Psychics. [These rules are published as an addition to the Compleat Arduin and were created and derived by Mark Schynert.]

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1 [These rules are published as an addition to the Compleat Arduin and were created and derived by Mark Schynert.] Psychics Psychics in Arduin are not a separate character class. Instead, they are a small group of people from a few races with widely varying capabiltiies. They might be most any character class from warrior to wizard to witch hunter; only star-powered mages will never have psychic talents. Members of the various races have differing chances of beginning with psychic powers, as noted in Table 103. Roll once with D100. Those races not listed normally have no psychic ability, except as listed in Table 33 of Book I. Table 104 defines the number of psychic talents each character has at the start of play; note that all psychics also get Basic Trance, which is not counted against their passive talents total for Tabel 104. Generally, characters gain no new psychic powers over time, though they improve with the ones they have. To use Table 104, you must first compute the character s Psychic Power Potential (PPP): PPP = INT * EGO / 5 Any fractional value should be rounded up to the next highest whole number. If the PPP goes high enough in the course of play for the character to reach a new result on Table 104, the GM may choose to allow the character to pick up a new talent or talents. If it goes down, the psychic will still retain all talents unless adjudicated otherwise. Passive talents are those which do not affect anything outside the psychic s own mind. Intuits, Trances and most Blocks fall within this category. Active talents are those which affect things, or minds other than the psychic s own. They tend to be much more powerful. Table 103 Racial Frequency of Psychics Race % Chance* Amazon 11 Deodanth 8 Elf 10 Half Elf 11 Half Orc 6 Hobbitt 15 Human 12 Knoblin 9 Kobbit 7 Merman 20 Phraint (Red only) 100 Titan 18 Urukk 6 *Notwithstanding this table, individuals of some races not listed have the ability to sense ambush; see Table 33 in Book I.

2 Table 104 Beginning Psychic Talents All psychics begin with the passive talent Basic Trance. They get additional talents as listed below. PPP Passive Talents Active Talents 4 or less Psychic Talents Psychic talents all require expenditure of PPP, much like mages expend mana. Like mana, PPP is recovered daily, and recovery can be pro-rated with GM approval. Each talent lists the PPP cost. Except for Aggression and Blocks, each talent has a listed base success rate, to which the character adds her WIS and 2% per EL. Also, each time the character goes up an EL, he may add a total of 15% divided up among his existing talents in any way he wishes. For splitclass characters, this applies only when they gain an EL in the class in which they are already most advanced. Each psychic also has a favorite talent, with which he gets a one-time bonus of 1D10%. If this is added to an Aggression or Block talent, it is a type of Special factor. Psychic talents fall into several categories: Intuits, Telekinetics, Links, Suggestions, Trances, Aggression, Blocks, Healing and Ports. These categories are important because a character s class will affect his ability to use a given category of talent. For specifics, see Table 105. The values in Table 105 are applied as a percentage bonus/penalty to every talent the character has in the category. Assassins always use the values listed for that class in preference to their cover-identity class; all other split-class characters use the values for the class in which they have attained the highest EL.

3 Table 105 Psychic Talents and Character Class Intuits Telekinetics Links Suggestions Trances Aggression B Alchemist Assassin Barbarian Bard Beast Master Courtesan Druid Forester Herbalist Illusionist Normal Martial Artist Medicine Man Paladin Priest Rune Singer Rune Weaver Sage Saint Scout Techno Thief Trader Warrior Witch Hunter Wizard

4 Table 106 Psychic Fumble This table is used whenever 00 is rolled using an active talent without acquiescence of the target, or on any use of an Agression where the roll is 00 or misses by at least 80. It is never used for passive talents; these are not subject to fumbles Effect fizzles; user is stunned for 1D6 actions User takes 2D20 points of shock damage Effect hits random target other than intended. For attack talents, a second attack is calculated and rolled. If this is a fumble, the attacker suffers the effect of the attack Instead of the intended talent, another randomly-chosen talent of the user goes off, 50/50 that it hits the user or the original target Effect goes off in the user s face, no save Effect goes off in the user s face at double strength, no save Effect completely fizzles Effect completely fizzles, and may not be used again for 25 hours Effect is exactly the reverse of that intended. 50/50 whether it hits the user or the intended target Effect fizzles, but goes into infinite loop, triggering once each action, every action, at random targets, until the user s PPP is completely exhausted. Any subsequent fumble during the loop goes off in the user s face. 99 Effect fizzles, 90% chance user will go stark raving bonkers for 1D6 hours, less 3% for every point of WIS. The insanity will be permanent 5% of the time, in which case it usually takes the form of catatonia (90% chance). 100 Effect turns in on itself, causing user s brain to boil, nerves short out, eyeballs burst, etc. as user collapses in gurgling convulsions. Non-resurrectable, extremely painful death in 1D4 melee rounds. Mages and Psychic Ability Mages who have psychic abilities are also competent with all mind-affecting magik, such as Hypnos. This means they would be +10% in their chance to succeed with such magik, for 10% less mana cost, and effects would last 10% longer. See also the discussion on competence in Chapter 4 of Book I, in the prologue to the Special Ability Tables. Monsters and Psychic Ability Generally speaking, only sentient monsters will demonstrate any psychic ability whatsoever. Yes, I know, you could as GM introduce a dumb predator of some sort that homes in on the mental emanations of intelligent life. Well, don t do it! Why? Because it s against logic. It doesn t make sense because it s a whole lot easier for that dumb carnivore to track our fearless hero by means of scent, sight, noise or even magnetic fields; mental emanations are relatively weak, and unless the aforementioned meateater disdains rabbits in favor of Hobbitts, he s going to miss most of the game by focusing only on the most detectable of these weak emanations. Even then, carnivores that prefer sentient beings are really asking to be selected against. Smart prey is prey that comes up with countermeasures, like firebrands, Mystik Darts, or my personal favorite, an M14 with a full clip.

