Latest revision as of 09:54, 28 February 2026

CHAPTER 3: PSIONICS

Extracted from Cepheus Engine Core Rules

Overview

For characters in Cepheus Engine campaigns, psionics covers a broad category of mental disciplines and paranormal abilities originating from the mind. Psionics are divided into five different categories, called talents. These talents are: Awareness, Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, Telepathy, and Teleportation.

Important Note: The contents of this Chapter are optional. It is up to the individual Referee if psionics is even available, much less how a character may acquire these talents. Additionally, the rules for psionic abilities require balancing and better defining for specific campaign settings. Details such as Action types (combat action, long action, persistent action, passive until turned off), Durations (permanent vs. temporary), and power limitations should be clarified by the Referee based on campaign needs.

Psionic Strength

Psionics are powered by the Psionic Strength characteristic (abbreviation Psi). This characteristic cannot be rolled or bought during character creation without the Referee's permission.

Determining Psionic Strength: To determine a character's Psionic Strength, roll 2D6 and subtract the number of terms served by the character in any career (Psionic Strength diminishes over time unless actively used).

Using Psionic Talents: Using a psionic talent costs a number of Psionic Strength points, temporarily reducing the character's total. As the Characteristic DM for all Psionic skill checks is determined by the characters' current Psionic Strength total, it gets harder and harder to use powers as the character's strength declines.

Recovering Psionic Strength Points

Expended Psionic Strength points are recovered at the rate of one point per hour, beginning three hours after the character last used a psionic talent.

Psionic Training

The first step is testing a character's Psionic Strength, which is determined as described above (2D6 – number of terms served). If the character still has any Psionic Strength remaining, he can be trained.

Training Requirements: Training requires four months of work, and costs Cr100,000.

Learning Talents: As part of training, the character may attempt to learn any of the common psionic talents on the Psionic Training table by making a Psionic Strength check. He may attempt the talents in any order, but suffers a –1 DM per check attempted. If a character learns a talent, he gains that talent at level 0.

Table: Learning DMs by Talent

Talent	Learning DM
Awareness	+1
Clairvoyance	+3
Telekinesis	+2
Telepathy	+4
Teleportation	+0
Per previous talent acquisition check	–1

Psionic Talents

There are several psionic talents, each of which works like a skill for the powers in question. A character trained in the use of psionics may develop his talents over time just as if they were normal skills.

Important Restriction: Unlike other skills, psionic talents cannot be used untrained.

The most common talents are:

Awareness – control over one's own mind and body.
Clairvoyance – perceiving at a distance.
Telekinesis – mind over matter.
Telepathy – reading minds and mental communication.
Teleportation – moving from one point to another instantly.

Each talent grants access to all of its powers – a character with Telepathy 0 can use life detection, read surface thoughts or assault as the situation demands.

Using a Psionic Talent

To activate a talent, the psion must make a skill check using the appropriate talent (Telepathy, Telekinesis, etc), adding his Psionic Strength characteristic DM and any other DMs.

Psionic Strength Cost: He must also spend the listed number of Psionic Strength points if he succeeds, or one point if he fails. If this cost brings him below zero Psionic Strength, then any excess points are applied to his Endurance score as damage. A character with no Psionic Strength points cannot attempt to activate a power.

Action Type: Using a talent in combat is a significant action. (Referees should define: Is it a combat action, long action, persistent action, or passive until turned off?)

Duration: Many abilities have specific durations – some are instantaneous, others are temporary (lasting rounds, minutes, or hours), and a few may be permanent. (Referees should clarify duration types for their campaigns.)

Range

Many abilities are ranged. The Psionic Range table lists the number of points to project psionic abilities out to a given range – these must be paid as well as any points to activate the ability. Each talent has a different set of costs, with the exception of Awareness – all Awareness abilities apply to the Psion only.

Psionic range costs are paid based on range bands based on those used in personal combat or communication devices. These are defined in the Psionic Range Costs table.

