Psionics in CharGen

[phild]

Quick question - and it's a clear "IYO" - should a player with a psi-enabled character be able to take advantage of that fact in chargen? In particular, could someone with Awareness use the Enhanced Awareness / Strength / Endurance abilities to aid them in a roll related to an Event.

It's a bit clearer re: injuries - "Regeneration may also be applied to the growing of new limbs or organs to replace lost ones or to heal unrecovered old wounds suffered prior to psionic training " (emphasis mine). It strikes me that this sets a precedent and it would be inconsistent to not allow an advantage from the ability, much as any other skill level affords an advantage, although I'm not entirely comfortable with it myself.

 

[alex_greene]

You could add your Psionic Strength DM to the Survival and Advancement rolls, if positive, to enhance your character's ability to escape injury or to advance the character through less than honest means; but in every instance your character uses Psi, roll Int or Social to avoid detection, deducting your Psionic Strength DM from the Effect.

Detection forces the character to lose all benefits and leave the service in disgrace regardless of how well the advancement roll went. He can either then join another service, become a Drifter or Rogue or start play.

 

[phild]

Another quickie - do terms taking anagathics count against Psionic Strength? I.e. is it the physical aging of the brain or the patterning of the mind through experience that limits the ability to accept psionics?

And why is it there are SO many things like this in the TRB that require clarification?!

 

[phild]

And then there's debt.

Characters rolling the Unusual Event can choose to be tested. I take this as meaning that if they do, they accumulated the 5KCr fee as a debt. However, if they opt for a Psion career is it then assumed that they have paid the 100KCr for training, or is this handwaved?

Guess what: I've got as far as doing Psionics for my chargen spreadsheet now :roll:

 

[rust]

And why is it there are SO many things like this in the TRB that require clarification?!

The disadvantage is that clarification is required, the advantage is that
each GM can design the rules that fit his setting without having to dis-
card the "official" rules.

 

[phild]

The disadvantage is that clarification is required, the advantage is that each GM can design the rules that fit his setting without having to discard the "official" rules.

This is why my favourite game is "Let's Pretend". Damn players can't consult a rulebook to overrule me for THAT one, can they? :twisted:

 

[phild]

Ah well, guess no-one knows....

 

[rust]

Ah well, guess no-one knows....

Yep, I think you are really left to your own devices with these problems.
I do not use psionics in my setting, so I did not have to develop solutions
for such problems, and even after trying to imagine how I would handle
them, I really did not come to any useful conclusions.

 

[phild]

Cheers Rust, it's good to know that you have an opinion, even if it is that you don't have an opinion on this one

 

[rust]

Cheers Rust, it's good to know that you have an opinion, even if it is that you don't have an opinion on this one

Well, the closest I would come to having an opinion would look like this :

a) I would not allow a psionic to use his abilities during character genera-
tion, mainly because I see no way to enable other characters to use their
important skills in that way, too. Their potential skill uses during charac-
ter generation are included in the character generation process, so I would
treat psionics the same way.

b) I would not allow the use of anagathics to enable the later testing and
training of psionics, mainly because I do not see a plausible system to
handle the buying and use of anagathics during character generation, and
some characters (e.g. nobles) could well be able to start taking anaga-
thics during the early terms of character generation.

c) I would ignore the testing and training costs for a psionic during charac-
ter generation, mainly because other characters also have rather expen-
sive educations (think of a doctor or scientist) without having to pay off
debts after character generation.

But, well, these are just some ideas ... :roll:

 

[phild]

a) I would not allow a psionic to use his abilities during character generation, mainly because I see no way to enable other characters to use their important skills in that way, too.

I happen to agree

b) I would not allow the use of anagathics to enable the later testing and
training of psionics, mainly because I do not see a plausible system to
handle the buying and use of anagathics during character generation, and
some characters (e.g. nobles) could well be able to start taking anaga-
thics during the early terms of character generation.

I also agree, although for a different reason. I'm inclined to think that it's more life experience and developing personality and rigidity of thinking that inhibits one's psionic potential, not simply the physical aging of the brain.

c) I would ignore the testing and training costs for a psionic during charac-
ter generation, mainly because other characters also have rather expen-
sive educations (think of a doctor or scientist) without having to pay off
debts after character generation.

I'm leaning towards charging for the testing (it's only 5KCr) but making the training free. I guess I could modify this, so that if they opt for a Psion career, the training is free: if they don't, it isn't. Hmm.....

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

While creating an NPC for the Spica Career Book 1, I ran into exactly that problem.

One of the NPCs I created rolled for Psionic Testing. I chose to have him tested and trained and treated the Cr 105,000 like Medical Debt. Some of it was paid off during mustering out, using cash rolls, but the NPC was still left with about Cr 50,000 in debt.

I like the idea of ignoring the costs if the PC decides to take the Psion career.

I would not allow a PC to use Psionic Awareness as a DM on character generation rolls unless you also allow PCs with Athletics (endurance) to add that skill bonus to Endurance Rolls. If you DO allow that (I personally don't), then you have set the precident and Psionics should be allowed to influence those rolls like any other skill the PC has already received.

Do you make them take the -3 DM for untrained skill rolls if they don't have the skill that the event requires them to roll against? Do you let them apply their JOT skill to offset these negative DMs? Do you let them use Athletics to give DMs to Strength, Dexterity or Endurance rolls? Do you let them use Augments from previous careers to affect the rolls in their current career?

The key is CONSISTENCY. Either you allow ALL of those things or none of them. Psionics becomes just another part of the equation.