Psionics

This chapter covers the ability to manipulate the forces of the mind for extraordinary effects. The Psionics skills are available only to characters with the Psionics Extranormal attribute.

An extensive, though finite, list of individual psychic skills is provided herein. While many psychics have only one strong psychic talent, and most will have no more than a few such talents, characters may select and develop as many of these skills as they desire and the gamemaster will allow. Remember that the list herein is not all-inclusive. Game Masters should feel free to develop other psychic skills for use in their campaigns.

Obtaining Access to Psionics

There are only two ways for a player’s character to get psionic abilities. The first is to put dice in the Psionics attribute and skills at character creation, which costs the same as obtaining other attributes.

The other way is to obtain the Game Master’s permission after play has begun. If the player can come up with a “reason” for the character to learn or gain psionic abilities (such as they were latent or were acquired through a strange accident) and the Game Master agrees, then the player’s character may get them. The cost to get the initial 1D in Psionics is 20 Character Points. After that, it is 10 times the number in front of the “D” to improve this attribute by one pip. Players must still purchase Psionics skill pips separately. If appropriate for the reason that the character got the ability (such as having a teacher open latent talents), a character may learn one pip in one skill (or more, with the Game Master’s permission) when the character first purchases Psionics after character creation.

Game Masters are discouraged from allowing characters to have multiple Extranormal abilities, but it is possible, especially if the character has several Disadvantages that show up frequently in each session.

Learning and Improving Psionics Skills

Psionics skills may be learned between adventures, like regular skills. It is even possible to specialize in a certain area of an Psionics skill, if the concept is well-explained and the Game Master approves.

The cost for a Psionics skill, in Character Points, equals twice the normal cost for gaining or improving a normal skill. This cost is doubled again if a teacher — simply another psionic with the skill at a higher level — is not available to instruct the character. A character may learn or improve one Psionics skill after each adventure.

Using and Resisting Psionics

The character rolls a skill attempt (the activation roll) and if she beats the difficulty set by the Game Master, she succeeds with all the concomitant benefits. To continue using the skill, some skills allow a maintenance roll, at a lower difficulty than the activation roll, while others require that the psychic to re-activate the ability.

Psionicists can push their Psionics attempts when times are rough, using Character Points and Fate Points; perform Psionics actions while multitasking (unless they have to go into a trance); and anything else one might expect for any standard skill.

A target can actively resist a Psionics skill attempt, assuming the target is aware of it. See the “Mental Defenses” sidebar in the “Example Skill Difficulties” chapter for more details.

Backlash Option

At the Game Master’s option, characters who roll a Critical Failure with an abysmally small total become disoriented and lose all of their actions in the next round.

Delay

Few characters can use their psychic abilities repeatedly in a short period. Should the character fail an attempt, the difference between the difficulty and the skill roll becomes the time in minutes before the psionicist can use that skill again. Delay is always a minimum of one minute, and it’s measured from the moment a psionicist quits using his talent to the time he can try once more. If it involved a Critical Failure, that is the number of minutes before the character may employ that Psionics skill at all. This makes it difficult for a character to give someone the evil eye more than once during a combat, or to read the minds of everyone in a meeting over the course of a few minutes.

Game Masters may opt to ignore this rule, but there should be some penalty for overusing the psychic ability, such as automatic feedback or increasing difficulties.

Psionics Modifiers

Difficulties and modifiers specific to each psychic skill are included in each description. These generic and optional modifiers can further affect the difficulty, generally trading a negative effect on the character for a lower difficulty or a higher skill total. Note that none of these modifiers are required to use any Psionics skill, but they can help.

Community: Unless the Game Master rules otherwise, psychic characters may help each other, using the game mechanics in the “Related Skills” section in the “Game Basics” chapter as guidelines.

Components, Incantations, and Gestures: Psychic talents only require the power of the brain, although a person can have a psychological dependency on a certain sort of item to use his gift more effectively. A dowser, for example, could require a dowsing rod to do his work. Someone else might feel a need to have a crystal ball or read tea leaves or rub a lucky rabbit’s foot. This is a psychological crutch, which can be reflected in the character concept as the Advantage Flaw (R3): Minor Stigma Disadvantage, but it has no bearing on the difficulty of the psychic attempt. Nonetheless, Game Masters may allow a modifier to the Psionics skill total modifier per type of additional part. There is a limit of one component, one incantation, and one gesture per skill attempt. See the accompanying charts for the skill modifiers. This can be combined with a concentration modifier.

