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 base line. 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 six 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
Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

This potent ability allows a character to separate his consciousness itself from his physical body. This consciousness then moves into the astral plane, a realm of the mind that is 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 his mind anywhere on earth - and often far beyond - in order 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, they 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 in hours. For example, a projector with Amazing (50) astral projection may shed his consciousness and let it wander the earth for just over four days at a time. Food and water only become an issue after several days, however.

This is because, while astrally projecting, the character's body remains in a coma-like state, burning little energy (per the Trance talent). It must have air to breathe, but it is otherwise inert, and need not consume food or water until the projection is complete - at which point the astral projector, if he's 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 Ftg rank remains the same, though he must substitute Int for Agy, Rsn for Str and Psc for End when necessary. Any magic, psionic or deionic items a projector possesses will 'make the trip' with him, as a part of his self-image, though they function on the astral plane at a -1 CS.

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 they can attack back as well.

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

Engaging in conversation with others psionically involves telepathic contact between two or more individuals, allowing for proper, back and forth communication between 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's looking for, even if he's not sure who that person is.

A passive power by nature, auscultation requires no FEAT 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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this power 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
Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 the use of more than one attack or defensive maneuver per turn.

The target of caesura may resist this ability every turn it is applied to his person, doing so with a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against the caesura ability's rank. Caesura only functions within Very Near range of its wielder.

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

A charm is a powerful, aversive psychic aura that its wielder may use to avoid undue harm. It works by generating an aura 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 affect of this power will become positively disposed towards the charmer, if they fail a Psc (will) FEAT roll against this ability's rank.

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 ability 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; affected targets will remain charmed until they can eventually pass a Psc (will) FEAT against charm's power rank, which they may attempt with every new turn.

This FEAT is never 'impossible', but if the power rank 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 CS.

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, the power will no longer affect him for the duration of this encounter - and the target so attacked will be keenly aware that his mind has been tinkered with...

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

Clairalience allows its wielder to smell things far, far beyond the range of his 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 just 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 he is using clairalience, the character with this ability can smell anything that he otherwise could in the area he observes, 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, in lieu of what it perceives instead. The clairalient's other senses function just fine however, so while one cannot smell imminent danger approaching him while this ability is active, he can still hear, see, feel or even taste it (whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance).

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

Clairaudience allows its wielder to hear things far, far beyond the range of his 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, the wielder of this ability could eavesdrop upon events occurring on other planets - live, right as they are happening!

While he is using clairaudience, the character with this ability can listen in on anything that he could otherwise hear in the area he observes, 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, in lieu of what it perceives instead. The clairaudient's other senses function just fine however, so while one cannot hear imminent danger approaching him while this ability is active, he can still see, smell, feel or even taste it (whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance).

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

Clairgustance allows its wielder to taste things far, far beyond the range of his 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 he is using clairgustance, the character with this ability can taste anything that he could otherwise touch in the area he observes, 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, in lieu of what it perceives instead. The clairgustant's other senses function just fine however, so while he 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 he experiences are just that engrossing.

Clairtouchence
Psipathic Skill
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Clairtouchence allows its wielder to touch things far, far beyond the range of his 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 he is using clairtouchence, the character with this ability can feel anything that he could otherwise touch in the area he observes, 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.

The activation of clairtouchence 'mutes' one's normal sense of touch, in lieu of what it perceives instead. The clairtouchent's other senses function just fine however, so while he may be dipping his 'pretend' fingers into the sun or running them along monowire, a clairtouchent may not readily be ambushed while using this ability - unless, of course, he's so engrossed in what he's touching that he isn't otherwise paying attention.

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

Clairvoyance allows its wielder to see things far, far beyond the range of his 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 just 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, the wielder of this ability could spy upon events occurring on other planets - live, right as they are happening!

While he is using clairvoyance, the character with this ability can view anything that he could otherwise see in the area he observes, 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, in lieu of what it perceives instead. The clairvoyant's other senses function just fine however, so while one cannot see imminent danger approaching him while this ability is active, he can still hear, smell, feel or even taste it (whichever of such may be applicable in a given instance).

