cost clairsentience
20 Base PER Roll with one Sense Group (Targeting or Nontargeting) at Range
cost extra senses
+10 Extra Sense Group (Targeting or Nontargeting) +5 Extra Sense (Targeting or Nontargeting)
cost Modifiers
+20 Precognition +20 Retrocognition
+5 Mobile Perception Point (Adder)
var Multiple Perception Points (x2 perception points for every +5 points) var Appropriate Sense Modifiers (such as Dimensional) (see 6E1 212)
cost range +5 2x Range +10 4x Range +15 8x Range ...and so forth
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uSING ClAIRSENTIENCE
Whenever a character uses Clairsentience, it’s as if he were standing some distance away from his current position, trying to perceive something. He designates a perception point from which his Clairsentience works. He can change this perception point from use to use, and can put it anywhere within the range of his Clairsentience (but he cannot move it once it’s established unless he buys the Mobile Perception Point Adder; see below). This lets him see (or hear, smell, and so on) in any direction from the perception point just as if he were standing there himself. A perception point is not perceivable by other characters unless some Limitation indicates that it is.
Calculate the Range Modifier for PER Rolls made via Clairsentience from the perception point, not from where the character actually is. Objects in the way won’t block Clairsentience, but they may make it more difficult for a character to get his perception point in the desired spot. The GM may require a character to make an Attack Roll against DCV 3 (or higher, depending on the difficulty) to place his perception point properly.
PERCEIVING THE PAST AND FuTuRE
Some forms of Clairsentience can perceive into the past or the future. If the GM permits these options, they can have a powerful impact on the campaign — but if properly managed, they make interesting plot elements. In most cases Precogni- tion and Retrocognition shouldn’t be completely reliable; you can simulate unreliability with Limi- tations like Requires A Roll, No Conscious Control, or Vague And Unclear.
precognition
A character with Precognition can perceive the future (usually this involves the Sight Group and he receives “visions” of events to come). The GM must decide if what the character perceives is permanent and immutable (that is, what he sees will occur, and the GM has to contrive the adventure so the scene happens) or won’t neces- sarily occur (which makes the visions considerably less dramatic, but gives the characters control over their own fate).
If the GM chooses the first route, he should describe visions the character can easily misin- terpret because they’re imprecise or “fuzzy.” For example, a character sees his best friend floating still and lifeless in a river. In “reality,” his friend could be dead — or simply unconscious or playing around. Perhaps the person seen was actually dead but wearing a disguise so he only looked like the character’s friend. In any case, the vision really occurs — but doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the friend.
retrocognition
A character with Retrocognition can perceive events that have already happened. A classic use of this is to “watch” the ancient Egyptians hide the tomb or to “watch” a crime take place to identify the culprit. Once again, the GM must use Retro- cognition to help the game, not hurt it. Showing a detective the exact events of the murder doesn’t make for a good mystery.
POWERS
Sense-Affecting Powers: For a discussion of how Sense-Affecting Powers interact with Clairsen- tience, see 6E2 14.
ADVANTAGES AND ADDERS
mobile Perception Point: When a character establishes a Clairsentience perception point, it’s “fixed” at that point. To move it to another loca- tion, he has to deactivate that use and activate the Clairsentience again at the new perception point. To move the perception point while the power remains active requires a +5 Character Point Adder, Mobile Perception Point.
A mobile perception point can move up to 12m per Phase, and travels in three dimensions (i.e., it can “fly”), but cannot move beyond the maximum range of the Clairsentience. It can pass through solid objects, though that may blind the character, disorient him, cause him to move the point “off course,” or the like, based on the situation, special effects, common sense, and dramatic sense. (If the point cannot move through solid objects, the Clairsentience takes a -0 Limitation.) A character can double a mobile perception point’s rate of speed for every +5 Character Points. Moving a mobile perception point any number of meters up to its maximum movement requires a Half Phase Action, but a character can only move it once per Phase.
multiple Perception Points: Clairsentience normally allows a character to perceive only one perception point at a time — if he wants to look at some other location, he has to either move his perception point (if possible) or deactivate the power and reactivate it at the new location. At the GM’s option, a character can buy an Adder called
Multiple Perception Points to have the ability to
perceive multiple perception points at once. For each +5 Character Points, the character can have up to double the number of perception points active at one time (two perception points for +5 Character Points, up to four perception points for +10 Character Points, and so forth).
