Story Writer Seeks Thy Aid Explaining a Master Psionic Quick

[Falsor Wing]

For various reasons (I misunderstood the Quick-Flex entry and now the character/story is too cool to change) I need some explanation for how a Quick-Flex Alien might end up a Master Psionic. Any suggestions? At this point the plot is dependent upon Cyber-Knight Hild (some of you know her) being a Master Psionic and I'd like some better explanation for this violation of the canon than "Hurr durr Rule of Cool."

After all its not like I'm JJ Abrams.

[Nekira Sudacne]

You don't really "become" a master psychic. generally speaking you are either born one or you are not.

If you are just wanting to make up stuff, well, the Mutant power catagory does include a "Psionic Mutant" instead of superpowers you become a master psychic, although somewhat more limited than a true master psychic class. so maybe he had to rescue people around a toxic waste dump or something?

Sorry, it's all I got this eairly in the morning

[Library Ogre]

Mindwerks or other experimental technology is a good go-to. Making them a release from Lone Star, or getting the powers from a Bio-wizard symbiote would both be within reason. Maybe they have a Zembok implanted in their chest, giving them psychic powers?

[glitterboy2098]

actually, as per the Psi-nullifiers fluff, you can train to become a master psionic. the CS has a program to take minor psi's and through intense (and potentially mindbreaking) training, create master Psi's like the Psi-nullifiers, Bursters, etc.

i would presume the mind-breaking aspect is probably more a side effect of the CS pushing to get such fast. they're taking grown recruits and doing this. presumably if your trained to develop the mental abilities from a young age you could get similar results with less chance of insanity.


and we have the bit about how cyberknights can always manifest their psisword and shield, Zen abilities, etc even if they had no psi-talent when they started knight training. frankly i wouldn't be surprised if you could justify a cyberknight getting full blown psi-abilities as a side effect of the training as well. and with cyberknight training being more "fantasy Buddhist monk' and less 'MKultra' than the CS program, insanity should be less a concern.

ad frankly, you can always claim a genetic fluke giving greater psi-potential or something if training alone isn't enough.

[Falsor Wing]

She needs to have had significant psionic powers from at least childhood. It seems like it would be hard to swing a mindwerks explanation as she's always lived in North America. Genetic fluke is going to be my fallback but I feel like there is some cooler/story-ier explanation out there. Thnx tho

[Svartalf]

since Quick Flex are normally non psionic and you want that char to be so from childhood, mutant is the best option, or perhaps demigod...

[Library Ogre]

She needs to have had significant psionic powers from at least childhood. It seems like it would be hard to swing a mindwerks explanation as she's always lived in North America. Genetic fluke is going to be my fallback but I feel like there is some cooler/story-ier explanation out there. Thnx tho

Mutant, undiscovered divine blood, escaped splugorth slave (or the descendant of one, who inherited the symbiote)...

[eliakon]

Combine the two...
She was a Psi-Mutant, who when she started manifesting Unnatural Psionic Powers as a child was foisted off to a cyberknight who instead of seeing a freak (A psychic Quick Flex) saw great potential (She could become the sought after link between the Cyber Knights mission and the Psionicly Blind Races!). She was raised by the Knights and thus her powers were shaped and honed.

If you don't need the pressures of the backstory.....well its best if you don't TELL your messiah's protagonist what you want of them or why. That way they don't grow up thinking they are special until at least season two or three.

[Shark_Force]

there's always gene splicers.

of course, then it becomes a question of how she recovered from all the other stuff they did to her, because odds are good they didn't stop at making her a master psychic.

[The Beast]

She needs to have had significant psionic powers from at least childhood. It seems like it would be hard to swing a mindwerks explanation as she's always lived in North America. Genetic fluke is going to be my fallback but I feel like there is some cooler/story-ier explanation out there. Thnx tho

Her family's bloodline was cursed by a supernatural intelligence. Her true parents were "killed" and she was raised by someone that taught her to use psychic powers.

[Alrik Vas]

You say, "don't want to rule of cool", but your reason for doing this is "is too cool to pass up", so why is there a problem with saying quick flex can be master psionics?

In any case, just have them play an OCC that is a master psionic. Done deal.

[eliakon]

You say, "don't want to rule of cool", but your reason for doing this is "is too cool to pass up", so why is there a problem with saying quick flex can be master psionics?

In any case, just have them play an OCC that is a master psionic. Done deal.

I think he is saying he doesn't want the reason to be 'its cool'. He wants there to be some sort of justifiable in world reason other than "Because she is the chosen one/protagonist/plot device" Which I can fully understand. Basically he wants there to be a backstory to it that is more than "Because I said so"

[glitterboy2098]

maybe 3-4 generations back she had a Demi-god in her family tree? we don't have any details on what the kids of a demigod and a regualr mortal would be like, but i suspect that the divine nature kinda thins out a bit the more generations removed.

this could justify the extra psionic potential (which can be unlocked by the cyberknight training), and does not automatically carry with it any kind of 'chosen one' status.. though it would leave an opening for the GM to invoke such as a plotline.

[Alrik Vas]

You say, "don't want to rule of cool", but your reason for doing this is "is too cool to pass up", so why is there a problem with saying quick flex can be master psionics?

In any case, just have them play an OCC that is a master psionic. Done deal.

I think he is saying he doesn't want the reason to be 'its cool'. He wants there to be some sort of justifiable in world reason other than "Because she is the chosen one/protagonist/plot device" Which I can fully understand. Basically he wants there to be a backstory to it that is more than "Because I said so"

I get that, but even I pointed out a way to make it happen.

