Psipathic Powers

Psipathic powers are mainly those which allow their wielder to pass information from one mind to another. This can involve receiving or transmitting thoughts or sensory information, possibly imposing such upon the consciousness of one or more individuals. Psipathic abilities also involve attacks on the very minds of other sentient beings, either to simply inflict damage or alter their very nature.

Psipathic arts are naturally the 'heavy hitters' of this discipline. They involve direct attacks on the minds of others, whether 'just' dishing out Karmic damage or perhaps permanently altering the very function of one's consciousness. Many arts are enhanced forms of 'lesser' psipathic powers, often in one highly useful fashion or another, while others expand one's very consciousness to other locations or planes of existence.

Those psipathic powers considered talents are often in the middle ground between the discipline's arts and skills. Some of these are more specialized versions of psipathic arts, while some are expanded versions of the skills. Others, like mind control, are the root of many other powers which use it as a baseline. Still more often serve as handy sensory apparatus that function at an almost irrational range.

Skills in the psipathic discipline of power are often subtle, even indirect in nature. These abilities can often be defined as influences more than controls. Many of these abilities allow one to steer another towards certain actions - but don't necessarily compel them; they simply set the stage for aberrant behavior on the part of their victims. Mind you, some are lesser forms of greater psipathic powers.

The following is a summary of all forty-nine known psipathic powers, collected into one place for convenience - without the other eight disciplines getting in the way. This serves as a great tool for traditional psis focusing on the psipathic discipline, or perhaps someone attempting to build a natural or believer psi whose abilities focus on powers of this nature.

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A

Astral Projection
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

This potent ability allows a character to separate his or her consciousness from their physical body. This consciousness then moves into the astral plane, a realm of the mind adjacent to most other dimensions. From there, the character's mental projection, or astral form, can move about freely at great speed. Unencumbered by mass, a consciousness moves through the astral plane as if it were interplanetary space.

This allows a body to rapidly project their mind anywhere on earth, and often far beyond, to observe events. As it is adjacent to our reality, the astral plane can be used to spy upon others with ease, doing so invisibly. Unless a body has the ability to see into the astral realm or otherwise sense minds in their vicinity, he or she won't be aware that they're being observed from another plane.

Projecting astrally is an action which must be maintained consciously, but this may be done for quite a while; astral projection has a maximum safe duration equal to its rank value in hours. For example, a projector with rank value 50 astral projection may shed his or her consciousness and let it wander the earth for just over two days at a time. Food and water become an issue during longer projections, however.

This is because, while astrally projecting, the character's body remains in a coma-like state, burning little energy (per the Trance skill). It must have air to breathe, but it is otherwise inert, and need not consume food or water until the projection is complete. After this point the astral projector, if they've been gone for a good long time, may need to consume large amounts of food and water to recover.

While astral, the character effectively has no body - a seemingly obvious fact - which may cause complications in the event of astral combat. While astral, one's Melee remains the same, though they must substitute Awareness for Coordination, Intellect for Brawn, and Willpower for Fortitude when necessary. Any magic, psionic, or deionic items a projector possesses will 'make the trip' with them, as a part of their self-image.

Mind you, unless sentient themselves, such implements function on the astral plane at a -1 RS.

While astral bodies can fight each other directly, they cannot exert physical force on the 'real' world. They may wield abilities of the psionic sort against those on the material plane, such as telepathy or mind control, and they can control magic, psionic, or deionic items on their person from afar if necessary. But working against the physical world directly requires the use of the dimensional interface ability.

This allows astral effects to be wielded against physical targets normally, though the reverse is also true; an astrally projecting character who has interfaced his mind with normal reality can attack targets within, but those targets can attack back as well.

Auscultation
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Engaging in conversation with others psionically involves telepathic contact between two or more individuals, allowing for proper, back and forth communication for all parties involved. Simply eavesdropping on the thoughts of others, however, is a much simpler affair. People are always thinking things all the time, and aren't really attempting to hide or cover up what's going through their heads at all.

Auscultation involves opening up one's mind to the random radiation of thoughts from all individuals within one's immediate area, as is defined by Very Near range. While auscultation is active, its wielder can 'hear' all the thoughts occurring within this ability's range, which can often be a very large jumble of gibberish; think of all the random thoughts that occur to you in a given moment, and multiply that by many people at once.

However, auscultation has a variety of uses. For one thing, the wielder of this ability can 'scan' all of these ambient thoughts when trying to find a singular person in a crowd. By listening in on every thought everyone present is inadvertently broadcasting, the wielder of auscultation can pick out the thought (or range of thoughts) that belong to the person he or she is looking for, even if they're not sure who that person is.

A passive power by nature, auscultation requires no ACTION roll if the persons being listened in on are unaware of this ability's use, or are not guarding their thoughts any. If someone suspects their minds are being listened in on, however, they may attempt a Willpower ACTION roll against this power's intensity to shield their thoughts from its use. If successful, the wielder of this ability won't know anything has been 'covered up'.

If this action fails, though, they'll realize someone's trying to hide something from them, and can then try to narrow down just who it is - and why!

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Caesura
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Wielding caesura, a character may introduce tiny pauses, or breaks, in the conscious function of one's brain. These pauses do not interrupt whatever actions the target is undertaking, so much as slow them down... considerably. When invoked, caesura reduces the target's effective initiative by five (5), as well as preventing them from attempting more than one attack or defensive maneuver per turn.

The target of caesura may resist this ability every turn it is applied to his or her person, doing so with a Willpower ACTION roll against the caesura ability's rank value. Caesura only functions within Very Near range of its wielder.

Charm
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

A charm is a powerful, aversive psychic aura that its wielder may use to avoid undue harm. It works by generating a field of 'good will' towards the wielder that affects everyone within range of this ability, as is determined on the Near range table. Those within the area effect of this power will become positively disposed towards the charmer, if they fail a Willpower ACTION against this ability's rank value.

What this means is, though they can't quite put their finger on the reason why, affected targets will find they have a deep liking for the charming individual. This prevents them from harming or acting against the character maintaining a charm in any fashion. Furthermore, they will remain unconvinced that they have been affected in any manner, and will actively resist arguments to this effect.

Charm counts as one spell or psionic for the purposes of maintenance. It has no 'grace period' like some abilities do; once cast, the character producing the charm must actively keep it going or it will cease. Of course, maintenance may not be necessary, as affected targets will remain charmed until they can eventually pass a Willpower ACTION against charm's rank value, which they may attempt each turn.

This ACTION is never 'impossible', but if the rank value is high enough, it can usually keep charmed individuals 'friendly' most of the time. Once charmed targets have shaken off the charm, they may then behave normally, but will not be aware that their behavior has been modified. Subsequent attempts to charm a target in a given encounter, once a charm wears off the first time, are at a -2 RS.

All of this assumes that the charmer has not, in turn, harmed those affected by this ability. If a charmed target is attacked by the person who charmed him or her, the power will no longer affect them for the duration of this encounter - and the target so attacked will be keenly aware that their mind has been tinkered with!