Clarity
Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous or maintenance (see below)
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 a FEAT 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 this power rank, 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
Metapsi Skill, Psipathic Skill
Duration: encounter
Cost: 4 points (flat cost)

By means of this ability, a combatant can gain a seemingly supernatural insight into the actions of his 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 his opponent will be planning at any given moment. Once the target is read, the combat edge ability will provide its wielder a +1 CS to all FEAT 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 can 'read' him after only one turn on subsequent activations.

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

A more advanced form of mesmerism, crowd control can be used to sway the actions of a very large number of people simultaneously. When invoked, crowd control will prompt a Psyche (will) FEAT 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 FEAT will be placed in 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 command, 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 number, and can even override the target's normal ethics and beliefs on a red FEAT 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
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

Wielding this useful skill, a psipath may drop the mind of his target into a relatively blank, daydreaming state. If affected by this skill, an individual is not quite asleep, but isn't really awake either. He 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 his surroundings.

A psipath may inflict a daydreaming state onto anyone within Near range who fails a Psyche (will) FEAT against this power's rank. Typically, this mental state will last for 1d10 turns, and unlike most telepathic influences, one does not gain an additional resistance FEAT 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 good enough.

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

Ego Suppression is a psipathic skill that allows its wielder to shut 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 him in a given instance, as if he 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, until ego suppression wears off.

One must pass a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against the rank of ego suppression in order to avoid its effects in the first place, and must pass a similar FEAT roll to avoid doing something totally out of character if desired, or alternately, to avoid doing something the player would rather not have his character do. The effects of this psipathic skill last for 1d10 turns - unless specifically maintained by its user.

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

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Forgetfulness
Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 simply works by passing a power FEAT against the Psyche (will) rank of its target, unless he or she is implicitly willing (it happens).

The effect of forgetfulness is permanent, unless a character is affected by the power of clarity, or perhaps some sort of psionic surgery. A small amount of memories may be edited by forgetfulness, equal in duration to the power rank in minutes. So then, a body with Remarkable (30) ranked forgetfulness could cause a target to permanently forget up to a half hour of his life - possibly sparing him 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; 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 talents, motivations, or even one's identity!

Using forgetfulness in this fashion causes memory loss for an amount of time equal to the power rank in minutes, but can completely block one's access to whatever they were made to forget during that time. Of course 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.

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

This potent ability allows its wielder to input false sensory data from his 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 false information to waylay any superhuman senses he may possess.

Illusion projection itself functions within Near range, though effective use of the power is really limited to the area the wielder currently occupies; 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 area an illusion 'wanders' away from its creator, apply a -1 CS to the effective intensity of its believability - if such is the intent.

Speaking of believability, characters subject to an illusion have no real reason to disbelieve what they are subjected to 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 Intuition FEAT roll against the rank of this ability, which may be easier with long distance illusions (as stated earlier). If this FEAT 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. 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.

An illusion lasts for as long as its creator concentrates on it - no more, no less. Full concentration on one's illusions 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 Intuition checks to verify if the charade is maintained or not.

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 CS penalty to the power FEAT, 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
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

Wielding this insidious skill, a psipath may induce an artificial inferiority complex within his foe. This complex will overwhelm the target with intense feelings of inferiority, so severe in fact that such an individual will find himself unable to do much at all - he feels totally useless, and thus presumes that any action he would take wouldn't make a difference in any event.

Inducing such a state requires that the target first fail a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this skill's power rank. An artificial inferiority complex will last for 1d10 turns, during which time its victim cannot spend Karma at all - even to save his own life. Of course, one may attempt another FEAT 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
Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

Jumbling is the process of telepathically removing one's ability to communicate coherently. While the character affected by jumbling seems to be perfectly clear, at least within the confines of his own mind, the meaning of any information he tries to convey is butchered beyond understanding. Words will 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 will similarly cloud efforts to use sign language, keystrokes, written words, facial expressions, and even more esoteric methods of communication the victim may possess, ranging from his own telepathy to strange chemical or photonic signals... or 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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against its power rank. If they fall prey to the power, victims of jumbling will have their communications scrambled until they can pass the FEAT roll they initially failed, allowed again each subsequent turn. While the initial roll might be considered impossible, one should always have at least a possibility of eventually shaking off jumbling, no matter how slim.

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

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

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

As one can guess from the name of this ability, lie detection involves the determination whether someone is lying or not 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 FEAT roll is required.

