PSIONICS AND WARPSPACE
There are those few who have travelled through warpspace and have become... altered, as a result. These individuals radiate an aura of power and demonstrate themselves when challenged or confronted. Few are as dangerous as a well trained psionic-powered sophont.
History of PSIONICS in the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Star Systems is quite enlightened, but even they are wary when dealing with such a frightening capacity as displayed by those who are 'warped'. To a psionic, no secret is sacred, no mind is private, and no body is immune. With proper training the impulse to use such powers in cases other than self-defence can be curbed. The problem becomes apparent when those who do find themselves gifted with psionic talents, find that the old rules only apply to everyone else, not them; this coupled with the somewhat random distribution of the power, contributes to a society of fear against those that have been changed by travel through the warp.
This is why those who have been 'warped' and have become psionics, must register with the Commonwealth's Bureau for Psionic Affairs (BPA,
Bee-pah). BPA funds numerous nondescript and discrete institutes that deal with the training (or cynically, the restraining) of psionics. These institutes are run by Sentinels, agents who work for the Commonwealth and use psionic powers in their work. Their primary duty is to find and locate psionically-gifted individuals and to train them in the safe use of their powers. Their more sinister duty is to terminate those individuals who are either unwilling (in a hostile sense) to bow to their authority, or who have been made dangerously unstable thanks to the effects of the warp. Sentinels are agents of the Commonwealth, but are still autonomous in their work. It is a partnership that favours both sides: the Commonwealth deals with the 'psionic problem' while the Sentinels and their psionic charges are allowed to live semi-normal lives.
There were few psionics during the early years of exploration. Most misjumps that occured resulted in a ship that was permanently lost with no hope of recovery, due to the lack of any search-and-rescue interstellar craft or infrastructure. As exploration gave way to expansion, many derelict vessels were discovered years, in some cases decades to even centuries, after they were lost. Inside the hull bore grim testimony to the crew's fates.
For whatever reason, a warp 'misjump' results in the crew becoming altered to the point where some have a chance at developing psionic powers. Unfortunately, while only a small percentage become psionically gifted, most simply become insane. And the most dangerous is insanity paired with psionic capability. Many crews thus killed each other in psychotic episodes and barely restrained unleashing of terrifying powers. When the Terran Dominion finally made public what it had discovered, it simultaneously made psionics illegal. This drove many stable people underground, in the hopes of slipping the net that had been cast for them. Some decided to go out in a blaze of glory than meekly bow down to destruction. Their exploits gave the Dominion authorities good PR to use against them.
The Warp Blink that occured in DC 837 caused many thousands of misjumps, which resulted in interstellar distruption of trade and communications. It also turned many normal people into psionically gifted individuals. Unfortunately, there were some who were also insane, or used their powers unscrupulously. These individuals caused terror and destruction, and fought a running battle with Dominion security services that were already overextended. This period precipitated the Dark Age, where Dominion authority steadily declined to be replaced by thugs, brigands, and anarchy. In regards to psionics, this caused many disasters.
The Sentinels formed as a response to this. Rather than simply hiding and running, those who had been changed by the Warp and saw the terror and destruction caused by wayward abuse of power, not to mention 'mob rule' and lynchings that occured in reaction to such abuses, lead to their resolve in using their powers to reign in their more tempestuous fellows. In the environment that bore rise to many psionics, the mightiest held the upper hand. The Sentinels attempted to change this with organisation as well as teamwork and co-ordination. And an overriding goal: to keep both the innocent and their own safe from themselves.
CITADELS
Citadels are the designation given by Sentinels to 'Commonwealth-funded Institutes for the training and surveillance of Psionics'. Citadels can be found on numerous worlds, though their presence is a carefully guarded secret known only to a few in the upper echelons of the Commonwealth heirarchy. Few outside of the BPA know the locations of any Citadels, and those who work for the Bureau only know which
systems have a Citadel, anything else is pure guesswork. This is the way the Sentinels like it.