Table: Psionic Range Costs

Range	Distance to Target	Clairvoyance	Telekinesis	Telepathy	Teleportation
Personal	Less than 1.5 meters	0	0	0	1
Close	1.5 to 3 meters	0	2	1	1
Short	3 to 12 meters	1	4	1	2
Medium	12 to 50 meters	1	5	2	2
Long	51 meters to 250 meters	2	7	2	3
Very Long	251 meters to 500 meters	2	9	3	3
Distant	501 meters to 5 km	3	--	3	4
Very Distant	5 km to 500 km	3	--	4	4
Regional	50 km to 500 km	4	--	4	5
Continental	500 km to 5000 km	4	--	5	5

Awareness

Awareness is the psionic talent which allows control of one's own body. Awareness powers never have a range – they are used only on yourself.

Note on Balancing: All Awareness abilities are self-only and cannot affect others. They represent internal control and enhancement.

Table: Awareness

Ability	Difficulty	Timing	Cost	Duration
Suspended Animation	Average (+0)	1D6 minutes	3	7 days (temporary)
Psionically Enhanced Strength	Average (+0)	1D6 seconds	1/Point	10 minutes peak, then 1 point/min decline (temporary)
Psionically Enhanced Endurance	Average (+0)	1D6 seconds	1/Point	10 minutes peak, then 1 point/min decline (temporary)
Regeneration	Very Difficult (-4)	1D6 rounds	1/Point	Instant healing (permanent)

Suspended Animation

Personal body activity may be suspended for varying periods of time. A character with Awareness may enter a suspended animation state (similar to cold sleep but without the intrinsic danger of death) by willing himself into it.

Duration: Such a state continues for 7 days without need for food or water and with minimal air needs.

Use Case: Such a person could effectively travel in a low passage berth without actually undergoing cold sleep and its dangers.

Termination: Suspended animation may be stopped at any time previous to its duration expiring, provided external stimulus is given to awaken the sleeper (such as a friend or a mechanical alarm).

Action Type: Long action (1D6 minutes to enter state)

Psionically Enhanced Strength

Psionic Strength points may be converted to normal Strength points on a temporary basis.

Mechanics: The character makes the commitment, reduces his Psionic Strength by a specific number of points, and increases his physical Strength characteristic by that number.

Limits: In no case may the number of Strength points gained exceed the character's current level in Awareness, and Strength may not be increased beyond the character's racial maximum.

Duration: Psionically enhanced strength reaches its new level immediately, remains at that peak for ten minutes, and then declines at the rate of 1 Strength point per minute until the normal Strength level is reached.

Important Limitation: This power works as normal on wounded characters but their Strength returns to the wounded level rather than the normal value. It cannot be used as a 'quick heal'.

Action Type: Quick action (1D6 seconds)
Duration: Temporary (10 minutes peak + gradual decline)

Psionically Enhanced Endurance

Psionically enhanced endurance works in exactly the same way as psionically enhanced strength except the characteristic boosted is Endurance rather than Strength, including its lack of healing ability.

Action Type: Quick action (1D6 seconds)
Duration: Temporary (10 minutes peak + gradual decline)

Regeneration

Wounds and injuries may be healed rapidly.

Mechanics: Strength, Dexterity and Endurance lost to injury, disease, poison or other trauma may be healed by the application of this ability, exchanging one Psionic Strength point to regenerate one characteristic point.

Limits: Any amount of Psionic Strength may be expended with a single use of regeneration but it may not be used again until all expended Psionic Strength is recovered.

Special Uses: Regeneration may also be applied to the growing of new limbs or organs to replace lost ones or to heal unrecovered old wounds suffered prior to psionic training.

Important Limitation: Regeneration may not be used to counteract aging. Awareness is not capable of affecting others and may not be used for healing or enhancing other characters.

Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds)
Duration: Permanent healing

Clairvoyance

Clairvoyance is the general talent which allows a person to sense events at some location displaced from the viewer. There are several levels of clairvoyant ability.

Key Feature: Clairvoyant activity cannot be sensed by others, including by other psionic individuals.

Use Cases: Clairvoyance abilities allow eavesdropping activities as well as spying and detection-free exploration of situations. While telepathic life detection will determine the presence of living minds in a closed room, for example, sense will determine if a room is occupied or empty.

