So, what are your guys thoughts? Here's how I came to considering this as a possibility:

I've made several characters who I've attempted to make into "pseudo-psychics" as a way to try a different type of build. I usually end up using these types of abilities:

Conjured Weapons (psylocke style weapons made from psionics)
Alteration Flesh Spells, Telekinesis, Detect Life.
Illusion Spells (telepathic mind control)

Shouts: Unrelenting Force (pretty much the most utilitarian shout in the game), Whirlwind Sprint, Slow Time, Marked for Death, Elemental Fury, Dismay.

Amulet of Talos and Blessing of Talos for 40% cooldown time reduction.


Now it may be a bit of a stretch, but the presence of Psionic in medievial fantasy settings has always been treated at a distance, with D&D almost always having them as a seperate optional installment (the Dark Sun campaign being the only one that had widespread psionics use), and many other medieval fantasy worlds not having psionics present at all. Psionics is generally seen as something for future fantasy settings, not medieval ones.

Now the Nords of Skyrim seem to hate magic, and love Talos (most of them). Shouts almost come off as "magic for nords" and have a completely seperate mechanic, with cooldown times and no magical enchantments you can put on items to reduce times. Fortify restoration potions are the only potions that reduce shout cooldown, but thats because almost all effects are by default restoration.


So my question is, do you guys think that shouts perhaps started out early on as psionics (being a non-spell ability) but then they decided the addition of psionics might be a bad move and changed them into a shout mechanic, or did they create them specifically to be something completely different and any parallels are purely coincedental?

I tend to think the latter, but when I've made these "psuedo-psionic" characters, I do tend to use more shouting them my other characters (who rarely use shouts).

Maybe I read your question wrong, but Shouts have always been as they are described, words of power. Psionics are more of your mental and Energy of your body to produce power or effect your surroundings. Psionics in my opinion anyway would be considered magick and spells as they are employed in the TES series, executed by physical action rather than vocalized or movement of signs.