Interpretation of Psiconics

S

Sheelba

Mongoose
I'm curious about how people interpret and use psionic powers. Of course we all get to decide how to play our own games but I am curious about what everyone thinks the RAW of psionics are. For example, I think the power Life Detection is like a single radar "ping". A snapshot if you like, of everything living which is present. I also think that one can only allocate a limited amount of attention so a psion character wouldn't be entitled to every single bit of information, depending on the situation. "Hey, I used Life Detection when we were hunting the space marines in the warehouse, what do you mean I don't know that there were 16 geese 4 kilometres to the northeast flying at an altitude of 300m?" would lead me to reply that you were obviously focused on looking for threats in or near the building and I'm not accepting that you picked out everything that you sensed in the same way as I would not perceive everything that is in my field of vision as I write this due to an array of factors. A character sitting down casually and saying "I am allowing my telepathy to just tell me where living things are" might get a different response, again, depending on the context. However, I have seen threads (I can't remember where) where people posting believed, or house-ruled, that Life Detection has or should have a duration and it has been left out of the rules by mistake.

On the other hand, I haven't noticed any rule regarding how long clairvoyance works for - if I haven't spotted something in the rules feel free to point me to it. So it seems reasonable that if I use clairvoyance as my senses in my actual body are hindered then I can maintain this power for as long as I want, within reason (normal fatigue and the like). I'm assuming that this is correct, but I am aware of that an assumption is being made.

Now, I'm the Call of Cthulhu Keeper for my table and not the Traveller referee, so I'm not saying what I would impose on a group. Instead, I'm thinking about the psion which I have rolled up and will be the first use of psionic powers at the table I play at. So I'm thinking about myself not others, and will be happily abiding by my referee's call.

That said, I am curious. Do you have any thoughts, on these examples or any other aspects of the psionic rule which you feel are not so clear?
 
Then again, telekinesis has something different to say about duration in the description that is at odds with the time in the check.

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I've always understood the powers without stated durations to be one-shot uses, not "turn on" uses. And the powers with no duration listed are mostly priced in pp such that you could simply repeat them several times when needed.

However I notice also that several powers that need some minimal duration to be effective (Read Surface Thoughts, Telepathy, Clairaudience) have a check time interval of 1dx10 seconds, compared to others with 1d seconds. So my approach was have duration equal check time for purposes of communicating, listening in, etc. But ironically that 1d6x10 seconds is inferior to just one minute, so I allow you to take the max, but I rule you're still focusing on that so the -2 to everything if you're taking other actions during the duration.

On clairvoyance specifically I wouldn't let you just turn it on, but at 1 pp for the various "scrying" powers you can simply repeat if you're watching something good. I would also give you a task chain bonus for repeating the target, which in the latest (and most sensible) version of the task chain chart will be at least a +1 if you've succeeded at all. This last I consider a ruling but not a houserule.

A drawback to leaning heavily on timeframes is we're at an odd point on the timeframes table where you might actually want to increase time to (up to) ten minutes, while 1d6x10 goes to a flat one minute (not much improvement), but next time out I might count the increase from the max in seconds (one minute) up to the max of 1d6x10 minutes. This last is definitely a house rule not something that can be read in to the rules.

Life Detection specifically really could have used the same line as Sense has, "The Effect of the check determines the level of accuracy and clarity." Without that it is potentially overpowered, but how much so depends on the GM and the player.

Terry Mixon said:
Isn’t the duration in the check part of the description?
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Read very literally that's the time it takes to perform the check and not necessarily the duration, but yes, you have instantly apprehended and concisely stated what I once had to reason out laboriously.

Terry Mixon said:
Then again, telekinesis has something different to say about duration in the description that is at odds with the time in the check.
Click to expand...

I take the stated exceptions as indirect support for check length equals duration for powers where it's not stated, because everything that doesn't state a duration does more or less work using check length.
 
Oh, so the argument being put forward here is that while in the regular skill section the check section is the time taken to achieve some kind of affect in the unique case of psionic power it is actually the duration, unless otherwise stated. I don't see us interpreting the rules the way you are suggesting, but it is interesting.

How long does it take to achieve the effect in this case? Do you rule that it starts when the attempt starts, say, at the beginning of the major action in the round that a psion is trying to read a mind the mind starts to be read and it can be read until the attempt ceases, so 10-60 seconds in the case of read Surface Thoughts? How long is a victim unconscious for if hit by a telepathic Assault, 1-6 seconds? Does a suggestion only last for 10-60 seconds? What do you do if someone wants to perform a psionic action more quickly? They are already incurring a penalty of -2 to the roll, does the power last for less time as well? Im curious about how you work it all.
 
For Suggestion, 10-60 seconds (or simply one minute) is how long I'd give in character to phrase the suggestion, not how long it lasts thereafter. I.e. no puppetting someone, and no lengthy, multi-step instructions. Although the actual text description of "will follow the command or act on the idea" could be read as immediate, that's also vague.

"Unconscious" has a discrete rules description elsewhere ("may make an End check after every minute, cumulative +1 for every previous check failed") so isn't a mystery, and with a check duration 1-6 seconds, psi cost 8, and a discrete described effect doesn't fall into the category I meant to be talking about anyway.

