The Gaming Outpost

I’m still coughing, but I’m better. Got Mr. C to school, and was halfway to Wally world with the Cuteasaurus before the first cough this morning, I guess. Maybe if I do another day of mostly goofing off, I’ll finally be on my feet sorta. I have the fearsome example of a few years back where I spent three weeks with a flu to remind me of the dangers of pushing too hard. So even though I feel relatively perky, I’m going to try to be patient, and force myself to goof.

Psi Conditions:

Magic tends to have all sorts of limitations you can do to make your skill rolls easier. In fact I’m trying to put together a list of at least fifty specific limits you can use. But the psion has it harder.

1. Fasting: Traditionally fasting ungrounds the mind from the body, and prepares the mind for more ethereal realms. Also of use in magic.

2. Empty Your Mind Meditation: This shuts up the noisy fellow inside your skull who is jabbering away, and lets you hear other voices, and see more clearly. Perhaps you will hear voices on the wind, or the voice of your own Talent. Perhaps you will see auras, and gain enlightenment.

3. Concentration: It helps to focus. Just as its hard to do the IRS tax forms at a rock concert so its hard to do psi at a rock concert unless you can focus.

4. Sanctum: Using psi often means opening yourself to other perceptions. After all, its hard to be a good recon scout in full body plate. Unfortunately, that means lowering your guard, and occasionally there are nasty, hungry creatures out there ready for a bit of psion with a side of panic. And then there are those who see someone travelling the astral sea, and think how nice it would be to help them…into servitude to a superior mind. Sanctums provide exterior defenses so that the psion can more fully extend herself without retaining some defensive stance.

5. Good vibes: Often related to the Sanctum, but it can be hard to open yourself in a place that is unfriendly. Its like trying to study math while a fly buzzes about. He’s doing no real harm, but its distracting. A room or other area with good vibes aids in concentration.

6. Fury: Anger, near-berserk and sometimes over the edge battle fury has possibly helped create more Telekinetics than any other force in the Multiverse. For some, its a neccessary precondition. They have to be at least ill-tempered to force their will on the Universe. Some have to descend into a screaming frenzy before the power rises. For others, its a source of strength to boost their power.

7. Uncontrolled: Some gifts are purely uncontrolled. Telekinesis is a common example, but Precognition is even more so. Retrocognition is another one. And for a few cursed or blessed, Touch Healing is another one.

8. Emotional boosting: Using your own emotions as kindling, and timber in the fire of your power. Love, fear, and anger are common ones, although hate works well too, but it opens you up to Dangerous Attentions. A driving need to save the life of another could be pushed by love and by fear for example. Typically the end result of such an effort is a state of mild emotional shock as apathy overwhelms the tired character. A danger in botches is that the power will go uncontrolled and run until the very limits of one’s endurance sending the psion into the hospital or the morgue if they fail a simple stamina check after four failed stop checks.

9. Tapping into your Life Force: Tapping into your own lifeforce is inherently dangerous. In some universes, thats the only way such powers work due to a powerblock by the reigning deity of that universe. Simple stamina checks are made every time you use your power. A failure indicates tiredness, and another failure indicates exhaustion, and another failure indicates death. It may not be easy to de-activate a power in such universes. This is a typical joining of limits.

10. Powers Do Not Deactivate Smoothly: Some powers once you get them running want to keep running. Some are merely difficult, and require a simple Willpower roll to stop them. Others, especially Pyrokinetics, and worst Uncontrolled Pyrokinetics require multiple Difficult Willpower Checks. Using Emotion Feeding makes such checks more difficult.

11. Tapping into Other Life Forces:
a. People: Its generally considered evil to do this to unwilling victims. There are creatures known as psionic vampires which are strongly addicted to this procedure. For some psions, the desire to turn vampire, and drink the mind of another down like a slurpee is always a temptation. However, it offers a great deal of power, and a buffer against any botches is a typically related skill. One is bathed in power, and little things like brain burns don’t bother you inside the cocoon. Whether they will once you come down off the high or not is another question. Frequently such ‘draining’ is more addictive than the most powerful drugs.
b. Plants: Not as blatantly evil, and much more difficult. The typical user is generally a more cautious and contemplative person who doesn’t go in for the thrill kill either. Most such users try to save the plant while they drink of it.
c. The Universal Field of Creation and Destruction: If you can tap into this, then, in all seriousness, and humble respect, why are you taking Doctor Mentalman’s class? Please, O Great One, do not evaporate the college where this class is being taught./Gulps nervously.

