TEXT: 1 
   
  Brainstorm 
  Psionics for Nova 
  
  2 
  Powers of the mind for Nova 
  Written by George Chatzipetros 
  C on t ac t  
  me  
  at  
  n e on -
  blue@GameBox.net 
  New sourcebooks and updates 
  at 
  http://members.xoom.com/
  sidhe7 
  After the Magik sourcebook, Brainstorm 
  After the Magik sourcebook, Brainstorm 
  After the Magik sourcebook, Brainstorm 
  After the Magik sourcebook, Brainstorm 
  explores what has been called “scientific 
  explores what has been called “scientific 
  explores what has been called “scientific 
  explores what has been called “scientific 
  magic”. Psionics, the invisible powers of the 
  magic”. Psionics, the invisible powers of the 
  magic”. Psionics, the invisible powers of the 
  magic”. Psionics, the invisible powers of the 
  mmmmind, are revealed, along with those who 
  ind, are revealed, along with those who 
  ind, are revealed, along with those who 
  ind, are revealed, along with those who 
  wield them and the creatures that prey on 
  wield them and the creatures that prey on 
  wield them and the creatures that prey on 
  wield them and the creatures that prey on 
  them.
  them.
  them.
  them.    
  
  3 
  Contents 
  Psionic basics……….….4 
  Who is a psychic?………………..4 
  Psionic powers……………………...4 
  Intiation………………………………..5 
  The cost of psionics…………...5 
  Psionic disciplines………………...5 
  Experience……………………………..5 
  Powers………………………..7 
  Adrenaline……………………………..7 
  Ambience……………………………….7 
  Barrier…………………………………...7 
  Claw………………………………………...8 
  Counterpsionic……………………...8 
  Drain……………………………………….8 
  Electrokinesis……………………….9 
  Enslave…………………………………….9 
  Extra sensory perception….10 
  Hallucinogen………………………….10 
  Haywire…………………………………10 
  Heal………………………………………..11 
  Magnet…………………………………..11 
  Mastery………………………………...11 
  Metabolism…………………………...11 
  Mole mastery……………………….12 
  Photokinesis………………………….13 
  Premonitions…………………………13 
  Resistance…………………………….14 
  Sound……………………………………..14 
  Telekinesis……………………………15 
  Telepathy……………………………..15 
  Thermakinesis……………………..15 
  Transcendence…………………….15 
  Disciplines………………..16 
  Cancel…………………………………...16 
  Exceed………………………………….16 
  Focus……………………………………..16 
  Joker……………………………………..16 
  Physique………………………………..16 
  Potency………………………………….16 
  Splice…………………………………….16 
  Gifts n’ drawbacks.18 
  Metapsionic entities19 
  Robbers of dreams……………..19 
  Spectres……………………………….19 
  Will o wisp…………………………….20 
  
  4 
  Psionic Basics 
  The term psionic powers is used 
  to describe the mysterious abili-
  ties possessed by some gifted in-
  dividuals. These abilities, which 
  enable them to perform acts sur-
  passing human limitations or defy-
  ing the laws of nature, seem to de-
  rive from their minds. In other 
  times, psionics would be called 
  witchcraft, but perhaps there is-
  n’t anything magical about them 
  except from their mysterious abil-
  ity to elude any serious research 
  attempt so far.  
            The origin of psionics re-
  mains unknown. The only thing cer-
  tain is that whatever they are, 
  they’re very rare. During re-
  searches, only one out of ten thou-
  sand 
  individuals 
  has 
  exhibited 
  psionic potential and true psionic 
  talent is even rarer. Perhaps some 
  form of mutation is responsible 
  for the development of psionics. 
  Or maybe psychics (that’s how the 
  users of psionics are called) have 
  found a way to utilise the 90% of 
  the human brain which remains un-
  used by most people. 
            Envy for their special super-
  human abilities, fear of the dif-
  ferent or just simple distrust of-
  ten plague a psychic. Psychics are 
  not normal people and thus, they 
  become targets of every kind of 
  negative feelings. This is the rea-
  son why most of them keep their 
  powers secret from other people. 
  Most people would view a revealed 
  psychic much differently 
  than 
  they did before, ostracising him to 
  the border of society in their own 
  way and psychics are smart enough 
  to know that. Besides, there are a 
  lot of people who would want to 
  take advantage of a psychic’s spe-
  cial abilities for their own rea-
  sons… 
   
  Who is a psychic? 
  Who is a psychic? For NPCs, the 
  answer is easy: everyone the GM 
  wants him to be (taking in notice 
  the rarity of psychics, so that the 
  players are not the only humans in 
  a world of psionic users). For play-
  ers, the answer is equally easy: 
  everyone that takes either of two 
  special 
  gifts 
  during 
  character 
  creation: 
  psionic 
  mastery 
  or 
  psionic potential. Those rare indi-
  viduals with the psionic mastery 
  gift are considered full-blown or 
  true psychics, for they have ac-
  cess to a variety of powers and 
  are not limited in one talent. 
  Psionic mastery (20 points): You 
  have completely uncloaked the 
  psionic potential of your mind. This 
  makes you one of the very few 
  people that possess psionic powers 
  in multiple fields. You start with 8 
  points to divide on up to four pow-
  ers (no power can have a rating 
  over 3). Even though this gift 
  costs 20 points, it doesn’t count 
  against the 10 point limit for pur-
  chasing gifts. 
  Psionic potential (6 points): You 
  have gained access to untold pow-
  ers of your brain. You begin the 
  game with one psionic power of 
  your choice which has a rating of 
  one. With practice, you can get 
  better at it. It is also possible for 
  you to develop other powers, but 
  such a thing is difficult and very 
  slow at best. 
   
  Psionic powers 
  The thing which makes psychics 
  different from the average hu-
  mans is their ability to invoke cer-
  tain effects. These effects are 
  commonly divided in groups com-
  prising the psionic powers. Each 
  power may be used to produce a 
  number of effects which are simi-
  lar in principle or function. A wide 
  variety of powers has been discov-
  ered over the years by research-
  ers of psionics and even the most 
  powerful psychics are able to use 
  a small number of them.  
  
  5 
            Each power works like a 
  skill, so it has a rating of one to 
  four. Better ratings in a power not 
  only affect the number of dice 
  rolled but also the effects of the 
  power: a high rating may be used 
  to produce more powerful effects. 
   
  Initiation 
  In order to use a psionic power, 
  the psychic needs to clear his 
  mind and attain a certain degree 
  of self-concentration. To find out 
  if he can focus his mind suffi-
  ciently to use the power, he needs 
  to roll the initiation check. The 
  initiation check is a determination 
  check using the power’s rating as a 
  skill. A failed initiation check 
  means that the psychic is unable 
  to focus and the power will not 
  work. 
            Some psionic powers may be 
  maintained over a number of 
  rounds 
  without 
  any 
  check 
  if 
  they’ve been successfully initiated. 
  Such powers are marked with a 
  “c”. The psychic however, needs to 
  be focused and spend at least one 
  action per round to maintain the 
  power. 
  The duration of other powers is 
  noted in their description or is in-
  stantaneous if nothing else is men-
  tioned. 
   