Clairalience
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clairalience allows its wielder to smell things far, far beyond the range of their natural sensory apparatus. This power works by crafting artificial, transient mental constructs that act as invisible, surrogate noses (or whatever) in the area a clairalient wishes to smell. These 'pretend' noses are disembodied from the wielder of this ability, usually by a staggeringly wide margin, but function as if their creator were actually present.

This power functions on the Far range table, allowing the person using it to observe events in far-flung locations in real time, regardless of the laws of physics or even common sense. The nature of clairalience allows it to defeat most methods of disguising one's scent, as the surrogate olfactory organs can quickly move about to determine the source of would-be countermeasures - and then disregard them.

While using clairalience, the character with this ability can smell anything that they otherwise could in the observed area, but cannot directly affect it at all. Similarly, events occurring in the observed area cannot directly harm the clairalient, though sensory overload (from, say, noxious odors) can happen. No damage or poison can transfer through this link, but a particularly nauseating scent can temporarily sicken a clairalient.

The activation of clairalience 'mutes' one's normal olfactory sense, presenting the power's stimulus to its user instead. The clairalient's other senses function just fine, however, so while one cannot smell imminent danger approaching them while this ability is active, they can still hear, see, feel, or even taste it, whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance.

Clairaudience
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clairaudience allows its wielder to hear things far, far beyond the range of their natural sensory apparatus. This power works by crafting artificial, transient mental constructs that act as invisible, surrogate ears in the area a clairaudient wishes to hear. These 'pretend' ears are disembodied from the wielder of this ability, usually by a staggeringly wide margin, but function as if their creator were actually present.

This power functions on the Far range table, allowing the person using it to observe events in far-flung locations in real time, regardless of the laws of physics or even common sense. The speed of sound is no detriment to clairaudience, and in fact, with a high enough clairaudience rank value, the wielder of this ability could eavesdrop upon events occurring on other planets - live, right as they are happening!

While using clairaudience, the character with this ability can listen in on anything that they could otherwise hear in the observed area, but cannot directly affect it at all. Similarly, events occurring in the area listened to cannot directly harm the clairaudient, though sensory overload (from, say, loud noises) can happen. No damage can transfer through this link, but effects such as hypnotic music can function via clairaudience.

The activation of clairaudience 'mutes' one's normal audio sense, presenting the power's stimulus to its user instead. The clairaudient's other senses function just fine, however, so while one cannot hear imminent danger approaching them while this ability is active, they can still see, smell, feel, or even taste it, whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance.

Clairgustance
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clairgustance allows its wielder to taste things far, far beyond the range of their natural sensory apparatus. This power works by crafting artificial, transient mental constructs that act as invisible, surrogate tongues (or whatever) in the area a clairgustant wishes to sample. These 'pretend' tongues are disembodied from the clairgustant, usually by a staggeringly wide margin, but function as if their creator were actually present.

This power functions on the Far range table, allowing the person using it to observe events in far-flung locations in real time, regardless of the laws of physics or even common sense. While a sense of taste is generally restricted to physical contact with one's person, clairgustance allows one to vicariously sample the flavors of items and substances (and even people) without physically interacting with them!

While using clairgustance, the character with this ability can taste anything that they could otherwise sample in the observed area, but cannot directly affect it at all. Similarly, materials in the remote area cannot poison or harm the clairgustant, though sensory overload (from, say, intense flavors) can happen. No damage can transfer through this link, but particularly disgusting tastes can temporarily sicken a clairgustant.

The activation of clairgustance 'mutes' one's normal sense of taste, presenting the power's stimulus to its user instead. The clairgustant's other senses function just fine, however, so while they may be tasting cakes on the other side of the planet, a clairgustant may not readily be ambushed while using this ability - unless, of course, the flavors they experience are just that engrossing.

Clairtouchence
Type: Psikinetic Skill, Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clairtouchence allows its wielder to touch things far, far beyond the range of their natural sensory apparatus. This power works by crafting artificial, transient mental constructs that act as invisible, surrogate fingers (or whatever) in the area a clairtouchent wishes to feel. These 'pretend' digits are disembodied from the clairtouchent, usually by a staggeringly wide margin, but function as if their creator were actually present.

This power functions on the Far range table, allowing the person using it to observe events in far-flung locations in real time, regardless of the laws of physics or even common sense. While a sense of touch is generally restricted to physical contact with one's person, clairtouchence allows one to vicariously feel items and substances (and even people) without resorting to physically interacting with them!

While using clairtouchence, the character with this ability can feel anything that they could otherwise touch in the observed area, but cannot directly affect it at all. Similarly, materials in the remote area cannot harm the clairtouchent, though sensory overload (from, say, complex textures) can happen. No damage can transfer through this link, but particularly extreme tactile input can momentarily distract a clairtouchent.

Activating clairtouchence 'mutes' one's usual sense of touch, presenting the power's stimulus to its user instead. A clairtouchent's other senses function just fine, however, so while they may be dipping 'pretend' fingers into the sun or running them along monowire, a clairtouchent isn't easily ambushed while using this ability - unless they're so engrossed in what they're touching that they aren't otherwise paying attention, that is.

Clairvoyance
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clairvoyance allows its wielder to see things far, far beyond the range of their natural sensory apparatus. This power works by crafting artificial, transient mental constructs that act as invisible, surrogate eyes in the area a clairvoyant wishes to see. These 'pretend' eyes are disembodied from the wielder of this ability, usually by a staggeringly wide margin, but function as if their creator were actually present.

This power functions on the Far range table, allowing the person using it to observe events in far-flung locations in real time, regardless of the laws of physics or even common sense. The speed of light is no detriment to clairvoyance, and in fact, with a high enough clairvoyance rank value, the wielder of this ability could spy upon events occurring on other planets - live, right as they are happening!

While using clairvoyance, the character with this ability can view anything that they could otherwise see in the observed area, but cannot directly affect it at all. Similarly, events occurring in the viewed area cannot directly harm the clairvoyant, though sensory overload (from, say, bright lights) can happen. No damage can transfer through this link, but effects such as hypnotic lights can function via clairvoyance.

The activation of clairvoyance 'mutes' one's normal visual sense, presenting the power's stimulus to its user instead. The clairvoyant's other senses function just fine, however, so while one cannot see imminent danger approaching them while this ability is active, they can still hear, smell, feel, or even taste it, whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance.

Clarity
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Clarity is a tool that allows its possessor to free others from various effects that prevent clear thinking. When invoked, clarity can cleanse the effects of emotion or mind control, or even possession - if it affects how a target might behave, clarity can usually help. When attempting to clear the head of a target, the wielder of clarity must pass an ACTION roll against the intensity of the outside influence.

If successful, clarity will remove the taint of such powers, and will protect the target from further manipulations, at its power rank value, for 1d10 turns. Optionally, the user of clarity can maintain this ability, providing a target (say, an ally) with continuing protection from external influence if desired. Clarity only works within Very Near range of those it would help.

Combat Edge
Type: Metapsi Skill, Psipathic Skill
Duration: encounter
Cost: 4 points (flat cost)

By means of this ability, a combatant can gain an uncanny insight into the actions of his or her foes. Once invoked, combat edge will begin to 'read' its target, and after three turns of combat in an encounter, its wielder will have a 'good idea' just what their opponent will be planning at any given moment. Once the target is read, the combat edge ability will provide its wielder a +1 RS on all ACTION rolls made against said enemy.

