A central theme in the Federation of the Hub stories is the presence of psi powers and how the Federation deals with them. Schmitz was an early member of Scientology (which, whatever else it is, does believe in the power of the human mind), but left saying that it didn't give him what he wanted, although there may have been other reasons. He clearly believed that the human mind has tremendous potential which could be tapped if we could only learn how, and in his stories he presents us with many beings who have learned how to do some amazing things with their minds. It is not expected that every player play a character with psi abilities, but it is quite conceivable that many players will want to.
It would appear that, in the Hub universe, the potential to use a particular Field of psi ability is inborn, as is the innate strength of the psi, but innate strength and potential do no good unless the talent is developed. A mind in its natural state is chaotic and disorganized, becoming more organized as information is learned; in order to use a psi Field to good effect, one must find a way to better organize one's mind. Therefore a character with skill in a psi Field, especially if he has a high degree of skill, must have undergone some type of training in order to reach that level of skill. This training might have been self-taught (this takes a long time, and therefore the psi would probably be older than otherwise and have had various adventures already, any of which might have effects on the current story), or it might have been received at the hands of the Federation's shadowy Psychology Service (who might install compulsions of responsibility to society and request that the psi be available for occasional assignments, propelling the character into stories), or at the hands of an independent psi operator (or group of them) of either human or alien species (who would not do such a thing unless something was in it for them, and would install pretty much any type of compulsions they wanted and might appear to activate them at any later date, which could set plots in motion).
The general attitude of most of the Federation's populace is that psis do not exist, that they are a legend that it is fun to tell stories and play roleplaying games about, but that no reasonable person would truly believe in such rubbish. However, the attitude varies: there are planets where the population believes in the existence of psi, although on some worlds they may consider it magic and its practitioners sorcerers. Nevertheless, even on the most "enlightened" Federation planets it is possible to find purported psis listed as consultants, although the listed ones are usually either not the most powerful psis around, users and possibly inventors of psionic devices, or just plain charlatans. The best true psis tend to stay out of sight. Additionally, powerful businesspeople and political figures on nearly every world tend to err on the side of caution and use mind shields of one sort or another to foil any attempts by a psi or a possessor of a mind-reading psionic device (and the Psychology Service is rumored to have both) to control their minds or steal their secrets.
An important point not to be overlooked is the fact that your character may not (in fact, probably doesn't) know any of the information in this document. She may know some things about her own psi Fields as they are now, but she may not be aware of all the possible Effects of the Fields she possesses, and she probably won't know what new Effects she will acquire as her experience increases. She certainly won't know about Fields she doesn't have, and when she encounters other psis with different Fields, she won't know whether they work the same way as her own or whether they are totally different. The only way she could know any of this is if she has a high rating in Knowledge: Psionics, and that is only possible if she has made a detailed study of psi or has been trained by someone who has.
The individual feats that psis can perform are called Effects, but Effects are organized into Fields, because they are related and because a certain degree of expertise in each Field must be achieved before some Effects become possible. The number of levels you have put into a Field determines the level of the Effects you know and can use: if you have four levels in a Field, you can use all Effects of fourth level and lower. A few Fields (Offense, Defense, Psi Stealth) do not have individual Effects: they have only one Effect, but that Effect becomes stronger as the character's level of skill increases in the Field. Finally, for some Fields (mostly Physical World-Affecting ones), the character's level of skill determines the amount of fine control he has over his ability, while other considerations determine the scope of the feats he can perform.
Every psi has a Psi score (sometimes "Psi rating" or "Psi strength"): a measure of the innate strength of mind that he can bring to bear when using his psi abilities. The Psi score that a character has is determined during character creation and, except for very rare circumstances, never changes. The Psi score is used to determine, among other things, the range of a psi's abilities and the maximum number of psi points (we'll get to those in a minute) he can have in reserve at any one time. Sometimes a particular Psi Field or Effect uses the psi score for rolling dice or otherwise determining the magnitude of the psionic feat; this is noted in the description of the individual Effect.
Your Psi points measure the amount of mental stamina you have in reserve at the moment. The Effects of some psi Fields require you to spend Psi points to activate them; this reflects the fact that using these Effects is mentally tiring. Once your Psi points reach zero, your psi talent is considered exhausted; you may not use any psi Effects whatsoever (even those that do not require the expenditure of Psi points) until you have recovered at least one point. Your Psi score is also the maximum number of Psi points you may have.
You can spend extra Psi points when using an Effect, over and above any that the Effect itself might require, to effectively increase your Psi rating for that single Effect use. This reflects mentally "giving your all," forcing yourself to exert more mental strength than you are usually capable of, at the expense of tiring yourself out faster (and possibly causing yourself pain, damage or health effects, at GM's option). Obviously you can only do this if you have the points to spend.
Every hour of game time (not real time), or basically whenever the GM decides that it is a good time for it, you may recover Psi points. Ordinarily you recover a number of points equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1), although the GM may adjust this depending on difficult circumstances, for example decreasing it if you are currently using a psi Effect while trying to recover points or if you are in a stressful situation, or increasing it if you are resting or meditating.
For the sake of simplicity, after a good night's sleep (about 8 hours), you recover all your Psi points.
The Effects of most psi Fields are limited by distance, the effectiveness of a psi dropping with the distance to the target. For the purpose of very short ranges, the psi must bring any part of his body within range of any part of the target (for Matter-Affecting Fields) or any part of the target's brain (for Mind-Affecting ones).
Look up the character's Psi score on this table:
| Score | Range Increment | Approximate Idea |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 cm | |
| 2 | 10 cm | Width of a small book |
| 3 | 1 m | A bit over arm's length |
| 4 | 10 m | Across a rather large room |
| 5 | 100 m | Length of a football field |
| 6 | 1 km | |
| 7 | 10 km | Starts to reach ships in low orbit overhead, from planetary surface |
| 8 | 100 km | |
| 9 | 1000 km | |
| 10 | 10,000 km | Usually anywhere on the same planet; ships in high orbit are still out of range; ships in deep space rarely come even this close to one another |
The distance given by this table is a range increment, not your absolute maximum range. Take your Psi score and subtract the number of range increments away your target is, and this normally gives you your psi signal strength at target. And speaking of segues ...
Psi energy radiates outward from its source (the psi) in all directions, and it may be detected by another psi who is sensitive to psi energy (i.e. has skill in the Psi-Sensitivity Field), or by a device designed to detect it. The concept of psi signal strength is fairly simple: up close, your signal strength is equal to your Psi score, and as you get farther from your target or as barriers are imposed, your signal strength decreases.
As noted above, this is simply your Psi score minus the number of range increments away your target is. Usually. Other factors can further decrease your signal strength, and the most important of these is the mind screen or psi block. Such technology will always have a blocking strength rating, and this rating represents how many more points are subtracted from your Psi score due to the effects of the screen or block. Also, employing the psi Field known as Defense has a similar effect.
Any time the effects of a Psi Field's Effects are related to psi signal strength, it is this signal strength at target that is being referred to. Before your psi energy can affect anything, it must first get there.
The description of each psi Effect will state how much psi signal strength at target (PSaT) there must be in order to be, well, effective. It will either be a number (usually 1), meaning that if you don't have at least that much strength at the target, you can't use that Effect on that target, or it will be "Variable," which means that the strength of the Effect depends on how much PSaT you can achieve.
Additionally, most of the time the DC for a saving throw against a psi Effect to be 10 + the psi's PSaT. This reflects the fact that a stronger psi's powers are more difficult to resist than a weaker psi's, and that it is easier to avoid psi Effects when one is farther away from the psi using them, or shielded from them.
Example: You are trying to use Control Muscle (a 1st-level Control Effect) to prevent the guard from pulling the trigger on his blaster, which is inconveniently pointed at your face. Your Psi strength is 5, so your range increment is 100 meters; your target is well within your first range increment, so you suffer no range penalties. Your chances are pretty good. However, if he is equipped with a mind screen device of rating 3, your psi signal strength at target is reduced to 2. Good luck.
Another example: You are observing a guard using a hidden holocamera; the guard is really 350 meters away from your position. The guard may be about to fire at your ally, so you wish to use Control Muscle to cause the guard's arm to jerk so the shot will miss. Your Psi strength is 5, and your range increment is again 100 meters, but this time you are farther away -- 3 range increments away, in fact. Your psi signal strength at target is 2. If the guard is employing a mind screen of rating 2 or stronger, you are out of luck, because your signal strength at target is reduced to zero.