Table: Clairvoyance

Ability	Difficulty	Timing	Cost	Duration
Sense	Routine (+2)	1D6 rounds	1+Range	1 round snapshot
Clairvoyance	Average (+0)	1D6 rounds	2+Range	Effect in rounds (temporary)
Clairaudience	Average (+0)	1D6 rounds	2+Range	Effect in rounds (temporary)
Clairsentience	Difficult (-2)	1D6 rounds	3+Range	Effect in rounds (temporary)

Sense

This is the basic ability to sense things at some point in the distance.

Effect: A character will become aware of the most rudimentary characteristics of a location when applying this ability. For example, the Referee will give a basic description, without detail: 'a room containing four dogs' or 'an open plain with a tree, and no animals or men present'.

Use Requirements: The clairvoyant character must state the range at which he is applying his talent, and will generally sense the most interesting or important feature at that range.

Duration: Instant snapshot (1 round)
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Clairvoyance

This specific ability allows actual remote viewing of a situation at some displaced point.

Effect: Rather than the 'snapshot' that sense gives, clairvoyance allows the psion to observe as if he was there in person.

Use Requirements: The clairvoyant character must state the range at which he is applying his talent.

Duration: The Effect of the check determines the duration in rounds the vision can be maintained for (temporary).
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Clairaudience

This ability is identical to clairvoyance, with the exception that it allows hearing instead of seeing.

Duration: The Effect of the check determines the duration in rounds (temporary).
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Clairsentience

This power combines the effects of clairvoyance and clairaudience. The character is capable of both seeing and hearing a specific situation.

Duration: The Effect of the check determines the duration in rounds (temporary).
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Telekinesis

Telekinesis is the talent which allows objects to be manipulated without physically touching them.

Mechanics: Any manipulation is treated as if the person was physically handling the item but physical danger, pain, or other stimuli are not present. Telekinesis includes a limited amount of sensory awareness, sufficient to allow actual intelligent manipulation.

Duration: The Effect of the check determines the duration of the telekinesis in rounds (temporary).

Combat Application: Items may be thrown using telekinesis. Such items use the Ranged (thrown) category when attacking, using the higher of the distance between either the psion and the target or the object's starting location and the target. The amount of damage inflicted by such an object is given in the Telekinesis object; the psion can add the Effect of the attack's skill check to the damage inflicted. If a creature is the thrown object, both the creature and the target take the same damage on a successful hit.

Table: Telekinesis

Ability	Difficulty	Timing	Cost	Throwing Damage
Telekinetically Lift 10 Grams	Easy (+4)	1D6 seconds	2+Range	None
Telekinetically Lift 100 Grams	Routine (+2)	1D6 seconds	3+Range	None
Telekinetically Lift 1 kg	Average (+0)	1D6 seconds	5+Range	1 point
Telekinetically Lift 10 kg	Difficult (-2)	1D6 seconds	7+Range	1D6
Telekinetically Lift 100 kg	Very Difficult (-4)	1D6 seconds	9+Range	2D6
Telekinetically Lift 1000 kg	Formidable (-6)	1D6 seconds	10+Range	8D6

Action Types: All telekinesis abilities require 1D6 seconds to activate (quick to long action depending on roll)
Duration: Effect in rounds (temporary)

Telepathy

Telepathy is the talent of mind-to-mind contact. It is subtle by nature but can also be used to bluntly crush the wills of those who oppose the telepath.

Table: Telepathy

Ability	Difficulty	Timing	Cost	Duration
Life Detection	Easy (+4)	1D6 rounds	1+Range	Instant (1 round)
Telempathy	Routine (+2)	1D6 rounds	1+Range	Effect in rounds (temporary)
Read Surface Thoughts	Average (+0)	1D6 rounds	2+Range	Effect in rounds (temporary)
Send Thoughts	Difficult (-2)	1D6 rounds	2+Range	Instant transmission
Probe	Very Difficult (-4)	1D6 minutes	4+Range	1D6 minutes (temporary)
Assault	Formidable (-6)	1D6 seconds	8+Range	Instant damage (permanent until healed)
Shield	--	--	--	Passive (always on)

Life Detection

The most elementary form of telepathy is the ability to detect the presence of other minds.

