Mental Enhancement Powers

While most psionic powers are more active in nature, generally requiring the interaction of two or more minds to function, mental enhancement abilities are a lot more passive in their behavior. These seventeen powers either enhance an extant portion of one's normal mind, or give it an extra capability that works perfectly well even when there's nobody else for it to interact with.

D

Danger Sense
Type: Mental Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank value
Related Powers: atomic sense, auscultation, biological sense, empathy, fortuity, macro sense, precognition, self control, telepathy, zest.

Vastly improving one's performance in combat, a danger sense automatically alerts its possessor to imminent harm. While the wielder of a danger sense may not be aware just what kind of threat awaits him or her, they will usually know the direction it is coming from, and about how long they have until it strikes. Danger sense can 'see' a number of seconds into the future equal to its rank value.

This allows for a number of useful effects in battle - whether in melee or ranged combat.

A character using his or her danger sense may substitute this ability's value for their Awareness for the purposes of determining initiative and surprise, their Coordination for the purposes of dodging or weaving attacks, their Melee for the purposes of evading or feinting, their Brawn for the purposes of escaping through holds or blocking attacks, and their Fortitude for the purposes of bracing maneuvers.

If one's danger sense is possessed of a smaller power level than the rank value of these traits, it will nonetheless improve them by +1 RS for the purposes of the above uses.

E

Eidetic Memory
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value beyond one's Intellect trait
Related Powers: device generation, disguise, matter generation, organic circuitry, organism generation, ultimate skill.

Representing a super-human level of recall, eidetic memory allows its possessor to recollect sights, sounds, and other experiences with vivid clarity. Without outside influence, such as brain damage, drugs, or certain psionics, eidetickers are literally unable to forget that which they have experienced in the past. It may take them a while to recall the specific details of something obscure, but in time they can remember anything.

Eidetic memory should have a minimum rank value that is equal to one's Intellect trait +1 RS. One can either roll a rank value for it in the standard manner or 'gamble' off of their Intellect trait to determine the eidetic memory power value. Alternately, when using the point-based character generation system, simply add one point for every +1 RS eidetic memory has above its possessor's Intellect trait.

For the most part, one's power value is incidental; if time is not critical, an eideticker will eventually dredge his or her mind for any memory they need. To recall anything when time is of the essence, however, the character with eidetic memory may need to make a power ACTION roll at the Gamemaster's discretion, its difficulty dependent on how much one was concentrating when experiencing the data in question.

A red ACTION roll is necessary concerning most standard personal memories, while a blue ACTION is required when recalling less direct, knowledge based information (something read once in the distant past). Yellow ACTION rolls are only needed when drawing up incidental data, such as the faces one saw in a certain crowd months ago. Failed ACTIONs, if time is important, may be attempted again once per turn.

F

Fortuity
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: danger sense, mental invisibility, psychic invisibility.

Most characters are bound by fate. What this means is that it is relatively easy to map their futures, either in the conventional sense or with specialized abilities that can peer through time. Fortuity, however, preserves a bit of random chance in the lives of its possessors - namely, by rendering them invisible, with power rank value ability, to skills that can predetermine what they will or will not do.

Characters with fortuity may attempt an ACTION roll against abilities that another is attempting to use, whether intentionally or incidentally, to read their future. When this ACTION succeeds, such readings will tell nothing of the character or their presence in the period so viewed, which may seriously skew a prognostication - or even the use of more immediate powers, such as a danger sense.

Curiously, fortuity also has a deleterious effect on the seeming omniscience that deific entities possess within their divine realms. Fortuity will act with like ability against such deionic beings, which may prove to be quite the surprise to them when its possessor shows up on their doorstep!

G

Group Link
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 2 points per rank value
Related Powers: knowledge, mind link, sensory link, telepathy, variable skill.

A group link is a vast web of bonds between multiple individuals' conscious minds. Persons connected via group link share their thoughts and experiences through it, thus enriching the collective lives of everyone involved. Similarly, drawing upon the knowledge contained within the minds of everyone else participating in a group mind, an individual can act out their lives in a more informed, prepared fashion.

Initiating a group link requires at least one character who possesses this ability, who can form the required connections between anyone within Very Near distance of them who wishes to participate. Once established, a group's connected state is considered a permanent alteration to the linked characters' very consciousnesses. However, only characters with this power can change the actual membership of a group.

