Psionics Catalogue

==> Psionic Powers Overview

“Certainly not magic, that’s fake obviously.”

Psionic powers are means by which characters can influence or alter the world around them, often through the power of their mind.

Each psionic power is split into several subpowers, which is a specific use of that power, with varying costs and casting times. Knowing a subpower confers knowledge of all abilities listed in that subpower’s name. The power itself sets the range, hands used, and any special properties, while the costs, damage dice, and individual effects are stated in the ability used.

• Every power also comes with an affinity, which is a set of baseline abilities known to everyone who knows any subpower from that power. If you know a subpower from a power by any means, like Steps from PnP, you know the affinity too.
• Some subpowers don’t belong to any power, such as those in Steps from PnP. Subpowers learned this way don’t count as knowing the power itself for the purposes of picking up more subpowers at higher levels.

Psionics uses a resource called slots, which come in lesser and greater varieties. Powerful versions of psionic subpowers will require slots to use. Subpowers can be at-will, which require no slots, or channeled, which requires prolonged time and attention to cast.

You can track how many slots you currently have with the Resources boxes on your character sheet.

Psions and hybrids (sorry martials) gain slots according to the chart below:

Developer’s note (3/10/20): Besides the name changes, the mechanics of psionic powers themselves haven’t changed.

Note (4/3/20): And the versatile stat options. That too.

Psionics uses a stat, and has a corresponding skill. This stat is chosen at character creation:

• Intelligence has Occult as its psionic skill.
• Wisdom has Sanity as its psionic skill.
• Charisma has Performance as its psionic skill.
• Strength has Athletics as its psionic skill, but psionic powers have their range halved.

When you use a power, you specify the subpower used. If the subpower has multiple actions listed, you also pick one of those actions to use. If the subpower is an attack, you use your psionic casting modifier (or PCM) for the stat mod, and it will specify if you roll against the target’s AC or a resistance to successfully hit the target. The subpower will also specify its action cost, often being just a major action.

If you expend a slot to use a subpower and it is unsuccessful, the slot is still expended.

If a subpower has a casting time beyond a full-round action, like channeling, it requires a major action to be used every turn to continue casting to completion, or the subpower fails with no effects. The power has no effect unless the cast is completed, but no slots are expended until the cast completes as well.

Your choice of psionic casting stat (PCS) also comes with a psionic skill. Just like any other skill check, a psionic skill check is made when you want to perform some sort of action whose outcome is uncertain, but the action involves leveraging your psionic capabilities in some way other than what is given.

• For example, Lift from Telekinesis allows you to lift objects with a specified weight limit, but does not specify precision; the SM might choose to call for a psionic skill check where this is tested.

A psionic power usually requires one or two free hands. Those requirements are waived if the caster is using those hand(s) to hold a psionic focus, an item chosen at character creation that the character uses to focus their powers. A psionic focus provides a means for a psionic character to upgrade their powers through alchemy. Your focus may be any object that makes thematic sense, except that it may not also be a weapon or armor.

Just like strife specibi, psionic powers can be one-handed, two-handed, or versatile, and unlike them, not require any hands. Versatile subpowers have +1 die size if cast with both hands, unless the subpower is a combo attack (see below).

And just like strife specibi, some subpowers can have the combo property, allowing you to cast a combo subpower as a major action, then another as a minor action. This minor action attack’s damage roll doesn’t add any listed stat mods to damage.

• If you make two subpower combo attacks, you must do so with both hands free to use the power (or powers, if you roll that way). However, the damage from combo subpowers ignore the +1 die size for wielding a versatile power with both hands.
• You can mix abilitech and subpower combo attacks together, just have a combo weapon in one hand and the other hand available to use the combo subpower.
• If you expend a slot to perform a combo attack as a major action, you may make the minor action combo attack without expending a second slot, though it may still count as a slotted version for the purposes of Steps and other effects.

Similarly, some subpowers can have the crush property, requiring the target to be grappled by you to use it against them. However, crush subpowers typically use a minor action instead of a major action, and sometimes do not roll to hit, inflicting damage directly.

• When using a crush subpower, you can count any hands used to maintain the grapple as free for the purposes of having hands available to cast that crush subpower.

Certain subpowers can summon minions which act on behalf of their summoner. Minions summoned through psionics always count as allies for the purposes of Steps and other effects that benefit allies.

• Unlike specibus minions, they never benefit from Steps and other benefits that affect you, only if they specify allies or minions.
• Any subpower that summons a minion also specifies a duration for the minion. If a psionic minion is reduced to 0 HP, the duration is unaffected and continues normally, while the minion can be resummoned at full HP with a major action (without a slot cost).
  • This resummoning can be done without the minion reaching 0 HP, such as restoring damaged minions after a strife.

And again just like strife specibi, subpowers’ damage (the powers that have damaging subpowers, at any rate) follow the same range of dice sizes: d2, d3, d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, then 2d8, 2d10, 2d12.

• If a damage die size needs to exceed 2d12, you instead add 2P or your Level, of your choice, to the damage roll instead.
  • For example, +2 die sizes to a d6 would become d10, for Pd10+PCM, +2 die sizes to a d10 would become 2d8, for 2Qd8+PCM.
  • Whereas +1 die size to 2Pd12+PCM would become 2Pd12+PCM+2P or 2Qd12+PCM+Level.
  • And +2 die sizes to 2Qd12+STR would become 2Pd12+PCM+2P+2P or 2Qd12+STR+Level+Level.
  • Or 2Qd12+STR+Level+2P, whatever floats your boat.
  • If a damage die size ever needs to reduce below d2, you instead subtract P from the damage roll instead.
• The range goes 2d2, 2d3, 2d4, 2d6, then 2d8, 2d10, 2d12 as normal, for some subpowers (typically greater slots) whose damage dice don’t fall in the scale above.
• If the subpower lists it as flat damage (such as P or 2P), you instead add +P to the damage dealt for each time you would raise the die size.
• Any die sizes bonuses only apply to the base damage roll, not any bonus damage added to the initial roll, unless the Step or other effect that adds the bonus specifies as such. Typically, they will specify that it counts as an abilitech and/or subpower.
  • The Empower condition is also included in this delineation.

All psionic powers which are not attacks require line of sight to their target, unless specified otherwise. Psionic attacks are subject to the same difficulties as normal attacks when they can’t see their target.

• Some enemies may carry psionic foci themselves, or accessories they require to cast some of their abilities. Stealing, destroying, or otherwise depriving them of these accessories can lock down enemy psions.
• If a psionic power has an area of effect, you can place it anywhere as long as the center of the area is within range. If it is a line or a cone, it must be drawn from you.

Developer’s Note (3/10/20): This part was taken straight from the 2e handbook, since again, all the rules still apply.

==> List of Powers

“How does being a vegan give you psychic powers?”

See individual powers:

• Antipsionics
• Assist
• Beast Control
• Cryokinesis
• Dominating Mind Control
• Electrokinesis
• Empathic Mind Control
• Enchant
• Eyebeams
• Illusion
• Pyrokinesis
• Radionics
• Telekinesis
• Whispers