This particular bonus only lasts for one combat session, but if the character using combat edge has wielded the ability on an antagonist in a previous encounter, he or she can 'read' them after only one turn on subsequent activations.

Crowd Control
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank value

An advanced form of mesmerism, crowd control can sway the actions of a large array of people simultaneously. When invoked, crowd control will prompt a Willpower ACTION roll against this ability's intensity upon everyone within Very Near range, save for exceptions of its wielder's choosing (such as allies or whatever). Those who fail this ACTION fall into a suggestive, hypnotized state immediately.

Once this state is achieved, the targets may be forced to do anything in regards to their immediate behavior (leave the building now), or instead suffer the implantation of a post-hypnotic suggestion (you want to vote for me this November).

If in the form of a command, crowd control will last only as long as it takes the targets to complete the chosen directive, at which point individuals so affected will resume control over their actions. A suggestion implanted by crowd control, on the other hand, will last for a number of days equal to this ability's rank value, and can even override the target's normal ethics and beliefs on a yellow ACTION roll.

Although victims of crowd control are usually zombie-like and unresponsive while under the influence of commands, they will behave perfectly normal while suffering from a suggestion - at least until they act on it. Afterwards, they will resume normality, though such controlled individuals may wonder just what got into them to make them act so out of character.

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Daydreams
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Wielding this useful power, one may drop the mind of his or her target into a relatively blank, daydreaming state. If affected by this ability, an individual is not quite asleep, but isn't really awake, either. They may be thinking about nothing at all, or may give in to flights of fancy, possibly envisioning any number of pleasant fantasies to pass the time. In this state, a daydreamer won't be all that aware of their surroundings.

A character may inflict a daydreaming state on anyone within Near range who fails a Willpower ACTION against this power's rank value. Typically, this mental state will last for 1d10 turns, and unlike most telepathic influences, one does not gain an additional resistance ACTION each subsequent turn. This is because one can normally be 'snapped' out of a daydreaming state with a bit of effort - a good slap is usually sufficient.

Otherwise, one might spontaneously drop out of a daydream if assaulted by similar, intense sensory input - anything from bright lights to noxious odors will do.

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Ego Suppression
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous or maintenance (see below)
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Ego Suppression is an ability that shuts down the portion of one's brain which allows it to properly interact with reality and society. When this happens, one's subconscious desires, or their Id, are allowed to run rampant. The effect of this is that a character so affected will lose all impulse control, a state compounded by an utter lack of morals or conscience.

In this state, a character will typically do the first thing that occurs to them in a given instance, as if they possessed the Impulsiveness quirk - at as high a level as is possible for them. Enemies will be immediately attacked, desires instantly acted upon, and so on. While the person so affected may well ruin their lives or standing in the community thanks to this power, they won't care - at least, not until ego suppression wears off.

One must pass a Willpower ACTION roll against the rank value of ego suppression to avoid its effects in the first place, and must pass a like ACTION against their current Impulsiveness to avoid doing something totally out of character if desired, or alternately, to avoid doing something the player would rather not have their character do. The effects of this power last 1d10 turns, unless specifically maintained by its user.

Ego suppression works within Near distance of its would-be victims.

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Forgetfulness
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

The power to forget can be a good thing - and the power to make others forget even more so. Forgetfulness allows a character to selectively edit the memories of others, removing their ability to recall something. This works by simply passing a power ACTION against the Willpower of its target, unless he or she is explicitly willing (it happens).

The effects of forgetfulness are permanent, unless the victim is affected by the power of clarity, or perhaps psionic surgery of some sort. A small amount of memories may be edited by the forgetfulness power, equal in duration to its rank value in minutes. Thus, a body with rank value 30 forgetfulness could effectively erase to a half hour of his or her life - possibly sparing them from sanity-bending knowledge!

This is incredibly handy for protecting one's secret identity or for covering up one's activities, whether heroic or villainous. It's also great for sowing confusion, for in addition to permanently altering one's memories of a short period of time, forgetfulness may be used to temporarily block access to far-reaching memories, such as important skills, motivations, or even one's identity!

Using forgetfulness in this fashion causes memory loss for its power's rank value in minutes, but can completely block one's access to whatever they were made to forget during that time. While memory blocked, one could be duped into performing all manner of 'out of character' activities, including making a villain want to do heroic deeds or even the reverse. But when forgetfulness wears off... watch out!

However it is used, forgetfulness only functions within Very Near distance of its wielder.

Fugue
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance + 1d10 turns
Cost: 1 point per rank value

The power of fugue allows its wielder to temporarily prevent others from acquiring long-term memories. How this works is that, once the target of fugue fails a Willpower ACTION roll against its power rank value, he or she will cease the creation of permanent memories. This state will persist for as long as the power is active on its target, plus an additional amount of time that is equal to 1d10 turns.

A fugued individual's mind otherwise works properly, and since short term memory is unaffected, they can still function - they simply won't remember what's taken place while they were fugued. This is similar to the powers of forgetfulness and mind wipe, but fugue is a more proactive power, in that it doesn't remove extant memories in one's mind so much as it stops them from being created to begin with.

Thus, even the power of mental repair cannot restore memories lost due to fugue, since there's nothing to restore in the first place!

Fugue only works within Very Near distance of its possessor.

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Group Link
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 2 points per rank value

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.

I

Illusion Projection
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank value

This potent ability allows its wielder to input false sensory data from his or her mind directly into that of another. This information is wholly imaginary, and invisible to the sensors of inanimate electronics. This data may come in the form of any of the target's senses, from sight to sound to taste to smell to touch - including imaginary information to waylay any superhuman senses they may possess.

Illusion projection itself functions within Near range, though effective use of the power is really limited to within six sectors of its wielder. Any further away and you run into limits of human vision, as well as unanticipated oddities of perspective, such as the curvature of the earth. For each further six sectors an illusion 'wanders' away from its creator, apply a -1 RS to the effective intensity of its believability.

Speaking of believability, characters subject to a projected illusion have no real reason to disbelieve what they experience unless something tips them off to the fact that what they're perceiving isn't, in fact, real. This is no issue with non-realistic illusions, but if something looks right (say, a brick wall), there's no reason to assume it's fake unless something rings false (such as someone walking through said illusory wall).

Disbelieving an illusion requires an Awareness ACTION roll against the rank value of this ability, which may be easier with long distance illusions (as stated earlier). If this ACTION is successful, the target can successfully shake off the illusion, while a failure indicates the illusionist was able to maintain the charade somehow. Mind you, having mixed things up once, it's possible that other illusory phenomenon may be disbelieved as well.

It's important to note that illusions are just that - not real. They have no direct effect on the environment, and cannot actually cause characters damage... which is sort of the point. Projected illusions can be used to trick others into hurting themselves (walking over a cliff while believing a bridge was there), or to steer people in a direction of the illusionist's choosing, but the images themselves are not harmful.

