Psionic Mutation
Powers
Alter Memory
α
• Prereq: None
Worse than reading an unwilling target’s mind is rearranging the memories inside. Most psis use it to make a guard forget they saw them or even remove a traumatic incident from a battle-scarred mind.
A Standard success can alter memories from within the last five minutes. Additional successes can affect earlier thoughts (see below).
The psi can implant false memories as well, but if an event is implausible, the victim gets a new chance to resist by making a willpower or Mind test against the psi’s telepathy. If successful, he sees the implanted memory for what it is. This may only be attempted once per memory.
See Clarity to recover altered memories.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi can alter memories from the last hour
- Outstanding: The psi can alter memories from the last week
Awareness
α
• Prereq: None
Awareness senses strong impressions of future danger, increasing her and her allies’ defenses while she maintains concentration . A success adds +1 to the psi’s physical defenses, and those of all her companions in range. It does not increase interaction defenses.
Success Levels:
- Good:The psi’s and allies’ physical defenses are increased by +2.
- Outstanding: As a Good result, plus the Range is increased to 20 meters.
Clairvoyance
α
• Prereq: None
Clairvoyance allows a psychic to see through another’s eyes. The psi must have line of sight to the target when the power is activated, but doesn’t need visibility to maintain the connection. With a standard success, the victim knows she’s being observed. Those unfamiliar with psionics may not understand that there’s a voyeur in their minds, but definitely know they’re being observed.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi can hear through the target’s ears
- Outstanding: The target doesn’t realize the power is active
Clarity
α
• Prereq: None
Clarity removes all harmful psionic influences from a subject, effectively acting as dispel magic for psychic effects. It can be used to eject a clairvoyant or mind controller, clear confusion, or restore altered memories.
Success Levels:
- Good: The recipient’s willpower increases by +2 for the next minute
- Outstanding: The recipient’s willpower increases by +4 for the next hour
Cloud Mind
α
• Prereq: None
Much like the old Shadow character from the pulp serials, a psi with this ability can alter others’ brainwaves so that she is essentially invisible.
Once activated, the character is unseen to the target or targets as long as she remains silent or doesn’t otherwise attract attention.
Anyone with reason to believe a hidden individual is present may make a willpower or Mind test as a simple action to detect them. The DN is the psi’s telepathy skill. If successful, the psionicist becomes visible to that particular target.
Success Levels:
- Good: Even if the psionicist is revealed, affected targets suffer a −4 visibility penalty against the character so long as the power is maintained
- Outstanding: The character cannot be seen by affected targets even if they realize she’s there. Attacks against her suffer a –6 penalty
Confusion
α
• Prereq: None
Confusion sends out a wave of psychic energy that confounds foes. The power targets enemies within a Large Blast Radius. Those who are affected suffer a -1 penalty to all actions.
Success Levels:
- Good: Those affected suffer a −2 penalty
- Outstanding: The victims are Vulnerable
as well
Copycat
α
• Prereq: None
When a psi needs to learn something in a hurry, she can simply take it from someone else’s mind! Copycat allows her to borrow a number of skill adds from a target, either willing or unwilling.
The psi must choose a target and the skill to be copied before making her telepathy roll. If the target doesn’t happen to have that skill, there’s no effect. A Standard success grants her one skill add and she is no longer considered unskilled.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi can copy up to 3 adds
- Outstanding: The psi can copy up to 5 adds
Energize
α
• Prereq: None
The psi builds up psychic energy and channels it through his nervous system, granting him increased Strength and Dexterity for the Duration of the power.
This ability is highly taxing, however. As soon as the power ends, the psi suffers 2 
and a −2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity for the next minute.
A Standard success increases Strength and Dexterity by +1.
Success Levels:
- Good: Strength and Dexterity increase +2
- Outstanding: Strength and Dexterity increase +2 and the psionicist doesn’t suffer a penalty after the duration ends
Foreshadow
α
• Prereq: None
The psychically sensitive witness constant possible futures. Sorting through them in a world rich in Possibilities is difficult, but occasionally useful—and life-saving—information can be gleaned.
If foreshadow is successful, the psi may look at the next three cards in the Drama Deck but may not rearrange them.
Success Levels:
- Good: The character may look at and rearrange the top three cards of the Drama Deck
- Outstanding: The character may look at and rearrange the top three cards. He may also discard one of them if he chooses
Mind Sense
α
• Prereq: None
Mind sense reveals the presence of any and all sapient creatures within the psi’s range. A basic success reveals the number of contacts and whether they are of human or animal intelligence. Additional successes increase the Range and the information provided. Subjects don’t need to be within line of sight, only within range.
