Four Ideas for Long-Range Psionics

Pursuivant · 02-21-2021, 10:29 AM

Science fiction and fantasy psis often have powers which work at extremely long ranges, but only when they are attempting to detect massive events or phenomena.

They also seem to have powers that work at relatively short range when they're on a planet, but at interstellar distances when they're in space.

These rules attempt to model this "reality" in a way that doesn't require characters to buy the Increased Range or Cosmic enhancements.

1. "I Felt A Great Disturbance In The Force . . ."

Psionic information gathering powers get bonuses to offset penalties for extreme range based on the "magnitude" of whatever it is the psi is trying to detect. Depending on the phenomena, the bonus might be based on physical Size, number of people (or objects) involved, or something else.

To determine the bonus to detect phenomenon involving large numbers of people or objects use the Long-Distance Modifiers table, reading "miles" as "subjects involved" and then apply a bonus equal to the usual penalty-2.

Example: A telepath is attempting to sense the presence of sentient beings on a distant planet. It has a population of approximately 1 billion, giving the psi +18 bonus. If the planet is half a light-year away (approximately 3,000 billion miles), the telepath would normally have a -27 penalty, but with the bonus for population size the total distance modifier is just -11. Detection is extremely difficult but not impossible for a highly-skilled psi.

To make things easier, the GM can increase the bonus if a psi is only attempting to detect the presence of absence of a given phenomena, if all the subjects involved are somehow identical, or if the people involved are all feeling the same strong emotion.

Example: Our telepath might get double the normal bonus to detect planet inhabited by a billion terrified people; even at interstellar distances they can't can't help but detect the planet-wide scream of horror.

Advantages which use the Range/Speed modifiers to sense distant objects, like Detect, might get a standard bonus based on the phenomenon's Size. Alternately, the modifiers for Linear Distance can be read as "tons" or "megatons" to determine the bonus to detect massive amounts of material.

Example: Detect (Metals) normally has a penalty of -95(!) to detect objects at a distance of approximately 1 light year, but if you're attempting to detect millions of megatons of metal within the core of an Earth-like planet you might get a net bonus to your roll.

While this option might seem abusive, in anything other than Ultratech campaigns limited technology makes it extremely difficult to exploit knowledge of massive but distant objects or events. Even then, other campaign events might make it difficult for the psi to take full advantage. The GM can also design a long-range psi campaign so that far-seeing seers don't gain an unfair advantage.

2. "Winter is Coming."

Oracles and Precogs sometimes get very early warning of massive catastrophes. The same modifiers for "magnitude" for events which will affect multiple people (or a massive area) can be applied to attempts to predict the future.

Active attempts to use Precognition to predict a mass event get a bonus based on the number of people affected, as described above, but the effective bonus is divided by the number of days (or some other unit of time) the forecast covers. Alternately, they might get a bonus based on square miles of area affected.

Example: A modern Los Angeles-based psi is attempting to determine whether a severe earthquake is imminent. Since such a quake has the potential to affect tens of millions of people, she would normally get a +14 bonus, but since she's attempting to predict events two weeks ahead of time she only get a +1 bonus.

Again, this is less unbalancing than it looks. An event has to affect at least 10,000 people before the bonus for magnitude offsets the -8 penalty for actively using Precognition. If the psi is scrying for an mass event which the GM has determined won't occur the effect on the game is limited. Success results in a simple "no" - providing confirmation that a particular avenue of investigation will be unproductive. If the GM does have a mass event planned, it's exactly the sort of thing that a precognitive should be getting visions about without actively scrying for it.

3. Range is Based on Campaign Scale.

One problem with psi powers in an interplanetary or interstellar campaign is that the rules are calibrated to campaigns based on a single planet.

This option alters the range at which powers work based on campaign scope, ignoring generic game balance in service to dramatic impact.

To preserve some sort of play balance, the GM can rule planetary gravity wells, or just the presence of too many people, interferes with extended range but only when dealing with subjects on the same planet.

To get the benefits of extended range you must be in at least high orbit although your subject can be on the planet below. You can also benefit from extended range while you're on a planet as long as your subject is in space or on another planet.