Unless combined with other abilities. Of course, one can be made to believe that they have been injured by an illusion. This is something of a psychosomatic response to a perceived attack, and is especially tricky for an illusionist to pull off. Each instance of illusory damage offers the possibility of disbelief, and no one can die from imaginary damage; anyone passing out or 'dying' from such will simply awaken in 1d10 turns.

A projected illusion lasts for as long as its creator concentrates on it - no more, no less. Full concentration on one's illusion is required to maintain a sense of believability (if this is, in fact, the intent). If this concentration wavers, subtle errors will creep into the illusion temporarily, possibly prompting Awareness checks to verify whether or not the charade is maintained.

Illusion projection is similar in function to image projection, but has a much more difficult time affecting a large group of people. For every doubling of people the illusionist tries to affect simultaneously, apply a -1 RS penalty to the power ACTION, as well as the intensity required to disbelieve an illusion. This reflects the difficulty of mentally keeping tabs on what so many people are perceiving at a given moment.

Inferiority Complex
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Wielding this insidious ability, a character may induce an artificial inferiority complex within his or her foe. This complex will overwhelm the target with feelings of inadequacy so severe, in fact, that such an individual will find themselves unable to do much at all. They feel totally useless, subsequently presuming that any action they might take wouldn't make a difference in any event.

Inducing such a state requires that the target first fail a Willpower ACTION roll against this power's rank value. An artificial inferiority complex will last for 1d10 turns, during which time its victim cannot spend Fortune at all - even to save their own life. Of course, one may attempt another ACTION roll to shrug off the inferiority complex on each subsequent turn, so it may not always persist for the full duration.

Inferiority complex only functions within Near distance of its wielder.

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Jumbling
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Jumbling is the process of removing someone's ability to communicate coherently. While the character affected by jumbling seems to make perfect sense, at least within the confines of their own mind, the meaning of information they try to convey is butchered beyond understanding. Words come out in the wrong order, when they even come out as the intended words, and sometimes are mangled syllable by syllable.

The effect of jumbling is not limited to speech, either. It similarly confounds sign language, keystrokes, written words, facial expressions, and even more esoteric methods of communication the victim may possess, ranging from telepathy to strange chemical or photonic signals to anything else. One can almost sense a pattern in the output of a jumbled character's communications, but such order can never be determined.

Characters can be affected by jumbling if they fail a Willpower ACTION roll against its power rank value. If they fall prey to the power, victims of jumbling will have their communications scrambled until they can pass the ACTION roll they initially failed, allowed again each subsequent turn. While the initial roll might be considered impossible, one should always have at least a chance to eventually shake off jumbling, no matter how slim.

Though poor dice rolling may mean the character is jumbled for quite a while - at least until they can eventually pass that yellow resistance roll.

One must be within Near distance of his or her foes to wield jumbling against them.

L

Lie Detection
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

As one can guess from the name of this ability, lie detection involves determining whether or not someone is lying in the course of a conversation. This ability works similar in nature to auscultation, in that it is an entirely passive affair, picking up on the ambient thoughts emitted by the individual being checked for falsehoods. As such, if such a person is not guarding their thoughts, no ACTION roll is required.

However, if the target is in fact aware they're speaking to someone who has this ability (or perhaps just suspects such), he or she may attempt to protect their falsehoods, and may resist lie detection if they can pass a Willpower ACTION roll against this ability's rank value. If the target can succeed in this ACTION roll, the wielder of lie detection cannot determine whether or not a given statement is the truth or a lie.

At least, not through the use of this ability.

As is the case with auscultation, lie detection only works on targets within Very Near distance of its wielder.

Linguistics
Type: Psipathic Talent, Superpsi Talent
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank value

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.

Loathing
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Loathing is defined as an extreme disgust, almost irrational in nature. Using this ability, one can instill a sense of loathing in a target, directed at quite literally anything. Those who fail a Willpower ACTION roll against this power's value will hate the indicated object of their loathing with every fiber of their being, and must pass a second Willpower ACTION roll to avoid expressing this hatred physically.

Inanimate objects will be smashed to bits, living beings will be beaten senseless, and so on. Loathing can be applied instantaneously, but the effect of this power lasts for 1d10 turns, often more than enough for someone to sow chaos... or to create a truly impressive diversion. Once this duration has expired, the affected individuals will return to normal, though they may have to explain their actions - possibly in court!

Loathing can be used upon any target within Near distance of its wielder.

M

Mental Repair
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Mental repair is a healing power of a sort, working to mend damage inflicted upon the mind. While mental repair in and of itself doesn't deal in numbers, like the ordinary healing powers do, this ability can be used to right any number of things going wrong within the mind of a sentient being. Anything from mental illness to deleterious quirks to the damage wrought by psionic powers can ultimately be healed by this ability.

When invoked, mental repair must pass a power ACTION against the Willpower of its intended target. If this ACTION is successful, the character with this ability may attempt to undo any psychic damage the target suffers from. If the damage was inflicted by a psionic power, it can be undone with a second ACTION roll, this time against the intensity of the original power if known. If the original power rank is unknown, a red ACTION will do.

Such damage may come in the form of suggestions wrought by mesmerism, mind control, or crowd control, a loss of memory caused by forgetfulness or mind wipe, or any deleterious quirks acquired as a result of catastrophic Karmic damage (such as from psi bolts) - and so on. Once repaired, the target's mind will show immediate results of this, possibly resuming normal behavior or ability within moments of the fix.

Alternately, mental repair can be used to treat more traditional, psychiatric problems. The main question when bringing mental repair to bear in this fashion is the nature of the problem to be fixed - namely because a lot of mental problems can be traced back to physical imperfections in the 'hardware' housing a mind.

Anything from chemical imbalances to brain damage to surgical procedures can impair one's mind, and if this is the root of a mental problem, mental repair can only fix the error in a transient fashion (usually for 1d100 turns). After this time, the target will resume operation under their normal parameters, though they might be appreciative of the moment(s) of clarity this ability can provide.

Mental repair can be used to bypass some physical limitations of the mind, though such therapy takes quite some time. Problems of a purely psychological nature can be treated in this manner as well. The difference between the two is that purely psychological problems, no matter how severe, can ultimately be fixed in most cases, while a physical problem can only be resolved so much.

And if such problems come in the form of quirks, one must work with their Gamemaster to resolve how such issues are dealt with permanently.

Mesmerism
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Mesmerism is an advanced form of the hypnotism skill. Instead of being made manifest through simple training, mesmerism is an actual super-human capability, both in the speed and power of its effects. For one thing, normal hypnotism usually cannot affect a body who is unwilling to be hypnotized in the first place, but mesmerism can inflict a hypnotic state if the target fails a Willpower ACTION against the mesmerism rank value.

Bear in mind that one must be within Very Near distance of their target to mesmerize them.

Once this state is achieved, the target can be forced to do something in regards to their immediate behavior (put out that cigarette) or have a post-hypnotic suggestion implanted (give up smoking altogether). If in the form of a command, mesmerism will last only as long as it takes its target to complete their action (bleary eyed, the victim tries to remember why he put his freshly lit cigarette out in the first place).

