Stormraven
SOC-10
Not being terribly happy with the T20 rules for Psionics, I set up my own house rules for them, which could fairly easily be transferred to other d20 systems, I think.
It's huge, though - fourteen pages in Word. You have been warned.
Oh, it also has tables in Word, and I'm not very good at setting tables up in this. Sorry.
Player and Character Information on Psionics for my Traveller Universe
Psionics in my universe are potentially very powerful – capable, at the greatest extremes, of acting across the entire galaxy. Fortunately for the peace of mind of the Imperium, such powerful psionics aren’t common even among the Psionically active Zhodani, much less in the Imperium.
New game information:
This document provides information on a new (to T20) skill, two new Feats, a system of Psionic Talents, and the Disciplines which are used to access powers within those Talents.
Skill Changes:
Concentration
Effect: For the most part, this skill is almost identical to the skill of the same name in the Core rule book. It is used when a psionic tries to maintain concentration in the face of distractions. In the absence of distractions, the psionic can generally maintain concentration as long as he has PSI to spend.
New Feats:
Latent Psionic
Note: This feat must be chosen at 1st level, unless the GM allows otherwise.
Effect: The character is psionically latent, and possesses a PSI score equal to 2d8 plus the average of her Con and Wis modifiers. The character may check for available Talents when this feat is chosen, but may not gain access to the Disciplines of those Talents until she has received training.
Natural Talent
Effect: As Latent Psionic, except that the character is semi-operant in the disciplines of one Talent. As a kind of trade-off, Natural Talents tend to have few Talents than Latents can eventually possess. The character possesses a PSI score determined as for Latent Psionics, and also checks for Talents. The first Talent received is operant. She may immediately train with any disciplines within her operant talent as Cross-class skills. All other Talents are latent.
Psionic Training
Effect: Once taken, the character can train any of their Disciplines as cross-class skills. Latent Psionics cannot gain skill in any of their Disciplines until they take this Feat. Natural Talents may only gain skill in their operant Disciplines until they take this Feat.
Advanced Psionic Training
Effect: The character may now train one Talent’s disciplines as Class Skills. This Feat may be taken multiple times, for different Talents.
Talents:
All Psionics possess one or more Talents, which define the capabilities of the Psionic. The various Talents are:
¨ Telepathy – The ability to contact or control other minds, or to project and/or listen to thoughts.
¨ Psychokinesis – The ability to manipulate matter or energy with the mind.
¨ Telesentience – The ability to project her awareness elsewhere, with up to full sensory perception.
¨ Jump – The ability to psionically ‘jump’, or teleport one’s self or others.
¨ Control – The ability to control one’s own body fully.
Few psionics possess more than one or two Talents. Those who possess three or four are one in a generation, and possession of five is almost unheard of, even amongst the Zhodani.
When the character gains one of the two Psionic Feats, the player may choose one Talent the character will possess. For a Natural Talent, this will be the semi-operant Talent. The player then lists the other Talents in the order she wishes the character to – hopefully – gain them. To gain an additional Talent beyond the first requires a PSI test. The player may not take 10 or 20 on this test. The DC for the test is 10 for the second Talent attempted, +5 for each additional Talent attempted. Natural Talents add +3 to the DC. If the roll fails at any point, the process halts. One variation to the test procedure occurs here. If the player rolls a natural 20, she may roll again, but this time add +5 to the total. The following table presents the DC information in a readily viewed format.
Latent Psionic Natural Talent
2nd Talent 10 13
3rd Talent 15 18
4th Talent 20 23
5th Talent 25 28
Disciplines:
Each Talent possesses several Disciplines, which are the ways the Talent can be used. Possessing the Talent grants the character the potential to use all these Disciplines, but not the skill. Each Discipline is also a skill, which cannot be used untrained. The Psionic Training Feat is needed to train those Disciplines as cross-class skills. Note: Natural Talents can train their operant Talent’s Disciplines as cross-class skills naturally, but still need to take the Psionic Training Feat for their other Talents.
Table of Disciplines by Talent
Telepathy
Shield – Protecting one’s self and others from Telepathic contact/assault.
Commune – Contacting another by Telepathy, or Receiving broadcast thoughts.
Assault – Mental attacks, whether to control, confuse, or harm.
Psychokinesis
Telekinesis – Lifting and moving gross matter by the power of the mind.
Quantum kinesis – Manipulating matter on a molecular scale, or manipulating energy.
Telesentience
Farsense – Sending one’s senses elsewhere.
Extra-Sensory Perception – Sensing things one’s innate senses cannot.
Pre/Retro Cognition – Sending one’s senses into the future/past. Not terribly reliable.
Jump
Teleport – Actually moving one’s self and belongings to another location.
Apport – Moving objects or persons to one’s self.
Control
Conscious – Conscious control of one’s abilities.
Unconscious – Control of one’s abilities that does not require conscious concentration to maintain.
Modifiers to Discipline usage:
The following tables provide the modifiers to any appropriate Discipline usages. There are modifiers for Range, for Mass, for Force, and for Time.
Range Table
Range DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
Touch -5 --
Line of Sight (100m) 0 --
Continental +5 +1
Planetary +10 +2
Interplanetary +15 +4
Subsector-wide +20 +6
Sector wide +25 +8
Galactic +30 +10
Mass Table
Mass DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
5 Kg +5 +1 / Rnd
50 Kg +10 +3 / Rnd
500 Kg +15 +5 / Rnd
5 Tonnes +20 +7 / Rnd
50 Tonnes +25 +9 / Rnd
500 Tonnes +30 +11 / Rnd
5 MTonnes +35 +13 / Rnd
Each x10 +5 +2 / Rnd
Force Table
Force DC Mod PSI Cost Mod Damage(If desired)
1 Kg +5 +1 1d3
10 Kg +10 +3 1d6
100 Kg +15 +5 2d6
1 Tonne +20 +7 2d8
10 Tonnes +25 +9 2d10
100 Tonnes +30 +11 4d10
1 MTonne +35 +13 6d10
Each x10 +5 +2 +2d10
Time Table
Time DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
1 day +10 +10
10 days +15 +11
100 days +20 +12
~ 2.5 years +25 +13
~ 25 years +30 +14
~250 years +35 +15
~2,500 years +40 +16
Each x10 +5 +1
Discipline Usages
As noted previously, each Discipline is actually a skill. Following are some of the most common usages of each skill, listed with the Discipline being used.