Note: For Effects that do not depend on the psi signal strength at target, your psi strength still needs to be at least 1 at target, or the target is considered out of range and/or fully shielded from you. In other words, if you can't get any psi energy to your target at all, you can't do anything.
Psi signal strength is also important if someone is trying to detect your psi energy, or if you are trying to detect somebody else's. It works the same way as the signal strength at target described above: make allowances for the psi source's strength and for any psi blocks between the source and the detector (whether another psi or a technological device).
This might be a good time for a suggestion: there is no rule that says that you must always use your psi abilities at full strength. For some Effects, success does not depend on the psi signal strength at target, as long as it is at least 1, so you may want to use only the minimum strength necessary to accomplish your goal given the distance to target, in order to minimize your chance of detection (though you may run afoul of psi blocks or mind screens that you were unaware of). In other words, you can "work quietly," although in some situations you just have to hit the nail with the hammer and hope nobody hears the bang.
Example: You are trying to use Control Muscle to prevent the guard from pulling the trigger on his blaster again. Unless the guard realizes he is being controlled and tries to fight you, no die roll is required, so the psi signal strength at target that you need is just 1, and since he's well within your first range increment you have no need to use more than 1 unit of your 5 Psi score. If you check the description of Detect Psi Activity below, that makes the DC of another psi's die roll to detect you equal to 16 minus the signal strength at the detecting psi's location, which means that even if the detecting psi is standing right next to you, she has a DC of 15 to contend with. If she's more than 100 meters away from you, there is simply nothing to detect. In practice the GM will usually just estimate these DCs on the fly.
Note that having a huge Psi score has its penalty here: if you have an 8 Psi score instead of 5 in the above example, another psi trying to detect you is going to have to be 100 km away before she can't detect you anymore. Note also that if the guard is shielded and you are aware of this, you may be forced to use more than 1 unit of your Psi score in order to have an effect, which means that you may be forced to reveal yourself to any "listeners."
In the case of some Matter-Affecting Fields, you must find your psi signal strength at target and then divide your remaining signal strength among the following tables based on the effect you want to have. See the descriptions of the psi Fields for more information and examples.
Mass is a factor in just about every Field that affects the physical world. Find out approximately how much mass you'll be trying to affect, then look it up in this table to see how many points of your signal strength (at target) you'll have to devote to mass. You must devote enough points to affect a mass greater than or equal to your target -- for example, if you're trying to affect a 500-gram mass, it'll have to be 3 points; 2 points won't do the job.
In the case of some modern vehicles the mass listed below is the inertial mass, because the use of antigravity materials makes the gravitational masses of airborne or spaceborne vehicles less than their inertial masses. Your GM will just have to take an aspirin and deal with this fact. It really only applies to Telekinesis, anyway, and all it means is that you don't have to work against gravity when trying to push an aircar upward. Of course, you don't get much help from gravity either; you now have to push the aircar downward if you want it to go down (or get the bright idea to use your Telekinesis on the controls).
| Points Used | Mass | Real-World Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 g | Coin, data chip |
| 2 | 100 g | Small creature (mouse, frog, etc.), handheld computer |
| 3 | 1 kg | Purse or light luggage item |
| 4 | 10 kg | Small animal; heavy luggage item |
| 5 | 100 kg | Human |
| 6 | 1000 kg | Aircar (inertial) |
| 7 | 10,000 kg | Typical aircraft or fighter spacecraft (inertial) |
| 8 | 100,000 kg | Ancient space shuttle; large passenger aircraft or small spacecraft (inertial) |
| 9 | 1,000,000 kg | Typical scout ship (inertial) |
| 10 | 10,000,000 kg | Typical frigate or cruiser (inertial) |
This is also a logarithmic scale, used mostly for the Manifestation Field. Once we get to 100 seconds and more, adding zeros to a number of seconds begins to lose its intuitive meaning, so for the sake of the story it might be best to use a nice round figure. The GM should feel free to treat the Nice Round Figure as a basic guideline and make the time consideration, whatever it may be, fit the story.
| Points Used | Time | Nice Round Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 second | |
| 2 | 10 seconds | |
| 3 | 100 seconds | 1 minute |
| 4 | 1000 seconds | 15 minutes |
| 5 | 10^4 seconds | 3 hours |
| 6 | 10^5 seconds | 1 day |
| 7 | 10^6 seconds | 2 weeks |
| 8 | 10^7 seconds | 4 months |
| 9 | 10^8 seconds | 3 years |
| 10 | 10^9 seconds | 32 years |
In order for you to use most psi Effects, you must be able to detect the target in some way; in other words, you must have Line of Sight to the target. You have Line of Sight if you can satisfy any of the following criteria:
The description of each psi Effect will tell you whether Line of Sight (LoS) is required.
Some psi Effects are "one-shot": you activate and use the Effect, and after that the effect is in place. Telehypnosis is one such example -- once you have made the desired impression on the target's mind, your work is done. Others give you the option: you may use them for one round or for longer, depending on how long you concentrate (and, in some cases, how many Psi points you wish to spend, since the cost may be one Psi point per round or scene). Others require you to spend time concentrating before you achieve the full effect. Only a few psi Effects last after you stop concentrating.
When the description of a psi Effect says that it requires concentration (most do), it means that you cannot do anything as complicated as (or more complicated than, of course) carrying on a conversation while using the Effect. If you are distracted, you may have to make a die roll (probably a Concentration check) to avoid losing concentration and therefore spoiling the Effect.
The Effects of most psi Fields require a die roll. As with most die rolls in the d20 system, you will roll a d20, add a modifier, and try to meet or exceed a Difficulty Class (DC) assigned by the GM. The modifier is almost always twice the level of mastery of the psi Field you have attained, plus the ability modifier for the key ability that the desired Effect uses. The degree by which you surpass the DC usually determines the detail acquired, in the case of informational Effects, or some measure of accuracy or fine control in the case of other Effects. As usual, rolling a natural 20 (i.e., 20 on the die itself) always means success, no matter what the DC. Rolling a natural 1 usually results in disaster: erroneous information which you are sure is true, for informational Effects, or some sort of disastrous flub in the case of manipulative Effects.
Example: You have a Wisdom score of 12 (and hence a Wisdom modifier of +1) and 2 levels in the psi Field of Control. You are, once more, trying to use Control Muscle to prevent the guard from pulling the trigger on his blaster and causing you great discomfort. You are going to be rolling a d20 and adding 5 (because you have 2 levels in Control, times two, and +1 for a Wisdom modifier). If the target is unaware of what you are trying to do, say the rules under Control Muscle, your DC is 10, so if you roll a 7 or greater you will succeed. However, if the target becomes aware he may make a Will save, and you must surpass his result in order to succeed: suppose his Wisdom is average and he rolls a 12, but you roll a 10 and add your 3 for a total of 13. You still succeed.
In general, when you use a psi Effect, you bring to bear the full strength of your Psi rating (possibly augmented by burning extra Psi points), and you use the finesse that you have developed through practice, reflected by your level in the psi Field in question and your modifier for the Effect's associated ability score. So, in the absence of specific rules about an Effect or Field, use your Psi rating when something depends on how much raw psi power you can output, and use the "ability modifier plus twice the Field level" formula when something depends on your skill and finesse. Difficulty Classes for die rolls follow the usual d20 scale: 5 is simple, 10 is routine, 15 is challenging, 20 is difficult, 25 is quite difficult indeed, and 30 is nigh impossible.
In this section the actual psi Fields are defined and discussed. Most Fields have various uses or Effects, and most Fields have prerequisites (other Fields that you may have to advance in before you advance in this Field) or ramifications (other Fields that you may learn as a result of having skill in this Field). This tree structure governs how easy or hard it is to expand your psi ability to other Fields.
Before we get into it, a word about names. Your character may or may not call these Fields or their Effects by the names listed in the rules. The Psychology Service or other psionics experts use that sort of language, but unless your character has known no other training since first discovering her psi abilities, she may well have her own names for what she can do, or she may use her teacher's terminology. Please feel free to be creative; it gives the game flavor. "He was going to pull the trigger, so I ... stopped him."
Although the fact is not generally known even to most psis, there are 18 distinct psi Fields known to the Psychology Service, although there may be others not known to them, especially if they are only possessed by alien species or humans from remote worlds. Here is a list of them, organized by prerequisite: if a Field is indented further than the one above it, then the one above it is a prerequisite. The ones farthest to the left (Psi-Sensitivity, Telepathy, and ESP) are fundamental Fields and have no prerequisite.