However, if the target is in fact aware that he's speaking to someone who has this ability (or perhaps just suspects this is the case), he may attempt to protect his falsehoods, and may resist lie detection if he can pass a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this ability's power rank. If the target can succeed in this FEAT 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
Psipathic Talent
Duration: special
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 used in it - though communicating back might be nigh-impossible if the linguist lacks the appropriate means to do so.

Characters with the linguistics ability can master a new language in an amazingly short amount of time, 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 power rank. In order to master more, a character must either master additional language talents (either during character generation or via character advancement) or raise the rank of this ability higher. If he tries 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 a +2 CS to a linguistics FEAT, while dead languages from such add but a +1 CS. Humanoid alien languages are resolved on the linguistics rank, while data languages and non-sentient animal 'tongues' apply a -1 CS. Stranger languages (pheromone signals, photonic expression, etc.) apply a -2 CS.

A more temporary use of linguistics involves the breaking of codes and 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 him. A super-human linguist may decrypt any encoded information at a +3 CS to either his Reason or his linguistics rank, whichever is higher.

Loathing
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

Loathing is defined as an extreme disgust, almost irrational in nature. Using this psipathic skill, a character can instill a sense of loathing in a target, directed at quite literally anything. Those who fail a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this skill rank will hate the indicated object of their loathing with every fiber of their being, and must pass a second Psyche (will) FEAT roll to resist the urge to express 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 skill will last 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.

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

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 FEAT against the Psyche (will) of its intended target. If this FEAT 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 FEAT roll, this time against the intensity of the original power if known; if the original power rank is unknown, a green FEAT 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 abilities or behavior within moments of the fix.

Alternately, mental repair can be used to treat more traditional, psychological problems.

The main question when bringing mental repair to bear in this fashion is the nature of the problem to be fixed. A lot of psychological 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 this is considered therapy (after a fashion), and takes quite some time. The exact nature of such durations is dependent on the nature of the physical damage, and the Judge's discretion.

Problems of a purely psychological nature can be treated in this manner as well, either in a transient or therapeutic fashion. 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 Judge to resolve how such issues are dealt with permanently.

Mesmerism
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

Mesmerism is an advanced form of the hypnotism talent. 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 Psyche FEAT against the mesmerism rank.

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

Once this state is achieved, the target can be forced to do something in regards to his 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 his 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 number, and can even override the target's ethics on a red mesmerism FEAT roll (the target, having stopped smoking for a full month thanks to a Remarkable (30) ranked mesmerism suggestion, may resume his habit if he chooses at this point - or continue to enjoy his extra pocket change).

Mind Control
Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 an extensive manipulation of the target's activities. When the power is activated, its target immediately gains a Psyche (will) FEAT roll to resist the effect, rolled against the intensity of the mind control ability. If this FEAT 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 can still be controlled is increased to Middle distance once domination of his mind has been achieved. A mind controller must deliver his commands directly in order for them to be obeyed, either verbally (in person or by telephone) or telepathically (if the mind controller also has that power).

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

Though Popularity losses for one's actions while mind controlled are entirely the problem of the victim.

Mind control lasts for a number of minutes equal to its rank number, 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
Psipathic Art
Duration: permanent (no maintenance required)
Cost: 1 point per rank

A mind link is a powerful psychic bond between two individuals. A mind link can only be initiated between two willing people, for it is a deep and personal merger of the very thoughts, emotions and sensations of both persons involved. As such, a mind link is a much 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 the entity with this ability and the individual he has linked to will 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 someone one shares a mind link with, and doing so requires a red Psyche (will) FEAT roll every day the secret is to be kept.

Unlike most psi powers, a mind link is a permanent affair; once initiated it is a persistent state of affairs. As such, it does not count as a power for the purposes of psionic 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; in order to mind link with a different person, an existing link must be surrendered.

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

Mind lock allows its wielder to 'pause' a target's conscious mind in a precise and instantaneous fashion. If the victim fails a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this power rank, he will stop cold - right where he stands. No matter what he was doing at the time a mind lock was applied, he will simply cease his actions and 'freeze' in place, unable to move or think in the slightest.