[Prysus]

For various reasons (I misunderstood the Quick-Flex entry and now the character/story is too cool to change) I need some explanation for how a Quick-Flex Alien might end up a Master Psionic. Any suggestions? At this point the plot is dependent upon Cyber-Knight Hild (some of you know her) being a Master Psionic and I'd like some better explanation for this violation of the canon than "Hurr durr Rule of Cool."

After all its not like I'm JJ Abrams.

Greetings and Salutations. Technically, there's nothing stopping this from happening. Quick-Flex can be Cyber-Knights, and Cyber-Knights get to roll on the optional percentile table for determining psionics. Now, by the write-up, I'd take it that Quick-Flex can be Cyber-Knights, but need to select the "Non-Psychic" option. However, there's nothing explicitly written on the matter that I saw, so you can rules-lawyer it any way you'd like ... if that's how you'd like to go. With that said, I'll try to provide a story alternative. A part of this depends on how you feel about rules vs. story, and just how dark you're willing to go. However, this is the idea that sprung to mind ...

Rifts Dimension Book 10: Hades on page 20 talks about demons taking a host mother for their reincarnation. The demon can inhabit a woman's body, and she doesn't have to be pregnant (the fact she doesn't have to be means she can be). This is a painful experience for the mother, and often times lethal. However, what happens if the woman IS already pregnant? I have this concept of the demon being birthed (so to speak) and killing the mother. Someone present though is able to save the unborn child (far enough along for the equivalent of a C-Section). What would that exposure (especially at the development stage) to a powerful demon have done to this child? If the demon was a powerful psychic, it may have awakened some type of psychic power within the baby. In a twisted sort of way, this could even make the baby and the demon twins (born from the same mother one after another). Now, I'm guessing the write-up in Hades was within the intention that the demon would (effectively) consume any fetus and take its place, but it never states this. That means this is open to interpretation, and I think this could make an interesting story. Of course, not interacting with the character's twin demon somewhere down the line would be missed story potential.

Another idea is the character is possessed! Something like an Entity, Alien Intelligence, or other is actually within the character. However, currently that entity is sitting back and letting the host think it's in control. If the possessor has psionic powers, the host might be able to tap into them during this state (this would mean the possessor is allowing access to the abilities, of course) without realizing where it's coming from. Now why is this monster allowing control? Maybe it's biding its time while it gains strength, or it's on a reconnaissance mission and very subtly manipulating the character down a path that will suit its needs, or maybe it's some type of good entity that actually wants to help the person in some way*. Evil of course opens up greater story potential. What is this powers ultimate motivation? Will the character be able to stop something they don't even realize is going on? Will the character ultimately find some way to expel this force for the greater good, but at the same time lose the power she may need for some other act? Is it possible to somehow subdue the possessing force and make it submissive to the host (unlikely in canon, but possible in story)?

* I once made a NPC that had powers thanks to being possessed by a Spirit of Light (equivalent) that was joined with her similar to the concept of demons in the Hades book (before the Hades book ever came out). However, the Spirit of Light didn't want to hurt the human, so it basically stood dormant waiting for the day she died naturally so that it could be free again. Though since the main reason (in Hades) is to reduce the time it takes to come back, I should note that in my version it was to help save the life of a small child (I think age 5 and mortally wounded, though player characters met her in her teens) as well as it was too weak to come back without tying itself to a life force (the human life force basically kept it from dying until it could regain its strength).

Anyways, just a few ideas. Hope some of them help. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Alrik Vas]

Those are good hooks, Prysus.

[RockJock]

Psybiote since childhood that nobody knew about?

[Axelmania]

per the Psi-nullifiers fluff, you can train to become a master psionic. the CS has a program to take minor psi's and through intense (and potentially mindbreaking) training, create master Psi's like the Psi-nullifiers, Bursters, etc.

World book 12 page 66 column 2 paragraph 4 discusses the CS shaping "young reactive psychics" but I do not see them specified as being "minor". Page 141 column 3 has a numbered list of four psychic categories. The 3rd is "Reactors". Aside from Nega-Psychics and Psi-Nullifiers it says Psi-Healers are typically included, and that most of them tend to be Major.

So maybe it just means they can shape a budding master psychic on their way to another class (Nega-Psychic or Psi-Healer from Palladium Fantasy) into a Nullifier. Perhaps also major>master. I don't see anything about Minor psionics being "reactive psychics" though.

[Warmaster40k]

What kind of psychic, I was going to go on a rant on special snowflake syndrome but ehh mistakes happen. Here is the thing, this isn't the first thread you have made for this story asking for help to get you out of a corner you wrote your self in. So take a step back and re-read your work, read it out loud, and record it and listen to it. If it sounds like crap it's crap, toss it and start a rewrite or second draft.
Any way the reason I ask what kind of psychic is because it might help explain a outside source ala guardian angel, it's not her that's using the powers the source is.

[mercedogre]

Maybe the character is possessed by an entity/ alien intelligence? And doesn't realize? Could be a good story arc.

[Library Ogre]

Maybe the character is possessed by an entity/ alien intelligence? And doesn't realize? Could be a good story arc.

Or was possessed in utero, making them a weird hybrid creature... a quickflex whose soul is melded with a possessing entity.

[PSI-Lence]

depending on lineage could you be looking at it the wrong way? rather than how a quickflex became a master psionc, how would a master psionic look and have the same reaction speeds as a quickflex alien?