New Psionic Powers

Metapsionic Sciences

Subjective Reality

Power Score: Wis–5

Initial Cost: 35

Maintenance Cost: 7/round

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: 8th level

Belief is a powerful thing. With this power, the psionicist can ignore the reality of an object or category of objects and make them have no existence for him. He could convince himself that an enemy’s sword could not harm him—and the sword would simply pass through his body without effect.

The psionicist can only disbelieve inanimate objects or effects with this power, since he finds it impossible to ignore living creatures. Some possible uses of the power include:

- Disbelieving a type of weapon, such as hand-held weapons, bows and crossbows, or hurled weapons. No weapon of that type can harm the psionicist while he maintains the power.

- Disbelieving an entire type of magic, such as priestly or wizardly magic.

- Disbelieving a manifestation of an element, such as a bonfire or a rockslide.

- Disbelieving any one object, regardless of size (large or small), such as a boulder, an enemy’s armor, or a magical item in an enemy’s possession.

The DM will have to decide what the exact effects of subjective reality are, but in general the disbelieved objects simply do not exist for the psionicist. He cannot be harmed by them, nor can he have any effect on them himself. The psionicist’s enemies may be quite baffled by their inability to cut him to pieces or blast him to cinders.

Power Score

: The psionicist can alter what he is disbelieving from round to round.

20

: The psionicist accidentally creates a whole new reality for himself and must save versus spells or be plane shifted to a randomly selected Outer Plane.

Suppress Magic

Power Score: Con–4

Initial Cost: 30

Maintenance Cost: 1+/round

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: 20 yard radius

Prerequisites: 8th level

Very powerful psionicists can draw upon their command of psychic energy to create a field that dampens magic of all types. Within the field, no spells function, weapons lose their enchantments, creatures with magical attacks or powers (such as a basilisk’s gaze) cannot use them, magically animated monsters (animated dead, golems, etc.) stop in their tracks, and magical items do not function.

The field persists only as long as the psionicist maintains it. The base maintenance cost is 1 PSP per round, but each spell level or magical power usage within the field adds 1 PSP to the maintenance cost. For example, a wizard who throws a fireball at a psionicist who is suppressing magic forces the psionicist to pay an extra 3 PSPs for that round’s maintenance. Effects without a spell level should be equated to a similar spell. If there is no similar spell, the psionicists pays maintenance PSPs equal to 1 per Hit Die or level of the initiating creature.

This effect will temporarily disrupt enchantments in effect, so a charmed person is temporarily freed, polymorphed creatures return to their original form, and so on. Things that were changed by magic but are no longer magical, such as a stone bench that was created by a stone shape, do not change in form. A person stoned by a meduse’s gaze remains that way. Once the psionicist ceases to maintain the power, all enchantments resume uninterrupted.

Power Score

: The psionicist may choose to dispel any enchantment in the area as a wizard of the same level casting dispel magic.

20

: A random magical item on the psionicist’s person is permanently drained of all enchantments.

Metapsionic Devotions

Cognitive Trance

Power Score: Int

Initial Cost: 4

Maintenance Cost: NA

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: none

A psionicist with this power can place himself in a trance that clears his mind for calm and contemplative thought. Anything the psionicist sees, hears, or reads while under the mind-sharpening influence of the cognitive trance can be committed to his memory verbatim, for precise recall at a later time.

The player running the psionicist character can use this ability to remember detailed instructions or conversations to the word, even if he himself does not remember the exact content. This can come in really handy when trying to remember detailed instructions to a certain location or the exact wording of a complicated series of intricate passwords. The psionicist can also enter the trance to consider any problem, puzzle, or riddle, gaining a +2 bonus on any Intelligence checks to find a solution.

If used for photographic memory, the trance lasts as long as it takes to completely take in all the information to be remembered. If used to solve a puzzle, the trance lasts as long as it takes the psionicist to make a single attempt to arrive at a solution for the situation at hand. An extended trance may last for several hours. Entire books may be memorized in this way.

While in cognitive trance, the psionicist suffers a –1 penalty to surprise cheeks. Combat or even conversation of the slightest sort will break the trance.

Power Score

: The psionicist gains a +4 bonus on any Intelligence checks that are required (for solving puzzles or riddles, for example) for the duration of cognitive trance.

20

: The psionicist gets a mild headache that lasts for 1d6 turns, ruining any chance of entering such a trance.

Fighting Trance

Power Score: Wis–1

Initial Cost: 4

Maintenance Cost: 1/round

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: none

With this power, the psionicist learns how to focus his attention into a razor-sharp weapon for maximum awareness and effectiveness in combat. His reflexes and agility are increased to their absolute sharpest level, and he is able to unconsciously track all combatants in the immediate area. While fighting trance is in effect, the psionicist reduces any rear attacks to flank attacks, and any flank attacks are treated as if they were frontal attacks instead. The psionicist in fighting trance gains a +1 bonus to all initiative rolls, his Armor Class, all saving throws, and all attack rolls.

The psionicist’s focus on his physical actions makes it difficult for him to concentrate on initiating any psionic powers. He suffers a –1 penalty to all power checks he attempts while fighting trance is being maintained.

Power Score

: The psionicist is so attuned to his surroundings that his bonuses increase to +2, and no rear or flank attacks can be made against him.

20

: The psionicist becomes extremely attuned to his surroundings, so much so, in fact, that he picks up nearly everything and becomes distracted by annoying details, suffering a –1 penalty to all attack rolls for 2d6 rounds.

