Psionics in Fallout

Post » Fri May 27, 2011 1:19 pm

In relation to a discussion in the FO3 General Discussion about adding magic to Fallout 3, and my own thoughts looking ahead to the release of the construction set and the possibilities it opens up I'm wondering about the topic of Psionics.

I've never played any of the previous Fallout titles, so I'm wondering if the subject of Psionics has ever been brought up before within those games; whether it's proven or disproven to exist in the FO universe, whether past characters could use Psionic powers, and what kind of powers they could manifest if they were capable of it - what restrictions existed upon their use etc. In the end I hope to make a framework for psionic type abilities (Think of the Oblivion mysticism/illusion lines, with a few destruction thrown in for good measure) in Fallout 3, so any material that already supports the idea would be a great help for making it more authentic to the game setting.
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Hayley O'Gara
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 2:34 am

nope, psionics (or any other powers like tele- and pyrokinesis) haven't been a part of Fallout universe.

Think like this- Fallout world is a style of future that people in 50's thought it would be- atomic cars, laser guns and monsters. If you're seen old sci-fi movies, then they are picturing the future just like that, and there aren't many cases of psionic powers revealed. Superheroes, yes, but superheroes were not a part of "normal" science fiction, they were just fiction.
Psionics is a more recent development, just like nanotechnology and such.

So no, psionics doesn't have any place in Fallout universe by lore, but making a mod for it? why not :)

To create your own superman-style protagonist, zooming around the wasteland, destroying bad guys with laser eyebeams (Captain Laser!!!! or Beam of Justice!!!!) or commanding a legion of radroaches to make your bidding (sinister Roachman!!!!) etcetc.

possibilities are endless, so it would be quite funny for spinoff-style gaming
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Michelle Serenity Boss
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:45 pm

nope, psionics (or any other powers like tele- and pyrokinesis) haven't been a part of Fallout universe.

Think like this- Fallout world is a style of future that people in 50's thought it would be- atomic cars, laser guns and monsters. If you're seen old sci-fi movies, then they are picturing the future just like that, and there aren't many cases of psionic powers revealed. Superheroes, yes, but superheroes were not a part of "normal" science fiction, they were just fiction.
Psionics is a more recent development, just like nanotechnology and such.

So no, psionics doesn't have any place in Fallout universe by lore, but making a mod for it? why not :)

To create your own superman-style protagonist, zooming around the wasteland, destroying bad guys with laser eyebeams (Captain Laser!!!! or Beam of Justice!!!!) or commanding a legion of radroaches to make your bidding (sinister Roachman!!!!) etcetc.

possibilities are endless, so it would be quite funny for spinoff-style gaming


This dude is just spouting off.

Yes Psionics have been a part of the dialog in many encounters, but they haven't been used as a character option, except some perks that could be considered psychic. such as empathy. Many NPCs from previous fallout games have Psychic abilitites. Such as Harkonen from Arroyo who was able to speak to you telepathicly, The Rat in Gecko also used telepathy on a grand scale., and there are many other examples.
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Emily abigail Villarreal
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 12:27 am

Psionics exists in Fallout, but almost always leads to madness.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Psyker
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ezra
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 4:58 am

nope, psionics (or any other powers like tele- and pyrokinesis) haven't been a part of Fallout universe.


Remember the Master? Big psionic guy from Fallout?

What about Hakunin in Fallout 2, contacting you miles away in visions?
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Anna Watts
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 1:06 pm

Also in RL in teh 30s 40s and 50s the US and Russian goverments spent millions on Phycic warfare studies.
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Fluffer
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:25 am

What about Hakunin in Fallout 2, contacting you miles away in visions?



Well, the visions were in your dreams, so they could also be interpreted as your own conscience talking. :)
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^_^
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 5:54 am

Fallout 1 had a perk that gave the protagonist a wierd genetic quirk that gave him HEAVY psionic resitance, mostly the ability to disbeleive illusions and such.

Anyway in fallout 1 there were three psions, all of which were quite insane, products of the masters experiments and slated for destruction. The master himself possessed psionic abilities.

