Psychic powers are the Science Fiction equivalent of Magic, except that they supposedly depend entirely on the mental powers of the Psychic (In fact very much like many Magic systems), and by the fact that it is meant to have a concrete scientific explanation. The Psychic (or Psyker in Warhammer 40k) is usually seen as a mysterious, sometimes mentally disturbed, individual, often placed against the system, either exploited, in power, or treated much like Mages.

It is very uncommon for Psychic powers to be common enough in any system to be normal, though AD&D's Dark Sun campaign world is an interesting exception, especially since Magic and Psychics exist side by side in Athas, leading to the suspicion that the only real difference is in the system.