The victim of a mind lock may roll an additional FEAT to resist this ability each turn. Upon breaking free from a mind lock, the target will continue to act as he originally planned, though he'll realize something has changed while attempting said actions (if they haven't already been obviated by events occurring while his mind was on hold), and he may resume normal actions on his 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 him to constantly hold the target in place. If the target breaks free from an instantaneous use of mind lock, he is free to do whatever he likes, though if he emerges from a maintained mind lock, he must resist on each subsequent turn or said lock will resume while the power is maintained.

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

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

This dangerous ability allows its user to actually swap the minds of two separate individuals. When activated, mind transfer prompts an immediate Psyche (will) FEAT roll against its power rank to resist, unless the targets of the power are explicitly willing subjects. If all unwilling individuals involved fail this FEAT 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 his Reason, Intuition and Psyche scores, as well as his Karma total, mental quirks, and knowledge-based powers. He can make use of the physical characteristics of his new body just fine, whether mundane or fantastic, as well as the Resources, Popularity and contacts of his 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 knowledge (if any).

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

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 might be considerably difficult to track down, particularly if they make multiple transfers in short order - by the time everyone's minds put themselves 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
Psipathic Art
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 2 points per rank

A mind wipe is the deletion of large swathes of memory and knowledge from the mind. Above and beyond mere forgetfulness, mind wipe can remove more than just a few minutes of memory from its target - it can selectively remove all information relating to any number of subjects at once. 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 last 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 Psyche (will) FEAT 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 mind 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.

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

N

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

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 making a nonapparent vision FEAT against the rank of something in disguise; if this FEAT is successful, nonapparent vision will allow the character using it to see the object of his study in its true form.

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

P

Phobia
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

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

Phobia can affect a target if he fails a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this power rank. If the character so affected has a specific phobia quirk, he must make this FEAT at the appropriate negative column shift. Characters who succumb to this power receive a new FEAT roll to shrug the effect off each turn, but phobia will remain in effect until the victim can finally make this FEAT - which can be hard with particularly phobic characters.

Phobia functions within Near range of its wielder.

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

A more invasive form of mind control, possession allows its wielder to project his very consciousness into the mind of another. The would-be target of this ability automatically gains a Psyche (will) FEAT roll to resist, against the intensity of the possession power rank. If this FEAT roll succeeds, the would-be possessor's consciousness is deflected back into his own mind, possibly giving him a bit of a headache in the process.

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

While possessing a target, the wielder of this power may act and live vicariously through him or her, doing anything he likes with the appropriated body. He may spend his Karma to influence actions taken while in the possessed body, though not the victim's own Karma reserves. Similarly, a possessed person does not lose Karma for actions a possessor takes while controlling him, but he just might lose Popularity as a result of them.

Once possessed, the target may not actively resist the power - unless its wielder places him in a life-threatening situation. Other than that though, they're helpless against their tormentor, forced to watch as the possessor does what he likes with their body, their very life. Of course, knocking a possessor unconscious is one way to end his 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
Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 look back into its history a number of years equal to the postcognition power rank number squared. For example, a postcognitive bearing this ability with Incredible (40) rank can directly examine and relive the history of a subject up to 1,600 years into the past!

A postcognitive vision will usually only give 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 (Judge'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 FEAT roll determines how useful the offered data is.

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

The kicker is that in order for a player to not know they're getting bum (or excellent) information, they don't get to roll the actual FEAT when using postcognition - that's left to the Judge. Mind you, a player may declare he's adding Karma to the roll, but he won't know how much he needs; he can shout out a number and be bound to that expenditure, but may not even need all of it if the Judge 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 CS to the FEAT roll, a +2 CS when used on close friends and relatives, as well as his own property, and a +3 CS when used on himself. The latter is useful when trying to determine what might have happened to oneself while unconscious (or dead!) for any long periods of time.

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

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. This gives the character with this capability the power to shape the very nature of his reality, for he 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 time line is immutable, the precognitive character is not necessarily viewing his own eventual fate. You see, there are an infinite number of alternate time lines, 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 his future towards a certain path, for good or ill.

Precognition can read 'ahead' a number of hours equal to its power rank number; Excellent (20) rank gives a body about a day's worth of notice of impending events (great for winning the lottery), while Shift X (150) rank 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, in order to see if his actions are helping (or not).

