Psionics
Psychic powers were always within humanity's grasp, albeit never to the scale with which they came about in 3028 RN. Being psychic means to have the ability to make one's will manifest in the world in various ways. Everyone is at least a little bit psychic, except for blunts, which is rated on a positive/negative scale. The higher one is on the positive side, the greater a psychic's power is, and the further into negatives, the greater the strength of one's blunting field. Dead center on the scale are nulls, who are exceedingly rare, being neither blunt nor psychic themselves and unable to sense anything outside the mundane. Roughly 1 in 500,000 people are born null.
Everyone who is on the positive side of the scale, can, at minimum, be taught aura sight and basic astral skills, if they are willing to learn.
Everyone on the negative side of the scale is a blunt, and each rank indicates how much of arcane or psychic powers they can stifle. An alpha blunt, for example, can fully nullify metaphysical forces, often up to a radius of 20 feet, and more if the blunt in question has learned how to manipulate their field, up to a record of 50 feet. Some highly skilled blunts may also completely invert their field, effectively making them a null and leaving their more metaphysically inclined allies unhindered. Lower tier blunts, such as an upsilon or below, are little better than nulls in what they can stifle.
Ranks are determined based on a battery of highly advanced tests, which gauge not only potency of powers used, but accuracy, skill, and understanding. It is possible to be different ranks in different schools; for example, one might be an alpha telepath, but only a mu telekine, if their control of telekinesis isn't as good as their telepathy. The potential may be there, but the skill is not.
It is also possible to be both a psychic and an arcanist, simply called arcane psychics or psychic arcanists, however one prefers. The term 'psycanist' is used to describe someone with comprehensive power and skill with all psionic schools, as well as three or more arcane elements at their command. True psycanists occur at about a rate of 1 in 1,000,000.
Psychic Table
| Rank Name | Rank Letter | Psi Scale | "Level" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Α | 100% | 24 |
| Beta | B | 95% | 23 |
| Gamma | Γ | 90% | 22 |
| Delta | Δ | 85% | 21 |
| Epsilon | E | 80% | 20 |
| Zeta | Z | 75% | 19 |
| Eta | H | 70% | 18 |
| Theta | Θ | 65% | 17 |
| Iota | Ι | 60% | 16 |
| Kappa | K | 55% | 15 |
| Lambda | Λ | 50% | 14 |
| Mu | M | 45% | 13 |
| Nu | Ν | 40% | 12 |
| Xi | Ξ | 35% | 11 |
| Omicron | Ο | 30% | 10 |
| Pi | Π | 25% | 9 |
| Rho | P | 20% | 8 |
| Sigma | Σ | 15% | 7 |
| Tau | T | 10% | 6 |
| Upsilon | Υ | 5% | 5 |
| Phi | Φ | 4% | 4 |
| Chi | X | 3% | 3 |
| Psi | Ψ | 2% | 2 |
| Omega | Ω | 1% | 1 |
| Null | NU | 0% | 0 |
| Omega | ω | -1% | 1 |
| Psi | ψ | -2% | 2 |
| Chi | χ | -3% | 3 |
| Phi | φ | -4% | 4 |
| Upsilon | υ | -5% | 5 |
| Tau | τ | -10% | 6 |
| Sigma | σ | -15% | 7 |
| Rho | ρ | -20% | 8 |
| Pi | π | -25% | 9 |
| Omicron | ο | -30% | 10 |
| Xi | ξ | -35% | 11 |
| Nu | ν | -40% | 12 |
| Mu | μ | -45% | 13 |
| Lambda | λ | -50% | 14 |
| Kappa | κ | -55% | 15 |
| Iota | ι | -60% | 16 |
| Theta | θ | -65% | 17 |
| Eta | η | -70% | 18 |
| Zeta | ζ | -75% | 19 |
| Epsilon | ε | -80% | 20 |
| Delta | δ | -85% | 21 |
| Gamma | γ | -90% | 22 |
| Beta | β | -95% | 23 |
| Alpha | α | -100% | 24 |
Manifestation
The following are the schools and types of psionics possible:
Telepathy is unseen, and often unfelt. It mostly encompasses the sending of thought, emotions, and concepts, and can transcend language barriers, regardless of one's origins.
