Back in the late 1980's and the
early 1990's, a friend of mine named Todd Embree had an idea to develop
a Role Playing Game based on the idea of psionics. He wanted to develop
a game that was both entertaining and predominately non-violent. He wanted
it to be completely unlike any thing else out there. This was NOT a superhero
game. Nor is it a hack-and-slay, dungeon crawl game. This was meant to
be a game where realistic characters interact with other realistic characters,
with a little psionic powers tossed in to make things interesting.
PREMISE
The time is now. The place: Earth. The world is very much as we know it today. They have baseball games, elections, corrupt politicians, movie stars, criminals, rock idols, humanitarians, terrorism, war, peace, fast food joints, etc. People have hopes and dreams. They are born, they live their lives and they die. The only real difference is the emergence of true psionics.
Within the last few years, people with very strong psionic abilities have begun to appear throughout the world. These seemingly ordinary people, leading ordinary lives suddenly "break out" of the ordinary and become psionically active. These people may represent the next step in mankind's evolution. Many of these psionic abilities or "Talents" have been recorded, including telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, Pyrokinesis, and illusions. Many of the talents have yet to be revealed.
Many of the people who have these talents have banded together for mutual protection, companionship, and for study. They learn from each other how to use and develop their talents. Further, they work to uphold the ideals of the group, whatever those ideals might be. Primarily these groups work for the common good of all psionically gifted humans; others work towards more selfish ends. Several governments around the world have formed groups that are actively recruiting talented people. Several major universities have also formed research groups to study the "talented"
In some cases, a mind set has developed which strictly delineates between the talented and the untalented. Both groups have splinter factions, which are inherently distrustful of the other. Some talented groups see this as a racial conflict. In their minds it's Homo Superiors (PSIs) against Homo Sapiens (SAPS). This kind of mentality is also reflected in the non-talented groups, whose goal it is to eradicate those who are talented. Most psionics look towards a brighter future where all races of man can live in peace.
For the most part the general public is unaware of the talented people around them, and the talented like it that way. A good portion of the general public would not understand, and/or would be frightened of these talents. A person with talents will, generally, not use them in the view of normal people. Anyone who repeatedly and blatantly uses their talents in the open will usually receive a warning from other psionics. If they persist, and continue to draw attention to themselves, they will very likely come under direct attack.
For the Game Master/ Referee the challenge is to keep the game as interesting and entertaining as possible, without making the entire plot totally unbelievable. We all enjoyed this game immensely and hope someday he'll actually publish the darn thing. :-)
PREMISE
The time is now. The place: Earth. The world is very much as we know it today. They have baseball games, elections, corrupt politicians, movie stars, criminals, rock idols, humanitarians, terrorism, war, peace, fast food joints, etc. People have hopes and dreams. They are born, they live their lives and they die. The only real difference is the emergence of true psionics.
Within the last few years, people with very strong psionic abilities have begun to appear throughout the world. These seemingly ordinary people, leading ordinary lives suddenly "break out" of the ordinary and become psionically active. These people may represent the next step in mankind's evolution. Many of these psionic abilities or "Talents" have been recorded, including telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, Pyrokinesis, and illusions. Many of the talents have yet to be revealed.
Many of the people who have these talents have banded together for mutual protection, companionship, and for study. They learn from each other how to use and develop their talents. Further, they work to uphold the ideals of the group, whatever those ideals might be. Primarily these groups work for the common good of all psionically gifted humans; others work towards more selfish ends. Several governments around the world have formed groups that are actively recruiting talented people. Several major universities have also formed research groups to study the "talented"
In some cases, a mind set has developed which strictly delineates between the talented and the untalented. Both groups have splinter factions, which are inherently distrustful of the other. Some talented groups see this as a racial conflict. In their minds it's Homo Superiors (PSIs) against Homo Sapiens (SAPS). This kind of mentality is also reflected in the non-talented groups, whose goal it is to eradicate those who are talented. Most psionics look towards a brighter future where all races of man can live in peace.
For the most part the general public is unaware of the talented people around them, and the talented like it that way. A good portion of the general public would not understand, and/or would be frightened of these talents. A person with talents will, generally, not use them in the view of normal people. Anyone who repeatedly and blatantly uses their talents in the open will usually receive a warning from other psionics. If they persist, and continue to draw attention to themselves, they will very likely come under direct attack.
For the Game Master/ Referee the challenge is to keep the game as interesting and entertaining as possible, without making the entire plot totally unbelievable. We all enjoyed this game immensely and hope someday he'll actually publish the darn thing. :-)
