[PP] [P] Psionic Ability Building

[Shimmin Beg]

Originally Posted by Thökk

BTW, while we're here, can I ask something? How do you understand "Penetrating, +50%" enhancement? Does it only allow to treat objects as transparent for the purpose of sensing/seeing behind them (or inside if the object has a hollow space, like container) (you can still sense/see the object) or it allows to sense/see through object and INTO the object, allowing to focus on any depth into an object to see concentrations of higher density, colours, other objects embedded inside, etc.

The modifier used in Enhanced Senses says "These penetrate solid matter to a depth of 1’, revealing internal structure and defects." so I'd definitely say it lets you see internal variation.

Penetrating Vision is more ambiguous as it specifically talks about seeing through matter and seeing it only as an outline. However, I'd still allow you to see the internals. It's not "this substance is invisible to you", which would bring disadvantages. I can't think of any particular examples in fiction that have someone scrutinising the internal structure of an object, though.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

It sounds like an ability I've been thinking of for various characters, called PK Awareness:
(copied from a character in another thread) PK Awareness 10 (Increased Range 50x, +50%; Extended Arc, 360°, +125%; Granted by familiar, -40%; Nuisance Effect, sensed by touch at Per-7, -5%; Psychokinesis, -10%; Requires Per Roll, -5%) [43]

PK Awareness is a Scanning Sense that's basically Extra-Sensory Awareness using psychokinetic feedback (which is to say, a very low psychokinetic pressure is cast over a wide area around him, and his mind builds a three-dimensional map of areas of resistance). Beings with a sense of touch in the area of effect can perceive a slight pressure (Per-7), and may be able to realize what's going on from that, or even locate him.

What is the base Advantage that's built on?

... so I don't know how to correct it.

I'd suggest "Nuissance Effect: Noticeable (by sense of touch at Per-7)"

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

What is the base Advantage that's built on?

Scanning Sense, as it says in the quote.

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I'd suggest "Nuissance Effect: Noticeable (by sense of touch at Per-7)"

Might use that if I use something like this again.

[Thökk]

Originally Posted by Shimmin Beg

I an't think of any particular examples in fiction that have someone scrutinising the internal structure of an object, though.

Scrutinizing the internal structure of person with powers, though, does happen. There was an animated Justice League movie where Superman confirmed that a character who were supposed to stay in prison were in fact still in prison and that his another character's organs were reversed from left to right. He did across insane distance, but that's beside the point.

I can imagine knowing about internal structure of objects can be useful in certain professions and tasks, like material science, geology, metallurgy, healthcare, demolitions... Everything you can't pull apart easily and that requires advanced sensors to see through.

[Thökk]

Telekinesis is described along the lines of "Your TK may then perform one standard maneuver as if were a disembodied pair of hands at some point within your range"

Can I add advantages to these telekinetic hands instead of the physical ones? Extra Limbs, Extra attacks, High Manual Dexterity, Striking ST, Lift ST? Limitations, like No manipulators, no fine manipulators? What about "High manual dexterity" Technique to get more out of basic bonus on Lockpicking, Surgery, etc.?

Also I realized, that you can use melee skills to attack with TK Grab and thus techniques as well. Does that mean that maneuvers and techniques, that usually are dangerous to perform due to risk of injury are risk free with telekinesis?

[Thökk]

One subfield of psionics I felt was missing from Psionic Powers is psionic mind augmentation, intelligence augmentation, etc. I.e. using psionics to do things your organic brain alone can't do. It is in many ways a metapower, because instead of being based on "mind over matter" it is "psionics over mind" which is arguably recursive and might not fit a tone of every game.

The idea of that subset of powers came from observing different psionic powers systems in the fiction, but finding it strangely absent as a named field and specialty.

Another problem is that one advantage that I thought could fit this power suite (Compartmentilized Mind), the book Psionic Powers suggests to not give the -10% Psi modifier, nor have it rolled, which seems like a poor fit with the rest of the specialties. I haven't come up with good solutions to it, but if I'll manage, I'll try to write them down and share for discussion.

The other advantages I thought go well with Psionic (Mentalism? Mental Augmentation):
Enhanced Time Sense
Eidetic and Photographic Memory
Absolute Timing
Lightning calculator
Less Sleep
Modular Abilities (Mind Surgery, Self; Virtual skills)
Treating your mind palace as having access to Accessory (Computer) with Complexity and being able to run simple and complex programs and simulations.
Vizualization
Sensory advantages that can be explained as advanced sensory processing.

Part of the inspiration for that came from thinking about D&D 3.5 psionics and how a low TL society with psionics could potentially emulate higher TLs. Cave men with the internet, servers, data repositories, youtube, dream universities...
Part of it came from bizarre sources, like BBC Sherlock show, because for all its flaws, it was "Mind wizard: the television show" which was hilarious.

P.S. Are there timed thread locks or rules against thread necromancy?

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Thökk

One subfield of psionics I felt was missing from Psionic Powers is psionic mind augmentation, intelligence augmentation, etc. I.e. using psionics to do things your organic brain alone can't do. It is in many ways a metapower, because instead of being based on "mind over matter" it is "psionics over mind" which is arguably recursive and might not fit a tone of every game.

The idea of that subset of powers came from observing different psionic powers systems in the fiction, but finding it strangely absent as a named field and specialty.

I vaguely think I've seen this in fiction, blanking on the source, with the Power being Telepathy. I feel like Biokinesis would work better, though. Either way, I think that even if its able to boost IQ and Per, it shouldn't be able to do Will. Likewise, it might only be able to boost them for non-psionic applications, to avoid getting into a feedback loop.

[Thökk]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

I vaguely think I've seen this in fiction, blanking on the source, with the Power being Telepathy. I feel like Biokinesis would work better, though. Either way, I think that even if its able to boost IQ and Per, it shouldn't be able to do Will. Likewise, it might only be able to boost them for non-psionic applications, to avoid getting into a feedback loop.

That seems reasonable. In any case my focus was never on pure stat increase, although somw of it seems helpful. Enhanced Time Sense and Compartmentalized Mind don't increase your IQ and yet they massively increase your mental capabilities. In any case, psionic mental enhancement can follow 30% increase limitation and introduce strain side effects if you push beyond the limit. And yeah, Extra Effort already covers Psionic Power enhacement, so...

What I don't understand is how to make psionic abilities that don't have psi -10% limitation and the activation roll would basically make them useless or at least annoying.

[Thökk]

Originally Posted by Shimmin Beg

Detect Physical Objects (Accessibility, needs line of effect, -10%; Accessibility, Only tactile properties, -50%; Analyzing, +100%; Area Perception, +300%; Precise, +100%; Substantial only, -10%) [171].

What does "Accessibility, needs line of effect, -10%" mean here for Detect? Does it have to be line? Could it be a curve?

[Shimmin Beg]

Originally Posted by Thökk

What does "Accessibility, needs line of effect, -10%" mean here for Detect? Does it have to be line? Could it be a curve?

So "line of effect" just means there is an unbroken route between you and the thing you want to detect. It could be a straight line, a curve, or an extremely elaborate path through a maze of lasers.

For example:
- you're standing next to it
- you're looking at it across an empty room
- you're in your bedroom with the window open, and it's in another room with an open window 1000 miles away
- technically, you could be standing in a field while the thing you want to detect is lying on the ground on Pluto

However, you can't detect things inside a hermetically-sealed container (as per your original post).

The value of the limitation would depend on how small a gap still gives line of effect for this specific power. If a gap has to be at least 5cm wide, it's a bigger limitation. If any gap wide enough to slide a sheet of paper into is enough, it's a small limitation. Your description suggests the latter.