KLOANE WAR KNIGHTS - C.1 P.4

TIER 1 TALENTS

Beast Mastery: character may soothe non-sentient creatures that are frightened or hostile, making them docile, possibly for use as a pet or riding mount. Hostile creatures receive a saving throw to resist.

Channel Darkside*: character harnesses the psychic power of her negative emotions (fear, rage, ambition) and focuses it on aggressive attack; for the duration of combat, the psychic adds her psychic defense bonus to her “to hit” rolls instead of her Armor Class. Unlike most psychic talents, channel darkside does NOT require a saving throw: it automatically works. Use of this talent always earns a corruption point.

Clear Mind: by taking one round of inaction to compose herself, the character may add +5 to a single die roll (skill check, saving throw, attack roll) in the following round.

Deflection: For duration of combat the character increases her Armor Class by +4 against all ranged attacks while wielding a beamrazor; any blaster attack that misses the psychic may be immediately reflected back upon the opponent (normal attack roll; maximum number of reflected attacks in a single round are limited by character’s tier). This talent may be used as a reaction against any attack in the round; if the character has already used her action for the round, her activation roll for the talent receives a -2 penalty to succeed.

Empathy: pick up surface thoughts of target in the character’s immediate vicinity (10m); individuals aware of character’s talent may hide thoughts with a PRE saving throw.

Mind Meld: mental communication with willing subject, regardless of language barriers; must touch target. Non-sentient life forms can only communicate feelings.

Move Many Objects: simultaneously move a number of objects equal to 1 plus tier plus PRE adjustment; all objects must be same relative size, and do damage based on size. Each object used to attack requires its own attack (PRE) roll (all at -2 penalties “to hit” if attacking more than one target). Psychic cannot move while using this talent, remaining the calm center in the eye of the storm.

Move Small Objects: mentally move small object within character’s sight. Used as a weapon, object does damage to opponent equal to D4 plus the psychic’s level of experience and requires a PHY saving throw to avoid being stunned for a round (a stunned character cannot move or attack); the psychic must succeed at a normal attack roll (PRE) to inflict injury with the moved object.

Premonition: detects danger to self and others in immediate vicinity (10m); for duration of a scene, the character cannot be surprised.

Reflex Pilot: for duration of engagement, character may add tier and PRE adjustment to both piloting and gunnery rolls in space combat. If deprived of computer, character can “manually” attempt interstellar jump navigation (trip takes D20 days).

Surge: character can make amazing leaps, covering several meters through the air, even from a standing position. Successful use of this talent allows a character to move up to double their normal movement (in a straight line) and make a single melee attack, all as one action. Characters can also use this talent to self-induce an adrenaline surge (as per the critical damage table in X-Plorers), without being reduced to 0 hit points; however, a character can never receive the benefit of more than one adrenaline surge in a single combat.

Sustain Life: through meditation and focus, character can resist extremes of temperature and environmental hardship, ignoring hunger, thirst, and fatigue, being sustained by the Star Force alone. The talent can be attempted once per day (and its effect lasts one day).

Telekinetic Shove: target opponent in melee range is knocked sprawling, taking D6 damage and losing next action (as if the opponent fumbled an attack roll; see optional rule 20’s and 1’s in the X-Plorers rulebook). Psychic characters can make a PRE saving throw to resist. Second and third tier psychics may activate this talent in place of their normal movement during a round, while still making a normal attack or action.

Visions: while in quiet meditation, character can gain glimpses of past, present, and future events pertaining to the character and her loved ones as determined by the Referee.

TIER 2 TALENTS

Destroy Machine: character can compromise or corrupt devices like borgs, blasters, etc. causing them to malfunction and break. Moving objects (like borgs) are allowed a saving throw, as are the possessions (weapons, cybernetic parts) of a sentient individual; the latter receives a PRE save to resist. Vehicles (like starships) have fail-safes and backup systems that render wholesale tampering ineffective with a single use of this talent; however, if on-board a ship the character can target an individual system with a successful roll (see the System Damage chart for ideas in Chapter 4).

Detoxify: remove all toxins or poisonous effects from a character (self or others).

Healing Trance: spend an hour in a meditative trance to heal D6 (plus tier) hit points of damage; talent can only be used once per day, but can be used in conjunction with other forms of healing, including natural rest. Talent will not heal grievous wounds (see Chapter 3).

Know Deception: can tell when a person is lying; range is sight.

