Psionics
Table of Contents
Related Rules
Overview
Psionics are a common theme in Science Fiction. In books and movies, it's easy to keep them in balance but much harder in a game setting. With out proper controls, your game can transform into a fantasy game with space ships. While that can be enjoyable, it's not the intent for this system. For that reason, while I have expanded Psionics in Traveller significantly, I've also attempted to limit the power to keep them from dominating game play.
My goal is for Psionics to be like any other skill in the game and not something that makes non-Psis feel obsolete and useless.
Determine Abilities
Few psionics possess all abilities. At the time a psionic is tested, his abilities are also determined using the chart below. Roll 2d6 above the listed number. A DM of -1 (cumulative) is added to each roll (-1 on first roll, -2 on second roll, etc.). Only one roll per talent is allowed.
| Telepathy | 5+ | Telekinesis | 6+ | Clairvoyance | 6+ |
| Awareness | 7+ | Teleportation | 9+ | Energy Control | 9+ |
| Special | 9+ |
Psionic Skills
Each of the psionic abilities is a separate skill. With each skill, the psionic is capable of generating several different effects. These effects are known as talents. Any given skill may have one or more talents associated with it. Each talent may have different power costs associated with it. Some talents cause things to happen at a distance from the psionic and thus pay a range cost as well. Unless otherwise stated, all psi activity occurs first in a given second and costs no Action Points. A total of 5 psi actions may be done in a given combat phase, one each second. If a psi talent that has an Action Point cost, it is treated like any other combat action. You must have sufficient points to perform the action and it will take effect in the second that the points are spent.
Psi points are used regardless of success or failure of the attempted action. Some talents are harder to control while some are easier. This is reflected by the difficulty factor associated with certain talents. Most talents are of routine difficulty.
Telepathy
Telepathy is the most common form of psionics seen. It involves various levels of sensing and reading the minds of others.
Shield – The most basic telepathic talent. This is always in effect and cost no points to maintain. It protects the mind from 'unauthorized' readings and from attacks (see below).
Life Detection – This talent allows the psionic to detect the presence of life. This will not only indicate the presence of 'intelligent' life within range, it will give a general feel for the level of intelligence and will identify individuals the telepath knows. Shielded minds remain undetected. Cost is 1 + Range. Duration is 30 seconds (1 combat turn). Difficulty: Simple
Telempathy – This talent allows the sensing or sending of emotions. This can be used to calm animals or manipulate the feelings of another being. Effects are somewhat limited. Cost is 1 + Range. Intelligence of target is a DM against success. Duration is a maximum of 5 minutes. Shielded minds can not be sensed or manipulated. Difficulty: Simple
Read/Send Surface Thoughts – This ability allows the psionic to send thoughts to or read the thoughts of another being. Only the surface thoughts of the individual can be read. If the individual is aware of the scan, they can simply think about other things. Thoughts sent 'appear' in the mind of the receiver like a voice inside their head. Cost is 2 + Range. Intelligence of target is a DM against success if resisting. Duration is 1 minute. Shielded minds can not be read or sent to without their consent. If conducted between two consenting Telepaths, they share the cost, each paying half. This talent can be extended by paying the new cost, but no additional roll is required. Difficulty: Routine
Mind Link – This talent allows two minds to be joined. Joined minds share thoughts, emotions, and knowledge (but not physical skills). Skills can not be exchanged in this way but this can aid in education. Each hour of joined education is equivalent to 5 hours of normal instruction. Cost is 5 + Range to establish, 1 + Range to maintain. Duration is 10 minutes (each maintenance point extends link for 10 minutes with no new success roll required). Links require willing consent by both parties involved. Difficulty: Routine
Suggestion – This allows the psionic to implant a suggestion into the mind of another. The suggestions must be relatively simple and benign (such as Obi Wan's "These aren't the droids you're looking for, move along"). Cost is 6 + Range. Intelligence of the target is a DM against success. If the target is aware of the attack, double his effective intelligence. Shielded minds are immune. Duration is variable. Difficulty: Depends on the nature of the suggestion.
Probe – This talent allows the psionic to probe the mind of another and extract information against their will. Cost is 8 + Range. Twice intelligence is a DM against success. Shielded minds are immune. Duration is 1 minute. Difficulty: Difficult
Assault – This is a psionic mental attack. Twice intelligence is a DM against success. Other telepaths may use their own power to strengthen their defenses. For each point of power spent, add a penalty of 5%. If successful, the target becomes unconscious for 2d6 minutes and takes a d4 - 1 points of damage to their head. Double these effects for critical success. Cost is 10 + Range. Duration is instant. As this is an attack, it occurs using normal Action Point rules for combat. The Action Point cost is 1 point. Difficulty: Routine
Clairvoyance
This is the general skill of remote sensing. It allows the psionic to see or hear (or both) the activities at a remote location.
