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Old 12-12-2015, 02:27 PM   #4
Prince Charon
 
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Default Re: [Psionics] Pulp Psi-Phi

New, Modified, or Unavailable Abilities

Anti-Psi (pp23-26) is a Subtalent of Meta-Psi, and all Anti-Psi abilities will have a limitation of 'Meta-Psi, -10%.' Meta-Psi is the power to modify other psi abilities, whether weakening or nullifying them, enhancing them, redirecting them, and so forth. Affliction (Advantage), sometimes with Modular Abilities (generally with something like 'Psi Abilities Only, -20%' or 'Existing Psi Abilities Only, -40%'), is a key ability.


Adjustment (Psionic Powers p44) is a common advantage for martial artists, though it generally takes time and effort to bring it to a useful level. The usual variant lacks the 'Visualization (Blessing Only, +0%)' half of the ability, and has the limitation 'Cinematic Martial Arts Only, +0%.' Rather than giving a bonus, it simply allows some cinematic skills and techniques to work normally, that otherwise would only work by accident, if at all. The tenth level reduces time to effectively zero, and is only available in martial arts-heavy games (or other games where the GM considers it appropriate), if at all.
5/7/9/11/13/15/17/19/21/23 points for up to ten levels.


Astral Hearing (under Astral Sight, p27) requires a small modification: as all spirits in this setting are astral entities, the limitation on Medium should be changed from 'Specialized, Astral, -50%' to 'Specialized, Human, -50%,' covering ghosts and Astral Travelers.


Astral Travel works mostly as in Psionic Powers pp27-29, although the difficulty of entering and leaving the Outer and Inner Planes is somewhat variable. Mystics and psychical researchers acknowledge two 'barriers' or 'borders' in relation to astral projection: the Outer Barrier, which determines the difficulty of interaction between the physical world and the Outer Astral Plane, and the usually much 'harder' Inner Barrier, which limits travel between the Outer and Inner Astral Planes. In both cases, the average resistance is as per Psionic Powers, with fairly few locations varying by a noticeable amount. Spiritually significant places (crossroads, borders, holy sites, battlefiels, et cetra) and times (sunrise, sunset, the period from Midnight to just before First Light, astrological events, et cetra) might have 'stronger' or 'weaker' barriers than normal, though the strength of the Inner and Outer Barriers in the same location need not match. Outer Barrier strength varies between +10 and -10 (though the further you get from zero, the more rare it is), applied to the Astral Travel skill, and the techniques Barrier Breaking, Cross-World Communication, and Piggyback; in the particular case of Barrier Breaking, divide the given penalty by 3, before applying it to other abilities enabled by Barrier Breaking. Some places, called 'portals,' 'gateways,' or similar terms, allow travel or communication with no roll, although the psi must still have Astral Travel. Not all portals are open at all times.

Example: Susan Foxe, the Grey Lady, has the abilities Astral Travel 3 (Nuisance Effect, Must burn special herbs, -5%) and Instill Fear (Only in Astral Form, -##%) 3, the skills Astral Travel 14 and Instill Fear 12, and the techniques Barrier Breaking 11 and Cross-World Communication 14. At 1:47am, late in the hour at which her husband Martin's prognostications determined the thief was most likely to strike, she is in the Outer Astral Plane, patrolling the chapel of Galston Manor, an old building with a comfortably weak barrier (especially so late at night), giving her a +4 to Astral Travel. Though her time is running down, she witnesses a man in black enter through a hidden passageway, and make his way to the valuable silver chalice on the altar. As the man places the chalice in a padded box, Susan moves in front of the passageway, activating Barrier Breaking as she drifts. A roll of 12 isn't great, but with the bonus, is successful. As the man approaches the passageway, she first uses Cross-World Communication (rolling another 12) becoming visible and audible, and then gives an angry scream, activating Instill Fear. She rolls a 9, just below her effective skill of 10 (+4 divided by 3, rounding down, is +1, reducing the penalty to use non-Astral powers to -2). The thief rolls a 15, failing his Fright Check, and runs toward the only other exit, the door where Martin and her brother George are waiting, already alerted by her scream.

EDIT: Note that at the GM's option, intent can affect the barrier's strength. As the Grey Lady's intent in the example above was to the benefit of the old chapel, she might get a higher bonus, whereas an Astral Projector helping the thief for whatever reason would be penalized by around -4. Be sure to tell your players whether this optional rule is in effect in your campaigne.

Inner Barrier strength varies from +2 to -18 (the default still being -8), applied to the Astral Crossing technique; portals between the Outer Plane and the Inner Plane do exist, but are even less common than Outer portals. It is especially rare for a portal to the Outer Plane to occupy the same place (or nearly the same place), as a portal to the Inner Plane, and for both to be open at the same time. When it does occur, it is often called an 'astral bridge.' There are probably no more than a dozen astral bridges in the entire world, and only three are all that well-known: one at Stonehenge, one between the paws of the Great Sphinx, and one in a location convenient for the GM.

Another important house rule for Astral Travel is that travelers will not die from repeated failures of the Astral Crossing technique. Instead, when time runs out they snap back to their bodies with 0 FP, and must make a roll on HT+Astral Projection Talent. On a failure, they take 1d/2 toxic damage, or 1d+1 tox on a critical failure; on a success, they take no damage, while on a critical success, they take no damage, and regain 1d FP.


Aura Reading (p46) may also be purchased as an ESP ability. Some psis use Aura Reading as a Complementary Skill for other psi-sensory abilities; this is a zero-point Feature.


The Cure (p46) and Cure Injury (p47) powers are unavailable, being replaced by various types of Affliction (Rapid Healing, Regeneration, and/or Negate Slow Healing), which may use the techniques listed for Cure Injury, and tend to have some level of Extended Duration (100x duration (+80%) gives 1 hour, 40 minutes; 300x (+100%) gives 5 hours; and 1,000x (+120%) gives 16 hours, 40 minutes), at least at lower levels of Regeneration. Physical beings cannot recover hit points faster than one per minute (Fast Regeneration), but can regain fatigue at up to one per second (Very Fast Regeneration). Astral entities (including the astral bodies of psychics with Astral Travel) may have - or be Afflicted with - up to Extreme Regeneration for HP, FP, or both.

Cure Disease (p47) is available, and works normally.


Still hating the character limit.
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Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.

Last edited by Prince Charon; 12-17-2015 at 07:03 AM.
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