Aberrant 2.0 Psion Rules

Psion Character Generation

Psions use the standard baseline character generation but generate their post-Prometheus Chamber statistics slightly differently.

Step 1

Baseline: As a normal Aberrant 2.0 Character, with a few exceptions:

• Psions start at Willpower 5 rather than 3.
• Psions may not possess the Node, Attunement, or Eufiber backgrounds.

Step 2

Psion: A Character's Starting Psi is (Stamina + Wits + Charisma)/2, maximum 10. Minimum is 2. Psi is built on the unaugmented ratings in these attributes, i.e. before permanent enhancements from various Psi aptitudes come into play. A Psion also gets 2 free dots of Modes in the Aptitude of their choice.

A Character then gets 15 Transformation Points to spend in the following fashion:

Additional Psi: 5

Additional Psi Modes: 4

Auxiliary Psi Modes: 6

Attributes: 2 per point

Abilities: 4 per point

Backgrounds: 3 per point

Mental or Social Mega-Attributes: 2 (rating is capped at 2)

Mega-Attribute Enhancements: 1

Willpower: 1 per point

A Psion's starting Psi pool is equal to (Psi + Willpower). Psiads/Psychomorphs gain 20 Transformation Points but their starting Psi at chargen is capped at 5, and they do not get their free aptitudes.

Experience-wise, raiding Psi is (Current Rating * 8) and raising a Mode is (current rating * 5). A new Aptitude Mode costs 6 XP, while a Secondary Mode costs 10 XP per dot (up to 2).

Psi

Psi is the colloquial name for noetic force, the universal subquantum force which Psions harness for their powers. Psi is a more subtle force than Quantum, but far less disruptive. Psi has a few permanent benefits.

• Quantum Resistance: A Psion adds (Psi/2), rounded up, to all resistance rolls against Quantum powers, or his bashing/lethal/aggravated soak against Quantum powers.
• Increased Toughness: Psions are rebuilt on the genetic level for the stresses of channeling Psi, adding (Psi/2) -0 HLs, rounded up.
• Sensing: A Psion can roll Psi to sense nearby Psions, Aberrants, and baseline humans. Sensing is can be done up to a range of 5/20/75/750 meters for Psi scores 2-5, and 15/100/1,000/50,000/1 million kilometers for Psi scores 6-10. The difficulty of this roll is +3 to pick up baselines, low-Psi Latents, or Novas with Taint 1-3, +2 to pick up Psions with Psi 2-3 or Novas with Taint 4-6, +1 to detect Psions with Psi 4-6, and normal difficulty to detect Novas with Taint 7-10 or Psions with Psi 5+. Prime Threats and Proxies are automatically detected. This is not a precise radar scan, it gives vague directional information without additional threshold successes.
• Formatting: A Psion can format Bioware to himself, adding improved functionality to said bioware. A Psion may not support a combination of bioware with more Tolerance than his Psi score without going into overload.
• Dice Pool: The Dice Pool for most Psi powers is (Psi).
• Quantum Disruption: Psions all possess the ability to disrupt Quantum powers by paying 1 Psi, rolling (Psi + Highest Mode) for the dice pool of said Disrupt effects. So a Legion Psion with Psi 5 and Pyrokinesis 3 rolls 8d Disrupt against a Nova's Quantum + Node.

Boosting Modes

Some Bioapps enhance Psi Modes. These enhancers do not unlock the new powers which come with that mode level unless explicitly said to, but do add 1 automatic success to any Psi roll made to use that mode level, and increase the passive benefits of the Psi mode. If a Psi effect uses multiple Modes, the lowest level enhancement is used.

Example: A character has +2 to Photokinesis and +1 to Electromanipulation from bioapps, and uses Psi to create an electrolaser. He rolls Psi and adds 1 automatic success due to the Electromanipulation boost. If the character was hacking an optical computer with a combination of Photokinesis and Technokinesis, she would get no bonus.

Psi Modes

All Psi Modes have one permanent benefit and do things as the freeform system does. Most of these benefits involve things like additional soak, or sensory augmentation, or whatever. In general, these permanent benefits don't match the passive powers a Nova can have, but they are what you get to work with. Permanent benefits are listed below.

Psions are always initiated into one aptitude, which is determined by their Psi Order (and can be raised to 5), but may have secondary Psi Aptitudes, which may be raised to a maximum of 2.