Okay, thats a 1d10 chart. And I think I have a few more in my brain, but its folding up, so I’ll move on to Chart the Second.But first, let me clarify…11c (hmm, its not a d10 chart after all) is about a PC tapping into the power of an Ascended Psionic Being, and one of truly awesome power.

It is possible to have psi aid from another psi which should be another slot, but this is as an evil example of humongous power for this slot….

“Death, Chaos, and Despair, you revealed yourself to me. Fill me with your power that I may cast down this foolish Alchemist.”
The psi call goes out along the previously established link (which may or may not require a skill roll. I’d require one.) And the psi beings who took those three names who have the 15@ skill of Permanently Transcending Physical form, here, and decide to pour their mental power into the evil mentalist.

One reason that the Ascended Ones might do this is that they learned a version of the Ascend Skill that requires non-direct intervention.

At this point, the Alchemist is considering his options as he watched the evil mentalist whip up a hurricane out of the blue sky…..

At this point, I think the Alchemist could still win, but it would be an interesting technique to take a bunch of second-rate psions, and turn them one at a time into world-beaters because they were vessels of the power of Ascended Masters.

Botches of Telepathy (as broadly construed–any form of mind-reading, communication…)

1. Switch minds in psionic triangle. Psion A botches as he talks to B. C is standing nearby. A goes into C’s brain. C goes into B’s brain. B goes into A’s brain.

2. Aphasia. You try to say “Lets get supper.” You really say. “Fire purple cello.”

3. You’ve cut off communications with the lower part of your body. Your brain is active, but your Central Nervous System isn’t getting any signal. Yup, this is usually fatal.

4. A random someone in the same universe, or another universe can hear your thoughts as you can hear theirs if they project. They think they’re going nuts. They are already not all that well-balanced, and although a nice person, they have a real hard time getting through the day without messing up. You are sooooo not helping. This is good for guilting the player. This gives the player a chance to help someone normal with normal issues.

5. Everyone who hates you in this universe now knows where you are. You don’t realize this.

6. You’re broadcasting your thoughts to anyone who sees you.

7. You can hear the thoughts of everyone at the same time within a hundred yards of you. The babble is overwhelming.

8. You’ve established a control link for your body to someone else. When he tries to move his left arm, he has to contest with you. You may not be able to move. He may not be able to move. You both may be able to move with both of you are in partial control of each other’s bodies.

9. You can hear the thoughts of (dogs, cats, mice, birds….whatever). They realize this, and want to be social. They frequently have no sense of manners, and a number of them have issues which they expect you to deal with…now.

10. You’ve tapped into the brain of a man with Secrets. Lots of Secrets. The type of Secrets people kill for. Good thing he got a flash of your face (which you did of him as well) so he can come and discuss it with you, isn’t it? Most common types of targets are National Security shadow warriors, Mafiosi dons, and terrorists planning a mission.

11. You’ve tapped into some sort of intergalactic clairvoyant scanning beam, and telepathically downloaded all available information. Now your brain is full. Really. You have to make Willpower checks to concentrate enough to walk because there simply is no room. Plus, your brain is about to explode in 5 +1d10 hours. Maybe the aliens can help you, if they believe you’re not a data pirate who did not respect their copyright. Frequently a Botch Rider of the next one is included.

12. Random Personality Traits: You’ve picked up a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. You botched in the street, and you picked up the construction worker’s appetite, the skateboarders love for heavy metal, the UPS man’s seriousness, and the tendency of the cab driver to scream insults in Nigerian. You pick up very little of any use, but just enough to find yourself scarfing down a footlong meatball sub, listening to Cruxshadows with a thoughtful look at the newspaper as you curse the stupidity of politicians in Nigerian. And you don’t like subs, enjoy Celtic, and never bother yourself with politicians as they are boring. Roll simple Perception or difficult Willpower checks to avoid acting not like yourself.

