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psionics
There are 12 Psionic Talents, three for each Attribute. Your number of wild talents is determined by rolling each attribute; each success provides a level in one of the attribute's psionic talents. Like magical disciplines, each Psionic Talent covers numerous psionic powers similar to spells.
Unlike spells, psionic powers never require external ingredients. Furthermore, instead of suffering random mishaps, rolling 1s on your die simply inflict some kind of extra cost. The cost is usually something internal, such as gaining the Hungry or Sleepy condition, suffering attribute damage, or losing extra Willpower Points. The exact effect may be negotiated with the GM.
Note that most powers come with three effects:
- Passive effects which are "always on" without requiring any costs. These are similar to General Talents.
- Active effects, similar to normal spells. Active powers have a Willpower cost and require a Slow action to activate.
- Ritual effects, in which you need to spend a Quarter Day delving into a power to tap its deeper manifestations. Many ritual effects have the Meditation talent as a pre-requisite, since they require extended concentration.
Psionic powers can be upgraded in a similar way to gaining spells of higher ranks. When gaining a higher level in the Psionic Talent, you can choose to use your powers at a lower Rank (which is safer) or the new Rank (which offers new options or greater efficiency.) Unless stated otherwise, using a power at a higher rank always incorporates the benefits available in lower ranks. The different types of effects don't stack with each other, eg your Rank 1 ritual doesn't become a passive effect at Rank 2! Only rituals stack with rituals, etc.
With the GM's approval, you may spend XP to improve a power, such as allowing Extremophile to also counter lightning attacks in addition to fire and cold.
You might use powers at a higher Rank than your Psionic Talent level, in a similar way to Chance Casting (p117.) Thus Rank 4 powers are possible, but always cost at least a little something extra, and there are no Rank 4 passive effects. Since this represents the most legendary psionic powers, the effects may be more narrative, and there could be harsher costs involved, depending on what you are trying to achieve. Therefore, the exact powers for Rank 4 are not written down, but instead are open to discussion.
All Psychometabolism powers have a range of Personal.
This power makes it easier to survive without ready access to consumables like food and water.
The passive version of this power allows you to automatically survive for longer periods of time without food or water.
- Rank 1: When starving, you only suffer 1 point of damage to Strength per fortnight. When dehydrated, you only take one point of damage to Strength and Agility every two days instead of every day.
- Rank 2:
- Whenever hunger or thirst prevents you from regaining attribute points, you gain one Willpower Point.
- Whenever you take any damage from Hunger or Thirst, you gain one Willpower Point.
- Rank 3: When starving, you only suffer 1 point of damage to Strength per month. When dehydrated, you only take one point of damage to Strength and Agility per week.
The active version of this power allows you to push the limits of consumables, banking them in your body like a camel's hump and expending them more efficiently.
- Rank 1: Each Power Level allows you to re-roll a consumable dice once, when consuming a ration. Eg, if you're about to consume a water ration, and you use this power at Power Level 3, you could roll your water dice 4 times and take the best result.
- Rank 2: Each Power Level allows you to "bank" a ration of food or water, similar to a camel's hump. The maximum number of rations that can be banked is equal to your Strength. Each ration consumed still requires rolling the consumption dice like normal. Power Levels may be spent on extra consumable re-rolls, as at Rank 1. The first Power Level spent on a re-roll purchases two re-rolls.
- Rank 3: The first Power Level allows you to bank two rations of food or water. When you spend Power Levels on consumable re-rolls, each Power Level provides two dice.
The ritual version of this power allows you to prepare for a stint of deprivation, switching your body into a survival mode which will not require any access to consumables for days or possibly even weeks.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: Each Power Level adds a day before you next need to consume a ration. Power Levels may be spent on either food or water, which must be purchased separately to each other.
- Rank 2: The first Power Level spent on food allows you to go two days without food, and the first Power Level spent on water allows you to go two days without water.
- Rank 3: The first Power Level spent allows you to go two days without food or water before you need to consume either.
This power makes it easier to thrive in extreme Heat or Cold.
The passive version of this power makes it easier to withstand ordinary extremes of the Athas climate.
- Rank 1:
- The penalty for Endurance checks under the midday sun are halved (reduced from -2 to -1) and the bonus for morning and afternoon/evening is doubled (increased from +1 to +2.)
- If Cold is ever relevant, you only need to check for its effects half as often as normal.
- If you have the Meditation talent, you may roll Insight instead of Endurance when attempting to resist Heat or Cold.
- Rank 2:
- The penalty for Endurance checks under the midday sun are eliminated. Outside of the midday Quarter (i.e. morning and afternoon/evening), you no longer need to make Endurance checks.
- If Cold is ever relevant, you only need to check as quarter as often as normal.
- Whenever you take damage from a temperature-based attack (such as fire), you gain one Willpower Point.
- Rank 3:
- If doing work under the midday sun, you only need to make an Endurance check once for the whole Quarter. If you are not working, you can bask under the sun without additional checks required.
- Cold is no longer relevant.
The active version of this power allows you to resist or even absorb extreme temperature attacks, such as fire.
- Rank 1: For a number of turns equal to the Power Level, you may roll Endurance whenever you are subject to a hot or cold attack. Like armor, each success decreases the damage of the attack. Since this effect only affects your own flesh, it doesn't protect your equipment. Eg if you are wearing armor, you must check the interactions of your armor with the attack before assessing whether your extremophile psionics protect your flesh from whatever damage gets through. This ability also doesn't protect against extreme weather unless there is an attack roll involved. If you have the Meditation talent, you may roll Insight instead.
- Rank 2: When activating this ability, it lasts for one turn longer than at Rank 1.
- Rank 3: Whenever the active form of this power reduces heat/fire damage, you may consume the energy instead of dissipating it into the environment; each point of damage reduced acts as a free ration which immediately disappears if you don't consume it. Likewise, whenever the power absorbs cold damage, you may treat each point of cold damage reduced as a water ration. These rations are only available for yourself; they do not externalize as physical rations, so cannot be shared, and so they evaporate into the environment if you aren't able to consume them within one turn. However, the xeranthektics power does allow you to absorb multiple points of damage into your ration bank.
The ritual version of this power activates a close-range energy shield which not only protects your own flesh from extreme temperatures, but also your gear and nearby people or items.