  The cost of psionics 
  Each use of a psionic power (every 
  successful initiation check rolled 
  counts as a use) is especially tire-
  some for the psychic, requiring a 
  great deal of effort and concen-
  tration. Therefore, it decreases 
  his ability to invoke the power 
  again. In game terms, whenever a 
  power is successfully used, the 
  psychic’s score in the power is 
  temporarily decreased by one, 
  down to a minimum of zero. The 
  power’s original rating is restored 
  only when the psychic has the 
  chance to rest and relax his mind 
  (rating points returns at a rate of 
  one per hour of sleep). 
   
  Psionic disciplines 
  Psionic disciplines are nothing like 
  other psionic powers. In a way, 
  they’re not powers at all, since 
  they don’t have any effect on the 
  physical or mental world on their 
  own. Disciplines however can boost 
  the potential of a psychic and the 
  power and effect of his abilities 
  to extreme levels. They are some 
  kind of methods the psychic learns 
  or discovers which help them to 
  utilise his psionic capabilities to 
  the maximum. 
            Much like psionic powers, 
  disciplines have a rating of one to 
  four. Unlike powers, they don’t 
  need an initiation check to be 
  used. They don’t even require an 
  action to be activated. Instead, 
  they’re used in conjunction with 
  psionic powers, offering their ser-
  vices automatically. Their effect 
  is usually instantaneous and every 
  time they’re used, they lose one 
  point of their rating, much like 
  psionic powers. Lost points are re-
  covered after a good rest. 
            Disciplines 
  are 
  developed 
  like powers through experience, 
  but they can also be purchased by 
  starting 
  characters, 
  using 
  the 
  points from the psychic mastery 
  gift. 
   
  Experience 
  Psionic abilities, having a rating of 
  1-4 like skills, are also treated like 
  skills for purposes of developing 
  them. An experience check may be 
  granted in the same cases as for 
  skills (consult 
  the Nova core 
  book). Their only difference with 
  skill is that when making the ex-
  perience check, all dice must come 
  up as 5 or greater. 
            Learning a new psionic power 
  is certainly more difficult and 
  time-consuming than in the case of 
  
  6 
  skills. The character must spend a 
  lot of time meditating and decline 
  two chances to improve one of his 
  powers. On the third chance, he 
  gains a rating of one in a new 
  power of his choice.  
            If the character is a talent 
  rather than a true psychic (ie he 
  has the psionic potential and not 
  the psionic mastery gift), the at-
  tempt to learn a new power is not 
  automatic: he must score 4+ on a 
  D6 roll. If this roll is failed he 
  must wait till a new chance arises 
  to try to develop a new power. 
            Disciplines are learnt ex-
  actly like skills. A psychic can de-
  cline the chance to improve one of 
  his powers to try to improve one 
  of his disciplines. 
  
  7 
  Powers 
  Adrenaline c 
  The use of this power increases 
  the levels of adrenaline in the 
  blood of the psychic, making him 
  able to react faster in changing 
  situations and enabling more blood 
  and oxygen to reach the muscles. 
  The psychic adds his power rating 
  to his awareness skill (even push-
  ing it beyond the 4-points limit) 
  for the duration of the power. 
  Better oxygenation also increases 
  the psychic’s Conditioning by one 
  die per success of the initiation 
  check (at +1 cumulative). 
   
  Ambience c 
  Ambience manipulates the aura of 
  the psychic. This invisible yet dis-
  cernible characteristic is what 
  distinguishes the real charmer 
  from a handful of handsome guys 
  or the real leader from a bunch of 
  nice-talking demagogues. The ap-
  plication of this power can give 
  charisma and Influence to a so-
  cially ineptitude psychic, enslave 
  people by adoration for him or 
  simply root someone to the spot 
  out of sheer fear. 
            At rating 1, the use of the 
  power can attract a member of 
  the opposite sex by exhibiting an 
  aura of power and passion. If the 
  target fails an Insight check, he is 
  affected by the projected aura 
  and views the psychic with admira-
  tion and perhaps sexual desire. 
  The psychic can exploit these 
  feelings, as the victim will go to 
  great lengths to fulfill his wishes, 
  although he will not violate his ba-
  sic beliefs or put himself in dan-
  ger. 
            At rating 2, the psychic is 
  able to extend his powers on a 
  crowd of people. He will be seen as 
  a powerful figure, gaining a –1 bo-
  nus to any Influence check he at-
  tempts. He is also able to concen-
  trate his power on a single individ-
  ual, appearing as very intimidating. 
  If the target loses a Determina-
  tion contest, he will try to avoid 
  confronting the psychic in any way 
  unless the situation makes such a 
  thing unavoidable. 
            With a rating of 3, the psy-
  chic is able to make a victim fall 
  hopelessly in love with him. The 
  victim will protect him at all costs 
  and follow most of his suggestions 
  in order to please him if he loses a 
  Determination contest. However, 
  the psychic would do well to re-
  member that there are limits even 
  in the strongest of loves. The psy-
  chic may also project his aura con-
  taining a single, strong emotion to 
  a crowd of people within a dis-
  tance equal to the rating x 10 m. 
  Anyone failing a Determination 
  check is overwhelmed by the de-
  sired emotion, be it love, happi-
  ness, euphoria, hate, anger, lust 
  etc. 
            The aura of a psychic with 
  rating 4 in ambience is so powerful 
  it gets addictive. When the psy-
  chic uses any level of this power 
  on someone, it acts as a drug. If 
  the victim fails a Determination 
  check, he gets addicted to the 
  psychic’s aura. He will seek to 
  spend time close to the psychic 
  just to feel his ambient power. If 
  he is denied this, he’ll present se-
  vere depression and catatonia, do-
  ing anything to get his “dose” of 
  the drug. Recovering from this ad-
  diction requires external help and 
  takes at least a year, the exact 
  amount of time depending on the 
  victim’s willpower. 
   
  Barrier c 
  Creates an invisible barrier, im-
  passable by any material object or 
  being. Although the power can not 
  be perceived or detected by nor-
  mal senses, nothing may pass 
  through it. It may be disrupted by 
  weapons which inflict lethal dam-
  
  8 
  age. The barrier is considered to 
  have Constitution points equal to 
  the power’s rating plus one and a 
  base unarmored rating equal to 
  half the power’s rating. Its dimen-
  sions depend on the ability of the 
  psychic. Generally, the area of the 
  barrier may not exceed double the 
  successes of the initiation check 
  multiplied by the Determination 
  dice in square meters (the barrier 
  is two-dimensional). 
            At level 3, the psychic may 
  choose to affect only objects or 
  only living beings with the barrier 
  (this may lead to interesting appli-
  cations of this power). At level 4 
  his control over the power is so 
  great that he can choose to affect 
  only specific objects or specific 
  beings. The barrier may be main-
  tained for an infinite amount of 
  time, but the psychic may not en-
  gage in other actions while main-
  taining it and he can only move at 
  half speed. If disrupted by weap-
  ons , the backlash suffered by the 
  psychic costs him one Stamina 
  point and the barrier can not be 
  raised again for a full day.  
   
