Detect Intrusion
Mystical
Basic
180 hours
Psionic
By making a Wits check, you can tell if a mind is being actively contacted via telepathy or other psychic skill. This works on your own mind or others. If the intruding mind mage is trying to hide her presence, a successful Wits challenge is needed to determine if the targeted mind is being read or otherwise influenced. As you are feeling for the signals going in & out, there is no saving throw against this skill, and there isn't much the targeted mind (not the other psychic) can do to prevent Detect Intrusion from being used. The range for this skill is touch, but stacks with Telepathy (including the Active & Passive upgrades), and may use those ranges instead. When stacked with Distinguished Telepathy that skill may also be used to determine the species of the intruder, and those possessing that skill can also recognise the scanning mind mage if they have had telepathic contact with her before.
Blood-Brain Barrier
Mystical
Apprentice
200 hours
Psionic
With your mind and body in harmony you can prevent telepathic skills from affecting you physically. An apprentice gets a +3 to any appropriate saving throws. The journeyman gets a retest against those saving throws, and the master adds a 50% resistance (or half damage & effect). Note that this skill offers no resistance to purely physical psychic talents such as telekinesis. It also does not in any way protect your mind itself. It only shields you against a telepathic attack that in turn causes a physical effect. As examples, it would aid against possession, or if a mind mage were causing brain haemorrhages or playing with your pituitary gland's thermostat. It would not stop a pyrokinetic from setting your hair on fire, and will not at all help you if a telekinetic pitches a large rock at your face.
Telempathy
Mystical
Basic
400 hours
Psionic
Broadcasting exactly how you feel to others is a talent that many people wish they have, but very rarely does someone wish that anyone else has. You can send your feelings into another person's mind--or everyone's mind--nearby, up to a couple hundred feet or so. Note that neither Empathy nor Telepathy are prerequisite skills; it is quite possible to have Telempathy alone. Emotional state (angry, sad, fearful, greedy), general impressions ("I don't like you" or "this tastes good"), and simple physical sensations (pain, coldness, or what their breath smells like) can be sent. You are limited to whatever emotions or other feelings you are experiencing at the time. You cannot, for example, broadcast feelings of violent hatred & the putrescence of sour milk as you walk through a restaurant just because you think it's funny. You could, however, think about doing so, then broadcast your resulting good mood to all of the eatery's patrons. To some extent, you must be currently experiencing whatever it is you want to send. The intensity of the feelings sent are directly related to how you are experiencing them yourself. It is possible to remember a painful situation and broadcast that, but the memory (and thus the sending) isn't likely to be quite so strong as it was the first time. That is, you could recall the time your puppy died, and inflict that sadness on everyone nearby. Those nearby won't know it's how you felt at nine years old when Scruffles got run over, they will only feel the sadness. Unless they are completely stupid, most people will readily recognise that someone is telempathically sending the emotions--the recipient is not feeling it themselves. They will not mistake your feelings for their own any more than you can say something and them think that they were the one that said it. So, no, you cannot make the guy who just stabbed you suffer the same shock penalty--you can make him feel the hurt just as much, but he will still know it comes from your gut. It might even make him feel proud of the cut... Emotions are contagious, however. One person's righteous indignation can rapidly spread through a crowd even without a psionic push. Trying to incense or calm a group of people can be greatly aided by using this skill, as they can share your hatred, feel your sincerity & tranquillity, or fully appreciate your disgust. It is possible to edit what feelings are broadcast, as well as their intensity levels. When trying to calm an angry mob, for example, you can choose not to broadcast your fear, turn down the volume on your prejudicial dislike, and keep your feeling of hope at maximum. You are limited in your edits much like sound in a mixing board: you can cut back or tweak, but not add or substantially change.
Psionic Strength Enhancement
Mystical
Basic
180 hours
Psionic
Requires: Telekinesis I
You can add the amount your mind can lift to the amount your body can. Any telekinetic can do this, but you are practised enough to do so without needing to roll. Trading fatigue for power is still possible.