Assuming he wishes to change anything.

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 Judge will make precognition FEAT rolls in secret, and the player may not add Karma to this roll. The validity of a precognitive reading is dependent on the results of this FEAT, and the Judge is encouraged have a blast with any failed precognition FEAT rolls.

On the other hand, something useful should be gleaned upon the success of precognition, in relation to the color result. A green FEAT, for instance, will give accurate but vague information in the vision. A yellow FEAT roll will provide ample data about a future occurrence, making it easier to determine what the context is. A red FEAT 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 his 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 sees visions when the Judge 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 an area he's standing within).
• 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 power rank (both for the resolution of FEATs and the range with which it can peer into the future) by -1 CS. The limit to this is of course Shift 0 rank, at which point a character can only use the power to peer into the immediate future of those in his 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 their current sector. If this FEAT (which must be yellow 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 of the power if it hasn't already reached shift 0 levels, and may be used indefinitely.

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

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 power rank Karmic damage should the target fail a Psyche (willpower) FEAT roll versus its power rank. Psi bolts are ineffective against anything without a Karma score, 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 serious psychic damage, are the province of the game Judge.

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

A variant on the standard ability, psionic vampirism allows its wielder to feed upon the very consciousnesses of other sentient beings in order to recover his own, lost Health points. 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 his Reason, Intuition and psionic power scores (if any) equal to this power rank.

This assumes the target is unable to resist; psionic vampirism can be fought off by passing a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against its rank. If this FEAT fails, the psionic vampire may drain his victim of as much or as little consciousness as he wishes, up to his power rank number, each turn. Every additional turn he does so, the target is allowed another FEAT roll to resist the wielder of psionic vampirism.

If this resistance FEAT 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).

If a psionic vampire is at full Health when he drains his power rank in consciousness from a victim, he will receive a +1 CS to his Strength, Endurance, Psyche, and all of his power ranks save for this one (additional drains do not enhance him further). This boost lasts for 1d100 turns, after which point the character with psionic vampirism will return to his normal capability. Gaining another, like boost requires another feeding.

The danger in using this ability is twofold. First off, there's the danger 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 Endurance ranks until either first aid is administered or they die. If such an individual dies, he 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), he must pass a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against the intensity of his own psionic vampirism. If this FEAT roll fails, the psionic vampire will become addicted to the mental energies of others, and will require them to function as well. While addicted, the character with psionic vampirism will suffer a loss of power each day he does not feed upon the minds of others.

This loss comes in the form of a -1 CS to his Strength, Endurance and Psyche scores, as well as all of his power ranks (save for psionic vampirism). In order to avoid this loss, the addicted psionic vampire must drain an amount of mental energy equal to his psionic vampirism rank each day, and if at a penalty, a like amount to recover each -1 CS lost. The only way to shake this addiction is to go cold turkey - and that's not easy.

Cutting oneself off from the mental energy of others causes the CS penalties to mount, until the character's indicated ability scores and power ranks reach Shift 0 levels. This prompts an Endurance FEAT roll, per a Kill result. If this FEAT fails, the character immediately dies, and will eventually rise as a psionic vampire himself. If it succeeds, he may attempt a Psyche (will) FEAT roll to shake off his addiction.

If this Psyche FEAT succeeds, the character is 'cured', and may begin to recover lost ability and power ranks at a rate of +1 CS per day. If the Psyche FEAT fails however, the character must wait another day, and repeat the Endurance FEAT to see if he lives long enough to attempt another Psyche FEAT to beat the urge. This continues until the character either dies or manages to defeat his addiction.

If a character with psionic vampirism has ever been addicted to the mental energies of others, using the ability again may cause a relapse - even if he's physically recovered from the ordeal. Every time the character uses psionic vampirism afterwards, he must pass a Psyche (will) FEAT roll, the failure of which indicates an immediate relapse into addiction. If he passes this FEAT roll he'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
Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

A means of achieving effective invisibility, this ability allows its wielder to force others to disregard the sensory input that would reveal his 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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this power's rank or be unable to directly perceive its user.

Their minds thus clouded, people in the character's vicinity will not react to his presence, and won't even know he was 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 him.

