p_clapham Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'm looking to do some rules for Psychic Powers as part of my Pulp Legend project, I have a few ideas, and wanted to know what folks think of them as I am not sure what direction I want to go. Here is what I have so far. Psychic Powers as Edges - In this case Psychic Powers would simply be another kind of edge. A character advantage that can be purchased during character creation, or during play. Edges are minor abilities, kind of a hybrid of Heroic Abilities, Common Magic, and Folk Magic. Under this system Psychic Powers would be very low-powered. Psychic Powers as a kind of Sorcery - Under this system psychics would make use of two skills for their powers. Persistence, which would act as a measure of their mental strength and act as the Manipulation Skill, and a Powers specific skill such as Telepathy, which would act as the Grimore skill for all Powers with the Telepathy keyword. Psychic Powers as Common Magic - I'm less than enthusiastic about this method, which is just letting characters purchase Common Magic relabeled as Psychic Powers. If you have any suggestions for any other systems I'd love to hear it. I am trying to keep away from magic point intensive rules such as the powers in Basic Roleplaying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sephleon Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Why not just use them as in the BRP BGB, but not use any resource like MP at all? Just let the PC's skill get penalized the more he/she is trying to do with the power (i.e. trying to use Telepathy on 10 people at once would be a much heftier penalty than just on 1 person, like maybe -5% or -10% per additional person after the first). If you use Fatigue Points (or any Fatigue rule, really), you could substitute that (or even Hit Points) in for MP instead if you still want some resource management, but don't want to rely on MP. Personally, of the three you listed, I'd probably go with Sorcery or Common Magic. It really depends on how exclusive you want Psychic Powers to be and how difficult it is to master them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mankcam Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I would keep Psychic Powers consistent with your other approach to the other Feats/Talents in a Pulp Adventure setting, although perhaps the costing is slightly higher due to their 'Weird' nature. So if your Feats/Talents have no PP expenditure, like Savage Worlds Edges, then I would describe them in similar terms. Or, alternatively, you choose to have a single 'Psychic' Special Ability, which allows for a wider scope of applications (ie beyond the mundane) for certain skills such as Scan, Spot, Listen, Insight, Fast Talk, Persuade, Navigate, etc. I would possibly insist on 1 Power Point cost to use these skills beyond their usual mundane parameters, although you could handwave that. Not sure if that is consistent with your other Pulp Feats though . Quote " Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 I gave the powers in BRP another look over, and I think I am going to go with a modified version of them. Rather than using the character's POW to determine the strength/ duration/ range of the power I am going to divide the skill by ten and use that to determine the potency of the power. I am essentially applying the sorcery intensity rules to the powers. Psychic powers that deal damage will use the Wrack damage table to determine how much damage they deal. I think this will keep psychic powers on par with sorcery. It will be more powerful up front, but will not have the same flexibility as sorcery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerdvana Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 If you have a copy of it, Elfquest may be the origin of the Psychic Powers from the BGB... and has powers not represented in said book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 I think I have a copy of elfquest buried somewhere. I will try to find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 I managed to find a copy of the Elf Book online! Good thing too, I have no idea where my Elfquest book is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mankcam Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 As an aside, I would love to see a PDF release of ElfQuest. I think FATE would be perfect for a modern interpretation, but I would also like to see what Chaosium did with it. I loved the ElfQuest comics in the 1980s and wonder if the BRP system was able to capture their magic. One would think BRP would be too gritty, but a BRP-Lite rule set could have been apt. Oh well, that ship has sailed now... Yes I know, I derailed off-topic... Quote " Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 A official release of the Elfquest book would be nice. I lucked out in a quick google search. FATE would be interesting. I have been working on a FATE version of Transformers for a one-shot this upcoming winter break. FATE also seems like a system that could do Call of Cthulhu exceptionally well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 Elfquest powers are interesting, rather than having the POW of the character determine the potency of the power being used, it is instead the number of Power Points spent on the power. In addition for each 10% you have in the power one less power point is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_clapham Posted August 15, 2014 Author Share Posted August 15, 2014 Still plugging away at this project. I still have the following to convert: Mind Blast Mind Control Mind Shield Precognition Psychometry Sensitivity Telekinesis Telekinetic Shield Telepathy Here is what I have thus far. Astral Projection Range: Intensity x10 Kilometers Duration: 1 hour per power point spent Power Point Cost: 1 point to activate, 1 per full hour to keep active. With this power the psychic detaches their mind from their body, traveling the physical word as a formless invisible spirit. Astral characters can see and interact with ghosts and other spirits. Use the spirit combat rules. At the game master's discretization you may be able to use other mental powers and cast some spells while astrally projected. Your astral form moves at your normal movement rate in any direction. If your character is familiar with the location and it is within range he can move there in one Round. The character can also move back to their body just as quickly. While using Astral Projection the character's body is comatose, as if it were in a light coma. If the character runs out of power points while using Astral Projection they begin to lose one hit point from all locations at the rate of one per hour until they return to their body. If someone attempts to interact with your physical form (shaking you, speaking to you) a hard (-40%) Perception test is required to notice the attempt. Aura Detection Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: 1 round per power point spent Power Point cost: 1 to activate, 1 per round to keep active Aura Detection allows you to see the energy fields that surround all living things, allowing you to gauge their