Adding individuals to or subtracting them from a group link requires a red power ACTION, assuming everyone involved in such actions are copacetic with them. Individuals unwilling to be added to a hive mind may roll a Willpower ACTION against this power rank value to resist being plugged in, while excising those from a psychic collective who don't wish to leave requires a successful power ACTION against their Willpower trait.

A group link can include a very large number of people. The maximum amount of beings allowed in a single collective is equal to group link's power rank value cubed. For instance, a rank value 2 group link can pool up to eight minds together, while one at rank value 30 can contain up to twenty-seven thousand minds, and a rank value 5000 group link can involve one hundred and twenty-five billion souls!

The effects of a group link are ever-present in one's mind. Linked characters constantly hear the thoughts of everyone they're linked to in the background of their awareness, as if standing in the middle of a verbose crowd. To blank this out for a time, a linked person must pass a blue Willpower ACTION, which will give them 1d10 turns of peace. Acquiring further quiet requires further successful ACTIONs.

The advantage of this constant din, in addition to never, ever feeling alone in the world, is that assistance in almost any matter is only a thought away. When linked to a group of high enough value, the likelihood of someone being able to help with a given situation becomes a veritable certainty, and when they are needed, such requests for help often stand out amongst the background noise of the collective's thoughts.

The simplest form this aid can take involves asking someone in the group mind to perform some action or another on their end. Such requests can be relatively random, or aimed at specific helpers. This is a great way to multiply one's efforts over the short term. Favors of this stripe are definitely kept track of by the collective, who you better believe will remember when such favors are ultimately not returned.

Slightly more complex assistance involves a helper talking the linked person through a situation, thus providing a +1 RS on any related ACTIONs. Disarming a bomb or knowing exactly where to punch an opponent becomes much easier when there's someone giving you real-time pointers, after all! This works both ways, though, and the character may be consulted on important matters now and then.

An intimate form of aid allows the helper to actually 'drive' one's body during a crisis. This lets them control the character for as long as is necessary, fully bringing their mental traits and skills to bear. While so driven, players letting other characters control their body can either turn them over to the Gamemaster temporarily, or more interestingly, play out the individual inhabiting their mind for the duration.

Most impressively, those in a group link can bend their collective focus towards a singular goal. It is here where the true 'group mind' aspect of this power makes itself apparent, with hundreds if not thousands of consciousnesses working on making something happen. When so bolstered by the group's will, individuals within gain a +2 RS on ACTIONs aimed at completing its task, or when opposing that which would prevent such.

While a group link allows numerous characters to pool their physical and mental efforts, it is possible that not every member will be on board consistently. At times like this, the downside of a group link can emerge, where the majority of said group can focus on pushing its individual components to play ball. This is effectively mesmerism, functioning at the group link rank value, against the Willpower of the coerced.

Such efforts can continue for as long as a linked character resists the will of the whole, or until the situation no longer requires their compliance. Either way, they will continue to hear the thoughts of the link, collectively shouting inside their heads to get with the program. And for those who consistently work against a group, it may have to decide whether or not their unique contributions are worth retaining.

J

Jury Rigging
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: device sympathy, kit-bashing, super invention, technical intuition.

Jury rigging is the practice of making impromptu repairs to something on the fly - most often wielding whatever tools or supplies one has on hand. This ability assists in the process, giving its wielder an intuitive grasp of what is required to make a broken item functional again, thus giving the attempted fix a much better chance of working - even when conducted with seemingly improbable materials.

The difficulty of an improvised fix depends on how seriously damaged a device is, and what one attempts a repair with. A red ACTION is necessary when applicable parts and tools are on hand, even if not specifically designed for the task in question. A blue ACTION is required when one lacks the proper tools but improvises with related parts, or lacks the parts but can pound something into place with the right tools.

A yellow jury rigging power ACTION is called for when one lacks both the parts and the tools necessary to make the repair under optimum conditions. Fixes such as these have been made famous by a legendary, mulleted television action hero, and often involve duct tape and/or wads of chewing gum.

The length of time these power-enhanced repairs last depends on a second power ACTION, made after the repair attempt succeeds. A black ACTION allows a repair to last for only 1d10 turns, while a red result extends this time to a number of turns equal to the jury rigging power rank value. Blue ACTIONs allow a fix to last for a number of minutes equal to this power rank value, while yellow ACTIONs extend this to a like number of hours.