In short I apply the check=duration only when I have no other clue as to duration.

Sheelba said:
How long does it take to achieve the effect in this case? Do you rule that it starts when the attempt starts, say, at the beginning of the major action in the round that a psion is trying to read a mind the mind starts to be read and it can be read until the attempt ceases, so 10-60 seconds in the case of read Surface Thoughts?
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Exactly so.

Sheelba said:
Oh, so the argument being put forward here is that while in the regular skill section the check section is the time taken to achieve some kind of affect in the unique case of psionic power it is actually the duration, unless otherwise stated. I don't see us interpreting the rules the way you are suggesting, but it is interesting.
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Well, "argument" is a strong word. My way is at least a ruling, and very possibly a house rule. The difficulty, as you found, is there's a gap that needs filled one way or another, so some ruling becomes necessary. Yours might be different, but I'm not sure a strict RAW is even possible here.
 
Well, "level of detail" in regards to a conversation (for example) would suggest length of observing. You'd probably go with a number of rounds equal to the effect, like other powers, if that was important.

But it could also relate to clarity of observation - a poor effect might result in Clairaudience that hears things muffled or misses some of the conversation, while a high effect result happens to catch critical information. Clairvoyance might see the number of people on the bridge, but not their faces. The actual length of the observation is probably less important than the amount of information gathered.
 
Yes, I think I wasn't paying enough attention to things like level of detail. Because it isn't really possible to hear something useful in a the same snapshot kind of way that one can see something and it said that clairaudience was basically the same as clairvoyance I assumed there has to be a kind of duration. But it is feasible that a series of flashes of images of an essentially static scene could be seen and a lot gained from it. "Level of detail" can take me from "a man standing or sitting by a table, there are indistinct object on the table. They are wearing a white top and a hat." to "you old friend Mark is sitting at his dining room table. He is wearing a white shirt and a new straw 'cowboy' hat. He has a vape in one hand and is reaching for some dice. A series of papers on the table outline the compound you need to break into in your next session." With Clairaudience I think I should move away from thinking in terms of a liner sequence of sounds to "knowing" what is being said or the sounds. I also think it might be plausible to link in a series of rolls/payments for rounds worth of listening. After all, all the clairvoyance powers are 1 pp apart form Tactical Awareness which includes a duration in the description.

Thank you all for chipping in. It helped me think about how I see things working and some assumptions I was making but didn't need to.
 
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There are a lot of things about the psion rules that are open to interpretation. The most important is duration.

Personally, I'd like to see in an update duration added as a parameter to each psion such as Check, Reach and Psi-Cost are.

I'd also advise everyone starting a Traveller campaign, where psionics are going to be used, to go through them and house-rule on everything that isn't clear before hand.

I think I've said in other threads, Life Detection, rules as given allow you to 'see' everything up 5,000km away (if you x4 the cost). House rule, you can only concentrate on a specific area (say 20m radius) within that range.

Where the duration is the effect. What happens when the effect is zero? You succeed but the duration is zero! House rule what happens then.

Mind Link needs two psions to cast the psion individually. So if they are not near each other how do they co-ordinate this?

The unconscious issue isn't one I'd thought about. But thinking about it now, I like the solution (use existing rules) above.

Also with assault, when a psion attacks another psion, it says the victim suffers damage, does that include unconsciousness? I'm not expecting people to answer. The point is, it isn't clear.

Regeneration - how long does it take?
 
Not all the powers with durations are the same.

Detect life doesn't specify, but as written gives the telepath a readout on all the life - especially unshielded intelligent life - up to Distant range (5km). Now, I'd pay attention to the effect of the skill roll closely here. I'm good with "is there life within range?" getting an answer. But an effect zero success should probably only give much more than that about large groups, or nearby sophonts.

Mind link lasts for a number of minutes equal to the combined effects of both Psions. Shield is in play at all times. But aside from those two, all the other telepathy powers seem to be one use, one effect (effectively instant after the time to perform the skill is served). Which is how most skills work.

Some telekinesis powers last for a number of rounds equal to the effect, others just have an effect once performed (Punch and Pyrokinesis).

Awareness powers vary. Suspended Animation is indefinite. Enhanced STR and Enhanced END last for Effect x10 minutes. Fortitude lasts for Effect x rounds. Inspiration is used up once, within a minute limit. Regeneration heals outright, the regained characteristic points are back as if healed naturally.

So... it varies. If you think there's too much or too little benefit for the PSI points used, adjust them. It's not as if this stuff is subject to any kind of reality checking. It's literally Space Magic.
 
Sheelba said:
Now, I'm the Call of Cthulhu Keeper for my table and not the Traveller referee, so I'm not saying what I would impose on a group. Instead, I'm thinking about the psion which I have rolled up and will be the first use of psionic powers at the table I play at. So I'm thinking about myself not others, and will be happily abiding by my referee's call.

That said, I am curious. Do you have any thoughts, on these examples or any other aspects of the psionic rule which you feel are not so clear?
Click to expand...
This might help:

PSI Chart - Consolidated PSI Article

Here's an updated Psionics Chart with the current Mongoose Traveller version 2 Update in 2024. It also has Special skills from previous ver...
sswstation.blogspot.com sswstation.blogspot.com
 
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