As you can see, each Field is either Psi-Affecting, Mind-Affecting, or Matter-Affecting.
These are Fields that detect or emit only psi energy. The use of these Effects sets a psi off from the rest of the world -- she lives and operates in a universe that is only detectable to other psis. There are threats here that only psis are vulnerable to, and there are problems here that only psis can solve.
You have the ability to sense psi energy and its strength, type and direction of flow. At higher levels of skill you can even sense psi traces that have been left by minds that are no longer present or exerting influence. Psi-Sensitivity is not differentiated as any kind of separate talent in the Schmitz stories, but what I have designated as Psi-Sensitivity Effects do appear.
All Effects of this Field require concentration.
Using Psi-Sensitivity, in most cases, lasts just one turn; you get your information and you're done. You can, however, "listen" for psi activity by simply telling the GM that's what you're doing. This requires continued concentration, however.
Detecting psi energy, as noted below, doesn't require that the source be within your range, only that the psi signal strength be at least 1 at your location. If the source is so far away that the signal becomes zero by the time it gets to you, or if there are screens or blocks in the way that reduce the signal to zero, you can't detect anything. However, a very strong signal can reach you even if you are farther away from the source than the maximum range your Psi score normally allows. You may not be able to sense much detail, though, if the source is outside your range.
There is a chance for "spontaneous detection" if a strong psi pulse reaches you when you are not actively listening. As long as you have at least one level in Psi-Sensitivity, the GM may elect to make a Detect Psi Activity roll for you at an increased DC (to reflect the fact that you aren't actively listening) and, if there are enough successes, inform you. It all depends on the story, but a good rule of thumb is that if the signal strength at your location plus your Psi rating is 10 or greater, you might notice something.
You can tell that there is psi activity going on, as long as it is strong enough to be detected at your location. You get a sense of its strength and the number of sources, but no sense of exact location or of what type of activity. You can sometimes get a sense of the target, however.
System: The GM usually rolls this for you, as with most detection-type rolls in general. The DC is usually 16 minus the strength of the signal(s) at your location. Success means you detect the signal. Success at the DC + 5 means that you have a sense of the signal's target (if the target is in range and in LoS; otherwise you cannot do this). A natural 1 means that you are unsure whether there is or is not any psi activity and that you are second-guessing and confusing yourself; you cannot try again this scene. If the source is a psi who has the Psi Stealth Field, this can make detection harder for you; the DC goes up by 2 for each level the source has in Psi Stealth.
You can get a sense of the direction and distance to a source of psi activity, although this is limited by your range. You get no sense of any obstacles that might lie between you and the source or of how to get to the source; these are strictly physical considerations.
This Effect is, if successfully employed, accurate enough to give you Line of Sight to the psi source if it is needed for another psi Effect you wish to use.
Note that if the source is beyond your maximum range, you cannot sense distance to the source -- only direction. You cannot acquire Line of Sight beyond your maximum range either.
System: GM rolls; DC is 16 - PsAD. Success means you get the direction and distance to the psi source; the higher you get the more accuracy you get. A natural 1 means that, to you, the signal seems to be coming from everywhere and you cannot pin it down; you are confused and must wait until the next scene to try again. Psi Stealth may be used to confound this Effect, adding 2 to the DC for each level the source has in Psi Stealth.
You can sense the specific type of psi energy being used and the location of its target. You must already be aware by some means that there is psi activity afoot.
You cannot sense distance to the target if the target is beyond your maximum range (only direction), but you can still sense the Field and/or Effect used.
System: If it has not already been done in this situation, the GM makes a roll as for Detect Psi Activity, and if this is successful, you make a Knowledge: Psionics roll. If you beat DC 10, it means you know the psi Field, and if you beat DC 15, you also know the Effect being used and the direction and distance to the person or object it is being used on. A 1 means you cannot tell and cannot try again this scene. Psi Stealth can be used to make this roll more difficult, but only if it hasn't already been tried this scene; once discovered, one can't hide.
You can detect the residual influence left by a psi Effect, even if the psi is no longer using it. This only works on psi Effects that leave aftereffects, such as Offense, Telehypnosis and Psi Structures.
This Effect is entirely limited by your own range.
The 1 minute required to activate this Effect reflects the time it takes for you to search your experiences and compare them with what you are sensing.
System: The GM rolls a Knowledge: Psionics check for you against DC 15. If you are successful, you can see that psi has been in operation and what psi Field was used. A usual skill check can also be rolled for this Effect, and if the roll beats DC 15 (the detected psi's Psi Stealth comes into play here, adding 2 to the DC for each level of Psi Stealth), you have acquired the Mental Signature of the operator who left the traces, meaning that if you have Telepathy you can now use that signature to search for the person telepathically (see Telepathy for details). A 1 means that you acquire erroneous information.
The use of the Telepathy Field might tell you more, if you have it, but with this Effect you can detect the changes in a mind that were recently made with Telehypnosis or the strength, abilities and purpose of a Psi Structure.
This Effect is entirely limited by your own range.
System: The GM makes a Knowledge: Psionics roll for you against DC 15. Success means you are able to determine recent changes to a mind or a structure. You can also make the usual skill roll for this Effect, and if the roll beats DC 15 you can extract the Mental Signature of the mind that made the changes (whose Psi Stealth works against this roll, adding twice the Psi Stealth level to the DC). In the case of a structure, "recent changes" may include its creation, in which case you can tell its strength, abilities and any preprogrammed instructions. Rolling a 1 means that you acquire erroneous information.
This Field allows you to assault the mind of another psi with concentrated bursts of energy that are sometimes called psi-bolts. The Offense Field has no effect on a nonpsi mind and can be countered with Defense, if the target possesses that Field. Psi-bolts appear in a few Schmitz stories: "Undercurrents," "Sleep No More," and others.
Line of Sight is required to use this Field; usually you pick someone you can see and zap away. There is one exception: If you have at least one level in Telepathy and know the target's Mental Signature, you may attack the target with Offense as long as she is in range. You can't see him, but you can feel the presence of his mind, and you can throw a potentially damaging attack at it.
One caveat: Attacking a psi who has Telepathy with this Field gives the targeted psi your Mental Signature.
System: The GM should first look at the character's psi signal strength at target, taking into account both distance and any mind shielding devices or the Defense Field; if the signal strength is not at least 1 at target, the attack cannot succeed. The PSaT is the amount of psi point damage that will be done if the attack succeeds.
Attacking with Offense works much like attacking physically. As with most psi Effects, using it is a standard action. Spend a Psi point and roll a d20, adding your Charisma modifier and twice your Offense level, against a DC that is equal to 10 plus your opponent's Intelligence modifier, plus his Psi rating if he is employing Defense. Rolling a 1 means that you have overextended yourself and lose another Psi point in addition to doing no damage. If you are successful, your target loses a number of Psi points equal to your PSaT, as determined earlier.
If your attack takes your target's Psi points into the negative range, he falls unconscious for at least an hour and must make a Fortitude save or take temporary Wisdom damage equal to the negative Psi point score you gave him. His Psi points recover at the usual rate, and he regains consciousness as soon as they become greater than or equal to zero. If your attack takes your target's Psi points to exactly zero, he remains conscious but is unable to use his psi abilities until he recovers Psi points.
Using Offense is a standard action.
You are able to create a barrier that hinders psi energy. This barrier works like a mind screen with a strength rating equal to your Psi rating. Obviously this is useful against the Offense Field, but it may also be used to counter attempts to use other psi Fields on you. Psi defense appears in many Hub stories.
System: You must consciously use this Field; you cannot defend unless you know or suspect that you have something to defend against (exceptions to this are the Reflexive Shielding feat and shields created using the Psi Structures Field). The psi signal strength of all Effects is reduced by your Psi rating as it passes through your defensive shield. Activating Defense is a standard action and costs no Psi points, but because it requires concentration, you cannot do anything complex while defending unless you have the Split Attention feat, and even if you have this feat, note that your own psi signal is also weakened as it passes out of your shield (see, however, the Work through Shields feat).
Psi-Structure Shields: In combination with the Psi Structures Field, this Field can be used to create programmed shields that do not require your concentration, function even when you are unconscious, or activate themselves automatically.
