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Besides, there's already the powers See Aura and Detect Psionics.

For specifically knowing what powers a person has, there's Telepathy, against probes of which there's saving throws and Mind Blocks.

Because mental powers come under mental privacy; why should it be easy for somebody to pigeonhole you as a pyrokinetic or mind-bleeder?

And 95% is way too high a skill level anyway. Usually these things start low and go up per level.

Stone Gargoyle wrote:And 95% is way too high a skill level anyway. Usually these things start low and go up per level.

It also assumes a standardized definition or genre-savvy out of keeping with a more realistic view of the world.

Suppose I'm a master psychic with Pyrokinesis, which I use to the exception of all my other powers because I REALLY love fire. I also like booting up Impervious to Fire when I'm really cookin' or blowing off steam.
Now suppose I'm a Burster who uses my fire powers sparingly because it's CONTROL and RESTRAINT of fire that matters more to me than creating fireballs.
Who's the real pyromaniac? And really, aside from the game book definition, what difference does it really make in terms of the practical?

Generally speaking you can tell what powers someone uses based on their actions. Sensing they are psychic just gives you the ability to detect the source of their powers, something which is done using the powers taalismn mentioned already. No additional powers are needed. If a guy is controlling balls of fire, it's pretty obvious.

Stone Gargoyle wrote:Generally speaking you can tell what powers someone uses based on their actions. Sensing they are psychic just gives you the ability to detect the source of their powers, something which is done using the powers taalismn mentioned already. No additional powers are needed. If a guy is controlling balls of fire, it's pretty obvious.

That's a good time to dust off that Lore: Psionics & Psychics skill that's canon.

taalismn wrote:That's a good time to dust off that Lore: Psionics & Psychics skill that's canon.

What book is it in?

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:That's a good time to dust off that Lore: Psionics & Psychics skill that's canon.

What book is it in?

Rifts Game Master Guide and Ultimate Edition(In the skill listings under Technical), though it's more correctly 'Lore: Psychics & Psionic".
I'm presuming that it first appeared in Rifts Psyscape.

Lore: Paranormal and Psionics is also in Beyond the Supernatural 2nd Edition.

Glistam wrote:Lore: Paranormal and Psionics is also in Beyond the Supernatural 2nd Edition.

It's interesting that they made it one skill instead of breaking it up. I believe I have that book and will be looking for it.

Acquire Language (Sensitive)
Range: 60 feet/20m
Duration: Special
ISP: 10
Saving Throw: Special

This power scans the language centers of the brain, granting the psychic skill in the target's most proficient language. If the saving throw is failed (or forgone), then the psychic gains the language at 2/3s the skill of the target (round up). If the saving throw is successful, the psychic gains the language at 1/3 the skill of the target (round down). If the target is protected by a Mind Block, then no success is possible.
The psychic's grasp on this skill is tenuous, however. First of all, the psychic can only acquire one language at a time in this manner; acquiring a new language, or reacquiring the old, wipes the first from memory. Secondly, however, for every hour that the psychic does not make use of the language, their proficiency reduces by 3%. This time includes sleep, meditation, or any time spent away from a speaker of the language, but GMs should not count every individual minute the character is not engaging in conversation, just blocks of time.

Note: This is, conceptually, a mix of Telepathy and Mind Bond... gaining a very specific skill, for a limited duration, sometimes even around their natural, non-psychic, defenses (i.e. surface thoughts).

Mark Hall wrote:Acquire Language (Sensitive).

I like it; it's a quick means of getting in on conversations in foreign languages(provided your skill 'donor' doesn't object to being psi-scanned) and it doesn't upset the mundane scholars who WORK to learn a new tongue by your insta-skilling.

taalismn wrote:

Mark Hall wrote:Acquire Language (Sensitive).

I like it; it's a quick means of getting in on conversations in foreign languages(provided your skill 'donor' doesn't object to being psi-scanned) and it doesn't upset the mundane scholars who WORK to learn a new tongue by your insta-skilling.

Part of the reason I included "You get a little bit of language if they save" is to allow people to get that bit of language, then use it to try to negotiate for more.