Direction – This is a homing sense. This allows the psionic to return to the target spot with pinpoint precision. Cost is 1 point to establish and Range costs to maintain. Duration is 8 hours. Difficulty: Simple
Sense – This allows the psionic to sense a remote area. Only the most basic information is obtained in the sensing such as "a hanger with ships and people present" or "an empty room with a table and chairs". The location of the area must be known either by having been there previously or by description. Cost is 1 + Range. Duration is 5 seconds (1 combat phase). Difficulty: Simple
Clairvoyance – The ability to see a remote area. As with sense, the area must be known or its exact location detailed. The psionic will get to view the area as if they were standing at that location. The 'sight' can be rotated a full 360 degrees but can not be moved. Cost is 2 + Range. Duration is 15 seconds (3 combat phases). Difficulty: Routine
Clairaudience – This is identical to clairvoyance except it allows remote hearing. Cost is 2 + Range. Difficulty: Routine
Combined – This is the combination of clairvoyance and clairaudience allowing remote hearing and seeing at the same time. All other restrictions apply. Cost is 5 + Range. Duration is 15 seconds (3 combat phases). Difficulty: Routine
Psychic Impressions – This allows the psionic to sense traumatic events from the past. The psionic will feel a cold spot where a psychic impression exists. This skill will allow the psionic to see the events that transpired. The vision will be brief, but will include both audio and visual components. Often the vision is from the perspective of the traumatized. Cost is 8 points. Duration is 15 seconds (3 combat phases). Difficulty: Routine
Energy Control
This skill allows the psionic to manipulate energy.
Light – This talent generates light. The area illuminated will be a sphere 6 meters in radius. The light lasts 30 minutes. Cost is 1 point. The talent can be extended for an additional 30 minutes for an additional power point. The light is centered on the psionic and moves with them. Difficulty: Simple
Warm/Cool – The psionic can slowly warm or cool objects. Each point of power will change the temperature of 500g of material by 10 C, plus Range Costs. It takes 30 (1 combat turn) seconds to effect the temperature change. Additional power will increase the amount of material or the amount of heating or cooling (or a combination of the two). Thus, a 1/2 liter of water can be taken from 20 C (room temperature) to 100 C (boiling) by expending 8 points. The points may be spread over 4 minutes or all at once (in 30 seconds). Once the heating or cooling stops, the material will immediately begin natural equalization with ambient temperature. Difficulty: Routine
Deflect – This has the effect of deflecting incoming energy bursts away from the psionic. Incoming energy attacks can be reduced by 1d8 for each point expended. Duration is instantaneous. Note: the psionic must be aware of the incoming energy beam to deflect it. Deflection is treated as a block and counts a one of the psionics combat actions for the turn. Difficulty: Routine
Power Armor – This talent is similar to deflect. In this case however, the psionic creates a field of power around themselves that lasts for up to 5 minutes (10 combat turns). The field will stop kinetic or beam energy as if AV 3 armor is being worn. The field costs 10 points to setup and will stop up to 20d8 in damage. It takes one second to setup the field. Cost: 10 points. Difficulty: Routine.
Note: The field acts as layered armor so any thing penetrating the shield must then penetrate the normal armor, if any, worn beneath it. Further more, High Penetration weapons are treated as Standard Penetration. Standard and Low Penetration weapons are handled normally.
Power Beam – This talent allows the psionic to attack another with an energy burst. 1d8 of damage is done for each 2 points of power expended plus the costs for Range. Two rolls are required to use this talent, one to produce the beam and a second to hit the target. Duration is instantaneous. Unlike most psionic talent, this talent is treated as a combat action and costs 1 point. Difficulty: Routine
Telekinesis
Telekinesis allows objects to be manipulated without physically touching them. Objects may be moved about in any direction. They may be turned or or spun. They may be squeezed or crush if sufficient force can be generated. While fairly detailed manipulation is possible, precise control is not conferred. So, while a gun may be lifted and fired, aiming it is extremely difficult. Similarly, while buttons may be pressed or knobs turned, you could not assemble a device remotely. Most manipulations that would normally require a skill roll will be at least one level greater in difficulty.
The cost of manipulating an object is based on the mass of the object plus Range costs. The psionic must be able to see the object or be intimately familiar with the details of it and its surroundings. For example, to operate the controls of a starship, the psionic must either be able to see the controls or know exactly how the controls are laid out. Knowledge of similar objects is not sufficient. If the object being manipulated is not visible, it would be similar to doing the manipulation blindfolded. Duration for all manipulations is 15 seconds (3 combat phases). Difficulty: Routine, Difficult for non-visual manipulation.