- Rank 1: Unlike the Active effect, which allows your gear to be damaged, the Ritual version of this power allows you to project a bubble of resistance around yourself, for a longer period of time. For one Quarter Day, you are shielded from hot and cold attacks, as though there were an extra layer of armor with a rating equal to the Power Level. As a Fast Action, you can extend this layer of resistance to either your gear or one other person within Arm's Length. You may shield additional items or people, but each extra one halves the "armor" rating. When subject to a relevant attack (i.e. elemental heat or cold), your resistance bubble is checked first before other layers such as armor. Note that your bubble can be worn down in the same way as regular armor. Also note that although the bubble isn't highly visible, it may register to sight or other senses as a vague shimmering around you.
- Rank 2: When activating this ability, you gain a second Power Level for free along with the first Power Level.
- Rank 3: The restrictions from Rank 1 are now ameliorated. You can spend Power Levels to increase the duration by a Quarter Day, or to cover an additional person-sized volume.
This power makes it easier to resist toxins and pathogens (poisons and diseases.)
What others call toxins and pathogens, for you are just useful chemicals and potential symbionts, waiting to be used by your body. You naturally moderate their worst effects, or can even subvert them to become helpful.
- Rank 1:
- You get +1 to Endurance checks to resist Poison and Disease (see pp113-114).
- Furthermore, if you have the Meditation talent, you may roll Insight in addition to Endurance to resist (or enhance) the agent's effects. You may choose between the Insight and Endurance successes.
- Whenever you recover from a Poison or Disease, your system treats future exposures as having 1 Virulence or Potency less. This resistance accumulates so you may eventually become completely immune to a wide variety of Poisons and Diseases.
- Rank 2:
- You get +2 to Endurance checks to resist Poison and Disease.
- If you have the Meditation talent, whenever you are subject to a poison or disease, you may attempt to sublimate the agent's effects into novel entheogenics. Whenever you would need to make an Endurance roll, you may also roll Insight with a bonus equal to the agent's Potency or Virulency. Each success reduces the Potency or Virulency by 1, and provides 1 WP. You may make this roll before making the Endurance check.
- Whenever you recover from a Poison or Disease, your system treats future exposures as having 2 Virulence or Potency less. This accumulates as at Rank 1.
- Rank 3:
- You get +3 to Endurance checks to resist Poison and Disease.
- Whenever you recover from a Poison or Disease, your system treats future exposures as having 3 Virulence or Potency less. This accumulates as at earlier Ranks. Note that Virulence or Potency 3 is the level of a "typical" Poison or Disease, so a single exposure can be enough to make you completely immune to many common ailments.
Diseases tend to work on a longer time scale, so the active version of Prophylaxis is not highly effective against them. Instead, this version of the power focuses on neutralizing poisons, generally within the context of combat against opponents with poisoned weapons and venomous bites.
- Rank 1: For a number of turns equal to the Power Level, whenever you need to roll to resist a poison, Full Effect is reduced to Limited Effect and Limited Effect is reduced to no effect. You can also work in the other direction if you so wish.
- Rank 2: This power lasts for one extra turn each time it is activated.
- Rank 3: While this effect is active, you are completely immune to toxins, and any toxins already in your system are eliminated.
Unlike the active version of Prophylaxis, ritual timescales are suitable for resisting diseases.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: With one Power Level, you gain +1 to rolls vs the Potency and Virulency of poisons and diseases for one Quarter Day. Each extra Power Level either increases the duration of the effect by a Quarter Day, or provides a +1 to resisting either poisons or diseases.
- Rank 2: Instead of lasting for one Quarter Day by default, the ability lasts for two Quarter Days.
- Rank 3: Each Power Level that provides a +1 to only one of disease or poison resistance provides a +1 to both instead.
This power increases your healing rate and helps you resist and recover from the worst effects of critical injuries.
The passive version of Regeneration makes your natural healing factor more robust, allowing faster and more effective recovery from injuries, even making it harder for Lethal injuries to kill you.
- Rank 1:
- If Broken, you always recover the first attribute point back in the minimum possible time (1 hour,) and rolls to save you from any Lethal damage are at +1.
- If you have the Meditation talent, whenever you have the option to make a Healing roll on yourself, you may roll Insight instead.
- Rank 2:
- If you are Broken, you can immediately recover one point to the attribute which was Broken. This ability can only be used once before you need to Sleep or Rest to recover it. You still need to check for Critical Injuries.
- Whenever you are Broken, you gain a Willpower Point.
- When automatically recovering your first attribute point after being Broken, you can roll your usual (non-damaged) attribute rating. Each success provides an additional point which is recovered immediately.
- You age slower than normal.
- Rank 3:
- If you suffer Instant Death, it is downgraded in intensity. It becomes a Lethal wound with a Time Limit of D6 turns and a Healing Time of 3D6 days.
- All Permanent injuries heal in 2D6 days. This applies to past injuries, so an amputee who later develops high levels of Regeneration will find their body returning to a pre-injury state.
- You no longer age. If you are Adult, you regain a point of Agility unless your Agility already equals its maximum, and if you are Old, you regain points of both Agility and Strength, up to their maxima.
The active version of Regeneration forces your healing factor to greatly accelerate, forcing wounds to close right before the eyes of amazed (or aghast) onlookers.
- Rank 1:
- You can allocate Power Levels to regain points in any damaged attribute.
- If you received a Critical Injury within the last Turn, so long as it doesn't stop you from using active powers, you can spend two Power Levels to recover from it in a number of additional turns equal to the Healing Time, instead of days. Additional Power Levels can be spent on top of this, either to work on older wounds, or to shorten the healing, on a one turn per Power Level basis. Critical Injuries may not be healed more quickly than one turn in this way.
- Rank 2: Every time you activate this power it starts with a second Power Level for no extra cost.
- Rank 3: Upon activating this effect, it has twice as many Power Levels available as normal.
The ritual version of regeneration focuses on recovery from Critical Injuries, moderating their lethality and accelerating their healing. Compared to passive regeneration, this is much faster and more effective, eliminating Critical Injuries in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks. Although it is less fast than the active version of regeneration, it also has fewer constraints: it will work on any Critical Injury, not just a fresh one, and the Willpower costs are more efficient.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: When suffering from a Critical Injury, you may spend a Quarter Day to ameliorate the effects. Each Power Level allows you to either double the Lethal Time Limit or halve the Healing Time.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but you may allocate Power Levels to completely recover from one Critical Injury each. This can affect old injuries acquired before you gained this power. This effectively replaces Rank 1 since each Power Level allocated can't be used for ameliorating one Critical Injury while fully healing another.
