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Malhavoc
Press
Chat Transcript: Hyperconscious
July
22, 2004 — 5 p.m. PST
 Last
week in our chat room we discussed psionics and Hyperconscious
with designer Bruce R. Cordell. Thanks to everyone who attended
and asked questions! And thanks as well to Matt Locke for
moderating and to Conrad Hubbard sending us this transcript*.—Monte
Galhavoc
Welcome to the Hyperconscious chat, everyone! Bruce,
would you like to give us a little rundown of what you were
trying to accomplish with your new psionics book, the first
to support the Expanded Psionics Handbook?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Sure, Sue... There are a couple things that I wanted to
accomplish with Hyperconscious. The first, as you've
just indicated, is that I wanted to make available at least
one Psionics 3.5 adventure that used the rules of the Expanded
Psionics Handbook. Secondly, I wanted to create an adventure
with which I could furnish new powers, feats, monsters,
and so on -- so much so that the adventure would be a sourcebook,
too. Thirdly, I wanted room to explore the concept of the
Dark Plea, which is a creature that has shown up some of
my previous Malhavoc books. And finally, it was a good place
to update all the previous psionic books that I've penned
for Malhavoc to 3.5.
Monte
Cook
Lots of people were really intrigued with the Dark Plea,
myself included.
Bruce
R. Cordell
As a matter of fact, so was I. I wanted a place to flesh
it out, even for myself, to see where it would lead :-)
Going back to the adventure -- I also wanted to mess around
with the idea of dream as it interfaced with psionic rules.
I felt that there was a lot of room there, so I created
the sub-dream realm of the Shallows. It seemed a good place
to use my own rules, without necessarily tying anyone down
in case there were alternative dream rules they wanted to
pursue.
Galhavoc
What I really like about the Dark Plea is that everything
it does, it does to ensure the continuing likelihood of
its own future existence -- even using the realm of dream
to do so.
Bruce
R. Cordell
The
concept of a future being reaching back to assure its eventual
creation is one that has popped up here and there in fiction.
I like it, too :-).
Matt
Locke
For a gaming group where only one person is interested in
psionics, and there is little focus on psionics as well,
how much information in Hyperconscious is there for
such a person/gaming group?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Well, first,nonpsionic adventurers can go on the adventure.
Second, the completely new material is presented in themed
chapters. So if all you want is access to the new powers,
feats, prestige classes, and so on, you can just use those
chapters. The new material is about half the page count,
right Sue?
Galhavoc
Yes, just about. :)
Bruce
R. Cordell
So, Hyperconscious gives you about 20 pages out of
45 of just new psionic material that any player who likes
psionics might want.
Matt
Locke
Do you have any favorites among the feats/powers/etc. that
you created for this book? if so, could you highlight what
they do?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Favorites... let me consider.... I really like the quietus
and the awakened dreamer prestige classes. The awakened
dreamer character has shorn his or her lids in an attempt
to fuse waking and dream, to gain great power. I also enjoyed
updating a lot of the material to 3.5 sensibilities. Since
psionics has a different sort of base philosophy behind
it, the way powers work and the way feats work had to be
rethought, one at a time. The latent psi feats are also
sort of interesting, and a concept that can go far. There
is an example of these sorts of feats on The
Stuff portion of Malhavoc's website. Oh, and one last
thing -- I created a suite of powers that allows someone
who wants to look at an evil item temporary isolation from
the nastiness that really powerful evil will otherwise hit
you with... at least for a little while.
litorian
The blade manifester is listed as a variant prestige class,
but it's not in the Expanded Psionics Handbook or
Hyperconscious, could you tell me where the original
is?
Bruce
R. Cordell
The blade manifester isn't a variant on an existing prestige
class -- it is a prestige class that soul knives can take.
It's "variant" in the sense that the soulknife was originally
a prestige class in Psionics 3.0, but then a class in Psionics
3.5 (Expanded Psionics Handbook) -- this prestige
class flavors the class a little more like the original.
Monte
Cook
So, I know he's not a psionicist, but tell us about your
most current RPG character.
Bruce
R. Cordell
Archinemus, you mean? Archinemus is a "merchanteer,"
a character I play in Monte's Ptolus
game. I am the driving force behind the party's purchase
of a magic item and oddities shop. Sounds prosaic, until
you realize all the various crimelords in the city wanted
a piece of the action, but we beat them too it. They're
not happy. Recently, he also became possessed by a compulsion
to release an ancient god of lightning and misfortune (for
non-worshipers). I happily hoodwinked the other party members
and released said god (or, godling, I suppose). Now, I carry
around a lightning-charged "skivver" (essentially a scimitar),
so long as I proclaim to be the champion of this god. We'll
see where that leads. I could go on, but those are the essential
bits.
Monte
Cook
Here's a more on-topic question. When you begin something
like Hyperconscious, or any product, do you have
an idea for the feel of the book and the general contents,
or do you start in and see where the material takes you?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Well, I always generally know the "shape" of where I want
things to go. But often, the particulars, or even wide swathes
of the plot, are unknown to me at the outset.