Iron Will

Power Score: Wis

Initial Cost: 8

Maintenance Cost: 3/round

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: none

A psionicist with this power has the ability to focus his willpower to extraordinary levels, persevering through conditions that would overcome lesser characters. While maintaining this power, the psionicist can temporarily ignore accumulated wounds that would reduce him to 0 hit points or less. Due solely to his mental strength, he can force himself to remain conscious and fully active until reduced to –10 hit points, at which point he dies, just as anyone else would. Up until that point, though, he can fight and use his powers normally with absolutely no interruption at all except for initiating and maintaining the iron will devotion.

While iron will is in effect, the psionicist does not lose a hit point every round, as per the normal “–10” rule (see DMG page 75), but he will begin to lose hit points once he ceases to maintain iron will. Smart psionicists will bind their wounds before losing consciousness, or they may never wake up afterward.

The psionicist can also use his iron will to resist losing consciousness or control of himself through other means. If the effect the psionicist is struggling against normally allows a saving throw (a vampire’s charm person ability or a psionic domination, for example) the psionicist gains a +4 on his saving throw while iron will is in effect. If the effect does not usually allow the victim a saving throw (a command or sleep spell, for instance), the psionicist gains the chance to attempt a saving throw versus spells with a –4 penalty.

Iron will acts as a reflexive power. It does not have to be maintained at all times in order to be effective. If a situation arises in which the psionicist needs the iron will power, he can drop what he is doing to initiate it. If he has not yet acted in the round, he has the choice of initiating iron will and aborting his intended action or of forgoing iron will to carry out whatever he had originally planned to do. Otherwise, he is forced to wait until the following round to initiate it.

Power Score

: The psionicist can survive to –15 hit points or automatically make any saving throws to avoid unconsciousness or control. Once the power is dropped though, if the character still has less than -10 hit points remaining, he will instantly fall over dead. Clever psionicists will make sure to heal their wounds (or have them healed by someone else) beforehand.

20

: The power fails to activate.

Probability Manipulation

Power Score: Int–4

Initial Cost: 10

Maintenance Cost: NA

Range: special

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: 4th level

By initiating this power, the psionicist attempts to tamper with the laws of chance to affect a specific action. If the psionicist succeeds, he gains a bonus of +4 (d20) or +20% (1d100). This can be applied to saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, thief skills, or spell failure checks. It cannot be used to affect the initiation of a psionic power. If the psionicist makes no rolls within one turn of initiating the power, he loses his chance.

Luck can be fickle. If a psionicist manipulates probabilities more than once in a day, there is a 50% chance that he suffers a penalty equal to the bonus he was trying to achieve.

Power Score

: The psionicist manages to favorably manipulate chance for the next three die rolls.

20

: The psionicist fouls up probability and suffers the penalties described above for his next 1d6 rolls.

Psionic Vampirism

Power Score: Wis–3

Initial Cost: contact+8

Maintenance Cost: 3/round

Range: 10 yards

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: individual

Prerequisites: 6th level, psychic drain

Psionic vampirism is the much-feared ability to steal another’s psionic strength in order to replenish the psionicist’s own. Although it resembles psychic drain, psionic vampirism is different in three important ways: first, PSPs are directly drained; secondly, the victim need not be asleep; and third, the victim need not be humanoid, it only has to have a PSP score. Psionic vampirism is a very painful process, but is not debilitating as psychic drain can be.

To begin draining PSPs from the victim, the psionicist must establish contact. Once she has access to the victim’s mind, she can begin draining PSPs. The power check for psionic vampirism determines the rate of drain.

Power Check | Rate of Drain
1-2 | 3 PSPs/round
3-4 | 5 PSPs/round
5-9 | 7 PSPs/round
10-12 | 9 PSPs/round
13-14 | 11 PSPs/round
15+ | 15 PSPs/round

Although no permanent damage is caused by this power, it is unpleasant in the extreme and the victim will almost certainly want to fight back. Since the power only works against creatures with a PSP score (psionicists, wild talents, or psionic monsters), the victim is probably not helpless and may know a psionic defense to prevent the necessary contact.

Psionic strength drained by this power returns normally, just as if the victim had expended those points himself. If a victim is drained to 0 PSPs by psionic vampirism, he must make a saving throw versus death or fall unconscious for 2d6 turns.

Draining a victim of mental energy is usually an evil act, and psionicists who make extensive use of this power will find their alignments gradually twisting toward evil.

Power Score

: The psionicist psychic drains the victim at the same time he uses psionic vampirism on him.

20

: The psionicist provides his intended victim with full contact into his own mind while severing any contact he had established with the victim.

Psychic Blade

Power Score: Con–2

Initial Cost: 7

Maintenance Cost: 4+/round

Range: 0

Preparation Time: 0

Area of Effect: personal

Prerequisites: 6th level, body mind thrust

With this power, the psionicist creates a semi-tangible manifestation of his psychic attack that is shaped like a sword and can be wielded as a weapon in physical combat. Any living creature struck by the psychic blade suffers 1d6 points of damage, plus 1 additional point per extra 2 PSPs the psionicist wishes to spend. The victim must also make a saving throw versus death or be stunned and unable to act for 1d6 rounds. Psychic blade damage is treated as punching damage; 25% is real, and 75% is temporary damage that is recovered within one turn of the end of the encounter.

The psychic blade is an extension of the psionicist’s own life energy, and it is treated as a +2 weapon for purposes of striking monsters immune to normal weapons. Because the blade is the psionicist’s very life, it conveys special touch attacks back to his own body. Creatures that drain energy levels automatically drain a level from the psionicist each time he strikes them with a psychic blade. Monsters without minds (oozes, slimes, jellies, elementals, and golems) cannot be harmed by the psychic blade.

If the victim has a psionic defense mode operating when struck by the psychic blade, the psionicist must win a psychic contest against the victim for this power to cause any harm.

Power Score

: The damage increases to 1d10, and the victim receives a –2 penalty on his saving throw.

20

: The psionicist weakens himself in the attempt to create the blade, suffering 1d4 points of damage.