- Rank 3: Every time you use the ritual effect of Rank 2, it starts with a second Power Level for no extra cost.
This power is focused on hardening physical substances, allowing them to inflict or withstand greater damage. Unless otherwise specified, the range of all Psychoannealing is Arm's Length.
The passive version of Psychoannealing allows you to subconsciously harden your personal items, as well as strengthening the fortifications on friendly strongholds wherever you establish yourself.
- Rank 1:
- For every time your gear would be worn down by a Push, you ignore the first point of damage to your gear. Every time your armor would be worn down by penetration, you ignore the first point of decrease to the armor rating. This only applies to gear that you have been wearing for at least one Quarter Day.
- You gain a +1 bonus to all Crafting.
- After spending a week at a friendly stronghold, it gains +1 Defense Rating so long as you remain on site.
- Inspired by the superiority of your equipment, you gain a Willpower Point every time an enemy's gear is damaged in combat with you, so long as your own gear does not receive any damage in the process.
- Rank 2: Each time your gear is worn down through use, it is worn down half as much as usual. Apply this effect before applying the Rank 1 passive effect.
- You gain another +1 bonus to Crafting, for a total of +2.
- After spending a day at a friendly stronghold, it gains +1 Defense Rating so long as you remain on site. Since this stacks with Rank 1, the Defense Rating goes up to +2 after a week.
- Rank 3:
- So long as you have been wearing or using an item for at least one Quarter Day, it is never worn down so long as you continue wearing or using it. It could be damaged in other ways, but not from the regular usage for which it was intended, including Pushing attacks.
- You gain a third +1 bonus to Crafting.
- After spending a Quarter Day at a friendly stronghold, it gains +1 Defense Rating so long as you remain on site. Since this stacks with Ranks 1 and 2, it goes up to +2 Defense Rating after a day and +3 after a week.
The active version of Psychoannealing allows you to temporarily improve the physical properties of any Gear of your choice.
- Rank 1: When activating this effect, choose an item within Arm's Length. For each Power Level, you can either add +1 attack bonus, +1 damage, +1 armor rating or similarly improve the Gear bonus on any chosen item. The chosen equipment retains that bonus for the duration of this effect, which is four turns by default. You can also spend Power Levels either to increase the range of the effect (eg from Arm's Length to Short range), or increase the duration of the effect by one turn.
- Rank 2: When activating this effect, you gain an additional Power Level for free.
- Rank 3: Each Power Level either purchases two +1s instead of one, or increases the range by two steps, or doubles the duration.
Whereas the active version of Psychoannealing is unstable and quickly wears off, the ritual version can create more substantial artifacts.
- Rank 1: Upon completion of this ritual, one object within Arm's Length becomes an artifact for one Quarter Day. For Power Level 1, it adds a D8 Artifact Die, D10 for Power Level 2, or D12 for Power Level 3. If you have the Meditation talent, you may also make an Insight roll, and each success adds a Quarter Day to the duration of the effect.
- Rank 2: When activating this effect, you gain an additional Power Level for free. The duration is now one day by default and increases by one day per success if Meditation is applied.
- Rank 3: The duration is now one week by default, increases by one week per success on a Meditation roll, and becomes permanent if the Meditation roll netts four or more successes.
This power is focused on manipulating randomness, disorder, structural weaknesses and decay. It could be considered opposite or complementary to Psychoannealing, in that one typically enhances or protects items and the other typically degrades them.
The passive version of this power causes random disruptions to enemy equipment and fortifications, and allows you to profit from energies released by acts of destruction.
- Rank 1:
- When an enemy's gear is damaged during combat with you, the first point of damage taken by the gear is doubled.
- Each time you spend a week in an enemy stronghold (eg if you were taken prisoner), it must roll on the Lacking Upkeep table (p165) even if upkeep has been met. If upkeep has not been met, it rolls twice.
- Absorbing the energies of destructive sacrifice, you gain one Willpower Point every time a non-trivial item of yours breaks, such as your armor, a weapon, or gear with an equipment bonus.
- Rank 2:
- Whenever an enemy attacks you, their weapon must be checked for damage even if they didn't push the roll.
- After spending a day in an enemy stronghold, its Defense Rating is reduced by 1 for so long as you remain on site.
- Rank 3:
- When the gear of any enemy within Short Range of you is damaged, it takes twice as much damage (although this does not stack with Rank 1, i.e. no quadrupling the first point of damage).
- After spending a Quarter Day in an enemy stronghold, its Defense Rating is reduced by 1 for so long as you remain on site, and it must roll on the Lacking Upkeep table every day. This stacks with Rank 2 but not Rank 1, i.e. its Defense Rating is modified by -2 after a day but it doesn't make additional Lacking Upkeep rolls after a week, for that effect is absorbed into the daily roll.
The active version of this power allows you to consciously degrade the quality of equipment.
- Rank 1: When activating this effect, choose an item within Arm's Length. For each Power Level, you degrade the quality of the item, such as by reducing its attack bonus, damage or armor rating by one. The item may be repaired in the usual way, but otherwise the damage is permanent. Power Levels may also be spent to increase the range.
- Rank 2: When activating this effect, you gain an additional Power Level for free.
- Rank 3: Each Power Level either degrades the item twice or increases the range by two steps, eg from Arm's Length to Medium.
The ritual version of this power is focused on large-scale effects, especially degrading strongholds instead of just single items. Powerful telentropes are walking siege-breakers, able to take up a lookout position miles away and quickly crumble entire fortresses with little effort.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: After you meditate upon a Stronghold at Medium Range or closer for one Quarter Day, it is forced to make one Lacking Upkeep roll per Power Level, even if upkeep has been met. You can also spend Power Levels to increase the range.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, the following benefits accrue, in addition to Rank 1:
- You gain an additional Power Level for free.
- You can spend Power Levels to provide "advantage" on Lacking Upkeep rolls, allowing each selected roll to be made twice, choosing the preferred result. Whether to purchase this advantage needs to be decided while activating the effect, not after any dice have been rolled.
- Rank 3:
- Every Lacking Upkeep roll is made at advantage without needing to allocate extra Power Levels.