  Claw 
  This is an aggressive form of te-
  lepathy used to affect the tar-
  get’s bodily functions or rip his 
  mind apart. The attack has a range 
  equal to the power’s rating multi-
  plied by 10 in meters. No attack 
  roll is needed; instead a Determi-
  nation contest is made between 
  the psychic and his target (the 
  psychic uses extra dice equal to 
  the rating of the power at +1 cu-
  mulative). If the psychic affects 
  the target’s bodily functions, he 
  causes the heart to beat irregu-
  larly and circulation to become in-
  sufficient. The target feels sud-
  denly dizzy and loses one Stamina 
  point for every success of the 
  psychic over his. In addition, he 
  suffers a +1 penalty to all of his 
  actions for 1D6 minutes if he loses 
  even one Stamina point. If the 
  psychic chooses to cause some 
  massive internal damage to the 
  target’s brain, the target loses 
  Constitution points (but doesn’t 
  suffer the +1 penalty). The psychic 
  however, rolls the Determination 
  dice with +1. No kind of armor pro-
  tects against this damage. 
   
  Counterpsionic 
  This power is anathema to all 
  other psionics, sending waves that 
  disrupt the use of psionic powers. 
  The power affects an area around 
  the psychic with a radius equal to 
  the rating in tens of meters. The 
  successes of the initiation check 
  determine the potency of the at-
  tempt. Any psionic power main-
  tained via concentration inside the 
  area of effect that had fewer 
  successes in its initiation check is 
  immediately terminated. Even af-
  ter the instantaneous use of coun-
  terpsionic, the echo of the disrup-
  tive waves in the area forces a +1 
  penalty to any check made to initi-
  ate a psionic power for the rest of 
  the round. 
            At rating 3, the psychic is 
  able to focus on a single main-
  tained power within range instead 
  of affecting all in an area. 
   
  Drain 
  Drain is a malevolent power pro-
  ducing a negative aura which saps 
  the life force of the victim, taking 
  away his strength, will and energy. 
  The range of the power is only lim-
  ited by the psychic’s limit of sight. 
            At rating 1, the psychic can 
  cause the life force of the victim 
  to whisk away. He rolls one die 
  with t# 3 (or two dice if his rating 
  is 3+). Every success causes the 
  loss of one Constitution point. The 
  life force is collected by the psy-
  chic, who is instantly healed of one 
  
  9 
  Stamina point. 
            At rating 2, the psychic is 
  able to drain 3 dice from the vic-
  tim’s attributes if he loses in a 
  DET contest. No more than one 
  die may be drained from a single 
  attribute. Drained dice are the 
  ones with the highest t# and they 
  become useless (they simple don’t 
  count in the game). If the drained 
  die is the attribute’s only one, it 
  only suffers a +2 modifier to its 
  t#. Drained dice are restored at 
  the rate of one per day. 
            With a rating of 3, the psy-
  chic can drain ten years of life 
  from a victim that loses in a DET 
  contest. Even someone in a cocoon 
  may be killed by repeated use of 
  this power.  
            Lastly, at rating 4 the psy-
  chic can unleash a devastating at-
  tack that forces the victim to 
  make a check in every attribute. 
  If a check fails, one die is drained 
  from the attribute (as in the de-
  scription of rating 2). Drained dice 
  return at a slower rate: one per 
  week. 
   
  Electrokinesis 
  This power can manipulate elec-
  tricity and store an electrical 
  charge inside a metallic object. 
  The charge is enough to cause 45-
  energy damage if 
  the object 
  touches a living being. The power 
  can also be used instantaneously 
  on a person if the psychic has a 
  rating of 3+. This use doesn’t 
  cause any damage but it can short-
  circuit the nervous system and re-
  sult in unconsciousness for 2D6 x 
  5 minutes if the target fails a 
  very hard Vitality check. 
   
  Enslavec 
  The psychic is able to deprive a 
  victim of his will, making his follow 
  his whims. As the psychic grows 
  stronger in this power, he bends 
  his victims easier and more com-
  pletely to his will.  
            At rating 1, the power can 
  be used to force a person to fol-
  low the psychic, if he loses in a 
  DET contest. The victim is com-
  pelled to follow the psychic but 
  will not go over crevices or other 
  endangering obstacles. 
            At rating 2, the psychic can 
  force the victim to obey a single 
  word, for example “hold”, “sit” etc. 
  The victim must lose a DET con-
  test in order to follow the order. 
            With a rating of 3, the psy-
  chic can completely bend a person 
  to his will, forcing him to follow 
  any of his orders as long as he re-
  tains concentration (the victim 
  must lose in a DET contest). Sub-
  conscious security triggers will put 
  the victim in a state of confusion 
  if he’s given a command leading to 
  obvious suicide. Another use of 
  the power at this rating is to re-
  move the memory of a certain 
  event from the victim. If a DET 
  contest is won, a single event 
  which happened up to a month ago 
  can be erased from memory. If 
  the psychic scores two successes 
  over the victim, he can effect 
  events up to a year ago and with 
  three successes up to five years. 
  With four successes the range of 
  the power encompasses the life of 
  the victim. 
            The 
  psychic 
  completely 
  dominates a victim at rating 4, 
  transforming him into an automa-
  ton. A DET contest is necessary, 
  but if the victim loses, he will do 
  anything the psychic asks so long 
  as he retains concentration, in-
  cluding killing himself. The brain-
  washing is so complete that leaves 
  the victim extremely vulnerable to 
  subsequent attempts of 
  mind-
  controlling by the psychic. Indeed, 
  if the psychic use any enslave 
  power on the victim, the victim’s 
  Determination is considered to be 
  
  10 
  equal to 6. 
   
  Extra sensory percep-
  tion (ESP)c 
  The psychic is able to sense ob-
  jects that are hidden from his vi-
  sion by some kind of obstacle. For 
  example, he can sense what lies 
  behind a closed door or the image 
  of a card turned upside down. At 
  rating 1, he can only have very 
  general feelings, for example that 
  someone is behind the door or 
  that the card is black or red. At 
  rating 2, he might be able to sense 
  how tall the man behind the door 
  is or his gender or discover that 
  the card is trumps. With a rating 
  of 3, he would be able to discern 
  the man’s characteristics or the 
  card’s number. At rating 4, the 
  psychic can even read a closed 
  book. 
   