Steal Aura(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Self and copies a target’s aura by touch
Duration: One hour per level of experience
Saving Throw: Standard; a failure means the target has resisted havig their aura copied.
ISP Cost: 4
Effects:
This power allows the user to emulate another person’s aura. By touching another person, the power’s user can overlay their own aura with an illusion matching their target’s. Great for infiltrating psychic communities/societies or false-flag operations against psychic-sensitives. Mindblock and AutoDefense Mindblock both block this power.

I do like the aura copying power...

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:I do like the aura copying power...

Thanks. Though, honestly, using telepathy to scan people is actually cheaper ISP-wise, has just as good range, and lasts longer.

However, I feel that it would be easier to make a See Aura scanner than a Telepathy reader. You could just look at the colors on a display of a Kirillian aura -scanner, while a telepathy scan would require a trained operator with a list of questions to ask the person being scanned, and it would be harder for a non-telepath to sort through what you would pick up on a surface-scan as registered by a machine.

Is there a psionic ability that allows you to change or mask a target's aura, not your own?

Stone Gargoyle wrote:Is there a psionic ability that allows you to change or mask a target's aura, not your own?

Nope. I imagine it would/will be shorter -lived than the self-version, though.

taalismn wrote:

Stone Gargoyle wrote:Is there a psionic ability that allows you to change or mask a target's aura, not your own?

Nope. I imagine it would/will be shorter -lived than the self-version, though.

Write it up!

Alter Aura, Other(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Other, by touch
Duration: 45 minutes per level of experience
Saving Throw: Standard if the subject doesn't want their aura tampered with.
ISP Cost: 5
Effects: This power allows the psychic to temporarily alter another's aura, charging it up to make the being look more powerful, or toning it down, to make them appear weaker. This can also be used to conceal the presence of psionic and magic, making this useful for concealing mages and psychics.

taalismn wrote:Alter Aura, Other(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Other, by touch
Duration: 45 minutes per level of experience
Saving Throw: Standard if the subject doesn't want their aura tampered with.
ISP Cost: 5
Effects: This power allows the psychic to temporarily alter another's aura, charging it up to make the being look more powerful, or toning it down, to make them appear weaker. This can also be used to conceal the presence of psionic and magic, making this useful for concealing mages and psychics.

Cool, thanks!

Now, in theory, if you had both Steal Aura and Alter Aura, Other, you could, with one hand on your source and the other on your recipient, copy over a specific aura signature, but I'd consider it to be two actions, rather than one power/action.

taalismn wrote:Now, in theory, if you had both Steal Aura and Alter Aura, Other, you could, with one hand on your source and the other on your recipient, copy over a specific aura signature, but I'd consider it to be two actions, rather than one power/action.

Maybe a Relocate Aura psionic ability?

*PsychStrength(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute per level of experience
Saving Throw: None
ISP Cost: 5
Effects:
This enables the psychic to summon up a burst of increased physical strength, supercharging their muscles to temporarily exceed biological limitations. Adds +10 to the psychic’s P.S. and can be considered Extraordinary for purposes of lifting/carrying but NOT hand to hand damage.

taalismn wrote:*Psycho-Strength(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute per level of experience
Saving Throw: None
ISP Cost: 5
Effects:
This enables the psychic to summon up a burst of increased physical strength, supercharging their muscles to temporarily exceed biological limitations. Adds +10 to the psychic’s P.S. and can be considered Extraordinary for purposes of lifting/carrying but NOT hand to hand damage.

*looks at the name and wonder if it should have an IQ reduction or some other...*
"Joe Newb: Why is Andrei singing that weird song....I though he was just going to lift that rock to move it.
Randal: He always goes a bit nuts when he uses his strength boosting power."

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:

taalismn wrote:*Psycho-Strength(Physical)
Type: Physical
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute per level of experience
Saving Throw: None
ISP Cost: 5
Effects:
This enables the psychic to summon up a burst of increased physical strength, supercharging their muscles to temporarily exceed biological limitations. Adds +10 to the psychic’s P.S. and can be considered Extraordinary for purposes of lifting/carrying but NOT hand to hand damage.

*looks at the name and wonder if it should have an IQ reduction or some other...*
"Joe Newb: Why is Andrei singing that weird song....I though he was just going to lift that rock to move it.
Randal: He always goes a bit nuts when he uses his strength boosting power."

That makes a certain amount of sense.
If all the blood is being forced into muscles at the expense of the brain, a physically powerful person could be temporarily rendered dumb...