- The range becomes Distant automatically without any extra Power Levels required.
This power is focused on performing fine manipulations at a distance.
The passive version of this power is focused on improving or modifying fine motor skills.
- Rank 1:
- You gain +1 to all Sleight of Hand and Healing rolls. At the GM's discretion, the bonus could also be applied to Crafting or Performance rolls, so long as they rely on fine motor skills. (Eg playing an instrument or sewing could benefit, but smithing probably could not.) Marksmanship cannot benefit at this Rank.
- Whenever you fail a Sleight of Hand roll, you gain one Willpower Point.
- Rank 2:
- You gain an additional +1 bonus to all relevant skills, which can now include Marksmanship. I.e. Marksmanship now has a total bonus of +1, while Sleight of Hand, Healing and others go up to +2.
- As well as affecting your own rolls, you subconsciously interfere with nearby enemies. Enemies within Short range who are using Gear with bonuses (including Weapons) get -1 to the total bonus.
- Rank 3:
- Whenever you use Gear which provides a bonus to a skill (including weapons), the bonus is increased by +1.
- When an enemy within Short range takes attribute damage from Pushing, the first point of damage is doubled.
The active version of this power is focused on using fine motor skills at a distance.
- Rank 1: You can use Sleight of Hand, Healing, and possibly other skills at Short range for one turn, with a number of dice equal to the Power Level, plus your usual skill dice. You can use Power Levels to increase the duration and range.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, it gains an extra Power Level.
- Rank 3: Instead of gaining an extra Power Level, each Power Level is doubled.
TBA
This power is focused on lifting and moving heavy objects, including yourself (no offense.) It doesn't allow any fine manipulation, the power is instead focused on Newtonian physics, such as moving a center of mass or rotating around it. Compared to the other powers in the Telekinetic discipline, this is the one for truck drivers.
The passive version of this power is focused on improving your Move and Might, as you learn to almost but not quite levitate yourself or nearby objects automatically.
- Rank 1:
- Whenever you are travelling alone or only in the company of others who also have this power, your Hike rate is doubled.
- Whenever you suffer damage due to a failed Move or Might roll, you gain one Willpower Point.
- If you have the Meditation talent, whenever you know you are about to make a Move or Might roll, you may spend a Slow action making an Insight roll first and add its successes as a bonus to the intended roll.
- Rank 2:
- Whenever you fall, you reduce the effective height fallen by half. Yes, if you are a halfling, the height is divided by four.
- If you have the Meditation talent, you can make your Insight roll to augment Move or Might as a Fast action. If you perform the Meditation as a Slow action anyway, the first success becomes a D8 Artifact Die added to the Move or Might roll.
- Rank 3:
- As you fall, you stabilize your rate of descent and lower the terminal velocity. So long as you are aware that you are falling and you are not being forcibly dragged down, your effective falling distance is capped at four meters.
- Whenever you get more than one success in a Move roll, you can "save" one of the surplus successes to use as a bonus on another Strength or Agility check. Any such bonuses vanish at the end of your next Turn if they aren't used before then.
- Whenever you get one or more successes on a Might roll, you gain an additional success.
The active version of this power is focused on performing or affecting Might or Move rolls at a distance.
- Rank 1:
- You can perform one Might roll, such as to lift or push a heavy object, at Short range, with a number of dice equal to the Power Level.
- Alternatively, each Power Level can add a bonus or penalty to one Move roll that someone within Short range (maybe yourself) is about to perform, before the end of your next turn.
- Power Levels can be used to increase the range.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: Instead of gaining an additional Power Level, every Power Level is doubled.
The ritual version of this power allows quickly moving large objects over long distances.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: At Power Level 1, you can lift one unimpeded human-sized object within Short range off the ground and impart Movement Rate 1 to it for one Quarter Day. It must remain within range for the duration, or it will gently float to the ground and then the effect will end. Additional Power Levels allow increasing the size (human -> wagon, large animal or half-giant -> house -> stronghold), the Movement Rate, the duration or the range. As part of a Hike, any object flying like this is not affected by rough terrain, and you can move a number of hexes per Quarter Day equal to one plus the Movement Rate. Any Lead The Way roll must be performed by whoever activated this effect, who may also allocate Power Levels to provide a bonus to their Survival rolls for this purpose. A levitating object can carry gear or passengers, with weight limits constrained by total inventory slots. A passenger's weight is worth a number of inventory slots equal to their Strength. Their own inventory must be added separately. At Power Level 1, the levitating person-sized target has a capacity of 4 inventory slots; at Power Level 2, the cargo capacity is equal to 30; Power Level 3 allows 200; and a floating stronghold could carry 1000.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: Instead of gaining an additional Power Level, every Power Level is doubled.
Yank objects into your hands and create nova blasts that push enemies away.
Create flurries of small objects that confuse and sting enemies.
This power allows you to manipulate and transform elemental energies such as heat, light, sound and electricity. The potential applications are diverse; some rules of thumb to keep in mind are that energy can't be created or destroyed, and your level of control is not as refined as telekinesis. On the other hand, compared to telekinesis, you are not restricted to controlling physical movement; you are distinguished by your control over electromagnetic and sonic energies, in addition to kinetics.
The passive version of this power allows you to reflexively deflect, scatter and dissipate energy from your person, armoring you against kinetic, elemental and sonic attacks.
- Rank 1:
- You receive +1 Armor against energetic attacks, including typical melee attacks. You don't have such armor when it is unclear how your power could help you.
- If you have the Meditation talent, you can spend a Slow action to prepare for a named energetic action you plan to make on the following turn. Make an Insight roll. The number of successes provide a bonus to the named action.
- Rank 2:
- As Rank 1, but you gain +2 Armor against relevant attacks.
- Whenever you take one or more points of Strength damage from an energetic attack, gain 1 WP.
- Rank 3:
- As Rank 1 and 2, but you gain +3 Armor against relevant attacks.
- When using the Meditation talent to prepare for a named energetic action (as described at Rank 1), it only requires a Fast action.
The active version of this power allows you to consciously manipulate and transform forces in your environment, not merely those centred on your person. This always requires access to an active power source somewhere in Short Range, such as heat from the sun incident on your location, flowing water, or an electrical storm directly overhead.
If the power supply is especially energetic, such as the heat of the Crimson Sun on Athas at midday, the effect will be cast as though it had additional WP spent on it. This is similar to the Psychic Power talent on p62. If you have the Meditation talent, you may spend a Slow action before activating this effect to reduce such bonus WP.