Indirect: Characters don’t have to purchase this Advantage for Clairsentience; it is inherently “Indirect” in its ability to see around corners, through walls, and so forth.
Transdimensional: Characters don’t have to purchase this Advantage for Clairsentience; use the Dimensional Sense Modifier (6E1 212) instead.
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lImITATIONS
Attack Roll Required (-¼): Clairsentience with this Limitation requires an Attack Roll against DCV 3 every time the character tries to place his perception point. It represents a form of Clairsen- tience that’s somehow inherently “inaccurate” or difficult to use precisely.
Blackout (-½): This Limitation signifies that the character cannot use any of his normal Senses while using his Clairsentience — in effect he’s deaf and blind through his personal Senses and can only perceive things through his Clairsentience until he turns the Power off.
Fixed Perception Point (-1): Clairsentience with this Limitation has a fixed perception point defined when the character purchases the Power. The character cannot change the perception point thereafter. This Limitation is often used to build closed-circuit television systems and similar devices.
Focus: Clairsentience bought with a Focus doesn’t mean the perception point centers on the Focus. It means the character using Clairsentience possesses the Focus. If a character wants the Focus to be the location of the perception point, then either the Focus has to be Inobvious or the percep- tion point is automatically perceivable.
Only Through The Senses Of Others (-½ or more):
This form of Clairsentience uses the Senses of others as a “focal point” — in effect, the character must have another creature to use as his percep- tion point. If there are no creatures with the required Sense within range of the character, he cannot use his power.
This form of Clairsentience doesn’t inherently have a mobile perception point. Unless the char- acter buys that (see above), when the being whose Senses he’s using moves away from the vicinity of his perception point, the power instantly turns off. If the character buys Mobile Perception Point, the perception point can keep moving with the subject even if the subject’s velocity exceeds the percep- tion point’s velocity. The GM may rule that the power stops functioning in some circumstances (such as if the subject Teleports or uses a Mega- Scaled Movement Power).
At the GM’s option, this form of Clairsentience might be hampered or blocked if the subject has a sufficient amount of Mental Defense (say, -1 to the character’s PER Rolls for every point of Mental Defense). If the character can only perceive through the eyes of a single specific creature, or a very limited group of creatures, the Limitation is worth -¾ or -1.
One Sense Only (-¼): Clairsentience with this Limitation does not work with a Sense Group at its base level, but only a single Sense. Characters should normally only take this Limitation for Clairsentience powers bought with a single Sense Group.
Precognition (or Retrocognition) Only (-1):
Ordinarily, a character who buys Precognitive Clairsentience can use both normal Clairsen- tience (perceiving at a distance) and Precognition (perceiving the future). With this Limitation, the character can only sense the future (or past); he cannot use the perceive-at-a-distance aspect of Clairsentience.
Only Through Dreams (-1): Precognition or Retrocognition with this Limitation only provides visions to the character through dreams.
Time modifiers (-½): Precognition or Retro- cognition with this Limitation is harder to use over greater spans of time. The Precognition or Retrocognition must have a Required Skill Roll or Attack Roll. For every step on the Time Chart away from the present which a particular event will occur, there’s a -2 “Range Modifier” to the Required Skill/Attack Roll. For example, an event 1 Turn in the future from when the character activates the power is at -2, one 1 Minute later is -4, and so forth. (The GM may alter the penalty, or the rate at which it accrues, if desired; this may also entail reducing the value of the Limita- tion.) This makes it much harder to view “distant” events.
Vague And unclear (-½): This Limitation for Precognitive or Retrocognitive Clairsentience simulates an ability to foretell the future (or uncover the past) which is, at best, unreliable. The information gained is not definite; it could be misleading, false, easily misinterpreted, or any number of things — or it could, in fact, be a correct vision of what is to come (or what occurred). The character must decide for himself just how much he trusts the information he gains by using the power.
POWER EXAmPlES:
ClAIRSENTIENCE
Spell Of Scrying: clairsentience (sight and hearing groups), 16x range (4,800m) (50 active points); oaF immobile, Fragile (large enchanted mirror; -2¼), gestures (-¼), incanta- tions (-¼), extra time (1 Minute; -1½). total cost: 9 points. Crystal Ball, Divi- natory: precogni- tive clairsentience (sight group) (40 active points); oaF Fragile (-1¼), precogni- tion only (-1), requires a Magic roll (-½), time Modifiers (-½). total cost: 9 points. Closed-Circuit TV Security System: clairsentience (sight and hearing groups), Multiple percep- tion points (up to eight at once) (45 active points); oaF (-1), Fixed perception points (-1). total cost: 15 points.