Telepathy
Shield
Personal Shield: DC 5; PSI Cost 1; Duration: Until knocked down.
Effect: Upon successfully raising the shield, the Psionic is protected against any telepathic contact short of an assault. If successfully breached by an Assault, it must be erected again. The PSI Cost is paid only to raise the shield.
Multi-Shield: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 1; Duration: Concentration.
Effect: The Psionic extends his mental shields to protect others nearby. It has the same effects as a personal shield but goes down if the Psionic fails a Concentration check. The DC increases by 5 for each target protected, and the PSI Cost increases by 1 for each target protected. A Multi-shield can only be used at Touch or LOS range.
Mirror Shield: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration: Until breached.
Effect: The Psionic places a shield around another PSI with a psionic ‘mirror’ on the inside, which reflects any psionic ability back at the target, until the mirror shield is breached. A Mirror Shield can be placed upon any target the Psionic can sense, but is affected by the range table.
Breaching Shields: Any time a shield is struck by a Psionic power which can cause damage (Assault, Telekinesis, etc.) both parties make a skill check. The attacker’s skill is the Discipline used to attack, the defender’s is the Shield Discipline. If the attacker gets the better result, the shield is breached and goes down.
Commune
Empathy: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 1; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The Psionic can read emotions in unshielded minds. These emotions are perceived in the psionic’s framework. Thus, the psionic may apply labels to other race’s emotions which are not actually appropriate.
Projective Empathy: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The Psionic can project his own emotions at another mind, allowing them to sense what he feels. While this can’t breach a shield, a shielded psionic will still sense these emotions, much as a person can hear shouted conversations through a pane of glass.
Read Surface Thoughts: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The psionic can read the surface thoughts of an unshielded mind. If the target is psionically talented, even if untrained, he will be aware of the scan.
Project Thoughts: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 4; Duration: 2 minutes.
Effect: The psionic may project his thoughts. If he knows the mind he wishes to project to, he can make the communication private, otherwise it’s a broadcast.
Probe: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 6; Duration: 5 minutes
Effect: The psionic can probe deep into the target’s mind, searching for information, such as memories, hidden personalities, etc.
Notes: Any Psionic with the Commune discipline (i.e., any Psionic with any skill ranks in the Discipline) will automatically sense strong emotions and thoughts projected by non-psionics and untrained psionics. No one is aware of this, since it’s entirely passive, but attempting to gain any kind of useful information requires one of the above usages. What the psionic ‘hears’ otherwise is like the babble of a crowd. In fact, most psionics tune it out.
Modifiers: The Commune discipline is affected by the Range table, but if the Psionic wants to send a private communication beyond line of sight, she has to know where her target is, either by pre-arrangement or by other disciplines.
Assault
Psi Shout: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5 Duration: Instant
Effect: Not really a ‘shout’, the psionic assaults the mind of her target. Non-psionics tend to experience it as if it were a shout, however, hence the name. The target receives 2d8 of Stamina damage, and must make a Fortitude save or be stunned (unable to act) for one round. When assaulting a shielded target, if the attacker breaches the shields of the target, this attack affects them normally.
Psi Blast: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 15; Duration: Instant
Effect: A stronger variation on the Psi Shout, if the target fails a Fortitude save, he takes 6d8 Stamina and is stunned for 3 rounds. If the save is successful, the target takes the damage still, but is stunned for only one round.
Coerce: Base DC 10 (+ Target’s Will Save Bonus); PSI Cost 10; Duration: 1 day
Effect: The Psionic controls the target’s actions for the duration. The target still possesses free will, except as specifically prohibited by the psionic. Coercion cannot force any person to knowingly perform suicidal actions. It is possible to extend the Duration, per the Time table. Note: The psionic can make the target perform certain actions, but cannot control their thoughts. It is possible, therefore, to make a coerced target follow through a given required action – such as ‘Get on The Bitterluck, and shoot the captain of the ship. Don’t talk to anyone about this command.’ – but it’s not possible to make the target enjoy that action, nor is it possible to make the target believe it was his idea. It is possible to make a target forget who gave the order, but the memory is only buried, and can be recovered.
Veil: Base DC 15 (+ Target’s Wis Mod); Base PSI Cost 10; Duration: Special
Effect: The psionic can make the target perceive reality differently. The duration is determined by the nature of the illusion. If entirely different from reality – such as making a target believe that he’s in a different world, with different laws – the illusion lasts only as long as the psionic concentrates, paying the PSI Cost every 5 minutes. A complex shifting of perceptions – such as making a target believe he can fly under his own power, or that gravity has doubled, etc. – will last two hours, unless the psionic pays the PSI Cost again at the end of that time. A simple shift of perceptions – such as making one person look like another – can be permanent unless removed. (Probe can be used in this manner, by locating the correct appearance beneath the veil.)
Note: Assault can be used against only one target at a time.
Psychokinesis
Telekinesis
Telekinetic Movement: Base DC Per Mass Table; Base PSI Cost Per Mass Table; Duration: Concentration (PSI Cost / Round)
Effect: The psionic can lift and move matter with the power of his mind. The amount of mass he lifts and moves determines the DC and PSI cost. The default range is LOS. The psionic can move the mass at up to (PSI)m/Rnd, as long as he pays the full PSI Cost for the weight he is moving. That speed can be increased, by paying the full PSI Cost again for each multiple of that speed. (Thus, to move something at (3xPSI)m/Rnd would cost 3x PSI Cost for one round of such movement.) Note: Telekinetic Movement affects the whole object, and so cannot directly damage anyone or anything. Of course, running the mass into a solid object at 12-18 m/rnd or more will usually hurt. Grabbing a person with Telekinetic Movement requires a successful Ranged attack.
Telekinetic Manipulation: Base DC Per Force Table; Base PSI Cost Per Force Table; Duration: 1 round.
Effect: The psionic can use his Telekinesis to harm people or objects, doing damage as if striking them with a weapon. The Base DC and PSI Cost are per the Force Table. The default range for Telekinetic Manipulation is LOS. If the psionic succeeds at a normal Ranged attack, the damage listed is done as normal. The PSI Cost is for a direct Telekinetic blow. If the psionic wishes to bypass armour, and automatically do Lifeblood damage, he must pay an additional PSI Cost of 3, and make a successful Ranged attack. If that is successful, he must then make a successful Touch attack. If this attack is successful, the damage is inflicted per the table, in Lifeblood.