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:[
*looks at the name and wonder if it should have an IQ reduction or some other...*
"Joe Newb: Why is Andrei singing that weird song....I though he was just going to lift that rock to move it.
Randal: He always goes a bit nuts when he uses his strength boosting power."

Yeah, this is a case of naming failing me.....'Boost Strength' probably would be better and more accurate, but sounds, well...plain....'Psychic strength' suggests a boost to psychic powers...and 'Psychotic Strength' suggests HULK SMASH!

What you're describing would be 'Dumb Ox Strength'.

Well, given it's a plain vanilla psychic-physical boost power, 'Boosted Strength' it is.

Though I'll keep the mental downshift in mind for a much more powerful Psych-Strength power.

taalismn wrote:

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:[
*looks at the name and wonder if it should have an IQ reduction or some other...*
"Joe Newb: Why is Andrei singing that weird song....I though he was just going to lift that rock to move it.
Randal: He always goes a bit nuts when he uses his strength boosting power."

Yeah, this is a case of naming failing me.....'Boost Strength' probably would be better and more accurate, but sounds, well...plain....'Psychic strength' suggests a boost to psychic powers...and 'Psychotic Strength' suggests HULK SMASH!

What you're describing would be 'Dumb Ox Strength'.

Well, given it's a plain vanilla psychic-physical boost power, 'Boosted Strength' it is.

But, but, funnier!
Think Hannover Fiste when he encountered the Loc'Nar.
You could call it Psy-Roids!

taalismn wrote:Well, given it's a plain vanilla psychic-physical boost power, 'Boosted Strength' it is.

But I already listed it in the Black VaultWiki as Psycho-Strength.

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:Well, given it's a plain vanilla psychic-physical boost power, 'Boosted Strength' it is.

But I already listed it in the Black VaultWiki as Psycho-Strength.

Then Psycho-Strength it is....I'm not going to argue with ninja'ing stone gargoyles.
\

After all, canon 'Summon Inner Strength' does not increase one's P.S. any, so it's misleading in that aspect of the title.

Looks like Father Goose has gotten to name the next strength-boosting power already, and Drewkitty has provided its color snippet.
Now I have to check the idea doesn't cover ground already done by powers like 'Psychic Fury' or 'Psychic Combat' I recall being posted here previously.

taalismn wrote:ninja'ing stone gargoyles.

We creatures of stone are not generally known for stealth, but thank you.

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:ninja'ing stone gargoyles.

We creatures of stone are not generally known for stealth, but thank you.

It's the art of standing still, not being noticed, and moving when somebody's attention is turned elsewhere.

taalismn wrote:

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:ninja'ing stone gargoyles.

We creatures of stone are not generally known for stealth, but thank you.

It's the art of standing still, not being noticed, and moving when somebody's attention is turned elsewhere.

So kinda like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

taalismn wrote:Looks like Father Goose has gotten to name the next strength-boosting power already, and Drewkitty has provided its color snippet.
Now I have to check the idea doesn't cover ground already done by powers like 'Psychic Fury' or 'Psychic Combat' I recall being posted here previously.

Well, my work here is done.

Stone Gargoyle wrote:So kinda like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

My thoughts exactly!

Stone Gargoyle wrote:So kinda like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

Why do you think I've shaved eyes into the hair on the back of my head?

taalismn wrote:

Stone Gargoyle wrote:So kinda like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

Why do you think I've shaved eyes into the hair on the back of my head?

Did you attach googley-eyes too?

...I think we may have drifted off topic...

Is there a psionic powr anywhere that lets you cause an explosion of part of someone's brain, doing damage directly to Hit Poits? Probably not, but that would be cool. It wouuld cost a lot of ISP for little actual damage probably. But you could add penalties to skills to the victim of such an attack.

I don't know of one. Closest would be Bio-Alteration or Bio-Manipulation. They don't do HP damage, but they do attack the brain.
You should write something up. Make it a Super Psionic power with multiple applications, such as the two I mentioned. Call it Psychic Shock, or something like that. Can be used as shock therapy to treat seizures (helpful), or shock torture (harmful), or something similar.
I have never written any psionics before, so I defer to the experts.