On the other hand, the effects of a mesmerism-delivered suggestion will last for a number of days equal to its rank value, and can even override the target's ethics on a yellow mesmerism ACTION roll (the target, having stopped smoking for a full month thanks to a rank value 30 mesmerism suggestion, may resume his habit if he chooses at this point - or continue to enjoy his extra pocket change).

Mind Control
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Mind control is a means by which one can take direct control over the actions of another. While mesmerism is somewhat subtle in nature, mind control allows for a granular manipulation of the target's activities. When the power is activated, its target immediately gains a Willpower ACTION to resist the effect, rolled against the intensity of the mind control ability. If this ACTION fails, the target is in the mind controller's thrall.

While the victim of mind control must initially be within Very Near distance, the range at which he or she can still be controlled is increased to Middle distance once domination of their mind has been achieved. A mind controller must deliver commands directly for them to be obeyed, either verbally (in person or by telephone) or telepathically (if the mind controller also has that power).

Once control is established, the victim may not attempt to resist again, unless ordered to do something diametrically opposed to their moral structure. While so controlled, the victim of this power may not spend Fortune on any ACTION roll, unless their own existence is in direct jeopardy (which allows another resistance ACTION). Similarly, Fortune gains or losses incurred while mind controlled are passed onto the controller.

Repute losses for actions taken while mind controlled are entirely the problem of the victim, though!

Mind control lasts for a number of minutes equal to its rank value, or until control of the target is given up (voluntarily or otherwise). While under the effects of this ability, the victim may or may not be aware of what is going on - this is entirely up to the mind controller. Similarly, whether or not the target remembers anything done while under mind control depends on the whims of the wielder of this power.

Mind Link
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 1 point per rank value

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.

Unlike most psionics, a mind link is a permanent effect; once initiated it is a persistent state of affairs. As such, it does not count as a power for the purposes of power maintenance, one of the few psionic abilities that functions in this fashion. On the other hand, 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.

Mind Lock
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Mind lock allows its wielder to pause a target's conscious mind in a precise and instantaneous fashion. If the victim fails a Willpower ACTION roll against this power's rank value, he or she will stop cold - right where they stand. No matter what they were doing at the time a mind lock was applied, the victim will simply cease their actions and freeze in place, unable to move or think in the slightest.

The mind locked may roll an additional ACTION to resist this ability each turn. Upon breaking free from a mind lock, the target will continue to act as they originally planned, though they'll realize something has changed after resuming their course of action (if it hasn't already been obviated by events occurring while their mind was on hold), and may resume normal activity on their next turn.

A mind lock may be applied in an instantaneous or maintained fashion. The former frees the wielder of this ability to do other things, while the latter allows them to constantly hold the target in place. If the target breaks free from an instantaneous mind lock, they are free to do whatever they like, though if they emerge from a maintained mind lock, they must resist on each subsequent turn or said lock will resume while maintained.

Mind lock only functions within Very Near distance of its target.

Mind Transfer
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank value

This dangerous ability allows its user to swap the very minds of two separate individuals. When activated, mind transfer prompts an immediate Willpower ACTION roll against its power rank value to resist, unless the targets of the power are explicitly willing subjects. If all unwilling individuals involved fail this ACTION roll, then their minds are transplanted from their original locations into their counterparts' bodies.

Note that the wielder of this ability need not be one of the minds so transferred, though this can make for a good limitation.

When uprooted, the mind of a character transferred into another body retains their Intellect, Awareness, and Willpower traits, as well as their Fortune total, mental quirks, and knowledge-based powers. They can make use of the physical characteristics of their new body just fine, whether mundane or fantastic, as well as the Lifestyle, Repute, and contacts of their new form - at least, until people realize just what has happened.

A mind transfer can be enacted between any two minds, whether sapient or not, organic or not. One could swap the minds of two humans, a human and a robot, a robot and a dog, a dog and a human - whatever, really. Plopping a mind into a body that it's ill-equipped to handle may involve considerable difficulty in restoring even basic mobility, much less the use of its considerable capabilities (if any).

The duration of a mind transferal is dependent on variables present when the ability is put to use. A black ACTION causes a mind transfer to last but 1d10 turns. Red ACTIONs allow a mind transfer to endure for a number of turns equal to its power rank value, while a blue ACTION extends its duration to a like number of minutes. Finally, yellow mind transfers last for a number of hours equal to this power rank value.

Alternately, a mind transfer may be made permanent if both recipients of the power's use are willing. On the other hand, a permanent mind transfer may occur when one of the power's targets physically dies before the effect wears off. In the event of such a catastrophe, the remaining body has nowhere else to put the mind it's currently housing, so it hangs onto it in perpetuity.

A character wielding this power to hop from body to body is considerably difficult to track down, particularly if they make multiple transfers in short order. By the time everyone's minds are back where they belong, the consciousness of the character with mind transfer is long, long gone. It might be just as difficult to put such a person down for good, if they have various empty bodies ready to house their mind.

Mind transfer functions within Very Near range of its user.

Mind Wipe
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank value

A mind wipe is the blocking of large swathes of memory and/or knowledge. Above and beyond mere forgetfulness, mind wipe can excise more than just a few minutes of memory from its target - it can selectively remove access to data relating to any number of subjects. Such information can come in the form of a useful skill, a knowledge-based power, or even something as simple as details about the guy living upstairs.

Performing a mind wipe takes a bit of time, but then it involves a serious rewiring of someone's head. Such operations typically take at least one turn, but may take a minute or longer depending on the depth of information removed from the target's mind. Speaking of which, would-be victims of this power may resist it if they can pass a Willpower ACTION roll against the intensity of the mind wipe ability.

Or if they can stay away; mind wipe only functions on targets within Very Near range of its wielder.

Those who cannot resist are subject to semi-permanent memory loss, whether they've been forced to forget their ex-girlfriend, how to play baseball, their spellcasting potential, or even everything they know. Losing chunks of one's self will have ripple effects on their personality, ranging from a sinking feeling that they're missing something in their life to incurring a general (or severe) blandness in their demeanor.

Memory loss caused by mind wipe cannot be reversed by clarity. However, mental repair can do so, since mind wipe does not remove memories from a body's mind (which is essentially impossible), so much as remove one's access to them. Keep in mind that such a reversal often requires passing an ACTION roll with that ability against the intensity of the mind wipe that caused the damage to begin with.

N

Nonapparent Vision
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Wielding this facility, a character may peel back the layers of deception and intrigue that may hide any person, place, or thing, and see them as they truly are. This works by passing a nonapparent vision roll against the rank value of something's disguise. If this action is successful, nonapparent vision will allow the character using it to see the object of his or her study in its true form.

It doesn't matter if their target is physically shape changed, masked by illusions, psionically trying to convince you they are not what they appear, or anything else - nonapparent vision can 'see' through all of these efforts if it can beat the intensity of said disguise.

P

Phobia
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

This ability dredges up the greatest fear of its target and overwhelms his or her conscious mind with the thought of it. The wielder of phobia does not have access to this fear via this ability alone, but nonetheless forces their target to face said fear (whatever it may be) directly. The effects of this power can be staggering against most people, literally causing them to be unable to act due to the paralyzing fear it instills.

