Psion

The striking fist or flashing sword pales beside a psion's focused stare. Psionic powers arise from a regimen of strict mental discipline developed over months and years of self-scrutiny and subconscious discovery. Those who overcome their personal demons, fears, and other pitfalls of intense self-reflection learn to call upon an internal reservoir of psionic power.

Characteristics

The psion draws real power from his mind. His power is a logical expression of lore attained through ongoing self-study. His aggressive powers do not freely scale as do the spells of arcane and divine casters, but he enjoys supreme flexibility in accessing those powers. A psion must choose one discipline in which to focus, at the cost of losing access to the signature powers found in other disciplines — so in a sense the psion character class is six classes rather than one. A shaper (a psion who has selected metacreativity as her discipline) is a very different character from a telepath (a psion whose discipline is telepathy).

Alignment

For a psion, psionics is a personal art. Psions look always inward, so they tend slightly toward neutrality over both chaos and law, but being neutral is not a requirement. Psions can be either good or evil.

Religion

Psions are not particularly drawn to any deity, due to their exceptional focus on their own personal potential. Psions who do revere a deity do not conform to any general choice.

Background

Those destined to be psions show signs of mental powers from the time they are just a few years old, but manifestations become especially noticeable at puberty. Unexplained noises and lights, crockery flying through the air of its own accord, and the appearance of small items out of thin air are common occurrences. Many who have the gift grow out of it, turning away from their potential. However, a few embrace their newfound special powers. Psions are often on their own, misunderstood and feared by friends and family. Sometimes, psions find others with similar abilities and form informal networks, small societies, or even tiny communes populated with individuals who all possess some psionic ability.

Races

The inborn gift for psionics is unpredictable, and it can show up in any of the common races. Of the races with a penchant for psionic ability, elans are most likely to take up the psion mantle.
Mind flayers are especially likely to become psions, since their abilities are actually components of a deeper psionic nature—they possess awesome psionic might even without taking levels in the psion class.

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