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

The user of psychic invisibility may wield this ability on more than himself, if desired. He may add any number of individuals to the 'umbrella' of stealth that psychic invisibility provides, but each additional person so added applies a -1 CS to the effective rank 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
Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against the psychic probe intensity to resist it, even if he's unaware of its use beforehand. If this FEAT is successful, the target cannot be probed (by this particular psychic prober) for twenty four hours.

If this FEAT fails, the prober may seek out whatever information he 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 he's looking for. The target can only reveal knowledge he actually knows, but it's possible that he has secrets locked up in the back of his mind that he's not even aware of in the first place.

Once the use of psychic probe is complete (whether successful or not), the target must make a second Psyche (will) FEAT roll. If this FEAT fails, he will suffer a -1 CS to his Psyche rank 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
Psipathic Skill
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 may be.

A sending can travel anywhere, its energies being self-sustaining while it's about its appointed task. Being composed 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 in order 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). This is easier said than done however, as the things do move at the speed of thought.

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

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 might perceive something close as far away, hear sounds at the wrong pitch or seemingly 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 CS penalty on all physical FEATs 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, or walking normally when the ground keeps seemingly shifting around underfoot, or when one's clothes feel lined with razors. Intuition FEATs are made at a -4 CS under the influence of this skill.

Sensory distortion itself lasts as long as it can be maintained, and can affect anyone who fails a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against its skill rank. Of course, one can try to resist its effects anew on each subsequent turn. This skill can be used upon anyone within Near range of its wielder.

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

A sensory link is a neurological bond between two separate intelligences. Establishing such a link requires that the two individuals to be so tied together be within Very Near distance of each other, though once it is live, a sensory link will function regardless of distance, geography, planar boundaries and 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 he himself were the person so harmed. If one of the linked persons dies, the other must pass a red Psyche (will) FEAT 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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this ability's rank 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; in order to establish a new sensory link, an existing one must be sundered. Similarly, a permanent sensory link does not count as a persistent power for the purpose of psionic power maintenance - in fact, it's quite possible that many individuals so linked do not even possess psionic powers at all!

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

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.

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

After all, sensory projection has a rather 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 thus to take more aggressive steps to stop such transmissions into their brains.

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

Like unto auscultation in function, sensory reception allows its user to eavesdrop on the ambient mental radiation given off by those in his vicinity. It differs in that conscious thoughts are not picked up by this ability, so much as whatever sensory input people in one's area 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 Psyche (will) FEAT 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 someone looking at something he also seeks, someone who smells a particular scent, or feels a unique sensation - at least, compared to others in the area. Similarly, sensory reception can be used to just live vicariously through anyone nearby - assuming one cares not for the privacy of others at all.

Sleep
Psipathic Talent
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 the wielder's current area, if they fail a Psyche (will) FEAT roll against the sleep ability's rank. 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 FEAT 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
Psipathic Talent
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

Telepathic powers generally work in a rather straight-forward manner - their initiator makes contact with one or more other minds, and then conveys whatever information they had in mind. However, this assumes that there isn't a lot of psionic 'noise' going on, 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 generate an area around their person - namely, everything within Very Near range - that is overwhelmed with psionic static. While in the radius of a static field, telepaths must pass a power FEAT against the intensity of the static field in order to operate their telepathic abilities at all - 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 himself wield any other telepathic powers while it is active. Similarly, the character gains power rank resistance to psychic influence while his static field is active. On the down side, 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
Psipathic Art
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank

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 an unwilling target may resist telepathic contact by passing a Psyche (will) (or any protective psi power, whichever is higher) FEAT roll against the rank of the imposing telepathy. Telepathy functions with Far range, giving its wielder a wide berth to contact others.

The basis for a large variety of other 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 CS to both the effective rank and range of telepathy. For instance, an Unearthly (100) ranked telepath could conceivably link the minds of 128 individuals in his vicinity, but would do so at a -7 CS (or at Typical (6) rank), and then 'only' with people within a ten mile distance.

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

While telepathy proper 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 he wishes them to know. This can be a verbal or visual message, and when delivered 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 Psyche (will) FEAT roll against this power rank.

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 with devious marketing schemes. These messages will most often not be confused with the recipients' own thoughts, unless of course they don't believe in psionics...

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