Quantum Kinesis: Each type of Quantum Kinesis requires its own skill. Quantum Kinetics deals with the manipulation of microscopic masses and/or energy. Rather than detail every form of Quantum Kinesis possible, the following table gives guidelines to base the usages on.
Energy Matter DC Mod PSI Cost Mod Duration Damage(Energy)
Small Currents Minor Shift in State 5 5 Conc. Up to 2d8
Large Currents Major Shift in State 10 8 Conc. 2d8-5d8
Stop Flows Extreme Shift in State 15 11 Conc. -----
Generate Small Currents Disintegrate 20 14 Conc. Up to 2d8
Generate Large Currents Integrate 25 17 Conc. 2d8-5d8
Shifts in matter do damage as appropriate to the shift. In most cases, it will not be more than could be done with an identical level of Telekinetic Manipulation.
Control/Generate Currents or Flows: The psionic can – within the bounds of physical reality – control the path of currents or flows of energy. (I.E., a psionic could make electricity take move through one wire instead of another, but could not make it jump through insulation.) Whether a flow is large or small is up to the GM, but in general, if it would normally do less than 2d8 damage to a character in contact with it, it’s a small flow, otherwise it’s a large flow.
Telesentience
Farsense Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: 5 minutes
Effect: The Psionic can focus one sense at a range normally unavailable to that sense. The DC and PSI Cost assume one sense, at one ‘step’ beyond normal range. (I.E., touch becomes LOS, LOS becomes Continental.) Farsense uses an altered form of the Range Table to determine DC and PSI Cost at given ranges. The DC and PSI Cost are for one sense. Each extra sense desired must add its DC and PSI Cost to those of the first sense. An example follows the modified table.
Range DC Mod* PSI Cost Mod
Touch 0 0
Line of Sight (100m) 0 0
Continental 0 / +2 0 / +1
Planetary +2 / +4 +1 / +2
Interplanetary +4 / +6 +2 / +3
Subsector-wide +6 / +8 +3 / +4
Sector wide +8 / +10 +4 / +5
Galactic +10 / +12 +5 / +6
* Where there are two values, the second is for senses such as Touch or Taste that normally have no range.
Example: To use all five senses at Continental Range would be difficult. Sight would have a base DC of 5 (1 step up from LOS comes free at the base DC) and a PSI Cost of 2. Hearing and Smell would be the same, giving a total – for those three alone – of DC 15, PSI Cost 6. Adding touch and taste would give a DC Mod of 7 each, and a PSI Cost mod of 3 each. Total for all five senses at Continental range would be DC 29 (15 + 14) and a PSI Cost of 12. Galactic range would give a total DC of 79, and a PSI Cost of 37 for all five senses.
Extra-Sensory Perception: Like Quantum Kinetics, this is a kind of catch as you can Disclipline. It is used to give the Psionic the ability to sense things she could not normally sense. Thus, for a human, UV vision, IR vision, Ultrasonic hearing and the like are things that can be gained by Extra-Sensory Perception. The DC and PSI Cost are based on how difficult a shift in perception is. A Simple shift is one that is at least techically possible. Since human eyes already see in a range that is just inside Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet, perceiving in those ranges is a simple shift. Similarly, Ultra and Infra sonics are a simple shift. Difficult shifts include means of perception that are well outside the psionic’s physical limits, and which generally have little effect on the psionic’s body at all. Examples include Magnetic fields, Radio, etc. Extreme shifts are those means of perception that are both well outside the psionic’s normal means of perception, and which could be considered actively dangerous to the psionic. Examples for human psionics are X-Rays, Gamma Rays, etc.
Simple Shift DC 10 PSI Cost 2 Duration: Concentration*
Difficult Shift DC 15 PSI Cost 4 Duration: Concentration*
Extreme Shift DC 20 PSI Cost 6 Duration: Concentration*
* The PSI Cost must be paid for every 5 minutes.
Precognition/Retrocognition: This is one of the more difficult Disciplines, and the costliest, especially given its small rewards. Given this, few tend to study it. The actual effect is similar to Farsense, in that the psionic sends one or more senses into either the past or the future. The Duration is 1 minute, and the temporal distance must be sharply defined. The Base DC and PSI Cost are as for Farsense, and further modified by the Time Table. As with Farsense, each sense must be calculated separately, then the totals added together. Unlike many other Disciplines, no psionic can maintain this power for more than 1 minute per hour. Obviously, the cost is less if the psionic wants to sense the past or future of his current location.
Jump – Overall, the most difficult Talent, the psionic actually reaches into Jump space and either ‘Jumps’ himself to another location, or brings something (or someone) to him.
Teleport: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration Instant
Effect: The base DC and PSI Cost are for the psionic to teleport himself and nothing else.
That means naked. Any additional mass adds to the DC and PSI Cost per the Force Table. The distance the psionic wants to move affects the values as well, per the Range table. Note: In general, clothing is roughly 1 kg. 10 kg will usually carry most standard gear that the character can actually physically carry without containers.
Apport: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration Instant
Effect: The character can teleport something or someone from a known location to his current location. (The character must have some way of divining the current location of the target if it is out of sight.) The Base DC and PSI Cost are modified – as with Teleport – by the Range to the target, and the Mass of the target (Use the Force Table).
Control
Conscious
Enhance Attribute: DC 10; PSI Cost 1/pt; Duration 15 minutes.
Effect: The psionic can increase one of his attributes by spending PSI points on a 1 for 1 basis. (Note: This cannot affect PSI).
Enhance Skill: DC 10; PSI Cost 2/rank; Duration 15 minutes, or one use, whichever is greater.
Effect: The psionic can increase his rank with a single skill. The skill can only be enhanced if: 1) It can be used untrained, or 2) He possesses at least 1 rank in the skill. The skill increase lasts for fifteen minutes. If a single use of the skill would take more than 15 minutes, the increase lasts for the duration of that one use.
Regeneration: DC 15; PSI Cost Varies; Duration Instant
Effect: Each PSI point spent heals 1 Lifeblood and 10 Stamina.
Unconscious
Suspend Animation: Base DC Time Table –5; Base PSI Cost Time Table –5
Effect: The psionic is able to put himself into a natural form of Low Sleep. He does not age or require food, though he still needs some air, because he still breathes, however slowly.
Unaging: Base DC 30; Base PSI Cost 15; Duration Permanent
Effect: The psionic can halt the effect of the next year’s aging. If performed regularly, the psionic can keep himself at a specific age. He cannot reverse the effects of age previously suffered.
