Planar Compass Issue 1

The adventure is for levels 1-3

Hi E.T. We are in stock right now in multiple stores in three different countries. Please check planarcompass.com

Hi Dwight,

We are getting ready to do another print run. I'll let you know when and where it's available.

A PoD option would be great nethertheless. For us Europeans it's just insane ordering from the US right now.

Hey Dwight,

If you are still interested we have physical copies available again. Various countries listed on our site:
https://www.planarcompass.com/planar-compass-issue-1

Hey Patrick,

We will definitely consider a PoD in the future. Right now I don't want to create confusion between the print runs we are continuing to do and any PoD products. I know it's not quite the same but if it is at all cheaper we do now have it in stock in the UK:
https://iglootree.com/planar-compass-issue-1-697-p.asp

Oh geez, you're at Four Rogues! Perfect. Thank you!

Hey Jordan,

Thanks for your patronage. I’m excited to discuss the nitty gritty with you!

We kept the rules that are presentented in Planar Compass as light as possible and even intentionally vague in some places. This was due to our philosophy of “rulings over rules”. That is to say, we think the magic happens when the players and referee fill in the gaps.

That being said, here are my thoughts on your questions:

First off, I would say that I think of psionics as being an act of extreme mental concentration. Picture Luke struggling to raise the x-wing out of the water in Empire Strikes Back. Or, imagine that a grizzly bear has crossed your path. You wouldn’t give your mundane everyday life the same sort of focus and concentration as you would that bear. This is the sort of mental strain I think comes with using psionic powers. The character would not have a power active while they were eating or socialising. Certainly the power would not be active if they...See more were sleeping, lost consciousness in battle, or dropped to 0 hit points.

I think contact should work as most major actions would, 1 round (10 seconds).

By my ruling there would be no save for the target of psionic powers (However, take note that unwilling targets who have psionic powers require attack modes to be contacted). I think the incredible power and danger of a psionic character is balanced by the power check and the consumption of psionic energy. However, if you found that unbalanced at your table I think a save for the target would work fine (save vs spells or petrification, depending on what you felt was appropriate).

Energy Control: Looks like you found a mistake here. There should be a maintenance cost. I’ll say 2/round.

ESP: Yup, anyone anywhere. My ruling would be that the character should already have met the target. You could also penalize the power score if you feel you want to make it harder. Say an additional -1 if they can’t see the target, a -2 if they don’t know where the target is, and if you so choose a -3 if the target is on a different plane.

Molecular Manipulation: This is one of those intentional vague definitions to allow for fun in the moment. I would say if used on armor it would lower the armor’s AC by 1 per round until there was no AC advantage over unarmored at which point you may rule the armor breaks.

Psychic Crush: Yes, the effect only occurs once contact is made. Remember that attack modes have 2 effects: one, to make contact with another psionic character that is unwilling and two, to impose a harmful effect on said target. Contact from attack mode takes 3 successful attacks. Each attack mode can be used twice per round on a single power check and energy consumption. So for instance if you used psychic crush against an uncontacted target twice successfully in a round that would be 2 of the 3 needed successes. On the following round if you succeeded twice again then on the second of the two attacks the effect of psychic crush would come into play.

Reduction: This could probably be worded better. Simply put the cost is directly related to the number of feet. So if you want to reduce something by 3’ it would be 3 energy. If something is 1’ or less than you can half its size at the cost of 1 energy. So if you can reduce something that is 1’ to 6” for 1 energy.

Thought Shield and Tower of Iron Will: As per my discussion on concentration above, I don’t think a psionic character would use a power indefinitely as it takes up a significant portion of their consciousness. In addition I think defense modes are a response to attacks and would end at the end of combat.


Hope that helps!

Thanks again,
D.M. Wilson

Thank you for answering so thoroughly and quickly! I can definitely put this to work with these responses in mind. I’m a big big fan of psionics as a concept, but I’ve never been able to wrap my mind (hah) around old school versions of it. So I’ve been anxiously awaiting a version that makes sense to me the way OSE made old school D&D finally make sense to me. Your version is the best I’ve seen, so thank you for that.

Hey Jordan, glad to hear! Let me know if you have more questions or thoughts. Always happy to discuss.

You could also check out the 2e Complete Psionics Handbook, where all of these powers are pulled from. Indeed, many have the same power scores and cost as in this book. You'll likely find more examples of their usage there.