm Monster (4)
Speak with Plants (4)
Wizard Eye (4)

5th
Commune (5)
Contact Outer Plane (5)
Feeblemind (5)
Hold Monster (5)
Truesight (5)

6th
Telekinesis (5)
Geas (6)
Speak with Monsters (6)
Mass Charm (7)
Mind Barrier (7)

7th
Charm Plant (7)
Lore (7)
Restore (7)
Survival (7)

Psychic Items:

Psychics can make (imbue) their own items. The formula for success is the same as for a wizard or cleric, using the psychic's Charisma instead of Intelligence or Wisdom. Psychics, however, spend much less gold than wizards or clerics. The cost of the item to be imbued is twice that of the normal item. The psychic should figure the time as if they were a wizard or cleric creating a similar item; however, instead of thousands of gold, the psychic must spend three times the usual amount of time. Psychics can imbue Weapons and Miscellaneous Magical Items. They cannot imbue scrolls, potions, or armor.

Psychics have an additional type of magical item, the power stone. A power stone contains a single power, and the psychic may use this power as if they knew it, so long as they hold the stone; some will mount the stone on a ring, in an amulet, or in a diadem. This is enchanted as a permanent miscellaneous magical item. To use a power stone, the psychic must be taught by one who knows how to use it, or use the Analyze power to learn such. Any power contained in a power stone the psychic can use may be learned as if it were a common power. However, if the stone is used to learn a power outside of normal level acquisition of powers, it will be rendered inert. Power stones are of no use to the psychic who created them, and so are very rare. They sometimes spontaneously develop in psychic items, however.

Psychic Research

Psychics can research their own powers. This takes the form of meditation. They do not need research for common powers acquired at level up; the research for these is an aspect of the psychic's own growth. The DM has the discretion to designate other powers as "common" and so not requiring research to acquire at level up. Any power contained in a power stone the character is able to use is considered a common power. All psychics have the ability to research a new power to be learned during level advancement; failure in that research still allows the character to choose a common power.

Only psychics of 9th level or more may learn powers outside of level advancement (exception: Wild Talent general skill). The power may be no higher than one-fourth their level, rounded down (so a 9th level psychic may learn 1st and 2nd level powers; they may learn 3rd level powers at 12th, 4th at 16th, etc.). Any number of powers may be so acquired by a psychic with sufficient time.

As with wizards and clerics, common powers are more easily learned than new powers. Common powers have a chance to be acquire of ([Cha +Lvl] x 2)-(3 X power level); new powers have a chance of ([Cha +Lvl] x 2)-(5 X power level). Most spells can serve as a template for a psychic power, but a spell not previously mentioned is a new power, unless determined otherwise by the DM. As a general rule, spells that alter the mind or retrieve information will be the same level as they would be for clerics or wizards; spells that cause an actual physical change will be one level higher. A pyrokinetic psychic may wish a power similar to fireball, but it would be 4th level for them.

Psychic research, as with psychic item imbuement, requires no gold (save personal upkeep), but three times the time as magical research. Unlike magical research, there is no bonus for previous failed attempts.

General Skills

Wild Talent: A person may have a wild psychic talent, selected as a general skill. This is a common, 1st level, power that they can choose to use. However, using a wild talent is dangerous; instead of non-lethal damage, every attempt at using a wild talent, successful or not, inflicts 1 point of lethal damage. The Wild Talent general skill may be taken as often as the player wishes; at levels beyond the 1st, the Wild talent may be a new power, provided the Wild Talent has access to a power stone they know how to use, or a teacher willing to train them. In no case will a power granted by Wild Talent exceed 1st level.

Psychic characters may also use Wild Talent to expand their repertoire of 1st level powers. A Psychic's wild talents function under their usual rules for powers, inflicting non-lethal damage on a successful use.

Meditation: A Wisdom-based general skill often taken by psychics, Meditation allows a character to remain effectively awake while gaining the benefits of sleep; they must remain in a single place, and may meditate in lieu of sleep no more twelve hours a week. Psychics may also use meditation to reduce the time it takes to recover from the use of psychic powers; for each turn the psychic spends successful meditating, reduce the time for non-lethal damage to disappear by 1d4 turns. Note that a failure of the skill roll, or a roll of a 1 on the 1d4, indicates no extra progress; they meditated for a turn, and the time involved was reduced by that one turn. A psychic may use meditation to reduce recovery time as often as they wish.