Which might be just long enough for someone to get the jury rigged device to a proper repair bay. Maybe.

K

Kit-bashing
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: device generation, device sympathy, jury rigging, super invention, technical intuition.

The process of kit-bashing is a tried and true emergency tactic that inventors make use of when time is suddenly a critical factor. The idea is that, when one has the parts and know-how available, and a sudden need for a device-in-progress appears, they can 'kit-bash' the item involved to make it work - paring each day of development time remaining down to but a turn to produce a temporarily working prototype.

When an item is kit-bashed, it will generally only function for 1d10 turns before becoming inoperable - possibly spectacularly.

Wielding the kit-bashing power, a character can reproduce the effects of kit-bashing, making the required invention ACTION roll with either this power rank value or their Intellect trait +1 RS, whichever of the two is higher. Furthermore, the kit-basher may disregard the Fortune cost required when compressing the time spent in development that is normally called for when wielding this technological trickery.

This represents a heightened ability to improvise with technology above and beyond that of others with like intelligence.

L

Linguistics
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: animal sympathy, computer link, device sympathy, knowledge, object sympathy, plant sympathy, summoning, telepathy, transception, translation, ultimate skill, variable skill, xenoglossy.

Linguistics is the super-human ability to quickly learn new languages. These languages can come in literally any form, from spoken words to physical gestures to computer codes to pheromone signals. Once a language is mastered with this ability, the super linguist can understand any communications using it, though communicating back might be nigh-impossible if the linguist lacks the appropriate means to do so.

Characters with linguistics can master new languages amazingly fast, depending on what they've got to work with. With a proper language teacher or extensive reference materials, a language can be learned in an hour. It takes a day to master a language just from eavesdropping on one in use, or from random written samples. Exotic communication forms (data flow, pheromones) take a week or more to decipher.

A super-powered linguist can use this ability to learn a number of languages equal to its rank value. To master more, a character must either study additional language skills (during character generation or via character advancement) or raise the value of this ability higher. If they try to exceed this number, a new language learned will erase the character's knowledge of an existing one (character's choice).

The difficulty of learning a language depends on how similar it is to one's native tongue. A contemporary language from one's world adds +2 RS to a linguistics ACTION, while dead languages from such add but +1 RS. Humanoid alien languages are resolved at the linguistics rank value, while data languages and non-sentient animal 'tongues' apply -1 RS. Stranger languages (pheromone signals, photonic expression, etc.) apply -2 RS.

A more temporary use of linguistics involves breaking codes or encryption. Since this ability is defined by translating other communication systems into something the character can understand, linguistics can readily demolish any sort of attempt to obscure information from them. A super-human linguist may decrypt any encoded information at a +3 RS to either their Intellect or linguistics rank value, whichever is higher.

M

Mental Invisibility
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank value
Related Powers: fortuity, inaudibility, inodoriferous, intangibility, invisibility / self, psychic invisibility.

Functioning as a sort of psionic stealth, mental invisibility renders its possessor's mind effectively invisible. A mentally invisible individual can still be readily seen by the standard five senses, but psionic powers of any stripe will have a very hard time detecting or connecting with them. Furthermore, they are effectively transparent to Karmic energies (making them functionally resistant to such, at this power rank value).

To even spot a mentally invisible individual, a psionic ability must first pass an ACTION roll against the intensity of this power, the failure of which indicates said ability won't even recognize their presence - even when overwhelming physical evidence indicates otherwise. This is also the case against technological or other means of reading or detecting one's mind or mental energies (EEG scans and the like).

Targeting a mentally invisible individual with psionic powers is a feat performed as if conventional abilities were being used against a (regularly) invisible individual - in other words, at a -4 RS.

Mind Link
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: finding, group link, mind transfer, sensory link, telepathy.

A mind link is a powerful psychic bond between two individuals. A mind link can only be initiated between two willing people (which need not include this power's wielder), for it is a deep and personal merger of the thoughts, emotions, and sensations of those so connected. As such, a mind link is a more intense experience than mere telepathy, often reserved for the closest of friends, or those with an already intimate familiarity.

