"Seeking advice on Psionics in Pathfinder" Topic

Hi all!

I'm thinking of adding psionics to our campaign,
but haven't used psionics since AD&D…

What do y'all think of them in Pathfinder?
Fun? balanced? good Flavor? as easy as magic?

I appreciate the input!

(I looked at Power Words as an alternative, but those rules
didn't grab me enough, so interested in Psionics)

NOLA Chris

We tried it and found it to be just another magic type.

We ended up ditching it and kept with the more 'traditional' magics.

that's what I was worried about…
thank you Richard,
I'll put the money elsewhere,
and work on making some specialist wizards
:)

I have not looked at the Pathfinder Psionics but found from our old D&D days that they tended to be overpowering and just did not fit a fantasy setting. I advise steering clear of them. There is plenty in the way of magical classes and artifacts to do the same thing.

@whitemanticore:

Depending on which edition you played under, psionics use very different mechanics. Pathfinder's are based on the 3rd edition ones, which feel much like other magic (as mentioned) and are as balanced as you can expect in an RPG.

As for fitting setting, they work best when you've altered how magic works. For example, Dark Sun.

I treated my sorcerer in 3.5 as a psychic. Just how you play it.

Sorry I had responded before on my cellphone and just cannot get out all what I wanted to say.

I was in a magic dominate campaign and opted to play as a half-orc thief. Straight up thug type. Underpowered for the expected power level of the game. So the GM attempted to pull me kicking and screaming into the useful range.

So while trying to steal a green gem I became possessed by a demon bound within. It was suppose to make me stronger but I found a way to cure myself and leveled up. I took a level of Sorcerer and with the racial limitations and the poor CHA score I would only ever be able to take 2 levels of it at all. I promptly chose nonstandard spells.

I played it as the demon opened my psyche to my internal powers already there and used it to grow my characters story.

I used the rules as they were but played it as it wasn't magic but my own powers. It might have just been magic of a different color but I played it as I wanted and it inspired the DM to make sorcerers – sofar a unused element as a psychic class.