Psion

The psion learns the Way, a philosophy of mental discipline, to become master of his will, or innate mental power. Most aspiring psions seek out an instructor, a master of the Way. Most Athasian cities contain psionic academies where students receive instructions in exchange for money or loyal service.

Making a Psion
The psion learns the Way in order to shape his Will. The psion uses, through study called the Way, how to manifest the power inherent in his inner self. The psion is able to project this power, the Will, into creating all sorts of supernatural effects. The psion may know a limited number of ways to shape his will, but he enjoys great flexibility in how he uses his known powers.

Races: Nearly all living creatures have a latent psionic capacity, and psions are found among all sentient races of the Tablelands, and even among some creatures that are not ordinarily considered sentient.

Alignment: The search for refinement of the Way tends to draw many psions into a neutral view of the world, so most psions have one part of their alignment that is neutral. Good psions may spend their time in search of new powers, or help their village defend itself against predators, or maybe join the ranks of Merchant Houses. Evil psions may serve as agents in service of the sorcerer-kings, or as more shady agents of Merchant Houses, or simply work as mercenaries and offer their specialized services to the highest bidder. Even though many psions tend to have a neutral view of the world, they can be of any alignment.

Class Features
As in Psionics Unleashed, except where noted below:

Class Skills
Replace Spellcraft (Int) with Psicraft (Int). Athasian Shapers and Generalists replace Use Magic Device (Cha) with Use Psionic Device (Cha). Athasian Nomads remove Swim (Str) from their class skill list.

Playing a Psion
When you first learned to use psionics, you were taught to create a nexus―a point in the center of your being where physical, mental, and spiritual energy can be harnessed. It is the union of these powers that allows you to perform the remarkable feats you’re capable of.

As a psion, your choice of discipline is all-important toyou. Seers are not very powerful, if one defines power as the ability to cause immediate harm to one’s foes, but they are the most capable information gatherers of Athas. Shapers are tinkerers, creating toys and monsters out of thin air, just to dismiss them and build another. Kineticists are battlefield psionicists who are actively sought out as military auxiliaries, and is almost as good as a wizard for creating mayhem in a fight. Egoists have a wide range of useful powers: they can fight as well as a fighter, become stealthier than a thief, heal like a cleric, or change shape like a wizard. Nomads possess an array of valuable powers that can bypass almost any obstacle and confound any enemies, working with the very fabric of space, time, and reality itself to achieve his goals. Telepaths are considered by some to the most powerful psions, and most Athasians are terrified of a telepath’sability to manipulate their very thoughts.

Religion
Psions use the Way to manifest their inner powers; through long hours of meditation and extremes of the senses, they seek knowledge inward. Their power comes from inside them, so only psions from the most animistic cultures look to outside beings or religions for spiritual fulfillment.

Other Classes
Psions tend to be drawn to those like themselves. Lower-level psions tend to towards a nearly worshipful attitude towards higher level psions, curious about their mysterious training and knowledge.

Higher-level psions tend to either stay to themselves, or to try to befriend almost everyone, pressing for party leadership. Most psions tolerate priests and druids (although some psions make needling remarks about “foolish superstition”), but most psions are uneasy with wizards. Psions view wilders much in the same way that a fighter views a barbarian―untrained, erratic, and as much a danger to his companions as to his enemies.

Combat
You usually disdain combat and other primitive displays of force, but when needed, you use your impressive array of psionic powers for both attack and defense against your enemies, just as any other psionic character would.

Advancement
Most psions were strongly inclined towards a specific discipline before their ever realized they had any psionic talent. Once you have undergone your initial training, you can continue your studies on your own, much the way a wizard learn new spells.

As you attain more levels in the psion class, the most important choice you face is which powers to learn. Apsion has access to much fewer spells than a wizard, so he has to chose carefully in order to find a good mix of offensive, defensive, and utility powers.