A Psionics Primer[]
All psionic powers belong to one of six disciplines: clairsentience, psychokinesis, psychometabolism, psychoportation, telepathy, and metapsionics. Within each discipline are major powers, called sciences, and minor powers, called devotions.
- Clairsentient powers allow characters to gain knowledge that is beyond the normal capacity of human senses. For example, some clairsentients can see and hear events that are miles distant, while others can sense poison.
- Psychokinetic powers move objects - from molecules to missiles - across space. A psychokineticist can throw a rock without touching it, or agitate molecules in a piece of paper until it bursts into flame.
- Psychometabolic powers affect the body. Biofeedback, healing, and shapechanging are just a few of the powers known.
- Psychoportive powers move characters or creatures from one location to another without crossing space. The traveler simply ceases to exist in one location, and begins to exist somewhere else. He may even travel to another plane of existence or to another time.
- Telepathic powers involve direct contact between two or more minds. Examples include mind reading, personality swapping, and psychic attacks.
- Metapsionic powers amplify, augment, or enhance other psionic abilities. This is an advanced, demanding discipline.
Psionic Strength Points: Characters use psionic powers much like proficiencies, with a few significant differences. Every time a psionicist uses a psionic devotion or science, he must pay its "cost." This cost is deducted from the character's total psionic strength points, or PSPs. PSPs are similar to hit points, except that the psionicist spends them willingly, and he can recover them much faster than lost hit points (psionic strength points are explained more fully in a section below).
Power Scores: Like a proficiency, every psionic power that a character knows has a score. In other words, a psionic power score represents the character's aptitude in using that particular power. Power scores are devised exactly like proficiency scores. Every psionic power is associated with one of the character's basic attributes (Strength, Wisdom, etc.). The psionic power score equals the character's score for that attribute, plus or minus a specific amount. For example, a psionic power with a score of "intelligence -3" has a score three less than the character's intelligence.
Power Checks: When a character wants to use a psionic power, the player makes a psionic power check by rolling 1d20. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the power score, the character succeeds (in other words, he does what he intended). The player subtracts the cost of the power from his character's total pool of psionic strength points.
If the roll exceeds the psionic power score, it means the character tried to use his power, but failed. Failure has a price. The player must subtract half the cost of the power, rounded up, from the character's psionic strength points. In most cases, the psionicist can try to use the same power again immediately (in the next round). For exceptions, see the individual power descriptions in this book.
Like a proficiency check, a psionic power check yields specific results on a die roll of 20 or 1. A "20" always indicates failure. A "1" always indicates a minimum level of success, regardless of the character's power score. In other words, even if a character's score has been reduced to a negative number by penalties, a roll of "1" still succeeds. That doesn't mean a "1" (or any low number) is the best result. A "1" means the power works - but often with a quirk or drawback. See the individual power descriptions for specifics.
Players may use the optional "skill score" rule for psionic powers, too. If the die roll for the power check equals the character's power score, special results occur. Chapters 3 through 8 provide the details.
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