[Psi/Space] Irar, the Jewel in the British Crown

[Prince Charon]

Psionics in this setting

Psi here is frequently Path/Book Psi Powers (briefly summarized, these are psi abilities modeled as Path/Book Magic, rather than the Magic As Powers system from the Psionics books; Magery 0 is Psionic Aptitude, Magery talent is Psi Talent, and Path/Book Adept is Psi Adept; being 'talented' in a particular power often means having an Aspected limitation on Psi Adept, and/or having a high skill level). Without Psionic Aptitude, getting psionic rituals to work generally requires maintaining an extreme emotional state, enough to give a -5 penalty to skill.

Path/Book Psionics in this setting tends to be Effect Shaping; regular psi abilities are rare to uncommon (partly depending on species), and are sometimes the result of using the same ritual often enough that it 'becomes a part of you' (those who have a lot of abilities in a specific Path/Power might also have the usual Psi Power Talent for it). They may also be instinctive, which is common among sub-sapient life (which most often have a single set of abilities, perks, and skills per species, usually all from a single power or a small number of powers; surprises do still happen there, though), but far from unheard-of in sophonts (e.g. the Irari psychic Gadgeteers).

'Charms' in this context would be conditional rituals in which the physical charm is part of the condition. 'Fetishes' would be items that astral entities have anchored themselves to (whether by choice, persuasion, or force), or psychotronic 'astral cages.' A 'mystic symbol' might be a fetish, a psychotronic generator, or a psychological crutch like Dumbo's feather.

Note that the core skill having a lower difficulty does not makes Paths or Books any easier - they're still Very Hard even if the core skill is Easy (e.g. Singing [HT/E], Hobby Skill (Role-Playing Games) [IQ/E], or Mental Strength [Will/E]). The attribute of the core skill does usually determine the attribute of the Paths or Books, though there are exceptions to this. Some core skills will have unexpected prerequisites and/or complementary skills; Autohypnosis and Meditation are nearly always complementary for the core skill, even if the style doesn't mention it, and are common prerequisites for the same reason: The purpose of the core skill, the Path or Book skill, and the ritual technique, is to focus the unconscious mind on the intended psi effect. (In a few rare styles, mostly among the Coeb'lds and some humans, the user needs to get the attention and help of astral entities to accomplish much of anything - in those cases, Spirit Communication or the equivalent is the usual core skill, and probably the base ability, as they aren't exactly using Path/Book Psi.)


Psionic disadvantages have been known to occur. They generally seem to be psi abilities that are harmful to or inconvenient for the user, e.g. Frightens Animals (generally Telepathic or Biokinetic) or Weirdness Magnet (nearly always Probability Alteration). They are generally found by the Irari to be either an indicator of psychological problems, the result of unfortunate genetics (like allergies), or some form of psionic attack (what less advanced cultures would call a 'curse') on the individual, or a group. Mitigators and treatments for such disadvantages exist, though sometimes it takes a while to find the right one, and sometimes there just isn't one that will work for you (Doylistly, it depends on what the GM and players have agreed to). Interestingly, having psionic disadvantages with no psionic advantages to compensate is rare enough that it only seems to occur from psionic attacks... and such attacks have been known to accidentally awaken psi abilities in response.


In the context of healing, note that 'instant' healing is rare to non-existent in this setting. Rather than translating Cure or Cure Injury, use some variant of 'Affliction (Advantage),' usually some level of Regeneration with Extended Duration, and translate that. The ability uses the same techniques as Cure Injury. Cure Disease works as normal.

Example:
Accelerate Healing, 28/39/60/106/156 points for levels 1-5.
Skill: Accelerate Healing [Will/H].
Statistics: Affliction (Advantage: Regeneration (Slow), +100%; Extended Duration (1 day), +125%; Biokinesis, -10%; Contact Agent, -30%) [28]. This is changed to 'Regeneration (Regular), +250%' and 'Extended Duration (5 hours), +80%' at level 2 [39], 'Regeneration (Fast), +500%' and 'Extended Duration x10, +40%' at level 3 [60], 'Regeneration (Very Fast), +1,000%' and no Extended Duration at level 4 [106], and 'Regeneration (Extreme), +1,500%' at level 5 [156].
GMs may wish to modify the Extended Durations, and may want to forbid or further limit levels 4 and 5 (I would; I only included them because I thought it likely that people would ask about them if I didn't); as it's written, the above version would be Path of Biokinesis-2/-3/-6/-10/-15 for levels 1-5. For Fatigue Regeneration, some psi techniques may be appropriate (and levels 4 and 5 are more appropriate for that than for HP Regeneration), or a variant starting with Fit and Very Fit (both with Extended Duration) might work better.


Astral Projection works slightly differently from the book, in this setting: Contrary to the 'The Inner Astral Plane' text box (GURPS Psionic Powers p28), exceeding one's time on the inner plane does not result in death - so long as the physical body is alive, you will painfully be dragged through the barrier and snap back to your body when time is up, but arrive with 0 FP. Also, the Near-Death Projection perk ('Astral Projection Perks' text box, p29) seems to be a Feature that every sapient being has in this setting, though in most cases, they either reincarnate not too long after, or drift into a realm of the inner plane that corresponds to an afterlife that they believe in (that is willing to let them in; some are quite surprised by where they end up, in any direction).


Continued next post.