Citadels are centres for learning and training. They are run by instructors who hold a more individualistic approach to learning. Due to this, many Citadels are very individualistic in both appearance and duty, which gives rise to specialisation. Some Citadels deal more in training, while others serve as safe houses for travelling Sentinels. Although technically all 'Psionic Institutes' that are administered by the BPA must be training and monitoring centres, realistically only a few serve in this regard. The great majority act as way stations, and mask their presence by masquerading as frontier starports with the actual installation erected underground.
All Citadels utilise stealth and secrecy as the first line of defence. When those fall apart, the next line comes in the form of various auto-defences, as well as psionic Sentinels that have received combat training. Team work is how these units operate. Surveillance units utilise clairvoyance and empathy to determine both the location of intruders as well as their intent and goals; this information is given to fast-response teams that utilise teleportation to warp to the intruder's location, awareness for regeneration in case fellow comrades are injured, and telekinesis to hold the intruders in place if an interrogation is required. Sentinels that are placed on 'remote duty' travelling the stars are often generalists that can utilise as many of the different powers as possible.
Determining PSIONIC Affinity
Becoming 'warped' (aka as Psionic Affinity, or Affinity for short) is a random affair with unknown causes.
What is known:- It is known that any race is capable of becoming psionically-gifted. No one race holds a 'monopoly' of psionics, and thus many Citadels are multi-racial and multi-specist.
- Becoming warped has nothing to do with sex, and both males and females of any species seem to have an equal chance of becoming a psionic. The trait does not appear to be inherited, though this may not be conclusive (it has been known that children from two psionic couples resulted in inherited Affinity, but there are cases of couples who conceive and who's offspring are normal).
- Age does seem to have an effect on Psionic Affinity: the younger the subject, the greater the chance he or she will become warped. It is theorised that this is due to the development of the brain in formative years that gives rise to 'warped' children. Teenagers are just as common, but are more temperamental. Adults are less common, with the older the subject resulting in decreased chances. There is no known event of an old age subject becoming warped.
- Affinity is granted due to a 'misjump' that results from faulty astronavigation as well as downright 'bad luck'. With the state of current Commonwealth star travel, misjumps are rare. This is the official method that causes psionic Affinity. (Sentinels are rumoured to have their own methods...)
- It has been shown that the more heavily populated a starship that experiences a misjump, the more likely Affinity is to be granted to passengers. However, not everyone can be granted Affinity, and those that do not are usually made psychotic by the experience of coming into contact with warpspace.
- Using psionic powers tires the user. Training, experience, and special drugs can increase a user's abilities in the sense that he or she has more stamina to use them. Training and experience give an agent more capacity, while special drugs can be used to boost a Sentinel's (for example) endurance. There are rarer drugs that are rumoured to do more than simply boost one's stamina reserves, and they are obviously a carefully guarded secret.
- Psionic powers, even if supernatural, have limits. Drugs can boost their use, but other drugs can prevent their use, such as tranquilisers. Physical items can also have an effect on psionic powers: special helmets can mask one's thoughts from empaths, but won't do anything to other powers. Rooms can be made of the same material and construction, and be used to hide from clairvoyants. These are known to the Sentinels. There are rumours of other items that have a variety of effects. Some alien artifacts can do this. As an extreme resort, lobotomisation can render a psionic individual powerless for good.
Now that it has been determined what is known, here is a list of what
isn't:- No-one knows why or how psionic powers can even exist. It is taken for granted that they simply do. It is theorised that warpspace and psionics are intimately entangled with each other, eg teleportation is seen as a low-scale 'warp jump' by individuals rather than warpdrives.
- No-one knows if there is a universal limit to psionics, other than what can be achieved by individuals. In other words, an individual's limits can be reached quite conclusively, but the actual power itself may be limitless or higher than thought (clairvoyance and empathy, for example, can both work at its extreme range over a planetary distance, but no-one knows if it is possible to remote-view another interstellar system, or communicate faster than light, and it simply hasn't been done yet - it may not be possible).
- No-one knows what the cost is from a sociological perspective. While using psionic powers tires the user out, this is a physical cost. In terms of society, the upheaval caused by psionic abuse is on the record and inarguable. It is seen as a fact of life, which makes dealing with the 'problem' a difficult endeavour. With advances in astronavigation resulting in less accidental 'misjumps', is the advent of psionically gifted individuals one of the past? If so, why do Sentinel Citadels proliferate?