Hakunin, the shaman from your village in fallout 2 apparently possessed magical abilities or psychic powers, since while traveling he'd send you visions.

So psionics, to a degree fits the fallout setting, I'm thinking there's a cabal of psychics somewhere descended from US experimental subject, they could likely unlock your character potential for some sort of quest.
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kat no x
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:52 am

Not to mention the fact that the Robobrains fire psionic blasts and talk about them as such, and the Mesmetron offers the opportunity to implant compulsions (albeit ones of variable value) into enemies minds from range.

What do people think about the option of a psionic perk for the PC - maybe a 20th level perk ("Psiborg") where you could incorporate Robobrain psionic attack tech and Mesmetron tech into your character. At 20th level, an unlimited ammo weapon isn't particularly gamebreaking (compared, say, to GRS), and while the head-crippling effects of the Robobrain attacks could be useful the shot fires slowly and isn't especially damaging. It might be a compromise between those who hate the idea of anything magical in fallout and those who like a little more supernature in their post-apocalypse.

Psiborg - Prereqs - Level 20, Cyborg Perk, Medicine 80%, Science 80%
- You upgrade your cyborg rig with technological advances scavenged from Robobrains - you are now the possixr of a brain-mounted weapon which fires shots identical to the Robobrain's psionic attack. The weapon uses no ammunition and will never degrade on its own, although damage to your head produces an identical effective loss of quality to your psionic blasts which persists until you heal your head. These blasts have a very low VATS cost and use the energy weapon skill.
- Your enhanced senses give to +4 to perception but -2 Endurance, as your pain threshold drops due to increased sensitivity.
- You also gain unlimited ammunition for the Mesmetron, should you possess it, by hooking it directly into your psionic rig.
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sarah
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 4:12 am

Yes, psionics have always been a part of the Fallout mythos. They could be manifested and utilized either through technology, drugs, and/or FEV exposure. I strongly advocate their implementation as usable abilities, likely gained through perks, in an expansion. I imagine they'd be largely INT/PER/EN dependent, with INT and/or PER determining their power (depending on the specific psychic ability), while EN determines how frequently they could be used.
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darnell waddington
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 6:55 am

Not to mention the fact that the Robobrains fire psionic blasts and talk about them as such, and the Mesmetron offers the opportunity to implant compulsions (albeit ones of variable value) into enemies minds from range.

What do people think about the option of a psionic perk for the PC - maybe a 20th level perk ("Psiborg") where you could incorporate Robobrain psionic attack tech and Mesmetron tech into your character. At 20th level, an unlimited ammo weapon isn't particularly gamebreaking (compared, say, to GRS), and while the head-crippling effects of the Robobrain attacks could be useful the shot fires slowly and isn't especially damaging. It might be a compromise between those who hate the idea of anything magical in fallout and those who like a little more supernature in their post-apocalypse.

Psiborg - Prereqs - Level 20, Cyborg Perk, Medicine 80%, Science 80%
- You upgrade your cyborg rig with technological advances scavenged from Robobrains - you are now the possixr of a brain-mounted weapon which fires shots identical to the Robobrain's psionic attack. The weapon uses no ammunition and will never degrade on its own, although damage to your head produces an identical effective loss of quality to your psionic blasts which persists until you heal your head. These blasts have a very low VATS cost and use the energy weapon skill.
- Your enhanced senses give to +4 to perception but -2 Endurance, as your pain threshold drops due to increased sensitivity.
- You also gain unlimited ammunition for the Mesmetron, should you possess it, by hooking it directly into your psionic rig.



Oh my god that sounds so amazing....why isnt this is Fallout3?
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Ernesto Salinas
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 2:02 pm

Oh my god that sounds so amazing....why isnt this is Fallout3?


Because we've already played Bioshock (though I admit some Bioshock-esque powers in FO would be kinda cool).