Components

Component is… Skill Modifier
Ordinary, easily obtained (rock, dirt, tree branch) 1
Very common, easily purchased or traded for (match, wooden board, candle) 2
Common, but must be purchased for reasonable cost (lighter, inexpensive clothing, oil, incense) 3
Uncommon (rare in some places, common in others) (gun, computer chip, prescription medicine) 4
Very rare (rare in most places or expensive) (valuable gem, precious metal, rare drug, exotic herb) 5
Extremely rare (near-priceless gem, uranium, plutonium) 6
Unique (King Tut’s burial mask, a prototype weapon) 7

Gestures

Complexity Skill Modifier
Simple (point finger, toss herbs, flip switch, etc.) 1
Fairly simple (make circles with finger, etc.) 2
Complex (action difficulty 11) 3
Very complex (action difficulty 15) 4
Extremely complex (action difficulty 19) 5
Challenging and extremely complex (action difficulty 23) 6
Also will offend most seeing it 1

Incantations

Complexity Skill Modifier
A few words or sounds 1
A complete sentence 2
A complex incantation (artist difficulty 11) 3
Litany (artist difficulty 15) 4
Complex formula (artist difficulty 19) 5
Extensive, complex elements (artist difficulty 23) 6
Also in a foreign tongue and character must have one pip in that language specialization 1
Also must say it very loudly 1
Also will offend most hearing it 1

Concentration: The character spends time preparing herself before releasing her psionic ability. For each round in which the character concentrates strictly on her upcoming action (with or without performing related incantations or gestures), the player may add a bonus of +1 to the activation total or the first maintenance total, or split between both (the bonus must be split as whole numbers). Additionally, add the number of rounds in concentration to 6 to get the willpower difficulty, modified by the distractions listed in the chart on the next page, which the character rolls at the end of the concentration time. If the character fails the willpower roll, the psychic attempt fails. A Critical Failure on the willpower roll indicates that the psionicist takes any feedback associated with the skill use, even though it didn’t work.

Example: Four rounds of concentration gives a +4 bonus with a willpower difficulty of 10.

The player must specify, before having her character concentrate, which Psionics skill the bonus will affect and how it will affect that skill. The bonus cannot be transferred to another skill.

Concentration Distractions

Level of Distraction Modifier*
Completely isolated chamber -2
Isolated, but some distractions (trees, birds chirping, pictures, white noise) 0
On a park bench, with a few passers-by 4
In a room with a few other people who are being quiet 6
Alone in a booth at a sparsely filled restaurant 8
Alone at a table in the middle of a sparsely filled restaurant 12
Alone at a booth in at a busy hour, in a telephone booth, with many people passing by 14
At a restaurant booth with a few other people who are being quiet 16
Packed ballroom 18
*Modifier to willpower difficulty.

Countenance: Psionicists’ bodies can undergo changes due to side effects of their psionic talents. Some go pale or even blue with a lack of blood flow to their skin, others shake uncontrollably or foam at the mouth, still others get bulging eyes or swollen lolling tongues. The physical shell can react in unpredictable ways to the effects of extrasensory perception. The corresponding chart lists modifiers to the Psionics skill difficulty.

Nothing unreal can happen here: eyes can’t glow red, or flames billow forth from someone’s nostrils, except as a psychic illusion that only the victim can see. The drawback to an illusion is that, no matter what the victim’s perceptions and predispositions were before the fact, after the image is seen, the victim is forever firmly convinced that the psychic is an inhuman monster. Only those already endowed with a psychic or magic ability can accept that image for what it truly is.

Countenance

Change in Appearance Difficulty Modifier
Noticeable (gray pallor, foaming) -1
Extreme (convulsions, psychic image) -2

Feedback: For every -2 to her damage resistance total, the character receives a +1 to the Psionics skill total. Neither protective gear nor any type of Special Ability may defend against feedback. The damage resistance modifier drops at a rate of one-half of a roll of the character’s Physique per day, with the decrease occurring at the beginning of a new day.

Link to Target: When an astral form, empath, or telepath wishes to seek out a specific person, the relationship to that person can affect how easy it is to get in touch with the person. Include the Link to Target Psionics skill total modifier when using the relevant skill (see accompanying table). Note that this is different than an astral anchor in that the character and her target need not have been in recent contact. The Game Master can also use these modifiers for honing in on specific items (as with far-sensing) or extending the range of certain skills that otherwise have a limited range (such as strike or healing).