5 Sentient monsters with psychic abilities are a completely different matter. Dragons, demons and undead are all capable of having one or more psychic abilities. These types of monsters are already perilous in their own right; the odd psychic ability can be the GM s really nasty ace in the hole. Children and Psychic Activity Since psychics are born with the talents they have, when do they manifest them? Well, if you think it s bad listening to some kid screaming its head off, imagine a two-year-old whose temper tantrums consist of psychic screams or death thrusts at anyone in range. Bad stuff; kids like this are not likely to make it to three. While the very occasional kid may exhibit active talents too early for his own good, natural selection and society s need for sanity have mostly solved this problem. In Arduin, kids may attain limited use of passive talents by their third birthday, and will rise to EL 0 competence as normals by about age ten. They have no active talents until about the time they reach puberty. They are still likely to use these talents in socially inappropriate ways. However, unlike toddlers, these near-adults have a decent chance of learning from one or two psychic misadventures. Some don t; 10% to 20% of post-pubescent psychics in Arduin die before they reach their majority. Artifacts and Psychic Ability It s natural to assume that, just as there are artifacts that increase or supplement a character s inherent physical or magikal abilities, there might be artifacts that do the same for the psychic powers. Indeed, this is another area where imagination deftly used will make the game better. However Yep, that ugly concept, balance, pops up again. Because the psychic powers are so potent, they are limited in this write-up in a variety of ways. Artifacts that don t follow the same constraints are likely to damage the game. Therefore, here are some constraints you as the GM may wish to impose on any artifact that purports to increase psychic power or skills: [1] An artifact that does not have PPP and cannot add PPP to a character s PPP total unless that artifact has both an EGO and an INT, and both must be at least 10. Further, the PPP of the artifact is computed from these stats. Here s the kicker: in a battle of wills, the artifact might start to telling the user what to do. Further, the artifact might not like the user, or it might refuse to do certain things it could do, but doesn t want to. And if the artifact is not aligned, it s amoral, with all the implications that may bring. [2] An artifact may not mix psychic and magikal powers unless it is keyed to specific classes and persons capable of using both types of powers. Thus, a ring of both Detect Magik (the spell) and Reveal Magik (the psychic talent) would automatically be keyed only for psychic wizards, druids, medicine men, etc. A star-powered mage could not use it because he won t ever be a psychic. Of course, the keying of the artifact could be even more restrictive. [3] Artifacts that purport to provide the user with psychic talents that can be used at will must still be powered by the user s PPP if the artifact does not inherently have the PPP necessary to support all powers each time they can be used. [4] Artifacts that purport to provide the user with psychic talents that can be used at will have a base success rate unaffected by the character s ELs prior to the time the character acquired the artifact. [5] Artifacts that raise the character s success rate with one or more psychic talents must be strictly scrutinized by the GM, so that they do not disrupt the balance of the game. If you think it s going to mess up the game, don t allow it.

6 [6] Non-psychics that try to use a psychic artifact have a substantial chance of being profoundly confused the first 1D8 times they try to use it. The actual chance of confusion is 75%, less 1% for every EL over 10, and will last for 1D4 hours. We re talking something akin to chemical intoxication, though without the toxic side effects, but 10% of the victims will be driven temporarily or permanently insane. So you may want to leave these things for the psychics to pick up. Non-psychics from races that are never psychic will automatically go insane (90% chance temporary for 1D4 days; 10% chance permanent catatonia) if they try to use a psychic artifact. It does no good and a lot of harm. [7] If the artifact has its own PPP, this is not added to the psychic s total for the purposes of determining initial PPP for skills acqusition, range, or for any other purpose. [8] Like any artifact, these can be booby-trapped. Just a glance at some of the psychic powers written up here will tell you how vicious such a trap might be. Range of Psychic Effect Most active psychic talents can work at a distance, so their range of effect is a potentially limiting factor. Unless otherwise specified in the description of a specific talent, the range is the combined total of initial PPP of all psychics involved in the use of the talent. Thus, for an Aggression talent, you add the PPP of the attacker to that of the defender to get the range in feet. Yes, that means that the stronger one s PPP, the more vulnerable one is to Aggression or Suggestion attacks, at least in the sense of range. Yes, if your target is in range, so are you! And of course, attacking a non-psychic must be done at that much closer range, because the target is contributing nothing to the range. Psychic talents lose no potency as long as they are in range, even at maximum, but become completely ineffective one foot beyond maximum range. Range computations assume all activity is taking place in the same plane. GM adjudication may be necessary if an active talent is used in a cross-planar manner. THE PSYCHIC TALENTS Intuits The various intuits are all passive means of detecting something. The psychic may choose to have them on or off for any given day. Each intuit requires expenditure of a specified amount of PPP at the start of the day, and thereafter requires no further psychic energy until the psychic sleeps. Intuit Traps--The PPP cost is 2 per day. Both magikal and mechanical traps can be intuited, with the same chance. The base success rate is 45%. Intuit Hidden Apertures--The PPP cost is 1 per day. Both magikally and mechanically hidden doors can be intuited with the same chance, but this skill does not detect interdimensional portals and the like. Intuit Poison and Venom--The PPP cost is 1 per day. The success chance is doubled if the character focuses on specific objects of food or drink less than ten feet away. The base succcess chance is 40%. Reveal Magik--the PPP cost is 3 per day. If the character is not a mage, all they will know is that there s magik thataway, or that a specific object is magik. Mages with this talent who succeed and also succeed with the appropriate type of magik detect will know 100% of the magik present, including all masked magik and magik lies! The base chance is 35%. Clairaudience--The PPP cost is 5 per day. On a successful roll, the character hears everything above a whisper originating out to 300 feet, through any real barrier, and is able to