A more comedic version of this has it as an ongoing process. You walk down the street, and pick up traits (but no skills above 1@1 even if the original possessor has it much higher) from people you pass.

13. Congratulations you’ve summoned the Fleet of the Alien Conquerors (whats that praying mantis group from NagaWorld?) to your Home World. If really bad, you called their mother something nasty in Alien. They might not have a mother, but they do take insult. You have 1+1d4 days until the Total Subjugation of the Earth begins.

14. You did not realize it, but your Shout-Out attracted attention, Dangerous Attention. The Forces of Evil cannot always directly intervene, but there is usually at least a serial killer in the neighbourhood who they can call his attention to you as you walk past. And if you’re in a high-magic world, you’re really lucky cause they’re coming to deal with you personally. You’ve just dropped into 1)A serial killer stalker movie. 2) A Hockey-masked Maniac, or a Dreaming Monster, or Dracula is coming to drop by for a screaming good time. If you’re really unlucky, they all are.

15. You make a connection to some doomed historic figure in the past. I hope this is not temporal loop causing, cause otherwise I’ll have to do something.

The figure could be a priestess of Atlantis as the island grows more disturbed, or it could be a passenger on the Titanic. They know they’re doomed. All they want is for someone to hold their hand over the next 1d10 days, and to bring their existence to light in the modern world.

This is three-handkerchief time. And also an excellent time to have a would-be apprentice to the verser mentor, or a male-female long-distance totally doomed relationship set up.

16. Your subconscious brain now has a direct link to your will. It wants, it needs, it desires, and its going to go for it. Happily, its not really a great planner as logical considerations don’t really enter in that much. Also forethought, and good judgment are somewhat absent as well..

This can be played as tragic, and it will be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but with less sense on Hyde‘s part, and more animalism. Or it can be played for comedy, and it will still be pretty scary as the character dives in front of moving buses to try to retrieve the luscious looking sausage that he knocked off the hot dog vendor’s grill, and then dropped because it burned his hand.

With a difficult roll, your Superego can temporarily restrain (RS for ten seconds) your Id.

17. You can’t talk, and you can’t hear. So the only form of communication you got (other than writing) is telepathy.

18. You’re hearing smells, and seeing sounds, and tasting pain, and smelling sight. It is a complete mind-trip.

19. You’ve lost your mind, literally. Actually, you’ve lost your brain. It is the receiver for the mind. And your mind cannot find its home brain. You are a detached viewpoint looking out from behind the eyes of various people. You are able to jump to them and test them to see if they are you. You don’t see people as people, but as aura fields which makes the whole thing much more difficult.

20 Amnesia. Amnesia is good, right? I mean I think it is, but I can’t remember.

Items:

1. Ring of the Sensitive: This orange stoned ring allows one entry into the Towers of the Sensitive, and serves as a Mental focus.
2. Draken Voirze Stone: Holding this stone provides a feeling of good vibes, and the occasion uncontrolled flicker of clairvoyance tied to danger sense.
3. White Crystal: +10 Sit-mod to Telekinesis as it helps one to keep their thoughts in order.
4. Mindtrapper: This crystal is capable of removing the mind from the body of a practising psion.
5. Psionic receiver–Various items are rigged to be sensitive to telepathic coded messages. This can trigger a wide varity of effects.
6. Sunstone: Power hides in this. +10 DR to all psion skills while holding this.
7. Mirror of Hiding: This gives +10 to pseudoinvisibility, and +20 if the searcher is a psion.
8. Silk Scarf: This causes a Suppress at 1@5 of psionic activity in whatever it is placed over. Silk naturally absorbs psionic energy.
9. Syringe of Mindstill—25 Sitmod to all psionic activity, and its a Difficult check to try.
10. Liquer of Madness: This causes a +20 to learning a new psi skill. However botches are typically 2d10+ 10 on the GE chart as they are expecially powerful. At best, the character is drunk and stoned out of his mind on something similar to acid (for the skill to succeed, he must be.)

Okay, I’m hungry, and kinda risen from my creative trance to be surprised by the time passage….

Eric