I had resisted adding any any "traditional" psychic powers like telekinesis or pyrokinesis, but what about one that actually worked like the traditional poltergeist? Shadowforce Archer called their TK power "Poltergeist", but there wasn't really anything poltergeisty about it.
| Result | Effect |
|---|---|
| Botch | Nothing happens and you can't try again until after you've rested for at least an hour. |
| Failure | Nothing happens. |
| Partial Success | Random objects in the area fall over and/or roll short distances. You have no control over what is affected, but it's generally limited to objects weighing one pound or less and the objects move very slowly. |
| Success | As Partial Success, but the motion is more sudden and violent. Objects are thrown about by your power and fragile ones may just shatter where they are. This makes for a great distraction, but you still have no control over what happens. |
| Critical Success | As Success, but you can control the basic gist of what happens, such as throwing random objects at particular people or causing every small object nearby to roll towards you. |
| Extraordinary Success | You can either manipulate a small object with exacting care and precision (unlock a door, pull the trigger on someone's gun, juggle small objects with your mind, or bash someone in the back of the head with a brick) or you can generate a localized earthquake, shaking everything in the vicinity and causing fragile objects like pottery and glass to explode in a shower of shards. |
Poltergeist can be triggered randomly when the character is under extreme stress. In fact, that's how most Beasts first manifest the power. Because it's so difficult to control, hardly anyone tries to learn to do it deliberately.
Hm. Actually, this doesn't cover the effects of Pushing and Double-Pushing. Let me think...
I could say that the Pushed versions get stronger, whereas the original skill roll still determines how precise you can control it. Of course, that would mean that no one pushes unless they rolled well to begin with. I should probably allow you to roll better or worse and have the later roll affect the control, too.
Regular: affects inanimate objects of one pound or less. It would take a lot of impacts to do more than bruise someone.
Pushed: affects inanimate objects of up to 10 pounds, meaning that it can throw decent sized weapons around and cause serious damage. Fragile objects tend to shatter or crack, even if they weigh too much to be moved.
Double-pushed: can affect inanimate objects of up to 100 pounds (does serious damage to folks hit with them), will also shake the ground and any nearby buildings. Fragile objects explode violently. Ramshackle buildings may fall down.
Partial Success: objects move randomly and very slowly. They may tip over and roll around, but not fast enough to do any real damage unless they actually fall off of a height and land on someone.
Success: objects move violently. They are often flung randomly through the air.
Critical Success: you can contol the basic gist of what happens, such as pummeling specific people with debris or causing all nearby objects to gently tip over and roll over to you.
Extraordinary Success: you can control what happens with exacting precision, affecting only those objects that you want and moving them however you would like. You could juggle objects with your mind, unlock a door, pull the trigger on someone's gun, or bash someone in the back of the head with a brick.
Posted by Kiz at July 16, 2004 09:41 AMComments