Due to the range of applications available for this power, the following rules are meant to be common examples rather than strict limitations.
- Rank 1:
- Targeting one object or creature in Short range, the heat and light of the sun may be lensed to deal damage equal to the Power Level of the effect.
- If you have the Meditation talent, you can roll Insight with a bonus equal to the Power Level. The number of successes provides extra Armor against energetic effects to everyone within Arm's Length.
- Focusing on one incoming energetic attack which you have time to prepare for, you dump its energy into the surrounding environment, imposing a penalty on the attack equal to the Power Level.
- Rank 2:
- As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect, it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3:
- As Rank 2, but upon activating this effect, every Power Level is doubled instead of only the first.
The ritual version of this power allows creating large scale and long term effects.
- Rank 1:
- At Power Level 1, you create some kind of energy effect that performs mild adjustments to the environment within Short range which lasts for a quarter day. Example: shield an area where you want to rest from the midday sun.
- Additional Power Levels could be used to make the effect more intense, but they can also be used to either increase the range by a level (eg Short to Long) or the duration by a Quarter Day.
- Rank 2:
- As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect it gains an initial Power Level, and the unit of duration is a whole day.
- Rank 3:
- As Rank 2, but all Power Levels are doubled instead of only the first, and the effect automatically covers everything up to Distant range (or less).
Illusions. Cloaking. Darkness.
Control air masses, resulting in wind, temperature changes and precipitation.
This power allows you to perform feats of eidetics and rapid arithmetic. Compared to the Genius power, it is focused more on computer-like powers of recall and calculation, rather than insight and general-purpose deductive thinking.
The passive version of this power improves your general recall and arithmetic abilities, but doesn't unlock the full powers of photographic memory, eidetic scene reconstruction or instant computation.
- Rank 1:
- Your character is assumed to have good general recall of their experiences. This is not perfect photographic memory. You can't just skim through a book and automatically memorize it. A typical use is in situations where the GM might require a Wits roll before reminding players about important information; the player can then use the Savant power to gain a +1 bonus.
- Skill rolls that can benefit from clear memory or rapid arithmetic, such as Lore and some types of Crafting or Administration, get a +1 bonus. If it's unclear why being a savant would help, the onus is on you to explain.
- Rank 2:
- You automatically remember events from past game sessions, even when a Wits roll might normally be required.
- Any other bonuses from Rank 1 are increased to +2.
- Whenever you fail a Lore roll, you gain 1 WP.
- Rank 3: All bonuses gained from previous ranks are now increased to +3.
The active version of this power allows rapidly acquiring detailed information with perfect recall, and immediately knowing the answer to mathematical computations.
- Rank 1:
- You can allocate Power Levels to memorizing pages of detailed information, such as from a book. Each page requires one Power Level and one Slow Action. You must have a clear and complete view of each page to be able to capture it.
- You can allocate Power Levels to quickly calculate the solution to any numerical problem as a Slow Action. This isn't an automatic puzzle-solving ability because most puzzles are not explicitly numerical.
- Rank 2:
- Upon activating this effect, it gains an extra Power Level.
- You can now scan pages as a Fast Action per page.
- You can allocate Power Levels to gain hints for any puzzle that seems vaguely mathematical.
- Rank 3:
- Upon activating this effect, all Power Levels are doubled.
- If you have multiple pages of information arrayed before you, you can acquire all of them at once with a single Fast Action.
The ritual version of this power is focused on mentally constructing a three-dimensional eidetic memory of any event or location you have experienced in the past, allowing you to gain additional insight from it.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: By spending a Quarter Day reflecting on your past experiences, you can construct a fully-realized eidetic memory of any past event, allowing you another chance to glean information from it. Power Levels can be allocated either to duration of the scene (one round per Power Level) or to the Rank 1 Active effect of memorizing any available pages of detailed information within view in the scene.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but the scene can last for one hour per Power Level spent on duration, and the remaining Power Levels can be allocated to accessing the Rank 2 Active effect within the scene.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but the scene can last for one day per Power Level spent on duration, and the remaining Power Levels can be allocated to accessing the Rank 3 Active effect within the scene. Although the scene lasts for a whole day from your subjective point of view, it doesn't actually require additional time outside of your Quarter Day meditation to explore it.
You have a sharp mind capable of rapid learning, lateral thinking, and deduction. In your spare time, you are able to devote yourself to deep research that might seem "out of touch" to the short-sighted, but which can yield unexpected advantages later.
The passive version of this power is focused on rapidly gaining ranks in skills classically associated with genius: Crafting, Sleight of Hand, Lore and Performance.
- Rank 1: The first time you Push a Crafting, Sleight of Hand, Lore or Performance roll in a game session, you gain one bonus XP towards the skill, regardless of whether you are successful or take damage from the Push.
- Rank 2: Once per game session, when you take damage from Pushing a Crafting, Sleight of Hand, Lore, or Performance roll in a session, you may convert any of the WP gained into bonus XP towards that skill.
- Rank 3: When increasing the level of Crafting, Sleight of Hand, Lore or Performance, the cost becomes the current level multipled by 5. You immediately gain level one in each of these skills if you don't have it yet.
The active version of this power is focused on temporarily buffing Wits-based skills on short time-scales.
- Rank 1: Power Level one gives you a +1 bonus to the next Wits-based skill you use within one round. Higher Power Levels may be allocated to either increasing the duration by one turn or increasing the bonus by +1.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, the first Power Level counts for two.
- Rank 3: Like Rank 2, but the total Power Level is doubled instead of just the first.
The ritual version of this power is focused on performing blue-skies research which can lead to bonus Artifact Dice, XP and hints about how to solve problems your character is facing.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: You spend a Quarter Day on blue-skies research, thinking deeply about some unsolved abstract problem. At the end of the Quarter Day, make an Insight roll with a number of bonus +1 equal to the Power Level, and another +2 bonus if you had access to a Library (p168). You gain a number of D8 Artifact Dice equal to the number of successes. Each dice can later be used once on any skill roll of your choice, as you recognize an unexpected application of your research to the situation at hand. As soon as you use a die, you gain one bonus XP towards the skill. Alternatively, whenever you feel stuck on some puzzle or issue, you can give up an Artifact Dice to get a hint from the GM about options to consider or how to progress the situation. (Note that these dice never expire until used, unlike the Artifact Dice gained from the passive version of the Dreamer power, which must be used quickly.) Subsequent uses of this effect are penalized by the number of Artifact Dice you have extant, i.e. true eureka moments are more likely if you already saw the applications of your previous research.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but each Artifact Die you obtain is a D10, and you gain two bonus XP instead of one to each chosen skill.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but each Artifact Die you obtain is a D12, and you gain three bonus XP instead of two to each chosen skill.