The types are mostly self-explanatory, single-target meaning the psychic has a range of single-target skills, group meaning multiple targets, invade being the capability to force one's way past another person's mental defenses, and control being the ability to directly influence another person's thoughts and/or actions. Control is the most difficult to achieve, and thankfully is fairly rare, as it is a constant battle of wills between the controller and the target. Telekinesis at the molecular level greatly mimics arcana, in that it can manipulate molecules to form fire, electricity, manipulate air and water, and more. It takes a moderate mind to lift and use light objects (at least Tau/Lv6), weighing no more than 30 pounds on average. It takes a rank of Nu/Lv12 to raise heavier objects, up to 300 pounds, and a rank of Epsilon/Lv20 to not only lift a person or animal, but also manipulate their limbs and inner organic workings, as one must also combat the target's willpower. Extraperception is the ability to perceive that which lays outside the realm of the mundane. This includes the slew of clair-type powers, psychometry, precognition, and presentience, among other powers that mean to be able to cast one's perceptions through space and time. Astral pertains to the range of abilities that lets one interact with the astral plane. To perceiving ghosts, spirits, astral travelers and auras, to manipulating one's own aura or creating defensive barriers, wards, or traps, to astrally projecting oneself either fully or as bilocating, all the way up to possessing another person's body. The last is extremely difficult, as it is more like temporary cohabitation, and unless the target is willing, it is a constant battle of willpower to remain in control - unless, that is, the one trying to take control is able to knock the target's astral self out of their own body. There are some powers that are cross-school, such as empathy, which is predominantly extraperception and telepathy, and partly astral in that it can be manipulated in someone's mood layer of their aura. Possession is technically another cross-school skill, being in part telepathy as one vies for control. Another is called sensory cascade, which falls under telepathy and extraperception as well, and is the overloading of all sensory information in a target. This is a power that is not taught, but might be learned individually, and has the steep prerequisite of being able to handle massive amounts of sensory input oneself.
| School Name | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telepathy | Single-target | Group | Invade | Control |
| Telekinesis | Molecular | Small Objects | Heavy Objects | Organic |
| Extraperception | Mental Sense | Physical Sense | Objects | Time |
| Astral | Perception | Manipulation | Travel | Possession |
The types are mostly self-explanatory, single-target meaning the psychic has a range of single-target skills, group meaning multiple targets, invade being the capability to force one's way past another person's mental defenses, and control being the ability to directly influence another person's thoughts and/or actions. Control is the most difficult to achieve, and thankfully is fairly rare, as it is a constant battle of wills between the controller and the target. Telekinesis at the molecular level greatly mimics arcana, in that it can manipulate molecules to form fire, electricity, manipulate air and water, and more. It takes a moderate mind to lift and use light objects (at least Tau/Lv6), weighing no more than 30 pounds on average. It takes a rank of Nu/Lv12 to raise heavier objects, up to 300 pounds, and a rank of Epsilon/Lv20 to not only lift a person or animal, but also manipulate their limbs and inner organic workings, as one must also combat the target's willpower. Extraperception is the ability to perceive that which lays outside the realm of the mundane. This includes the slew of clair-type powers, psychometry, precognition, and presentience, among other powers that mean to be able to cast one's perceptions through space and time. Astral pertains to the range of abilities that lets one interact with the astral plane. To perceiving ghosts, spirits, astral travelers and auras, to manipulating one's own aura or creating defensive barriers, wards, or traps, to astrally projecting oneself either fully or as bilocating, all the way up to possessing another person's body. The last is extremely difficult, as it is more like temporary cohabitation, and unless the target is willing, it is a constant battle of willpower to remain in control - unless, that is, the one trying to take control is able to knock the target's astral self out of their own body. There are some powers that are cross-school, such as empathy, which is predominantly extraperception and telepathy, and partly astral in that it can be manipulated in someone's mood layer of their aura. Possession is technically another cross-school skill, being in part telepathy as one vies for control. Another is called sensory cascade, which falls under telepathy and extraperception as well, and is the overloading of all sensory information in a target. This is a power that is not taught, but might be learned individually, and has the steep prerequisite of being able to handle massive amounts of sensory input oneself.
Type
Metaphysical, Psychic
