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Apr 10, 2012 -- 11:31AM, Qmark wrote:

Apr 10, 2012 -- 10:11AM, shintashi wrote:

If you ask me, your Thief is just a wannabe fighter, so you have Fighter, Psion, Cleric, and Wizard, as classes.

And why, exactly, do we need three "magic" classes?

Need is a strong word.

Still, you can look at the "magic" classes as Power from within (psi) Power from beyond (cleric) and power from beyond that's controlled within (mage)

You could break down "martial" classes a similar way.  Power from combat (fighter) power from cunning (rogue) power from cunningly controling other's combat (Warlord)

Your third is "mixed" which is where you get paladins, rangers, druids, monks, sword mages, etc.

Barbarian I think, would make a better theme.

Wizard: Class
Illusionist: Theme
Necromancer: Theme
Pyromancer: Build
Cryromancer: Build
Summoner: Theme
Artificer: Class

Paladin: Class
Avenger: Build
Cleric: Class
Medic: Build
Invoker: Class

Ranger: Class
Druid: Class
Beastmaster: Build
Barbarian: Class
Warden: Build
Seeker: Build

Assassin: Theme
Rogue: Class
Thief: Build
Ruffian: Build
Executioner: Build
Shadow Dancer: Theme

Fighter: Class
Archer: Theme
Knight: Theme
Slayer: Build
Tempest: Build
Monk: Class

Warlord: Class
Tactical Warlord: Build
Marshal: Build
Inspiring Warlord: Build
Bard: Class

Psion: Class
Telekinetic: Build
Ardent: Theme
Battlemind: Theme

Apr 10, 2012 -- 10:11AM, shintashi wrote:

I think the bias is pretty self evident when something as completely different as Psionicist is seen as a Theme while something as generic as Warlord - a fighter kit at best - is perceived as a Class.

Psionics was originally an option, and anyone had a (tiny) chance to be psionic.  People may remember that and want to bring back the idea of psionic being something you are (an inborn gift) rather than something you learn (class).  With a psionic theme you could have your AD&D psionic fighter or cleric or magic-user or fighter/magic-user/thief or whatever without having to hybrid or multiclass to get the psionics.

Actually when you get to thinking about it, almost every "cool" Wizard or Cleric you can remember is probably cool because of one or more of these powers. Did you know the word Teleport didn't even exist until 1931? Telekinesis came out in 1890, Telepathy in 1882, and "Mind over Matter" in 1863. If you had been writing Fantasy novels about wizards prior to this time, few of these concepts and none of these terms would occur to you. Fanyboys of Wizards have been bastardizing Psychic (1870) abilities for their own stories since the 19th century.

And Psionic (1950) was coined by a science fiction author.  I was sure I read 'Teleportation' in book on Theosophy from the turn of the last century, though - maybe it was 'Aportation.'

 

Psionics is radically different from Wizard stuff, and functions more like skills or extentions of the being, and are available in greater and lesser amounts to everyone, in things like Intuition, Dreams, Biofeedback, Stunts like holding the breath or enduring ice baths, board breaking, and even the concept of high hit points. Psionics are basically Stats +1. They are compatible with Wizard stuff (dragon kings) because wizards need awesome stats too, but they aren't wizards. They don't cast spells, and they don't worship gods, demons, angels, or nature spirits. Somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 Psionics was incorrectly put in the Magic Box, starting with Skills & Powers revisions (1995), and then again in Spells & Magic (1996) when Star Wars Force was erroneously labeled "magic". By PHB3 (2010) standards Psionics was a form of magic.

Religion: Ioun, the god of knowledge, Is often considered the patron of psionic magic, and many psions worship her.

But check this out...Ioun was a dude. Yay rule 63...

Congenio Ioun
Birth/Death: 364-1319
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: 20th level arcanist
Hit Points: 53
Str: 11, Dex: 19, Con: 17, Int: 18, Wis: 14, Cha: 13
Congenio Ioun was an arcanist whose name yet lives in the annals of time because of his greatest invention - the Ioun Stone.

As you can see, there's many reasons "psionics are crying in the corner", the least of which being calling wizards and forced to worship some 4000 year old transvestite with a 14 wisdom. o-love.net/realms/fr_time_notable.html