Body Attunement
Some psionicists use omega energy to enhance the per-formance oftheir own bodies.
Body Attunement Strength (1 per +5 PSI [BOD]):The maximum strength is PSI [BOD] 20.
• Heal (1 PSI [BOD] per HP recovered):With a range oftouch, the psionicist can heal one HP per PSI point spent.
• Mind over Matter (1 PSI [BOD] per point per hour of use):This power works only on the psionicist and allows him or her to increase either STR or CON temporarily. Once activated, the psionicist does not need to concentrate to maintain the attribute bonus.
Each point above the first that an attribute is to be raised lowers the activation roll by –5%.
• Empathy (1 PSI [BOD] per minute of use):This al-lows the psionicist to attune him- or herself to the physical components of another person’s emotions. It can be used passively or actively. Passive use re-quires one point per person examined and can be used at a range of PSI meters. This gives the psion-icist +25% Insight skill. Detecting someone who is using the passive form of this power requires a Spot check. The active power has a range oftouch and can impart a powerful emotion in the subject, provided his or her Power can be overcome (PSI versus POW).
Telepathy
This power does not represent the true connection of minds that is commonly associated with the term telep-athy; rather, it is a more limited form of interaction that is, nonetheless, quite useful.
Telepathy Strength (1 per +5 PSI [TEL]):The maxim-um strength is PSI [TEL] 20.
• Align Mind (3 PSI [TEL] to align, 1 PSI [TEL] per day to maintain): This process takes one hour and aligns a person’s mind to that of the telepath. This alignment allows Send/Receive and Dominate to be used on the subject. To align an unwilling mind, the psionicist must overcome the target’s Power (PSI versus POW). Both parties must be in physical tact for the entire hour, and the telepath must be con-centrating.
• Send and Receive (1 PSI [TEL] per minute per kilo
meter):This power allows the telepath to send and/or receive surface thoughts to or from one or more of his or her aligned minds. This may be limited to
“eavesdropping” on primary senses or exchanging thoughts as ifspeaking.
• Dominate (1 PSI [TEL] per round of use): This power allows the telepath to dominate the subject, subjugating him or her to the telepath’s will. It re-quires a PSI versus POW test to activate and is lim-ited to a range ofPSI×3 meters.
• Sense Mind (1 PSI [TEL] per minute of use): When active, the character can concentrate for one round and sense the position of any conscious mind within PSI meters (use the Sense skill).
Cross Powers
There are several bonus abilities that are gained when multiple powers are used together. The GM is the final ar-bitrator with regard to cross powers.
ESP and Telepathy or ESP and Body Attunement:
Passive Empathy and Sense Mind can be used to sense the emotions or positions of all minds centered on the ESP projection.
Body Attunement and Kinetics: Mend and Heal can be used to restore very recently severed limbs.
ESP and Kinetics: Clairvoyance can be used to target a Surge attack without exposing the psionicist.
Telepathy and Body Attunement: Active empathy can be used on aligned minds in the same way that Dom-inate can.
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Mundane
There are a few “powers” that can be taken by characters of any age. They are mundane advantages that not every-one has, but anyevery-one could.
Skill Master (1 point per skill): Normal characters are limited to a starting skill level of75% in any skill, but a skill master can select one skill that can be pur-chased to 90%. This power does not increase the skill level; it merely allows the skill to be increased during character creation. This power can be bought multiple times for different skills to a maximum of the charac-ters age divided by 15, rounding down (e.g., twice for a 30-year-old and three times for someone who is 45 years old).
Increase Skill (1 point):Any one specialty ofone skill (or the skill itself if it has no specialties) can be increased by +15%. This can be taken only once per specialty but can be taken for as many different specialties as desired.
Gifted (1 point): One skill category receives a special bonus of +3%. This can be taken multiple times but only for different skill categories.
Citizenship (1 point):Although the character is living in the Rubble, he or she will be accepted into one of the major enclaves should he or she ever choose to go there. Additionally, the character is able to enter and leave the enclave to conduct trade.
Known (variable points):The character will be recog-nized and treated favorably by members of some group. The larger the group, the more points this power costs. A single gang costs 1 point; everyone in the Rubble, 2 points; one of the tribes, 3 points;
both tribes, 4 points; and everyone in general, 5 points. Note that this is not a “get out of jail free”
card. NPCs will recognize the character, know something about him or her based on the charac-ter’s reputation, and be favorably disposed towards the character, but nothing more. Common examples are old members of a gang who left on good terms;
should the gang be encountered, they will be likely not to shoot first, but they are not going to go to great lengths to help the character.
Extra Gear (1 point per): The character can trade 1 point per +50 TP ofstarting gear.
Cool Ride (1 point per): The character can have +100 TP towards the purchase ofa vehicle for each point.