   
  Hallucinogenc 
  Hallucinogen is a complex power, 
  affecting the senses and the way 
  the mind interprets them, tricking 
  the victims with visions that don’t 
  exist or are another version of re-
  ality. It is foremost the art of il-
  lusions and the unseen, making 
  people believe in things that aren’t 
  there or concealing things that 
  are there. 
            The use of the power hi-
  jacks the victim’s sensory system 
  to create an illusion perfect in 
  every detail. Since the senses are 
  our only way of communication 
  with the environment, there is no 
  way for the target of this power 
  to realise the illusion, as his 
  senses will adapt to convince him 
  that what he’s facing is completely 
  real. For example, someone who 
  tries to walk through an illusory 
  wall will not realise that it’s not 
  there; he will stop and be utterly 
  convinced 
  that 
  he 
  can’t 
  pass 
  through the wall. Even if he tries 
  to jump through it, he will feel the 
  pain of crashing on it and the wall 
  will still be in front of his eyes. 
            The number of persons that 
  can be affected by a single appli-
  cation of this power is equal to 
  double the power’s rating. To be 
  affected, each person must lose in 
  a contest, during which he pits his 
  Presentiment against the psychic’s 
  Determination. 
  The 
  illusion 
  is 
  maintained through concentration. 
            At rating 1, the psychic can 
  create the illusion of anything up 
  to the size of a person. Or, he can 
  conceal anything of that size from 
  the target’s senses. 
            At rating 2, the size of the 
  illusion can be that of a large vehi-
  cle. 
            At rating 3, he can produce 
  the mirage of a small building. 
            At 
  rating 
  4, 
  the 
  size 
  reaches that of a building of large 
  proportions. 
  Haywire 
  This power disrupts the function 
  of electrical and electronic de-
  vices by producing an electromag-
  netic pulse. Most devices regain 
  functionality after a period of 
  minutes or hours, but in the case 
  of computers and magnetic stor-
  age media, data may be corrupted 
  or irrevocably lost.  
            To see if the power success-
  fully affects a particular device, a 
  contest takes place after the ini-
  tiation check. The psychic rolls 
  dice equal to the power’s rating 
  (all with t# 4). The machine rolls a 
  number of dice according to its 
  protection, again with t# 4. Un-
  shielded equipment generally rolls 
  one die. Devices hidden from the 
  sight of the psychic by a non-
  metallic object roll two dice, while 
  those that are hidden by a metal-
  lic object roll three dice. Machin-
  ery specially shielded against mag-
  netism has a 4-dice defense. 
  
  11 
  Heal 
  By summoning his mental energies, 
  the psychic can miraculously accel-
  erate 
  the healing rate of a 
  wounded 
  person he’s 
  touching. 
  mending bones and closing wounds 
  that could take days or weeks to 
  heal in mere seconds. The psychic 
  can restore Stamina or Constitu-
  tion points (each requires an inde-
  pendent use). Every success on the 
  initiation check restores one point 
  (however, Constitution is more dif-
  ficult to be restores and inflicts a 
  +2 penalty). 
   
  Magnet c 
  Manipulation of the psychic’s natu-
  ral electromagnetism is possible 
  with this power. The simplest use 
  is to produce a magnetic field 
  which can attract or repel metallic 
  objects. The force of the attrac-
  tion or repulsion is equal in dice to 
  the rating of the power, starting 
  at t# 4 and building up (at rating 
  3 the force of the power is 456 
  for example). The magnetic force 
  can reach out to the rating in tens 
  of meters. 
            At rating 3, the psychic can 
  radiate a field of electromagnet-
  ism which serves to repel metallic 
  objects with considerable force. 
  This can protect  the psychic from 
  damage, serving as armor equal to 
  the power’s rating 
  minus one 
  against metal slugs (ballistic) and 
  half that against metallic hand 
  weapons (as they’re heavier). 
   
  Mastery 
  This power helps the psychic to 
  achieve mastery over matter and 
  his body. In effect, the psychic 
  can substitute his physical attrib-
  utes with his mental attributes. 
  For every point of the rating, he 
  can substitute one of his physical 
  attributes with one of his mental 
  attributes. The duration of this 
  substitution is 5 minutes x the 
  power’s rating.  
            For example, Ruger has a 
  rating of 2 in mastery and the fol-
  lowing attribute ratings: 
  Conditioning 5, Intellect 445, In-
  fluence 34, Vitality 4, Insight 44, 
  Comeliness 5, Litheness 45, Deter-
  mination 346, Reaction 5, Presen-
  timent 5 
  Ruger decides to use his mastery 
  power and substitutes his Vitality 
  with his Intellect and Litheness 
  with Determination. So, his Vital-
  ity becomes 445 and his Litheness 
  346 for a 10-minute period. 
   
  Metabolismc 
  The psychic can affect his body’s 
  metabolic processes, speeding or 
  slowing them down. This enables 
  him to move and act faster or to 
  reserve his strength respectively.  
            At rating 1, the psychic is 
  able to react much faster when 
  using the power. The successes of 
  the initiation check are used as a 
  bonus for his initiative check (eg 3 
  successes on the initiation check 
  give a –3 bonus to all initiative 
  rolls). However, accelerating me-
  tabolism means that the body 
  spends its resources and tires it-
  self faster. Thus, the psychic 
  loses one Stamina point for every 
  two rounds he uses this power. 
            With a rating of 2, the psy-
  chic can slow his metabolism to 
  preserve resources and energy. 
  While his metabolism is slowed 
  down, the psychic needs only half 
  of the air, food or water a normal 
  human requires. Initiative rolls 
  suffer a +2 penalty. 
            When the psychic attains 
  rating 3 in this power, he can push 
  his metabolism to its limits. He is 
  lightning-fast but he also expends 
  energy at incredible rates. The 
  successes of the initiation check 
  determine the number of extra 
  
  12 
  actions the psychic can perform 
  each round, in addition to his nor-
  mal ones. All of these extra ac-
  tions are played at initiative 0. 
  However, he loses one Stamina 
  point every round this power is in 
  use. 
            At rating 4, the psychic is 
  able to combine the powers at-
  tained in rating 1 and 3, dividing 
  successes between them. For ex-
  ample, if he rolls three successes 
  on his initiation roll, he may choose 
  to take two extra actions and have 
  a –1 bonus to his initiative roll. 
  This use always drains one Stamina 
  point per round. 
            Another use of rating 4 is to 
  slow metabolism to the point that 
  the heart barely beats and the 
  psychic is in a comatose state. 
  Only a careful examination will 
  prove that the psychic is not truly 
  dead. In this state, the psychic 
  can survive in extremely low tem-
  peratures (down to –80 C) with a 
  minimal amount of oxygen (he 
  takes one breath every two min-
  utes). Although he’s not aware of 
  his surroundings, he can exit the 
  coma at any time he chooses so. 
            A psychic with rating 4 is 
  also able to use effects of a lower 
  rating (1-3) on other persons, if 
  they are within his range of sight. 
  However, a person affected in this 
  way may choose not to utilise this 
  benefit (especially if he doesn’t 
  want to lose any Stamina). 
   
