|
|
|
GM Notes on Psi
|
|
Psionics (SIGH-ON-IX), practitioners of
which are generally called Psions (SIGH-ons),
is an alternate means of gaining superhuman
abilities in some Fantasy settings.
|
|
Psions use their own internal energies and
mental mastery over their own minds, bodies,
and / or the world around them to will powerful
effects into being rather than manipulate
"mystic forces". |
|
Usually in most settings either Magic or
Psionics are available, but some FRPG's
allow both in the same setting. Most notably,
AD&D 1e introduced Psionics as an additional
avenue of unusual abilities, and the concept
has survived through several edition changes
in various forms.
|
|
Psionic Powers |
|
Psionic Powers are simply Power Constructs
designed using the HERO System Powers rules,
with Active Point caps applied and some
required Limitations. |
|
TYPES OF PSIONICS |
|
This Psionic System divides Psionic Powers
into five Disciplines based upon their general
effect or purpose, and a sixth "meta"
Discipline that represents Powers that have
elements of two or more Disciplines.
|
|
The five basic Disciplines are called
Psychometabolism, Psychoportation,
Telepathy, Psychokinesis,
and Clairsentience; the
advanced Discipline that allows Powers combining
elements of multiple Disciplines is called
Metapsionics. |
|
Each of the five basic Psionic Disciplines
have a Knowledge Skill associated with them,
which are generally used by Psions to both
learn and create new Powers, and also to
activate their Powers with via Required
Skill Rolls. |
|
Powers that allow a Psion to manipulate
and / or empower their own body. |
|
Power Skill: Psychometabolism (CON) |
|
Powers that allow a Psion to bend and /
or travel through space and even possibly
time. |
|
Power Skill: Psychoportation (INT) |
|
Powers that allow a Psion to manipulate
and interact with peoples minds. |
|
Power Skill: Telepathy (EGO) |
|
Powers that allow a Psion to manipulate
energies and forces through will alone. |
|
Power Skill: Psychokinesis (EGO) |
|
Powers that allow a Psion to attain extra
sensory perceptions and heightened awareness
of their surroundings and even possibly
the multi-verse. |
|
Power Skill: Clairsentience (INT) |
|
Advanced / complex Powers that have elements
of two or more other Disciplines. |
|
As a Campaign Groundrule, to even learn
a Metapsionic Power a Character must have
at least a 15- roll with all of the Discipline
Skills necessary to use the Metapsionic
Power |
|
|
|
PSIONIC
POWER STRATA |
|
|
|
Psionic Powers are divided into five Power
Strata by Active Points. Each Strata represents
a range of 30 Active Points more than the
Strata before it. Thus Powers with 30 Active
Points or less are called "Devotions"
while Powers with 31 to 60 Active Points
are called "Sciences", and so
forth up to Powers with 121 to 150 Active
Points called "Triumphs". |
|
75 |
1-30 |
|
125 |
31-60 |
|
200 |
61-90 |
|
275 |
91-120 |
|
350 |
121-150 |
|
|
The Character Point Threshold indicates
the Total Character Points (not including
points from "Independent" items)
that a Character must have in order to have
a Psionic Power in that Active Point Range.
|
|
EXAMPLE: Yani the Psion has 199 Character
Points. He cannot yet have a Psionic Power
with more than 60 Active Points. Once Yani
gains more Experience and passes the 200
Character Point Threshold he may learn Psionic
Powers with up to 90 Active Points. |
|
|
PSIONIC POWER
SPECIAL EFFECTS (SFX) |
|
Psionic Powers have very broad Special Effects.
In addition to any specific SFX that a particular
Power might have such Electricity for a
Bio-Electricity Power or Fire for a Pyrokinesis
Power, all Psionic Powers also automatically
have the additional SFX of Psionic,
and the Discipline of the Power.
These mandatory SFX cannot be altered by
any means, including Variable Special Effects.
|
|
For instance, a Psychometabolic Power is
always Psionic, and always Psychometabolic.