Handsight
Mystical
Basic
400 hours
Psionic
This is a low-level clairvoyant skill. You can see what is a few inches away from your hands while blindfolded. You can also read the contents of a letter that has been folded & sealed within an envelope you are holding. It is possible to use any part of your skin for this skill, but as your brain is already wired for the hands to be more sensitive anyway, it is easier to use your hands & fingers for this skill. Handsight is still useful to see if your hair is straight without a mirror or to check for a 'kick me' sign on your back. A nice bonus with this skill is that you don't bump your shins against furniture in the dark while using it.
Clairaudience
Apprentice
800 hours
Psionic
This is the 'still small voice' in the back of your head. Actual sounds overpower clairaudient ones easily, so you need a calm & quiet environment in which to use this skill. Distance is not a factor with clairaudience (sometimes even distances through time), but language & sound quality always are--just because you can hear something doesn't mean you hear it well or understand it. An apprentice hears a random collection of sounds. These could be echoes of events long past, echoes yet to come, people talking halfway around the world, or unseen spirits. An apprentice doesn't know, she just hears the stuff. Whether or not it is useful is an exorcise for the Game Master. The journeyman has developed and refined this skill to the hear & now, or rather, the 'over there' and now. A journeyman can listen in on an area that is very familiar or obvious. You can check in on the pub you drink at three nights a week, but not the one your mate just told you about, or even the new one you just went to last night. Obvious areas are just on the other side of a wall, or through a window you can see. A keep just over the horizon--even if you can just make out its general shape through the fog or see its pennants peeking over the hilltop--is not, nor is trying to psychically listen down a darkened hallway. A very specific listening point must be set; if you need a level of granularity of space with this skill, it's the width of your head. The master has a more refined--but broader & less specific--form of this skill. She can listen for advice. It may not be the advice sought, as voices in your head rarely tell you what it is you want to hear, but will be sound advice nonetheless. Some loremasters believe that the voice heard by master clairaudients is their own, sending this advice echoing back through time. This voice does indeed sound like the psychic's own, at least the way she hears herself speak, but may sometimes also be a trusted mentor or parent's voice.
Remote Viewing
Mystical
Apprentice
1600 hours
Psionic
Remote viewing is long-distance guided clairvoyance. Bear in mind that you are processing psychic impressions through your brain's visual centers. What you see--no matter how clear it may seem--may be your emotional response to a scene rather than what is actually there. These visions are also rarely very clear. Most often they are vague, like a distant object seen through fog or smoke, or are almost-images, much like seeing something only by its shadow. In other words, remote viewing is pretty lousy for spying on an enemy's technical plans for a new war machine or for perving on someone in the bath. Remote viewing requires the mind mage's undivided attention, which means (among other things) that the body must be at comfortable rest & the environment safe. An apprentice has a very limited range, only to hovering about her body. This level of skill is mostly only useful as a party trick. At this degree of competence her mind is too little to be allowed to wander far away. The journeyman's range is unlimited, but his control over where he goes & what he sees is still restricted. It is possible to be telepathically guided to a specific spot, but otherwise the destination is hit & miss at best, even if nearby & obvious. As with most psychic sensitive skills, a familiar environment is a far easier target. A journeyman clairvoyant can usually successfully check back home to see if he left the oven on. The master has a greatly improved sense of direction, and can even try to find things whose location is unknown. Unfamiliar but obvious locations (such as the other side of a wall) can be attempted, but gross misses still happen sometimes. The master can also receive additional psychic impressions, depending on her other talents. For example, one that is also empathic may sometimes get an emotional vibe from a scene. Light levels are not an issue for master clairvoyants; they will know the scene is dark, but can still make out people and objects just as well. Also keep in mind that this skill allows a distant vantage point, not omniscience. Seeking a missing child & finding her 'trapped in a darkened room' doesn't always tell you where that room is. Your clairvoyance is not a remote-controlled camera, and only limited movement of the vantage point is possible.