If you do not have any levels in Psi-Sensitivity, this is the only other way you can sense psi activity: you can feel when a psi Effect impinges on your shield and make a guess about its strength. You cannot, however, discern anything about its source or Field unless you also have Psi-Sensitivity.
Although a nonpsi cannot, any psi can "feel" when a shield of any kind (technological or generated by a psi using Defense) is in effect around him. There is a feeling that can be likened to claustrophobia or at least to being shut in a very small room. Of course, a telepath who suddenly finds himself unable to communicate with his target is going to suspect something anyway, but even a psi who is not using his powers can feel himself being shielded.
Using this Field does not require Line of Sight or anyone's Mental Signature.
You can prevent some or all of an incoming psi signal from entering your mind, depending on your Psi rating. You cannot, however, prevent the Control Field from affecting your body independent of your mind, nor can you prevent a psi from moving your body around using Telekinesis.
With this Effect you can shield both your body and your mind at once, reducing the psi signal strength of all psi energy that would affect you directly in any way. Note that you can still be indirectly affected by psi; a psi with Pyrokinesis could still heat the air in your vicinity to searingly hot temperatures, for example.
You can extend your defensive shield outward in a sphere centered on your position. The size of the sphere depends only on your Psi rating and your wishes. Its strength will, like every psi Effect, drop by one point for each range increment it is distant from you, meaning that psi energy impinging on the shield will not be as weakened as it would be if you had kept the shield in closer to you.
Please note that the larger you make the shield, the greater the chance that it will interfere with other psi activity that does not involve you and which you may be unaware of. Psi signals crossing your shielded area are weakened only when they first encounter your shield, rather than twice, as you might suspect (once as they enter and once as they leave), but still, you may interpose your shield where it is not welcome if you are not careful.
You are now able to place a shield around a region that does not include yourself, although it can only surround one continuous object. As usual, psi signals impinging on the shield are weakened by your psi rating, or, in the case that the shielded object is more than one range increment form you, by your psi signal strength at the object's distance. Your GM is hoping that this doesn't get too complicated but will just have to deal with it if it does.
Your shield adversely affects any psi Fields being used upon the shielded object or creature. Additionally, if this Effect is used to encircle a psi, all of that psi's signals will be attenuated by your shield as they leave it. If the encircled psi is able to move, however, she may try to exit the shield long enough to use a psi Effect. A psi encircled by a shield can make a Reflex save (DC 10 + shielder's Intelligence modifier + twice shielder's Defense level) to do this, if she is not otherwise immobilized.
As usual, psi signals that encounter the shield twice are only diminished by it the first time. For example, if you put your shield on an object that lies between you and another psi, and if that psi attempts to use a psi Effect of some sort on you, that other psi's signal strength is only reduced when it first encounters the shield on its way to you; when it leaves the shielded region the signal is not reduced again.
You have the skill to create shields of any shape within your range. Shields can be open (rectangles or hemispheres, for example) or closed (spheres, boxes or polyhedra). You can thus shield a number of people or objects. However, you still have to concentrate.
As usual, remember that if psi energy impinges upon a shield that is more than a range increment from you, the efficacy of your shield will be diminished because of the shield's distance from you. In other words, shields closer to you are more effective than shields far from you. Also, if you arrange things so that incoming psi energy must pass through more than one shield, it is still only weakened as if it had gone through only one.
You can create objects out of pure psi energy and set them to perform psi tasks even when you are not directing them. Psi structures appear in several of Schmitz's Hub stories: "Undercurrents, "Compulsion," and "Child of the Gods" are three examples.
A psi structure is a disturbance in the psi energy background, a reordering of the cosmic framework. It is a blob of psi energy that is attached to a person (possibly yourself) or object and is basically a tool, constructed by a psi out of psi energy just as one might make a pair of scissors out of metal.
System: For any psi structure, there are three questions to be asked: Who or what is attached to? What are its statistics? What Properties does it have?
If you are trying to attach the psi structure to a person other than yourself, you must have Line of Sight, although if you have the Telepathy Field and know the target's Mental Signature that will do as well. You must also have Line of Sight to the target if you are trying to attach your psi structure to an object. You cannot attach a psi structure to anything or anyone who is outside your maximum range or is fully shielded from you (i.e. your PSaT is zero there). If the target is a person and is willing, or is an object, no die roll is usually necessary for success; this is an automatic feat. An unwilling target, however, requires a die roll, possibly a resisted die roll, and the Defense Field might come into play if the target possesses and is employing it. The exact nature of the roll depends on the function of the structure.
Like characters, psi structures have ability scores and skills, although some abilities are not applicable to all (or sometimes to any) structures. The basic psi structure may possess the following statistics:
For each Psi point you spend while creating a structure, the structure gets an exact copy of one of your statistics: the same score or rank you have in it. Of course, you may give a structure a lower score or rank than you have in some statistic, but this still costs you one Psi point. For non-sentient structures, these statistics do not function exactly as they would for a sentient character but are used only for die rolls. Once you are able to create structures with more Properties, other statistics become open to you. If you cannot give a structure all the statistics you want right away because you run out of Psi points, you will have to wait to regenerate more Psi points, and meanwhile the structure will function in its incomplete state.
If you give a psi structure your Psi rating (and why wouldn't you?), it starts life with its maximum number of Psi points. If you have it use psi Effects that cost Psi points, it will eventually run out, of course, and if a psi structure runs out of Psi points it "vanishes" (explained below). You have to give it Psi points out of your pool to replenish it.
A basic psi structure also "vanishes" if you lose consciousness or move out of range. A vanished psi structure is undetectable by anyone who does not have a Mental Link with it (see below) and has only one fact separating it from nonexistence: you can still revive it by fixing whatever problems caused it to vanish (giving it Psi points, returning to consciousness, and/or moving back within range). At that point it revives and is exactly as it was before vanishing; you do not need to recreate the structure.
You cannot give a structure the Psi Structures Field, not even a sentient structure. Structures simply cannot create other structures.
A basic psi structure can do very little. It cannot communicate with you, it cannot act on its own, it disappears into obscurity if you lose consciousness or move out of range, and it cannot replenish its Psi points. These limitations can be overcome by giving your structure Properties. Properties are given to a structure at its moment of creation (at no additional Psi point cost), and once Properties are assigned to a structure they can never be changed. (This is separate from statistics, which can always be added.)
As you increase in skill with Psi Structures, you gain access to the following Properties:
A few more facts about structures: The maximum number of structures that you may have Mental Links with at any one time is equal to your Psi score.
Structures can be detected using Psi-Sensitivity when they are using their psi Effects. Acquiring the Mental Signature of a structure is possible in this way. Telepathy can also be used, but it can only detect sentient structures, and searching can be time-consuming -- finding the one nearby mind that doesn't have a body can be difficult.
Once you do have a structure's Mental Signature you can affect it with Mind-Affecting psi Fields, though many of the Effects in these Fields will have no effect unless the structure is sentient.
The Control and Telehypnosis Fields work on even nonsentient structures where applicable -- for example, Control Muscle and Control Body (1st- and 4th-level Control Effects) will not work, because structures have neither muscles nor bodies, but Prevent Thought (a 2nd-level Control Effect) will work fine if you are trying to keep a structure from noticing you without otherwise disrupting it.
Alter Mental Structure (a 3rd-level Telehypnosis Effect) can be used to reprogram a programmed structure that you do not have a Mental Link with or even to break its Mental Link with its creator. Alter Personality (a 4th-level Telehypnosis Effect) can be used to destroy a psi structure.
Creating a structure takes at least a minute and may require hours or even days, depending on how complex you want to make it.
Although a Psi-Affecting Field in the sense that it affects your emitted psi energy, this Field stands alone. You are able to conduct psi operations with finesse, making your psi signal difficult for others to detect. You do not need to specify that you are using Psi Stealth; it is assumed that you use all psi Effects with all the finesse you know how to use. You can, however, choose to employ a lesser level of finesse if you so desire (e.g. if you are deliberately trying to be noticed by another psi). Psi Stealth doesn't appear per se in any Schmitz stories, but it does appear that some psis are harder to detect than others.
System: Psi Stealth allows you to increase the DC of detecting your psi activities by 2 for each level of Psi Stealth you have (and wish to use). It costs no Psi points to activate and, in fact, does not have to be activated.
Using Psi Stealth is always a free action and does not require Line of Sight or any Mental Signature.