7 filter through the various sounds to distinguish one from another. Does not work through interdimensional portals or prismatic barriers, The base success chance is 40%. Clairvoyance--The PPP cost is 10 per day. Exactly the same as True Sight; see page 82 of Book I. If the character has True Sight independently and this talent as well, add the two percentages of success together, never exceeding 100%. The base success chance is 35%. Intuit Enemies--The PPP cost is 8 per day. Enemy means someone specifially seeking the character or his group with the intention of killing, robbing, confining or otherwise doing nasty things. Numbers and limited detail of the enemies will be revealed. Brownies can never be detected with this talent. The base success chance is 40%. Intuit Evil--The PPP cost is 7 per day. Detects and fully identifies anything from demons to evil weapons to your everyday bloodthirsty highwayman. The base success chance is 45%. Intuit Curses--The PPP cost is 5 per day. Detects curses on persons, places or things, including were-creatures, but not metamorphs or shapechangers unless they are otherwise cursed. Only reveals the barest details of the curse. Premonition--The PPP cost is 8 per day. This intuit is not necessarily range-limited, nor futurity- or even same-plane-limited. Whenever a decision is made by the character, including a decision made by the character s party which necessarily includes the character, the GM will decide whether a premonitory roll is justified. The GM may make the premonition as vague or as vivid as game circumstances require, and may choose to repeat these premonitions, or to limit it to one vision of the future. The character always gets a roll if ambush is imminent, rolled separately from any ambush detection roll otherwise allowed. The base success chance is 20%, and never exceeds 80%. Tracking--The PPP cost is 4 per day. This allows the character to follow the path of a moving entity. Detection of the trail is dependent upon the trail being less than six full days old (150 hours in Arduin.) A successful roll must be made with a base success chance of 40%, plus 1% per EL, but minus 1% for every hour over 25 (one full day) that the trail is old. Thus, an EL 2 tracker seeking a trail made 47 hours before would have a 20% chance ( (47-25)). Divining--The PPP cost is 2 per day. The character can find potable water, pure precious metals or low-impurity gems or other crystals (even salt) within a range equal to his initial PPP. The target matter must mass at least 28 grams/one ounce. The base chance is 30%, and the talent may not be used more than three times per day, nor for more than ten minutes at a time. Locating--The PPP cost is 4 per day. The character who makes a successful roll knows the most direct route to find an item known to him in the same plane This could include his sword, his horse, his lover or even his own body. There is no limit to the range, so long as the chacter and the target are in the same plane. However, the psychic may have no idea how near or far he is from the item. The item must be in some way intimate to the psychic, so a gold piece the psychic once held would not qualify, but an especially unusual gem might, and his lover damn well better. An item not in the same plane is impossible to detect with this talent, as is one that has ceased to exist. The base success chance is 35%. Psychic Sight--The PPP cost is 6 per day. The character can see everything in a sphere equal in radius to his initial PPP in feet. The sphere is centered on his brain. Neither rock, silver, darkening magik, the total absence of light nor anything else except psychic confusion can interrupt this vision, but the vision is unfocused and darting unless the psychic concentrates fully on the talent. This is almost a foolproof way to search someone s baggage. Illusions will still be effective if the user fails his save vs. the illusion. The psychic may only so concentrate three times per day. This talent is always successful, though there is no guarantee the psychic will see anything useful.