Naturally manifesting Psychomorphs are more versatile but less focused, and may raise any Aptitudes to a maximum of 3. At Psi 6, a Psychomorph may raise one of their Aptitudes to 4, and at Psi 8, a Psychomorph may raise two Aptitudes to 4. At Psi 10, a Psychomorph may raise a third Aptitude of their choice to 4. Psychomorphs are less powerful though and limited to a starting Psi of 5. Natural Psychomorphs (Psiads) may never acquire Quantakinesis modes.

Biokinesis

Biokinesis generally improves a Psion's physical integrity. A Biokinetic innately gains the ability to speed his healing, multiplying his healing rates by (1 + highest aptitude). Biokinetics are also capable of exceeding human ability, increasing their limit for physical abilities by (highest aptitude). So a biokinetic with Adaptation 3 can boost any physical attribute up to 8, for example. This does not, however, increase the attributes themselves-they must be bought up via experience.

• Adaptation: Pattern Integrity. A Biokinetic specializing in Adaptation innately reinforces his noetic pattern against harm, adding his mode rating to lethal, bashing, and aggravated soak.
• Psychomorphing: Body Redundancy. A Psychomorpher can improve the body's tolerance to massive trauma, adding (Psychomorphing) -0 Health Levels.
• Transmogrify: Inhuman Capability. A Biokinetic who specializes in transmogrification can increase his physical attributes to inhuman levels, adding an effective +1 to any physical attribute per dot of Transmogrify. This is assigned when the points are purchased and generally cannot be rearranged. This counts as an equipment bonus and does not increase the experience costs of raising physical attributes (nor does it count towards their normal limit).

Clairsentience

Clairsentience overall improves the character's sensory ability. A Clairsentient innately is extremely perceptive, adding (highest aptitude) to his Psi for Attunement ranges and dice pools.

• Psychometry: Psychometry allows a Psion to read auras and see the past as if it was the present, adding (+Psychometry) to Investigation rolls or other rolls to examine objects.
• Psychonavigation: Psychonavigation enables a Psion to much more accurately and quickly judge distances and track persons, adding (+Psychonavigation) to rolls to chase people, navigate a vehicle, or otherwise plan/make trips. In certain circumstances (freerunning or sniping, for example) it can add to even Athletics or Firearms or other rolls.
• Telesthesia: A Psion with Telesthesia's senses are inhumanly acute, adding (+Telesthesia) to all Perception rolls.

Electrokinesis

Electrokinesis manipulates electromagnetic forces. Electrokinetics are naturally capable of sensing electromagnetic forces in use, allowing them to reflexively roll (Perception + highest aptitude) to track or monitor the travel of power or signals.

• Electromanipulation: Electromanipulation allows a Psion to alter his own electrochemical responses to stimuli, reducing wound penalties by (Electromanipulation) and adding (+Electromanipulation) dice to resist Sway based on physiological responses.
• Photokinesis: A Photokinetic Psion can reflexively adjust lighting and decohere optical weapons used against him, adding (+Photokinesis) to soak against laser weapons and to stealth rolls. Furthermore a photokinetic supercharges laser weapons he uses, adding (+Photokinesis) to their damage.
• Technokinesis: A Technokinetic Psion has an innate understanding of technology, adding (+Technokinesis) to rolls to understand, use, or modify technology.

Psychokinesis

Psychokinesis manipulates the world around the Psion as a blatantly obvious form of action. Psychokinesis by default allows the Psion to shield himself from damage, adding (+highest aptitude) to their bashing and lethal soak as armored soak. This counts as armored soak and uses the stacking rules in Aberrant 2.0.

• Cryokinesis: A Cryokinetic is immune to high extremes of temperature. Furthermore, his mastery of cold powers allows him to deal an additional (Cryokinesis) unsoakable dice of damage if he inflicts at least one level of damage on a living being or something else equally vulnerable to freezing. This damage manifests as frostbite and flash-frozen cells. Novas with Adaptability are notably immune.
• Pyrokinesis: A Pyrokinetic is immune to freezing temperatures or below. Furthermore, he can supercharge plasma weapons, flamethrowers, and incendiaries, adding (+Photokinesis) to damage.
• Telekinesis: A Telekinetic Psion can increase the speed and precision of his blows, bullets, and other methods of attack, adding (+Telekinesis) to the accuracy or damage (a Psion can split this improvement to accuracy/damage as desired) of any physical attacks he makes, including any bullet fired at a target within Attunement range. He may also use Telekinesis to increase his Str + Might rolls, or otherwise exert force.

Telepathy

A telepathic Psion is skilled in manipulating the mind, or resisting such manipulations. Telepathic Psions gain inhuman reserves of will and resistance to unwanted mental influence, adding (+highest aptitude) to resistance against any psychic attack, Nova or Psion. Telepathic Psions can optimize their mental functioning, increasing the rating limit of all mental attributes to (5 + highest aptitude), although the increased attributes must be bought up via XP.

