Psychic Signatures

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

Is there an official stance on adding general modifiers to Magery to affect the properties of spells? I can definitely see the need to be leery - and certainly nothing grossly abusive like "Reduced Time" or "Extended Duration" should be applied, I should think.

In general, such modifiers are forbidden, just as you can't add Armor Divisor to Striking ST or Weapon Master and have it apply to melee attacks. This was one of the key motivations of Imbuements, giving PCs the ability to add enhancements to traits not actually represented by powers. I think it's best to consider Magery to be an enabling trait like WM or TbaM, giving you access to cinematic skills, rather than being a power in its own right.

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

In general, such modifiers are forbidden, just as you can't add Armor Divisor to Striking ST or Weapon Master and have it apply to melee attacks. This was one of the key motivations of Imbuements, giving PCs the ability to add enhancements to traits not actually represented by powers. I think it's best to consider Magery to be an enabling trait like WM or TbaM, giving you access to cinematic skills, rather than being a power in its own right.

Makes sense.

[JCurwen3]

How long are psychic signatures meant to last?

Is it like "seeing" a flash or some dazzling lights (metaphorical equivalents, of course) to the Psi Sense / Signature Sniffer, and then they're gone? Or do they linger over time gradually weakening until they're finally no more? Or are these details left to GM fiat?

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

How long are psychic signatures meant to last?

Is it like "seeing" a flash or some dazzling lights (metaphorical equivalents, of course) to the Psi Sense / Signature Sniffer, and then they're gone? Or do they linger over time gradually weakening until they're finally no more? Or are these details left to GM fiat?

Good point. The normal signature of an Innate Attack is compared to a gunshot, which has an immediate flash and report, and leaves behind certain material evidence (the residue of the gunpowder, the bullet itself, damage to the surroundings etc). But all of that requires special skills and equipment to detect and analyze. I'd treat the normal Magic or Psychic signature similarly - it takes special gear and techniques (Alchemical kit, Postcognition, etc) to find and interpret. A good application of High Signature would be a magical residue that can be spotted by anyone with Magery, or psychic reverberations that echo in the mind of Telepaths and Espers. This would probably be a -5% limitation (Persistent Signature) in addition to any modifier for Low or High Signature for the actual use of the power.

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Good point. The normal signature of an Innate Attack is compared to a gunshot, which has an immediate flash and report, and leaves behind certain material evidence (the residue of the gunpowder, the bullet itself, damage to the surroundings etc). But all of that requires special skills and equipment to detect and analyze. I'd treat the normal Magic or Psychic signature similarly - it takes special gear and techniques (Alchemical kit, Postcognition, etc) to find and interpret. A good application of High Signature would be a magical residue that can be spotted by anyone with Magery, or psychic reverberations that echo in the mind of Telepaths and Espers. This would probably be a -5% limitation (Persistent Signature) in addition to any modifier for Low or High Signature for the actual use of the power.

I like that idea of Persistent Signature - the "echos" thing could be a big deal, well worth the -5%. Telepaths could "hear" the initial burst of psychic signature, and then follow the "echos" back to the scene of the "crime" (or whatever it was, the use of the power).

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

That makes assumptions about how big a factor distance really is. In real life, it's a big one. In a world with psionics, maybe not so much. People can have abilities that can work across vast distances (to affect or stop you from a distance), or they can Warp or have super-speed capabilities (to physically get there fast), remote senses (to see who caused the ruckus so they can come get you later, after they undo what you did when you're gone potentially).

it's not really an assumption, so much as the way things are. Being far away from someone you don't want to be near is naturally preferable to being close to them. That sensitives might notice you from further away still doesn't put them in a position to do something about it. That takes other gear, or points sunk into other abilities. And pricing limits (indeed, traits and mods in general) can't be done on the basis of what might be the case in a particular game, but must be done with an eye to the Universal, so that they will likely apply to the most settings. GMs are then free to tweak things as necessary to make things fit their own vision. If, as the game and RPK, are telling us, more obvious signatures aren't such a big deal, it seems most reasonable to me to assume that there's a case for the position, and work with that assumption to ensure that 'blatancy' does not become overly important. AIS, detection doesn't put them there, and even Precise, Nontargeting means they still need to pinpoint you with another sense to attack, which presumably will be more difficult if they sensed you from miles away.