- Finally, no-one knows why warpspace causes psionic Affinity, nor why misjumps seem to be the catalyst, nor why it renders most people insane in the result of a misjump. It is one of life's greatest mysteries.
Bearing all this in mind, Affinity is determined by examination and recovery of misjump survivors. Sentinels perform this duty, often with the aid of any local search and rescue services or the military (typically, the Scout Service). Sentinels are well-equipped to handle any problems that arise due to distressed psionics or insane survivors (or both).
Recovery of psionic individuals leads to a period of examination and fitness evaluation at the nearest Citadel. From there it is decided what the next course of action will take, whether the individual will be trained further or simply kept isolated from the rest of society and under guard (effectively imprisoned, but Sentinel justice is different from normal justice).
The StarNet public service Bulletin wrote:"If travellers experience a misjump and survive, they are advised to seek safety and advice from local Commonwealth authorities. The Bureau for Psionic Affairs is a part of the Department of Justice, which holds offices on every Commonwealth system. Even though they may not be equipped to handle 'special cases', they can inform those that are. The most important thing to remember in a misjump is to seek safety and security. The effects of warpspace is highly random and can result in unfortunate circumstances. Your first priority if you survive and are not rendered insane is to seek your own safety and the safety of those who have survived along with you. Beware of those who have been changed for the worst - they are no longer the person or loved one you knew, but something else."
- From the Bureau for Psionic Affairs, Department of Justice
PSIONIC SPHERES and TALENTS
There are five spheres of influence a psionically gifted individual can train in. These are: Awareness, Clairvoyance, Empathy, Telekinesis, and Teleportation. Skill ranks can be spent to increase one's proficiency in these spheres. In addition, these skills can be modified by the ability known as Psi. Selecting special psionic feats called 'talents' can make full use of these skills and increase one's abilities. Thus, the five spheres represent basic skills that provide a grounding in psionics, but greater power comes from both increasing the ranks in each sphere as well as selecting feats to make use of a chosen sphere.
When going through the period of examination and fitness evaluation, it will be determined which of the five spheres your character has an affinity for. Sentinels however are trained to be generalists. Which means they will try to gain an affinity with all five skills if possible.
To determine affinity for each sphere, you must roll a d20 for each of the five spheres down a pre-selected order. The DC for the first check is 4, the second check is raised by +2, so 6. The third check is raised by +3, so 9. The fourth check is 13, and the fifth check is 18. The player can select any order for the five spheres, from most-favoured to least-favourite. It is possible to fail the DC for each sphere, which will result in a weak psionic character. Well, psionics is a bizarre and mystical art, so this is to be expected. It is also possible to succeed in meeting each DC, and come up with an especially strong psionic capability. Such individuals are rare and frighteningly powerful.
AWARENESS SPHERE
This skill deals with the sense and control of one's own body. Basic use allows the psionic to increase his or her abilities for a short duration. Advanced training can empower your body with greater speed, or to accelerate healing in both yourself and in others.
- Check: The psionic enters a trance-like state of consciousness. Using this skill in its basic form confers a temporary bonus to any check or save for the duration.
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AWARENESS BONUS DC
+1 To any check or save 5
+2 " 15
+3 " 25
+4 " 30
+5 " 35
Special: You can take 10 with this skill.
Duration: 10 rounds (60 seconds).
Stamina cost: The bonus multiplied by two. So if you gain a +4 bonus the stamina cost will be 8.
Stasis (feat)
You can put yourself or another subject into a state of suspened animation.
Prerequisite: 4 ranks in Awareness.
Benefit: The suspended animation puts you into a comatose state wherein you can spend time recuperating from damage. You will stay in stasis until your lifeblood is completely recovered at a rate of 1 per day. You can put someone into a state of suspened animation as an attack action (you have to be able to touch them and hold them for a short time, it's not enough to simply punch them). This improvised attack will place the subject into suspended animation long enough to be imprisoned. The target gets a Will save to resist the effect at a DC of an Awareness skill check. If he resists then he is still stunned for one round.