• Empathy: A Empath gains an incredible understanding of human emotion and behavior, gaining (+Empathy) to any attempts to create Sway from this innate understanding.
• Mindshare: A character with Mindshare gains an understanding of other people, improving his teamwork. When working on a cooperative roll, a character adds (+Mindshare) to that roll, no matter what it may be.
• Psychbending: A Psychbender gains an inhuman level of will due to control of conscious and subconscious impulses, adding (+Psychbending) to their willpower for all purposes. This gives them additional Willpower points to spend as well.

Teleportation

A teleporter has a mastery over space, and an instinctive method of adjusting it. Teleporters increase their ranged attack accuracy dice pools by (highest aptitude)-it's not hard to shoot someone in the eye from 800 meters when you've mastered space and time to this degree.

• Translocation: Translocation increases the character's ability to evade harm, adding (+Translocation) dice to any active dodge rolls and (+Translocation) to Dexterity for the purposes of calculating movement speed. A Psion moving via Translocation doesn't seem to be running any faster, though, he or she just seems to be always taking shortcuts to get to where you are faster than he/she "should".
• Transmission: A character with the Transmission mode can reflexively acquire and put objects away from an area he is familiar with, as long as the object masses less than (Transmission) kilograms and is in Attunement range.
• Warping: A character skilled at warping can reflexively bend attacks away from him as a defense, adding (Warping/2), rounded up to all attack difficulties against him as a permanent ability.

Vitakinesis

A Vitakinetic has an innate understanding of the body, gaining (+highest aptitude) to all Medicine rolls to diagnose or treat a subject.

• Iatrosis: A Psion with Iatrosis heals inhumanly quickly. He may roll (Iatrosis) every action reflexively. For every 2 successes on the roll, he regenerates 1 bashing health level or converts 1 lethal health level of damage to bashing. These successes accumulate between rounds but such healing fades at the end of the scene (although this will never take the Psion below Incapacitated).
• Mentatis: A Psion with Mentatis understands the method the mind works, how to fix it... and how to improve it. A character with this mode adds (+Mentatis) to his mental abilities. This is set at purchase and may not normally be altered.
• Algesis: A Psion with Algesis deals horrific damage that is slow to heal with his physical blows. Brawl-based attacks made by this Psion are soaked normally, but up to (Algesis) post-soak levels of damage per attack are shifted one category up. Bashing damage becomes Lethal, and Lethal damage becomes Aggravated. Furthermore, the Psion can more easily penetrate natural soak, reducing enemy bashing and lethal soak by (Algesis) when making any sort of attack against targets in attunement range with any weapon.

Quantakinesis

The forbidden Aptitude, Quantakinesis allows a Psion to replicate Nova powers via psionic means. The Chitra Bantu were wiped out because of the association with Aberrants, as well as for the simple reason that Quantakinesis is a really scary ability in the right hands. As a permanent advantage, a Quantakinetic reduces the effective Permanent Taint of any Nova within (Psi) meters of him or her by his highest Quantakinetic aptitude rating. This does not remove aberrations, but it can greatly reduce their power.

• Enhancement: Inhuman Capability. A Quantakinetic with this mode can purchase up to (Enhancement) levels of Mega-Attributes as if he was a Nova. He substitutes (Enhancement - 1) for Quantum to calculate the maximum rating he may have in any Mega-Attribute. These Mega-Attributes must be bought with XP, they are not gained for free.
• Energetics: Mitigate Damage. Like a Nova, a Quantakinetic with this mode may pay Psi to mitigate damage. Each point of Psi reduces damage by 1 level, and a Quantakinetic may pay up to (Energetics) points of Psi to activate this.
• Transmutation: Matter Sense. A Quantakinetic with this mode can reflexively roll Psi, difficulty (5 - Transmutation) to analyze material. One success is enough for chemical makeup and basic properties (Gold is lustrous and ductile, Iron oxidizes, Primium blocks magical attacks, etc), while more successes add more information.

Improved Freeform System

The freeform system in the Player's Guide is rather versatile, but extremely lacking in power to allow Psions to compete with Novas on any battlefield (the stats of tech in Trinity being lower than equivalent tech in Aberrant doesn't help much either). To make Psions competitive against "normal" Novas/Aberrants, and capable of wiping out sub-aberrant mooks in hordes, the improved freeform system increases their capability.