Allowing more power in your Psionics (OPTIONAL)
This section contains rules that have the potential for very serious abuse. It is strongly suggested that the GM only allow the use of these options under very controlled situations.
Most of the Disciplines are very costly if the psionic wishes to have an effect over great distances or huge masses. This is as it should be. Traveller psionics are not generally powerful except on a more personal level. However, some GMs want more powerful psionics. There are several options that can be used to achieve this.
1) First, of course, you can increase the PSI stat with level, allowing higher level psionics access to some truly impressive powers. Following is one option for doing this.
2) PSI drugs are a common theme, and adding them to your campaign can give your psionics power boosts without the constant increases of #1. Additionally, few drugs exist that are completely free of side effects. The section following will detail a few drugs that you might use.
3) Give the psionics a means of decreasing the DCs and/or PSI Costs. There are several ways this can be done. Concentration, Gestalt, or physical aids.
4) Give the psionics a mechanical or electronic means of amping up their power. As with drugs, this will usually have unpleasant (to say the least) side effects.
Increasing PSI with Level
If you want your psionics to get more powerful with level, the following suggestion may work well. I would suggest limiting this suggestion to psionics who actually follow a Psionic character class – those who have Psionic Feats and skills, but are primarily of other classes should receive fewer points per level, or none at all, depending on how you work it. If you use either method, substitute other attributes for PSI when performing tests.
Option one: Lower starting PSI, random points every level.
For Psionic classes, PSI starts at 1d6. Each level thereafter grants the psionic another d6. Psionics in this option do not receive any extra points.
For psionics who follow another class, PSI starts at 1d4. Every two levels thereafter give another 1d4 to the character’s PSI.
Option two: Same starting PSI, random points added thereafter.
For Psionic classes, every two class levels grants the psionic another 1d8 PSI.
For psionics who follow other classes, PSI does not increase after start, though by multi-classing into a Psionic class, they can gain the benefits of that class.
PSI Drugs
PSI enhancing – and debilitating – drugs are a fairly common staple in novels with psionics. Enhancing drugs tend – with very few exceptions – to grant slim benefits in relation to the cost or unpleasant side effects. Here are a couple.
PSI-High: Adds 1d10 to PSI, for 1 hour. After the time is up, user’s Con is reduced by 10. If this drops Con to 0 or below, user is unable to move for the pain. Addiction is quite common despite this. Each time the psionic uses this drug, he must make a Will save (DC 15). For each additional use of the drug in a given day, the DC increases by 5. If addiction sets in, the character is so afraid of the pain that he will do his best to always be on the drug. This, too, comes at a cost. For every four hours of consecutive boost, the character’s innate PSI drops by 1 – permanently.
Shield: This drug is intended to control rogue psionics. It reduces the character’s PSI by 1d10 per dose. So far, so good. Unfortunately, each also drops Int, Wis and Cha by 3. For those who desire this drug to use on enemies, that’s not usually considered a down side – to those who have the drug administered to them, it is.
Decreasing DCs and Cost
The primary means of decreasing DCs and Cost is time, though if the GM wants, skill can be used as well. Gestalts can be used, as well. Following are rules for time and Gestalts.
1) Time: DC can be reduced by 5, or Cost can be reduced by 1, for every hour the psionic concentrates. Maintaining concentration over a lot of time is difficult. To maintain concentration for the 1st hour is a DC 15 test of the Concentration skill. (An appropriate environment might decrease that DC to 10.) The test must be checked each hour. For every hour past the first, the DC increases by 2. If the psionic fails the concentration check, he must rest for 8 hours before trying to concentrate that long again. (He can still maintain Psi powers for less than an hour.)
2) Gestalts: This doesn’t actually decrease the DCs or Cost, but it does allow for the use of otherwise impossible power usage, by pooling the skills and PSI of several psionics. All must have the Commune Discipline, and the Unconscious Control Discipline. In addition, all must have the Discipline skill that will be used. (Farsense, Precog, etc.) If all these criteria are met, the psionics can pool their PSI for the use of the active member. The linkage costs 5 PSI per hour to maintain, and is DC 15 (+1/member) to set up. Each member must make the check, and pay the PSI. The pool available to the active member (designated at the start) is the total of each member’s PSI-6. (5 PSI to maintain the link, plus 1 PSI to remain conscious.) Each member adds ½ their rank to the Active member’s skill rank total, as well. (Example: Six PSI’s want to spy on the Emperor from Zhdent. Their PSI’s are 12, 13, 15, 18, 17, and 16; all have the appropriate skills, and their ranks with Farsense are 4, 3, 6, 8, 5, 2. The Gestalt will have a pool of 55 PSI (6 + 7 + 9 + 12 + 11 + 10) and a Skill Rank of 17 (2 + 1 + 3 + 8 + 2 + 1 (The active character gets his full ranking)). Note, though, that the Gestalt will still act with a PSI of 18 (the active psionic’s PSI rating) when making tests and the like.
Technological Amplification of PSI.
Given that technology can create PSI shields, it stands to reason that it can be used to amplify PSI as well. Bear in mind, though, that if the technology is too easy to use and/or conceal, the players will always use it. Better to give it flaws of some kind, so they will only use it at true need. Here are some examples:
1) PSI Amp Pod – Looking for all the world like a one-person low berth, the PSI Amp Pod requires that the psionic enclose himself within. It works by placing the psionic into sensory deprivation, and taking over all the psionic’s autonomic functions, freeing up the entire output of his brain to augment PSI. In game terms, the character is able to add his Int to his PSI total while within the pod. Drawbacks are major, though. First, he’s sensory deprived. He can’t see, hear, smell, etc. He has no idea if there’s danger near his body unless he farsenses just outside the pod. Second, because the pod takes over all autonomic functions, if there’s any trouble with the pod he’ll suffer major systemic shock, assuming he survives at all. If the pod malfunctions for any reason, he must make a PSI test (at his normal PSI). If he succeeds, he manages to get his mind back in place, but is stunned for 5 rounds. If he fails, he’s dead.
2) Booster Helmet – Similar in size and appearance to a Psi-shield, the Booster Helmet allows the psionic to add his Int Modifier to his PSI. Fairly easy to carry, it cannot be concealed while in use, and a skilled observer will note the differences. Additionally, it’s a power hog, allowing the boost to PSI for only ten minutes per power cell.