Normal: Lifeblood is regained at a rate of 1d4 per week of dedicated rest, light nonstressful activity and nursing. The rate can increase to 1 per day immersed in a medical tank of nanobots.
Burst of Speed (feat)
You can move extremely fast in a short time.
Prerequisite: 6 ranks in Awareness.
Benefit: In addition to its normal use, rolling an Awareness check can allow you to move faster than normal.Your movement speed is multiplied by 10. So if you could cover 100 meters in one minute of exertion, you can cover that distance in 6 seconds or a single game round.
Stamina cost: The skill cost is tripled instead of doubled. So if the check resulted in a bonus of +4 then the stamina cost would be 12, rather than 8.
Regeneration (feat)
With this talent, the psionic can regenerate his body from damage instantly.
Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Awareness, Stasis.
Benefit: You can heal lifeblood damage in either yourself or another subject by spending stamina in its place. For example, if you or a subject have suffered 6 points of lifeblood damage you can spend 6 points of stamina and heal yourself instantly.
Normal: Lifeblood is regained at a rate of 1d4 per week of dedicated rest, light nonstressful activity and nursing. The rate can increase to 1 per day immersed in a medical tank of nanobots.
Special: You can regenerate lost ability points and severed limbs by combining Stasis and Regeneration, at a rate of 1 day per regained ability point, or 1d6+1 days for each severed limb.
CLAIRVOYANCE SPHERE
This skill deals with the ability to sense distant events as they occur or to remotely 'see' locations or people. Basic use involves seeing distant locations in 'real-time'. Advanced training includes seeing events that occur in the future or in the past, and beyond.
- Check: To use this skill involves 'sensing' a remote location; you gain vague impressions of the location, such as "you sense a room with a table in it and the presence of two people" or "you sense an open plain with a running stream"; at higher DC you gain greater detail and can choose to either view or hear everything going on in the target location, but not both; if the DC is met and exceeded by 20 or higher you hear perfect detail, both sight and sound.
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CLAIRVOYANCE BONUS DC
Sense 15
Clairvoyance 20
Clairaudience 20
Combined Clairvoyance/Clairaudience 25
Special: You can take 10 with this skill. You can only gain the vague, 'sense' version of the skill if you choose to take 10. Entering a meditative state for some time prior to an attempt increases your performance (thus, you gain +1 or more bonus to any skill check, at the GM's discretion). If the target location or subject is familiar with the psionic, this grants another increase in performance. The DC is increased primarily due to range and is left up to the GM's discretion. Some rooms or locations can distrupt remote viewing.
Duration: 10 rounds (60 seconds). After this duration is spent, the psionic can 'extend' his concentration for a further 5 rounds (30 seconds), at a cost of half the stamina. This can continue until the psionic grows bored or fatigued (ie, 0 stamina).
Stamina cost: 2 if the DC is met, 4 if the DC is exceeded by 10 or higher; 8 if the DC is exceeded by 20 or higher.
Farsight (feat)
This allows the clairvoyant the remarkable ability to see into the future or into the past.
Prerequisite: 10 ranks in Clairvoyance.
Benefit: This talent gives the Clairvoyant pre- or post-cognition, in a manner similar to the usual use of the skill. Only instead of seeing an event in 'real-time', the event or location takes place in the past or in the future. This adds 10 to the usual DC, and like above you can take 10 but if you do so you can only 'sense' what occurs without seeing or hearing any detail.
Special: The psionic is not immediately aware of what he is sensing or seeing or hearing is from the past or the future. In addition, the DC to see and hear detail is extraordinary, so this skill usually involves getting a brief 'sense' from taking 10 rather than chancing an impossible result (though you can still try to get those details, just realise the DC may very well be 35 or 40+).
Stamina cost: 12 stamina if taking 10, 12+2d4 stamina if rolling against the DC.
EMPATHY SPHERE
Empathy is the ability to sense, communicate, influence and manipulate another sentient being. At its basic form, Empathy allows the user to sense a nearby lifeform. You can also transmit vague 'impressions' to others in the form of a feeling. Advanced training can entail greater abilities.
- Check: To sense a nearby lifeform or lifeforms, the DC is 15. To transmit vague 'impressions' to a specific target has a DC of 10, plus how far away the target is. The vague impression comes in the form of a single thought: "Help!", "Leave!", "Danger!" for example.