In interplanetary campaigns, divide the effective Range to the subject by 5 billion and divide effective Long-Distance Modifier distance by a million. This allows powers like Detect or Telesend to work without penalty out to distances equivalent to the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

In interstellar campaigns which just cover part of the galaxy (e.g., Star Wars or Star Trek), divide effective Range by 100 trillion (i.e., 10^15), allowing powers to work without penalty at approximately 1 light year of distance. Divide ranges by 10^18 for galaxy-spanning campaigns, or 10^21 for universe-spanning campaigns.

As with modifiers for magnitude, allowing increased interplanetary or interstellar ranges isn't that unbalancing since "dramatic range" as percentage of coverage over the campaign map is unchanged. Additionally, other factors built into the campaign, such as travel time, might interfere with a character's ability to act on knowledge of distant events.

4. Psionic Gestalts As Signal-Boosters.

Bonuses for Psionic Gestalts can be used to offset penalties for Range or Long-Distance Modifiers.

If the purpose of the gestalt is communication, the intended distant parties of a long-distance communication also get the gestalt bonus even if they're not part of it. Somehow the gestalt extends a "psionic handshake" which the intended recipients can sense and use to "boost their signal."

If both the parties to a communication can form gestalts the people involved get bonuses for both, allowing communication at even greater ranges. The gestalts both extend psionic signals which mutually reinforce each other, even at extreme ranges.

AlexanderHowl · 02-21-2021, 11:38 AM

You can do long range psionics with the current rules. Long-Range (Powers, pp. 108-109) can remove all range penalties.

ravenfish · 02-21-2021, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

You can do long range psionics with the current rules. Long-Range (Powers, pp. 108-109) can remove all range penalties.

This works so far as it goes, but I presume the OP wants to create a system where detecting things does become harder at greater distances, but events of sufficient psychic significance can be detected in spite of the penalties. If that is the goal, the mechanics proposed should work well enough- they essentially mimic the interplay between object size and object distance when using the Size/Speed/Range table to assign bonuses and penalties to vision checks, only using the Long Distance table instead, and replacing "size" with "psychic significance".

Pursuivant · 02-21-2021, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravenfish

If that is the goal, the mechanics proposed should work well enough- they essentially mimic the interplay between object size and object distance when using the Size/Speed/Range table to assign bonuses and penalties to vision checks, only using the Long Distance table instead, and replacing "size" with "psychic significance".

Actually, "psychic significance" can be applied to whatever range table the underlying advantage uses. Long Distance Modifiers for Precognition, Telesend and similar, Speed/Range Table for Detect.

ravenfish · 02-21-2021, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Actually, "psychic significance" can be applied to whatever range table the underlying advantage uses. Long Distance Modifiers for Precognition, Telesend and similar, Speed/Range Table for Detect.

Right. As long as range and "significance" are being done on the same table in any given case, it should work out well.

Donny Brook · 02-21-2021, 03:39 PM

The rules for radio communication in High-Tech might provide something useful by analogy.