Since psi abilities originate in the mind, it is natural for them to affect the mind, but whereas Psi-Affecting Fields operate on psi energy itself, Mind-Affecting Fields allow psi energy to interact with the subtle electrochemical energy patterns of a living brain, or the disembodied thoughtlike patterns of a psi structure. A psi can affect his own brain with his psi abilities as easily as he can affect others'.
You can interact with the thoughts of others. At higher levels of skill you can connect your mind with that of another. As with most psi Fields, shielding and the Defense Field can reduce Telepathy signals to ineffectiveness. Telepathy appears in too many Hub stories to list.
Some psi Fields can be used to affect the mind of the target, but they do no good unless the psi can make contact with that mind. This is easy if the target is in plain sight and recognizable, but what if the target is in disguise? What if you are looking for someone who you only know from the residual psi energy she left in another's mind? What if the room is pitch black? What if the target is in another room (but still within range)? You can telepathically search for minds within your range, but you will not recognize the mind of the target unless you have a feel for what that mind is like; this "feel" is called the target's Mental Signature.
You can acquire a target's Mental Signature by:
You can use a Mental Signature to:
If you have no levels in Telepathy, a Mental Signature is of no use to you; you probably don't even have a concept of what an MS is.
All Telepathy Effects, once activated, last as long as you concentrate on them. Some have a Psi point cost.
You can sense when someone is lying. However, you can only use this power on someone who is speaking within your range of hearing (real-time communication devices count, though range is a consideration), and you can only determine whether the target is lying about what she is talking about while this Effect is in operation. If she is lying, you have no indication of what the truth may be, except that what she is saying isn't it.
Caveat: Remember, this reveals only whether the target believes she is telling the truth -- if the target is misinformed, this Effect may indicate truth even though she is saying something that is actually false.
System: In order for the Detect Lie Effect to have even a chance of working, your PSaT must be at least 1, meaning that distance, shields and screens, and the Defense Field might all interfere with this Effect. The GM usually rolls this one (as usual, d20 + Wisdom modifier + twice your Telepathy level, vs. DC 15). If a 1 is rolled, you get a false result -- you're sure a lie is the truth, or the truth is a lie.
You can sense minds within your range. Some (those whose Mental Signatures you know) you will recognize and some you will not, but with this Effect you can sense all sentient minds in your range, whether you recognize their Signatures or not and whether they are in Line of Sight or not. However, you can't associate telepathic impressions with people if you can't see them, so without Line of Sight you may acquire Signatures without knowing whose they are. It is, of course, perfectly possible to interact with someone only on a purely telepathic level; in this way telepathy can be like a mental Internet.
You can also read thoughts to some degree, but at this level of skill you can read only the strongest impressions the target's mind gives off, which tend to be strong emotions. These impressions come and go, sometimes with great rapidity, in response to the stimuli of his life (or to dreams, if the target is asleep and dreaming). Roll d20 + Wisdom modifier + twice your Telepathy level, against DC 15 (+ twice the target's Psi Stealth, if any). Success means you get some idea of what strong emotions the target is experiencing at the moment, if any; high success rolls give more detail. Rolling a 1 usually means erroneous information without any clues that it is wrong.
You are able to send and receive information telepathically to and from a willing target, who need not be another psi. Words, sounds and images, and even odors, tastes, and feelings too complex for words can be exchanged in this way. Normally this does not require a die roll, because it is between willing minds, but if the target is unwilling she may make a Will save (the DC is 10 plus your PSaT). Even if she fails her save, you may not take information from the target's mind, but you may send messages, which the target will receive whether she wants to or not. The target may choose to respond or not. The Psi rating and therefore the range of the originating psi are used for this Effect.
You can link your mind with that of your target, experiencing everything he experiences, including thoughts, sensory impressions, memories, and emotions. However, some links are deeper than others. Some Telepathy-dependent Fields require a certain depth of telepathic link to be forged before they may be attempted. It can be difficult to make contact, especially if this is the first contact you have ever had with this target, so some time may be required. If you are disturbed, you must make a Concentration check to avoid losing some or all of your progress.
Once you have forged a link, you may attempt to acquire information from the target's thoughts, but in doing so you must know what you are looking for and try to steer his stream of consciousness in the direction you want, which can be difficult. Telepathy is not an exact science.
You cannot have an active link and concentrate on anything else (including forging another link) unless you have the Split Attention Feat or have created a psi structure to mediate the link for you.
System: For the initial attempt and for each hour of continued concentration, roll d20 + twice your Telepathy level + your PSaT, with a DC of 10 + the target's Will save modifier (or 10 if the target is willing). Success means that you forge a link with depth 1 (or deepen the existing link by 1). Greater success comes if you beat the DC by a greater amount: roll DC + 10 and you deepen the link by 2. Roll DC + 20 and you deepen the link by 3. The GM may decide to increase the DC (if the target is of a species other than your own, for example an alien or an animal) or decrease it (if the target is a psi, or if the target's mind is already familiar to you). Rolling 1 on any of these rolls means that you have lost contact -- any number of mishaps can cause this (e.g. you were disturbed, the target was physically attacked, another psi disrupted the process, someone switched on the target's mind shield). All progress is lost, and you must start over if you are ever to succeed.
If the target is asleep, this task becomes more difficult for you; the sleeping mind's landscape shifts and changes, and you may at the GM's option have to make an Intelligence check each hour to keep the link depth from dropping by 1.
Whereas lower levels of skill cannot read more than surface impressions or thoughts shared willingly or require hours to establish a rapport, this Effect can tell you deeper-level thoughts immediately. Roll d20 + twice your Telepathy level + your PSaT, against your target's Will save. Success means you have pierced some thought layers, and the higher you roll the better you do; you may or may not reach the whole truth. A natural 1 means that you are thorougly convinced you have the truth, although you do not.
This deep expression of Telepathy allows two minds to be completely shared, an Effect not to be used lightly. No roll is required for a mutually consensual merging, but an unwilling target requires a die roll. Success means that there can be no further misunderstandings, although there can still be disagreements. Beware, because your target will have just as much access to your mind as you have to his. It will be as if you remember living his life up to the moment contact was made, and for him it will be as if he remembered living yours. Neither person's sense of identity is jeopardized during this process; this Effect has never been known to inextricably scramble two minds together, although this is theoretically possible. Some time is usually required after using this Effect to sort through the memories gained, to separate them from your own and to discharge them of their emotional content. If this is not done you may confuse your life with your former target's, and you may pick up phobias or even psychoses.
You are able to cause images or other sensory impressions to intrude upon the minds of others. This Field is unique in that it can be used to affect several targets at once. This ability appeared in one Schmitz story, "Glory Day."
Line of Sight (to the target, not to what you might cause him to sense) is required for all Projection Effects, or having at least one level in Telepathy and the target's Mental Signature (though you can affect only one target in this way unless you have the Dividable Attention feat).
Your psi strength determines about how many people you can affect at once:
| Psi Strength | Maximum Affected |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 50 |
| 5 | 100 |
| 6 | 500 |
| 7 | 1000 |
| 8 | 5000 |
| 9 | 10,000 |
| 10 | 50,000 |
(The singular word "target" is still used here, for simplicity's sake, but it should be understood that there may be several targets.)
Remember, however, that the more personalized the results you want, the fewer the people you can really affect. You can't pay individual attention to 50 people simultaneously. The GM will have to curb your enthusiasm based on this rule of thumb.
The target gets a Will save against any Projection Effect. The DC is the usual 10 plus your PSaT. If the target makes her Will save, that means that you have failed to overcome her world picture, her perception of reality as a whole and how it logically interacts. Your Projection simply didn't fit into that picture.
Some Projection Effects last as long as you concentrate, but you cannot do so forever; although if you have levels in the Psi Structures Field you could create a structure to maintain a Projection, or you could use the Split Attention feat if you have it.
You can brush your target's mind with barely-visible images, barely-audible sounds or spoken messages, barely-tangible sensations, and so forth. The effect can be to make thoughts that were barely below the target's threshold of awareness suddenly rise into full awareness, reminding her to do something that she knew she wanted or had to do but wasn't actively thinking about at the moment, tempting her with suppressed desires, distracting her by making her think somebody called her name, etc.
This functions much like one-way Communication (Telepathy 2): you are able to cause the target to suddenly perceive a verbal message, an idea, an image or other sensory impression, etc. The target may be confused if what is sent is too unlike his normal train of thought, but otherwise he will be unable to tell that the implanted thought came from outside his mind.