Range: Planetary.
Special: You can take 10 or 20 with this skill.
Duration: Move action (under 1 round, or less than 6 seconds).
Stamina cost: 1d4 stamina per attempt.
Shield (feat)
Your training in Empathy has provided you with the ability to protect yourself from other psionics.
Prerequisite: 2 ranks in Empathy.
Benefit: This training grants a psionic with the ability to protect oneself from another psionic. Sentinels often have to face dangerous and unstable individuals who have access to psionic abilities but don't know how to control them or restrain themselves. Erecting a shield gives the psionic the ability to resist another psionic talent being used against them. The shield is on all the time and alerts the psionic instantly when a talent is being used against him. The psionic can elect to lower his shield should he choose to allow someone he trusts inside.
Stamina cost: 0 stamina.
Empathic Rapport (feat)
You have established a firm connection with a lover.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in Empathy, Charisma 12, and a relationship with someone you have strong feelings for.
Benefit: You can make an Empathy check to transmit a feeling or impression at the subject with no stamina cost. To sense the person's presence requires a DC of 5 and stamina cost of 1. If the subject is injured in lifeblood or stamina damage, that damage is halved and transferred over to you as stamina damage. Should they die, your stamina is instantly reduced to 0, as is your lifeblood. You can make a will save (DC 20) to remain conscious, but you can only perform partial actions afterwards due to the shock and devastation. This effect is reversed if you should happen to be injured or killed.
Special: This talent is not without its risks both to you and your lover. In terms of role-playing, it can be useful. It can also provide a nebulous benefit: should you be kidnapped or lost your counterpart will know where you are (vaguely, but this feeling will get stronger the closer he or she gets to you), which can provide quick rescue rather than suffer the indignity of a ransom attempt.
Illusion (feat)
An illusion manipulates a target or group of targets by invoking fear, rage, charm or confusion.
Prerequisites: 6 ranks in Empathy.
Benefit: The actual illusion itself is left up to the imagination of the player, but it should be noted that it is completely in the mind of the target, and the character's appearance takes on the form of the illusion. The player must declare what kind of emotive reaction he is trying to invoke: fear, rage, charm, or confusion. Fear invokes an illusion that terrifies the target and will result in them in most cases retreating. Rage makes the target blindly angry and prone to violence. Charm makes a target enamoured with your presence, and very open to suggestion. Confusion will result in a target that is dazed. In all cases, the target or targets must make a Will save vs an Empathy check.
Special: Multiple targets can be 'hit' by the illusion.
Probe (feat)
Using Empathy, a psionic can enter the mind of a target and sift through the mindscape looking for information.
Prerequisites: 8 ranks in Empathy, 4 ranks in Awareness, Stasis.
Benefit: The subject is rendered into a state of stasis. Once there, the psionic can enter the mind and look through the memories. If the subject is awake then he or she will get a Will save vs an Empathy check. The psionic can always retry.
Special: The psionic can 'hide' fake memories in an unaware subject, and can uncover them as well. The target will have plenty of bad dreams as the subconscious resists the implanted memories uselessly. A Will save of DC 20 by the target can uncover the fake memories.
Stamina cost: 2d6+2 stamina per attempt.
Compulsion (feat)
A more terrifying version of Probe, Compulsion allows a psionic to enter the mind of a target and create a command that the target will find to be imperative.
Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Empathy, 6 ranks in Awareness, Stasis, Probe.
Benefit: The subject is rendered into a state of stasis. Once there, the psionic can enter the mind and implant a directive. If the subject is awake then he or she will get a Will save vs an Empathy check. The psionic can always retry.
Special: The target will sometimes find himself forgetful and absent-minded from the time the compulsion was implanted to the time the directive is meant to be carried out. He will simply stare off into space and lose track of time, unaware of what he is doing, and will sometimes lose track of a conversation as well. He will also have a headache. Otherwise, he will act normally. In the case of a target who was awake at the time of the compulsion attempt, he will be fully aware of what he is doing but will not be able to prevent himself from acting out the compulsion. (assuming the Will save was a failed roll)
Stamina cost: 3d6+3 stamina per attempt.