When first initiated, a mind link can only connect two individuals within Very Near range of each other, but once established this ability has no limitations of range. A mind link will function regardless of distance, ignoring geography, planar barriers, and even time itself. It may be temporarily blocked by another, outside agency, but a mind link can only be permanently severed by the intent of either linked individual.

While mentally linked, both individuals (whether or not they include the possessor of this power) experience the thoughts and feelings of one another, along with any strong sensory input one may receive - from intense flavors to extreme pain. It is incredibly difficult to hide something from a person one shares a mind link with, and doing so requires a yellow Willpower ACTION roll every day the secret is to be kept.

A mind can only be linked with one other person at any moment in time; to mind link with a different person, an existing link must be surrendered.

S

Self Control
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: danger sense, macro sense, unyielding will.

Self control is an ability exhibited by those who have a deep, personal understanding of just who and what they really are. Whether born (or created) with this intrinsic knowledge or having developed it after months (or decades) of meditation, characters with the self control power are keenly aware of themselves and their place in the multiverse. This hard-won information may or may not come with a heavy burden.

While one might expect such a person to be centered and at peace with the multiverse, the truth is that self control simply removes one's ability to delude themselves about their basic nature. Whether the character likes this nature or not is another story, and their primary motivation may very well be to either express this true self at all costs, or to work with all their might to change it (either for the better or the worse).

Assuming the character is actually wrapped up in their own existence above all else, at any rate. While some use the knowledge self control grants as the impetus to focus on oneself, others use it as the driving force behind whatever it is they want to do with their lives, whether this involves protecting the world they live in or attempting to take it over!

And for those that are more action-oriented, self control confers several passive benefits during the course of play.

For starters, those with self control have a better than normal ability to recall past events. Intently aware of their own minds, the possessors of this ability can more easily remember the many and various circumstances that led up to their current state of existence, both large and small. This allows them to recall past events and information at either the self control power value or their Intellect trait +1 RS, whichever is greater.

Similarly, once people have attained self control, they are often quite capable of acting without conscious thought. Their minds are highly disciplined, and have achieved a balance of sorts between the conscious and unconscious self. This allows them to use an initiative modifier that is based either upon this power value (as if it were an Awareness trait) or one's Awareness trait +1 RS - again, whichever is higher.

Finally, it is incredibly hard to sway someone with self control from their desired course of action, whether with mundane debate skills or overt mind control capabilities. Self control allows its wielder to resist the effects of external influence (if not actual psionic damage) at either its power value or the Willpower trait of its possessor +1 RS, whichever of these two is higher in value.

Sensory Link
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: instantaneous, maintenance or permanent (see below)
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: finding, group link, mind link, sensory projection, sensory reception, telepathy.

A sensory link is a neurological bond between two separate intelligences. Establishing such a link requires the two individuals to be within Very Near distance of each other, though once it is live, a sensory link will function regardless of distance, geography, planar boundaries, or even time itself. Note that the wielder of this ability need not be involved in such a link, though this makes a great limitation.

The two beings tied together by sensory link will share all sensory experiences, whether sight, sound, or anything else - including pain. When one of the linked individuals suffers actual damage of any type, the other will experience like Karmic damage, often reacting as if they were the person so harmed. If one of the linked persons dies, the other must pass a yellow Willpower ACTION or fall into a deep coma.

A sensory link can affect willing or unwilling targets. Those who are unwilling to be so linked to another must pass a Willpower ACTION roll against this ability's rank value to avoid its effect. If either party is unwilling, the link will only last for 1d100 turns, at which point it will dissipate (unless specifically maintained by the user of this power). Willing parties may maintain a sensory link as long as they desire, even permanently.

As is the case with a mind link, a sensory link can only connect two individuals at a time; to establish a new sensory link, an existing one must be sundered.

Spectral Freedom
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 8 points (flat cost)
Related Powers: astral projection, object projection, reformation, soul control, spectral flame control, spectral sense, teleformation.

Spectral freedom is a quality of one's consciousness that allows it to persist without inherent ties to a physical anchor. At any point, the possessor of this power can separate his or her very mind from their body, transplanting it into the astral plane. This universe is an aspect of a higher (seventh) dimension, which is coterminous with most points in space and time... as well as some both in-between and beyond.