Reflexive Use

A non-Proxy Psion may roll Psi only once/action, but one of his greatest advantages over Nova foes is that Psi channeling comes much more naturally to humans than Quantum channeling. By default, all Psi use is Reflexive. Reduce the difficulty of a Psi roll by 1 if he takes it as an action (Psi rolls never suffer from multiple action penalties), or 2 if the Psion does nothing but use his powers.

Some techniques (Biokinesis defensive ones, most notably) already have reflexive use, allowing them the ability to reflexively use a defensive power and then use their Psi action for something else. There are a few other methods for characters to gain multiple psionic actions, but this is the most common one.

Psi Points

A Psion does not have to spend Psi to activate his powers (but may not activate any powers without a Psi pool). However, he may spend 1 point of Psi to add 2 additional successes to a roll as long as he rolls 1 success on it. If a roll fails, however, a Psion loses 1 Psi point. A Psion may not spend more Psi points in a round on enhancing an effect than his Psi/2 (round up).

The Psion rolls her permanent Psi score as the dice pool. Each success on this either mitigates difficulty or enhances effects. Bioware Enhancer Apps may increase this pool for certain uses-an electrokinetic firing off lasers with an Enhancer Gauntlet would add +2d to his Psi pool, for example.

Enhancement

Much like Magic in Mage, Psi can be used to enhance an ability. Each net success on a Psi roll using a valid mode (often at rating 1-3) adds 1 success to a roll. This is limited to the character's highest aptitude in the Psi discipline in question. This can be used to enhance just about any pool which makes sense-even damage. If the character wishes to increase an unrolled trait (i.e. Dexterity for movement speed, or Stamina for soak), each success becomes 2 dots of that trait instead.

As an alternate method, a character may use Psi to increase an opponent's difficulty in a similar fashion. However unlike Augmentation, targets may resist.

Resistance

Actively using Psi to resist other Psi or Quantum powers is simple: The Psion rolls his Psi score at a default difficulty of +2. This difficulty is increased by +1 if the Psion lacks the Mode the opponent is using, +1 against a Nova for every 2 points of Quantum (round up difficulty penalties), and an additional +1 if the Psion lacks the Aptitude the opponent is using in the first place. Each net success reduces the opponent's effect level by 1, or adds 1 success to any resistance roll, or reduces the power rating of a Nova's power by 1.

A Psion may not spend Psi for bonus successes on Resistance unless he possess the aptitude and Mode the opponent is using, or against Novas, a roughly equivalent aptitude with an equal or better rating than the Nova has in the power. A Quantakinetic may always spend Psi for bonus successes on Resistance against Nova powers due to the nature of their own powerset.

Rating

A Psi power has a starting difficulty of (Effect Level - 1) and a starting Effect Level in every category (range/target/duration/damage/etc.) equal to (Effect Level/2). Additional successes on a Psi roll can be used to increase each of these by 1 per Effect. Enhancement BioApps typically add +1 to an effect level in their chosen area per dot of enhancement.

Effect

A Psion's Effect Levels have been adjusted slightly to improve their competitiveness with Novas. Effect Levels are on page 167 of the Player's Guide.

• Target: No change.
• Duration: No change.
• Range: Psi/(Psi * 5)/(Psi * 10)/(Psi * 20)/(Psi * 40) meters for Ratings 1-5, each additional level of Effect Rating doubles the range. This is base range for imprecise manipulation. Precise manipulation has a range equal to (Rating * 2) meters.
• Soak: A Psion adds (+2B/2L/[2A]) soak for each effect level at Effect Ratings 1-4, and (+1B/1L/[1A]) for each effect level at Effect Ratings 5+. This counts as power-granted soak. This may soak aggravated damage, but soaking aggravated damage adds +1 difficulty to the Psi roll and generally requires a Mode at 3+ (Algesis 3, Adaptability 3, etc.).
• Shields: A Psion can gain [Mode Level] health levels worth of shield for every success on his Psi roll.
• Healing: A Psion heals 2 bashing or 1 lethal damage for each effect level of healing. A Psion may heal aggravated damage with his powers, but this requires Iatrosis 5, adds another +1 difficulty, and 1/2 of an aggravated damage level per effect level (round down).
• Damage: A Psion deals (Psi) damage with [Mode Level] automatic levels base, for any attack. Every additional effect level put into damage (including the first) adds an additional 3d of damage (lethal or bashing) to this base, and an additional [1] to the damage add. Certain Algesis techniques may deal aggravated damage-this adds +1 difficulty to the Psi roll, requires 1 Psi point to be spent in addition to what is spent for bonus successes, and halves the damage of the technique.
• Armor Penetration: A Psion's attack normally has an AP rating equal to (Mode Level).
• Tool Effect: No change.