Link to Target

Relationship Years Known Skill Modifier
Constant influence (parents, grandparents, spouse, old friends) 10+ years 5
Recent influence (friends, roommates, old enemies) 5–10 years 3
Newer influence (friends, acquaintances) 1–5 years 2
Sporadic influence (on-and-off relationships) variable 2
New acquaintances 2–6 months 0
New faces/only just met, but have talked for a while (like at a party) -2
Personal sight and name recognition (have met in person briefly) -3
Distant sight and name recognition (like celebrities never met in person) -5
Only a name or only a face -8
Complete strangers and not of the same species -12

Physical Contact: Close proximity to the target can enhance the Psionics use. Physical contact requires a successful grab attempt for an unwilling or moving target and no special action for a willing or inanimate target. Physical contact with living beings adds 2 to the Psionics skill total and +1 to the skill total for nonliving things.

Range: Unless otherwise noted in the skill’s description, use this chart to determine the maximum distance to which the ability can reach. Ranges are given in kilometers. For every +1 added to the skill difficulty, the range may be increased by one kilometer.

Skill Adds* Max Range
0-2 pips 4
1D 10
2D 15
2D+1 25
2D+2 40
3D 60
For every +1 pip beyond +3D, add another 60 kilometers to the range.

*To determine the number of skill adds, subtract the Psionics die code from the skill die code.

Line of Sight Note: Line of sight for a Human is generally a few kilometers, though it can be longer or shorter depending on the size of the object and what’s between the character and the target.

Reception: The psychic allows the target to be aware (to some extent) that he is being messed with. The corresponding chart on the next page lists the modifier to the Psionics skill difficulty. Obviously, this does not apply to those dealing with dead or inanimate objects, but it is a perfect handicap for a telepath.

Basically, when the psionicist succeeds in penetrating the target’s mind, the target feels funny. It may be something as minor as an itch inside the ear, or the funny feeling you get that someone is watching you somewhere. It may be more direct, allowing the target to make a roll to realize his brain is being picked or even to identify the culprit psionicist.

Reception

Target… Difficulty Modifier
Gets a funny feeling -1
May make a Perception roll to realize what’s happening -2
May make an investigation roll to realize what’s happening -3
Automatically realizes what’s happening -4
Identifies the psychic automatically upon realization (in addition to other modifier) -1

Result Points: The result points (the difference between the spell casting roll and the spell difficulty) can help in a future attempt with that skill or by improving some application of the current use. Add one-half of the result points as the bonus to the maintenance roll, range, duration, or other appropriate feature. (Round fractions up.) The skill descriptions give some suggestions.

Speed: As most psychic talents are instantaneous in effect, a Psionics skill does not generally take more than one round for the victim to feel the effect. If a slower speed seems appropriate (forcing the character to “reach out” with her mind), the difficulty of the attempt is reduced by one for each additional round that it takes before the effect reaches the victim. After the initial skill activation, the psychic does not incur a multi-action penalty for using other skills in subsequent rounds between the Psionics skill use and its result.

Untrained: Many Psionics skills may be used (or rather, “experienced”) even if the character has no dice in the particular skill. As long as the character has at least one die in Psionics, the skills represent latent potential in the character — potential that may manifest spontaneously from time to time. Stressful situations may jolt the character from one realm into the next. All actions taken by a character untrained at the use of the Psionics skill are at +5 to the difficulty.

Psionics Skills

Astral Projection

Psychics with astral projection may leave their bodies behind, wandering the world in spirit form — travelling far more rapidly than possible while confined within their bodies.

Normally, the form travels from the psionic at a speed equal to the character’s fastest movement rate. It may pass through walls and people with no impediments. The psionic can see and possibly hear and smell (but not taste or touch) whatever is around the form. However, since the body is an empty vessel while the spirit is traveling, the character can sense nothing around her physical form and will need to be protected. A spirit that has no body to come home to becomes a ghost.

To send her spirit out of her body requires a Moderate astral projection activation roll and performing no other actions that round. To keep her spirit out of her body requires an Easy astral projection maintenance roll on subsequent rounds. Failing a roll means that the spirit automatically shoots back to the body.

How well the character can see (and do other things, listed herein) depends on the success level of the astral projection total when the psionic ability is first used — not when it is maintained.

If the character rolled exactly the difficulty number, then she may only perform simple actions (those that don’t require a skill total) while using the astral projection.