Note: Telekinesis does not confer any sensation of feeling or touch. Any action relying on tactile feedback will be hindered accordingly.
| Mass | Cost | Mass | Cost | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | 1 | 8 kg | 2 | 27 kg | 3 |
| 64 kg | 4 | 125 kg | 5 | 216 kg | 6 |
| 343 kg | 7 | 512 kg | 8 | 729 kg | 9 |
| 1000 kg | 10 | 1331 kg | 11 | 1728 kg | 12 |
| 2197 kg | 13 | 2744 kg | 14 | 3375 kg | 15 |
The energy expended to move an object (as shown on the table above) is sufficient to move the object at a speed of about 8 meters per phase or walking speed. Additional power may be spent to move the object at higher speeds. Double the power (range costs are fixed), doubles the speed and so forth. Slow moving objects are easy to dodge and are not very effective as attacks.
The damage done if struck by an object is related to the number of power points used to move it (regardless of the mass). The ease of dodging an object, depends on its speed.
| Damage Dice By Psi Points | Dodge Difficulty By Speed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Damage | Speed | Dodge | |
| 6 | 1d6 | 48 m/p | Simple | |
| 7 | 2d6 | 56 m/p | Simple | |
| 8 | 3d6 | 64 m/p | Simple | |
| 9 | 4d6 | 72 m/p | Simple | |
| 10 | 5d6 | 80 m/p | Simple | |
| 11 | 6d6 | 88 m/p | Routine | |
| 12 | 7d6 | 96 m/p | Routine | |
| 13 | 8d6 | 104 m/p | Routine | |
| 14 | 9d6 | 112 m/p | Routine | |
| 15 | 10d6 | 120 m/p | Routine | |
Note: The dodge table assumes the target is aware of the impending attack. Unaware targets get no dodge.
Telekinetic Blow – With this talent, the psi directly attacks his target. The attack occurs during normal combat when the psionic could attack with a physical weapon and costs 1 Action Point. This type of attack bypasses armor and directly attacks the target and can not be dodged. Hit location is determined randomly but can be adjusted based on how well the psi rolled during his attack. For each 20% the psionic rolls below the roll needed to hit, he may adjust the hit location by one step. For example, with a skill of 80, a roll of 40 allows two step adjustments. So a hit on the leg can be moved to the abdomen then to the chest or a hit on the arm can be moved to the chest then the head, etc. The damage done is based on the power used as detailed on the table below. Difficulty: Routine.
| Power | Damage | Power | Damage | Power | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1d3 | 2 | 1d6 | 3 | 1d6+1d3 |
| 4 | 2d6 | 5 | 2d6+1d3 | 6 | 3d6 |
| 7 | 3d6+d3 | 8 | 4d6 | 9 | 4d6+d3 |
| 10 | 5d6 | 11 | 5d6+d3 | 12 | 6d6 |
| 13 | 6d6+d3 | 14 | 7d6 | 15 | 7d6+d3 |
Awareness
Awareness is the psionic skill of controlling one's body.
Suspended Animation – This talent allows the psionic to enter a trance that is similar to cold sleep but without the associated dangers. Cost is 3 points. Duration is 7 days. The talent can be terminated early with an external stimulus. During suspension, neither food nor water are required and air requirements are minimal. Wounds do not heal nor worsen during suspended animation neither will infections spread. Cost: 3, Difficulty: Routine
Attribute Enhancement – Any physical attribute (STR, DEX, END) may be increased using this talent. One point of psi will increase the selected attribute by 1 point. The increase is immediate and lasts for 60 minutes. Each minute after 60, the psi loses 1 point until the attribute returns to 1 point less then its normal value. That one point returns after 8 hours of rest. Repeated uses within a 24 hour period causes a cumulative drop in the attribute. For example, the first use of STR enhance would leave STR at 1 below normal. A second use would leave STR 2 below normal. A third use, 3 below normal. If an attribute falls to 0, the psionic will be unconscious until sufficient rest has restored the attribute to at least 1 point (at a rate of 1 point per 8 hours). If the value becomes negative, the psionic dies. The 8 hours of rest restores 1 point to each enhanced attribute. Difficulty: Routine
Regeneration – The talent allows the psionic to heal wounds or regenerate lost limbs. Cost is 1 point per point healed. Lost limbs require 2 points per point of limb regenerated. Healing occurs in 1 combat turn. Regeneration occurs at a maximum rate of 1 point per combat turn. Multiple applications may be applied to heal large amounts of damage or regenerate lost limbs. This talent can also be used to cure or prevent infection, cost is 2 points to cure or 1 to prevent. Damage from the infection must be treated separately from the cure. This ability can be use on others but the cost is doubled for all effects. Difficulty: Routine
Teleportation
This skill allows the psionic to move instantaneous (OK, at the speed of light) from one spot to another.