TELEKINESIS SPHERE
Telekinesis involves the manipulation and movement of objects without physically touching them. The basic use allows the psionic to move an object of varying size for a short duration. Advanced training can confer greater refinement.
- Check: See below.
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TELEKINESIS WEIGHT DC STAMINA COST
1-1 kg 10 1
1-10 kg 15 2
11-100 kg 20 4
100-1'000 kg 25 8
1'000-10'000 kg 30 16
etc. etc. etc.
Special: The TK skill assumes you want to be gentle with the object, ie pick it up and place it down in a new location. It can also be used to 'throw' an object without regard to its condition on landing. An object can be 'held' by a psionic each round be spending half the stamina cost used to move the object. You cannot take 10 or 20.
Duration: Full action (1 round or 6 seconds) to move an object. To throw an object becomes an attack action. Holding an object depends on how much stamina you can exert.
Stamina cost: See above.
Whirlwind (feat)
You can telekinetically fling multiple small objects into an impromptu maelstrom that hampers your opponent's concentration while dealing stamina damage.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in Telekinesis, 13 in Intelligence.
Benefit: You can create a flurry of small items and whip them into a swirling whirlwind that engages a target or group of targets. The whirlwind has a radius of roughly 5 metres, or more. All targets in the range of the whirlwind take -4 on all checks or saves that require some physical action (reflex saves, attack rolls etc) as they are continuously struck by countless small objects (rocks, tools, scrap, anything that's on hand). They take 2d8 points of stamina damage every round they remain in the whirlwind's radius, and can make a Reflex save at DC 20 to escape with half damage, while whirlwind lasts for 3 rounds.
Special: Doing this requires a Telekinesis check of DC 20, and a full-round action. You can take 10 but not 20. You must have a line of sight on the target or targets, but you can be still be far away (up to 50 metres)
Stamina cost: 6 stamina.
Assault (feat)
Assault can liquify an opponent's mind, or knock it out.
Prerequisites: 8 ranks in Telekinesis, 4 ranks in Awareness, 4 ranks in Empathy, Stasis, Probe.
Benefit: Using a combination out of three spheres, the psionic with no compunction against lethal force can subject a target to grueling telekinetic and empathic stresses that first cripplingly terrifies the target, before melting her brain. If the brain is unshielded the target's stamina reserve is reduced to 0 in the first round, causing her to become fatigued; in the second round, her lifeblood reserve is reduced to 0 and she falls unconscious; in the third round, her brain has been effectively destroyed. The psionic must have a line of sight on the target, and the target can escape if something blocks the line of sight. She must make a Reflex save at DC 20 in the first round and hope for initiative in the second, as after the second round it will be too late.
Special: If the target's mind is shielded then she gets a Will save vs DC 20 before the Reflex save. If the target possesses the same talent then they duel each other until one or the other is reduced to 0 lifeblood, or dies.
Stamina cost: 4 stamina in the first round, 8 in the second, 16 in the third and final round.
Psionic Fury (feat)
This terrifying ability can tear apart a target.
Prerequisite: 10 ranks in Telekinesis, 10 ranks in Teleportation.
Benefit: By combining two spheres - Telekinesis and Teleportation - the psionic can use this wicked talent to pull a target's limbs through telekinetic stresses while simultaneously weakening the joints through the latter. The end result is... messy. The target gets a Reflex save at DC 20. Failure results in death. The only way the target can escape is if he blocks the line of sight between himself and the psionic.
Special: If the target's mind is shielded then he gets a Will save vs DC 20 before the Reflex save. If the target possesses the same talent then the 'fury' is redirected back at the target who must make the same Will and/or Reflex saves. If successful the fury will be redirected again, until one target or the other dies.
Stamina cost: 4d4+4 stamina to create the Fury.
TELEPORTATION SPHERE
Teleportation allows the user to move instantly to another location without regards to any intervening matter. Without assistance she can only transport herself to a place she can see via line of sight. With assistance and advanced training (an ally remote viewing the target location), she can be teleported without seeing the target.
- Check: See below.