  Mole mastery 
  This power makes the psychic able 
  to control and manipulate the mi-
  croscopic blocks of matter, moles. 
            At rating 1, the psychic is 
  able to excite moles enough to 
  produce radiation. The result is a 
  soft glow which may be used to 
  light a dark area. A volume pf one 
  cubic meter per point of rating 
  may be affected. The effect is 
  sustained for one round per point 
  of rating. 
            At rating 2, he is able to in-
  crease the density of matter, af-
  fecting a volume equal to his De-
  termination dice plus power rating 
  in cubic meters. Gases become liq-
  uids, liquids become solids and sol-
  ids become super-hard (with a de-
  crease in size as density in-
  creases). Although the power is 
  instantaneous, 
  the 
  matter 
  af-
  fected gradually returns to its 
  original density during the course 
  of the power’s rating in rounds. If 
  the power is used on a living crea-
  ture, it causes it to develop an ar-
  mor rating of 2 against all threats. 
  It also causes problems due to the 
  hardening of muscles and the 
  thickening of blood, leading to the 
  loss of one Stamina point per 
  round. 
            Decreasing an object’s den-
  sity becomes possible at rating 3, 
  but only for minute amounts of 
  time, usually less than a second. 
  The use of the power on a being 
  has devastating effects however, 
  causing the loss of Constitution 
  points equal to half the power’s 
  rating. Most objects affected by 
  this power are deformed and 
  probably rendered non-functional. 
            The forcing of matter into 
  plasma state is the effect of the 
  power at rating 4. The psychic can 
  affect only very small amounts of 
  matter, but the plasma is unstable 
  and has explosive properties. It 
  explodes, doing energy damage 
  equal to the psychic’s Determina-
  tion in dice (starting at a t# equal 
  to 6 minus the power’s rating and 
  building up at +1 cumulative). If 
  the power is used on a creature, it 
  turns in into a living explosive and 
  it gains no protection from artifi-
  cial armor (since its own mass is 
  converted to plasma). 
            The aura of living beings re-
  sists the attempt to affect their 
  
  13 
  mass, so a psychic needs to win a 
  Determination contest before any 
  mole mastery power can affect a 
  breathing creature. 
            Mole mastery is an espe-
  cially rare and difficult to develop 
  power. A starting character needs 
  to 
  devote 
  double 
  the 
  normal 
  amount of points in the power (two 
  points gain one point of rating). A 
  proficient psychic needs two suc-
  cessful experience checks to pro-
  gress the power by one point. 
   
  Photokinesis 
  This power exerts control over 
  the lighting of the nearby area 
  (approximately 10 m x power rat-
  ing in diameter). It can reduce the 
  lighting to complete darkness or 
  make it brighter. It can also af-
  fect 
  light 
  sources 
  (one 
  light 
  source per point of rating). These 
  alterations last for as long as the 
  psychic retains his concentration. 
  Another use, this time instantane-
  ous, is to cause a blinding light to 
  erupt, blinding for 1D6 turns eve-
  ryone in the area who doesn’t suc-
  ceed in a hard Presentiment check. 
  This use requires the psychic to 
  have 2+ rating). 
   
  Premonitions  
  This subtle but potent power ex-
  tends the caster’s senses to su-
  pernatural 
  limits. 
  The 
  term 
  “senses” is here used with a far 
  broader 
  range 
  than 
  the 
  five 
  senses of a normal human. Power-
  ful psychics may extend their vi-
  sion to the past or even the fu-
  ture. 
            Premonitions is often used 
  to make 
  the psychic’s senses 
  sharper, more acute. The psychic 
  may increase the effectiveness of 
  one of his senses to supernatural 
  levels, matching or even surpassing 
  those of some animals. He gains a 
  bonus equal to his rating for any 
  Presentiment check involving that 
  sense. This acuteness may be 
  maintained via concentration. 
            At rating 2, the psychic can 
  use a sixth sense which warns him 
  of imminent danger. Although the 
  sense only warns about the danger, 
  not its nature or bearing, it is 
  enough for the psychic to auto-
  matically succeed in any surprise 
  check with maximum efficiency. 
  This sense can also be maintained 
  via concentration. At this level, 
  the psychic can also sense the 
  presence of living beings, as well 
  as their type (humans or animals) 
  within a range equal to the rating 
  x 30 m. 
            At rating 3, the psychic is 
  able to view the past concerning 
  himself or an object, area or per-
  son he’s in close contact with. The 
  vision can extend to a number of 
  years in the past equal to 4x 
  whereas x is the power’s rating (eg 
  at rating 3 the psychic can view 
  events which happened 4x4x4=64 
  years before). The vision will pro-
  vide useful information, although 
  it’s very difficult to control and 
  focus on specific events. Another 
  use of premonitions at this level is 
  to sense the exact location of a 
  being known to the psychic.  
            At rating 4, the psychic’s 
  vision extends to the future, being 
  able to see what will happen re-
  garding an object, person or place. 
  He is advised to remember that 
  the future is not set. What he 
  sees is only a version of the future 
  and not a fact, so the future can 
  be altered by taking the right 
  course of action. The psychic can 
  view the future up to a period of 
  hours equal to 4x (whereas x is 
  again the rating of the power). A 
  more macabre but useful never-
  theless application of the power is 
  to sense a person's doom in gen-
  eral details. Of course, this is not 
  an impending doom and can change 
  
  14 
  if the person takes the appropri-
  ate measures. 
   
  Resistance c 
  A psychic with this power has 
  learnt to exert control over his 
  whole body. Even the autonomous 
  nervous system is under his com-
  plete control. He can keep his 
  heart beating even when he’s 
  taken mortal injuries, use his mus-
  cles when they’ve sustained heavy 
  damage or retain the functionality 
  of his brain in cases of low oxy-
  genation. When this power is in 
  use, the psychic rolls a number of 
  dice equal to the power’s rating 
  whenever he receives damage. The 
  t# for all dice is 4 and the first 
  success completely negates one 
  damage point. Every additional 
  success 
  converts 
  Constitution 
  points to Stamina points (is Stam-
  ina damage, every success negates 
  one damage point). However, as 
  soon as the power ends (the psy-
  chic lets down his concentration), 
  the psychic suffers an additional 
  Stamina loss equal to the con-
  verted damage. This may cause 
  him to collapse or even drop dead.  
             In cases of asphyxiation, 
  the psychic is able to act freely 
  for a number of minutes equal to 
  the rating of the power before he 
  begins to suffer any adverse ef-
  fects.  
   