And I've never heard a Robobrain talk about psionic attacks... I've only been hit by lasers by them. Or is that it?
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Danielle Brown
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 8:28 am

Remember those blasts from the head area? Mind blasts.

And its been said they give nasty headaches, plus they damage the head area, brain effecting blasts.

Anyways I figure a gun would be better for the psionics thing, either that or a gauntlet, and you have certian abilities as well as a certian amount of ammo reserved per ingame day, ammo returns on its own, sleeping won't work on replenishing it so no challenge problems...

I guess the gauntlet or gun would onlyw ork if you had a special perk taken when you meet up with a group of psionic mutant and they unlock your natural abilities.
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natalie mccormick
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 9:43 am

Psionics has always been a deliberately sketchy subject in Fallout. I think the Fallout bible said that psions were extremely rare and were mostly unable to do much more than bend spoons. Unless, of course, they had been modified by some strain of FEV.

In any case, the only canon psions in the original Fallout that I recall were the ones in the Cathedral you had to talk to to get the psi-resistant headgear.
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Cody Banks
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:53 am

Because we've already played Bioshock (though I admit some Bioshock-esque powers in FO would be kinda cool).

And I've never heard a Robobrain talk about psionic attacks... I've only been hit by lasers by them. Or is that it?


They ask "do you prefer my laser beams or my psionic blast" or something like that, as well as the aforementioned swirly blue circles of head crippling annoyance, so you know it is psionic and not simply a sound-based attack like Mirelurk Kings. Turn on subtitles the next time you're fighting them, they have quite a number of lines.
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Sheila Esmailka
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 4:34 am

nope, psionics (or any other powers like tele- and pyrokinesis) haven't been a part of Fallout universe.

Think like this- Fallout world is a style of future that people in 50's thought it would be- atomic cars, laser guns and monsters. If you're seen old sci-fi movies, then they are picturing the future just like that, and there aren't many cases of psionic powers revealed. Superheroes, yes, but superheroes were not a part of "normal" science fiction, they were just fiction.
Psionics is a more recent development, just like nanotechnology and such.

So no, psionics doesn't have any place in Fallout universe by lore, but making a mod for it? why not :)


I disagree, even according to the "Always Fifties" line of F3's Canon, According to real history USSR and especially KGB all over the 50s and 60s, where studying and attempting to develop Psionic Abilities along with other ambitious projects. Moreover, the Fallout lore never denied, dismissed or pushed aside such possibilities.
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Anthony Santillan
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 8:52 am

Plus nano technology is, technically, the technology of making things smaller, so that's nothing new really.
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Anna Beattie
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 5:10 am

I think we've already established the presence of psionic powers in Fallout. Just wanted to add something:
Psionics is a more recent development, just like nanotechnology and such.

Psychic powers in science fiction go back a lot longer than the fifties, if you want to get nit-picky. (And this being a videogame forum, I'm assume that we do...) Philip K. dike started publishing in the '50's, and though he didn't much acclaim until the later part of the decade/ early '60's, many of his stories incorporated/ were based around some sort of psionics. You could go easily as far back as the 1920's to find examples of psychic phenomenon in science fiction (keeping in mind the rise of interest in the occult during this time- ie, Houdini's mission to disprove all the fake fortune tellers, etc.)

So by 1950, it was easily a widespread theme in science fiction. And depending on which books you read, fits perfectly well within the Fallout universe, if you're taking pulp science fiction as the basis for the universe there.
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gandalf
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 1:35 pm

I think psionics could be worked into Fallout 3, with a caveat - they'd need to be very rare. Perhaps only accessible by doing a quest to gain a perk that allows you access to a power or a small set of powers.

Anything too flashy - destruction and restoration spells come to mind - should probably be right out. Even stuff like invisibility and levitation wouldn't be so great - Psionics is not "magic" in the Fallout universe and you can't do extensive things with it.

I could see it being a very fun mod, though. Perhaps a small group of psions trying to stay hidden (so they don't get exterminated / enslaved by the enclave etc.) and a questline surrounding them, giving you the option to out them to someone or go along with them. The reward could easily be a choice between a couple perks that give access to different kinds of psionic powers.