It can be detected and affected by abilities
that pertain to either type of Power. |
|
NOTE: In settings that have both
Psionics and Magic, Psionics are typically
treated as a completely separate SFX from
Magic. Powers that affect Magic do not affect
Psionics and vice versa. |
|
PSIONIC POWER DESIGN
RESTRICTIONS |
|
Some restrictions apply to the design and
configuration of Psionic Powers. |
- FORBIDDEN MODIFIERS:
- Psionic Powers can not take Reduced END
(0 END)
- Psionic Powers can not require Incantations
- Psionic Powers can not require Gestures
- Psionic Powers can not require an Expendable
Focus
- Psionic Powers can not take Charges
- Psionic Powers can not take No Conscious
Control at the -2 level (but the lesser
-1 NCC version for Random Effects is possible
at the GM's discretion)
- POWER FRAMEWORKS:
- If a Multipower is used for Psionic
Powers:
- Only Psionic Powers may be taken in the
Multipower
- Each Psionic Power must Require a Skill
Roll using the appropriate Psionic Discipline
Power Skill
- Each Power must run off of a Psionic
END Reserve, which can only be used
for Psionic Powers
- Each Psionic Power must be an Ultra Slot
- If an Elemental Control is used for
Psionic Powers:
- Only Psionic Powers may be taken in the
Elemental Control
- Each Power must have an Activation Roll
of at least 15-
- If a Variable Power Pool is used
for Psionic Powers:
- Only Psionic Powers may be taken in the
Variable Power Pool
- Rather than having a separate Skill to change
Power allocation in the Pool, a Character
must instead use the appropriate Discipline
Skill to bring in Powers; if allocating
multiple Powers from different Disciplines
at the same time the Character must make
a separate Roll for each Discipline modified
by the Active Points relevant to the Powers
in each Discipline.
- The No Skill Roll Required Advantage can
be taken to negate the need to make such
Skill rolls.
|
|
NO REDUCED END (0 END) |
|
Without some basic limit on the number of
times a Psionicist can use their Powers
and maintain constant effects this system
becomes too powerful for most Fantasy campaigns.
Thus, it is mandatory that Psionic Powers
cost at least a little END to use.
|
|
Costs END Only To Activate is usable however
to make Powers that don't tax a Character
so severely once they are running. |
|
NO CHARGES |
|
The benefits / side effects of Charges do
not mesh well with the intent of this system
and are thus disallowed. |
|
NO INCANTATIONS & GESTURES |
|
Psionic Powers don't normally require Incantations
or Gestures, and thus should not take these
Limitations.
|
|
The main intent of this restriction is to
ensure that Psionic Powers do not "feel"
like Magic Spells, with "ABRA CADABRA"
type word-of-power Incantations and mystic
hand passes. However, an individual GM should
use their discretion regarding the spirit
of the restriction against Incantations
and Gestures if a player has an idea for
an unusual Psionic Power. |
|
HYPNOSIS |
|
Some Mental Powers built on Telepathy or
Mind Control or similar might be defined
as "Advance Hypnosis" or the equivalent,
and logically be built to require Extra
Time, Gestures, and Incantations to reflect
lulling the target into a trance with a
pendulum and soothing talk. The Gestures
and Incantations involved are not "Spell-like",
and have a different "feel" than
a Magic Spell, and thus a GM might allow
it. |
|
NO FOCI |
|
Psionic Powers don't normally use "Material
Components" per se, and thus should
not require Expendable Foci. However some
GM's might allow the use of reusable Foci,
such as Crystals if it seems appropriate
to the general "feel" of Psionics. |
|
NO CONSCIOUS CONTROL |
|
Psionic Powers are at some level under the
control of the Psionicists, so full NCC
is not an appropriate Limitation. |
|
However, some exceptions may occur for Powers
whose exact outcome is not under the manifester's
control, such as a Mind Control Power that
directs a target to "Protect Me",
but does not have the ability to dictate
how that command is obeyed, or many
precognitive abilities that can be turned
on at will but not actually directed. In
such cases and at the GM's discretion the
lesser -1 version of NCC can be used. |
|
BASED ON EGO COMBAT VALUE |
|
A popular choice to model many Psionic Powers,
as a Campaign Groundrule Psionic Powers
bought BOECV are for all intents and purposes
Mental Powers and are only visible to the
Mental Group without need for the Invisible
Power Effects Advantage. They also automatically
Affect Desolid without need for the Affects
Desolid Advantage.
|
|
NOTE: The Active Point limits enforced
to keep Psionicists in check make designing
powers with BOECV that are appropriately
modeled to reflect their "Mental Power"
status impossible or unfairly limiting otherwise.
This is a specific deviation from the standard
HERO System Rules. |
|
USING PSIONIC DISCIPLINE SKILLS |
|
Knowledge of Psionic Powers is represented
by Psionic Discipline Skills. Any
Character may learn any Psionic Discipline
Skill, even if they are not themselves Psionicists.