8 Empath--The PPP cost is 5 per day. The character can assess the emotional states of others on a successful roll, and if the margin of success is more than 10, he can accurately assess the exact content of the emotions, as well as whether the target being is being truthful. The GM should penalize the success chance where the pychic is dealing with an unfamiliar species; the base chance of success is 45%. Speak in Tongues--The PPP cost is 5 per day. The psychic can understand any oral language after listening to it live for an hour from fluent speakers, and will be able to speak it with near fluency. He does not retain such a language without regular study, however, and must otherwise spend the same one hour listening the next time he encounters the same tongue. This talent is always successful. Intuit Active Psychic Talent--The PPP cost is 5 per day. The active psychic, his distance and the active talent in use will all be fully identified to the user of this Intuit, but no other details will be revealed. The range of this talent is double that which would otherwise apply, and since this is a passive talent, the target active psychic cannot detect its use in turn. Telekinetics Telekinetic talents are among the most versatile of those available to the psychic. However, they are also generally among the most costly in terms of PPP. These are all active tralents. Self Levitation--The PPP cost is 10. On a successful roll, the character rises into the air at a rate of ten feet per action maximum, and may move through the air at the same speed as his unencumbered land speed. The levitation may be maintained for five minutes. The base success chance is 40%. Unlocking--The PPP cost is 5. This is treated just like the thiefly lockpick and deactivate skills rolled into one. A successful roll accomplishes both, but the success chance may be modified by the sophistication of the lock, just as for thieves. The psychic must be within three feet of the lock. Psychic thieves may also roll their standard deactivate and lockpick chances separately on the same lock. The base chance of success is 45%. Psychic Chains--The PPP cost is 12. On a successful roll, the psychic binds together one set of limbs of any target within twenty feet. This lasts up to one hour, so long as the psychic concentrates, and requires strength three times the psychic s own to break before that time is up. Nothing else short of a limited wish will do it. The target is entitled to a save attempt versus psychic attack, which will thwart the chains entirely. The base success chance for this talent is 35%. Mind Fist--The PPP cost is 6. The psychic trieds to telekinetically punch someone with whom he is in melee. On a successful roll, he hits, right through armor and everything else, doing 3D6 real damage. The punch cannot be directed at any part of the body; where it lands is random. There is only a 1% chance of a critical hit. The target is entitled to a save attempt versus psychic attack, which will reduce damage by half, unless the result is a critical hit. The base success chance is 35%. Telekinesis--The PPP cost is 20. On a succesful roll, the character can attempt to move, lift, sunder, torque or otherwise apply kinetic energy to an object without physically touching it. The maximum mass that can be affected is equal to 50 times the psychic s initial PPP in foot-pounds; a psychic with a PPP rating of 61 can lift 305 pounds ten feet straight up, or 3 pounds to an altitude of 1016 feet eight inches. Or the 305 pounds can be lifted five feet up and five feet out. Other more complex scenarios will have to be adjudicated by the GM, but the possibilities are endless. Consult Table 3 of Book I for strength equivalent for lifting and inflicting damage, based on five feet of lift (.i.e., multiply PPP by 10 instead of 50, crossreference to the amount thus lifted, and get the STR equivalent, which will also give the damage

9 that can be inflicted by a telekinetic torque, etc.) Telekinesis cannot be used against a normal mobile combat opponent, but something relatively fixed relative to itself, like a dancing weapon, can be grabbed if a CF roll is made. Psychic Hands--The PPP cost is 5. This is a favorite with bards. On a successful roll, the character gains the use of a set of unseeable hands that can move independently of his real ones or in concert with them. Subsequent continuous use of the talent does not require further success rolls, just more PPP. This makes amazing sleights of hand possible, and can also allow the bard to play two instruments at once, though it ll sound pretty bad unless he practices a lot first. As many bards are inveterate gamblers, it is also popular for adjusting the roll of dice surreptitiously. Many gambling houses now employ psychics simply to detect this kind of nonsense in action. Not surprisingly, this talent also occurs frequently with thieves. It can be sustained for up to five minutes at a time, and is effective to a range of three feet. Animation--The PPP cost is 14. On a successful roll, the psychic can animate any object up to five times his initial PPP in pounds and he can keep it animated for up to two minutes. In the case of dead bodies, the GM may even allow the psychic to move air through the lungs and over the vocal cords in order to make the dead speak. Most likely, it will sound horrible and unintelligible, but watch al those priests try to turn that sucker and, of course, have absolutely no success. The psychic can animate other things, like scarecrows, boulders, or even ground-hugging fog, so long as it is within 300 feet and within sight of the psychic at all times. Just how fast any of these things can move from one place to another is subject to GM adjudication, but it s generally pretty slow. The psychic cannot defy gravity with this skill except to the extent necessary to make the dead stand, roll the boulder uphill, etc. The animated object must always have contact with a solid surface. Thus, this skill will not work at all in some places. Force Field--The PPP cost is 13. On a successful roll, the psychic compresses a layer of air one inch in front of her to a density equivalent to AV 20. This adds to the character s defense only in the front 180 arc; a full 360 would not leave any air for the psychic to breathe. Of course, this talent doesn t work in water, nor in hard vacuum. Micro-Telekinesis--The PPP cost is 30. On a successful roll, the psychic is able to manipulate molecules as easily a a child plays with building blocks. He can actually see in his mind s eye the very tiny things with which he is fussing. This talent is not powerful enough to allow the psychic to perceive and manipulate atoms or subatomic particles, but it works great with viruses, bacteria, etc. However, given that viruses in an infection number in the millions, this isn t much of a disease-curing tool. On the other hand, if you want to put a hairline fracture in a gem or knit a crack in a sword blade, this is the talent for you. The psychic can maintain this skill for up to ten minutes each time, but must be right next to the objects he is manipulating, and because of the concentration needed, his DBF during this process is AV only. Ten minutes would be enough to knit a sword blade or to add a hairline fracture to a gem for someone with average PPP; the GM can adjudicate from these baselines. Links Links are means of communicating with others. Unlike Suggestion talents, Link talents will not work without the acquiesence of the parties to the communication. All are active. Mindspeak--The PPP cost is 2. On a successful roll, the character speaks via his mind only, to one other character, and knows if the communication was received, but there is no communication in return. The other character need not be a psychic. The characters must be in the same plane at the same time. The maximum range is the psychic s initial PPP in miles, and can be maintained for ten minutes. The base success chance is 60%. Mindtalk--The PPP cost is 3. On a successful roll, the character speaks in the mind of another character, and that character can speak back in the same way, even if not a psychic.