Success Levels:
- Good: Range of 100 meters and the subject’s general status: excited, passive, or hostile
- Outstanding: The subjects’ general intentions or surface thoughts are detected as well. This includes any psionic potential or activity
Mend
α
• Prereq: None
Psionics with this power can increase their biological self-awareness to such a point that they can actually heal injuries they’ve suffered.
An hour of rest and a successful test of kinesis removes a 
. If the test is failed or the psi doesn’t heal all of her , she may simply try again, though each test requires the full hour.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi heals 2
- Outstanding: The psi heals 3
Psychic Shield
α
• Prereq: None
Psychic shield protects the psi and anyone else he chooses within a five-meter radius from psionic attacks. Psionic abilities attempting to affect the shielded minds suffer a –2 penalty.
Psychic shield only works against direct attacks or effects such as pyrokinesis or mind blast. It cannot stop a bench thrown with telekinesis from harming someone inside, but it does protect them from being grabbed by telekinesis itself.
Success Levels:
- Good: The penalty is increased to –4
- Outstanding: The penalty is increased to –6
Psychometry
α
• Prereq: None
The psychic can read strong emotions or mental images that cling to an object. She must handle the object and concentrate for a minute to get any impressions at all.
On a Standard success the psionicist sees images of how the object was generally used in the past. Note that this provides the combination for keypads or safes, and shows an unfamiliar psi how to use otherwise alien devices.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi sees images of any unusual or intense uses of the object, especially crimes
- Outstanding: The psi gains a clear picture of all the object’s notable owners, and how each used it
Pyrokinesis
α
• Prereq: None
Firestarters
cause the very air itself to burst into flame, and can channel it into destructive blasts.
The attack doesn’t suffer any Range penalties, but concealment, Multi-Targeting and the like are considered normally. If the kinesis total equals or exceeds the target’s dodge or Dexterity, he’s hit for 14 fire damage.
Success Levels:
- Good: +1
damage - Outstanding: +2 damage
Read Mind
α
• Prereq: None
All psis consider this an intrusive power and a violation of sentient rights. Whether one actually cares about that or not is another matter, and of course some Storm Knights may feel they have no choice in the most dire situations.
A Standard success detects surface thoughts and emotions, but the target knows something is happening. If he’s familiar with psionic powers, he knows his thoughts are being read. Only one read mind may be be attempted on a particular target per scene. Additionally, if the target is reality-rated they always know that someone is trying to read their mind and the test is a contest instead.
Successlevel:
- Good: Important memories are detected and the target doesn’t know he’s being scanned
- Outstanding: The target’s mind is an open book. If the target doesn’t know something, however, due to a repressed memory or even brain damage, the psi only picks up that something is missing
Strangle
α
• Prereq: None
Invisible but deadly, strangle is a frightening technique where a telekinetic squeezes blood vessels or organs inside a foe.
Victims of the attack suffer 2 .
Success Levels:
- Good: The attack causes 3
- Outstanding: The attack causes 4 and the target is Stymied
Telekinetic Barrier
α
• Prereq: None
The psionicist wards off incoming attacks with a barrier of raw telekinetic energy.
Successful activation adds +1 to all the caster’s defenses (dodge, melee combat, and unarmed combat). The bonus follows normal Stacking rules, so a character with an actual shield inside a telekinetic barrier benefits only from whichever is highest.
Success Levels:
- Good: The bonus is increased to +2
- Outstanding: The bonus is increased to +3
Telepathy
α
• Prereq: None
Sending and receiving thoughts is considered the most basic power of any officially trained psi, such as those who work for Core Earth’s government agencies.
A Standard success allows the psi to keep up to four other minds in contact as long as she continues to concentrate. It may not use the Multi-Target option.
The psi must be able to see those she wants to contact if they are unfamiliar to her.
Unconscious characters cannot be reached.
If the target is unwilling to be contacted via telepathy, the DN is his willpower or Mind instead. Even if communication is established with an unwilling target, it doesn’t allow the psi to read thoughts, only to communicate and hear thoughts intentionally projected by the target.
Success Levels:
- Good: The psi can connect up to 10 minds (including her own)
- Outstanding: The psi can connect up to 20 minds (including her own)