It's huge, though - fourteen pages in Word. You have been warned.
Oh, it also has tables in Word, and I'm not very good at setting tables up in this. Sorry.
Player and Character Information on Psionics for my Traveller Universe
Psionics in my universe are potentially very powerful – capable, at the greatest extremes, of acting across the entire galaxy. Fortunately for the peace of mind of the Imperium, such powerful psionics aren’t common even among the Psionically active Zhodani, much less in the Imperium.
New game information:
This document provides information on a new (to T20) skill, two new Feats, a system of Psionic Talents, and the Disciplines which are used to access powers within those Talents.
Skill Changes:
Concentration
Effect: For the most part, this skill is almost identical to the skill of the same name in the Core rule book. It is used when a psionic tries to maintain concentration in the face of distractions. In the absence of distractions, the psionic can generally maintain concentration as long as he has PSI to spend.
New Feats:
Latent Psionic
Note: This feat must be chosen at 1st level, unless the GM allows otherwise.
Effect: The character is psionically latent, and possesses a PSI score equal to 2d8 plus the average of her Con and Wis modifiers. The character may check for available Talents when this feat is chosen, but may not gain access to the Disciplines of those Talents until she has received training.
Natural Talent
Effect: As Latent Psionic, except that the character is semi-operant in the disciplines of one Talent. As a kind of trade-off, Natural Talents tend to have few Talents than Latents can eventually possess. The character possesses a PSI score determined as for Latent Psionics, and also checks for Talents. The first Talent received is operant. She may immediately train with any disciplines within her operant talent as Cross-class skills. All other Talents are latent.
Psionic Training
Effect: Once taken, the character can train any of their Disciplines as cross-class skills. Latent Psionics cannot gain skill in any of their Disciplines until they take this Feat. Natural Talents may only gain skill in their operant Disciplines until they take this Feat.
Advanced Psionic Training
Effect: The character may now train one Talent’s disciplines as Class Skills. This Feat may be taken multiple times, for different Talents.
Talents:
All Psionics possess one or more Talents, which define the capabilities of the Psionic. The various Talents are:
¨ Telepathy – The ability to contact or control other minds, or to project and/or listen to thoughts.
¨ Psychokinesis – The ability to manipulate matter or energy with the mind.
¨ Telesentience – The ability to project her awareness elsewhere, with up to full sensory perception.
¨ Jump – The ability to psionically ‘jump’, or teleport one’s self or others.
¨ Control – The ability to control one’s own body fully.
Few psionics possess more than one or two Talents. Those who possess three or four are one in a generation, and possession of five is almost unheard of, even amongst the Zhodani.
When the character gains one of the two Psionic Feats, the player may choose one Talent the character will possess. For a Natural Talent, this will be the semi-operant Talent. The player then lists the other Talents in the order she wishes the character to – hopefully – gain them. To gain an additional Talent beyond the first requires a PSI test. The player may not take 10 or 20 on this test. The DC for the test is 10 for the second Talent attempted, +5 for each additional Talent attempted. Natural Talents add +3 to the DC. If the roll fails at any point, the process halts. One variation to the test procedure occurs here. If the player rolls a natural 20, she may roll again, but this time add +5 to the total. The following table presents the DC information in a readily viewed format.
Latent Psionic Natural Talent
2nd Talent 10 13
3rd Talent 15 18
4th Talent 20 23
5th Talent 25 28
Disciplines:
Each Talent possesses several Disciplines, which are the ways the Talent can be used. Possessing the Talent grants the character the potential to use all these Disciplines, but not the skill. Each Discipline is also a skill, which cannot be used untrained. The Psionic Training Feat is needed to train those Disciplines as cross-class skills. Note: Natural Talents can train their operant Talent’s Disciplines as cross-class skills naturally, but still need to take the Psionic Training Feat for their other Talents.
Table of Disciplines by Talent
Telepathy
Shield – Protecting one’s self and others from Telepathic contact/assault.
Commune – Contacting another by Telepathy, or Receiving broadcast thoughts.
Assault – Mental attacks, whether to control, confuse, or harm.
Psychokinesis
Telekinesis – Lifting and moving gross matter by the power of the mind.
Quantum kinesis – Manipulating matter on a molecular scale, or manipulating energy.
Telesentience
Farsense – Sending one’s senses elsewhere.
Extra-Sensory Perception – Sensing things one’s innate senses cannot.
Pre/Retro Cognition – Sending one’s senses into the future/past. Not terribly reliable.
Jump
Teleport – Actually moving one’s self and belongings to another location.
Apport – Moving objects or persons to one’s self.
Control
Conscious – Conscious control of one’s abilities.
Unconscious – Control of one’s abilities that does not require conscious concentration to maintain.
Modifiers to Discipline usage:
The following tables provide the modifiers to any appropriate Discipline usages. There are modifiers for Range, for Mass, for Force, and for Time.
Range Table
Range DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
Touch -5 --
Line of Sight (100m) 0 --
Continental +5 +1
Planetary +10 +2
Interplanetary +15 +4
Subsector-wide +20 +6
Sector wide +25 +8
Galactic +30 +10
Mass Table
Mass DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
5 Kg +5 +1 / Rnd
50 Kg +10 +3 / Rnd
500 Kg +15 +5 / Rnd
5 Tonnes +20 +7 / Rnd
50 Tonnes +25 +9 / Rnd
500 Tonnes +30 +11 / Rnd
5 MTonnes +35 +13 / Rnd
Each x10 +5 +2 / Rnd
Force Table
Force DC Mod PSI Cost Mod Damage(If desired)
1 Kg +5 +1 1d3
10 Kg +10 +3 1d6
100 Kg +15 +5 2d6
1 Tonne +20 +7 2d8
10 Tonnes +25 +9 2d10
100 Tonnes +30 +11 4d10
1 MTonne +35 +13 6d10
Each x10 +5 +2 +2d10
Time Table
Time DC Mod PSI Cost Mod
1 day +10 +10
10 days +15 +11
100 days +20 +12
~ 2.5 years +25 +13
~ 25 years +30 +14
~250 years +35 +15
~2,500 years +40 +16
Each x10 +5 +1
Discipline Usages
As noted previously, each Discipline is actually a skill. Following are some of the most common usages of each skill, listed with the Discipline being used.
Telepathy
Shield
Personal Shield: DC 5; PSI Cost 1; Duration: Until knocked down.