10 The range of this talent is one mile for every ten points of the psychic s initial PPP, but if the other speaker is also a psychic, the range is as for Mindspeak above. In either case, the connection can be sustained for ten minutes. The base success chance is 55%. Mindmeld--The PPP cost is 10. On a successful roll, the two character s minds merge; there are no secrets between them. This does not mean each character experiences the totality of the other s existence, as the majority of what the character has experienced is buried in the hurly-burly of day-to-day affairs. It does mean that anything that has been of immediate concern to either mind in the fairly recent past is brought to the fore of both minds and shared. The base success chance is 50%. Mind Read--The PPP cost is 2. On a successful roll, the character can read the mind of a close friend within a range equal to the initial PPP, divided by ten, in miles, though the friend will not know this, and will have no reason to direct his thoughts to something the psychic might wish to know. The base success chance is 50%. Booster--The PPP cost is 20. No roll is necesssary with this talent, though the talents it boosts will still need rolls. The psychic with this talent boosts other psychics talents. First, a boosted character needs to use only half as much PPP as otherwise indicated. Second, all Aggression and Block talents are +5. Third, the duration of all psychic talents is doubled over what it wopuld otherwise be. Lastly, the range is the square of what it would otherwise would be; a normal range of 40 feet would thus become 1600 feet. This boost may only be given to one other psychic entity, but that would include psychics in a mass link; all would then be so enhanced. Mass Link--The PPP cost is 3 for each psychic. Any number of psychics may Mass Link with this talent if they all have it; it succeeds automatically. The may Mindtalk without further expenditure as described above. They may also each add their ELs to the total PAF of any Aggression they all share, and they may add their ELs to the PSF of any Block talent any one of them has. Mass links can be sustained for five minutes normally. As you can see, large groups of linked psychics are an extremely potent force. This talent can be set to activate by Tripwire. Beast Master Talent--The PPP cost is 2. Only Beast Masters, saints, scouts, medicine men and barbarians may have this talent. On a successful roll, the character can Mindspeak with any animals that are already allies and otherwise within range in the same plane of existence. The GM will have adjudicate exactly what results. The base success chance is 25%. Forester Talent--The PPP cost is 1. Only foresters, druids and herbalists may have this talent. On a successful roll, the character can communicate with trees and other complex plants, for up to an hour at a time. The GM will have adjudicate exactly what results. The base success chance is 20%. Séance Talent--The PPP cost is 10. The psychic acts as a medium, trying to reach departed souls. To do this, he must first link with those who were emotionally close to the dead person, as they will give him a sense of the soul he seeks. If contact is successful, the psychic can keep open communication with the departed for up to an hour. This is the most perilous of the link powers, for two reasons. First, the departed may refuse any contact; this is GMadjudicated and not part of the success roll; think of the difference between the phone not working, and someone refusing to pick up a phone that does work. Souls that don t want to be disturbed sometimes get nasty, so the GM will have to decide if the ghost is capable of psychically attacking the medium or the other séance participants. Secondly, you might just stir up something you weren t looking for; on a failed roll, you might get nothing, but you also might get tormented souls, undead, or even Cimmeries, if your luck is very bad. Again, GM adjudication is called for. The base success chance is 25%.

