Hey everypony I just saw a story a little while ago in which the human protagonist has psychokinetic abilities and got to wondering about the idea of using psionic abilities for an HiE O.C. I have toyed with the idea off and on myself and I personally do have resources to fall back on to write them in a well informed way.

And while it is a good alternative to having human protagonist learn magic to defend themselves, or others when it's needed. It can also be done in such a way that it is badly overpowered just like magic use. And if you don't know what that can look like look up the anime Akira for a reference.

And that specific example for those of you that know it is in fact a reason why I've so far avoided any attempts to use a psionic O.C. in any HiE stories so far. So I would like some input on ways I can make said O.C. have and use such abilities without them being overpowered and intrusive to a narrative breaking extent.

I'm already aware that using only one power category cuts down on the risk but even doing so can get really O.P. really quickly as well. What I am aiming for to be clear is to have the abilities be pronounced and at the forefront when needed but take the character into god like power levels without over limiting the abilities at the same time.

In other words I need some feedback on how to strike a good balance.

6271583 This is exactly the reason I use the rules from tabletop role-playing games (primarily Dungeons & Dragons) to chart out what my characters can do, to the point of actually writing a character sheet for them. Since RPGs have to have a framework that at least attempts to balance what character powers and abilities can do, that makes them ideal for developing limits on characters without crippling them. It also provides a firm foundation for the hows and whys of the way powers work, though you'll still want to make that clear within the context of the story so that the readers can understand them as well.

6271629
I do in fact have access to that specific book across two editions of D&D so I will definitely be using it as a reference.

though you'll still want to make that clear within the context of the story so that the readers can understand them as well.

This is where I expect having the most trouble actually. Context for these things is critical and sometimes difficult to provide.