HClINGING
Type: standard power Duration: constant Target: self only Range: self Costs END: no
Cost: 10 character points for ability to exert character’s normal str; +1 character point for every +3 clinging str
A character with Clinging may cling to walls and sheer surfaces and move on them as if they were level. Some examples of Clinging include insect-based wall-crawling powers or high-tech cling-grips used by climbers. Clinging costs 10 Character Points. Clinging does not cost END to use, but the character must pay the usual END cost for any movement used while Clinging.
While Clinging, a character can use his full STR to “stick” to the surface. He can increase this total above his normal STR: every +3 points of Clinging STR costs +1 Character Point. If another character wants to pull a Clinging character from a surface, he must exceed the character’s total Clinging STR in a STR Versus STR Contest; other- wise the character remains stuck. If the opponent does enough BODY damage with his STR to break whatever the character Clings to, that object might break (or, in the case of a large object such as a building, suffer damage in the Area where the character Clung to it). Other characters can never take damage from this, though — if two characters are stuck together with Clinging, and someone pulls them apart, the character being Clung to does not take damage.
Moving across a surface with Clinging (such as running along a wall) is the same as normal ground movement. Moving up a surface takes 2m of ground movement to move 1m up.
clinging in coMBat
A character using Clinging subtracts an extra 1d6 from all Knockback rolls, as long as he’s in contact with a solid surface.
The use of Clinging may interfere with or help certain Combat/Martial Maneuvers. If the char- acter with Clinging is already using it, the effects described below apply. If he’s not using it when he’s attacked, he has to win a DEX Roll Versus DEX Roll contest with the character attacking him. If he wins, he activates his Clinging at the right time, and its effects apply. If he fails, he didn’t time it right and the Clinging has no effect.
An attacker may want to use the Shove, Throw, or Trip Combat Maneuvers (or Martial Maneuver with the Target Falls Element) to throw or knock to the ground a character using Clinging. Besides succeeding with an Attack Roll, the attacker must also roll and win a STR Versus STR Roll: his STR versus the STR of the target’s Clinging. If he fails, the target doesn’t fall down (though he still takes damage from the impact of the attack, if appro- priate). If he ties or wins, the target does fall.
If a person performing a Grab has Clinging and uses it to help hold onto the victim, the victim has to escape from the higher of the Grab STR or the Clinging STR. At the GM’s option, he might increase the highest one by +5 STR (perhaps more) to represent the cumulative effect.
ADVANTAGES AND ADDERS
Area Of Effect (personal Surface — Damage Shield): Although Clinging isn’t an Attack Power, characters may buy Area Of Effect (personal Surface — Damage Shield) for it to create, for example, a “tar baby” effect in which anyone who touches the character gets stuck to him. Clinging with this Advantage only functions as a Damage Shield; it doesn’t allow characters to walk on walls or the like.
usable On Others: If a character buys Clinging Usable As Attack, the base cost of Clinging (10 Character Points) buys him 10 STR (not his own normal STR). He can then increase the Clinging STR at the usual cost of +1 Character Point for every +3 points of STR.
lImITATIONS
Cannot Resist Knockback (-¼): Clinging with this Limitation does not subtract +1d6 from Knockback.
Requires A Roll: Characters who take Climbing as a Required Roll for Clinging usually suffer the same DCV modifiers as a character using Climbing would, though the GM may reduce these modifiers to reflect a Clinging character’s greater mobility.
POWER EXAmPlES:
ClINGING
Cling-Grips: clinging (normal str) (10 active points); oaF (-1), cannot resist knockback (-¼). total cost: 4 points. Perching: (character can stand on tiny ledges, balance on doorframes, wedge himself into ceiling corners, etc., without fear of falling) clinging (normal str) (10 active points); only to “perch” (-½), requires a climbing roll (-½), cannot resist knockback (-¼). total cost: 4 points. Swift-Climbers Of The Tree People: clinging (normal str); 1 continuing Fuel charge (difficult to replenish sap-based body coating,
2 hours; -0). total cost: 10 points.
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