11 Suggestions Suggestions are active talents more intrusive than Links. When a Suggestion is posed to a target individual, the individual must save versus Psychic Attack or be subject to the Suggestion talent in question. Targets never acquiesce to Suggestions. Confusion--The PPP cost is 8. On a successful roll, the target must save vs. psychic attack or be totally confused for one minute. even trying to add two plus two will be intellectually daunting (-8 RF.) Subtract the RF from all combat factors, and do not expect the target to do anything original, like changing melee opponents. This talent does not work against Phraints. The base success chance is 25%. Song of Fear--The PPP cost is 11. On a successful roll, and assuming no save vs. psychic attack (not a save vs. fear), the target succumbs to fear for 2D10 melee rounds. Refer to Table 63 of Book I, ignoring the listed durations. The base success chance is 25%. Invisibility--The PPP cost is 15. On a successful roll, and assuming no save vs. psychic attack, the target simply cannot see the psychic and those items on her person. Each successful use lasts for five minutes, with no save allowed once missed. Thieves love this one. The base success chance is 25%. Improved Invisibility-- The PPP cost is 30. This is just like Invisibility, except that it covers up to ten others besides the psychic. The base success chance is 20%. Mesmerization--The PPP cost is 4. On a successful roll, and assuming no save vs. psychic attack, the target is treated as under the influence of a Hypnos spell; see Book II, p The base success chance is 25%. Psychic Phantasm--The PPP cost is 20. On a successful roll, and assuming no save vs. psychic attack, the psychic evokes a horrible monster from the taget character s id. This monster may take any form the GM chooses, but it will always have an ABF and DBF each 10 higher than the target character s, and identical CF and hitpoints. The phantasmal monster will appear facing the character at melee range, and cannot be escaped by any means, as it is the product of the character s own mind. Nobody can see the monster except the target character, and the creating psychic. And yes, the target will take damage from the phantasm every time it hits him (as shock rather than real damage) and the damage will seem real. Critical hits will simulate the real thing; a critical hit to the weapon hand, for example, would cause the character to drop the weapon, though the hand might appear intact to anyone watching. Each hit by the phantasm does 1D4+4 points of shock. It fades away after one minute unless destroyed sooner. The base success chance is 30%. Psychic Influence--The PPP cost is 7. On a successful roll, and assuming no save vs. psychic attack, the psychic places unbidden thoughts in the mind of the target. The target takes these as his own thoughts. This is limited to changing the target s perceptions about specific things that he may have witnessed or otherwise experienced in passing. GM adjudication may be necessary. This talent does not give the psychic the power to order the target to do something he wouldn t otherwise do, and it isn t enough on its own to cause the target to think that his best friend is now a ravening were-wolf. However, when used immediately after a successful Confusion attack, this talent can make the target believe that friends are foes. A successful attack with this talent endures for one minute. It may last even longer if there is no countervailing influence. A character who has been influenced and has not realized his delusion will respond to any means of truth-telling magik by repeating the delusion as the truth. This talent does not work against Phraints. The base success chance is 25%. Trances

12 Trances are always passive in nature. However, the PPP cost is assessed at the time the trance is entered, rather than at the start of the psychic s day. Entering the basic trance is a condition to using some of the other talents. All trances may be sustained indefinitely. Basic Trance--All psychics automatically have this talent. The PPP cost is 7. The psychic becomes utterly self-absorbed, reducing his DBF to AV only. When in this state, all Intuits are +20% to succeed. All Aggressions, Blocks and Links used while in this state cost only half the listed PPP to use, with fractions rounding down, but never less than 1. All Healing is +25% to succeed. Suggestion is not in any way enhanced by trances. Timestop--The PPP cost is 12. The user of this talent goes into a trance as with the basic talent, but accelerates his reasoning process so greatly that it is as if he has stepped outside time to reason something through. He automatically succeeds with any reasoning roll he would otherwise be entitled to make under the circumstances, and as long as he is in the trance, nobody else may move. For game purposes, the GM can declare the trance over to keep things moving, but if the character is making progress in figuring out the problem he is concerned with, the trance should be allowed to continue. Refuge--The PPP cost is 18. This is a trance so profound that even if the character s entire body is completely obliterated, the character s mind will continue to exist undiminished. In this state, the character may be able to continue to use psychic, or even other skills, depending on what means he retains to sense his surroundings. It otherwise has all the characteristics of the Basic Trance. Healing Another very important category of active psychic talents. Psychic cures are the most potent in the universe, though they are used at some peril to the psychic. More than one psychic has undertaken to cure injuries too great for his capacity, and died in the process. Psychic Self-Healing--The PPP cost is 4. The psychic attempts to follow the admonition Physician, heal thyself. On a successful roll, he will cure all shock and 2D10 of real damage. If he fails the roll, he takes an additional 2D10 points of shock. On success, the shock is cured at once, and real damage is cured at the rate of one per minute, but only so long as the psychic maintains complete concentration; if his concentration is broken, no further healing will take place. The base success chance is 50%. Psychic Healing--The PPP cost is 6. On a successful roll, the psychic cures 2D10 points of a victim s real damage and alll shock damage. The shock damage is cured at once. The real damage is cured at the rate of one point per minute, and as each point is cured, the psychic sustains a point of shock himself, and cannot heal any of that himself until the healing process for the victim is complete. If the psychic falls unconscious because of accumulated shock, the remaining real damage is not cured, but is instead inflicted upon the psychic as real damage. If the psychic fails the roll, there is no effect whatsoever. the base success chance is 45%. Disease Curing--The PPP cost varies. For 1 per day, rolling once a day for up to a week, 2 successful rolls in the aggregate will cure a minor disease such as the common cold. For 4 per day, rolling once a day for up to a ten days, 4 successful rolls in the aggregate will cure an intermediate disease such as strep throat or pneumonia. For 9 per day, rolling once a day for up to three weeks, 10 successful rolls in the aggregate will cure a major disease such as smallpox or tetanus. For 16 per day, rolling once a day for up to a month, 20 successful rolls in the aggregate will cure an intractable disease, such as cancer or lupus. The GM may adjudicate that the disease being treated is arrested at some intermediate point even if it is not yet cured. The base success chance is 40%.