You can convince others that you look differently than you actually do. Observers who failed their initial Will saves might get to roll them again if you do something that is patently impossible for your apparent form (fit through a small opening or into a small space suit if you appear very large, reach something on a high shelf if you appear short, etc.). Making yourself appear different than you normally do is relatively easy, but a skill roll of some kind might be required if you plan to impersonate someone. Note that this Effect cannot alter your voice, footprints, fingerprints, etc., nor can it fool electronic equipment (although it might affect those watching on a viewscreen in realtime, if they are in range). You can also use this Effect to make yourself invisible to observers' eyes (though not inaudible or intangible).
You can create a psi illusion, making something seem to be real that is not, making something that is real seem not to be there, or making something seem other than what it is. All senses may be affected, but the Effect is limited to affecting the target's perception of a single object; the target's entire surroundings may not (yet) be affected. Thus you could cause a target to imagine that one of the two moons had changed color (because, although it is out of range, the target whose perception you are affecting is not), or that what is in fact a door appears to be and feels as if it is a solid wall, or that a Baluin crest cat had just walked in the door. Note that you can only create illusions of that which you have already experienced, although if Telepathy has given you a window into someone else's experiences you may use theirs.
This allows you to take total control over your target's entire range of senses; you can make them believe that she is anywhere you wish (although they might disbelieve and therefore get another chance at their Will save if you make the transition sudden and unbelievable), seeing and experiencing anything you wish. It is quite difficult to present one person with a Total Sensorium, but it is easier if the setting is somewhere you have been (or if you have used Telepathy to acquire images of a place where someone else has been). The GM may wish to adjust the DC of the target's Will save based on your familiarity with the surroundings you choose.
You can take control over another's nervous system. Phenomena which I have designated as Control Effects appear occasionally in the Schmitz stories, notably "Company Planet," "Glory Day," and "Child of the Gods."
Line of Sight is required for all Control Effects, or having Telepathy and the target's Mental Signature. Some Effects require a telepathic link to be forged before they can be used. This Field's uses are all very draining on you, so all cost a psi point to activate and at least a Psi point per scene after that.
Control Effects last as long as you concentrate. Your total concentration is only required when actually causing the target to do something, however -- you can be in control and not actually be controlling the target to do anything at the moment, letting her do whatever she wants until you exert your power again. You may speak and perform simple tasks without breaking your concentration while maintaining this "passive control." Using another psi Effect or performing some complex task, however, requires you to break your concentration and therefore drop your control of the target.
Note that some Control Effects require a telepathic link be established with the target before they can be attempted.
You can take control over one muscle. "One muscle" for the purposes of this Effect means the muscles that control one motion of a part of the body -- flexing one finger, flexing a wrist, turning the head, bending a knee. The target won't necessarily realize that control is yours until he tries to use the muscle in question and finds that he can't, or notices the muscle moving when he doesn't want it to.
This Effect lets you stop the target from thinking some particular given thought. The most obvious use for this is to prevent the target from noticing something -- noticing you using other Control Effects on her, for example, or noticing you entering her office and sitting down in a chair. Pushing her out of her chair and sitting down in it, however, might give her a die roll, because she might still notice falling out of her chair and suddenly being on the floor. The player does need to describe what particular thought his character is trying to prevent, but the GM should allow some latitude, or this Effect would be useless.
No telepathic link is required to use this Effect, but unless you have one, you cannot tell immediately whether the Effect is working.
You can make the target feel whatever emotions you wish; he may suddenly find himself intensely angry or somewhat happy for no apparent reason, or he might find that the bout of depression he had just been suffering has suddenly gone away. Note that you cannot control thoughts with this Effect, so you cannot make him angry or happy about something in particular.
You can take control over the target's entire body, and Prevent Thought is not powerful enough to prevent the target from noticing this fact once you actually exert your control. Control Psyche is powerful enough, but if you can use Control Psyche, why are you using this Effect? Once he has noticed, only Alter Memory (Telehypnosis 2) can keep the target from being aware that his body is not his own. If he is aware of being controlled, the target can make die rolls (usually Wisdom-based) to take independent action.
You can entirely suppress the target's personality, but not her consciousness. This Effect gives you total control of the target's body and mind. You can leave the target with whatever memories of the experience you wish, and all decisions made during the intervening time (that she remembers) seem like her own decisions. You cannot, however, construct false memories of the time when the target was controlled; you can only suppress memory, allowing her to remember as much or as little of what really happened as you wish. The more you suppress, however, the more likely the target will be to realize that time has been lost.
If the target is a psi, you cannot force her to use any of her psi Fields unless you also know how to use them, and you use them at the level of skill that you have or the level the target has, whichever is the lowest.
You are able to alter others' minds. The name for this Field is Schmitz's own, and these Effects appear in several stories, including "Novice," "Undercurrents," "Resident Witch," and "Child of the Gods."
Line of Sight is required for all Telehypnosis Effects, or having Telepathy and the target's Mental Signature.
Unlike Telepathy or Control, a use of Telehypnosis is a one-shot deal; the change is made, and then it is over. One specific change occurs at a time, and further uses of Telehypnosis are considered separate events (requiring additional Psi point expenditures, if applicable). Those Telehypnosis Effects that require telepathic links, however, do not require you to forge a new link each time you use a Telehypnosis Effect; you may maintain the same link.
The Psi point costs of some of these Effects can become rather high. This is intentional. Some of these Effects are only accessible to the strongest psis, to psis assisted by rare technology, or to multiple psis working in concert.
You can change the target's state of consciousness -- wake him up from sleep, put him to sleep, fixate his attention on something, or put him into a suggestible hypnotic state. Feel free to suggest other states of consciousness to the GM, who doesn't have much psychological training.
When the target is in a suggestible state of consciousness, he will be much more likely than normal to accept things he hears anyone (not just you) say. He will not, however, automatically act out your every command like an automaton. It is up to you to find a pseudo-plausible reason why doing your bidding would be in his best interest. Additionally, using this Effect to mimic any of the higher-level Telehypnosis Effects has only limited success. (I have to say this or there is no incentive to gain more levels in Telehypnosis.)
You can erase or construct memories. Obviously it is harder to construct believable memories than it is to erase existing ones. Of middle difficulty is the task of reconstructing memories that have been erased, either with this Effect or by some other means such as a head injury, but erased memories can usually be restored with this Effect. Older and vaguer memories are easier to erase than more recent ones, and it is easier to construct believable memories that are expected to be sketchy or vague. The target may make a die roll (an Intelligence check or the like) to notice a discrepancy in her recollection and to suspect that her memory has been tampered with.
This intentionally vaguely-defined Effect allows you to change the "structure" of a target's mind, meaning that you are able to affect the way the target's mind works. One use of this Effect is to "lock away" knowledge or abilities so that the target cannot access them (this includes psi abilities, if any).
This Effect also allows you to install a compulsion -- more powerful than a posthypnotic suggestion, a compulsion can "program" a mind with a pattern you desire, although this pattern cannot alter the fundamental personality of the target and must be relatively straightforward -- describable (by the player to the GM using metagame language) in 25 words or less. A target will notice a compulsion that immediately alters his behavior, and it is perfectly possible for him to start looking for loopholes and ways to undo the compulsion. A more subtle compulsion may not be noticed (the target could make die rolls), and one that will not take effect until a certain amount of time has passed or until certain circumstances occur will not be noticed until it does take effect.
You can change who someone is. You must have a clear idea in mind of what you want to change -- his favorite meat is now Turalian game fowl instead of beef, or she is no longer interested in the obsession with conspiracy theories that have consumed her entire life up to now. Obviously there are many ethical questions that can arise from using this Effect -- how concerned is your character about ethics? To determine whether you successfully make the change, roll d20 + PSaT, opposed by the target's Will save. To see how well you did, roll d20 + twice your Telehypnosis level + your Charisma modifier, DC 15. Rolling a 1 can lead to your making a terrible mistake -- you have given the target a derangement, for example, or created an unstable personality that will break down later in an unpredictable way, and meanwhile you think that you have been completely successful.
This is just what it says -- you can transfer your mind to the target's body, and at the same time your target's mind is transferred to yours. This very dangerous procedure is not guaranteed to leave your personality or that of your target intact. If the target is willing, there is no need for a success roll, but for an unwilling target roll the usual d20 + your PSaT vs. the target's Will save. To see how well the transfer was done, roll d20 + twice your Telehypnosis level + your Charisma modifier, vs. DC 15. Rolling a 1 on this second roll is Very Bad.
