Trinity RPG - Gotta love those chibs

[Alistaire]

It's been a while now since InUn came out, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit. I actually started running an NPC chib in my game for a couple months now and all I can say is, wow, it's been a heck of a ride! It's certainly added something to the game; many things in fact, most good, some well...

I just thought that I'd see who else has run them in their game, as NPCs, good, bad, or neutral, or even PCs. I'd like to know what your experiences have been, how it's added to the game, what challenges you've faced with the rules, or even with the plot. I'd like to share mine too, but I'll let you guys go first. Any house rules (since I've made a few) would be cool to share to.

[Blue Thunder]

I haven't yet, but I plan on having one appear somewhere down the road, only to die not too soon afterwards. Maybe one will appear on a more regular basis sometime after 2123 in my campaign.

[Alistaire]

Well, I don't know if its the low level of activity here lately, or perhaps just not as many QK lovers out there like me, but I will post some of my own stuff here. Having worked with them for a few months now I have made some house rules, as well as a host of new QK powers; it just seems to lend itself to that. ::wink Some may consider this making it too powerful, but the characters still have to spend the points into it, and players are free to design new powers for other aptitudes as well. Besides, the chibs were the leading noetic researchers, so there's no telling how far QK research could have gone if it had continued for another 12 years. So I will share some of them here in case anyone else wants to use them. Feel free to let me know what you think!

New Powers:

Enhancement

ooo Elgee Help

This power allows the psion to temporarily overcome the disability called “LAO”. Basically just a specialized use of Basic Enhancement.

System: Spend 3 PSI and roll Psi at +2 difficulty. Eliminates the penalties for being a lunar elgee on Earth. Lasts for a number of hours equal to the psion's Enhancement score plus one hour per success rolled. If more time is needed, an additional expenditure and roll must be made.

(The QK npc in my game has LAO, and was also a QK aptitude researcher, so he developed this to help himself out. Obviously, he has to be careful about its use now, and largely gets by with the help of biotech these days.)

Energetics

o Cloak of Shadows

The quantakinetic can reduce energy as much as produce it, and the same goes true for electromagnetism (light). By absorbing light in her immediate area, the QK can make themselves harder to see in the dark.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. All light within Energetics Mode in Dots range in metres is reduced to darkness, gradually fading toward the level of ambient light towards the end. This adds Energetics Mode in dots to all stealth rolls that take advantage of darkness. Does not work in total darkness, and may actually penalize the psion in bright areas, so caution is advised.

oo Lights Out

At this level of Energetics, the QK can absorb all the light in a room, plunging everyone withing in total darkness.

System. Spend 2 PSI and roll.The QK can make an entire room go dark to a range of PSI x 2 metres, plus two for every extra PSI spent. All people within suffer normal penalties for total darkness. It is advisable for the QK to use Heightened Senses or Molecular Scan to get around, if they have them.

oo Kinetic Strike

A specific application of Energy Production, this technique requires good timing. By adding a kinetic attack to one's own hand-to-hand attack, one can deliver even more damage than with energy production.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll at +1 difficulty. Adds Energetics rating in bashing damage to attack. May be combined with Density Strike to deliver Lethal damage. May be combined with Basic Enhancement to deliver additional damage.

oo Kinetic Shield

This power really is just a specialized use of Energy Production. What makes it trickier is that it requires such precise timing. Basically it provides defence against a single melee attack. It does this by issuing a strong push of kinetic energy at the exact time and point of contact. This has the ability to potentially stop the attack altogether, even perhaps damaging the weapon or the attacker! At the very least it should help lower the damage taken. While not as good of a defence as Quantum Shield, it can be instinctively activated on the fly (requires no turn to activate), and is less obvious to observers.