Dowsing [for substance]
Mystical
Proficiency (Awareness)
800 hours
Each specific substance or object is a separate instance of this skill. Using something as a focus, you can follow the sensations given off by water, gold, poker chips, things coloured blue, or just about any other specific substance or item you are trained to find. Overly broad categories just don't work with dowsing. You could feel vibrations through a Y-shaped stick, watch the way a heavy charm sways on its chain, or hear a voice saying 'dig here' as your copper rods cross. Unlike many other divinatory magics, dowsing is designed for use in the field. In fact, it's almost worthless unless you are physically present (some claim to be able to dowse over a map, but for whatever reason are unable to repeat this successfully when tested). You can also dowse while moving--in fact, that's exactly how it works. You walk along, and the magic focus tells you what direction to travel. The amount of a substance does not matter, and distance cannot be determined via dowsing. In other words, the sticks crossing may mean that there is gold right underfoot, but it is a single gold flake burried two miles down.
[Note: divinatory spell magic--not psionic]
Pyrokinesis
Mystical
Proficiency (Grace)
400 hours
Psionic
Ah, you saw Firestarter on late-night television and were hoping for a way around the 'no fireballs' rule, weren't you? Well, you're out of luck, spud. This is the skill of moving & manipulating existing flames, not exploding buildings & burninating shadowy government types. A flame can be spread, fanned, diminished, or even picked up & moved in its entirety. Pyrokinesis lets you do pretty much anything with flame except ignite, extinguish, or burn without fuel. Even that last one has some latitude. As long as there is plenty of air, you can keep a fire burning on the basis of your psychic talent alone for a moment or two (one round per skill level). You must be able to see the fire to manipulate it, but this is as much a reasonable safety precaution as a limitation of skill. Not all of the flame need be visible, just part of it so that you can get a mental 'fix' on it. That is, you can dampen the flames of a whole room even if most of it is hidden by smoke & fire, or pick it up & twirl it in a ribbon around your body. Increasing a flame's intensity burns it hotter, but it uses up its fuel faster. Admittedly, in some cases both of these are desirable effects. Every point of skill is an increase or decrease of 10% intensity. This affects damage, temperature, rate of consumption, et cetera. Yes, I am aware that a decrease of 100% or more for level X+ is how the math works out, but you cannot heal fire damage, cool something off, or actually extinguish a burning blaze with pyrokinesis. What you can do with such a high skill however, is reduce the flame to warm coals and a smaller fire than a cardboard match in the rain, which then almost always goes out on its own right away. Like its less-interesting older kinetic brother, pyrokinesis has a range of sight, duration of concentration (for the control part anyway--the burning part is a different matter), and requires a skill check of 15 or higher. Another thing that the two skills have in common is trading fatigue for power, but as the progression differs, that factor is not as useful with pyrokinesis. Flames may be moved about purely by the power of your mind (at about the same speed as you could spread the flames via torch) but you can physically scoop up a handfull of fire with your bare hands using this skill. Note that pyrokinesis does not truly offer any resistance to fire. In other words, a pyrokinetic mind mage burns just as well as any other witch. However, this skill does allow you to touch & hold fire or to move through a burning building without harm by keeping the heat & flame a fraction of an inch away from skin or clothing while directing the heat away from you. This skill only affects fire, not coals, hot air, smoke, or ash. That means you still sweat on a sunny day, will still burn yourself touching a hot pan without an oven mit, and cannot pyrokinetically pick up a flame along with any fuel.
Telepathy
Mystical
Proficiency (Wits)
1600 hours
Psionic
Counts as two skills at character creation
Double learning difficulty
Questions & answers regarding Telepathy.
Can I read minds? You bet, that's the main reason most people take this skill. However, you are limited to surface thoughts only. For most people, this is a rather scrambled stream-of-consciousness thing, with half-sentences & a few pictures.
Can I have a conversation using telepathy? Of course. It is as easy as having a conversation verbally. The other person does not need to be telepathic if you are in contact with their mind, but some people have a bit of difficulty at first with forming a proper reply. One of the odd things about telepathy is that something you are trying to send to a telepath (if you lack the skill yourself) sort of pushes the thought into a part of the brain where normal scanning cannot read it properly. The first time you are involved in a telepathic conversation try speaking a reply out loud until you are comfortable with a purely mental response.
Can someone tell when their mind is being read? Yes, if they are familiar with that sensation. It's faint, but there if you know what to expect.