You have the ability to sense physical reality using your mind alone. Schmitz never uses the name "ESP," nor is it obviously referenced. However, common sense dictates that some characters must have had this ability or something like it -- for example, Hatzel, the teleport in "Glory Day."
ESP is a "sixth sense," capable of discerning more information than sight or hearing when finely honed. At higher levels a psi with ESP can overcome the Line of Sight limitation to other psi Fields (Line of Sight is not required for this Field). This includes detecting both matter and energy (except for psi energy). You have a sense of both the location and the size/strength of objects and energy sources. [something about die rolls here] Rolling natural 1s, as with most informational rolls, gives you erroneous information that you are certain is right.
You can sense objects that are in motion relative to their surroundings. You cannot sense an object if it is stationary or nearly so relative to its surroundings. The GM may want to allow you to still try a roll with an increased DC difficulty if you are attempting to detect an object or being that is moving very slowly relative to other objects nearby. You can sense how large an object is, what its general shape is, how massive it is, how fast it is moving, and in what direction, but you cannot determine the exact shape or material makeup of the object.
You get a sense of the entire material makeup of the area within your range. The key here is density; you can sense areas of increased density (solids or liquids) and distinguish them from areas of decreased density (gases or vacuum). You can still sense how large an object is and how massive it is, as long as it is of relatively consistent density -- if a machine has light materials interlinked with heavy materials, for instance, it might be difficult to tell whether these are parts of the same device. You still cannot sense the exact material makeup of the object, but you can detect the shape and internal structure of things with three-dimensional clarity.
You can sense energy that is changing, such as electromagnetic waves, electric currents, chemical and nuclear reactions, energy weapons fire, alien energy beings, etc. You can determine the type and magnitude of the energy as well as how fast it is changing. Marginal success on the die roll usually means you have little experience with the type of energy you have just detected, so you aren't sure exactly what you're sensing.
You can determine the exact material makeup of objects within your range, moving or stationary. This level of ESP mastery gives you all the benefits of sight and more, for you can sense without light what color an object would be if you could see it, for example. The chemical makeup of substances becomes clear to you (though it may mean nothing to you without any Knowledge: Science), and even the isotope of an element can be known (which could be important, since some isotopes are radioactive).
A psi with the ability to use this Effect may use it alone to gain Line of Sight.
This allows you to sense potential energy, such as the chemical potential energy stored in batteries (or bombs), the mechanical potential energy stored in springs, the gravitational potential energy of masses in space, the electrical potential energy stored in a capacitor, etc. It is awfully difficult to hide something from an ESP practitioner with this level of skill.
You can catch glimpses of future events. Authorities differ about whether you actually sense the patterns of matter and energy as they exist in the future or whether you use your psi to so finely attune your mind to the movements of matter and energy around you that your superhuman intuitive ability can predict how events will develop in the nearby universe. This talent doesn't appear at all in the Schmitz stories; it appears mostly by my own interpretation, but I justify it by citing "Undercurrents," in which a Psychology Service official includes fortune tellers in a list of psis.
The description of this Field's Effects are necessarily vague, because depending on how the die roll goes the GM may have to come up with an accurate statement about future events, events that may be changed by players' actions. The character using this Field may or may not realize this, but it is the truth: even good predictions can go wrong, because the choices made by sentient beings are not always predictable.
To use any of these Fields, you must focus on a person, location or object (Line of Sight is therefore required, in a sense, for this Field), although you may focus on yourself. Spend the requisite number of Psi points and roll d20 + twice your Precognition level plus your Wisdom modifier, DC 15. The degree of success you get determines how detailed your Precognition will be.
Spontaneous Precognition: A psi with Precognition might suddenly "have a feeling" about something (a person she bumps into or speaks with, a location she visits, an object she touches) without warning. In game terms the GM may tell you from time to time that you have an opportunity to spontaneously use Precognition and which Effect, and you may make the decision to pay attention to the "feeling" or to ignore it. If you choose to listen, you spend the Psi points and roll as usual (whatever triggered the spontaneous Precognition becomes the focus), and the GM gives you the information. At any other time you may attempt to use Precognition as you would any other psi Field.
You get the feeling that there is some action that must be taken (or not taken, as the case may be) or dire circumstances will result. Don't go down in the basement, the advice might be, or be sure to take your laser pistol with you this morning.
This is, in a way, the positive flipside to Premonition. You feel either a subtle desire to perform some action or a subtle aversion to performing some action; heeding this Advice will result in some benefit for you, although failing to heed it will not necessarily cause you harm. Buy a lottery ticket. Don't ignore that homeless beggar.
In a way, this is like the combination of Premonition and Advice. You are informed of an upcoming choice which will affect your life in some important way depending on what you choose. The person, location or object you focus on will be involved in some way. Marginal success tells you how soon it will be, greater success tells you generally what the choice is about, even greater success tells you something about the possible futures, and yet greater success gives more detail. This man will soon offer you a business deal; taking it will make you rich but will endanger your life.
You get a mental snapshot of some future important instant in time. You have a chance to study the image before it fades, remembering the people, objects and location, but of course the context is not necessarily clear. The focus you chose (person, location or object) will be involved in some important way. The greater your success on the die roll, in general, the more detail you can glean. You see the ring you're holding, but it is on the hand of a woman who is giving a credit chip to that man who tried to kill you and thinks he succeeded.
You get a clear view of some future sequence of events. This is a bit hard on the GM, but you are able to see, hear and possibly smell the surroundings as if you were there incorporeally. You might hear people talking, for example, or see an object changing hands. Again, more success means more detail. As with all Precognition Effects, the person, location or object you have focused on will be involved in the Vision in some important way. GM: if the events in question involve only non-player characters, your life will be much easier.
Split PSaT between: Mass, Acceleration
You have the ability to exert forces on objects using your mind alone. Line of Sight is required (note that you need either precise ESP or imaging technology to improve your perception for tiny or microscopic work). Telekinesis is not mentioned at all in Schmitz' books, but it is a common enough psionic power in science fiction that I just had to include it.
Your Psi rating (at target) tells you how much force you can apply. How? Look at the mass table above and this acceleration table below. You may split your Psi strength at target between the two tables -- a score of 5 can let you accelerate a book with mass 1 kg (3 on the mass table) at 10 cm/s^2, a rate roughly comparable to a locomotive (2 on the acceleration table), or a coin with mass 10 g (1 on the mass table) at 10 m/s^2, a rate comparable to a fast groundcar or acceleration due to Earth standard gravity (4 on the acceleration table). Now, if you keep accelerating something in one direction, it can reach practically any speed, as long as it stays in range, and remember that your psi signal strength at target will decrease as it gets farther from you, which will probably drive your GM to estimate rather than solve the irritating physics problems that we're trying to avoid by using this simple table-based method.
Enormous amounts of physics knowledge are not necessary to understand how all this works if you remember three basic things: (1) acceleration is just a change in motion: speed up, slow down or change direction, (2) the presence of gravity will help you if you're trying to push things downward and hinder you if you're trying to push them upward, and (3) the story is what's really important, not the physics.
Using this Field's Effects costs at least 1 Psi point per round. You may "burn" more than 1 Psi point (see "Burning Psi Points" above); for each additional point you spend, your PSaT goes up by one, and you add one to the number of points you are allowed to split between the mass and acceleration tables.
| Psi score | Acceleration | Rough Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 cm/s^2 | Zero to 60 in an hour; may be canceled out by friction |
| 2 | 10 cm/s^2 | Locomotive; zero to 60 mph in 5 minutes |
| 3 | 1 m/s^2 | Zero to 60 mph in 30 seconds |
| 4 | 10 m/s^2 | Groundcar; standard Earth gravity; zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds |
| 5 | 100 m/s^2 | 10 Gs; jet aircraft or rocket engine |
| 6 | 1 km/s^2 | |
| 7 | 10 km/s^2 | Bullet |
No success roll is necessary except in the case that a being is trying to evade your mental grasp; they can attempt to avoid it by making a Reflex save vs. a DC that is based on your Telekinesis skill (suggestion: 10 + twice your Telekinesis level + your Intelligence modifier). Your telekinetic grasp on your target remains in force as long as you concentrate. The number of levels you have in Telekinesis determines your skill level:
Split PSaT between: Mass, Time Required
You are able to convert an amount of one type of matter to another type of matter with equal mass. This psionic ability may or may not be my own invention, but in any case does not exist in Schmitz' Hub stories.