At one to five points over the difficulty, the character may perform search, investigation and other Knowledge and Perception actions that do not require tools or character interaction at her normal skill die code as a multi-action with maintaining the form.

At six to nine points over the difficulty, the astral projection may perform any action (as a multi-action with maintaining the form) except Psionics that does not need physical contact with another person or thing, such as whispering, charm, con, persuasion, dodge (if there is something that can hit the character), or running.

At 10 or more points over the difficulty, the character can do anything that she could normally do that does not involve physical contact or one of the senses the character is deprived of (taste and touch). This includes psionics that come from the astral projection. Any actions are also at a multi-action with maintaining the form. The character may also choose to appear solid, as long as the form doesn’t move rapidly, but this adds 9 to the maintenance difficulty per round.

The range of an astral projection depends on two things: (1) the skill adds of the character’s astral projection skill and (2) whether the character has an astral anchor or not. Use the “Psionics Range” chart to determine the range (without an anchor).

A character with an astral anchor can further increase the range. An astral anchor is a character (or creature) with whom the character has experienced telepathy or empathy (see their entries herein) within a time period in seconds equal to 50 times the psionic’s astral projection die code (ignoring the pips). For example, a character with an astral projection skill of 4D+1 would have a time frame of 200 seconds, or a little over 3.75 minutes in game time. During that time period, the character can project the astral form directly to that character no matter how far away he or she is. Range is ignored, and there is no movement between the two places — it is instantaneous.

The astral projection skill may even be maintained past the time limit of the last telepathy use, as long as the character continues to focus on the astral anchor. The projection cannot lose sight of the anchor for more than one round, or it returns to the body and contact is broken.

Empathy

This psychic skill allows the empathic character to sense the emotional state of those around him, to catalogue and identify strong emotions. This skill can be useful in negotiation.

The “Mental Defenses” sidebar in the “Example Skill Difficulties” chapter describes the difficulty to use this skill. Use the “Psionics Range” chart to determine the range. Reference the “Empathy and Telepathy” chart on the next page to figure out the depth of emotion the empath can determine from the target.

There are many conditions that modify the difficulty of tracking and identifying the emotions of a specific individual, especially when attempting to sense the emotions of one individual in the midst of a crowd. The accompanying chart provides some sample difficulty modifiers.

If the character succeeds in the empathy skill attempt, subtract the target’s resistance or the difficulty from the skill roll, and modify the next empathy skill total against that target by half of that number (rounded up). Once in touch with a target, it becomes easier to go back.

Characters may also use this skill in an attempt to sense strong emotions even days after the person experiencing the emotion has left the area. Strong emotions sometimes leave psychic echoes, and a skilled empath may pick up on these. This requires a Difficult skill total, with the difficulty number increased by +2 for every day that passed following the emotional release.

Empathy and Telepathy

Condition Difficulty Modifier
Target experiencing intense thoughts/emotions -3
User experiencing intense thoughts/emotions 3
Target alone -3
People within 15 meters of the target:
A few people 5
A group 10
A crowd 15
A horde 25
People within 15 meters of the user:
A few people 5
A group 10
A crowd 15
A horde 25
Target(s) not visible to the naked eye 1
Read surface thoughts/emotions 0
Read deeper thoughts/emotions 3
Broadcasting/influencing a single thought/emotion to:
A few people 15
A group 20
A crowd 25
A horde 35
Amount of Information Points Above Difficulty
Strongest emotion, strongest surface thought 0
Mixed strong emotions, several surface thoughts 1–5
Recent surface thoughts, plans for near future, mixed strong emotions 6-10
Detect and distinguish strong and subtle thoughts/emotions 11–15
Guarded thoughts/emotions, plans for farther future, basic idea of causes for thoughts/emotions 16–20
Deep secrets, more details on causes for thoughts/emotions 21
See also the interaction difficulty modifiers in the “Example Skill Difficulties” chapter.

Far-sensing

This ability allows the psychic character to use his senses at a range not normally possible, to hear, see, smell, taste, or feel what is happening in distant places. Activating the skill for one sense calls for a Moderate skill total. Maintaining the skill requires a Very Easy skill total in each consecutive round. For each additional sense, add 5 to the activation and the maintenance difficulties. Lower the activation and maintenance difficulties by 5 if a focus for the effort — such as a specific item or person known to the character — is present at the targeted location. Surrounding conditions may also affect what the character can perceive, from no modifier for an environment that does not hamper the senses in use to +20 for a completely restrictive environment, such as trying to employ sight in utter darkness.