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TELEPORTATION DC STAMINA COST
Self, unclothed: 10 1
Self, clothed: 15 1d4
Self, equipped: 20 2d4
Self, heavily equipped: 25 3d4
Self and passenger: 30 4d4
Special: Teleporting whilst in warpspace leads to a misjump. You cannot take 10 or 20. Teleporting onto a moving object adds +5 to the DC and doubles the stamina cost.
Duration: Instantaneous.
Stamina cost: See above.
Guided Teleportation (feat)
You can teleport without relying on line of sight through the guidance of clairvoyance.
Prerequisite: 10 ranks in Clairvoyance and Teleportation. If there is no affinity with Clairvoyance then the psionic must rely on an ally who is clairvoyant and providing him with guidance; in such cases the prerequirement of 10 ranks in Clairvoyance is waived.
Benefit: Disregard the line of sight requirement due to range. The psionic can now teleport at planetary distances so long as he is being 'shown' the target location either by his own clairvoyance or through an ally's.
Stamina cost: Triples the stamina cost.
OTHER PSIONIC RELATED SKILLS
The psionic can increase his knowledge of his powers by the two cascade skills: Knowledge/Psionics and Knowledge/Warpspace. Both are intelligence skills and imply information the character has learned, observed, or has heard. Such skills allow checks to be made when attempting to answer a question related to each field, do not allow retries, and are full-round actions. (which is pretty irrelevant to combat, but nevermind) In addition, if the psionic witnesses a phenomena he's never encountered before he can make a knowledge check to see if that provides some clue. This implies that a knowledge check can also involve reasoning and deduction.
Also, the skill Use Alien Device can be useful if the alien device is psionic in nature. Not every alien device will be psionic though, and some that look like a back scratcher will actually be a back scratcher (or... equivalent). But if the device is psionic, then having another psionic around can help.
PSIONICS AND CYBERNETICS
In short: they don't mix. For this reason alone there are no Belter psionics.
PSIONICS AND GENEERING
In short: they do mix for the most part, but some geneering options are useless (why do you need to clone new limbs due to old ones being severed? Simply regenerate them).
PSIONICS AND DRUGS
There are drugs that can affect the use of psionic performance.
- Stimulant: Stimulants, or stims, come in many forms. The most common and non-threatening is in a cup of coffee or equivalent. However, in this case Stimulant refers to a specific concentrated dose in the form of a pill. This drug adds a temporary 1d10 bonus to stamina for 1 hour. Repeat doses do nothing in this hour, but in the next hour another dose can be had to give another bonus.
Double: Double is the same as the above, but is an unwise double dose. This results in a temporary 2d10+2 bonus to stamina for 1 hour. The obvious side-effects come in the form of the shakes, sweating, perhaps nausea etc. Nothing too seriously. Repeating the dose in the next hour requires a Fort save DC 5 to avoid 1 lifeblood of damage. Any subsequent extra doses in subsequent hours raise the DC by 5.
Tranquiliser: Tranquilisers, or tranqs, come in many forms. Related to psionics, tranqs are a liquid drug that must be injected. When done so, psionic spheres will not be available as the subject's stamina will be reduced to 0 and result in fatigue for several hours (depending on the dose).
Special: Special drug is rare, expensive, and known only to few. It comes in a liquid that must be injected. When done so, the subject will regain 1d3 stamina points every round for 10 minutes (or a 100 rounds). Taking Special is not without a degree of risk. After each minute, you must make a Fort save at DC 10 to avoid taking 1 lifeblood damage. Each subsequent DC is raised by +1 each minute. After the second minute the DC will be 11, after the third the DC will be 12. The tenth minute will have a DC of 19. If you happen to overdose, your Stamina is reduced to 0, you take an immediate 3d6 damage to lifeblood (Fort save DC 15 to take half damage), and will lose a point of lifeblood each minute while you can only take partial actions (move a little, not too far, maybe call for help). If an antidote is administered the effects of the drug abate and you stop losing lifeblood, but you take a permanent loss of -1 to either Constitution, Intelligence or Wisdom (choose the ability and make an ability check at DC 10 to make the loss temporary. If you fail, well... drugs are bad mmmkay).