02-21-2021, 10:29 AM	#1
Pursuivant Join Date: Apr 2005	Four Ideas for Long-Range Psionics Science fiction and fantasy psis often have powers which work at extremely long ranges, but only when they are attempting to detect massive events or phenomena. They also seem to have powers that work at relatively short range when they're on a planet, but at interstellar distances when they're in space. These rules attempt to model this "reality" in a way that doesn't require characters to buy the Increased Range or Cosmic enhancements. 1. "I Felt A Great Disturbance In The Force . . ." Psionic information gathering powers get bonuses to offset penalties for extreme range based on the "magnitude" of whatever it is the psi is trying to detect. Depending on the phenomena, the bonus might be based on physical Size, number of people (or objects) involved, or something else. To determine the bonus to detect phenomenon involving large numbers of people or objects use the Long-Distance Modifiers table, reading "miles" as "subjects involved" and then apply a bonus equal to the usual penalty-2. Example: A telepath is attempting to sense the presence of sentient beings on a distant planet. It has a population of approximately 1 billion, giving the psi +18 bonus. If the planet is half a light-year away (approximately 3,000 billion miles), the telepath would normally have a -27 penalty, but with the bonus for population size the total distance modifier is just -11. Detection is extremely difficult but not impossible for a highly-skilled psi. To make things easier, the GM can increase the bonus if a psi is only attempting to detect the presence of absence of a given phenomena, if all the subjects involved are somehow identical, or if the people involved are all feeling the same strong emotion. Example: Our telepath might get double the normal bonus to detect planet inhabited by a billion terrified people; even at interstellar distances they can't can't help but detect the planet-wide scream of horror. Advantages which use the Range/Speed modifiers to sense distant objects, like Detect, might get a standard bonus based on the phenomenon's Size. Alternately, the modifiers for Linear Distance can be read as "tons" or "megatons" to determine the bonus to detect massive amounts of material. Example: Detect (Metals) normally has a penalty of -95(!) to detect objects at a distance of approximately 1 light year, but if you're attempting to detect millions of megatons of metal within the core of an Earth-like planet you might get a net bonus to your roll. While this option might seem abusive, in anything other than Ultratech campaigns limited technology makes it extremely difficult to exploit knowledge of massive but distant objects or events. Even then, other campaign events might make it difficult for the psi to take full advantage. The GM can also design a long-range psi campaign so that far-seeing seers don't gain an unfair advantage. 2. "Winter is Coming." Oracles and Precogs sometimes get very early warning of massive catastrophes. The same modifiers for "magnitude" for events which will affect multiple people (or a massive area) can be applied to attempts to predict the future. Active attempts to use Precognition to predict a mass event get a bonus based on the number of people affected, as described above, but the effective bonus is divided by the number of days (or some other unit of time) the forecast covers. Alternately, they might get a bonus based on square miles of area affected. Example: A modern Los Angeles-based psi is attempting to determine whether a severe earthquake is imminent. Since such a quake has the potential to affect tens of millions of people, she would normally get a +14 bonus, but since she's attempting to predict events two weeks ahead of time she only get a +1 bonus. Again, this is less unbalancing than it looks. An event has to affect at least 10,000 people before the bonus for magnitude offsets the -8 penalty for actively using Precognition. If the psi is scrying for an mass event which the GM has determined won't occur the effect on the game is limited. Success results in a simple "no" - providing confirmation that a particular avenue of investigation will be unproductive. If the GM does have a mass event planned, it's exactly the sort of thing that a precognitive should be getting visions about without actively scrying for it. 3. Range is Based on Campaign Scale. One problem with psi powers in an interplanetary or interstellar campaign is that the rules are calibrated to campaigns based on a single planet. This option alters the range at which powers work based on campaign scope, ignoring generic game balance in service to dramatic impact. To preserve some sort of play balance, the GM can rule planetary gravity wells, or just the presence of too many people, interferes with extended range but only when dealing with subjects on the same planet. To get the benefits of extended range you must be in at least high orbit although your subject can be on the planet below. You can also benefit from extended range while you're on a planet as long as your subject is in space or on another planet. In interplanetary campaigns, divide the effective Range to the subject by 5 billion and divide effective Long-Distance Modifier distance by a million. This allows powers like Detect or Telesend to work without penalty out to distances equivalent to the distance from the Earth to the Moon. In interstellar campaigns which just cover part of the galaxy (e.g., Star Wars or Star Trek), divide effective Range by 100 trillion (i.e., 10^15), allowing powers to work without penalty at approximately 1 light year of distance. Divide ranges by 10^18 for galaxy-spanning campaigns, or 10^21 for universe-spanning campaigns. As with modifiers for magnitude, allowing increased interplanetary or interstellar ranges isn't that unbalancing since "dramatic range" as percentage of coverage over the campaign map is unchanged. Additionally, other factors built into the campaign, such as travel time, might interfere with a character's ability to act on knowledge of distant events. 4. Psionic Gestalts As Signal-Boosters. Bonuses for Psionic Gestalts can be used to offset penalties for Range or Long-Distance Modifiers. If the purpose of the gestalt is communication, the intended distant parties of a long-distance communication also get the gestalt bonus even if they're not part of it. Somehow the gestalt extends a "psionic handshake" which the intended recipients can sense and use to "boost their signal." If both the parties to a communication can form gestalts the people involved get bonuses for both, allowing communication at even greater ranges. The gestalts both extend psionic signals which mutually reinforce each other, even at extreme ranges. Last edited by Pursuivant; 02-21-2021 at 10:46 AM.

02-21-2021, 11:38 AM	#2
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Four Ideas for Long-Range Psionics You can do long range psionics with the current rules. Long-Range (Powers, pp. 108-109) can remove all range penalties.

02-21-2021, 03:39 PM	#6
Donny Brook Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Snoopy's basement	Re: Four Ideas for Long-Range Psionics The rules for radio communication in High-Tech might provide something useful by analogy.