TF-RP: Psychic Powers
From Egs Mayhem
This science fiction article written by Jfan999, the rules and limits presented here are free to use in any character and game. These rules are being used with Jfan's character Jess in both the TF-RP: Tedd(/Tess) Forces, and the Moperville RP 2.0
The article
Psychic powers are caused by genetics. There are four kinds of psychic genes, telepathic, telekinetic, master, and non-active genes.
Non-active genes are dominant, which is why psychics are so rare. To be psychic you have to have two matching psychic genes, or a master gene and a telepathic or telekinetic. Pure telepaths (psychics with two telepathic genes) only have access to telepathic powers. Telepaths with a master gene also have access to destructive (mental) powers. Pure telekinetics have access to telekinetic powers; those with a master gene also have access to destructive (physical) powers. Those with two master genes have access to all powers.
These genes alone do not guarantee that a person will manifest psychic powers, there is another requirement. Psychic powers require energy and that energy comes from the brain. Psychic energy is produced from the part of the brain that is used the most by the person; this part of the brain must be stimulated for long periods of time for psychic energy potential to be created. Psychic energy potential is the maximum amount of psychic energy. Psychic energy can not be created by stimulating the brain. If the part of the brain that creates the psychic energy is over stimulated it can cause a psychics powers to activate sub consciously or become uncontrollable, this is a major problem for psychics that produce energy in the limbic system; specifically the Amygdala. Even then a there is usually a triggering event that causes the powers to emerge. Different types of powers may unlock during different triggering events.
Psychic powers will increase in power or ability over time with practice. A triggering event may also cause them to increase. No matter what, almost all psychic powers increase in a three stage hierarchy. Stage one powers are the first powers to be unlocked in any given hierarchy, they are relatively simple. All stage one power of a group usually activate at the same time, so someone who develops empathy should also develop emotional imprinting. This is not true in all people though. Stage two powers require some work to gain and are more complex then stage one powers. Unlike stage one; stage two powers are reached at different rates depending on use/training. Stage three powers are phenomenally powerful, and take massive amounts of training and psychic energy reach. Very few psychics ever reach this level; almost none reach this level in more then one hierarchy.
One other sub set of powers should be mentioned these are the ‘other’ types of powers. These powers don’t seem to be linked to the other power sub-sets and seem to be independent of each other. These powers are also hard to activate and are never truly ‘unlocked’ and may activate on their own. Not all types of ‘other’ powers are known. These ‘other’ powers can activate due to a stimulus, such as stress, others activate unconsciously, such as the Telekinetic shield.
Telepathy is the manipulation of mental information, it is a power set that is closely linked with the Amygdala (a part of the limbic system that is involved in emotional responses), and it is more likely that psychic energy will be gathered here. There are two power sets in telepathy, Receptive, and Expressive. The receptive abilities are based around taking in information from another. The first stage power in this hierarchy is empathy. Empathy is the sensing of another’s emotions. Some psychics see this as an aura; others just sense it. The second stage is ‘hearing thoughts’. This power allows the psychic to hear someone else’s surface thoughts. This power also allows others to contact the psychic over long distances by focusing their thoughts on the psychic. The third stage is mind reading. This power allows the psychic to delve into another’s mind and look through their deeper thoughts and memories. The Expressive abilities allow a psychic to project their thoughts to others. The first stage of this is called emotional imprinting. This is a passive ability that sends the psychics emotions out to other; for example if a psychic with this ability is sad, people around them will notice this or may become sad themselves. The second stage power is what is typically seen as telepathy where a psychic is able to send their thoughts to others. This stage when combined with second stage receptive abilities will allow a psychic to have a two way conversation with another person. The third stage is mental commands where a psychic forces their thoughts on others and can control them.
A commonly seen ‘other’ power for telepathy is astral projection where the users consciousness leaves their body. Their only form of communication is telepathy, and they have no way of physically interacting with the world unless they also have telekinesis. If in this state they touch or move through another person, they will have access to that persons mind far greater then level three powers.
Telekinesis is the ability to make things move with your mind. The two sub classes of telekinesis are classic and transportation. The classic hierarchy is based around the commonly accepted idea of telekinesis which is moving things, the first stage is called movement telekinesis. The first stage consists of moving, lifting, pushing or crushing single objects. Because of its crushing abilities this stage could be considered combat capable, but for fighting it is clumsy. The second stage is manipulation telekinesis allowing a psychic to lift multiple things, as well as doing fine manipulations of objects. This level also includes an increase in precision of normal telekinesis. Some psychics say at this stage it feels like having a pair of psychic hands. Stage three is known as sum of its parts telekinesis, this level of telekinesis allows the psychic to effect each part of an object individually. This allows the psychic to take things apart with their mind. The transportation hierarchy is similar in ability to the classic hierarchy in that it is based around object movement. Stage one, hovering, allows a psychic to vertically move slowly off the ground, this stage also allows the psychic to move at an increased speed horizontally. The second stage, flight, gives a psychic full three-dimensional movement while limited at first this ability can allow a psychic to travel a very high speeds for long periods of time. The final stage is actually a combination of receptive telepathy and flying that allows others to use the psychic’s flight ability if they are in range.
A common form of other power for telekinesis is the telekinetic shield that can form around a psychic in dire peril, protecting them from physical danger. The down side to this shield is that it will quickly drain away a psychics power reserves
