Yes, I know the RPG project has been on the back-burner for a long, long time. I haven’t completely abandoned it, and here are some thoughts on revising psionics to be more compatible with Fate Core.
I originally based the powers in the setting on the metapsychics of Julian May’s Pliocine Exiles saga, with the power level scaled back, since the setting is more pulpy science-fantasy than four-colour superheroics. Since the setting came from a long-running GURPS game from way back when there’s probably still a fair bit GURPS Psionics in it’s DNA too.
My original intention (from a draft that pre-dated Fate Core) was to avoid stunts entirely and represent psionic powers with skills. I came up with a list of skills representing different “powers”. Now I’m thinking in terms or making the more powerful applications of psionics into stunts based on those skills, and if possible reducing the number of skills in the process. The idea is that skills on their own can be used for Overcome Obstacle, Create Advantage or Defence (three of the four standard actions in Fate Core), but you need a stunt to used any power forAttacks.
I’ve taken my original psionic skill list and listed Fate Core actions attached to each one.
So, two questions. First, do any of these look overpowered or unbalancing as they stand? And second, which of these could be collapsed into fewer skills (such as merging the three “Mind” skills into a single “Telepathy” then breaking out the attack modes into stunts?)
Mind Control
Attack – Direct mental attack, taken out results in a puppet under your control
Overcome Obstacle – Control someone you’ve taken out.
Create Advantage – Project emotion or plant a suggestion in the target’s mind which you can then use to your advantage.
Defence – Foil a physical or mental attack
Mind Reading
Overcome Obstacle – Listen to another person subvocalising to communicate privately without being overheard. Read thoughts and memories of someone you’ve already taken out by mental attack
Attack – Direct mental attack, taken out lets you read their mind as Overcome Obstacle.
Create Advantage – Read strong surface thoughts or emotional state of target which you can use to your advantage.
Defence – Read attacker’s surface thoughts so you know what they’re going to do and can counter their attack.
Mindspeech
Overcome Obstacle – Speak to another person a significant distance away; communicate privately without being overheard.
Create Advantage – Send thoughts or images to an opponent to distract or confuse them to your advantage
Attack – Direct mental attack, taken out knocks the target unconscious.
Defence – Send thoughts or images to distract or confuse your opponent and disrupt their attack.
Precognition
Overcome Obstacle – Passive “danger sense” that can give warning that something bad (like an ambush) is about to happen.
Create Advantage – Create predictions as as Aspects which can then be tagged.
Defence – Predict attacker’s moves in advance in time to counter them
Psychometry
Overcome Obstacle – Learn something about past of an item or location
Create Advantage – Determine one of the item or location’s Aspects
Clairsentience
Overcome Obstacle – Project your senses to see, hear or otherwise sense things a distance away.
Psychokinesis
Overcome obstacle – Anything that needs physical things to be lifted or moved.
Attack – Physical attack on a target (anything that can cause injury)
Defence – Foil a physical attack
Create Advantage – Create obstacles, disarm, throw opponents off-balance, whatever…
Lightsculpt
Attack – Create illusions that frighten and cause shock for mental damage.
Defence – Distract opponent with illusions
Create Advantage – Distract opponent with illusions
Overcome Obstacle – Conceal objects or people. Or for something completely different, use illusions for entertainment.
Matter Manipulation
Overcome Obstacle – Destroy or create things by altering their chemical properties
Attack – Physical attack to cause injury either attacking the body directly or altering their environment
Create Advantage – Altering the environment to give you an advantage
Defence – Altering the environment to make you harder to attack.
Body Control
Overcome obstacle – Heal injuries to yourself and others.
Attack – Cause physical hard to an opponent, essentially healing in reverse.
Defence – Soak up injuries
Create Advantage – Push yourself past normal limits for feats of strength or endurance.