In this state, the character's mind behaves as if it is astrally projecting. Characters with that power can interact with the consciousness of the spectrally free individual, possibly even engaging in battle if desired. In the event of such combat, one's Melee trait remains the same, though they must substitute Awareness for Coordination, Intellect for Brawn, and Willpower for Fortitude when necessary.

Furthermore, a character with spectral freedom has access to all of their knowledge if called upon to battle astrally. This means that, if forced to do so, they may bring any skill-equivalent powers to bear in combat (such as spells or psionics). Spectrally free individuals can even make use of any inherent mental powers their original body had access to, since these are usually considered a 'part' of them to begin with.

The difference between someone using astral projection and spectral freedom is that there is no time limit to the latter. While an astral form must eventually return from whence it came, a spectrally free character need not do so. One's body may not ultimately survive the experience if it isn't properly cared for (on life support, etc.), but their mind can go on existing in higher dimensions indefinitely.

This is quite an advantage upon death. When slain, the mind of the deceased character with spectral freedom will simply slough off its dead meat as if it were wandering about any other time. The trick is that it now has nowhere left to return to - which, while inconvenient in terms of interacting with the 'real' world, won't directly do anything to endanger the continued existence of one's mind.

What does threaten the life of a spectrally free individual's mind is, naturally, suffering psychic damage. If one's mind is defeated (their Mental Health is depleted), they must pass a Kill check or begin to lose Fortitude values, as would any other person. The character with spectral freedom can thus still be slain, it just takes killing their consciousness to get rid of them permanently (as much as one can slay a super-human).

Since they aren't drawn into realms of the afterlife like the ordinary deceased (unless their mind is destroyed, per the above), the spectrally free are at liberty to create all-new relationships with the living. Barring separate powers such as possession or mind transfer, these detached minds can only 'roost' in a body, interacting with its owner in their dreams (or normally, if their host possesses the spectral sense).

If such contact is unwanted, this may attract the attention of those who specialize in warding off ghosts. But most often, the spectrally free do this to benefit both themselves and their hosts, perhaps helping them out in exchange for furthering their own agendas in the world of material things. Assuming they're not blatantly using corporeal beings for their own amusements.

One reason that many experts of the occult most often confuse an individual with this power for a garden-variety poltergeist is that particularly strong-willed individuals can achieve a state of spectral freedom upon their demise. This requires a Willpower ACTION roll against rank value 100 upon the physical death of such a person, who then gains this ability in exchange for their physicality.

But for those who fear their 'final reward', or simply aren't done with whatever work they've chosen to do, this isn't such a bad deal.

Super Invention
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value beyond one's Intellect trait
Related Powers: device generation, device sympathy, jury rigging, kit-bashing, matter generation, nanotechnology generation, organic circuitry, ultimate skill.

The character with this ability is something of a technological prodigy. Above and beyond their ordinary Intellect (whether it is truly ordinary or already exceptional in some fashion), the super inventor has the ability to subconsciously create technological items leaps and bounds ahead of that which others of comparable intelligence can produce - and can do so in a fraction of the time otherwise required.

When a character with super invention is intent on inventing something, they may attempt the required Intellect ACTIONs with this ability instead - before one considers any Row Shifts provided by the knowledge normally required to make whatever one is building. This often allows the super inventor to rapidly produce items that are well in advance of anything else on their world - even if he or she can't explain how they work.

Furthermore, they can do so quickly. A super inventor may reduce the time required to invent a technology or device, subtracting this power's rank value in days from the development time required - down to a minimum of one day. Finally, due to their ability to 'get by' with extant materials, a super inventor can typically reduce the Lifestyle ACTION roll required to build something by -2 RS, greatly enabling their advancement.

Note that this ability does not remove any special requirements deemed necessary by the Gamemaster when a character attempts to build something fantastic. While super invention can short-cut a large amount of the hurdles between a character and his or her death ray (or whatever), special requirements are still an important part of this process - or else, the super inventor might never leave the laboratory!

When one first acquires super invention, a character can limit it to further enhance their technical expertise in a specific area. Limiting super invention to a general class of technology (electronics, mechanics, structural engineering) counts as a weak limitation, while increasingly narrow classifications within each area can provide ever more potent limitations, at the Gamemaster's discretion.

T

Transfixture
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 points per rank value
Related Powers: logos, mental repair, regeneration, regenerative armor, unyielding will.