Effect: Life detection enables a character to sense the presence of other minds, the number of minds present, the general type of minds (animal, human, and so on) and their approximate location.

Capabilities: Life detection is reasonably sophisticated, and can distinguish intelligent beings from bacteria or unimportant animals in the area. It functions best at detecting intelligent minds.

Limitations: Shielded minds are undetectable (whether the shield is natural or artificial in origin). If an individual whom the telepath knows is 'life detected' he or she will be recognized.

Duration: Instant (1 round)
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Telempathy

The communication of emotions and basic feelings is accomplished by telempathy.

Use Cases: This ability serves well in the handling of animals and beasts of burden but may also be applied as a psychological weapon against humans. Sending of emotions such as love, hate, fear, and others may influence other beings (although not necessarily in the manner desired). Telempathy also allows the emotions and feelings of others to be read by a character.

Effect: The Effect of the check determines the strength of the projected emotion.

Detection: Telepaths will always recognize when someone is using telempathy to bend their emotions but others will not. The change in mood may be dramatic and inexplicable but most people will simply ascribe it to the mercurial nature of human emotions.

Limitations: Shielded individuals are immune to telempathy as they are all other Telepathy powers.

Duration: Effect in rounds (temporary)
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Read Surface Thoughts

The most widely known feature of Telepathy is the ability to read the thoughts of other individuals.

Effect: Only active, current thoughts are read by this ability, with the subject (if himself not a telepath) unaware of the activity.

Limitations: Individuals with telepathic ability cannot be read due to the presence of their natural shields, unless they willingly lower their shielding.

Effect Quality: The Effect of the check determines the clarity of the telepath's perceptions.

Duration: Effect in rounds (temporary)
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Send Thoughts

Complementary to the ability to read surface thoughts is the ability to send thoughts to others.

Recipients: Such individuals need not themselves be telepathic to receive such thoughts.

Limitations: Telepathic individuals are normally open to such transmissions, but may close their shields against them if they become bothersome or threatening.

Duration: Instant transmission
Action Type: Combat action (1D6 rounds to activate)

Probe

The application of great psionic strength will enable a telepath to delve deep into the mind of a subject and to then read his innermost thoughts.

Capabilities: Questioning can be used in the procedure to force the subject to divulge specific information. The prober can easily determine deliberate untruths told (thought) by the subject.

Limitations: Probe cannot be used against a shielded mind.

Effect Quality: The Effect of the check determines the clarity of the telepath's perceptions.

Duration: 1D6 minutes (temporary)
Action Type: Long action (1D6 minutes)

Assault

Violence may be dealt by a telepath.

Effect on Unshielded Mind: An unshielded mind, when assaulted telepathically, is rendered unconscious immediately and the character suffers 2D6 + Effect damage. Unlike normal damage, assault damage is applied to Psionic Strength (if the victim has it), then Intelligence, then Endurance.

Recovery: Psionic Strength and Endurance return as normal. Intelligence returns at the rate of one point per day (temporary reduction).

Effect on Shielded Mind: When a shielded mind is assaulted the two telepaths make opposed Telepathy checks. If the attacker wins, the victim suffers damage as normal.

Duration: Instant damage (permanent until healed)
Action Type: Quick action (1D6 seconds)

Shield

All telepathically able characters learn how to create a mental shield which protects the mind against unwanted telepathic interference.

Key Feature: Shield is automatically in force at all times and requires no Psionic Strength point expenditure to maintain.

Limitations: However, while a telepath has his shield up he cannot use any telepathic powers either.

Activation/Deactivation: Shield can be lowered to allow telepathic contact or to use telepathic powers – this takes a mere thought (a free action in combat).

Duration: Passive (always on until disabled)
Action Type: Free action to lower/raise

Teleportation

Teleportation is a talent which allows effectively instantaneous movement from one point to another point without regard to intervening matter.

Limitations: Psionic teleportation is limited to the movement of the teleported character's body and (for highly skilled teleporters) his or her clothing and other possessions.