emotional state, overall health, and psychic power. Aura Detection also allows you to see spirits such as ghosts, but it does not let you physically interact with them. Aura Detection allows you to learn the following: Whether the target is healthy or diseased, and if so, how severe the disease is. Whether the target is benevolent or evil, and how much so. Whether the being is full of power points, overcharged, low, or depleted. The target's relative power, rated on a scale of “much stronger, stronger, equal to, weaker, much weaker” than your character. The emotional state of the target. Clairvoyance Range: Intensity x10 kilometers Duration: 10 minutes per power point spent Power Point Cost: 1 to activate, 1 per every full ten minutes to keep active This power allows the character to project his senses into another location within the range of the power. The character can both see and hear as if they were physically present in the location. If the area is known to the psychic they can project their senses almost immediately. If it is a unknown location a Perception check is required, possibly at a penalty. Cryokenesis - Thermokinesis Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Resilience With this power the psychic is able to project waves of intense cold. Cryokenesis deals damage to a random hit location according to their Thermokinesis skill. Armor provides no protection, but certain psychic powers and spells may. 1-20% 1D2, 21-40% 1D4, 41-60% 1D6, 61-80% 1D8, 81-100% 1D10, 101-120% 2D6, 121-140% 1D6+1D8, 141-160% 2D8, and so on. Danger Sense Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 power point to activate With this power the character is able to sense danger within the immediate area. This power can be utilized in several ways. It can be used as a active power, used to scan a area for danger. It can also be activated at the beginning of combat adding the intensity of the power to the character's strike rank. Dowsing Range: Intensity x10 in meters Duration: Concentration Power Point Cost: 1 to activate, 1 per every full ten minutes to keep active. This power is traditionally used for finding sources of underground water, but it has been used to find missing persons, lost treasure, and valuable ore. Dowsing requires the character to concentrate on the object/ subject in question. No other combat actions may be taken while dowsing, although the character may walk up to his full movement rate while concentrating. The game master may apply difficulty modifiers to the character's dowsing attempt. It is very hard to find a few golden coins and cups within 50 cubic meters of soil and rock. Dowsing does not tell the character where the object/ subject is, it only lets him know when he is getting closer or further. Eidetic Memory Range: Self Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate The character is capable of incredible feats of mental recall. If the game master ever requires you to make a skill roll in order to remember a crucial fact you may roll Eidetic memory instead. Minor details require no roll at all, your character is assumed to have made the roll automatically. In addition if your character fails a INT based skill he may re-roll using Eidetic Memory. Emotion Control Range: Intensity x5 Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Persistence Through this power the character is capable of instilling strong emotions in the target. They could cause a opponent to cease hostilities by instilling them with love, or fear. These feeling last until the end of the scene unless the character's actions would disrupt them, such as attacking a target you had instilled with love or friendship. The intensity of Emotion Control must equal 1/3 of the target's INT or greater in order to work. Here are some sample emotions and their effects, work with your gamemaster to come up with more. Friendship/ Love: The target refuses to attack the character, and may even be willing to go along with actions suggested by the character. This emotion is dispelled if the character attacks the target. Fear: The immediately flees from the combat if engaged with the character. They may return 1D3 rounds later nerves shaken, and may not make any attacks against the character unless attacked first. Fanaticism: The target's close combat attacks are increased by 50%, but they cannot parry, dodge, cast spells, or use powers. Empathy Range: Intensity in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Persistence With this power you can determine the target's inner feelings. You need to need to be able to see the target or sense him through another psychic ability to use this power. A normal success provides you with insight into the dominate emotion the target is experiencing. A critical success gives you insight on what the target plans to do about that emotional state. A failure reveals nothing, and a fumble provides false information. Extinguish - Thermokinesis Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 power point to activate The character is able to quench fires with the power of his mind. Every two levels of intensity allows the character to downgrade a fire one category. So a character with a Thermokinesis of 43% could put out a large flame instantly, or downgrade a large fire to a large flame. Levitation - Telekinesis Range: Self Duration: Concentration Power Point Cost: 1 to activate, 1 power point for each subsequent round With this power the character is able to lift himself off the ground and fly after a fashion. For this power to work the intensity of the Telekinesis score must be 1/3 of the character's SIZ or greater. The character is now able to move in any direction at a speed equal to the intensity of the power. Pyrokinesis - Thermokinesis Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Resilience The character can start fires with the power of their mind. For two points of intensity the character can create a flame. For four points of intensity the character can create a large flame. For six points of intensity the character can create a small fire. For eight points of intensity the character can create a large fire. For ten points of intensity the character can create a inferno. Pyrokinetic Blast - Thermokinesis Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Evasion With this power the psychic is able to project waves of intense heat and fire. Pyrokinetic blast deals damage to a random hit location according to their Thermokinesis skill. Armor provides no protection, but certain psychic powers and spells may. 1-20% 1D2, 21-40% 1D4, 41-60% 1D6, 61-80% 1D8, 81-100% 1D10, 101-120% 2D6, 121-140% 1D6+1D8, 141-160% 2D8, and so on. Telekinetic Blow - Telekinesis Range: Intensity x5 in meters Duration: Instantaneous Power Point Cost: 1 to activate Resist: Evasion With this power the psychic is able to project waves of telekinetic force. Telekinetic blow deals damage to a random hit location according to their Telekinesis skill. 1-20% 1D2, 21-40% 1D4, 41-60% 1D6, 61-80% 1D8, 81-100% 1D10, 101-120% 2D6, 121-140% 1D6+1D8, 141-160% 2D8, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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