Psychometabolism (WatW)

Durago waited in the dusty circle, sweat running down his back in a warm trickle. The sun stood at noon; it was time. A round him, the silent villagers parted to admit their champion in to the ring. Looking up, Durago measured his opponent with a penetrating stare.

The villager was a hulking mul, standing a full head higher than Duragos own six feet and outweighing him by a hundred pounds or more. He could see the cicatrices and scars of the arena rippling on the warrior's oiled skin. The mul advanced with easy confidence, veteran of hundreds of fights to the death. Durago frowned—this would not be easy.

"You should not have challenged me, stranger," the mul hissed. "This is my village, and I make the rules. Leave or die." He drew a glossy, obsidian-bladed short sword and waited.

Durago closed his eyes and called upon the Way. First he armored himself hardening his skin until it was as dense as braxat hide. Then he flooded his body with primal strength. Lastly, he poured his will in to his hands, making them in to steely talons capable of splitting stone. The villagers—and their champion—did not detect Duragos new strength.

Opening his eyes, he smiled and said, "I'm ready."

Psychometabolism offers a wide range of useful powers. With them, a psionic character can fight as well as a fighter, become stealthier than a thief, heal like a cleric, or change shape like a wizard. A well-played psychometabolist may be the most dangerous character of the DARK SUN campaign.

The Role of Psychometabolism

Like Psychokinesis, Psychometabolism is often regarded as a good fighting discipline. Like the psychokineticist, psychometabolists are sought out as bodyguards and agents by the great merchant dynasties and the nobility of Athas.

The psychometabolist takes more personal assignments than a psychokineticist does. Psychometabolism is a good combat discipline, but its powers augment the user's own abilities rather than directly damaging several opponents at once. A psychometabolist must settle for dispatching his foes one by one. They are more valued as bodyguards than artillery pieces.

If not employed as a bodyguard, a psychometabolist may find work as an assassin, scout, or spy. His powers can duplicate or surpass a thief's stealthy abilities. Many psychometabolists remain free of any patrons or employers, working as freelancers.

As an adventurer, the psychometabolist is a powerful and flexible addition to a party. He can stand in as a warrior, a thief, or a cleric for a brief time. However, he is best used as an advance scout. His capabilities for hidden movement and observation are unsurpassed, and he can fight well in a pinch.

Psychometabolic Advancement

Few of the psychometabolist's powers have prerequisites, and he is largely free to advance as he sees fit. He should maintain a mix of offensive, defensive, and other powers as he advances. Because his devotions are so useful, the psychometabolist is under little pressure to select offensive secondary disciplines.

Metamorphosis and animal affinity are excellent sciences to learn early in the psionicist's career, since they combine offense, defense, and movement powers in one selection. Death field is best saved for higher levels when the psionicist can afford to lose enough hit points to seriously damage his enemies.

Adrenalin control, body weaponry, cause decay, double pain, and rigidity are all excellent attack powers and should be considered early on. Catfall, chameleon power, displacement, ectoplasmic form, and flesh armor are all very good defenses. The psionicist also has access to the useful powers of body equilibrium, cell adjustment, heightened senses, mind over body, and reduction.

Psychometabolic Powers

Note: In the Dragon Kings hard cover game accessory, the devotion return flight is listed as a Psychometabolic power. It should be considered Psychokinetic. If a character has selected return flight as a Psychometabolic power, the DM may allow it to stand or let the player exchange it for another devotion.

Some powers worth discussing are presented below.

Animal Affinity: Many of the creatures listed in the table that appears in The Complete Psionics Handbook (page 50) do not exist on Athas. Use the following table when rolling for an Athasian character's animal affinity.

Animal Affinity Table

1	Ankheg	11	Rasclinn
2	Cha'thrang	12	Razorwing
3	Erdland	13	Scorpion, giant
4	Flailer	14	Silk wyrm
5	Inix	15	Snake, giant*
6	Kirre	16	Spider, giant
7	Lizard, minotaur	17	Tembo
8	Mekillot	18	Tigone
9	Pterrax	19	Wyvern
10	Pulp bee	20	Lion, spotted

* Constrictor or Poison, player's choice.

These monsters can all be found in the DARK SUN boxed set, DARK SUN MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM, or in the Monstrous Manual.