  Sound c  
  By using this power, the psychic is 
  able to generate sound waves or 
  modify existing ones. This ability 
  has a broad range of applications. 
            At rating one, the psychic 
  has yet to master sound genera-
  tion. However, he is able to modify 
  any sound in the vicinity (the 
  source must be within 10 m per 
  rating point), changing its fre-
  quency and volume at will. Still, he 
  can’t render a sound ultra– or sub-
  sonic or increase/decrease its 
  frequency and volume by more 
  than 50%. 
            At rating two, the psychic 
  can render a specific sound ultra-
  sonic or subsonic, so that it can’t 
  be heard. He can also generate any 
  sound within the frequency range 
  heard by humans. 
            At rating three, the psychic 
  is able to generate a field around 
  him with a diameter equal to his 
  range in tens of meters, in which 
  sound is annihilated. Silence rules 
  this area. His mastery over ultra-
  sonic and subsonic waves enables 
  him to generate such waves with 
  some interesting properties cho-
  sen by him. 
            Ultrasonic waves can be fo-
  cused so as to cause pain and dis-
  orientation 
  to 
  anyone 
  hearing 
  them. As long as the sound per-
  sists, anyone hearing it suffers a 
  +1 penalty to all actions and needs 
  to make a VIT roll on every round 
  to avoid losing a Stamina point. 
  Covering one’s ears is successful in 
  avoiding the roll but the penalty 
  persists. Ear shields protect com-
  pletely. 
            Subsonic waves are a more 
  subtle and insidious form of at-
  tack. Anyone subject to them for 
  at least 5 minutes becomes dizzy, 
  slow and loses energy. Such per-
  sons have a +1 penalty on all ac-
  tions and an extra +1 for the ini-
  tiative check.  
            At rating four, imitating any 
  sound he has heard is easy for the 
  psychic. He can even speak with 
  the voice of someone else and the 
  words seem to come out of his 
  mouth.  
  Clever psychics may invent clever 
  methods to use this power. Super-
  sonic sounds may keep dogs at bay, 
  while subsonic sounds not strong 
  enough to cause any discomfort to 
  humans force insects to stay clear 
  of the area. Really intense and fo-
  cused ultrasonics may break glass 
  
  15 
  or crystal objects. 
   
  Telekinesis c 
  This psionic power enables the 
  psychic to move and manipulate 
  objects by force of will alone. The 
  psychic can move an object no 
  more than 10 m x power rating 
  away as if he had a Conditioning 
  equal to 3 plus one die per point of 
  rating beyond one (at +1 cumula-
  tive). Movement is difficult and 
  jerky at best; the psychic uses his 
  Litheness but with a +2 penalty. 
  As soon as the power gets going, 
  the psychic can maintain control 
  over the object by concentration 
  (spending one action per round). 
   
  Telepathy c 
  The psychic is able to project his 
  thoughts to another person over 
  long distances. At a low level of 
  expertise (rating 1), the psychic 
  can only send his thoughts to the 
  target, while at a higher level a 
  conversation cam take place be-
  tween the psychic and the target. 
  The range of this power is not in-
  finite; the two individuals may not 
  be separated by a number of kilo-
  meters greater than ten times the 
  telepathy rating. 
   
  Thermakinesis 
  This power enables the psychic to 
  alter the temperature of an ob-
  ject. When used on metals, it can 
  cause them to grow red hot or 
  painfully cold within seconds. Liq-
  uids can be frozen or evaporated. 
  Other materials are affected in a 
  similar way. If used for producing 
  heat on a being (something that 
  requires rating 3+), it causes 5 
  damage with no armor protecting. 
  If cold is produced, it causes 6 
  damage (armor also doesn’t pro-
  tect) plus a +1 penalty to all physi-
  cal actions for two rounds because 
  of the muscle numbing due to the 
  cold. 
   
  Transcendence c 
  By means of this power the psy-
  chic ascends to a higher state of 
  consciousness, projecting his will 
  to take an immaterial form. The 
  caster is able to freely move to-
  wards all directions, even fly, with 
  no restrictions, as his will is imma-
  terial and can’t be held by physical 
  obstacles or even damaged by 
  weapons. In turn, he can’t manipu-
  late any physical object nor can he 
  use any of his psionic abilities 
  through his projected will.  
            While immaterial, the psy-
  chic can use his full array of 
  senses, while he can’t be senses by 
  any means except via other psionic 
  powers. When the psychic’s con-
  centration ends, the portion of his 
  will that was projected returns to 
  his body. 
            The maximum distance the 
  psychic’s will can be separated 
  from his body is one kilometer per 
  point of rating. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  16 
  Cancel  
  Unlike most disciplines, this one 
  requires the use of  an action. It 
  is an instinctive defense which en-
  ables the psychic to counter a 
  psionic power before it is used on 
  him. “Mental dodge” would be a 
  precise term, since it use is de-
  clared as soon as the psychic be-
  comes the target of some power 
  and decides the sacrifice his next 
  action in the round (like dodge, he 
  must have an action left). He then 
  makes a Determination check using 
  the cancel rating as a skill. If the 
  successes are greater than those 
  of the power’s initiation check, the 
  power is immediately terminated, 
  having no effect on him. 
   
  Exceed 
  This potent discipline is only 
  learnt by few master psychics. It 
  enables them to temporarily in-
  crease the rating of their power 
  over four. Unlike other disciplines, 
  the use of this one requires an ac-
  tion. On his next action, the psy-
  chic can expend points from the 
  discipline to increase the rating of 
  one of his powers for only one use. 
  The power boosted must be owned 
  at level 4. The increased rating 
  doesn’t give extra abilities beyond 
  those of level 4 but it does affect 
  the dice rolled, the area of effect 
  and any other factor based on the 
  rating. 
   
  Focus 
  This discipline enables the psychic 
  to maintain a psionic power by con-
  centration without having to waste 
  an action during the round. In-
  stead of spending an action, the 
  psychic expends one point of the 
  discipline to retain concentration. 
   
  Joker 
  Joker acts as a bank of raw men-
  tal energy  that can be used to ac-
  tivate or fuel psionic powers. The 
  psychic can use points of this dis-
  cipline to increase any power he 
  has (at least rating one). This in-
  crease in the rating lasts for only 
  one use of the power and may not 
  boost the power to more than dou-
  ble of its original rating (and up to 
  a maximum of 4). 
  This discipline ha twice the normal 
  cost to initially purchase it due to 
  its powerful nature and is twice as 
  hard to develop through experi-
  ence as any other discipline or 
  power (meaning that two experi-
  ence checks are needed for it to 
  be increased by one point). 
   
  Physique 
  Psychics that have mastered this 
  discipline are able to handle the 
  exertion and weariness caused by 
  intense concentration better and 
  in many cases ignore their results. 
  So, instead of temporarily de-
  creasing the rating of a power 
  which has been just used, the psy-
  chic may instead decrease this 
  discipline’s rating. 
   
  Potency 
  This discipline enables the psychic 
  to use powers with greater ease 
  and effectiveness. By spending one 
  point, he can roll one extra die (at 
  +1 cumulative) for the initiation 
  check of a psionic power. By 
  spending three points, he can roll 
  two extra dice. 
   