Teleport Self – This talent allows the psionic to teleport themselves with no equipment or clothes to a remote location. Cost is 0 + Range costs. Movement is virtually instantaneous (moves at speed of light). Additional items (including other beings) may be taken along with the psionic at the cost of 1 point per 50 kg. Note that teleporting to different potential energies will have adverse effects on the psionic. Under normal 1G gravity, a 1 km change in altitude causes a 2.5 C temperature change in the body. Devices may be found or created to compensate for this change. Similarly, teleporting to differing latitudes will result in differing angular momentum which needs to be dealt with by the psionic as well. Difficulty: Routine
Teleport Other – This talent is identical to teleport self except the psionic is not teleported along with the other equipment or beings. Cost is 5 + Range. One average human (approximately 80 kg) may be so teleported. Additional mass may be sent at a cost of 5 points per 50 kg. The psionic must be in near physical contact with the materials or beings being teleported. Difficulty: Difficult
Range Costs
| Range | Cost | Range | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 m | 0 | 30 m - 1 km | 1 |
| 1 - 3 km | 2 | 3 - 10 km | 3 |
| 10 - 30 km | 4 | 30 - 100 km | 5 |
| 100 - 300 km | 6 | 300 - 1000 km | 7 |
| 1000 - 3000 km | 8 | 3000 - 10,000 km | 9 |
| 10,000 - 30,000 km | 10 | 30,000 - 100,000 km | 11 |
| 100,000 - 300,000 km | 12 | 300,000 - 1,000,000 km | 13 |
| 1,000,000 - 3 million km | 14 | 3 million - 10 million km | 15 |
Recovery
Psionic points are recover at a rate of 1 per hour starting 3 hours after last use. If talents are used during recovery, recovery stops and will resume after the requisite 3 hours have elapsed.
Note: A Psionic may not spend more then his natural PSI attribute at one time to generate a desired effect. Thus, a Psionic with a natural PSI rating of 10 could not produce an effect requiring more then 10 points of power to be spent at one time even if his PSI Power is augmented through drugs (see below) or other means. He could however use the extra power to produce a second effect of up to 10 points of strength.
Psi Drugs
There exists a number of drugs that temporarily boost psionic powers. These drugs can have side-effects that can include permanent reductions in psionics or other attributes. Additionally, these drugs are addictive. Each use of the drug incurs a chance of side-effect or addiction. The drugs are illegal and must be sought through underground means. When used, each drug will produce its effect immediately. After 1 hour, the enhanced psi strength will drop at a rate of 1 point per hour until zero is reached then normal recovery begins.
| Drug | Effect | Side-Effect | Addiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster | +3 to Psi (+2 if not at full power) | 2% | 1% |
| Double | +6 to Psi (+4 if not at full power) | 5% | 2% |
| Special | To racial maximum | 10% | 5% |
Notes:
No drug can boost psi beyond racial maximum.
Chance of side-effect or addiction is cumulative over a 24 hour period.
Addiction requires another dose of same level to maintain normal psi strength. One dose is required each 24 hour period. Failure results in withdraw symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms include a loss of psi equal to the amount of gain normally granted (minimum of zero in attribute) at a rate of 1 point per day until a dose is administered or withdrawal runs its course. Additional physical side effects include a loss of STR, END, DEX, and INT by 1 point per day (to a minimum of 1). After psi is reduced to lowest level, recovery begins at a rate of 1 point per day. All attributes return at the same rate. When all attributes return to normal, addiction is broken. There is a chance of permanent PSI or INT loss from addiction. The chance is equal to the chance of side-effect for that drug. Roll once for each INT and PSI. A failed roll reduces the attribute by 1 (along with a 1 point reduction is the maximum for that attribute).
Side-effects are determined using the following table:
| Roll | Side-effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nausea, vomiting (END -1). Subsides after 1 hour |
| 2 | Dizziness (DEX -1). Subsides after 1 hour |
| 3 | Weakness (STR -1). Subsides after 1 hour |
| 4 | Confusion (INT -1). Subsides after 1 hour |
| 5 | Any two of above. |
| 6 | Roll again and add 1 to roll. |
| 7 | Any three of above. |
| 8 | All of the above. |
| 9 | Brain Damage (PSI -1) permanent |
| 10 | Severe Brain Damage (PSI -1, INT -1) permanent |
Roll 1d6. Add 1 if using Double, add 2 if using special.
Psi Institute
A Psi Institute will test, evaluate, and train psionics. The cost is quite high. Testing and determining of psi skills takes one week and costs CR10,000. Each new skill takes one to three weeks of training and gains 2d5 in that skill. Additional training is skills is done per skill improvement rules. Cost for training is CR25,000 to learn a new skill, or CR500 per hour for existing skills.
The ability to test and evaluate Psionics is very rare. Finding someone not affiliated with an Institute will be extremely difficult. Most Psionics affiliated with an Institute will require the candidate to work through the Institute for testing and training. Money will rarely sway them from this approach since most Psionic Testers are already very well paid by the Institute for which they work.