[Psionics] melee with TK Grab + Levitation + Power Defenses + CM1

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by aldebaran

According to Concentrate Maneuver description in Campaigns p366, if any activity requires concentration during multiple seconds, a roll vs Will-3 is required to avoid breaking the concentration in case of HP loss. Moreover, according to Psionics Powers p54, TK Grab requires constant concentration. That is why I thought that the use of TK Grab over a period of time (such as during a combat) could also be disrupted by injury.

I agree. An injury could cause the character to drop what he's TKing.

Reading more into TK Grab skill description (Psionics Powers p54), it seems that DX based skills could also be used through TK Grab using IQ based rolls instead of DX.l

Again, I agree. A strict GM might consider these to be separate IQ-based skills, "TK Staff" instead of "Staff" (perhaps with a default between them). A more lenient one might just allow the regular DX-based skill to float to IQ when you're using TK.

I'd use TK Grab for the "routine" uses of the ability that aren't covered by other, task-specific skills. You need to roll TK Grab just to pick something up, or to successfully move an object to a precise position. Note that those rolls aren't necessary with unmodified TK as described in Basic. Psi Powers uses the "Skills For Everyone" option on Powers 162. The "Requires IQ Roll -10%" bit in the descripton of how TK Grab is built represents this extra limitation over the baseline TK. I'd use TK Grab skill to cover all these rolls for simple actions that normally need no roll at all when you perform them with your ordinary two hands.

For example, most of the uses listed in the box on Psi Powers 55 would need a TK Grab roll, even though most wouldn't require a roll to do with your own normal hands. For "open a locked car door", I'd point out that this means pulling the handle/knob on the inside of the car designed to open the door despite the lock. Actually picking the lock would require Lockpicking skill. "Trigger a trap" assumes you know the trap is there and the means to trigger it is obvious (the prop under the deadfall, the tripwire, etc). Otherwise you'd need Traps. "Tie an enemy's shoelaces together" assumes you know how to tie simple knots, but if you want to fix the ship's rigging without climbing the mast, or make a noose to float over someone's head, you'd need Knot-Tying. (Knot-Tying is Easy, so tying shoelaces probably just falls under default use.)

"Drive a car from the backseat" requires Driving skill. Harsh GMs will make this difficult without CM because you need to Concentrate on the TK, but you also need to pay attention to your driving just to drive. (Note that it's illegal in California for your extra CM to text on a cell phone while your TK mind is driving.)

And for "shift it into reverse" on a manual, I might require a Driving check just to make sure you know where reverse is on this model, and how to get the stick there. (All the way left and up? All the way right and down? Button to depress? Ring to pull up? Just push? They're not all the same, and someone with a familiarity penalty for the model is likely to fumble around a bit at first.)

And if you're far enough away from the car, so that you can't see into it, you'd need a sense like Clairsentience just to "see" that lock knob or shift level. Otherwise, your invisible TK hands are effectively groping around the inside of the car in the dark until you find the right lever. This is just descriptive detail unless time is of the essence, but you could get dramatic mileage out of describing how the teke is feeling around the inside of the car door as it rolls toward the cliff, trying to open the door so he can yank out the unconscious passenger inside. Maybe that's when Clair steps up to form a gestalt so TK can see what he's doing. Hooray, teamwork!

I'd avoid rolls per turn that just keep the power going. For instance, the staff can follow you down the hall once you've grabbed it without a bunch of "move" rolls every five yards; the positioning isn't all that precise, and consequences of a failure aren't interesting. This would be a handwave just to avoid unnecessary clutter in the game.

[Dustin]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

A more lenient one might just allow the regular DX-based skill to float to IQ when you're using TK.

I'm pretty sure that's what is intended.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

For instance, the staff can follow you down the hall once you've grabbed it without a bunch of "move" rolls every five yards; the positioning isn't all that precise, and consequences of a failure aren't interesting.

I was thinking about this, and decided that I personally would allow two kinds of "not moving" (no skill roll required). Not moving relative to the ground, and not moving relative to the psi. In either case, no skill roll is required to keep it there, but I would require a roll to switch between the 2 modes.