"Psychic Wars" Topic

When I was in high school, the movie Heavy Metal came out. I didn't see it ( wouldn't have been allowed to! ) , but I remeber the Blue Oyster Cult song, Veteran of the Psychic Wars. That sorta triggered my imagination some. I thought of it recently, as someone asked about new settings.

I don't know if it would be sci fi, fantasy, horror, or what. I don't know what it would look like. But has anyone tried to game in such a setting?

I did a quick search for lyrics:

link

Would it just be the dark imagery of 40K? How about Inquisitor? At the time, I was picturing massive battles of nearly-human soldiers vs chaotic critters, each one very different from the other. The more I think about it, the more 40K seems to fit. Funny, I don't really care for 40K's imagery, or at least wallowing quite so deeply in it.

Maybe it would be like the Inferno game from a while back ( war in hell ) ?

Or maybe it is just a reflection on real war? That's devestating enough.

Hmm, I'm not sure I've got a real point here. But I'd be interested in responses…

andy

I've seen this song interpreted as rehab. You have the shakes, you're never really free, and it's all in your head.

Not that you can't interpret it literally, of course ...

Well...

I remember during my military days a discussion about chemical warfare and it's application.
The deployment of chemical weapons is more for disruption of troop formations and morale more than actually kill people.

I mean, slowing down a troop column while they put on thrir MOPP gear can buy you some time... Or even hold them in place for an artillery strike.
Not to mention the morale impact of those troops you just gassed.

You could lump Pyschic warfare on the same boat as chemical warfare.

Imagine Tactical Telepaths able to not only read the thoughts and plans of your superiors but also plant "ideas" in your head. Ideas like your face is melting or that there's imaginary artillery coming down on you... Or even worse, your superior is actually an enemy spy.

Telekinesis can be the next big "super" weapon. Imagine being able to knock a fighter plane out of the sky with a single thought. Or crush a tank, or set it on fire for that matter, with just your mind.

Let's face it, we're only using 3% - 5% of our total brain capacity. Imagine if we could harness 75%, or even a full 100%... We'd seem as Gods to normal people.

Uh, actually, not to be mean to Black Lightning, but the 'using less of our brain' idea is an urban myth. Actually, we use pretty much all of our brain, not necessarily all at once or at the same intensity, but it's all used.

The original Rogue Trader rules might make a better source for doing a Psychic Wars battle than the current version. They had highly detailed, if random, lists of powers, and it is readily adaptable to designed scenarios.

GURPS Psionics has some of the best rules for psychic powers of any RPG, and can be run as a highly detailed tactical miniatures game rather than an RPG. In the version I've got, they touch on the Psychic Wars notion. I understand that the psionic powers rules in the new version of GURPS may suck, though.

Black Lightning 2 -

Actually, the last theory I heard on brain usage says that we're only using a small percentage of our brain at any given time, but that overall a majority of our brain is actually used for something. We only access a small proportion of it for most functions. But don't let that stop you from using it in a setting.

An interesting view on psychics and society was in Babylon 5 with the Terran Psicorp. Imagine the gestapo with the ability to read minds... scary.

Just a bit of rambling that came to mind...

Suppose just enough psychic energy could be focused to behave like a bullet, but capable of passing safely through anything blockng the target. The same energy could alternately be used as a one-person shield at a short range. Massed formations could provide mutual support. Ordinary food, water, and rest would be needed to replenish abilities. Small differences in abilities could be factored in.

Or is this just a variation on WWII or Star Fleet Battles? Or The Matrix?

Or just a load of garbage. I'll go ahead and post. Maybe there's a bit of inspiration.

Consider what the US Army looked at for the First Earth Battalion back in the '70s. One glimpse is here:

link

You can find other, possibly less credible discussions by doing a Google search for "First Earth Battalion".

Allen

If you can shape psychic energy into bullets, you can probably do some other nifty things as well. I think a game like this would play a more like a superhero game minus the silly costumes than as WWII/'nam. Could be neat, particularly when combined with martial arts. Oops, now we're in The Matrix. That's ok, there's no miniature game like that yet :-)

First earth battalion sounds like a fun "good" faction. I'm surprised nobody used this idea yet. Move over marines, here come the new age samurai! :-p

Akira!

Ummm...White Wolf's defunct Trinity: Battleground minis rules did "mutated genetic aberrants versus psychic super-soldiers" quite nicely. Worth taking a look at, and IIRC the rules were up free on the web at one point. Failing that, they show up cheap on ebay once in a while.

Rich