hammerquill
SOC-8
I have a couple of items about the Psionics rules in 5.09 that I think need clarifying in the rules. They're a little too involved to post just as Errata, but I do think they point to actually missing information which should be there.
1) Details of Psi Senses:
p. 538 lays out information string formats for the different psionic senses, but the instructions on learning/rolling up psionics don't tell you how to determine the details of these abilities. The Constant in each case is the number of ESP aptitude points allocated to that Psi sense. But the rest of the string is not clear. In the case of pV, it says on p. 532 that "If Psi-Vision is selected, any three adjacent wavelengths may be selected." That's clear enough. But no similar advice is given for the other senses.
Specifically, pH should probably allow a similar selection of frequency band to pV, with Span being determined by something like Psi minus Bad Flux. I would do the same thing (Psi minus Bad Flux) for pS sharpness, pT sensitivity, and pA Acuity. I'm not sure what to do about pP Tone and Poice, though the latter might well take the Psi minus Bad Flux treatment too.
Then there's the question of pH "Voice" and "Range". Are these intended to be there at all? If so, do they represent the ability to talk telepathically? If so, again pH Voice could be Psi minus Bad Flux (or even Psi plus ordinary flux), and range can be done the same way, whatever "range" means in this context. Overall, it seems more reasonable to simply eliminate those two final terms from pH.
2) The action descriptions would be greatly clarified if, instead of saying "Range(nD)<...+Direct/Self [-Remote] ...." it said "Range(nD)<...+Direct/Self -[Range]..." if indeed that's what's meant, as it seems in the examples. Saying "Remote" in these circumstances makes it sound like you're somehow subtracting the psion's ability of that name, which makes no sense. It would make more sense if it were in fact +Remote, so that your ability to do things at a distance gave you an advantage when you were working closer in.
3) I would really like to have a proper space for all this on the back of the character card, or else a Psionics card to add on with spaces for all of this.
4) Eshift of Characteristics is unclear. You can't send Psi, but you can send Direct or Self or Remote, or an ESP or ECM ability. Can you only send those to someone who already has psi and is trained in it then, I guess? And it is called "transferring" a characteristic, but since you can do it to yourself, and the cost is just dependent on the value of the characteristic, presumably you can enhance any characteristic, not dependent on your own score in it.
5) P. 530: "Psionics Is An Organic Ability. Non-organic (electronic, fluidic, photonic, positronic) brains are incapable of psionics. On the other hand, a semiorganic brain with psionic ability is capable of psionics and may even be enhanced by its non-organic computing power." I like the idea of having a cyborg system with psionic abilities. However, if I have transplanted a psionic brain into my spaceship control computer, it is not just slightly enhanced, but hugely, because on p.522 it's made clear that Endurance (or other C3) is not a characteristic of brains in jars, so they won't experience the fatigue of psionics use. I think it would be way better if semi-organic thinking systems like this did indeed have an End/C3 characteristic, to make them more fallible, and to give them some limitations when it comes to psionics, and in roleplaying terms to make them much more interesting.
1) Details of Psi Senses:
p. 538 lays out information string formats for the different psionic senses, but the instructions on learning/rolling up psionics don't tell you how to determine the details of these abilities. The Constant in each case is the number of ESP aptitude points allocated to that Psi sense. But the rest of the string is not clear. In the case of pV, it says on p. 532 that "If Psi-Vision is selected, any three adjacent wavelengths may be selected." That's clear enough. But no similar advice is given for the other senses.
Specifically, pH should probably allow a similar selection of frequency band to pV, with Span being determined by something like Psi minus Bad Flux. I would do the same thing (Psi minus Bad Flux) for pS sharpness, pT sensitivity, and pA Acuity. I'm not sure what to do about pP Tone and Poice, though the latter might well take the Psi minus Bad Flux treatment too.
Then there's the question of pH "Voice" and "Range". Are these intended to be there at all? If so, do they represent the ability to talk telepathically? If so, again pH Voice could be Psi minus Bad Flux (or even Psi plus ordinary flux), and range can be done the same way, whatever "range" means in this context. Overall, it seems more reasonable to simply eliminate those two final terms from pH.
2) The action descriptions would be greatly clarified if, instead of saying "Range(nD)<...+Direct/Self [-Remote] ...." it said "Range(nD)<...+Direct/Self -[Range]..." if indeed that's what's meant, as it seems in the examples. Saying "Remote" in these circumstances makes it sound like you're somehow subtracting the psion's ability of that name, which makes no sense. It would make more sense if it were in fact +Remote, so that your ability to do things at a distance gave you an advantage when you were working closer in.
3) I would really like to have a proper space for all this on the back of the character card, or else a Psionics card to add on with spaces for all of this.
4) Eshift of Characteristics is unclear. You can't send Psi, but you can send Direct or Self or Remote, or an ESP or ECM ability. Can you only send those to someone who already has psi and is trained in it then, I guess? And it is called "transferring" a characteristic, but since you can do it to yourself, and the cost is just dependent on the value of the characteristic, presumably you can enhance any characteristic, not dependent on your own score in it.
5) P. 530: "Psionics Is An Organic Ability. Non-organic (electronic, fluidic, photonic, positronic) brains are incapable of psionics. On the other hand, a semiorganic brain with psionic ability is capable of psionics and may even be enhanced by its non-organic computing power." I like the idea of having a cyborg system with psionic abilities. However, if I have transplanted a psionic brain into my spaceship control computer, it is not just slightly enhanced, but hugely, because on p.522 it's made clear that Endurance (or other C3) is not a characteristic of brains in jars, so they won't experience the fatigue of psionics use. I think it would be way better if semi-organic thinking systems like this did indeed have an End/C3 characteristic, to make them more fallible, and to give them some limitations when it comes to psionics, and in roleplaying terms to make them much more interesting.