This power unlocks the creative power of dreams, giving you access to unusual insights and inspiration.
The passive version of this power provides basic dream recall and lucid dreaming.
- Rank 1:
- Every time you Sleep and are not interrupted, you can recall one dream you had before awakening, and it gives you a flash of understanding or inspiration. You gain a bonus +1 die which you can add to any one skill roll within the next one Quarter Day. We'll call this a D6 Inspiration Die. Inspiration Die are similar to Artifact Dice, but start at D6, they can only be used once, and they expire after a while if they are unused.
- If you have the Meditation talent, upon awakening you may spend a Slow action to make an Insight roll. Every success allows you to recall additional dream details, giving you additional D6 Inspiration Dice, on top of the automatic one.
- Rank 2:
- As Rank 1, but you automatically get two D6 Inspiration Dice. These can be applied to the same roll, i.e. you can treat it as a single +2 if you want. They last for 2 Quarter Days before going stale and expiring if you haven't used them yet.
- You also begin to gain some control over your dreams. If you can describe a weird and highly symbolic dream or terrifying nightmare to your companions upon awakening after Sleep, you gain 1 WP, not more often than once every 24 hours.
- Rank 3:
- As Rank 2, but you have enough recall to automatically gain three D6 Inspiration Dice. The bonus dice last for 3 Quarter Days.
- You gain significant control over your dreams. If you have the Meditation talent, once per Sleep you can make an Insight roll to dream about emulating any talent. If you get any successes, the cost of improving the chosen talent is reduced by 1 XP. This never reduces a talent's cost below 1 XP.
The active version of this power allows you to get more from the Inspiration Dice obtained from the Dreamer passive effect, and also allows you to blur the lines between dreaming and reality.
- Rank 1:
- You may allocate Power Levels to increase Inspiration Dice, eg 2 Power Levels could increase a single D6 to a D10, or two D6 Inspiration Dice to two D8 dice. You don't have to do this as soon as you awaken, it can wait until any time before the dice expire.
- You can also allocate Power Levels to consume Inspiration Dice to produce surreal narrative effects, beyond what would normally be possible with such a die (and possibly beyond what is even covered by any rules.) Generally, the more powerful the Inspiration Dice consumed, the more beneficial the result. Each die consumed requires a Power Level. If you have the Meditation talent, you may spend a Slow action to make an Insight roll before activating this power, to glean from the GM an idea of the likely outcome. You may also commit additional Power Levels to assert more narrative control over the outcome. Perhaps with enough Power Levels, you could even become the GM?
- Rank 2:
- Upon activating this effect, it gains an extra Power Level.
- When consuming an Inspiration Die, it doesn't merely produce an unpredictable and surreal narrative effect, but can instead provide a concrete manifestation of a desired object. The value is governed by the type of die: D6 gives Common, D8 is Uncommon and D10 Rare. Treat metal objects as being one level more valuable, so a longsword is Rare (requiring D10), and the D12 is to conjure items like a two-handed sword or plate armor. The size is only Tiny by default, but you can allocate additional Power Levels to increase the size through Light, Regular and Heavy. Thus to summon a steel two-handed sword will require not only a D12 but also Power Level 4. Note that you can't change your own subconscious intuitions about physics, so you can't summon a wooden club which has all the stats of a two-handed sword in the hopes that this will help avoid notice. If you summon something with the stats of a two-handed sword, it is going to look like a two-handed sword, which will attract notice.
- Rank 3:
- Instead of only providing one extra Power Level as at Rank 2, every Power Level is doubled for this effect.
- If you conjure an object as per the Rank 2 effect, you can use a Power Level to consume an additional D12 Inspiration Die. If you do so, the conjured object is an Mighty artifact (as per p50), i.e. provides a permanent D8 Artifact Die on top of its usual Gear bonus. Each D12 Inspiration Die consumed in this way improves the permanent artifact level.
The ritual version of this power allows you to enter a dreamlike state while still awake, rather than needing to wait until you Sleep. This allows you to combine the best of both worlds, the raw creativity of dreams and the narrative direction of consciousness.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1:
- Although you don't get the full benefits of Sleep, this effect counts as a Quarter Day of Rest.
- At the end of the Quarter Day, make an Insight roll with a bonus equal to the Power Level. Successes either provide D8 Inspiration Dice (as per the Passive version of this power) or can be used to ask the GM for more direct insight or hint into some issue or situation which has been puzzling or bothering you. The GM may answer in a vague way, answers couched in symbolism.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but any Inspiration Dice you gain are D10s, and the effect counts as a Quarter Day of Sleep. Questions asked of the GM may still be answered with symbolism, but the GM shall provide additional hints or options for interpretation.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but any Inspiration Dice gained start as D12s. Successes used to purchase information from the GM shall be answered clearly, so long as you could normally gain access to the information or it falls within your experience.
This power helps you fortify your mind against attack, gain and use Willpower Points more efficiently, and performing feats of emotional self-control.
The passive version of this power is focused on passively buffing your mental defenses and improving Willpower Point efficiency.
- Rank 1:
- You always have the equivalent of a point of armor protecting you from Wits and Empathy damage.
- If you have the Meditation talent and use it to add Wits and Empathy armor for an encounter, add a D8 Artifact Die to the Insight roll.
- If you have the Meditation talent, you can recover WP more easily whenever you are running low: whenever you gain one or more WP, you may make an Insight roll, with a difficulty equal to your current WP (before gaining the new WP.) The number of successes provides additional WP.
- Rank 2:
- You always have the equivalent of 2 points of armor protecting your Wits and Empathy.
- If you have the Meditation talent and use it to add Wits and Empathy armor for an encounter, add a D10 Artifact Die to the Insight roll.
- Whenever your Wits or Empathy is Broken, you gain 1 WP.
- Rank 3:
- You always have the equivalent of 3 points of armor protecting your Wits and Empathy.