13 Curing of Blindness--The PPP cost is 20. On a successful roll, the psychic restores sight to eyes that are more or less structurally intact but which are sightless as a result of damage casued by disease, intense light, optic nerve damage, detached retinas, glaucoma or retinal aneurism. For more severe eye injuries, it must be used in conjunction with the Repair Criitical Hits talent. The cure will take total concentration by the psychic per eye; both eyes may be treated at the same time. The base success chance is 40%. Repair Critical Hits--The PPP cost is 22. On a successful roll, the psychic can repair any non-fatal critical hit, so long as all the parts are roughly in place. For injuries to the eyes, Curing of Blindness must also be used. It takes one to ten hours of complete concentration by the psychic, adjudicated by the GM based on the severity of the injuries. This talent must be used within 25 hours of the injury, or it will be ineffective. The base success chance is 35%. Cure Rot--The PPP cost is 7. This is one of the most hazardous healing skills. The psychic attempts to cure rot, whether induced by magik or monster, On a successful roll, the progress of the rot is stopped. Any damage already inflicted must be cured by other means. If the psychic fails his roll, he too begins to rot! This talent is ineffective against Dis-Jell. The base success chance is 40%. Cleansing of Poisons/Venoms--The PPP cost is 8. This talent works exactly like the talent to cure rot. If the psychic fails her roll, she will take half the poison damage the victim has taken, but the victim s damage will remain undiminished. Psychic Curing of Insanity--The PPP cost is 10 when deailng with the temporarily insane, and 20 should the psychic discover the insanity to be permanent. The psychic attempts to return the insane character to rational thought. With regard to temporary insanity, this talent is automatically successful after five minutes of concentration, and can even remedy the mental/psychological side effects of chemical intoxication. The psychic herself will be disoriented for 1D20 melee rounds thereafter, less one round for every point of wisdom she has over 12, to no minimum. Permanent insanity is cured on a base 30% chance plus the psychic s initial PPP, as well as whatever other modifiers apply to the success chance, less the ego of the insane one. On success, the psychic will have to concentrate for 1D20+10 minutes, and thereafter will be disoriented for the same number of minutes, less one minute for every point of wisdom she has over 12. On failure, the psychic also becomes insane in the same way; this will last for 1D100 days, but if the number is 90 or higher, the condition is permanent. Ports This category of active talents includes methods of traveling psychically. These methods are all dangerous to one degree or another. Astral Projection--The PPP cost is 15. On a successful roll, the character projects his mind and soul to the astral plane. He retains a psychic link to his physical body, which remains in the plane from which he began. He may return at any time; the GM will have to adjudicate how long his stay in the astral plane is when compared to the plane where he left the body. It could starve to death if the character is not careful, since time is not necessarily the same in both planes. On a failed roll, 90% of the time the talent simply fails to function, with no ill effect. In another 9% of cases, the only negative effect is that the psychic is stunned for 1D100 minutes. The last 1% of the time, the mind and soul go to the astral plane, but are doomed never to come back on their own, as the psychic has lost all link with his body, and thus with the originating plane. The only reasonably sure way to get him back is a successful resurrection. The base success chance is 35%. Teleportation--The PPP cost is 12. On a successsful roll, the psychic teleports to any known chosen destination in the same plane within a range equal to the psychic s initial PPP in

14 miles, taking with him anything on his immediate person. A failed roll requires GM adjudication, as the psychic may not have t-ported at all, but if he does, he ends up somewhere random within the maximum range of the talent, which could have decidedly fatal results. The base success chance is 45%. Phasing--The PPP cost is 18. The psychic dimension-ports to another plane of reality, body and soul, if the roll succeeds. On a failed roll, the psychic doesn t move at all 50% of the time, moves to a random plane 48% of the time, and utterly disintegrates 2% of the time. If the psychic knows exactly where she wants to go in the destination plane, add a 15% bonus. The base chance of success is 40%. Shadow Dancing--The PPP cost is 19. On a successful roll, the psychic travels to the ethereal plane. If he knows his destination, he will arrive there; otherwise, he lands randomly. This talent can also be used to return from the ethereal plane. On a failed roll going in either direction, the psychic s best hope is that nothing happens (95% chance). The other 5% of the time, his soul is stripped from his body, and both are lost somewhere on the ethereal plane. Good luck unraveling that one! The base success chance is 40%. Home Porting--The PPP cost is 11. On a successful roll, the psychic returns to her previously-designated safe haven, across time, distance and plane. On failure, the character dimension-ports randomly, which could be anything from the hard vacuum of deep space to bedrock five hundred feet below the surface, or something even worse. GM adjudication is necessary, but don t be too nice, as this should be used only when the character is desperate anyway. The base success chance is 50%.