Effect: Upon successfully raising the shield, the Psionic is protected against any telepathic contact short of an assault. If successfully breached by an Assault, it must be erected again. The PSI Cost is paid only to raise the shield.
Multi-Shield: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 1; Duration: Concentration.
Effect: The Psionic extends his mental shields to protect others nearby. It has the same effects as a personal shield but goes down if the Psionic fails a Concentration check. The DC increases by 5 for each target protected, and the PSI Cost increases by 1 for each target protected. A Multi-shield can only be used at Touch or LOS range.
Mirror Shield: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration: Until breached.
Effect: The Psionic places a shield around another PSI with a psionic ‘mirror’ on the inside, which reflects any psionic ability back at the target, until the mirror shield is breached. A Mirror Shield can be placed upon any target the Psionic can sense, but is affected by the range table.
Breaching Shields: Any time a shield is struck by a Psionic power which can cause damage (Assault, Telekinesis, etc.) both parties make a skill check. The attacker’s skill is the Discipline used to attack, the defender’s is the Shield Discipline. If the attacker gets the better result, the shield is breached and goes down.
Commune
Empathy: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 1; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The Psionic can read emotions in unshielded minds. These emotions are perceived in the psionic’s framework. Thus, the psionic may apply labels to other race’s emotions which are not actually appropriate.
Projective Empathy: Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The Psionic can project his own emotions at another mind, allowing them to sense what he feels. While this can’t breach a shield, a shielded psionic will still sense these emotions, much as a person can hear shouted conversations through a pane of glass.
Read Surface Thoughts: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: Up to 1 minute.
Effect: The psionic can read the surface thoughts of an unshielded mind. If the target is psionically talented, even if untrained, he will be aware of the scan.
Project Thoughts: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 4; Duration: 2 minutes.
Effect: The psionic may project his thoughts. If he knows the mind he wishes to project to, he can make the communication private, otherwise it’s a broadcast.
Probe: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 6; Duration: 5 minutes
Effect: The psionic can probe deep into the target’s mind, searching for information, such as memories, hidden personalities, etc.
Notes: Any Psionic with the Commune discipline (i.e., any Psionic with any skill ranks in the Discipline) will automatically sense strong emotions and thoughts projected by non-psionics and untrained psionics. No one is aware of this, since it’s entirely passive, but attempting to gain any kind of useful information requires one of the above usages. What the psionic ‘hears’ otherwise is like the babble of a crowd. In fact, most psionics tune it out.
Modifiers: The Commune discipline is affected by the Range table, but if the Psionic wants to send a private communication beyond line of sight, she has to know where her target is, either by pre-arrangement or by other disciplines.
Assault
Psi Shout: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5 Duration: Instant
Effect: Not really a ‘shout’, the psionic assaults the mind of her target. Non-psionics tend to experience it as if it were a shout, however, hence the name. The target receives 2d8 of Stamina damage, and must make a Fortitude save or be stunned (unable to act) for one round. When assaulting a shielded target, if the attacker breaches the shields of the target, this attack affects them normally.
Psi Blast: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 15; Duration: Instant
Effect: A stronger variation on the Psi Shout, if the target fails a Fortitude save, he takes 6d8 Stamina and is stunned for 3 rounds. If the save is successful, the target takes the damage still, but is stunned for only one round.
Coerce: Base DC 10 (+ Target’s Will Save Bonus); PSI Cost 10; Duration: 1 day
Effect: The Psionic controls the target’s actions for the duration. The target still possesses free will, except as specifically prohibited by the psionic. Coercion cannot force any person to knowingly perform suicidal actions. It is possible to extend the Duration, per the Time table. Note: The psionic can make the target perform certain actions, but cannot control their thoughts. It is possible, therefore, to make a coerced target follow through a given required action – such as ‘Get on The Bitterluck, and shoot the captain of the ship. Don’t talk to anyone about this command.’ – but it’s not possible to make the target enjoy that action, nor is it possible to make the target believe it was his idea. It is possible to make a target forget who gave the order, but the memory is only buried, and can be recovered.
Veil: Base DC 15 (+ Target’s Wis Mod); Base PSI Cost 10; Duration: Special
Effect: The psionic can make the target perceive reality differently. The duration is determined by the nature of the illusion. If entirely different from reality – such as making a target believe that he’s in a different world, with different laws – the illusion lasts only as long as the psionic concentrates, paying the PSI Cost every 5 minutes. A complex shifting of perceptions – such as making a target believe he can fly under his own power, or that gravity has doubled, etc. – will last two hours, unless the psionic pays the PSI Cost again at the end of that time. A simple shift of perceptions – such as making one person look like another – can be permanent unless removed. (Probe can be used in this manner, by locating the correct appearance beneath the veil.)
Note: Assault can be used against only one target at a time.
Psychokinesis
Telekinesis
Telekinetic Movement: Base DC Per Mass Table; Base PSI Cost Per Mass Table; Duration: Concentration (PSI Cost / Round)
Effect: The psionic can lift and move matter with the power of his mind. The amount of mass he lifts and moves determines the DC and PSI cost. The default range is LOS. The psionic can move the mass at up to (PSI)m/Rnd, as long as he pays the full PSI Cost for the weight he is moving. That speed can be increased, by paying the full PSI Cost again for each multiple of that speed. (Thus, to move something at (3xPSI)m/Rnd would cost 3x PSI Cost for one round of such movement.) Note: Telekinetic Movement affects the whole object, and so cannot directly damage anyone or anything. Of course, running the mass into a solid object at 12-18 m/rnd or more will usually hurt. Grabbing a person with Telekinetic Movement requires a successful Ranged attack.
Telekinetic Manipulation: Base DC Per Force Table; Base PSI Cost Per Force Table; Duration: 1 round.
Effect: The psionic can use his Telekinesis to harm people or objects, doing damage as if striking them with a weapon. The Base DC and PSI Cost are per the Force Table. The default range for Telekinetic Manipulation is LOS. If the psionic succeeds at a normal Ranged attack, the damage listed is done as normal. The PSI Cost is for a direct Telekinetic blow. If the psionic wishes to bypass armour, and automatically do Lifeblood damage, he must pay an additional PSI Cost of 3, and make a successful Ranged attack. If that is successful, he must then make a successful Touch attack. If this attack is successful, the damage is inflicted per the table, in Lifeblood.