Monte
Cook
Has a product ever surprised you in where it's gone by the
time you're done?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Usually, about halfway through the project (if a story-based
project), plot lines will suddenly gel, and I'll have that
"eureka!" moment, and then proceed happily to the end. Almost
every adventure I've written has surprised me at the end.
Or, as I said, somewhere in the middle, when I realize where
things are going. But, it's always good to start with approximations
of the plot. That way, everything else are just refinements,
and doesn't require a lot of rewriting.
Monte
Cook
You seem to default to "adventure" style writing in your
answers. Is that your favorite thing to work on?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Yes,
I really enjoy products with strong story elements. Adventures
are at the top of the list, but many projects can have story-based
information. Actually, I find that good mechanical "crunch"
can fall directly out of interesting story design.
Wild
Gazebo
If you weren't surprised at some point, would you still
write?
Bruce
R. Cordell
I don't think I would, Wild Gazebo. Those moments when the
great ideas suddenly appear in my head as if placed there
by some other force (presumably, my subconscious) are really
great. It probably seems even more spectacular because of
my caffeine habit :-)
Litorian
Will the print version of Hyperconscious be hardcover
or softcover?
Bruce
R. Cordell
I believe it will softcover.
Galhavoc
It's softcover, yes. We hear that it should be at Gen Con!
Bruce
R. Cordell
160 pages. I'm looking forward to getting my own copy :-)
Monte
Cook
Can you think of an example of a cool mechanic that came
out of a story development or story related issue?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Well, just a few days ago when I wrote the new feats for
The Stuff...
I was thinking about dreamselves, and what would happen
if you met yourself dreaming. While there is a LOT of room
in that wondering for various things, the feat that eventually
came out of it was Vigilant Dreamself.
wizofice
Bruce, there have been a lot of changes in psionics recently.
Could you summarize how you see the psion fitting into a
party or campaign now? What's their role?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Their role is the same as it was in 3.0 -- an alternative
to the wizard or sorcerer in the sense that psions derive
their powers from their bodies. This was better realized
in 3.5 with the augmentations and psionic focus, which goes
a long way to distinguish the psion not only flavorfully
from wizards, but also mechanically. The 3.0 method was
also mechanically different, but created some problems in
accessing cross-discipline powers.
Matt
Locke
Bruce, how do you feel about the Eberron setting
having psionics written into it from the beginning? Do you
think it's a step forward for psionics (to be more integrated
with the rules, instead of just as some "add-on" to the
rules)?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Definitely a step forward! I worked with James Wyatt and
others because the Expanded Psionics Handbook, while
further along, was being written while Eberron writing
was beginning. It was interesting to see where things were
going. Actually, psionics will show up in more and more
books, beyond even Eberron. But, I am particularly
happy with how psionics turned out there. The Kalashatar
are a cool race, being partly incorporeal psionic entities
:-)
Monte
Cook
What's on the horizon right now for you? I know your Planar
Handbook just came out. Can you tell us about anything
else in the future?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Hmm, let's see... Probably only in vague generalities, since
nothing I'm working on for Wizards appears in any catalogues
yet. I can say that I'll be doing another novel for Wizards,
but I haven't even started to write that yet. I'm working
on a couple books simultaneously -- one that deals with
very special items, and the other, which is an Eberron
book. Oh, I just remembered, I also wrote an Eberron
adventure, which will come out sometime in the future.
wild
gazebo
When you write a game product, do you feel bound in any
way? I always get the impression it would be like writing
an instruction manual or a tourist guide, with a bit of
creative flavour. Do you ever feel stifled creatively?
Bruce
R. Cordell
Every book is different... Sometimes I want to go a certain
way and am argued out of it. Most often, though, I pretty
much can do what I want. When you first sit down to a new
project, you feel as if the world is your oyster because
the possibilities are so endless. Most of the products that
come on the schedule [at Wizards] are products that all
of us have sat down to brainstorm as to what we think would
be cool. Then, if I have a favorite, I lobby for it. So,
except in some instances, I don't feel creatively caged
:-)
wild
gazebo
But are you overly constrained by format?
Bruce
R. Cordell
I guess there is some constraint offered by format. The
thing to do then is to come up with something completely
new that you can create your own format for. That's what
I did in Planar Handbook, with substitution levels
and touchstone feats. Of course, now those are new formats
that other people might be constrained by, but so it goes.
(Sorry, that's off topic to this Hyperconscious chat!)
Lanzaren
Do you enjoy writing the crunchy bits for rule mechanics,
or the flavor for background and story?
Bruce
R. Cordell
I like the flavor more, but I do really get a charge out
of coming up with what (I think) is a particularly elegant
piece of rule mechanics, too.
Matt
Locke
Okay, that looks like that'll be all for tonight. I'd like
to thank Monte, Sue, and especially Bruce for taking time
to have this chat with us all. ^_^
Monte
Cook
Thanks, Bruce!
Bruce
R. Cordell
Thanks for setting us up, Matt! And thanks for everyone
who showed up with questions :-)
Galhavoc
Thanks, everyone!
Monte
Cook
Thanks for coming, guys. 'Night
everyone!
*
Transcript edited for style and clarity.
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