Table: Teleportation

Ability	Difficulty	Timing	Cost	Load Capacity
Teleport self, unclothed	Average (+0)	1D6 seconds	0+Range	Self only
Teleport self, light load	Difficult (-2)	1D6 seconds	2+Range	Self + light clothing
Teleport self, moderate load	Very Difficult (-4)	1D6 seconds	3+Range	Self + equipment
Teleport self, heavy load	Very Difficult (-4)	1D6 seconds	4+Range	Self + heavy gear

Important Rule: Teleportation always involves the movement of one's body to another location. Independent items or other individuals may not be moved.

Requirements for Accurate Teleportation

Teleportation involves certain requirements in order to be accurate, and to insure obedience of the laws of physics.

Pre-Knowledge of Destination

A character must always have a mental image of his or her destination before teleporting.

How to Acquire: This mental image is acquired by:

Personally visiting the location first (or viewing it from a distance)
Having the mental image implanted in one's mind (by telepathy) by another person who has visited the destination
Viewing the location through clairvoyance

Critical Rule: The key to remember is that someone has to actually view the location – recorded images are not enough.

Energy and Momentum

Teleportation involves serious restrictions on movement in order to assure the conservation of energy and momentum.

Planetary Surface Limit: On planetary surfaces, teleportation is restricted to jumps of Very Distant range or less.

Disorientation: Jumps at Very Distant range involve disorientation for a period of 20 to 120 seconds (2D6x10) after arrival.

Physics Explanation: This restriction results from the law of conservation of momentum: on a rotating planet, two locations will have different rotational speeds and directions. A jump from a point on the Earth's equator to one of its poles would result in a total velocity difference between the character and his surroundings of over 3300 kph, which would lead to a messy death in short order.

Vehicle Teleporting: Teleporting to or from vehicles travelling at high speed can also result in energy gains or losses. When teleporting into, onto or out of a fast-moving vehicle the psion takes damage as if the vehicle had rammed him at its current speed.

Altitude Changes: Changes in altitude (actually all movement to locations of differing gravitational potential) will result in potential energy changes, manifesting themselves as changes in body temperature.

A jump of one kilometer straight down will result in a temperature increase of 2.5 degrees Celsius
This is sufficient to cause extreme fever, brain damage, and even death
A jump up will cool the body by the same amount, with equally serious results

Safety Limits: To be safe, a jump may not involve an elevation change of more than 400 meters, and multiple jumps should not involve a cumulative elevation change of more than 600 meters in one hour.

Technological Solutions: These problems may be gotten around through the use of technological devices: energy compensators, heated suits, and other means. Characters may feel driven to invent such materials, commission their invention, or seek them out from those who already have them.

Duration: Instant movement
Action Type: Quick action (1D6 seconds)

Psionic Technology

In a Cepheus Engine universe where psionic abilities are possible, the following psionic-related technology may be available, either legally or on the black market.

Inhibitor Drug (TL 9)

Psionic inhibitors dampen the brain's ability to generate psychic effects.

Effect: A character who takes (or, more often, is forcibly injected with) an inhibitor drug suffers a –4 DM to all Psionic Strength checks and cannot regain Psionic Strength points.

Duration: Each hour the character may make an Endurance check to throw off the effects of the drug with a +1 DM for every previous check. Inhibitor drugs have no effect on non-psionic individuals.

Cost: Cr500 per dose

Psi-Drugs (TL 8+)

These drugs restore Psionic Strength if taken when the character has already spent Psionic Strength points, or temporarily increase the character's Psionic Strength if taken when he is at full Psionic Strength.

Table: Psi-Drug Effects and Cost

Drug	TL	Psionic Strength Restored	Psionic Strength Boosted	Cost (Cr)
Standard	8	3	2	1,000
Double	9	6	4	4,000
Special	10	9	6	10,000

Overdose Risk: A character who takes more than one dose of Standard or Double Psi-Drug, or a single dose of the Special drug must make an Endurance check, with a –1 DM per dose of psi-drug taken in the last week (not including the one just taken). If the check is failed the character falls ill with a serious fever, suffering 3D6 damage and permanently reducing his Psionic Strength by one.