In addition to their usage to learn and
create Psionic Powers, or by some Psions
to activate their Psionic Powers, Discipline
Skills also represent general knowledge
of the principles of, what is and is not
possible, and to recognize uses of a particular
Discipline.
|
|
DETECTION
& IDENTIFICATION |
|
At the most general level Psionic Discipline
Skill Rolls may be made to determine information
about the effects of Psionic Powers, to
identify what Power a Psionicist is manifesting
(if that Power has some recognizable signature),
to identify the effects of a certain Power
or type of Power, as a complementary Skill
roll to PER checks or other Skills where
appropriate, or for any purpose where knowledge
and understanding of Psionic Powers of that
Discipline might glean some benefit for
a given Character.
|
|
Example: Yani encounters a mob of
people acting strangely; making a PowS:
Telepathy Roll (with modifiers determined
by the GM) he reaches the conclusion that
they are being Telepathically controlled! |
|
POWER LEVEL AS A MODIFIER |
|
At the GM's discretion very powerful Psionic
effects may impose a penalty or grant a
bonus to detect them or discern their nature.
As a rule of thumb, Powers that are fairly
simple or straightforward (such as effects
that deal direct damage) should be easier
to figure out while more subtle or complex
effects should be more difficult. In some
cases both a bonus and a penalty might be
appropriate.
|
|
For example, a Character might get a bonus
to detect a high Active Point Power
because it has a strong aura, but a penalty
to discern its purpose because of
its complexity and / or subtlety.
|
|
Of course, Powers with completely Invisible
Power Effects (or Invisible to all the senses
available to a given Character) should not
be detectable in this fashion.
|
|
KNOWN POWER VS UNKNOWN POWERS |
|
In general, if a Character themselves have
a particular Power or a very similar one,
they should not suffer a penalty to recognize
or detect that Power themselves and in some
cases may benefit from a bonus to their
Skill roll as it is unlikely that a Character
wouldn't recognize a Power or the effects
of a Power that they themselves have. Similarly
if a Character has been exposed to such
a Power previously or have some direct experience
with it, they should have an easier time
recognizing it. |
|
On the other hand it is important to keep
in mind that a single Power Construct, while
mechanically the same, is not necessarily
universally identical in its usage by different
Characters. Variations could exist between
instructors, as well as eccentricities of
individual manifestors. |
|
PSIONIC POWERS AND ADJUSTMENT POWERS (INCLUDING
DISPEL) |
|
Using standard HERO System rules a single
+1/4 Advantage allows Dispel and similar
Adjustment Powers such as Suppress or Drain
to affect all Psionic Powers one at a time.
However, for purposes of this system of
Psionic Powers that can be a little too
powerful. |
|
EXPANDED "EXPANDED
GROUP" |
|
It is recommended that in a campaign using
this Psionic System that such Powers will
instead affect all Psionic Powers of a specific
Discipline one at a time at the base
level, and shift up from there. Thus a +1/4
Advantage could be used to make Dispel Psionic
Powers (Psychokinesis) or Dispel Psionic
Powers (Telepathy). To affect all Psionic
Powers of any Discipline one at a time is
a +1/2 Advantage, and All Psionic Powers
All At Once would be a +2 1/4 Advantage.
|
|
APOPSI |
|
Literally "Reverse Psi" or "Anti-Psi".
For purposes of this website's content,
the term "Apopsi" or "Apopsi
Field" refers to any AoE Continuous
Uncontrolled Suppress bought to affect All
Psionic Powers Simultaneously (+2 1/4).
Apopsi effects fall into the Metapsionics
Discipline and require expert knowledge
of any three Psionic Discipline Skills to
learn or use. |
|
In addition to the standard effect of such
a Suppress, an Apopsi Field also has several
additional effects as summarized below. |
- All Continuous Psionic Powers automatically
turn off when contacting an Apopsi Field
with an Active Point total equal to or greater
than its own Active Points.
- Psionic Powers that are based on ECV cannot
affect a person inside of an Apopsi field
that has equal or greater Active Points.
- Ranged Psionic Powers that intersect an
Apopsi Field with twice as many Active Points
or more are automatically nullified.
- While in an Apopsi Field Characters cannot
activate Psionic Powers with Active Points
equal to or less than half the Apopsi Field's
Active Points.
|
|
EXAMPLE: Yani enters an Apopsi Field
that has 60 Active Points. All of Yani's
Constant Psionic Powers with 60 Active Points
or less automatically deactivate. Further
Yani cannot activate any Power with 30 or
less Active Points while in the Apopsi Field.
Yani can activate Powers with 31 or
more Active Points while in the Apopsi Field,
but the normal effect of the Apopsi Field's
Suppress is applied to those Powers. |
|
If Yani did not enter the Apopsi Field and
instead attempted to use an Attack based
on ECV, if it had less that the Active Points
in the Apopsi Field the Attack would automatically
fail. If Yani attempted to use a ranged
attack (such as a Pyrokinetic blast of fire),
if it had half or less as many Active Points
as the Apopsi Field the Attack would automatically
fail. |