Energy Containment: This science is reflexive. Whenever subjected to an energy attack, the psionicist may try to make a power check to avoid the damage. He need not state that he is initiating the power before a round begins. If the psionicist has not yet taken his action in a round when he uses this power, he must abort his intended action to initiate this power.

Metamorphosis: Nonmagical movement powers are included, so a character who changes into a bird can fly, and one who changes into a thri-kreen can leap or dodge missiles. It doesn't confer special powers such as poison, gaze attacks, or weapon immunities. If a character metamorphs into another character race, he uses the generic monster description for that race.

Some forms the character selects may have intrinsic advantages. Changing into a fish or a rock renders the character immune to drowning. The character does not retain any senses not normally associated with his new form, so if he changes into a rock, he won't be able to see or hear. (The character can always feel.) He can decide to keep eyes or ears when he transforms, so that he will be able to know what's going on around him. Of course, eyes or ears on a rock may give away the psionicist's position and may be vulnerable to attacks.

Adrenalin Control: If used to enhance Constitution, the character may gain temporary bonus hit points. Any damage he suffers is subtracted from these extra hit points first.

When enhancing Strength, count each category of 18 as a point gained. A psionicist with a 16 Strength who rolls a 5 would increase to 17 18, 18/01, 18/51, and 18/76—not to 21.

A character may exceed his racial maximums with this power, but takes a risk of injuring himself. When he stops maintaining adrenalin control, he must make a system shock check if he operated beyond the normal maximum for his race in any ability. If he fails, he suffers 1d6 damage from stress and fatigue.

Body Control: Use of this power allows a character to survive in a sandstorm or the Sea of Silt without damage.

Body Equilibrium: The psionicist can walk on silt.

Cause Decay: This can be used against an opponent's weapons or armor by making a touch attack roll.

Ectoplasmic Form: A character using this devotion can be struck by magical weapons of a +1 or better enchantment, and by any monster of 4+1 Hit Dice or more. The psionicist's equipment must remain ectoplasmic as long as he does. An ectoplasmic character falls as if affected by a feather fall spell.

Enhanced Strength: A psionicist may enhance his Strength score to his racial maximum.

Flesh Armor: The base Armor Class granted by this power is not cumulative with armor worn-instead, use the better base Armor Class. Dexterity bonuses contribute to the character's new AC, as well as any magical protection that works in conjunction with regular armor, such as a ring of protection.

Heightened Senses: A character using this ability may reduce any darkness-based combat modifiers by 2.

Reduction: The psionicist's gear is not affected.

Forced Symmetry: Generally, any character who has been injured has sustained 10 to 100% of that damage (d10x10) to one side of his body. For example, Frenla has 30 hit points and has taken 12 points of damage. A d10 roll shows she has sustained 80% to one side and 20% to the other, or 3 points and 3 points respectively. Her total damage can be increased to 18 or decreased to 6 with forced symmetry.

The Psychometabolist Template

The powers listed by each leve; are the recommended progression for an NPC psionicist. They can also be used as a model for player characters mapping out their advancement from level to level.

As noted before, the DM should feel free to substitute as he or she sees fit. Remember, a character must have twice as many devotions as sciences in any given discipline, and may not have as many sciences or devotions in a secondary or tertiary discipline as he has in his primary discipline.

Level	Powers Gained
1	Animal affinity (S), accelerate, body equilibrium, chameleon power
2	Cell adjustment; TELEPATHY: Contact
3	Metamorphosis (S), reduction; TELEPATHY: mind bar
4	Adrenalin control, ectoplasmic form
5	TELEPATHY: Mindlink (S), ego whip
6	PSYCHOPORTATION: Dimensional door
7	Energy containment (S); TELEPATHY: ESP
8	PSYCHOPORTATION: Pocket dimension
9	Cause decay; PSYCHOPORTATION: Teleport (S)
10	METAPSIONICS: Gird
11	Poison simulation (S); METAPSIONICS: Prolong
12	Spider touch
13	TELEPATHY: Domination (S), id insinuation
14	CLAIRSENTIENCE: Know location
15	Photosynthesis; METAPSIONICS: Empower (S)
16	CLAIRSENTIENCE: Danger sense
17	Regenerate (S); TELEPATHY: Post-hypnotic suggestion
18	PSYCHOKINESIS: Control sound
19	Mind over body; CLAIRSENTIENCE: Clairvoyance (S)
20	METAPSIONICS: Convergence