Psionic Shield (TL 12)

Any armor incorporating a helmet or hood can be outfitted with a psionic shield, blocking Telepathy.

Differences from Natural Shield: Unlike the Telepathy power shield a technological shield is invulnerable to assault and blocks send thoughts. It cannot be lowered without removing the helmet or hood containing the shield.

Cost: Cr40,000

Building/Vehicle Shielding: Buildings and vehicles can also be psionically shielded, but this is much more costly, increasing the cost by 10%.

Teleportation Suit (TL 12)

This device can be integrated into a suit of armor or worn as a form-hugging body-suit.

Function: It rapidly cools or warms the body after a teleport, minimizing the damage from sudden energy gains or losses.

Cost: Cr50,000

Capabilities: Allows a character to jump up to 600 meters up or down in a single teleport, or up to ten kilometers in a single hour when using successive jumps.

Psionic Interface (TL 14)

Any weapon or technological device can be outfitted with a psionic interface.

Function: A character using a device with a psionic interface can use his Psionic Strength DM instead of his Dexterity DM when using the weapon or device; a character without psionic ability cannot use the device.

Use Requirements: The character must either touch the device or use telekinesis to interact with it at range.

Cost: Adding a psionic interface increases the cost of the device by 20%.

Psionics in Society

The Cepheus Engine assumes that there are generally three different mindsets in which a society might view psionics. In generic terms, these categories are called Psi-Hostile, Psi-Neutral and Psi-Friendly.

Psi-Hostile Societies

Humanity fears what it doesn't understand. In Psi-Hostile societies, some precipitating event has brought that fear into the court of public opinion, and as a result, psionics became banned.

Least Offensive Case: In the least offensive case, the use of psionics is forbidden and violations are punished as a capital crime.

Worst Cases: In the worst cases, governments and angry mobs often go on witch hunts, looking for psions and generally lynching, lobotomizing, imprisoning or exiling the offenders.

Informants: Individuals may even be informants or potential informants, ready to call the local authorities at the slightest hint of psionic abilities in use.

Government Hypocrisy: Governments in psi-hostile societies will publicly denounce the use of psionics, but it is likely that they might maintain a secret training facility due to the usefulness of such powers in espionage and warfare.

Social Consequences: In a Psi-Hostile society, even having sympathy for the plight of psionic people can cause an individual to be ostracized.

Prevalence: This type of society is the most commonly encountered in Cepheus Engine campaigns, because the world it creates is closest to the "real world" experiences shared by most Cepheus Engine players, and the rules tend to operate as if this were the standard.

Psi-Neutral Societies

In Psi-Neutral societies, psionics does not have the stigma that they do in Psi-Hostile societies.

Public View: The general populace recognizes the existence of psions, and considers it just another set of talents one can possess, much like athletic prowess or superior marksmanship.

Regulation: The use of psionics is fairly regulated by law level, as the public is aware that psionics have great potential for abuse, but such a culture generally holds a stronger view of personal responsibility and punishes abusers accordingly.

Training Availability: Training in such a culture is easier to come by, but is treated much like a vocational school, in that only those who can pay for it are tested and trained.

Technology: Psionic technology is more likely to be available in such a society, at the discretion of the Referee.

Professional Integration: Telepaths figure prominently in major corporate and government negotiations. Teleporters are used for quick and sometimes clandestine courier work. Corporate and foreign espionage require another layer of security to address psionic abilities.

Cultural Impact: The accepted use of psionics in such a culture can cause some dramatic changes.

Psi-Friendly Societies

In Psi-Friendly societies, psions are revered and psionic abilities are often considered a mark of the socially elite.

Early Testing: It is likely that children are tested at various points during their childhood, and those with potential are taught to use their gifts from a very young age.

Integration: Psionics are integrated at every level of society, and may even lead to a highly structured or caste-like culture where the upper classes are comprised of psionically-gifted individuals.

Stratification: These classes may be further stratified based on an individual's psionic strength and/or mastery of psionic skills.

Extreme Cases: Non-psions may even be persecuted as second-class citizens without voting or personal rights, in extreme cases.

Referee Discretion: The actual culture of such a society, like anything else, is ultimately up to the Referee to determine and present.