Notes on Psionic Magic | Roleplay Guide | Ongoing

Part 1. Introduction to Psionics

Psionics, also known as Mindscaping and Psychic Magic, is a category of supernatural powers which derive from willpower. Rather than requiring a basic magical energy to create effects for them, they are instead able to create effects themselves using their sheer willpower and intent to do so.

This ability to influence the world with will is strong, as psionic abilities, being that they resonate from willpower, are not considered magical in the same way that a spell is and thus they are immune to most Antimagic Fields. Antipsi fields do exist, however, to counter Psionics.

Psionics can manifest in a number of ways, so we will start by focusing on the two primary ways it can manifest. That is, through Focus and Spirit.

Psionics through Focus often involve phenomena with the brain that allow the ability to effect the outside world using a formless energy typically referred to as Psi, or Psychic Energy.

Psi refers to a special kind of energy, which is limited in ability only by the nature of the Psion (a person who practices psionics) and can be used to supplement the scientific requirements for an effect, like fire, to occur. It is usually either carried in the brain waves of a psion, or is used to enhance the brainwaves of a psion to force the very matter of the world to bend to his will in the way magic does for a wizard, albiet not magic. Because of the way it works, this form of psionics typically takes a more scientific approach toward creating effects with psi energy.

Psionics through Spirit are a different beast, and functions based on principles within various cultures. It is believed that part of your soul, the spirit, contains your consciousness. This is why ghosts still have a portion the personalities of their living selves. In Psionics through Spirit, rather then exerting your Will through the mind, it is instead exerted through the power of your spirit to influence not only the physical world, but others as well; your influence is no longer limited to the mundane.

This most commonly allows the ability not only to influence things with said spirit, but also to manipulate spiritual energies as a whole. The manipulation of chi (and the cultural variants), as an example, is usually psionic because of all the elements of mental and spiritual preparation involved in the cultivation process. This makes the powers used in most anime's in some distant way related to Psionics if not entirely Psionic by nature.

This also makes it easier for a psion to perform feats in a way that appears to be expressly magical, to the point that they can fire off literal bolts of pure magical energy, summon creatures, and match pretty much any mage spell for spell depending on how good they are while still not being considered magical.

These will be elaborated on more in the following pages.

With all of this, psionics may seem like the best form for abilities. But in reality, it has limits. Firstly, the psion is limited to what it knows or in some cases can withstand. With the amassing of energy, the difficulty to control said energy is also increased. In addition to this, a psion has a deeper connection to the powers he does have because there is not much room for deviation in the first place. If a psion is born with a specific power, he cannot learn others typically unless an outside force somehow granted it to him. Magneto cannot become Jean Gray, to put it into perspective. Psions may be born with powers they discover later in life, however. Possibly hidden until they've reached a certain level of mastery.

The trade off with psionics is that while it defies antimagic, a psionic cannot branch out of evolve their powers very much. They are forced to work within their boundaries and specialize. In rare cases though, the boundaries may be so wide they appear almost nonexistent.