PSI EXPEL

[mansa]

Update to "expel" skill behavior; now branches for all guilds -- Tiernan.

Tiernan, what does that mean?  Can we have more information?

Thanks!

[bardbard#4]

Sweet jesus!

[Gimfalisette]

Oh fuck yes.

[flurry]

It's in the public documentation too.

Psi Expel    (Psionics)

This ability allows your character to force other beings out of their mind, sometimes with such force as to cause damage to both sides of the link. Similar to other psionic defensive techniques, there is no option to discriminate on which mind is being expelled.

[luminary]

Update to "expel" skill behavior; now branches for all guilds -- Tiernan.

Tiernan, what does that mean?  Can we have more information?

Thanks!

ex·pel      
–verb (used with object)
1.   to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject: to expel air from the lungs; to expel an invader from a country.

2+2=4

[Delirium]

How should we handle this change IC?

[mansa]

How should we handle this change IC?

That's actually what answers I'm looking for.  Sorry, I should of said that at the beginning of the post.

[Coat of Arms]

Does the branching work properly for characters who have already maxed out their two regular pisonic skills? I'm fairly sure I have, at least there has been no visible skill gain for RL months which leads me to believe I can advance no further with contact and barrier, but I haven't got expel.

[Gimfalisette]

Try failing at the two you've already got. See what happens.

[Coat of Arms]

That's the first thing I tried, it didn't work. Maybe the skills aren't maxed out after all.

Edit: Seems to work after all.

[Tiernan]

I'm going to take the long route.  If you're impatient, skip to the last paragraph and then come on back to the top.  

For those of us old enough to remember psionics "back in the day", you'll recall that everyone had the contact, barrier, and expel skill.  I even remember one other skill which I omit from this discussion deliberately because it is IC-sensitive.  (I ask that those who know which skill I'm referring to not mention it as well, thanks). Of course expel wasn't all that robust at the time, seeing as there wasn't such a thing as stun-points and the damage it applied was particularly severe.  The skill wasn't used much for the obvious reason that it had a tendency to inflict grievous pain.  When stun-points came in, it got a small face-lift and had a tendency to inflict moderate pain and grievous mental anguish instead.  Overall, not really an incentive to use the skill.

I don't exactly remember when the skill was taken off the guild skill-trees, although I think it was probably around the time that Azroen started working on the psionics system.  It didn't seem to get any new attention during that part of the psionic system lifespan either, as I think Azroen's focus was on expanding the limited skills in the guild.

When I did a major revamp of the entire psionics system, this was one of those legacy skills that I also parked off to one side while I focused on improving the guild and adding some consistency to the entire psionic system.   At the risk of sounding boastful, I think the psionics system we have today is pretty freaking cool.  Of course there was this bastard step-child expel skill that sat around being ignored or, when used, would reveal the expelling PC as a psionicist.  Again, not really any incentive to use the skill.  I'd always intended to come back to fixing the expel skill, but it's one of those projects that got put on a back-burner until I have the time and motivation to pick it up, dust it off, and work on.  Which is how we got to these changes that went in this week.  I've always intended to return expel back as a common ability of the Way, as it was in days of old.

IC, the expel ability should considered as common as contact and barrier.  It's a basic component of the Way and has naturally developed and evolved.  It isn't some grand new phenomenon that has suddenly expanded the mental abilities of the general populace.  It's always been this way.  I also think it's safe to say that, in general, it would be considered rude to get thrown out of someone else's mind, as it is a particularly aggressive and unpleasant experience.  However, I will leave that up to you folks to decide how your character feels about being shoved out.

[Tisiphone]

Can you throw a condensed version of this last paragraph, specifically the retroactive IC ramifications, to the staff announcements forum, in case people don't dig this far for it? Thanks.

[slipshod]

so if we have an older character who should already have this and be pretty decent at it, can we request the skill rather than wait for it to branch and start from scratch?

[Tiernan]

No, please do not request a skill boost.  With changes like this we do not show preferential treatment.  Understandably you could make a reasoned argument for having a skill boost, however we prefer to keep everyone on the same level and avoid any potential instances/claims of favoritism or unfair treatment.

[Yokunama]

Yersh! I always wanted to use this again!

[Vettrock]

Can you throw a condensed version of this last paragraph, specifically the retroactive IC ramifications, to the staff announcements forum, in case people don't dig this far for it? Thanks.

perhaps in the motd as well for those that don't read the forums as much?