Psion Integration Chamber Question

[PsiTraveller]

I am designing a Psionic ship using the material from the Psion book and I have some questions.

I am designing a 400 ton ship, with 300 tons being modular. The jump capability will come from specifically trained Psions. There is no Jump Drive. The Folding Space Talent moves the ship.

Crew needs are Astrogator, Engineer and Medic (Psionically Trained) to look after the 2 Pilots in the PIC.

The 100 ton Engineering section houses the M Drive, Bridge, fuel and Staterooms for crew as well as the PIC.

The PIC is the question. The base tongae is .1% of the hull, so 4 tons, plus 1 ton for evert 4 Psi Strength of the Occupant. I made the primary compartment 7 tons to allow for a Psion with 12 Psi Strength.
The second occupant takes .5 tons base and .5 tons per 4 Psi Strength, so I made the 2nd Pilot 2 tons for a 12 Psi Strength individual.

So what happens if the Pilot normally has 10 Psi Strength and takes a Psi Drug to boost his Psi Strength above 12? Or what if he has the Tapping Talent and boost his Psi Strength that way? Is there a downside to having more than 12 Psi Strength? What happens if a Psi Strength 4 room has a Psi Strength 12 person installed in it?

The reason I want to make sure I have a high pool of points is to boost the CER of the vessel. Spending 10 Psi Strength gets a CER of over 12. It would be better, but I maxed out the spending on the Jump 5 computer.

Second question. Folding Space and computers of lower rating. If a Psion can integrate with a ship and it has a Jump 2 capable computer (for example), how can he plot a fold to a Jump 3 destination? or Jump 4 or 5? Is a jump program needed or is the plotting done in the head of the Psionic Pilot?

Thanks

 

[CosmicGamer]

What does 10 points of combat damage mean? Broken bones, severe bleeding, collapsed lung? It's not defined by the rules and is up to the GM and play group.

I believe your first question is similar. Open to personal interpretation, individual GM ruling. A :CoW:

Second question. Folding Space and computers of lower rating. If a Psion can integrate with a ship and it has a Jump 2 capable computer (for example), how can he plot a fold to a Jump 3 destination? or Jump 4 or 5? Is a jump program needed or is the plotting done in the head of the Psionic Pilot?

It would take a long explanation of all the different points (which I'll probably end up getting into as people disagree with me) but for now it boils down to folding space/time and jumping are two different things and the confusion is that the text is using Jump 1, Jump 2 and such to measure distance. Could have used a measure of distance in parsecs to avoid confusion.

No jump calculations at all would be needed.

Treat it as it's own stand alone solution like the alternative drives on page 109 of the core rules.

At least that is my way of looking at it.

 

[PsiTraveller]

Well if that lets me save 10 Million on a Level 5 computer I am all for it. All my designs keep putting in the hardware to justify a jump plot.

And as for my first question, it seems odd that there is a tonnage to Psi Strength. It could have been tied to Hull size, x number of tons of psionically active crystals tied into the ship frame to allow the Psion to integrate with the Ship makes some sort of sense, with extra tonnage for additional Psions to attune themselves to the Psionic Energy Matrix. (etc etc cool scientificy sounding words added to demand the umpty Million credits in upgrades to a ship.

I just thought of a scenario where a really Tapped Up Psion hooks into a ship and his big brain does not fit into the unit.

 

[CosmicGamer]

This is totally just my own ideas for making sense of it, but if you are looking for some possibilities...

What are the limits if a psi has higher ability?

Ship Operation Enhancement

An integrated psion can therefore add his Psionic Strength DM to any of the following skills at no Psi point cost: Engineer (all), Gunner (all), Mechanic, Pilot (all), Remote Operations and Sensors. This zero-point enhancement still requires a successful Ship Integration roll.

This is only capable with a PIC. If it is only designed for a psi up to STR 12? Then +2 DM is the max that the psi/machine can handle even if the psi has a natural or boosted psi strength higher.

Similiar with the other ship integration abilities like folding space. PIC for a strength 8 psi would be able to move a ship up to 800dt. They would be able to fold 4 parsecs of space or the equivalent of Jump 4.

These abilities require the proper PIC hardware, not just the Psi.

 

[PsiTraveller]

So is it worth 4 tons to get the +3 bonus? Can you add more tonnage to get higher than a 15 bonus if the Psion uses Tapping to get a score of 30?

How long does the enhancement last?

I have the same question for duration about Drive Augmentation. By spending 4 points a Psion can get a Thrust 2 increase. How long does that increase last? How much fuel can he save? Folding space lets him save hundeds of tons of fuel and push a J1 ship to J5 or J6. That lasts for a week for 10 points.

How long does the 10 points spent to increase a manouevre drive last?

 

[CosmicGamer]

The book 4 Psi rules come from a variety of Sci Fi books and movies. The rules state some details are left up to the GM and group to decide so as to fit the setting they are trying to create. The answers are within you. What do you want your universe to be like? Psis may be jacked in and out allowing player characters to do things off ship. Psis may be a "brain in a jar" with all their senses surgically connected to the PIC.

For some possible ideas:

How long does the enhancement last?

The Psi is interfaced via the PIC. The ship and Psi are one. Perhaps it lasts as long as the Psi is awake and connected. Why? Maybe this is not some overpowering ability to add Psi STR as another DM to tasks on top of normal characteristic DMs. Perhaps this psi who is using their integrated psionic abilities instead of their normal characteristics to accomplish things does not get to use the normal DMs? For example when gunning you use the psi strength DM instead of the dex DM. You are in a PIC and not the turret. Starting to feel run down and your Psi STR is low? This effects your ability to operate the ship psionicly

For the additional +1 which costs 2 points, I think one interpretation can be that it lasts for one task, however long that task may be. I say this because the Ship Operation Enhancement task description to see if you get the +1 has a time of "variable".

I have the same question for duration about Drive Augmentation. How long does that increase last?

The task has a time listed of 10-60 minutes. Personally I like a flat 60 minutes instead of using a random variable amount. Some may want the amount varied by effect.