Can a telepath keep from being detected? Yes, if they use a very light 'touch'. This requires a separate skill check, or penalty to the roll, or both, depending on what sort of mood the Game Master is in.
Can I keep my mind from being read? If you detect or suspect telepathic contact, you can try to not think about whatever secret you are trying to hide. In another irony of telepathy, this makes it very easy for a mind mage to read. There is also the phenomenon called 'The Imp of the Perverse'. That means it's nearly impossible to not think about something. Try it yourself: whatever you do, don't think about a brown dog. No brown dogs at all. Notice how that little mutt just keeps wagging his tail back to the forefront of your mind. Thinking about multiplication tables & such has some effect against intrusion by causing a lot of mental noise, but this only really works if you can totally focus on whatever trick you are using to fully occupy your brain's processing power. Most people can't pull this trick off too well. The best layman's defence against telepathic intrusion is to try and think about something so horrible & disgusting that the psychic won't want to stay in that filthy cesspool you call a mind. Pervert.
What sort of range does telepathy have? At first level, you are limited to touch only. Using the 'mind meld' grip is purely optional. At second level you get about three feet of range, or someone standing right in front of you. It doubles every level thereafter, to six feet at level III, twelve feet at level IV, twenty-four at level V, et cetera.
How difficult is it to use? Fairly hard--like most psychic proficiencies Telepathy requires a roll of 15 or better.
What is a telepathic voice? A telepathic 'voice' is how you sound to yourself when you are talking. It is also usually the same mental 'voice' used when you are thinking about something in words. For this reason you may not at first recognise the 'voice' of your mind mage friend when she sends you a message (and vice-versa), but familiarity is gained pretty quickly.
Can I send pictures? Yes, but keep it simple. You can also send other sensory data, such as a sound or touch, but it is usually easier for most people to communicate in words. Text can be sent just as readily as speech, but this only works when both the telepath and the target are fully literate & comfortable with the written word--and can read that language. Sending a flash image of something written on a piece of paper is usually not very effective. Unless you stream the content to them they only get the impression of a paper with something written on it, not what that something is.
What about emotions or other feelings, can I send those? Not very well. Telepathy uses higher mind functions, so the baser feelings aren't conveyed very well. Even smell doesn't always convey very effectively.
So telepathy is dry content then? No. You can, for example, 'speak' to someone in an angry tone even if you cannot telepathically send your rage itself. Telepathy can be used in conjunction with Telempathy, however. Also note that most people (except the really stupid ones) can easily tell the difference between a telepathic sending & what they are themselves thinking and feeling. You cannot, for example, pinch your own bum, telepathically send that feeling to someone, and blame the bloke behind her. She will most likely know that someone sent the pinching sensation mentally, and will be mad at you (and not that other spud) for violating her mind.
How fast is a telepathic conversation? It is about as fast as a verbal one. It takes most people just as long to think of what to say either way, and telepathy doesn't stop you from stumbling for a word. At lower skill levels thinking back too fast can overwhelm the telepath, and part or all of the message might be lost. Two experienced telepaths who are familiar with one another & are in mutual contact can speed this process up greatly, to four or more times as fast as speech.
What is a 'contact'? This means a mind mage is inside someone's skull psionically, and can send or receive messages, or use other psychic skills. Telepathy is not really an area effect, and generally only works once you are inside someone's mind.
Can I send to multiple people at once? Yes. You can globally broadcast a thought to everyone within your range, or to a smaller bubble within that range. To just pick out your guildmates & send a message to them without the enemies they are in melee with isn't possible with a global send. You will have to contact them separately. You can have multiple telepathic contacts at once. They will have to be initiated separately (one per action) and you will have to make a Wits check for the second and subsequent ones, with a cumulative -1 penalty to both the Wits check & Telepathy skill for each additional mind.
Is it possible to mindlink everyone in the guild? Yes, if you are willing to act as a relay. With a bit of practice it isn't all that difficult for you to put your brain in a passthrough mode, so that everyone with whom you are in telepathic contact can speak to one another directly without having to tell you, & then you tell someone else. The hard part is in contacting all of the guild's minds in the first place. If something breaks your concentration that breaks all of the links, however. This is also an all-or-nothing proposition. If you put everyone in the group into mutual contact you cannot have a telepathic side conversation with just one person. Group mindlinks are always voluntary. An unwilling participant does not need to make a saving throw to resist. The only messages passed along on the network are deliberately sent. There is no real danger of a stray thought slipping out (no more than accidental curse words when you bang your shin) and the telepath acting as a relay cannot read your mind otherwise.
