Okay, so it won't quite be Scanners, but I've decided to allow the PCs to have psionics in my upcoming Delta Green game.
Inspired by the recent thread on the frequency of different types of abilities, I've decided to adopt RPK's distribution, but scaled so that the frequency of occurrence is Uncommon (1 psi per 100,000):
Quote:
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Originally Posted by RPK
ESP: 2%
Probability Alteration: 2%
Psychokinesis: 2%
Telepathy: 2%
Astral Projection: 1%
Psychic Vampirism: 1%
Ergokinesis: 0.4%
Psychic Healing: 0.4%
Teleportation: 0.2%
...then I'd make anti-psi appear to some degree in 11% of the population.
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To determine the cost of the UB to be a psi, I'm rating Public Awareness at Suspected, with secret government conspiracies, kooks and some more credulous individuals believing in "something out there, man," but the more hard-headed are still dismissive. I'm requiring any psis to take Secret(Psi) [-20] as any suspected psi will be snatched up and imprisoned in secret government labs for testing. The PCs are only allowed to spend the points from this secret on latent abilities initially, so the low point total and the limit to latent abilities lower the UB down to zero points.
However, to get the appropriate distribution of powers amongst PCs I'm only allowing Anti-Psi to buy latent abilities with no UB. PCs may pick up Telepathy, Probability Alteration, Psychokinesis, and ESP abilities for a 5 point UB. I'm just not allowing Astral Projection, Psychic Vampirism, Ergokinesis, Psychic Healing, or Teleportation as PC abilities. They will be reserved for freaky NPCs and ritualistic serial murderers.
PCs may only have one Power, with an upper limit of 2 on Talent at character creation and 4 for the game. Barring some weird extraterrestrial psi-enhancing drug that comes with boatloads of horrible side-effects, of course. I'll be using the rules for Strange Uncertain Powers, and given there's no one to teach psis Psi Skills, it should be interesting trying to improve.
Finally, being a psi makes you more sensitive to the effect of some supernatural critters. I'm currently thinking it effectively gives Susceptible (-4, HfOoTaS), though eventually psis can buy that off with repeated exposure to the point that they're only as likely as everyone else to go bonkers when they see Cthulhu.
Anywho, this is mostly just brainstorming, putting my thought on paper. Basically I'm shooting for a slightly more optimistic DG where psi just might be a tool that humans could use to get on a slightly more even footing with all the other nasties out there without turning us into serial murdering cultists, if the psis can survive long enough to learn a thing or two, avoid getting captured and trucked off to a lab by the enemy, and also avoid getting a 9mm retirement plan from their own bosses who think they've been corrupted.
Thoughts, spitballing, other assorted shenanigans?