What exactly is this psionics thing, you ask? Well, psionics is the practice of tapping into your inner potential, letting you perform feats with your mind and body that are normally thought to be impossible. Most all human beings (well, just about every sentient being, anyway) have the potential to become psis, but they don't due to a lack of either the proper training or the drive to succeed in the mental arts. A select few have what it takes, however, and these special folk are the subject of the Manual of the Psi.

The basic idea is this: with lots of deep meditation and intensive training, you may eventually unlock certain abilities contained within your mind, body, and spirit - abilities that all beings can theoretically use if they simply put their minds to it. It is vital to understand this basic tenet of true psionics: all of the abilities acquired through psionic study are not superhuman powers of any sort, but are instead learned talents. In other words, psionicists are effectively normal humans for the purposes of game play, and aren't at all affected by the more traditional methods of power neutralization.

The basic principles of psionic power are described in great detail in the following sections, in order for you to make your own psionic PC or to simply gain more information about the psi, should you ever encounter one in your own adventures.

Core Principles

Before you go off and make your very own psi, there are a few basic concepts about this character class you need to understand, that are presented in the following sections.

Psionic Disciplines

The first vital concept that one needs to understand is the discipline structure of psionic powers. Disciplines are, in the end, groups of psionic powers, each of which represents a different type of psi power available to a student of the mental arts. Psionic disciplines mean different things to different characters, a fact that becomes evident during character generation, but this definition will do for now.

Those of you who cheated and looked ahead will notice that there are nine disciplines of power described in the Manual of the Psi. Six of these are available to your standard psi, and the other three can be gained through use of the CmC rules; table 2 in the PsCGI reflects this, and keeps the psimantic, technopsi, and theonic disciplines out of a regular psi's hands. These are included in the Manual of the Psi to prevent any unnecessary duplication, and to keep all the rules in one place.

At any rate, all the psionic disciplines of power are described here:

* Deionic Powers: the rarest of psionic abilities, theonic powers deal with all things divine. They're used to mimic the abilities of, communicate with, and combat immortal beings. The theonic powers are very dangerous to have (much less, to use), however, as the gods tend to be a stubborn lot, and can use the unprepared theonicist in any way they choose...

* Empathic Powers: empathic powers are those that are gained by acquiring an awareness of the threads of life-force woven throughout the multiverse, often known as the essence. Once a psi can perceive the essence and see how he is connected to it, he can control the very forces of life and death.

* Metapsi Powers: metapsi powers are those that are acquired when a psi learns the various ways in which he can manipulate his own body. The metapsi powers give one a definitive physical edge over most humans (and many super humans, as well), granting exceptional durability, attack capability, and physical prowess.

* Psikinetic Powers: these psi powers are the mental means of manipulating energy and matter, both animate and inanimate, without physical contact. A psikinetic has the ability to manipulate, destroy, and even create (to some extent) objects in his environment, as he sees fit.

* Psimantic Powers: strangest of the nine psionic disciplines, the psimantic powers allow a psi to manipulate the very forces of magic to produce various effects. With practice, a psychoturge can eventually stand toe to toe with even the mightiest of magicians, having full control over the powers such folks regularly use.

* Psimotive Powers: the rather potent psimotive discipline contains all of the means of egress from one location to another, most often without physically crossing the spaces between them. Once a psi has mastered this psionic discipline, he can be barred from no place, as he has the means to reach everywhere.

* Psipathic Powers: true powers of the mind (as if the others were not), the abilities of the psipathic discipline are used to achieve direct mind to mind contact. With a bit of work, a psipath can use these impressive abilities to communicate with, control, or possibly even destroy the minds of others.

* Superpsi Powers: the complement of all other disciplines, the powers of the superpsi are used to manipulate the psionic powers of you or another. This discipline is extremely powerful when combined with any of the others, but it is nonetheless quite useful in its own right, having several unique powers within, just waiting to be discovered...

* Technopsi Powers: a relatively newer discipline of training, technopsi powers deal with all things technological (if you didn't already guess). Once he begins his study of them, a psi will gradually acquire more and more control over electronic and mechanical things, and will quickly evolve into a technological dynamo.

Psionic Power Types

Another thing that a body should know about psionic powers is that they come in three distinct flavors. In the order of their importance and magnitude, from first to last, they are arts, talents, and skills, all three of which are described here:

* Arts: the big guns of the mental trade, these powers most often take the form of devastating attacks and many other vital capabilities. As the most potent psionic abilities, arts end up costing the most when purchasing new powers, and begin at the lowest power level of the three when bought (at Good (10) rank).

* Talents: though they aren't necessarily the most potent psi powers, talents do have many uses. Usually defensive or backup in nature, psionic talents are often the difference between life and death in battle. Talents usually begin at a medium level of power (Excellent (20)) when bought, and are not too expensive to purchase.

* Skills: often the most passive of the psionic powers, skills are nonetheless vital to the success of any psi. This is, of course, because they take the form of defensive, sensory, and other, less flashy (but necessary) abilities. Least expensive to buy, skills also start at the highest level of power when bought (Remarkable (30)).