Unlike with astral projection, the character is somewhat aware of things that are happening around his body. Any harmful actions made against the far-sensing character immediately recalls him to his physical surroundings. Use the “Psionics Range” chart to determine the range.

How much the character can sense depends on how well the player rolled. Reference the “Observation Difficulties” chart in the “Game Basics” chapter to decide how much information the character gleans from sending his senses out. The Game Master should consider the observation difficulty level as the maximum number of points over the difficulty that the character needs to get that amount of detail in that round. If the skill total equals the difficulty, the character only receives extremely distorted and almost unusable information from his sense or senses.

Healing

The character can soothe the injuries of herself and others. The healer may not give to a target more than his maximum Body Points or Wounds. A character may use this even on another already healed with the medicine skill.

The skill works automatically, but the character must be able to see or touch and be within a few meters of the target. Use the healing skill as if it were the medicine skill to determine how much the target recovers. See the “Healing” chapter for difficulties and results. Any general Psionics modifiers the character wishes to add that reduce the difficulty instead add to the character’s healing total.

If the psychic character rolls a Critical Failure, the healing skill instead does the skill total (with the Critical Failure and the highest roll taken away) in damage to the target. This damage may be resisted and healed in any way, though armor does not protect against it. With a sufficiently high total rolled, which includes a Critical Success on the Wild Die, the healer may regenerate lost body parts. Depending on the size of the missing part, the minimum total needed to regrow the part is anywhere from 25% to 90% (rounded up) of the target’s total Body Points or Wounds. (Take half of this total, rounded up, if the hero is only reattaching a limb.) The target gets the part back and 10% of the Body Point total generated with the skill or one Wound level. If the total is not met, the target either gets just the Body Points or Wound back or gets part of a limb and 25% of the Body Points total generated or the Wound level. This skill cannot bring dead people back to life.

Healing can be straining; the character must wait a number of seconds equal to the healing skill total before using the skill again. Thus, if the healer had a skill total of 5, the healer would have to wait five seconds, or one round, before using the skill again. The healer may reduce this time by taking a negative modifier to either her damage resistance total or the next healing skill total, at a rate of one point for each second by which the time is reduced. The damage resistance modifier to the healer is in addition to any taken from feedback, and it can only be recovered as per the feedback rules, described earlier in this chapter (protective gear, a Special Ability, or the protection skill cannot defend against it).

Medium

This skill allows the psychic to attempt to contact the spirits of the dead. This skill is not easy to use, for the dead do not enjoy being disturbed. Characters must make a Very Difficult skill roll to contact the spirit in question. Although one round devoted to this action is needed to activate the skill, no maintenance roll is required. Note that the first round does not count towards the concentration or preparation modifier. There is no range for this skill. The accompanying chart lists modifiers to the difficulty roll of the psychic character. Difficulty modifiers can be cumulative. By default, this skill simply allows a character to contact a spirit — and spend no time talking with it. A difficulty modifier can alter this length of time, while the level of success achieved on the roll increases how long the two may remain in communication. For every five points over the difficulty, the character may speak for one additional minute.

Refer to the “Information Difficulties” chart in the “Game Basics” chapter to figure out how much information the character can get from the spirit. The Game Master should consider the information difficulty level as the maximum number of points over the difficulty that the character needs to get that amount of information per minute spent with the spirit. If the skill total equals the difficulty, the medium only gets evasive answers, though something in them might be of some use.

Medium

Condition Difficulty Modifier
Psychic at former home of spirit or at place of death -3
Psychic has a possession of the spirit -2
Psychic knows spirit’s name -2
Spirit dead less than one year -2
Spirit was murdered 2
Spirit has been contacted previously (per contact) 2
Spirit dead for several years (for every 5 years in the past) 2
Increase communication time from base of 0 minutes (for every additional minute) 5

Protection

The character can defend herself and others against physical injury. The difficulty depends on the number of people the character wishes to defend, how far away the character wants the defense, and how long the character wants the psychic armor, shield, or bubble up. See the accompanying table for details. Any general Psionics modifiers the character wishes to add that reduce the difficulty instead add to the character’s protection total. The psychic armor offers an Armor Value equal to the protection skill die code against all types of damage, except those that directly target the mind. The player adds the result points bonus to the protection Armor Value.

