The more I’ve messed with Psi-Wars, the more obvious it is to me that psionics is different from the Force. The Force is closer to magic: A jedi doesn’t use his power, he calls upon the force to perform a task for him. In principle, this means any force user can perform any feat, and we see this often in the films, where a Jedi with no dark-side training will wield the powers of the dark side powered only by their rage. This suggests that “unique” powers should not be possible. We do see unique powers, but they’re never adequately explained, sometimes described as “rare gifts.”
Psi-Wars uses a different approach: people have their psychic power, and this grants access to Communion, which means they have the room for a quirky, unique power as a gateway to the more universal power. While most psionic abilities are fairly similar (TK-Grab is TK-Grab) there should still be room for weird and unique powers (“I kill people in their dreams!”). The more we go down this route, the more the Psis of Psi-Wars look less like Jedi and more like the characters from Push, or the X-men.
This template is an attempt to embrace that character aesthetic. It isn’t the Mystic template: while you can make a fortune teller or a healer with this, the idea is more of a strictly sci-fi feeling psychic character, typically a kid whose strange powers have erupted, or a powerful psychic on the run from the conspiracy, etc. There is some crossover with other psychic templates: some of the innovations with Secrets, Enemies and Licenses should be ported over to Space Knights, and this should be balanced and contrasted with Mystics, and I’m not sure where edge cases, such as Zathare sorcerers should go. However, this is a good start, and we can start exploring the idea now, and solidify it more fully later.
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