Quantum Kinesis: Each type of Quantum Kinesis requires its own skill. Quantum Kinetics deals with the manipulation of microscopic masses and/or energy. Rather than detail every form of Quantum Kinesis possible, the following table gives guidelines to base the usages on.
Energy Matter DC Mod PSI Cost Mod Duration Damage(Energy)
Small Currents Minor Shift in State 5 5 Conc. Up to 2d8
Large Currents Major Shift in State 10 8 Conc. 2d8-5d8
Stop Flows Extreme Shift in State 15 11 Conc. -----
Generate Small Currents Disintegrate 20 14 Conc. Up to 2d8
Generate Large Currents Integrate 25 17 Conc. 2d8-5d8
Shifts in matter do damage as appropriate to the shift. In most cases, it will not be more than could be done with an identical level of Telekinetic Manipulation.
Control/Generate Currents or Flows: The psionic can – within the bounds of physical reality – control the path of currents or flows of energy. (I.E., a psionic could make electricity take move through one wire instead of another, but could not make it jump through insulation.) Whether a flow is large or small is up to the GM, but in general, if it would normally do less than 2d8 damage to a character in contact with it, it’s a small flow, otherwise it’s a large flow.
Telesentience
Farsense Base DC 5; Base PSI Cost 2; Duration: 5 minutes
Effect: The Psionic can focus one sense at a range normally unavailable to that sense. The DC and PSI Cost assume one sense, at one ‘step’ beyond normal range. (I.E., touch becomes LOS, LOS becomes Continental.) Farsense uses an altered form of the Range Table to determine DC and PSI Cost at given ranges. The DC and PSI Cost are for one sense. Each extra sense desired must add its DC and PSI Cost to those of the first sense. An example follows the modified table.
Range DC Mod* PSI Cost Mod
Touch 0 0
Line of Sight (100m) 0 0
Continental 0 / +2 0 / +1
Planetary +2 / +4 +1 / +2
Interplanetary +4 / +6 +2 / +3
Subsector-wide +6 / +8 +3 / +4
Sector wide +8 / +10 +4 / +5
Galactic +10 / +12 +5 / +6
* Where there are two values, the second is for senses such as Touch or Taste that normally have no range.
Example: To use all five senses at Continental Range would be difficult. Sight would have a base DC of 5 (1 step up from LOS comes free at the base DC) and a PSI Cost of 2. Hearing and Smell would be the same, giving a total – for those three alone – of DC 15, PSI Cost 6. Adding touch and taste would give a DC Mod of 7 each, and a PSI Cost mod of 3 each. Total for all five senses at Continental range would be DC 29 (15 + 14) and a PSI Cost of 12. Galactic range would give a total DC of 79, and a PSI Cost of 37 for all five senses.
Extra-Sensory Perception: Like Quantum Kinetics, this is a kind of catch as you can Disclipline. It is used to give the Psionic the ability to sense things she could not normally sense. Thus, for a human, UV vision, IR vision, Ultrasonic hearing and the like are things that can be gained by Extra-Sensory Perception. The DC and PSI Cost are based on how difficult a shift in perception is. A Simple shift is one that is at least techically possible. Since human eyes already see in a range that is just inside Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet, perceiving in those ranges is a simple shift. Similarly, Ultra and Infra sonics are a simple shift. Difficult shifts include means of perception that are well outside the psionic’s physical limits, and which generally have little effect on the psionic’s body at all. Examples include Magnetic fields, Radio, etc. Extreme shifts are those means of perception that are both well outside the psionic’s normal means of perception, and which could be considered actively dangerous to the psionic. Examples for human psionics are X-Rays, Gamma Rays, etc.
Simple Shift DC 10 PSI Cost 2 Duration: Concentration*
Difficult Shift DC 15 PSI Cost 4 Duration: Concentration*
Extreme Shift DC 20 PSI Cost 6 Duration: Concentration*
* The PSI Cost must be paid for every 5 minutes.
Precognition/Retrocognition: This is one of the more difficult Disciplines, and the costliest, especially given its small rewards. Given this, few tend to study it. The actual effect is similar to Farsense, in that the psionic sends one or more senses into either the past or the future. The Duration is 1 minute, and the temporal distance must be sharply defined. The Base DC and PSI Cost are as for Farsense, and further modified by the Time Table. As with Farsense, each sense must be calculated separately, then the totals added together. Unlike many other Disciplines, no psionic can maintain this power for more than 1 minute per hour. Obviously, the cost is less if the psionic wants to sense the past or future of his current location.
Jump – Overall, the most difficult Talent, the psionic actually reaches into Jump space and either ‘Jumps’ himself to another location, or brings something (or someone) to him.
Teleport: Base DC 10; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration Instant
Effect: The base DC and PSI Cost are for the psionic to teleport himself and nothing else.
That means naked. Any additional mass adds to the DC and PSI Cost per the Force Table. The distance the psionic wants to move affects the values as well, per the Range table. Note: In general, clothing is roughly 1 kg. 10 kg will usually carry most standard gear that the character can actually physically carry without containers.
Apport: Base DC 15; Base PSI Cost 5; Duration Instant
Effect: The character can teleport something or someone from a known location to his current location. (The character must have some way of divining the current location of the target if it is out of sight.) The Base DC and PSI Cost are modified – as with Teleport – by the Range to the target, and the Mass of the target (Use the Force Table).
Control
Conscious
Enhance Attribute: DC 10; PSI Cost 1/pt; Duration 15 minutes.
Effect: The psionic can increase one of his attributes by spending PSI points on a 1 for 1 basis. (Note: This cannot affect PSI).
Enhance Skill: DC 10; PSI Cost 2/rank; Duration 15 minutes, or one use, whichever is greater.
Effect: The psionic can increase his rank with a single skill. The skill can only be enhanced if: 1) It can be used untrained, or 2) He possesses at least 1 rank in the skill. The skill increase lasts for fifteen minutes. If a single use of the skill would take more than 15 minutes, the increase lasts for the duration of that one use.
Regeneration: DC 15; PSI Cost Varies; Duration Instant
Effect: Each PSI point spent heals 1 Lifeblood and 10 Stamina.
Unconscious
Suspend Animation: Base DC Time Table –5; Base PSI Cost Time Table –5
Effect: The psionic is able to put himself into a natural form of Low Sleep. He does not age or require food, though he still needs some air, because he still breathes, however slowly.
Unaging: Base DC 30; Base PSI Cost 15; Duration Permanent
Effect: The psionic can halt the effect of the next year’s aging. If performed regularly, the psionic can keep himself at a specific age. He cannot reverse the effects of age previously suffered.