Line of Sight is required. Your Psi score limits the maximum amount of mass you can affect; see the Mass table above. However, you must make a die roll (d20 + twice Transmutation level + Int mod; DC varies); failure means the task eludes you. Rolling 1 results in ruination of one sort or another, such as accidentally transforming the target into a noxious gas or an unconfined liquid.
Split PSaT between: Mass, Distance
You are able to cause material objects to instantaneously move from one place to another without occupying the intervening space. Teleportation appears in "Sleep No More," "The Lion Game," and "Glory Day."
Line of Sight is required for both the target and the destination, which must both be within your range. As with Telekinesis, you must split your psi signal strength at target between mass and distance (see the appropriate tables).
Success is determined by a roll of d20 + twice your Teleportation level plus your Intelligence modifier, DC 15. Simple failure means you have completely missed the target, or have sent the target to an inaccurate but not instantly destructive destination.
The object's destination is a volume of space of the same size and shape as the object, which may contain molecules of liquid or gas or tiny drifting particles of solid matter (these are shunted aside when the Teleportation phenomenon occurs) but no large chunks of solid matter. Teleporting into a big box of sand doesn't work either, despite the fact that the sand grains are tiny. GM, use common sense here.
While the intricacies of transporting your own body (which does, after all, contain the source of the psi energy doing the transporting) elude you, you can transport a single object that is not attached to anything. Rules lawyers will notice, I'm sure, that these terms are open to interpretation. The GM is the final arbiter of the meanings of these terms. The guideline is that teleportation cannot break molecular bonds at this level of skill.
This allows multiple objects to be teleported, although the total mass must still be covered by the row in the mass table you are using. The objects must end up arranged in the same distribution pattern as they began, though this pattern may be rotated.
You have the ability to teleport yourself. Combined with ESP this can mean that there are few places that you cannot get into.
You are no longer restricted to transporting objects into the same positions relative to each other that they had to begin with. If this does not seem like a significant increase, consider that you can now teleport two people who were not together into the same room with you at the same time at up to half the psi point cost, or transport two largish chunks of uranium into close contact with each other, preferably some distance from you.
At this level of mastery you can break molecular bonds as you teleport. This means you can shear aircars in half or kill with a thought by transporting a target's heart one meter to the left. You are an extremely dangerous individual. Get over it, though, because even level 1 can let you teleport a target 100 meters into the air.
Split PSaT between: Mass, Time
You are able to temporarily create objects, bending quantum mechanics to your will. You can cheat, but you can't win: the more mass you manifest, the less time it will last before vanishing back into the cosmic background. Manifestation does not appear in any of the Hub stories and, like Transmutation, may be my own invention.
As with Teleportation, the object cannot appear in a space occupied by solid matter. As with Telekinesis, you must split your psi signal strength (at target) between the mass table and the time table above.
Once the object appears, it is indistinguishable from ordinary matter, and its existence does not depend on your psi energy from then until its disappearance -- so if a psi block is activated between you and the object, or if the object moves out of your range, it continues to exist as long as its time limit has not been reached. This also means that you cannot dismiss the object at will; until its time limit is reached, the object is just like any other object.
No roll is required if you just want to create a haphazard lump of matter of your choice ... a lump of gold or a blob of water is no problem. If you want a particular shape, such as a bar of gold or water that fits in the glass you have in your hand, you're going to have to make a roll. (If you drink that water, I wonder what happens when it disappears.)
Using this Field requires at least 1 Psi point; each additional Psi point you spend results in one additional point to spend on either mass or time, as it increases your PSaT by one.
Anything you have created with Manifestation you (and only you) can dismiss as long as it is within your range (i.e. as long as your PSaT is at least 1 there).
What you create is always at the ambient temperature.
Your skill level in Manifestation reflects the complexity of the objects you are able to create:
Pretty simple -- you can create an amount of any of the chemical elements. The base DC for rolls is 10, though the GM may vary this if you're trying to create a solid-gold perfect copy of Michelangelo's David.
Now you can create anything as long as it's made of one given chemical compound. The base DC is 12.
You have the skill to create mixtures -- basically meaning that you can now create a chunk of any homogeneous substance. The base DC is 14.
This Effect almost always requires a die roll. What you are doing here is creating an object composed of more than one type of matter. Examples are a glass plus the water inside, a chocolate bar with caramel inside, or a rubber tire with an internal steel belt.
With this level of mastery you can make more or less anything, as long as you have knowledge of how it's put together (a Knowledge roll might be necessary). Since you're bringing it into being out of your mind, the only detail you're going to get is the detail you know about. If you don't know how a machine works, all you might wind up with is a lump of metal that looks all right on the outside and has the right mass, but doesn't work. Of course, that might be all you need in the situation.
You can't create living matter, technically -- what you end up with is effectively a plant/animal that has just died, because you can create the matter but you can't start its processes. You also can't create a microchip with predetermined data contents.
Split PSaT between: Mass, Intensity
You can cause spontaneous generation of heat energy in objects. Psis with this ability, called "pyrotics," are mentioned in "Glory Day," but they are mostly off-camera.
Your Psi rating reflects the rate of energy transfer; your skill level in Pyrokinesis reflects the precision of your attempt. [Note to me: reassign the skill levels, and determine Psi point costs]
Split PSaT between: Frequency, Intensity
You are able to create electromagnetic fields and radiation by agitating the electrons in matter. Ergokinesis does not appear in any of the Schmitz stories and may be my own invention.
Your Psi score reflects how intense the radiation can be and its frequency; you split your PSaT between the intensity and frequency tables. Your skill level in Ergokinesis reflects how complex you can make the energy patterns.
Like the light from a light bulb, the radiation you produce is emitted in all directions from a point source located anywhere within both your range and your Line of Sight. The frequencies of the radiation are also distributed over a rather wide band (e.g. white light rather than a single color). Still, this can be very useful for illumination in the case of light, or for jamming signals in the case of radio or microwave radiation.
Frequencies are still spread over a band, but the radiation is now emitted in any direction you choose from the point source. The beam spreads, however, and loses intensity with distance quickly.
Speaking basically, you can now send signals using your created radiation as a carrier wave. You are your own radio station. Any sound you can imagine, you can broadcast on the carrier wave. You can narrow the frequency to some degree, also, but not to the point of having a laser. That's level 4.
What you have now is a laser. Your coherent, narrow-band directed beam will spread very, very slowly, for one thing, and it is much better at doing damage to matter, for another. Your beam isn't necessarily visible, either; infrared and UV lasers are perfectly possible and just as useful. With the abilities above, you could produce a communications laser.
At this point you have so much control over radiation that you can create very complex patterns; in visible light you can produce laser light shows, visible images or even holograms. You can burn your initials on the Moon. What can I say?
You are able to augment your physical prowess with the power of your mind. This eighteenth Field does not appear in any of Schmitz's stories and is my own addition to the millieu.
You can use mind over matter to perform seemingly impossible physical feats. This Effect allows you to spend as many psi points as you wish (and have left) and add them to your physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and/or Constitution) for one scene, dividing them as you wish (spending four points, you may choose to increase your Strength modifier by one, your Dexterity modifier by one, and your Stamina modifier by two, for example).
You are able to speed up your perceptions and your body so that everything else seems to be moving in slow motion. Think Matrix here. The number of Psi points you spend indicates the number of extra actions you may take this turn as a result of your preternatural quickness. This is a free action, meaning that you can activate this Effect and take your second action in the same round. However, you must wait for your turn to arrive in the initiative order before you can activate it.
The strength of your will forms a tough shell just outside the surface of your skin. It functions like body armor, increasting your Armor Class by an amount equal to the number of Psi points you spent.
By putting a limited type of psi structure on your melee weapon, you can make its edge extra-sharp or its swing extra-forceful. Each Psi point you spend increases the number of hit points of damage done by the melee weapon by one (one point spent equals one extra damage roll, for example, as if you had gotten a x2 critical hit). The effect lasts for a scene.
You can use a form of Telekinesis on yourself to impel your body with paranormal motive force. Think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Xena, Warrior Princess here. You can reduce your weight to nothing and jump great distances or flying-kick an enemy multiple times without recoil. You could also flying-tackle your opponent into a wall that he is nowhere near, although the distance might allow the opponent an attack during the travel time. This would also make you a much more effective fighter in reduced or zero gravity. This Effect allows for a great deal of creativity, and the GM must think on his/her feet when it comes into play.