Can I then read the minds of everyone in the room? Reading a whole bunch of minds at once is difficult and distracting. It can also lead to insanity. You can sort of keep your mental feelers open & get a few stray thoughts, but it's like trying to eavesdrop on every conversation in a dance club. In other words, it's usually an exercise in futility, and your brain is the worse for wear for having tried. For several simultaneous minds being read you will have to contact each one separately.
Is language a barrier? Usually, yes. When most people are talking to one another at least the important conversational bits are in the form of words, even for a very visual person. You can try to read or send images or simple concepts when there is no common language. This is more effective than pantomime or drawing in the dirt, but not by much. Being a telepath doesn't get you out of having to study to learn a new language & culture. There are visual people & there are verbal people. There is also strong support for additional categories. However, most people don't neatly fit any one category, and are a melange of verbal, visual, and other elements. Words, pictures, and other thoughts are going to be filtered by both the telepath's mind and their target's.
Can I telepathically transmit skills? Yes, but this isn't an instantaneous download. You have to teach someone the old-fashioned way, even if you can augment the learning process telepathically. One-third of your Telepathy skill, rounded up, can be added to Teaching skill checks.
Can I scan for life signs, Captain? Yes, just like you could use your ears or nose for the same effect. Using telepathy in this way is more like hearing an overly loud television next door: you can tell it's there, you just can't usually make out what's on. Some thoughts may be picked up, however. This is not something on which you can rely, but is more of a Game Master tool: "You sense a small group, hunting for someone and moving with a purpose." Finding out more than that is the regular mind reading part of Telepathy.
Are you available for birthday parties? Very funny, wise-ass. Next question.
What sort of damage can I cause with Telepathy? If you mean hit point damage, none. At its heart Telepathy is a psionic conversation skill. You can no more injure someone with it than you could harm them by shouting curse words. You cannot change, delete, or even access memories. You cannot cause their body to go into shock. You cannot convince their lungs to stop inhaling & exhaling, nor convince their brain to make the lungs stop. You cannot even make them go to sleep--it didn't work when they were children & their parents tried to make them go to bed, it certainly won't work for you now. Now, psychological scarring on the other hand...
Heat Point
Mystical
Proficiency (Willpower)
600 hours
Psionic
Counts as two skills at character creation
Double learning difficulty
By focusing your attention on a singe precise spot, you can increase the temperature to the burning point. Exact focus is needed, as the heat must be concentrated to an area smaller than a pencil point. This area must be visible or obvious. At first level, you can increase the temperature of that point fifty degrees per round. This rate of temperature increase by an additional fifty degrees with every subsequent skill level: one-hundred degrees per round at second level, 150 at third, 200 at fourth, and so on. As long as you continuously affect that one spot the temperature increases. Failing to make the skill check--but continuing unbroken focus on that one spot--keeps the temperature steady until you succeed in later rounds. If your concentration is broken, you usually have to start anew as the temperature quickly dissipates. If the point moves out of your sight, that breaks the focus. Moving targets are very difficult to affect, as that focused point moves in space. Subtract the target's speed from the skill check.
This skill only allows you to mentally focus heat to a point; it does not in any other way violate the laws of physics. Using Heat Point on a metallic object or living creature isn't as effective as the heat will rapidly dissipate throughout the structure. The Game Master's best judgement must be used. So, while you could eventually melt gold filigree, cooking a knight in her armour isn't a viable option. Higher skill levels do allow you to knock someone unconscious, however. Each round that you target their head, your victim must make a saving throw to remain conscious. The number to beat is equal to half of your skill level rounded up, plus one point for each additional round. Unconsciousness lasts for 1D4 rounds after the heat stops. However, as both the vasovagal response & gravity are both fairly quick, there is a -15 to the skill check to stay focused on them as they drop. Victims are immediately aware that something is wrong. Saving throw bonuses against both heat and paralysis apply.
