The Quintessential Psychic WarriorMongoose Publishing MGP4009 The d20 System |
When mind and steel are joined to a common purpose, the psychic warrior is the result. Combining mental techniques with combat skills, the psychic warrior is a competent fighter with a plethora of dazzling abilities hidden up his sleeve. Want to run up a wall and strike at an opponent from overhead? How about suddenly gaining an extra action while in combat? Or merge a weapon with your body so it is never out of reach? All of these and more lie within the grasp of the psychic warrior. The Quintessential Psychic Warrior is a sourcebook that greatly expands this class, adding new and exciting abilities while also opening up new avenues for character development and opportunities for role-playing. Training both mind and body for combat readiness gives the psychic warrior an interesting position in the campaign. Capable of stunning acts of violence, he also possesses the mental discipline and an unexpected arsenal of skills to do just more than lay waste to his foes. When a self-sufficient, cunning warrior is called for, the psychic warrior is a natural choice for the job. The unique mingling of psychic power and martial capabilities afford the psychic warrior a range of options unavailable to most other characters predisposed toward physical activities, making them an excellent choice for players who desire a character with a wide variety of techniques and tactics ready for use at any time. Though not the match of the fighter at a straight up fight and inferior to the psion in a pure duel of minds, it is the combination of these two types of activity which provides the psychic warrior with his versatility, power, and lethal fighting style. Psychic warrior characters of any experience level can benefit from the material in this sourcebook. All characters can use the character concepts, whether starting fresh and incorporating the benefits and disadvantages from the get-go or using them to add depth to a character's history. New feats and psionic powers of all levels can be found within these pages, too, giving the players of psychic warriors new options for mechanical advancement and customisation of their characters. Further exploration of the psychic skills can be found herein, offering an alternative look at some of the skills as well as options for unconventional ways psychic warriors can use standard skills. Of course, new weapons, armour, and other pieces of equipment are added to the arsenal of the psychic warrior, offering even more options for customisation and fine-tuning of an individual psychic's style. Weapon meditations make their first appearance in this sourcebook, giving psychic warriors even more options for specialisation of their many abilities. These meditations represent the different ways in which psychic warriors train their minds and bodies to work in harmony and how these differences are exemplified by the use of particular weapons. The psychic warrior armed with a double-bladed sword is much different, both in temperament and training, than one who wields a dagger and the weapon manifestations provide the mechanics for making such differentiation between characters. A number of new prestige classes are detailed herein, each an example of the different ways in which psychic warriors can pursue advanced training. Many of these tie into weapon manifestations, opening the way for martial schools of training which can be easily customised for any campaign. Others, however, focus on different aspects of the psychic mind, from the arcane-hating spellkiller to the combination of addiction and hunger which drive the psychic predator. Also in this new sourcebook you'll find information on the deadly psychic battle-trance that transforms a psychic warrior into a murderous void of thought and action. The dread secrets of psionic cannibalism are uncovered for the first time herein, revealing the strange and sordid world of those psychic warriors who hunt other psionic creatures, even other psychic warriors, to enhance their own power. Related to the strange rites of the psychic cannibal, methods of body alteration used to 'open the chakras' for greater psionic awareness are presented for those psychic warriors brave enough to make use of these strange techniques. Capping things off is a discussion of the creation, running, and upkeep of the training halls in which psychic warriors receive their training. Beyond a simple discussion of the walls and defences of these psychic fortresses, you'll find additional information about the ways in which the psychic warriors are trained and the cultures which give rise to these enclaves of psionic combatants. Bringing the book full circle, the discussion of monasteries of the mind offers advice and insight into the childhood and past of the psychic warrior. Armed with the material found in this book, a psychic warrior will have plenty of options available to him, from his days as a 1st-level neophyte through his ascension as a powerful master of the mind at 20th level and beyond. |