- If you have the Meditation talent and use it to add Wits and Empathy armor for an encounter, add a D12 Artifact Die to the Insight roll.
- Whenever you spend WP, you may roll a number of D6s equal to the WP spent. Each "success" (6) on these dice means the WP is not expended even though you get the benefit of it.
The active version of this power is focused on creating more powerful but short-lived mental defenses.
- Rank 1: You gain an amount of armor to your Wits and Empathy equal to the Power Level. This armor stacks with any gained from other sources and lasts until the end of the encounter.
- Rank 2: Upon activating this effect, it gains an extra Power Level. The mental armor lasts for a Quarter Day.
- Rank 3: Like Rank 2, but every Power Level is doubled instead of only the first. The mental armor lasts for a whole day.
The ritual version of this power is focused on establishing long-term self-control and mental resilience. This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1:
- You may allocate a Power Level to either changing your Pride or adding a new Pride if you don't currently have one.
- You may allocate Power Levels to adding Wits and Empathy armor, as per the active effect, but they last for a whole Day.
- You may allocate two or more Power Levels to add temporary Wits or Empathy points. Every two Power Levels provides a temporary point to either attribute. When either attribute is damaged, the damage comes off any temporary points first. The points last until you next Sleep.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but every Power Level is doubled instead of only the first, and you only need to Sleep every second day.
Gain additional senses or extend your existing senses beyond normal constraints of space and time.
Your mind directly tunes into deeper layers of reality that undergird the possibly illusory world of everyday perception. Although to others it seems to provide such abilities as "dark vision", it is not really related to conventional senses; a closer analogy is Neo's gnostic vision of the machine code in The Matrix.
- Rank 1:
- You gain a +1 bonus to all Scouting rolls and to any Move roll you need to make while running in Darkness (p113).
- If you have the Meditation talent, whenever you are asked for a Scouting roll, you can also roll Insight. You can choose the preferred result from Scouting or Insight.
- Rank 2:
- As Rank 1, but the bonus rolls to Scouting and Move are at +2.
- While Leading the Way, if it is dark, any bonus successes from your roll can give +1 to everyone in the party who needs to roll Scouting to avoid falling.
- Whenever you fail a Scouting check, you gain 1 WP.
- Rank 3:
- You gain a +3 bonus to all Scouting rolls.
- While you are Leading the Way in the dark, if you succeed at your Survival roll, people travelling with you do not need to make Scouting rolls to avoid falling.
- You no longer need to make Move checks when running in Darkness.
Simulate extending the ordinary senses, or act as though you still had some perception even when it would normally be completely deprived.
- Rank 1:
- Power Levels may be allocated to either giving +1 bonuses to all Scout rolls for the rest of the Turn (about 15 minutes), or to reducing penalties due to impaired senses, such as if it is dark or you have been blinded or deafened.
- Successes from any Scout roll made during this time can be used to find all traps and secret doors within Short range.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect, it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but rather than doubling the first Power Level, all Power Levels are doubled.
You immerse your mind into the layers below everyday reality, encountering cosmic intelligences beyond comprehension and maybe returning with insights or boons impossible by other means.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: After spending a Quarter Day meditating upon the hidden world, you can contact a lesser "genius loci", an intelligence entangled with the local geography and architecture. You can make a Manipulation roll with a bonus equal to the Power Level to request something from this spirit. The spirit can only perceive and affect whatever is within Short range. For purposes of opposing your Manipulation, the Insight dice pool of a typical genius loci is 6. They get bonus dice according to how dramatic your request is. Asking for vague information (such as "roughly how many people live in this area?") or unremarkable physical changes ("create a mild, short-lived gust of wind" or "cause some confusion amongst the guards") won't give the spirit any bonuses. Whereas, asking for significant dramatic effects like "immediately unlock and open every door within your domain" or "open the earth to swallow this building and everyone in it" will likely provoke serious pushback from the genius loci.
- Rank 2: You contact a greater genius loci, whose domain is everything within Long range. If the spirit's Insight successes outnumber your Manipulation successes, take that much damage to your Wits, not so much because the spirit attacks you, but because you have been subjected to the scrutiny of a great inhuman intelligence which saw right through you and dismissed you like an ant.
- Rank 3: You gain knowledge and conversation of an intelligence so vast that it might be called a god, except Athas has no gods, and this entity is utterly impersonal, as cold and remote as the sun is close and hot. There are things it might "want", but worship isn't one of them. You may supplicate it for more or less anything. If the "god" gets more successes on its Insight roll than your Meditation successes, you take twice that much damage to both Wits and Empathy.
You can sense the layout of objects in space around you.
- Rank 1:
- When you make a Scouting roll, successes beyond the first can reveal hidden objects or concealed spaces within Near range. It can't reveal fine details or color, only the shape, so although you could detect a humanoid figure on the other side of the wall, you wouldn't automatically know if it's a statue or a living person unless it moved.
- If you have the Meditation talent, after making a successful Scouting roll, you can spend a Slow action to make an Insight roll. Each success reveals one additional property about a chosen object, which might be hidden. Typical properties could be "it is alive" or "it is a complicated mechanism" or "it is a magical artifact."
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but your spatial sense extends to Short range.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but your spatial sense extends to Long range.
You can extend your senses to peer around corners and eavesdrop on conversations.
- Rank 1: At Power Level 1, you can extend one sense to anywhere in Near range until the end of the next round. Each additional Power Level allows either adding another sense, increasing the range, or increasing the duration by a round.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect it gains an extra Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, every Power Level is doubled.
You can construct a mental body that allows you to project your senses over vast distances.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: Meditating upon your senses and the space around you, make an Insight roll. If you are successful, you project your senses into a subtle body that can fly at great speeds and move through most barriers. It can move 1 hex per hour per Power Level, eg Power Level 3 could allow it to travel through 18 hexes in a Quarter Day. It lasts for a number of Quarter Days equal to the successes on the Insight roll. It can be sensed and interacted with using some types of psionic powers; any damage shortens its lifespan but doesn't otherwise affect you. You can end the effect whenever you want; your normal senses are immediately restored and the construct simply dissipates.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, but upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, every Power Level is doubled.
The passive version of this power provides accurate timekeeping and navigation.