Benchmarks for this skill are: At first level you can burn paper after one minute, lamp oil in two rounds, and potentially knock someone out after three continuous rounds. At third level you can burn paper in four rounds, lamp oil in one round, and cause unconsciousness in two. A fifth level psychic can knock someone out in a single round and burn paper in two. At tenth level you can ignite paper in a single round. In theory, any given temperature could eventually be met with even a beginning level of skill by staring at one spot long enough. In practice, superhuge numbers would require greater concentration than most people are capable of doing for a very long time. The Human body doesn't burn until temperatures reach 1600-2100 degrees or more for several hours (and even then you still get chunks of bone & other junk), which is beyond the realm of possibilities for most psychics.
Group Mindlink
Mystical
Proficiency (Personality)
200 hours
Psionic
Requires Telepathy I
This is a refinement of the normal linking of a group in psychic conversation that any telepath can do. By specifically training and practising on this particular aspect of your psionic gift, you can overcome many of the obstacles of mindlinking using Telepathy alone. Most importantly, you can still use your telepathic talents to their fullest when engaged in a mindlink. You can safely and effectively link a number of people equal to your Group Mindlink skill level. Additional heads can be brought into the mind-share with a skill check at a cumulative -1 per extra, and these supplemental links are in danger of being dropped if your conversation falters. As your telepathic prowess is not limited by setting up a mindlink with this skill, you can use your standard Telepathy skill to mentally read or send thoughts to minds in the group, or make any other use of your psychic talents without additional penalties. You can turn down the mental volume of the chatter, or just tune one person out. You can keep the network up while separating yourself from it (such as when you need full attention to a task & your buddies are all telling jokes on the mindlink)--you can still listen for someone sending you an important message (basically, by 'shouting' your name mentally) or block even that. You have full control over your mindlink. You can even connect different groups established by other mind mages. In this case, the other psychic (who set up his own group) is the only one that counts as a mental contact, and you get all of the minds he is connected with for free. If this other mind mage is also linked to different mind-shares, they also come along for the ride. There is no effective limit on the total number of minds that may be contacted this way, but it can get noisy pretty fast. Group mindlinks take almost no effort to maintain. They can be in place for years, and operate even when you are asleep. Injury or other concentration-breaking events do not harm the mindlinks established with this skill. This is a powerful skill, but social concerns keep it from being abused. Look at the psychotic miscreants in your guild (and the players running them). Would you want to be in constant telepathic contact with this bunch of yahoos 24-7?
Empathy
Social
Basic
800 hours
Psionic
Counts as two skills at character creation
Everyone is either sympathetic or psychotic, and it is even possible to be both to some degree. Your sympathy with others has been raised to the level of psionic art. That doesn't discount the possibility that you are psychotic, however. An empath is someone who can detect the emotions of others. All feelings and emotive responses within a few hundred feet are picked up. Someone who is physically closer, closer to you emotionally, or is the person on whom you are focusing your attention is going to be received more strongly. Emotions are not very exact--you can tell that someone is angry, but not why (they might not even really know). Empaths can receive a bonus of up to +3 to skills such as Detect Lies, Diplomacy, or Glare.
Mental Health
Mystical
Basic
300 hours
Psionic
This skill allows you to determine the state of health of someone's mind and brain. Mental illness, fever, possessing Entities, debilitatingly strong emotional states, shock, oxygen deprivation, brain parasites, and more can be learned. This skill works on only one person at a time, within a few feet in front of you, and takes a few minutes for a diagnostic. Continuous monitoring for status changes is possible. This skill does not detect psychic or Demonic influence (but does for full possession), curses, diseases other than those affecting the brain, mild conditions (e.g. being a bit tired or malnourished), and does not detect emotional states other than those strong enough to be debilitating (being angry doesn't count--being so pissed off that you are shaking does). The Mental Health skill isn't quite as effective as a CAT-scan accompanied by an in-depth psychiatric write-up, but it can be close if used in conjunction with other skills. Without a solid background in medicine and psychology, a diagnosis from this skill might not be much more reliable than, 'I think she might be nuts'.