System: Spend 2 PSI. Add permanent PSI at soak against any kinetic melee or missile (e.g. arrow) attack, for as long as the psion sees it coming. Cannot be used on firearms attacks. Only works for that one attack. If all damage is soaked, then apply the weapon's damage as BASHING damage to the attacker (does not apply to missile weapons), which can be soaked as normal. Basically it feels like you just hit an solid steel wall. Weapon itself may shatter instead (ST call, roll some sort of soak for the weapon before passing it on to the attacker; if it soaks it all).

ooo Blind Strike

With this ability, the QK has mastered the power of darkness to such a degree that they can disguise their attacks for greater effect. They literally cover their attack in darkness, adding the to the element of surprise to either the timing or direction of their attack.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. The QK may subtract their Energetics Mode in dots from the Initiative of their target. This applies to all attacks they make against any one target at a time, for the duration of a scene.

oooo Darkness Mastery

The psion can now manipulate darkness to such a degree that can become virtually invisible. In areas that are not too bright, the QK will instinctively cast out 'tendrils' of darkness ahead of them, which seek out sources of light and gradually darken them as the psion approaches. While spooky, the psion themselves remains virtually undetectable to the naked eye as they move around.

System: Spend 3 PSI and roll. The QK may add dots equal to her PSI to her stealth rolls, for as long as the area is not too bright (a single room with a bright light in it, fluorescent lighting, in an open field during the day, etc.) Storyteller has final say over where this power may be used. It is obviously best used at night, between buildings, in alleyways, dark parking lots, inside warehouses, etc. If a flashlight is shone directly on the character, then they may roll PSI again at +3 difficulty to have anticipated it. Success results in the flashlight appearing to have “gone out” before it even reaches the psion, only to come back on again a minute later.

ooooo ????? (At this point, the whole "darkness" theme seems to be almost a mode onto itself, but I am at a loss for a level 5 power for that. The next logical progression seems to be Optical Cloaking, but I am reluctant to give QKs the same level of finesse that a photokinetic has. My theory is that QKs can emulate a broader range of powers that other aptitudes possess (biokinesis, pyro and cryokinesis, electrokinesis, photokinesis, etc.), but does not have the same level of control they do. Then again, this may be mostly because they haven't had the same amount of time to develop their powers as the other orders have.)

oooo Cure Taint Disease

This power is used to cure various diseases caused by taint. This was part of the Chitra Bhanu's Project Harmony, and led eventually to the power Purify.

System: Spend 3 Psi and roll Psi at +2 difficulty. Every success will lower the taint disease's Toxin Rating by 1. This power may not be used on the same subject more than once per disease, but if it does not cure the disease itself, then it will at least make conventional cures much more likely to work.

Transmutation

oooo Decontamination

Basically works similar to the Enhancement power Hyper-Immunity, this power allows the psion to completely cleanse an object of all contaminants, anything not part of its ordinary psi template (dust, non-symbiotic bacteria, body oil (only excess if on a person), fingerprints left on objects, etc.). On a mundane level, this can be used on the psion themselves as a substitute for bathing, brushing their teeth, etc.

System: Spend PSI (varies) and roll. Objects the size of a coffee mug or less require only one psi point spent, while objects up to large human body size require two. Three points will cleanse something up to the size of a large truck. Larger objects require the use of multiple expenditures. Anything that does not have a strong psi template, such as complex or unstable chemicals, adds a +1 difficulty to the Psi roll. Does not work on taint diseases, or anything energy or radiation related.

If the character already knows Hyper-Immunity, then this power requires half the normal time to learn (the same is true of the reverse as well).

Living beings can only be affected if the character knows both powers. Takes one turn per Psi point spent.

I'm also playing with the idea for a Transmutation "repair" ability, where if the psion scans a non-living object while it is not damaged enough to become "familiar" with it (akin to Teleportation), or can figure it out with Engineering ability, then they can "repair" an object back to its original form, provided all the right material it there (either not gone, or added to manually). This would require "Molecular Mastery" in order to perform, but I don't think that after knowing that that it would be as hard as a level 5 to learn, perhaps only three. I haven't made it a power yet because so far I would need a special rule for this. Or does anyone think that this would be easy enough for anyone who actually has Molecular Mastery already?

I have more, but will share them later, if there is interest. I hope you enjoy. ::smile

[Blue Thunder]

Pretty cool! It's always good to see powers player characters have developed.