The GM may allow groups to pool these TP in some situations.
Schooling (1 point): The character has had some “old world” education. +10% one language, +10%
knowledge (history), +10% literacy
Alert (1 point): The character is unusually perceptive;
+10% listen, +10% spot, and +10% sense.
Basic Training (1 point): the character has received (pre- or post-fall) basic military training; +10%
etiquette (military), +10% strategy, +10% brawling.
Trecking (1 point): The character is good traveling overland; +10% knowledge (meteorology), +10%
food, and +10% navigate.
The core mechanics suggest that a character should be al-lowed a maximum of one half of their starting points, rounded up, in failings. In this context, it is strongly rec-ommended that each character be limited to 3 Failing Points. These points allow the player to customize the character without overshadowing the other aspects of character creation.
Bad Eyesight (variable): There is something wrong with this character’s vision. Pick one of the
follow-• Farsighted (–1 point):ing: A farsighted character is un-able to read or perform anything requiring clear vi-sion close at hand (like most craft skills) without appropriate prescription glasses. He or she suffers a –25% on relevant skills when the glasses are missing.
• Nearsighted (–1 to –3 points):A nearsighted charac-ter suffers a –10% per point on all skill checks re-quiring vision over a few yards. This includes, but is not limited to, Spot and Ranged Attack rolls. This penalty can be corrected with glasses.
• Night Blind (1 point):The character suffers double low light penalties.
Branded “B” (–2 points): Branding is a common pun-ishment in many of the post-Fall enclaves. The char-acter’s face has been branded with a “B” for Banished. Given the poor record keeping of the post-Fall enclaves, it is considered a sure way to exile someone and guarantee that he or she will never again be allowed into an enclave.
Branded “C” (–2 points): The character’s face has been branded with a “C” for coward. Regardless ofwheth-er the charactofwheth-er is a coward or not, he or she will al-ways be considered one by those who are meeting him or her for the first time.
Combat Paralysis (–3 points): This character tends to freeze at the beginning of fights. He or she must pass a Stamina roll (once per round) before being able to begin acting in combat.
Delicate Stomach (–1 point):This character suffers from eating poorly prepared or questionable food. If the GM rules that the character is eating poorly, then the character will be effectively three load levels more encumbered and thus required to make more frequent stamina checks to remain active.
Easily Read (–1 point): This character suffers a –20%
penalty when trying to lie, bluff, or conceal his or her motives.
Easily Recognized (–1 Point): The character is easy to describe and easy to identify. The character must make an average disguise roll to conceal his or her identity.
Extra Sleep (–1 point):This character requires three ad-ditional hours ofsleep per night.
is exposed to the source of this fear, he or she must make a Luck roll. Ifthe roll is successful, the charac-ter suffers a –10% on all rolls while exposed to the source of fear. If the roll fails, the character’s player may choose either to have the character become cata-tonic (the character rolls into a fetal position and cries) or to have the character run blindly away.
• Fear [Being Alone] (–2 points): This character is afraid ofbeing alone.
• Fear [Dark] (–3 points): This character is afraid of the dark.
• Fear [Robots] (–1 point):This character is afraid of not just big scary combat robots but of all robotic equipment.
Gluttony (–1 point): This failing represents a metabolic disorder where the character is required to eat twice the normal amount ofrations.
Hard of Hearing (–1 point per): There are three levels ofthis trait. Each level gives the character a –15% on Listen rolls.
Hatred (–1 point): This character hates members of a certain group, such as BEPs, the CACP, the FCA, or the RCA. The character does not interact well with members of that particular group and receives –20%
on all social interactions with them.
Hatred (–2 point): Similar to the above, except the char-acter hates everyoneexceptmembers of one particu-lar group.
Hyperactive (–1 point): This character is always boun-cing off the walls. He or she has a hard time staying still. The character requires 1.5 times as much food as normal and is annoying to be around.
Lame (–2 points): This character has a physical disad-vantage that causes him or her to move at –2 the nor-mal rate.
Lazy (–1 point): This character does not work any more then he or she has to and cannot use the time be-tween games to improve him- or herself.
Missing Hand (–3 points): This character has a hook in-stead ofone hand. The GM will arbitrate what limita-tions this puts on the character, but, in general, the character will not be able to perform actions such as wielding rifles or other two-handed weapons, touch typing, or anything else requiring two hands.
Missing Eye (–2 points): This character has only one eye. He or she suffers a –15% on Spot checks, has a large blind spot in his or her field of vision, and re-ceives –5% on all skills requiring fast precise dis-tance vision.
Missing Digits (–0 or –1 point):A character missing one finger suffers a –1 DEX in certain noncombat situ-ations. This increases to –2 ifthe character is missing more than one digit.