New Edge: Psionic Resistance

Psionic Resistance
It is difficult for a psionic character to affect your mind. This could be a natural quality of your mind (a mutation), or some sort of implanted technology.

Prerequisite:Cannot have Psionic Edge

Effects:Characters attempting to affect you with psionic skills must add +5 to the TN when making a psionic test.

Special:Characters can acquire this edge only during character creation. Modify the Psionic edge to add the following Prerequisite: Cannot have Psionic Resistance Edge

Rationale:Every once in awhile, it's nice to throw the psionic characters a curve ball. In the spirit of fair play, I felt it appropriate to make the edge generally available. Why +5? Two reasons: (1) I wanted the edge to have a noticeable effect, and I felt that increasing the test by a difficulty category met that criterion, and (2) the official edge Psionic Focus allows a character to ignore five points of TN modifiers -- I felt the two edges should complement each other. In addition, psionic characters aren't that common, so I wanted a character purchasing this edge to feel he was getting something of value. As for the prerequisite, I followed a common science fiction convention that "psionically dead" characters typically cannot use psionics, either.

Comments are welcomed

This is a nice edge, if there are alot of Psions in your group, other wise it is close to a waste of time. I say close, because as a DM I like to throw the players curves every now and then. I would limit the penalty to only internal influeances. Because there are psions that use thier mind to move things, which would not be bothered by you being psionically resistant. A person with pyro would have a harder time burning that individual, but not a telekinetic. a teek would be able to move them without the penalty. I am adding other "normal" psionic skills to my list of psionic skills. As in:

Telekinesis - quickness save to avoid affects(psi resistance does not count.
Pryokinesis - will save to avoid affects
Cryokinesis - will save to avoid affects
Psi healing - will save to resist affests(none if unconscoius)

Psi stat is the str of the attack or repair. ie.. a psionic character can lift up to str 4 with out straining with telekinesis. or a pryo can throw a 4d6 flame attack. A healer can return 4d6 points per heal attempt which each take a minute or time to administer.

Of course creative use of this ability may differ in its use...

For example. While the Psionic Resistant character is able to with stand the Pyrokinetic, the smartarse that uses their Pyrokinesis on the resistant characters clothes which do not gain the benefits of being Psionic Resistant (although they may be flame retardant! :D) will gain a far easier result if not the full effect of what they were after...

As an aside, what does the Players guide say about Ferengi? Considering that both they and Dopterians are Teep resistant, you may find half the rules are already official!

Quote:

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Originally posted by Dan Gurden

As an aside, what does the Players guide say about Ferengi? Considering that both they and Dopterians are Teep resistant, you may find half the rules are already official!

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PG has the Ferengi listed as having four-lobed brains, which has the effect of rendering them immune to psionics.

(Feel free to remove if this violates copyright.)

As conceived, the edge only makes powers that affect the mind more difficult. That's what I tried to convey with 'to affect your mind.'

Depending on how Pyrokinesis and Cryokinesis work, I would say that this edge would not affect them. I would assume they work by affecting molecular motion (speeding it up or slowing it down, respectively). This edge represents a quality of passive resistance to mental intrusion, which would not affect those skills.

Similarly, telekinesis would not be affected.

Psionic healing that knits flesh would not be affected, psionic healing that attempts to repair a damaged brain or mind, would be.

The fact that edges are all supposed to be of roughly the same power makes it somewhat more difficult to create them than it was in the ICON days.

My original concept did not permit upgrades -- but maybe an upgrade would mean the character is wrapped in a sort of psionic resistant field, that would affect pyro, cryo, and telekinesis. (But he would still be vulnerable to telekinesed objects hurled at him.)

I think there's a version of this in the PG -- isn't it Iron-Willed?

You're right.

For some reason, I remembered Iron Willed as something different.

As Emily Littela used to say... "Nevermind"

Cryo, pyro, and healing would be resisted by will because it is working on altering the target's body my mental power. you are defending youself against it. Telekinesis would be resisted by quickness like a dodge. The first three would have to go thru things like psionic resistance.. telekinesis would not as It can be used to throw things at you. or to throw you.