[Alex Green]

ooooo ????? (At this point, the whole "darkness" theme seems to be almost a mode onto itself, but I am at a loss for a level 5 power for that. The next logical progression seems to be Optical Cloaking, but I am reluctant to give QKs the same level of finesse that a photokinetic has. My theory is that QKs can emulate a broader range of powers that other aptitudes possess (biokinesis, pyro and cryokinesis, electrokinesis, photokinesis, etc.), but does not have the same level of control they do. Then again, this may be mostly because they haven't had the same amount of time to develop their powers as the other orders have.)

Try Blackbody energy absorbtion. Just like we don't feel the miles of air putting pressure on us because the same pressure pushes back out, humans, like all objects, radiate energy, mostly IR energy. We don't notice because we also absorb energy at roughly the same rate. By absorbing all IR energy in an area, the temperature of everything in that area drops. In living creatures this causes damage (resist with stamina I would think).

[Alistaire]

Interesting idea. I'm not sure that it fits into the "darkness" theme exactly, but otherwise could be useful.

Anyway, despite lack of activity here, I'll put up my whole new mode for quantakinesis, complete with not, 10, but 11 new powers! Woo hoo! Um, yeah. Anyway, here it is. It's based on the idea that since quantakinesis manipulates the four forces of the universe, gravity is one of them. There is even minor (although unofficial) precident in the story in the front of InUn, where a guy "floats" down the side of a building while carrying someone. As usual, let me know what you think:

Gravitics

Powers:

o Lightness - Lightens one's effective weight, allowing them to jump higher and farther, fall slower, climb easier and faster, as well as walk on fragile surfaces such as old bridges, thin ice, etc.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. Success reduces the character's weight by half for every level of Gravitics the character knows. Thus, at level 2, the character's weight is reduced to 1/4, at level 3, 1/8. All calculations for jumping, weight, etc. use this ratio (relative to ambient gravity of course; does not work at all in zero-gravity). Training includes practice at being able to handle the adjustment, and thus no additional difficulties to Athletics are required. For especially long or high jumps, a Perception + Athletics roll may be required if the jump is unfamiliar, ST's discretion. Effect lasts for a number of minutes equal to permanent Psi. This power also effects anything the character is carrying, allowing them to carry more, including other people. This power also allows spectacular acrobatic feats such as running up walls and propelling themselves back behind an enemy (requiring Athletics rolls), or even the famous "anime leap".

o Densitometry - Using this power the character can sense the relative density of materials by focusing on their specific gravity. Each element has a different specific gravity that allows it to be identified by this power. While it does not impart the exact identity of a particular element or chemical, this can be done by combining this power with knowledge of chemistry. The more complex the material, the more time it takes to scan it.

System: Roll PSI. Successes equal the number of elements or chemicals sensed plus the amount of material being scanned. The amount of material equals 1 kilogram x 2^(successes), minus one success for every chemical in the material scanned after the first one. The scan takes one turn per success. For example: a hovertank's armor consists of titanium and olaminium. The psion rolls 5 successes. This allows him to scan (1 kg x 2^(5-1))= 16 kg of armor to determine it is made of these two materials. Example 2: A psion scans a tree and gets 5 successes. Since the tree is made up of many materials (ST decides 5; water, DNA, cell walls, chlorophyll, and something else), the character gets (1 kg x 2^(5-5)) = 1 kg. If he had rolled 4 successes, he would have been able to only scan a small amount of the material, or only part of it, (such as the bark).

oo Crush - Increases the effect of gravity on a target, possibly crushing them.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. Each success causes one level of Bashing damage to the target as their weight is temporarily increased by orders of magnitude. The character may also spend a point of Willpower to keep the target pinned for a number of minutes equal to permanent Psi.

oo Artificial Gravity - This creates an area of artificial gravity in areas with little or no gravity.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. Difficulty depends on situation. In low gravity situations (Mars or Luna), increasing the gravity to Earth standard is standard difficulty. In microgravity areas (in orbit around a planetary body), or very small bodies such as asteroids, the difficulty is +1. In true zero gravity situations (a ship in deep space) the difficulty is +2. This difficulty can be lowered by one by increasing the gravity to only 1/6 (Lunar) or 1/4 (Martian) levels.