They shouldn't be usable at will ala Oblivion too. Perhaps a cooldown would work good - after a certain amount of time they become available again (though this could lead to abuse of resting / waiting).

In the end I think it could be done, but it would need to be done very carefully - otherwise as an above poster said you are basically turning the game into Bioshock.
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Stu Clarke
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:30 pm

I think we've already established the presence of psionic powers in Fallout. Just wanted to add something:

Psychic powers in science fiction go back a lot longer than the fifties, if you want to get nit-picky. (And this being a videogame forum, I'm assume that we do...) Philip K. dike started publishing in the '50's, and though he didn't much acclaim until the later part of the decade/ early '60's, many of his stories incorporated/ were based around some sort of psionics. You could go easily as far back as the 1920's to find examples of psychic phenomenon in science fiction (keeping in mind the rise of interest in the occult during this time- ie, Houdini's mission to disprove all the fake fortune tellers, etc.)

So by 1950, it was easily a widespread theme in science fiction. And depending on which books you read, fits perfectly well within the Fallout universe, if you're taking pulp science fiction as the basis for the universe there.

The original brainstorming that became "Doctor Who" (1963) started with the position that it would either centrally be about Time Travel, or Psionics.... Psionics even made it into the early plan (Susan, the Docotor's Grandaughter, was to be Psionic, but the writers seemed to keep forgetting to put it in). A very well known Sci-Fi possiblity at that point in time.

Besides, havent people been seeing fortune tellers, and other psycics/Mediums for centuries (I think Mediums even goes back to Roman times...)
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Kathryn Medows
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:31 am

Besides, havent people been seeing fortune tellers, and other psycics/Mediums for centuries (I think Mediums even goes back to Roman times...)

Yeah, it's not all that terribly new a concept, in some form or another. I could be wrong, but it seems like I remember reading an H.G. Wells story a long time ago that had mind-reading in it...

I know HP Lovecraft had it in some of his stories, and he published most of his stuff in the '30's.
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chloe hampson
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 7:46 am

I think they should be put in as a quest perk that is fairly minor and believable. Have it be something like a minor telekinesis (can activate items from slightly farther away) and some new dialog options from minor mind reading.
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Jonathan Montero
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 1:37 pm

No, just no. The type of psychic powers your talking about don't really fit the setting. The few cases of psychic ability in the games resulted in insanity and were considered failed experiments. The robobrains never had any of kind of psychic abilities until F3, and even then to obtain them required that the subject be turned into a robobrain.

There are no cases of just some random person walking around with the ability to read minds or use telekinesis.
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STEVI INQUE
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 9:53 am

There are no cases of just some random person walking around with the ability to read minds or use telekinesis.

AHS-1.

Talk to him with a stupid character - thats got to be some minor psycic power there.
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Phoenix Draven
 
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Post » Fri May 27, 2011 3:49 pm

I wouldn't mind terribly seeing some sort of limited implementation in a Fallout game. Anyway, it's already been set since the first game that it's a possibility. Sure, it seems to lead to insanity, but that's something that could be overcome in some way, or worked into the storyline of a sequel. For example: suppose instead of venturing out of a Vault at the beginning of the game, you're escaping from a research institution as a lab experiment. The main character knows they have this psionic power (that of course can be upgraded with experience gain) but also that in all likelihood it will end up driving him insane. Would give a more compelling "ticking clock" to the game, I think. Finish the main quest before you go crazy sort of thing.

Obviously, drawbacks would have to be high. I think I remember reading somewhere about a proposed mod (might have been the OP) suggesting that use of any "powers" results in an accumulation of radiation, which I think makes sense. That way you have something of a balancing act in place. Plus there's already some implementation in the game mechanics (telekinesis would just be the ability to use pick up and move items at a greater distance than is already possible, for example.)

Could be somewhat compelling, I think to see something worked into a sequel (I'm assuming there's going to be a Fallout 4, of course.)
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Sheila Reyes
 
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