I agree that they do feel tacked on in the way you suggest and it would be interesting to have an 'advanced' set of rules for when you want to have this kind of power, but wouldn't Kelly's 'sport' powers elevate them in the way they do even with their limited power?

So it's not so much the fact that they're all powerful (or even fairly powerful) but the fact that they have these odd powers at all that makes them different and gives them their authority.  In other words a cultural and 'habit' superiority.

Aren't nobles in the Imperium somewhat like that this - they might have a bigger army and a lot of wealth but they might not and yet everyone still treats them *as* nobles simply because they are and that's been ingrained.

Am I making sense?  I think it's lunchtime...

It's been bothering me because since I wrote the adventure seeds for the psionic issue of Freelance, I've been half thinking of trying my hand at a bit of fiction set in the Consulate, but one obstacle is not being too sure just how prevalent I should be making psi use.  From everywhere-all-the-time to Kelly's just-when-its-needed?  Not sure.

tc



On 29 June 2015 at 22:44, Kurt Feltenberger <kurt@thepaw.org> wrote:
On 6/29/2015 2:38 PM, Kelly St. Clair wrote:

IMO, CT psi isn't meant to model the Force (et al), but the 'sport' powers that some Golden Age protagonists had: not very powerful, possibly entirely self-taught, but the mere fact that they /had/ it (and that such powers were rare enough the bad guys might plausibly not know anything about it) was often enough to get them out of a tough spot or tip the balance in their favor.  It's not a suite of strong abilities you rely on constantly, like a Jedi or a Lensman, but something you pull out once or twice a novel to get past a plot obstacle, like James Bond's latest Q-issued spy gadget.

Perhaps in the Imperium, but that doesn't really jive with the Zhodani who have elevated what would have been a minor plot device to the foundation of their Consulate. 

I've always felt that psionics in Traveller was a tacked on afterthought and when they brought out AM:4 Zhodani, GDW missed the boat to rewrite and redefine the rules to better reflect how such powers would function given how integral they are to the Consulate.  For me, when I think of Zhodani nobles and intendents, I think of something that is so common to them that it's second nature...sort of how the Tanu were in Julian May's Pliocene Exiles series.

In short, they were abilities that truly elevated them head and shoulders over those who lacked the ability.

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Kurt Feltenberger
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“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not living enough." - Me 
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