Affects an area equal to Gravitics Mode x 3 meters for a duration if Psi x 5 minutes.

ooo Strengthen - This power uses gravity to enhance the bonds between molecules, allowing them to withstand more punishment. This is not as effective as fortification since gravity is not as strong of a force as electromagnetism.

System: Spend 2 Psi and roll. Each success increases the target's bashing soak by 1.

ooo Summon - Causes a gravitic attraction between you and an object, calling it to your hand.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll at +1 difficulty. Success makes one object fly into the character's hand, up to a mass of permanent Psi in kilograms. If only one success is rolled, then the object flies right past the character, landing somewhere behind them, and possibly breaking against a floor or wall. Works on objects up to Psi x 5 metres in range.

Since this thing seems to have a silly limit on how big a post can be, I'll print the rest in the next post.

And now, for the really cool powers of... Gravitics

oooo Levitate - Decreases the effect of a planet's gravity on a target.

System: Spend 2 PSI and roll. Allows the character to levitate a target off the ground, up to a height of permanent Psi in metres. This height is calculated from the character's original position; thus if they are on a bridge that falls beneath them, for as long as they use the power beforehand, they will stay at that height until the effect wears off. Effect lasts for permanent Psi in minutes, and can effect a target within Psi x 5 metres.

oooo Compress - Enhances an object's natural gravity to crush it.

System: Spend 3 PSI and roll. Each success equals 1 level of lethal damage suffered by the target, up to a range of permanent Psi x 10 metres.

oooo Gravimetrics - By slipping into a light trance the psion can focus on the subtle gravity waves emanating from all nearby planetary bodies while in space. This can be used in place of Astrophysics, which is especially helpful when there is no good astrometrics data for the region (such as a new star system).

System: Spend 3 PSI and Roll. Successes equal one success each on an equivalent Astrophysics roll for use in navigation or astronomical surveying. Range is equal to permanent Psi in Astronomical Units. The character must spend minutes equal to the range in AU detected in order to fully get the information. This means that if only a single AU of data is needed, only 1 minute need be spent.

ooooo Fly - By causing perturbations in one's gravitic attraction with a planetary body, the character can propel themselves through the air.

System: Spend 3 PSI and roll at +1 difficulty. Success allows the character to to move through the air at a speed of 10 km/h. Each additional success and Psi point spent allows them to increase speed by 10 km/h. Duration: Scene

ooooo Warp - Uses gravity to distort the space in front of the psion, allowing them to move much faster than normal.

System: Spend 3 PSI and roll. Each success allows your character to effectively modify a target's speed up or down by 10 km/h (6 m/turn or 2m/s). Every additional Psi point spent allows for another level of adjustment. The effect lasts for 1 second (3 turns) per level of permanent Psi.

With the expenditure of a point of Willpower, the psion can affect a target that does not involve their own movement. Otherwise, they can only affect themself, or the vehicle they are in.

Since real velocity is not affected, no adjustments need to be made to rolls for maneuvering; the character simply reacts as if they were moving at their normal speed.

Wow, that was weird. Apparently you can get around the post size limitation just by replying to your own post, and it just appends it to the end of the last one. Weird. Ah well. Ce la software.

[Blue Thunder]

I noticed the post limit as well. I double-posted once because something was too long, and it magically combined into one entry.

Gravity-based powers? Nifty. I always figured if Electrokinesis was expanded into more Modes, another Mode would be Magnetokinesis-like. Perhaps a psiad could access that kind of power. They aren't bound by Prometheus Chamber-inflicted limitations. Who knows if other Aptitude Modes are open to them.

Hmm...perhaps I should add new possible Modes to the list of stuff to add to the Implicate Order chapter on psiads/proto-psions. I'll wait until after the base eight Aptitude chapters are done first.