- Rank 1:
- When you want to know exactly where you are, what direction you are facing, or what the time is, you can make a Survival role; each success answers one of those questions. If a question was not answered, you need to either wait a Quarter Day or move 1 hex before you can ask it again, in order to recalibrate the sense.
- If you have the Meditation talent, when you are Leading the Way on a journey, you can make an Insight role. The successes provide a bonus to your Survival role for Leading the Way.
- Rank 2: Whenever you are Leading the Way and fail your Survival role, you gain 1 WP.
- Rank 3:
- When Leading the Way, you get +2 to your Survival role, in addition to any bonuses from Insight if you have the Meditation talent.
- You no longer need to roll to know the current time and location; unless specific and drastic measures have been taken to confuse you, you always know your location, bearing and the time of day to within a minute.
- You never appear in the visions of those who use the Prescience power to peer into the future.
The active version of this power allows you to "read minutiae", sharpening your senses to pick up subtle cues that might otherwise be missed; you can then use those cues to enhance your Manipulation attempts.
- Rank 1:
- Each Power Level gives you a +1 bonus to all Insight rolls that you make for one Turn (15 minutes). This includes Insight rolls made as part of exercising the Meditation talent.
- For the duration of this effect, after you successfully perform an Insight roll on someone, the number of successes provides a bonus to all Manipulation rolls against that person.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, and upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, every Power Level is doubled.
The ritual version of this power anchors you in the here-and-now, making you seem more real and powerful to others, and making it harder for other psionicists to manipulate spacetime in your vicinity.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: After focusing on your senses and immediate environment for a Quarter Day, make an Insight roll with a bonus equal to the Power Level. Each success increases the duration of the following effects by one Quarter Day:
- Gain a D8 Artifact Die on all Manipulation, Performance and Animal Handling rolls.
- Whenever someone spies on you, the GM must roll your Insight to see if you detect the intrusion. If the spying is psionic in nature, your Insight roll gets a +1 per Power Level of the opposing effect. If you detect such psionic spying, you may spend a Willpower Point to make yourself undetectable to the intruder.
- Whenever someone in Near range attempts to use the Psychoportation power, if you are aware of it, you can choose to spend a Willpower Point as a fast action to cancel their effect.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, and upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, you double all of them.
The passive version of this power improves your initiative and makes you less likely to be surprised.
- Rank 1: You gain +1D6 to your Initiative rolls and +1 to Scout rolls for detecting ambushes or traps.
- Rank 2: You gain +2D6 to your Initiative rolls and +2 to Scout rolls for detecting ambushes or traps.
- Rank 3: You gain +3D6 to your Initiative rolls and +3 to Scout rolls for detecting ambushes or traps.
The active version of this power reveals the most likely events to happen in the next few seconds, allowing you to anticipate enemy moves in combat and improving your own outcomes.
- Rank 1:
- For the rest of the combat or one Turn, whichever is sooner, you gain +1 per Power Level to all of the following actions: Slash, Stab, Punch/Kick/Bite, Grapple, Dodge, Parry, Shove, Disarm, Feint, Shoot, and Manipulation (in Social Conflict.)
- If you are Broken at any point in the conflict, this effect ends, but the upside is you do not need to roll for a Critical Injury when this happens.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, and upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, you double all of them.
The ritual version of this power provides you with visions of the future, possibly days, weeks, months or years in advance. Use caution, for the wise recognize you are most likely to see what you fear the most, and once it is seen, that future is locked in forever. Some suspect that a reason Athas is in such a sorry state today is that the sorcerer-kings used this very power and established a self-fulfilling prophecy of tyranny and environment devastation that will eventually kill the world.
This effect requires the Meditation talent.
- Rank 1: You spend a Quarter Day in a trance, watching what images and scenes well up from your unconscious. Make an Insight roll with a bonus equal to the Power Level. If successful, at least one of the scenarios strikes you as a likely future event. The more successes you get, the clearer the vision and the more likely it foretells something useful or important to you. The GM can't be expected to have arbitrary future events prepared, but shall try to indicate plans for a future scenario or an important NPC.
- Rank 2: As Rank 1, and upon activating this effect it gains an additional Power Level.
- Rank 3: As Rank 2, but instead of only doubling the first Power Level, you double all of them.
Detect use of psionics.
Also see Sense Magic spell, this should be similar but for psionics.
- Passive: You get a ping if someone uses active or ritual effects near you. More Power Levels in the effect makes a stronger ping.
- Active: Gain insight into the psionic talents of others, even if they never use them in your presence.
- Ritual:
Impede the use of psionics.
- Passive: When you experience a psionic attack, you receive a passive buff to your defense.
- Active: Cancel other active psionic effects that you can sense. Maybe drain WP?
- Ritual: Cancel other ritual psionic effects that you can sense.
Augment the psionics of others.
- Passive: When allies use active psionics in your vicinity, they get a passive buff of some kind.
- Active: You can supply WP to fuel someone else's active psionic effects. Maybe drain WP?
- Ritual: You can directly transfer WP to someone else.
Identify, control and create psionic artifacts.
- Passive: Detect if an object is an artifact and what it does.
- Active: Perform hacks on existing psionic artifacts.
- Ritual: Craft new psionic artifacts.
Spirit sensing and communication.
Sense and control the emotions of others; inflame or enthrall crowds and make people more suggestible.
Seem to fit in to any company, and erect mental wards that make it seem like you are thinking and feeling the "right" things (eg when scanned by telepathic Templars.) Modify your effective reputation, so people either feel like they already know you, or you slide out of their mind even if they would realistically be expected to recognize you. Gain bonuses to Empathy-based skills.
Assess current state of health, such as attribute levels and critical injuries.
Scan a crowd for particular thoughts or individuals.
Uncover personal memories and secret thoughts of a single target.
Plant suggestions, control actions and induce illusory sensation.
Inflict Wits damage, basically a Fear attack.
This power provides control over biological processes. Heal friends, influence animals, and create Cronenbergian monstrosities.
Manipulate a target's immune system, making them more resistant or vulnerable to disease. Manipulate diseases themselves, making them more or less virulent.
Either grant energy to or sap life force from an organism, healing or damaging its Agility or Strength scores, or inflicting or removing the Sleepy condition.
Mutate organisms in various ways, crippling them or granting new abilities (possibly at some cost to their overall integrity.)
Control biochemical reactions in organisms; depending on the mental sophistication of the target, this could either provide direct control, or merely influence general behavior.