Protection and Strike

Target Size Difficulty
Person, mailbox 5
Few people close to each other, car 10
Group, bus 15
Crowd, medium-size airplane 20
Horde, large yacht 30
Range Difficulty Modifier
Self 0
Up to a few meters 5
Up to half a kilometer 10
Up to a kilometer 15
Up to several kilometers 20
Duration of Defense Difficulty Modifier
2 rounds 0
Each additional round, up to one hour 1
Each additional hour (cumulative with round modifier) 1

Psychometry

This ability allows the character to sense information about a person, place, or event by looking at an object connected to it. This skill can be a useful tool in investigations. It requires a successful Moderate psychometry skill total to activate it. After initiating the skill, the psychic must focus on the object; concentrate on the desired location, event, or individual; and make another skill roll. The accompanying chart shows sample results for various focus skill totals.

The object must be within sight or touch of the psychometrician. The gamemaster should increase the activation difficulty for objects that aren’t in the same room as the character — the farther away, the higher the increase.

Psychometry

Result Skill Total
Receives vague, dreamlike impressions of recent activities involving strong emotions. 14
In addition to above, psychic receives a snapshot-quality image of the person most closely associated with the object. 16
Can register the gist of an event and the number of people involved. If concentrating on a person, can learn general information on the subject, like age, emotional state when person was last in possession of the object, personality, etc. 18
Can clearly visualize event, or the actions of the individual for the last 24 hours. 21
Psychic understands the context of all interactions at the event, or into the plans and motives of the person who was last in possession of the object. Also receives vague impression of owner’s location. 24

Strike

The character can cause others physical (not mental) harm, which might take the form of a searing blast or an ethereal sword. The difficulty depends on the number of targets or the size of the target, and the range. It may also include any other normal combat modifiers the Game Master wishes to add. See the accompanying table for details. All members of a targeted group must be within a meter of another member of that group. The amount of injury done equals a separate roll of the strike skill. The player adds the result points bonus to the damage total.

Telekinesis

This ability allows the character to move things with her mind simply by concentrating. This skill requires an Easy telekinesis skill roll to initiate, modified depending on what the character wants to do. The accompanying chart provides some suggested difficulty modifiers. To keep an object elevated necessitates a maintenance skill roll at one-half, rounded up, of the activation difficulty. To throw an object, the character first picks it up with telekinesis and then, as a multi-action or in the next round, she uses her throwing skill to direct the object at a target. The player may add the result points bonus from the telekinesis lifting attempt to either the throwing total or the damage total, as a reflection of an extra boost the character imparted to the object. The Game Master uses the object’s damage or another appropriate number to determine the harm done.

The object must be in the psychic’s line of sight (aided or unaided) for the psychic to pick it up, but need not remain in the line of sight afterwards. The “Psionics Range” chart the total of the distance from the character to the target plus the distance the character wants to move the target. For throwing purposes, consider anything over three meters but within line of sight (and a few kilometers) to be Short range, anything from line of sight to the base maximum given to be Medium range, and anything over that to be Long range.

Telekinesis

Action Difficulty Modifier
Levitate an item or group of tiny items 0
Levitate multiple items (per item) 4
Simple control of a small object (bend a spoon, flip a switch) 3
Fine control of a small object (type on a keyboard, pour a drink) 15
Small item (less than 5 kilograms) 0
Larger items (per 5 kilograms) 1

Telepathy

This skill grants the psychic the ability to read people’s minds. The “Mental Defenses” sidebar in the “Example Skill Difficulties” chapter describes the difficulty to use this skill. Modifiers are also included in the “Empathy and Telepathy” sidebar earlier in this chapter. Use the “Psionics Range” chart to determine the range. Refer to the “Empathy and Telepathy” chart to figure out how much information the character can get from the target.

Telepathy also can be employed to detect lies. The difficulty is the same as a normal telepathy attempt, but use the “Lie Detecting” sidebar to determine the results.

If the character succeeds in the telepathy skill attempt, subtract the target’s resistance or the difficulty from the skill roll, and modify the next telepathy skill total against that target by half of that number (rounded up). Once in touch with a target, it becomes easier to go back.

Lie Detecting

Points above Difficulty Result
0–10 Can detect outright lies (“I didn’t kill him.” The subject did.)
11–15 Can detect half-truths or omissions (“I didn’t kill him with that knife.” The subject didn’t use this particular knife, she used another one.)
16–20 Can weigh each fact for the truth (“He was threatening me, and I was afraid he was going to attack me.” The subject was actually intimidated only slightly by him, not afraid of an attack at all.)
21 Can figure out what really happened based on what the subject says.

 

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