Father Goose wrote:I don't know of one. Closest would be Bio-Alteration or Bio-Manipulation. They don't do HP damage, but they do attack the brain.
You should write something up. Make it a Super Psionic power with multiple applications, such as the two I mentioned. Call it Psychic Shock, or something like that. Can be used as shock therapy to treat seizures (helpful), or shock torture (harmful), or something similar.
I have never written any psionics before, so I defer to the experts.

I have not used them much either. My players have not yet so far been the kind to use Psionics or Magic characters. I only ever use psionics for NPCs.

There's Neural Strike that does 2d6 HP to the target's nervous system, plus possible paralysis effects, but that's a Mind Bleeder power. You could 'port it over to regular psionic and up the ISP cost for a quick and dirty version.
Worth checking previous posts on this thread to see if anybody's done anything along the same lines.

taalismn wrote:There's Neural Strike that does 2d6 HP to the target's nervous system, plus possible paralysis effects, but that's a Mind Bleeder power. You could 'port it over to regular psionic and up the ISP cost for a quick and dirty version.
Worth checking previous posts on this thread to see if anybody's done anything along the same lines.

Is that from Rifts or another setting? Where would I find the Mind Bleeder power?

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:There's Neural Strike that does 2d6 HP to the target's nervous system, plus possible paralysis effects, but that's a Mind Bleeder power. You could 'port it over to regular psionic and up the ISP cost for a quick and dirty version.
Worth checking previous posts on this thread to see if anybody's done anything along the same lines.

Is that from Rifts or another setting? Where would I find the Mind Bleeder power?

Mindbleeders are found in the Rifts Africa worldbook. They are a alien race with unique psi powers and they come with a mandatory RCC. (or was it a lifestyle RCC.....it's been a long time since I've looked at that book.)

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

taalismn wrote:There's Neural Strike that does 2d6 HP to the target's nervous system, plus possible paralysis effects, but that's a Mind Bleeder power. You could 'port it over to regular psionic and up the ISP cost for a quick and dirty version.
Worth checking previous posts on this thread to see if anybody's done anything along the same lines.

Is that from Rifts or another setting? Where would I find the Mind Bleeder power?

Mind Bleeders showed up in the Psyscape book(pg 52) and Rfts Africa(pg 92). Their powers are also listed in the Game Master Guide psionic section. They're essentially a variant sept of humanity(like the psi-stalkers) who've developed mental powers at the cost of having telltale throbbing blood vessels appear on their foreheads and scalp.


Aaaaaaaaaand ninja'ed.

Anyways, I don't have the Rifts books, so could someone pm me with the power in question? Seems like it would be pretty easy to convert for use in other settings.

The thing about Mind Bleeder powers is that are suppose to be unique to mind bleeders, within the original concept.

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:The thing about Mind Bleeder powers is that are suppose to be unique to mind bleeders, within the original concept.

I don't play RIFTS so that is really irrelevant. I might add Neural Strike to my own files and not repost the modified version here.

Phyco-itch
ISP cost-12
Effect-you cause the opponent to itch like crazy! It’s like poison ivy under the skin itchy!

Stone Gargoyle wrote:

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:The thing about Mind Bleeder powers is that are suppose to be unique to mind bleeders, within the original concept.

I don't play RIFTS so that is really irrelevant. I might add Neural Strike to my own files and not repost the modified version here.

It was relevant to mention to others 'reading'/'who will read' this topic that maybe ignorant of the org. concept to mention that.
------------

So how long do you purpose the phantom itching to last, abe?

Canon psi-powerBio-Manipulation:Tissue Manipulation covers 'Itching' quite well enough. It even uses the term 'itchy' in its description, and provides both duration and effects already.

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:

Stone Gargoyle wrote:I don't play RIFTS so that is really irrelevant. I might add Neural Strike to my own files and not repost the modified version here.

It was relevant to mention to others 'reading'/'who will read' this topic that maybe ignorant or the org. concept to mention that.

Yes, I get that, which is why I'm not going to post it here. I have the power from T that he pm'd me and I can use it in my games pretty much as is with only slight modification.

I find nothing wrong with Mind Bleeders running into somebody who can do -almost- the same thing they can, especially if it's done to them in retaliation.
"Can they DO that?! I thought we had that copyrighted!"
" With WHO?!"

(Meanwhile, a mage is readying the Mental Shock spell)