Phobia affects it target if he or she fails a Willpower ACTION roll against its power rank value. If the affected character has a specific phobia quirk, they attempt this ACTION at the appropriate negative Row Shift. Characters who succumb to this power receive a new ACTION to shrug the effect off each turn, but phobia will remain in effect until the victim can finally pass this ACTION - which can be hard with particularly phobic characters.

Phobia functions within Near range of its wielder.

Possession
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank value

A more invasive form of mind control, possession allows its wielder to project his or her very consciousness into the mind of another. Targets of this ability automatically gain a Willpower ACTION roll to resist, attempted against the intensity of its power rank value. If this ACTION roll succeeds, the would-be possessor's consciousness is deflected back into their own mind, possibly giving them a migraine in the process.

If the target's resistance roll fails, however, the possessor's consciousness literally 'moves in' to his or her victim's mind. While possessing another, the wielder of this ability will be completely unaware of anything happening to their own body - unless they can perceive it through their thrall. In other words, they may merely sense whatever their 'new' body can detect, with whatever senses it has access to.

While possessing a target, the wielder of this power may live vicariously through him or her, doing anything they like with the appropriated body. They may spend their Fortune to influence actions taken while in the possessed body, though not the victim's own Fortune reserves. Similarly, a possessed person does not lose Fortune for actions a possessor takes while controlling them, but Repute is another matter entirely.

Once possessed, the target may not actively resist the power - unless its wielder places them in a life-threatening situation. Other than that, though, they're helpless against their tormentor, forced to watch as the possessor does what he or she likes with their body, their very life. Of course, knocking a possessor unconscious is one way to end body-hopping shenanigans, regardless of its victim's inability to resist.

Like mind control, possession must be initiated within Very Near distance of its wielder. But, after that point, it can be maintained wherever its target wanders, for as long as the possessor can concentrate on keeping this ability active.

Postcognition
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Postcognition is the ability to vicariously relive the past in relation to a person, place, or thing. This requires physical contact with the subject, and may investigate a number of years of its history equal to the postcognition power rank value squared. For example, a postcognitive bearing this ability at rank value 40 can directly examine and relive the history of a subject up to 1,600 years into the past!

A postcognitive vision mainly gives information relevant to the subject. If something important happened in the area that the postcog's subject was unaware of and didn't affect it directly, postcognition might not pick up on it (Gamemaster's discretion). Similarly, coaxing the desired amount of detail out of a subject with this ability can be tricky; the color result of the postcognition ACTION roll determines how useful the offered data is.

A black ACTION roll typically won't give anything useful, and may in fact be counter-productive to the postcog's goals. A red ACTION roll will provide accurate, if minimalistic information. Blue ACTION rolls provide accurate and somewhat thorough details about the period of time being examined. Yellow ACTIONs can provide all of this and more, sometimes gleaning extra information that isn't otherwise apparent.

The kicker is that for a player to not know they're getting bum (or excellent) information, they don't get to roll the ACTION required when using postcognition - that's left to the Gamemaster. A player may declare they're adding Fortune to the roll, but he or she won't know how much they need; they can shout out a number and be bound to that expenditure, but may not even need all of it if the Gamemaster rolls high enough.

This all assumes that postcognition is used on an unfamiliar target. When wielding this ability on familiar persons or items, a postcog may add a +1 RS to the ACTION roll, a +2 RS when used on their property, or close friends and relatives, and a +3 RS when used on themselves. The latter is useful when trying to determine what might have happened to oneself while unconscious (or dead!) for any long period of time.

Precognition
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 3 points per rank value

Perhaps one of the most difficult abilities to possess, precognition allows its wielder to see the future! This works by peeling back the veil of time, and looking upon events before they unfold. Characters with this capability have the power to shape the very nature of their reality, for they can conceivably bring events to pass that otherwise would not happen - or prevent seemingly certain eventualities from occurring at all.

This works because while a timeline is immutable, the precognitive character is not necessarily viewing their own, eventual fate. You see, there are an infinite number of variant timelines, and every second an infinity more branch out from our own, depending on the outcome of events large and small. By nudging things in one direction or another, a precognitive person can steer their future towards a certain path, for good or ill.

Precognition can look ahead a number of hours equal to its power rank value; rank value 20 gives a body about a day's worth of notice regarding impending events (great for winning the lottery), while rank value 150 can see almost a week into the future. This allows a precog to monitor future events while working to bring about one specific outcome or another, to see if their actions are helping (or not).

Whether or not the precognitive individual wishes to change anything is another matter entirely.

The trick with precognition is that the success or failure of an action with the ability is unknown. The dice are not rolled by the player - instead, the Gamemaster makes precognition ACTIONs in secret, and the player may not add Fortune to this roll. The validity of a precognitive reading is dependent on the results of this ACTION, and the Gamemaster is encouraged have a blast with any failed precognition ACTION rolls.

On the other hand, something useful should be gleaned upon precognition's success, in relation to the color result. A red ACTION, for instance, will give accurate but vague information in the vision. A blue ACTION roll will provide ample data about a future occurrence, making it easier to determine what the context is. A yellow ACTION may even give additional information about the situation that isn't readily apparent.

As one can guess, precognition is extremely powerful, and as a result a character who possesses it must take at least one potent limitation to hold it in check - which does not add to its power level (or reduce its cost). Said character can take more, of course, and subsequent limitations will in fact benefit their precognition's power to cost ratio, but at least one is mandatory. Such limitations can include the following:

• The precognition is out of the character's control - he or she sees visions when the Gamemaster decides it's time.
• The precognition only affects a single class of subjects, such as living beings, inanimate objects, or locations.
• The precognition can only work on something its wielder is touching (or within six sectors of them).
• The precognition only occurs in dreams, lending a whole new definition to promnesia (déjà vu).
• The precognition is the only vision the character can see, until it comes to pass or is prevented.

Precognition itself is only at its maximum effectiveness the first time it is used on a given day. Each subsequent use of the ability reduces its effective rank value (both for the resolution of ACTIONs and the range with which it can peer into the future) by -1 RS. The limit to this is rank value 0, at which point a character can only use the power to peer into the immediate future of those in their vicinity.

When a precog's daily prognostications are all 'used up', he or she may only peer one turn into the future - and then, only in relation to the actions of others within six sectors of them. If this ACTION (which must be blue or better) is successful, a precog may act with this foreknowledge, and if he or she wins the initiative, they may even share his knowledge of the next few seconds with allies.

This use of precognition doesn't 'drain' the rank value of the power if it hasn't already reached rank value 0 levels, and may be used indefinitely.

Psi Bolt
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

A direct attack upon the mind of another, a psi bolt is the focused offensive will of its wielder. A psi bolt may be turned upon any sentient being within Near range, and will inflict its power rank value in Karmic damage should the target fail a Willpower ACTION versus its rank value. Psi bolts are ineffective against anything without a Fortune trait, whether it be a dog, a plant, or a non-sapient robot.

Those affected by a psi bolt will usually feel exquisite pain, and demonstrate minor physical hints of the attack (nose or ear bleeds, and so forth). Generally, the harm inflicted by a psi bolt is never permanent in nature (it will readily heal in time), but it's possible that particularly grievous attacks can inflict serious mental damage, which may potentially result in the development of a variety of deleterious quirks.