  Splice 
  The psychic can divide his mind 
  power among several psionic pow-
  ers, something useful in emergen-
  cies. He is able to initiate more 
  than one power in the same action 
  (however the concentration cost 
  must be paid for each power sepa-
  rately). The rating of the disci-
  Disciplines 
  
  17 
  pline increased by one shows the 
  maximum number of powers which 
  can be initiated during a single ac-
  tion. Because the psychic distrib-
  utes his mental power among sev-
  eral powers, each initiation check 
  uses some but not all of his Deter-
  mination t#s. He divides his De-
  termination t#s as he sees fit 
  among the powers he intends to 
  use, with each power getting at 
  least one die to a maximum of dice 
  equal to the discipline rating.  
            Example: Ruger has 346 De-
  termination and one point in splice. 
  He decides to initiate two powers 
  in a single action. Because he only 
  has one point in splice, this is the 
  maximum number of powers he can 
  initiate simultaneously and each 
  power can have only one Determi-
  nation t#. So, Ruger decides to 
  use t# 3 for his primary power 
  and t# 4 for the other. 
   
   
  
  18 
  The following are some gifts and 
  drawbacks that may be appropri-
  ate in a campaign where psionic 
  powers are present. Most of them 
  are intended for psychics, but 
  there are some exceptions which 
  can be chosen by “normal” people 
  as well. 
   
  Gifts 
  Psionic blast (10 points): Your 
  psionic powers have an explosive, 
  dangerous side that can prove le-
  thal to your enemies and friends 
  alike if you’re not careful. In times 
  of anger and emotional stress, you 
  can unleash raw psychic energy 
  with devastating effects on the 
  surroundings. 
  When 
  using 
  this 
  ability, you expend points from 
  your psionic powers as if you were 
  using them. Up to 5 points may be 
  expended in a single application 
  (taken from different powers if 
  you wish so). Base damage is 3, 
  adding one die (at +1 cumulative) 
  for each extra point expended (so, 
  maximum damage is 34567). The 
  blast rating is 2 m. No attack roll 
  is necessary; everything inside the 
  blast area is damaged (except 
  from you of course). The type of 
  the damage is energy. 
  Psionic grounder (10 points): For 
  some unexplained reasons, you act 
  like a grounder for psionic ener-
  gies, being almost completely im-
  mune to psionics (although you’re 
  completely incapable of exhibiting 
  even the slightest psionic poten-
  tial yourself). You get to roll three 
  dice, all with t#4, every time a 
  power seeks to affect you. Even if 
  one success is rolled, the power 
  has no effect whatsoever on you. 
  Psionic 
  resistance 
  (2 
  points): 
  Your mind has special defensive 
  mechanisms against psionic pow-
  ers. You have a –1 bonus on every 
  roll you make for resisting psionic 
  powers. 
   
  Psychic awareness (3 points): 
  You possess a mysterious ability to 
  sense people with access to psionic 
  powers when near them. When a 
  psychic is within 30 m of you, 
  make a Presentiment check to be-
  come aware of his presence. With 
  one success, you only have a feel-
  ing that someone of power is near 
  you. With two successes, you can 
  pinpoint him exactly, while with 
  three successes you even feel how 
  powerful he is. The check suffers 
  a +1 penalty per 10 m of distance 
  from the target. 
  Wild talent (4 points): Instead 
  of your psionic potential remaining 
  at a constant level, it has peaks 
  and valleys. On the beginning of 
  each day, you have the option of 
  decreasing one of your powers by 
  one point (to a minimum of one) to 
  increase another power by one (to 
  a minimum of our). Once that 
  switch is made, it remains as it is 
  for the rest of the day. 
  Drawbacks 
  Psionic beacon (7 points): This 
  drawback is available only if you 
  have purchased the psionic talent 
  or psionic mastery gift. Your brain 
  emits waves of psionic energy at 
  all times, a procedure you’re un-
  able to control. These waves can 
  even be felt by normal people 
  without any psionic potential as an 
  uneasy, strange feeling when being 
  around you (+1 to all your Influ-
  ence checks). Individuals with the 
  psychic awareness gift have a –2 
  bonus on their roll to spot you. 
  Psychics without the gift can 
  sense you as if they have it 
  (although they don’t get the bo-
  nus). 
  Psionic susceptibility (2 points): 
  You’re defenseless against psion-
  ics, having a +1 penalty on any roll 
  to resist them. 
  Gifts & Drawbacks 
  
  19 
  For years, investigators of para-
  normal activity considered psionics 
  to be just a paradox of natural 
  laws. They could not imagine the 
  full consequences of the existence 
  of psionics or realise their extent. 
  When some psychics encountered 
  phenomena unexplained by the old 
  way of thinking, they grew to be-
  lieve that psionic powers are 
  based on particles, like gravity is 
  based on gravitons and electricity 
  on electrons and protons. And if 
  living beings of our world are made 
  of particles, couldn’t there be en-
  tities consisting of psionic parti-
  cles? These hypothetical beings 
  were named metapsionic entities. 
            It’s difficult to imagine the 
  appearance of a metapsionic en-
  tity. How does a being of mental 
  energy looks like? What is its task 
  in life, its way of thinking? Maybe 
  psionic particles and metapsionic 
  entities come from another dimen-
  sion of existence, so that they 
  must seem completely alien to us. 
  So far, there are no means of 
  sensing and observing psionic par-
  ticles except from some vague 
  abilities like psychic awareness. 
  Thus, there is no way of actually 
  “seeing” these creatures. Their 
  existence is only a theory with no 
  definite evidence until now. 
   
  Robbers of dreams 
  The robbers of dreams are rare 
  extradimensional entities with an 
  innate disorder, which makes them 
  unable to use the psionic energy of 
  their world. To survive and be able 
  to use their psionic powers, they 
  have to steal the psionic energy of 
  creatures from our dimension. 
            Robbers dwell far away from 
  our dimension, but they have the 
  ability to enter the dreams of a 
  creature in our world. They steal 
  these dreams and through them 
  its psionic energy. The robbers 
  need one unit of psionic energy per 
  three days to survive. An animal 
  can give them half a unit per day, 
  while a normal human may provide 
  one unit per day. A psychic how-
  ever can provide a lot more, so a 
  robber is always on the search for 
  one. They can detect psychics as 
  if they had the psionic awareness 
  gift and can examine one person 
  per night. Psychics provide units 
  equal to the total points of powers 
  they have in one night. 
            Stealing 
  the 
  dreams 
  of 
  someone requires beating him in a 
  determination contest. Robbers 
  typically have 3-7 determination 
  dice. If they fail, they can’t try 
  again during the same night. 
            Not having any dreams will 
  eventually drive the victim psy-
  chotic and finally completely mad. 
  This usually happens after 4-6 
  months. The only way to drive a 
  robber away is to battle him di-
  rectly. A robber can’t be assaulted 
  physically because it lies in a dif-
  ferent dimension. However, it can 
  be attacked by psionics through 
  its connection with the victim’s 
  dreams. This can be attempted if 
  the victim is asleep and the rob-
  ber tries to steal his dreams. A 
  robber has many psionic abilities 
  but needs to expend units of 
  power to use them. A typical rob-
  ber has  12 points worth of powers 
  (having to expend one unit of 
  power to use one of them once) 
  and 5 points of disciplines (these 
  don’t have any cost). It has 3 con-
  stitution points and stamina equal 
  to their determination dice plus 3. 
  If it is destroyed or flees sever-
  ing the connection, it won’t trouble 
  the victim again. 
   