A transfixture is a mental state that allows its possessor to quickly recover from psychic injuries. When in use, it allows its wielder to recover lost Mental Health at rate equal to its power value each minute. Divide this by ten to get the amount one heals each turn; a rank value 20 transfixture, for instance, heals two lost points each turn. Transfixture of less than value 10 spaces healing out over several turns.

The effects of transfixture are applied at the end of each turn (if applicable). A character may initiate the transfixture ability at any time, but it will not function on any turn where its wielder activates psionic powers of any kind. Similarly, transfixture will not help its possessor on the turn after they suffer any loss of Health, Negative Health, or Mental Health.

U

Ultimate Skill
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 8 points (flat cost)
Related Powers: eidetic memory, knowledge, linguistics, super invention, variable skill.

Characters with an ultimate skill possess the ability to use it in a super-human capacity, above and beyond what they (or anyone else, for that matter) can do through training and experience alone. While the ultimate skill can represent a sort of untutored prodigy of some kind or another, it generally assumes its wielder began with some sort of training centered on the skill in question.

In game terms, the ultimate skill allows one to use the enhanced skill at a +3 RS to its ordinary effectiveness. This Row Shift represents a drastic increase in proficiency with the skill, above and beyond anything else someone can attain through training alone. This can quickly add up with higher level skills to create a character who is in all likelihood the most proficient person on the planet with said skill.

Which is kind of the point.

Most skills may be the recipient of the 'ultimate' treatment. Those which may not include heir to fortune and student, for these are more along the lines of backgrounds than talents. Certain skills, such as leadership and performer, offer different benefits besides an RS. One should triple the benefits they provide in lieu of a mere RS, though a +3 RS is also allowed in the event that an ACTION roll is required of them somehow.

Unyielding Will
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: berserker, logos, regeneration, regenerative armor, self control, transfixture.

The power of unyielding will describes the ability to impose one's will upon their body, overriding bodily processes to curtail incoming damage to an extent. How this works is that, while unyielding will is active, its wielder possesses resistance to any form of damage - whether physical, magical, or even deific. If an effect can inflict damage, unyielding will can act to oppose it.

This opposition represents the wielder of this ability using his or her resolve to temporarily counter harm to their person, consciously preventing blood from leaking out of wounds and directly maintaining the integrity of various tissues. The power can 'soak up' an amount of damage that is equal to its power rank value, at which point it can absorb no more - at least, until the character with unyielding will relaxes this ability.

When they do so, the inflicted wounds will immediately appear across their body, albeit in a lesser form; the damage from each attack suffered will be reduced by -2 RS when it finally manifests on the character. This is representative of the triage of sorts the character performed upon the body when being wounded in the first place, their actions having actually helped to suffer less long-term harm than expected.

Once the possessor of unyielding will has released all this pent-up damage, it can again be used to absorb a like amount of pain and suffering.

Note that damage which exceeds the power rank of unyielding will affects the character normally. For example, say a character with rank value 40 unyielding will is struck with a rank value 50 attack. The power will 'absorb' forty points of that, leaving them ten points of damage. When the power is relaxed, they'll also suffer the amount they soaked up (rank value 40) -2 RS in damage as well.

X

Xenoglossy
Type: Mental Enhancement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value
Related Powers: knowledge, linguistics, translation.

In lieu of taking the time to learn a language naturally, mastering the ability to effectively read, write, and speak using it, the character with xenoglossy can simply acquire the means of doing so instantly. Upon a successful power ACTION with this ability, a xenogloss can adopt any one language of his or her choice, wielding it with a fluency equal to that of their original, native tongue.

This suddenly developed tongue is transient in nature, lasting for an amount of time equal to its power rank value in turns. A xenogloss may either repeat the use of an artificially acquired language, switch to a different language before the first has expired, or end the power's effect entirely, simply by passing another power ACTION roll whenever one of these situations comes to pass.

One means of weakly limiting xenoglossy is by having it replace the character's other language(s) while it is active, raising such a limit to strong if it cannot be aborted during its usual duration. Similarly, one can enhance this power by providing additional languages that can be temporarily acquired by it, adding one step of enhancement for each additional tongue that xenoglossy provides simultaneously.

Return to the Transnormality Treatise!