The nature of such quirks, should any manifest as a result of devastating psychic harm, are the province of the Gamemaster.

Psionic Vampirism
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank value

A variation on standard vampirism, this power allows its wielder to feed upon the consciousnesses of other sentient beings to recover his or her own, lost Health. As do other forms of this ability, psionic vampirism requires contact with the would-be victim. Upon touching the target, a psionic vampire may drain an amount of their Intellect, Awareness, and psionic power values (if any) equal to this power rank value.

This assumes the target is unable to resist. Psionic vampirism can be fought off by passing a Willpower ACTION roll against its rank value. If this ACTION fails, the psionic vampire may drain their victim of as much or as little consciousness as they wish, up to their rank value, each turn. Every additional turn they do so, the target is allowed another ACTION roll to resist the wielder of psionic vampirism.

If this resistance ACTION is successful at any point during the feeding process, the target will immediately repulse the psionic vampire, gaining immunity from further assaults with this power from this psionic vampire (though not from other characters with this ability or any other vampiric powers the assailant may possess). Upon managing this, the target should note this resistance in the event of future assaults (just in case).

A psionic vampire that is at full Health when they drain their rank value in consciousness from a victim receives a +1 RS to their Brawn, Fortitude, Willpower, and all their power values save for this one (additional drains do not enhance them further). This boost lasts for 1d100 turns, after which point the character with psionic vampirism will return to their normal capability. Gaining another, like boost requires another feeding.

The danger in using this ability is twofold. First off, there's the risk of contagion. Draining someone of their mind completely is considered a lethal attack. If the victim of such an attack fails their Kill check, they will begin to lose Fortitude rank values until either first aid is administered or they die. If such an individual dies, they will rise again as an undead creature, a psionic vampire that feeds on the minds of others to survive.

Secondly, if a psionic vampire kills with this ability (whether accidentally or on purpose), they must pass a Willpower ACTION against the intensity of their own psionic vampirism. If this ACTION fails, the psionic vampire will become addicted to the mental energies of others, and will require it to function as well. While addicted, the character with psionic vampirism suffers a loss of power each day they do not feed upon others' minds.

This loss comes in the form of a -1 RS to their Brawn, Fortitude, and Willpower traits, as well as all their power rank values (save for this one). To avoid this loss, the addicted psionic vampire must drain an amount of mental energy equal to their psionic vampirism value each day, and if at a penalty, a like amount to recover each -1 RS lost. The only way to shake this addiction is to go cold turkey - and that's not easy.

Withdrawal from the mental energy of others causes the RS penalties to mount, until the character's indicated traits and power rank values reach rank value 0. This prompts a Fortitude ACTION roll, per a Kill result. If this ACTION fails, the character immediately dies, and will eventually rise as a psionic vampire themselves. If it succeeds, they may attempt a Willpower ACTION roll to overcome their addiction.

If this Willpower ACTION succeeds, the character is 'cured', and may begin to recover lost trait and power rank values at a rate of +1 RS per day. If the Willpower ACTION fails, however, the character must wait another day, and repeat the Fortitude ACTION to see if they live long enough to attempt another Willpower ACTION to beat the urge. This continues until the character either dies or manages to defeat their addiction.

If a psionic vampire has ever been addicted to the mental energies of others, using the ability again may cause a relapse - even if they've physically recovered from the ordeal. Every time the character uses psionic vampirism afterwards, they must pass a Willpower ACTION roll, the failure of which indicates an immediate relapse into addiction. If they pass this ACTION roll they'll be fine - at least, until the next use of the power.

Naturally, an undead creature dependent on the minds of others to live cannot shake this requirement. This process only applies to still-living wielders of psionic vampirism, and not its many victims.

Psychic Invisibility
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

A means of achieving effective invisibility, this ability lets its wielder force others to disregard the sensory input that would reveal his or her presence. Psychic invisibility functions within Near range of its wielder, and everyone within this area of effect (unless an exception is made) must pass a Willpower ACTION roll against this power's rank value or be unable to directly perceive its user.

Their minds thus clouded, people in the character's vicinity will not react to their presence, and won't even know they were there. Of course, unliving instruments are not affected by this power, and the character wielding it can still be readily be recorded by video cameras and the like. This means that one may be observed remotely and alarms triggered as a result, even if the security guards sent to investigate cannot find them.

As is the case with regular invisibility, one is at a -4 RS to hit someone shielded by psychic invisibility.

The user of psychic invisibility may wield this ability on more than themselves, if desired. He or she may add any number of individuals to the 'umbrella' of stealth that psychic invisibility provides, but each additional person so added applies a -1 RS to the effective rank value of psychic invisibility, both for the range at which it works and the intensity that others must roll against to resist its effects.

Psychic Probe
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

While telepathy can only be used to sense the surface thoughts of a sentient being, a psychic probe may delve further into their mind - much further. The target of a psychic probe automatically gains a Willpower ACTION against the psychic probe intensity to resist it, even if they're unaware of its use beforehand. If this ACTION is successful, the target cannot be probed (by this particular psychic prober) for twenty-four hours.

If this ACTION fails, the prober may seek out whatever information he or she wishes from the target. This power cannot be used to randomly root around in something's mind - the wielder must have a basic idea what they're looking for. Those probed can only reveal knowledge they actually know, but it's possible that they have secrets locked up in the back of their mind that they're not even aware of in the first place.

Once the use of psychic probe is complete (whether successful or not), the target must attempt a second Willpower ACTION roll. If this ACTION fails, he or she will suffer a -1 RS to their Willpower rank value for 24 hours, due to the extreme strain that a psychic probe causes. This may make the target more susceptible to other people with the psychic probe power - or any other psionic powers, for that matter.

Psychic probe functions on the Near range table.

S

Sending
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

A sending is a psionic construct, a sort of semi-sentient package of mental energy that its creator can insert a message within. Once this message has been instilled within the sending, it will then make its way from its creator to the recipient of said message. After the message is delivered, the sending will dissipate, its purpose complete. In a way, sendings serve as a sort of one-way telepathic messaging system.

The difference between sending and telepathy, however, is the range involved. While telepathy itself has a respectable range (functioning on the Far range table), sending can operate over a much greater distance. You see, a sending has a sort of built-in version of finding, and can locate the recipient of its cargo anywhere in reality. Furthermore, it has the ability to get to its target no matter where he or she may be.

A sending can travel anywhere, its energies being self-sustaining while it's about its appointed task. Being comprised of mental energy, it can move at relativistic speeds, but it cannot teleport, dimensionally transit, or time travel. Instead, if it needs to do so, a sending will seek out the nearest rift in space and/or time to move from where it is to where it needs to be.

Sendings are immaterial by nature, able to pass through most objects with ease (unless they are strong enough to possess psi resistance), and usually the only way to stop one from doing its job is to wield power over the psionic energy that makes it up, or to douse it in antipsions (both of which must overcome the sending rank value). This is easier said than done, however, as the things do move at the speed of thought.

