Display

A display was a secondary effect of the manifestation of a psionic power. Several categories of display were known: auditory, material, mental, olfactory, and visual, though many powers had their own displays specific to them.

Effects
A display occurred in addition to the intended primary effect of a power. Most powers had a display of some kind, and some could have multiple displays, though they typically had only one or two, while a few had none. However, while manifesting their powers, any manifester could choose to suppress all displays through an act of concentration; this was harder for higher-level powers and failure would see the displays appear as normal. Dismissing a power also caused a display. A witness skilled in psicraft could identify a power from the display it produced.

Displays were minor enough to have no hindrance in battle or daily life, but they were noticeable as the flashy special effects of psionics use, though users of dimension door might augment its visual display to cause a blinding flash to dazzle onlookers or a few kineticists might learn to enhance their energy powers to produce spectacular auditory or visual displays that could dazzle a target. Multiple displays occurring at once were not cumulative, but would briefly increase in intensity before returning to a normal level. From this, one skilled in psicraft could determine the number of active powers in an area.

Auditory
A standard auditory display was a bass hum sounding similar to many deep voices heard all at once. Within a second, it quickly rose in volume from barely audible to a shout loud enough to be heard away. The manifester could suppress this to a soft noise one might struggle to hear within only. The sound was centered either at the manifester or at target of the power, as the manifester chose.

Material
A standard material display saw the target or area momentarily covered in a sheen of ectoplasm, glistening or shimmering but translucent in appearance. This was a seepage from Astral Plane. It was inert and evaporated in several seconds.

Mental
A standard mental display was a subtle chime sensed in the minds of those nearby; this normally rang once, but it could ring as long as the power lasted if the manifester wished. It could be "heard" up to and was centered either at the manifester or at target of the power, as the manifester chose.

Olfactory
A standard olfactory display produced a peculiar odor. No one could specify it exactly and everyone described it differently; the same display might smell like honeysuckle to one witness and burning wood to another. In any case, it was strangely familiar and prompted an old memory to be briefly recalled. Beginning at the manifester, the odor spread for in each direction, but dissipated in under a second, though it could remain as long as the power lasted if the manifester wished.

Visual
A standard visual display had two effects. First, in all cases, the manifester's eyes glowed with silver fire for the duration of the power. Second, a flash of light of rainbow hue burst from them but dissipated only away, unless the power had its own specific visual display or created something visible.

Backgrounds
These set displays for psionic powers are specific to 3 and 3.5-edition psionics, and do not have a specific counterpart in other editions, where powers may or may not have descriptions of their effects.