  Spectres 
  Spectres are a favorite theme of 
  horror tales and old legends but 
  they may exist for real after all. 
  They can be described as rem-
  nants of a deceased person’s mind 
  Metapsionic entities 
  
  20 
  and psychic energy which lingers 
  to the world of mortals even after 
  death. Even if they do exist, the 
  creation of spectres seems to be a 
  very rare phenomenon and trig-
  gered only by certain events: a 
  violent, traumatic death, an impor-
  tant task left unaccomplished or 
  other equally shady cases.  
            A spectre has no physical 
  form or appearance. It is an imma-
  terial force unhindered by any ma-
  terial.           
            Spectres are unable to in-
  teract with the reality of the 
  physical world directly. Instead, 
  they are forced to use their 
  psionic 
  powers. 
  Being 
  entities 
  made of mental energy, spectres 
  possess some psionic abilities even 
  if they didn’t have any during their 
  lives. All spectres are considered 
  to have telekinesis, claw and te-
  lepathy, all at rating one. More-
  over, no matter how many times 
  they use their powers, the rating 
  can never drop to zero. Spectres 
  don’t need to sleep; one point in 
  each one of their powers is re-
  stores per hour passing. 
            Individual spectres may be 
  more powerful; this is especially 
  true for previous psychics. Their 
  mental prowess is enhanced in 
  most cases by their new state of 
  existence. In addition to the clas-
  sical psionic powers, spectres can 
  possess a unique one, described 
  here: 
  Possession: Some spectres are 
  able to take control of someone’s 
  physical body. The victim must be 
  within sight of the spectre and he 
  must 
  lose 
  in 
  a 
  determination 
  check. This power must not be 
  confused with mental domination: 
  the spectre just takes the “reins” 
  of the victim’s body, it does not 
  control his mind as well. Any action 
  attempted uses the victim’s physi-
  cal attributes but the spectre’s 
  skills. The duration of control is 
  equal to the rating of the power in 
  tens of minutes. After that, the 
  victim has the chance to break 
  free every ten minutes by winning 
  in a determination contest (every 
  contest after the first is made 
  with an increasing –1 bonus for the 
  victim). During the possession, the 
  spectre needs not be within sight 
  of the victim. Indeed, the pos-
  sessed person may go up to one 
  kilometer per rating point away 
  without losing the connection with 
  the spectre. However, the spectre 
  needs to concentrate completely 
  on retaining the possession, for-
  saking all other actions. 
            Spectres are dangerous ene-
  mies, difficult 
  to destroy. It 
  seems that only psionic powers can 
  harm them. Another way to get rid 
  of them, albeit even more diffi-
  cult, is to exorcise them. Every 
  spectre has a reason for remaining 
  in the material world. If this rea-
  son is lost, the spectre will vanish 
  and join the dead. For example, a 
  spectre that was violently killed, 
  might vanish if its death was 
  avenged. 
            The transition from life to 
  unlife seriously disturbs most peo-
  ple’s minds. It is entirely possible 
  that a spectre is much different 
  than the man it used to be, even 
  paranoid or deranged. One should 
  be extremely cautious when deal-
  ing with such entities, for they are 
  very unpredictable. 
   
  Will o wisp 
  These 
  mysterious 
  and 
  elusive 
  creatures have their name derived 
  from a mythical faerie being of old 
  English folklore. They are also 
  called “ball lightning” by the scien-
  tists who have studied them over 
  the years. Only a few of these sci-
  entists have been bold enough to 
  declare them as sentient crea-
  tures. Most believed them to be 
  
  21 
  natural phenomena, freak ones but 
  natural nevertheless. 
            Both groups are wrong. Will 
  ‘o wisps aren’t natural phenomena 
  but aren’t sentient either. What 
  they is condensations of psionic 
  energy with limited consciousness 
  and self-awareness. It seems that 
  they are attracted to electrical 
  power, perhaps because they feed 
  on it. Great amounts of electricity 
  allows them to enter our world. 
  The amount of energy needed is 
  difficult to be amassed by natural 
  phenomena, except from the most 
  severe 
  storms, 
  but 
  can 
  be 
  achieved by overcharged power 
  generators. This is believed to be 
  the reason why ball lightnings are 
  witnessed more often than in pre-
  vious ages, when electrical power 
  was more scarce or absent.  
            Will ‘o wisps move through 
  the air in a seemingly random pat-
  tern. This makes them a hazard 
  for people and objects, as every-
  thing they touch instantly ignites 
  (if flammable) or overheats (at 
  the rate of 400 C/round of con-
  tact). People and equipment suffer 
  damage equal to the creature’s vi-
  tality rating per round of immola-
  tion. They can pass right through 
  physical obstacles, so most weap-
  ons are inefficient against them. 
  Weapons that deal energy damage 
  disrupt them, forcing them to re-
  main motionless for one action per 
  damage point, but otherwise have 
  no effect. 
            Typical statistics for a will 
  ‘o wisp are: 
  conditioning -       intellect 9 
  litheness 34         insight - 
  vitality 4              determination 6 
  reaction 345        presentiment 6 
  comeliness -         influence - 
  constitution 2      stamina 3 
  defense 1 
  A will ‘o wisp is made of enough 
  psionic energy to power tremen-
  dous psionic abilities, but since it’s 
  semi-sentient it can’t actually use 
  any. It is immune to most psionic 
  powers and attempts to communi-
  cate telepathically with it fail ut-
  terly. Indeed, psionic powers tar-
  geting it are absorbed and serve 
  to strengthen it. Every success of 
  the initiation check restores one 
  lost stamina and constitution point 
  and adds one die to vitality (at +1 
  cumulative) for one hour. 
            The only exception is the 
  counterpsionic power. It negates 
  the psionic energy of the will ‘o 
  wisp, 
  causing 
  one 
  constitution 
  point of damage per success of 
  the initiation check. If the will ‘o 
  wisp is reduced to zero constitu-
  tion, it explodes in a brilliant flash 
  of light doing energy damage equal 
  to its vitality rating with blast 5. 
  So far, this is the only known way 
  to destroy a will ‘o wisp. 
  A will ‘o wisp absorbs psionic en-
  ergy within a radius of 15 m. Main-
  tained powers are instantly termi-
  nated and all initiation checks suf-
  fer a +3 penalty. Electrical power 
  is also absorbed in this area with a 
  high rate. Batteries are drained, 
  generators fail and so on. 
  It has been theorised that given 
  the natural affinity of the will ‘o 
  wisp for electricity, it could be 
  contained by using powerful elec-
  tromagnetic fields. However, this 
  has never been attempted in prac-
  tice and so can’t be proven yet. 
  Maybe the creature will just suck 
  the power of the magnetic field or 
  pass unhindered through it. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Nova/Nova Brainstorm.pdf