Allowing more power in your Psionics (OPTIONAL)
This section contains rules that have the potential for very serious abuse. It is strongly suggested that the GM only allow the use of these options under very controlled situations.
Most of the Disciplines are very costly if the psionic wishes to have an effect over great distances or huge masses. This is as it should be. Traveller psionics are not generally powerful except on a more personal level. However, some GMs want more powerful psionics. There are several options that can be used to achieve this.
1) First, of course, you can increase the PSI stat with level, allowing higher level psionics access to some truly impressive powers. Following is one option for doing this.
2) PSI drugs are a common theme, and adding them to your campaign can give your psionics power boosts without the constant increases of #1. Additionally, few drugs exist that are completely free of side effects. The section following will detail a few drugs that you might use.
3) Give the psionics a means of decreasing the DCs and/or PSI Costs. There are several ways this can be done. Concentration, Gestalt, or physical aids.
4) Give the psionics a mechanical or electronic means of amping up their power. As with drugs, this will usually have unpleasant (to say the least) side effects.
Increasing PSI with Level
If you want your psionics to get more powerful with level, the following suggestion may work well. I would suggest limiting this suggestion to psionics who actually follow a Psionic character class – those who have Psionic Feats and skills, but are primarily of other classes should receive fewer points per level, or none at all, depending on how you work it. If you use either method, substitute other attributes for PSI when performing tests.
Option one: Lower starting PSI, random points every level.
For Psionic classes, PSI starts at 1d6. Each level thereafter grants the psionic another d6. Psionics in this option do not receive any extra points.
For psionics who follow another class, PSI starts at 1d4. Every two levels thereafter give another 1d4 to the character’s PSI.
Option two: Same starting PSI, random points added thereafter.
For Psionic classes, every two class levels grants the psionic another 1d8 PSI.
For psionics who follow other classes, PSI does not increase after start, though by multi-classing into a Psionic class, they can gain the benefits of that class.
PSI Drugs
PSI enhancing – and debilitating – drugs are a fairly common staple in novels with psionics. Enhancing drugs tend – with very few exceptions – to grant slim benefits in relation to the cost or unpleasant side effects. Here are a couple.
PSI-High: Adds 1d10 to PSI, for 1 hour. After the time is up, user’s Con is reduced by 10. If this drops Con to 0 or below, user is unable to move for the pain. Addiction is quite common despite this. Each time the psionic uses this drug, he must make a Will save (DC 15). For each additional use of the drug in a given day, the DC increases by 5. If addiction sets in, the character is so afraid of the pain that he will do his best to always be on the drug. This, too, comes at a cost. For every four hours of consecutive boost, the character’s innate PSI drops by 1 – permanently.
Shield: This drug is intended to control rogue psionics. It reduces the character’s PSI by 1d10 per dose. So far, so good. Unfortunately, each also drops Int, Wis and Cha by 3. For those who desire this drug to use on enemies, that’s not usually considered a down side – to those who have the drug administered to them, it is.
Decreasing DCs and Cost
The primary means of decreasing DCs and Cost is time, though if the GM wants, skill can be used as well. Gestalts can be used, as well. Following are rules for time and Gestalts.
1) Time: DC can be reduced by 5, or Cost can be reduced by 1, for every hour the psionic concentrates. Maintaining concentration over a lot of time is difficult. To maintain concentration for the 1st hour is a DC 15 test of the Concentration skill. (An appropriate environment might decrease that DC to 10.) The test must be checked each hour. For every hour past the first, the DC increases by 2. If the psionic fails the concentration check, he must rest for 8 hours before trying to concentrate that long again. (He can still maintain Psi powers for less than an hour.)
2) Gestalts: This doesn’t actually decrease the DCs or Cost, but it does allow for the use of otherwise impossible power usage, by pooling the skills and PSI of several psionics. All must have the Commune Discipline, and the Unconscious Control Discipline. In addition, all must have the Discipline skill that will be used. (Farsense, Precog, etc.) If all these criteria are met, the psionics can pool their PSI for the use of the active member. The linkage costs 5 PSI per hour to maintain, and is DC 15 (+1/member) to set up. Each member must make the check, and pay the PSI. The pool available to the active member (designated at the start) is the total of each member’s PSI-6. (5 PSI to maintain the link, plus 1 PSI to remain conscious.) Each member adds ½ their rank to the Active member’s skill rank total, as well. (Example: Six PSI’s want to spy on the Emperor from Zhdent. Their PSI’s are 12, 13, 15, 18, 17, and 16; all have the appropriate skills, and their ranks with Farsense are 4, 3, 6, 8, 5, 2. The Gestalt will have a pool of 55 PSI (6 + 7 + 9 + 12 + 11 + 10) and a Skill Rank of 17 (2 + 1 + 3 + 8 + 2 + 1 (The active character gets his full ranking)). Note, though, that the Gestalt will still act with a PSI of 18 (the active psionic’s PSI rating) when making tests and the like.
Technological Amplification of PSI.
Given that technology can create PSI shields, it stands to reason that it can be used to amplify PSI as well. Bear in mind, though, that if the technology is too easy to use and/or conceal, the players will always use it. Better to give it flaws of some kind, so they will only use it at true need. Here are some examples:
1) PSI Amp Pod – Looking for all the world like a one-person low berth, the PSI Amp Pod requires that the psionic enclose himself within. It works by placing the psionic into sensory deprivation, and taking over all the psionic’s autonomic functions, freeing up the entire output of his brain to augment PSI. In game terms, the character is able to add his Int to his PSI total while within the pod. Drawbacks are major, though. First, he’s sensory deprived. He can’t see, hear, smell, etc. He has no idea if there’s danger near his body unless he farsenses just outside the pod. Second, because the pod takes over all autonomic functions, if there’s any trouble with the pod he’ll suffer major systemic shock, assuming he survives at all. If the pod malfunctions for any reason, he must make a PSI test (at his normal PSI). If he succeeds, he manages to get his mind back in place, but is stunned for 5 rounds. If he fails, he’s dead.
2) Booster Helmet – Similar in size and appearance to a Psi-shield, the Booster Helmet allows the psionic to add his Int Modifier to his PSI. Fairly easy to carry, it cannot be concealed while in use, and a skilled observer will note the differences. Additionally, it’s a power hog, allowing the boost to PSI for only ten minutes per power cell.