15 Psychic Combat--Aggressions and Blocks Psychic combat is quite simple, and resembles melee combat. The character s ability to attack psychically is called the Psychic Attack Factor (PAF); the corresponding defence is the Psychic Shield Factor (PSF). The formula for the PAF is: PAV + (EL * 2) Special PAV is the Psychic Aggression Value listed in the description of the talent. EL is the most advanced experience level. Fifty is added for the attacker s advantage, and any special values, such as those from Table 105, are also added. The formula for the PSF is: PsyDef + PBV + (EL * 2) + Special PsyDef is the Psychic Defence value for saves versus Psychic Attack, described in more detail in Chapter 7 of Book I. PBV is the Psychic Blocking Value of any talent the defender may have up at the time. The other components have already been explained. To resolve combat, subtract the PSF from the PAF. If the remaining number is 1 or greater, that is the attacker s chance of successfully landing the attack. If the difference between the PAF and PSF is zero or less, a roll of 01 is required to hit. Any roll of 00 on the attack roll is a fumble, as is any roll which misses by 80 or more. For the results of psychic fumble, refer to Table 106; this table is also used for any other psychic fumble (roll of 00) when attempting to use an active talent without the acquiescence of the target. For the purposes of fumble determination, non-sentient entities or inanimate objects always acquiesce. Roll a D100 to get the result. Aggressions The Aggression talents are the psychic s combat weapons in a battle of minds. They cost a great deal of PPP to use, but non-psychics can rarely defend themselves for long against such attacks. All are active. Mind Crunch--The PPP cost is 20. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 20. On any successful attack, the target suffers 3D6 damage to her RF. If the RF is reduced to zero or less, the target must make an immediate resururection roll or die. On successful resurrection, or any lesser damage to RF, the target s RF is supprerssed by the amount of the damage rolled for 1D10 melee rounds, and thereafter is recovered at one point of RF per melee round. All consequences of a reduction are immediate, including reductions to battlefactors. Mind Blast--The PPP cost is 20. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 20. On any successful attack, the target suffers 3D6 damage to his Ego. If the Ego goes to zero or less, the target is dazed, directionless and has no self-identity. On any lesser result, the Ego is suppressed by the amount of the damage roll, for 1D10 melee rounds, with recovery of one point of Ego per melee round thereafter. All reductions in Ego are applied immediately, including reductions in saves as appropriate. Mind Maggot--The PPP cost is 30. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 2. On any successful attack, the psychic implants a a psychic construct in the target s mind, which will eat 1D10 points of either Ego, Int, or Wis each melee round at Count 1. The characteristic attacked is determined randomly, but only a characteristic above zero will be attacked. If all three go to zero, the character dies. In the meantime, she writhes on the ground in excruciating

16 pain. Any psychic Link talent (yes, even the Forester Talent!) can be used to expunge the maggot, with automatic success. In this event, the character s mental statistics will return at the rate of one point each for every minute passed. Mind Warp--The PPP cost is 20. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 15. On a successful attack, the target suffers from instant insanity; see Table 107. The insanity will endure for 5D20 melee rounds, but if the total number of rounds is over 90, the insanity is permanent. Mass Mind Warp--The PPP cost is 30. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 3. Very much like the Mind Warp talent, except that up to five targets may be specified, which will be affected for 2D6 melee rounds, with no chance of permanent insanity. Only one attack roll is made, and is compared against the defenses of the various targets indivdually. Death Thrust--The PPP cost is 30. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 15. On a successful attack, the target must make a resurrection role, or else suffers massive and fatal neurological damage. If the resurrection attempt is successful, the character is nevertheless unconscious for 2D6 melee rounds. Psychic Scream--The PPP cost is 20. The Psychic Attack Value (PAV) is 5. The psychic indiscriminately attacks every mind, sentient or otherwise, within a radius equal to her initial PPP in feet, except for those with which she is presently Linked. Only one attack roll is made ansd is used against all targets. Each target hit is stunned for 1D6 melee rounds and is unable to do anything during that time, but suffers no other ill effects. Remember, this effects EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY--sentient weapons, best friends, birds in the sky--within range. Probe--The PPP cost is 10. The sole purpose of this talent is to detect the defense of a target mind. It is alays successful; no roll is required. It will trip a Tripwire Block. However, if the Tripwire is set to trigger some other talent, the Probe will not detect the triggered talent, unless a second Probe is used. Blocks The Block talents give psychics ways to enhance their mental defences primarily against Aggression talents. Most Block talents are passive, and can either be set to stand at the beginning of the psychic s day, or else be instituted at any time during the day. Active Block talents are also pre-set, but count against the character s active talent total. Mind Shield--The PPP cost is 1. The Psychic Blocking Value (PBV) is 25. Even if the attack succeeds, the Mind Shield continues to stand to defend against subsequent attacks. Mind Shield Other--The PPP cost is 17. The Psychic Blocking Value (PBV) is 25. Just like Mind Shield, except that this is an active talent, in that it is used only to defend others from Aggressions, and only if they acquiesce. Mind Damper--The PPP cost is 8. The Psychic Blocking Value (PBV) is 8. On any successful psychic aggression, all quantifiable effects are reduced to half (rounded down) of what they would otherwise be. Mind Damper Other--The PPP cost is 13. The Psychic Blocking Value (PBV) is 8. Just like Mind Damper, except that this is an active talent, in that it is used only to defend others from Aggressions, and only if they acquiesce. Tripwire--The PPP cost is 5. This automatically stops any aggression once and fully identifies the Aggression, who made the attack and where they are. This talent is no longer usable for a full day after it trips. A triggered Tripwire can also be set to actviate any other talent, including an Aggression back along the psychic pathways to the source of the original attack. The GM may feel the need to adjudicate this feature. Mind Finesse--The PPP cost is 12. The Psychic Blocking Value (PBV) is 5. This is excctly like a Mind Damper, except that the psychic also designates one specific Aggression