Sensory Distortion
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

A lesser form of illusion projection, sensory distortion allows its wielder to twist the existing sensory input a person experiences. While one won't see things that aren't there while under the effects of sensory distortion, he or she might perceive something close as far away, hear sounds at the wrong pitch or from the incorrect directions, and might find the floor seems to be at a wholly wrong angle.

The 'technical' effect of sensory distortion is to inflict a -2 RS penalty on all physical ACTIONs attempted while one's senses are so scrambled. This because it's hard to hit someone when you're actually seeing them somewhere they're not, walk normally when the ground is apparently shifting underfoot, or doing anything when one's clothes feel lined with razors. Awareness ACTIONs are made at a -4 RS under the influence of this ability.

Sensory distortion itself lasts as long as one concentrates on maintaining the effect, and can affect anyone who fails a Willpower ACTION roll against its power value. Of course, one can try to resist sensory distortion anew on each subsequent turn. This ability can be used upon anyone within Near range of its wielder.

Sensory Link
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous, maintenance or permanent (see below)
Cost: 1 point per rank value

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. Similarly, a permanent sensory link does not count as a persistent ability for the purpose of power maintenance - in fact, it's quite possible that many individuals so linked do not even possess psionic powers at all!

Sensory Projection
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Similar to thought projection, sensory projection allows its wielder to rapidly disseminate information telepathically to a large number of people. Instead of broadcasting coherent thoughts, however, sensory projection transmits the sensory information its user is experiencing. This projection of sensory input is a one-way affair; while others can sense what the user of sensory projection can, they cannot share their own experiences.

To 'block out' such sensory data transmissions, individuals within range must pass a Willpower ACTION roll against this ability's rank value. A failure to do so means that they will experience whatever sensory information the character with sensory projection does, for as long as he or she broadcasts such data. If unwilling recipients of such data cannot directly resist, they can always seek out its source.

After all, sensory projection has a somewhat short range, functioning within Very Near distance of its user. This may allow unwilling recipients of such input the clues necessary to find its source, and subsequently take more aggressive steps to stop such transmissions into their brains.

Sensory Reception
Type: Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Like unto auscultation in function, sensory reception allows its user to eavesdrop on the ambient mental radiation given off by those in his or her area. It differs in that conscious thoughts are not picked up by this ability, so much as whatever sensory input people in one's vicinity experience. This vicinity is defined as within Very Near range; it can't reach far, but this ability can choose from many potential sources.

By opening one's mind up in this fashion, the user of sensory reception can see, hear, feel, smell, or taste anything that anybody within its range can. This information is usually inadvertently transmitted freely by all beings, sentient or otherwise, who do not actively shield their thoughts. Doing so allows would-be sensory donors to attempt a Willpower ACTION roll to resist this ability, even if they don't know what they're resisting.

Sifting through all of this sensory data can be a lot of effort, but it has a variety of uses. One can use this ability to locate something someone in the area is looking at, someone who smells a particular scent, or people who feel a unique sensation - at least, compared to others in the area. Similarly, sensory reception can be used to live vicariously through anyone nearby - assuming one cares not for the privacy of others at all.

Sleep
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

The sleep ability allows its user to rapidly neutralize a large number of people - without directly harming them. When invoked, sleep shuts down the conscious minds of all sentient beings within Very Near distance, if they fail a Willpower ACTION against its value. Those affected will usually lose consciousness within a second or so, having just enough time to lie or sit down before passing out.

The effects of sleep last for 1d10 turns, though unlike a lot of mind-altering powers, the targets do not gain an additional ACTION roll to resist each turn. This is because a state of sleep is somewhat fickle, and can be readily interrupted by external forces. Such interruption can come in the form of sudden stimulus (loud noise, a slap, noxious odor) or even something as simple as vigorously shaking the sleeping individual.

Static Field
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Telepathic powers generally work in a straight-forward manner: their initiator makes contact with one or more other minds, and then conveys whatever information they wish. However, this assumes that there isn't a lot of ambient psychic noise drowning out their mental signals. Psionic static is just that - a whole lot of gibberish and interference that stymies the use of telepathic powers.

Characters with the static field power can overwhelm the area within Very Near distance of their person with psionic hogwash. Either while within or targeting someone inside the radius of a static field, telepaths must pass a power ACTION against the intensity of the static field to operate their telepathic abilities. Failure means the information to be conveyed was 'lost' in the noise surrounding them.

As the source of the static field, the user of this ability cannot themselves wield any other telepathic powers while it is active. Similarly, the character gains rank value resistance to psychic influence while their static field is active. On the downside, there is no way to hide the fact that one is generating such a field from other telepaths in the vicinity, which readily allows them to retaliate for the inconvenience, if desired.

T

Telepathy
Type: Psipathic Art
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank value

This is the root ability of the psipathic discipline of power.

Telepathy is the art of achieving direct, mind to mind contact with another sentient being. Achieving contact is automatic with a willing target, though the unwilling may resist telepathic contact by passing a Willpower (or any protective psionic, whichever is higher) ACTION roll against the rank value of the imposing telepathy. Telepathy functions with Far distance, giving its wielder a wide range within which they may contact others.

The basis for a vast array of mental powers, many of which are often learned as power stunts, telepathy in and of itself is somewhat limited in scope. This ability allows one to communicate with other sentients, whether linguistically or visually, once contact has been established. Those in telepathic contact are aware of each other's surface thoughts, but digging deeper requires the use of other psionic abilities.

Telepathy can achieve contact with numerous individuals, but each doubling of people linked via telepathy (not counting the telepath initiating the link) inflicts a -1 RS to both the effective rank value and range of telepathy. For instance, a rank value 100 telepath could conceivably link the minds of 128 individuals in their vicinity, but would do so at a -7 RS (or at rank value 6), and then 'only' with people within ten miles of them.

Thought Projection
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank value

While telepathy allows its wielder to engage in a meaningful, back and forth psionic conversation between two or more individuals, sometimes this isn't entirely necessary. On occasion, a body just wants to broadcast a telepathic message to as many people as possible, as fast as possible. Thought projection allows for exactly that, being a sort of one-way psionic communications mechanism.

When invoked, thought projection will deliver a message from its wielder to everyone within Very Near range, informing them of whatever it is they wish to convey. This can be a verbal or visual message, and when sent will automatically be received by anyone that isn't somehow shielding their thoughts. Anyone wishing to avoid the effects of thought projection must pass a Willpower ACTION against this power's rank value.

When received, the transmitted thoughts will play 'alongside' one's own, with as much intensity as is desired. Projecting 'FIRE!' will often get more direct attention than 'Mmm, Whopper ™...', but the latter can be more subtle and insidious, particularly if used in devious marketing schemes. These messages usually won't be confused with the recipients' own thoughts, unless of course they don't believe in psionics.

Translation
Type: Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank value

Providing something akin to an instant common ground, translation generates a telepathic field which allows everyone within Near distance of its possessor to understand each other implicitly. The form of communication those affected utilize is irrelevant, as long as it is immediate; translation wouldn't work on written words, for example, unless said words were being written down in front of those affected by it.

Translation doesn't give its wielder the ability to communicate in other languages, so much as it simply allows others to comprehend whatever it is he or she is trying to convey to them. And vice versa.

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