Psionic Classes in Celegia: Difference between revisions
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The Empire of Celegia has a definite bias aginst users of psionics. The origin of this bias is complex and has several parts. | The Empire of Celegia has a definite bias aginst users of psionics. The origin of this bias is complex and has several parts. | ||
One of the major things is the Celegian mania with privacy. Invisibility and mind control spells are tightly regulated for this reason, and the astounding number of bead curtains in practically every doorway is one expression of this cultural fear of the loss of privacy. Psionics, by their very nature, is difficult to regulate and subject to abuse of privacy violations. The simple existence of the Psionic Prestige class " | One of the major things is the Celegian mania with privacy. Invisibility and mind control spells are tightly regulated for this reason, and the astounding number of bead curtains in practically every doorway is one expression of this cultural fear of the loss of privacy. Psionics, by their very nature, is difficult to regulate and subject to abuse of privacy violations. The simple existence of the Psionic Prestige class "is enough to get the Philiates of Lurain worked up into a frenzy and word of a Thrallherd at work will bring Revellers from five provinces away to investigate. | ||
Another huge issue with psionics is history. Possibly the worst dark age in Celegian history is the Time of Night, when the Undead very nearly destroyed the entire Empire, and almost exterminated humans and humanoids completely. In the darkest years of the Time of Night, the only Celegian god who was not driven off the Prime Material was the Mad God Puellor, whose Ravers positively thrived in the days of horror. One of the most effective weapons Puellor used to battle the Undead was the mind witchery of the Celegians of the day, and the mind witches of the Time of Night were creatures of vast and dark power. It can be honestly said that without the insane strength of will of the mad god Puellor, the Empire would have perished in the Time of Night. Once Domana burst back into the Prime Material and smashed the undead in a single stroke with the Dawn, Puellor expected to receive high praise and his just due. Instead, Domana cast Puellor down, spurning his might and freeing the human race from the yoke of the mad god. Puellor in his petulant rage laid a taint upon all mind powers in the Empire. Every time a psionic user has used 100 power points, she must make a Will save vs DC 15 or succumb to insanity. This is not an especially difficult save to make, but everyone rolls a " | Another huge issue with psionics is history. Possibly the worst dark age in Celegian history is the Time of Night, when the Undead very nearly destroyed the entire Empire, and almost exterminated humans and humanoids completely. In the darkest years of the Time of Night, the only Celegian god who was not driven off the Prime Material was the Mad God Puellor, whose Ravers positively thrived in the days of horror. One of the most effective weapons Puellor used to battle the Undead was the mind witchery of the Celegians of the day, and the mind witches of the Time of Night were creatures of vast and dark power. It can be honestly said that without the insane strength of will of the mad god Puellor, the Empire would have perished in the Time of Night. Once Domana burst back into the Prime Material and smashed the undead in a single stroke with the Dawn, Puellor expected to receive high praise and his just due. Instead, Domana cast Puellor down, spurning his might and freeing the human race from the yoke of the mad god. Puellor in his petulant rage laid a taint upon all mind powers in the Empire. Every time a psionic user has used 100 power points, she must make a Will save vs DC 15 or succumb to insanity. This is not an especially difficult save to make, but everyone rolls a "eventually. This taint can be avoided through methods and mechanisms the Ceremancers Guild teaches and provides to members, but unlicensed psykers all go mad sooner or later. The actions of those rebel mind witches maintain the cultural bias against psionics. | ||
Third, psionics is suppressed for political reasons. The mage guilds have enormous power in the Empire and have no interest in sharing it. They constantly spread propaganda about "mind | Third, psionics is suppressed for political reasons. The mage guilds have enormous power in the Empire and have no interest in sharing it. They constantly spread propaganda about "mind and it is a testament to the effectiveness of psionics that psi users exist at all. In addition, the mage guilds have developed many special spells solely to destroy psionic users, with an eye to keeping psionics users as second-class power users. | ||
As a result of all these factors and others besides, psionic characters in Celegia have many challenges. All psi users must register with the Ceremancy Guild, and receive a shielding amulet to protect against the taint. This amulet nust be tuned to each users exact powers, so that every use of power points can be protected from the taint of Puellor. This means that the Guild has an exact record of every psi users powers and abilities, and this must be kept up to date at all times, or else the psi user risks insanity and destruction. That information, of course, goes to the Imperial Beauracacy as well. In game terms, this means that every time a psionic power user goes up a level, they may or may not declare their powers to the Empire. Secrecy brings risks. | As a result of all these factors and others besides, psionic characters in Celegia have many challenges. All psi users must register with the Ceremancy Guild, and receive a shielding amulet to protect against the taint. This amulet nust be tuned to each users exact powers, so that every use of power points can be protected from the taint of Puellor. This means that the Guild has an exact record of every psi users powers and abilities, and this must be kept up to date at all times, or else the psi user risks insanity and destruction. That information, of course, goes to the Imperial Beauracacy as well. In game terms, this means that every time a psionic power user goes up a level, they may or may not declare their powers to the Empire. Secrecy brings risks. | ||
Aside from that, psionics are freely usable in the Empire, but psi users should maintain a low profile or be prepared to defend themselves against all manner of wild accusations. There are two main Psionic organizations in the Empire in the current time, the Ceremancers Guild and the Guild of Cerebrates. The Ceremancers Guild is the " | Aside from that, psionics are freely usable in the Empire, but psi users should maintain a low profile or be prepared to defend themselves against all manner of wild accusations. There are two main Psionic organizations in the Empire in the current time, the Ceremancers Guild and the Guild of Cerebrates. The Ceremancers Guild is the "psionic organization and provides the protective amulets described above. | ||
The Guild of Cerebrates is underground and hunted, having been discredited in the Psyche Wars with the Mage Guilds shortly after the Time of Night. The Guild of Cerebrates can also provide some protection against the Mad God's Psionic taint, but this comes at the price of breaking an Imperial Edict, which carries an automatic death sentence if discovered. The Ceremancer's Guild can provide an amulet that shields your power points if used for any number of Psionic Powers. The Guild of Cerebrates can provide mental exercises that totally shield up to 4 powers from Puellors taint and raises the number of points you can spend unshielded between saves from 100 to 150. | The Guild of Cerebrates is underground and hunted, having been discredited in the Psyche Wars with the Mage Guilds shortly after the Time of Night. The Guild of Cerebrates can also provide some protection against the Mad God's Psionic taint, but this comes at the price of breaking an Imperial Edict, which carries an automatic death sentence if discovered. The Ceremancer's Guild can provide an amulet that shields your power points if used for any number of Psionic Powers. The Guild of Cerebrates can provide mental exercises that totally shield up to 4 powers from Puellors taint and raises the number of points you can spend unshielded between saves from 100 to 150. | ||
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Pyrokineticist: While it would seem that this is a " | Pyrokineticist: While it would seem that this is a "prestige class, since it does not expend power points and thus does not risk madness, that is not the case. In Celegia, the taboo against open flame is old and deeply ingrained, and to qualify for this class you must burn a building strictly for fun. Every pyrokineticist in the Empire is eventually hunted down and executed for breaking the Imperial Edicts. Of course, many of them have a fun run getting there. | ||