Mask Presence: character can mask their own spiritual presence, preventing other psychics from detecting their power (see Chapter 5 regarding psychic sensing); non-sentient animals and creatures will tend to ignore the character as if she isn’t even present, and non-hostile NPCs will tend to overlook the character as well, her importance fading from thought.

Master Darkside*: character adds her psychic defense bonus to both “to hit” rolls AND Armor Class in combat engagements. Unlike channel darkside, this talent requires a normal PRE save to activate. Use of this talent always earns a corruption point.

Mind Over Matter: character can move and act normally, ignoring all penalties for damage (like incapacitation or grievous wounds), old age, or stunning and debilitating effects for the duration of a combat.

Mind Trick: character can implant simple suggestions (similar to hypnosis) in a target that fails a PRE saving throw to resist.

Move Object: mentally move and manipulate an object within sight no bigger than that of a large humanoid. Used as a weapon, the object does D8 damage plus the psychic’s level of experience, and requires a PHY save not to be stunned for D6 rounds (a stunned character cannot move or attack). The character must make a normal attack roll (PRE) to damage an opponent with the moved object.

Psychokinetic Storm*: as telekinetic attack, but applies indiscriminately to all individuals within 10m, as the psychic releases her rage and hatred on the world. In addition, the psychic herself suffers 1D4 damage for each round the talent is sustained. Use of this talent always earns a corruption point.

Psychometry*: psychic can “read” inanimate object touched to learn information about the object. Use of this talent to “read” the corpses of individuals killed by violence or “evil” objects/weapons requires the psychic to succeed at a PRE saving throw to avoid earning a corruption point.

Resist Death*: animates self with unnatural life, despite terrible wounds, through sheer force of will and hate. Character may use this talent when mortally wounded or otherwise in danger of death; success allows the character to survive indefinitely until such time as cybernetic reconstruction is possible (the character loses the ability to live normally). For every week kept alive with this talent alone, the character loses 1 point from one attribute (player’s choice), becoming weaker (PHY), slower (AGI), less sane (INT), or more horrifying (PRE); if any attribute score drops below three, the character’s animated corpse disintegrates. Using this talent earns a corruption point, plus one additional corruption point per week of animation by will alone.

Telekinetic Attack*: target within 10m must succeed at a PRE saving throw or be stunned and take D6 damage per round until released by the psychic (a stunned character can neither move nor attack). This talent does not work on psychic opponents of greater tier, nor does it work on creatures with more Hit Dice than the psychic has levels of experience. For a third tier psychic, the range of this talent is sight. Use of this talent earns a corruption point if used to kill a target.

Telekinetic Disarm: opponent within 10m must succeed at PRE saving throw or drop weapon held; if psychic has a free hand, she may summon the weapon to her own hand. This talent will not work on psychic opponents.

Telekinetic Slam: opponent within melee range is hurled up to 15m, suffering 2D6 and being stunned for D6 rounds (unable to move or attack). Psychic targets receive a PRE saving throw to resist.

Touch Mind: project thoughts and feelings to a known individual; ascended masters (see the third tier talents) can actually speak from beyond the grave using this talent.

TIER 3 TALENTS

Ascension: psychic retains consciousness even beyond death, and can have some limited effect on the living (whether that effect is benevolent or not depends on the character’s temperament in life). The character can, at any time, choose to dissolve her physical form and become “one” with the Universe; most will choose not to do this until the moment of death. Possible effects of this “living ghost” are left to the Referee to adjudicate; those with the touch mind ability can certainly act as helpful NPCs offering advice and wisdom for those companions left behind. This talent does not require a die roll to activate; however, once activated, there’s no “going back.”

Attunement: the psychic allows her conscious mind to be guided by “the will of the Star Force,” generally for the duration of a combat or single die related action. While attuned, the character simply adds a +3 bonus to any roll, check, or save that would normally allow an attribute (PHY, AGI, PRE, INT) adjustment. The attunement bonus replaces the character’s normal attribute that would be associated with the die roll.

Battle Mind: this rare talent allows a character to coordinate the actions of all ship captains on their side in a pitched space battle. Every round the talent is successfully activated, the ships on the side of the psychic receive a +1 bonus to AC, “to hit” rolls, and all skill rolls (this bonus replaces any such bonus conferred by a flight coordinator; see Chapter 4). The psychic using the battle mind can take no other action during the space engagement, but must remain still in quiet meditation. The roll to activate the talent is made during the psychic’s side’s turn before any of “four phases” of the turn.

Dark Lightning*: the psychic channels her contempt and spite to spew forth bolts of dark electricity from her body. Activation of this talent strikes an opponent within 15m with terrible force, doing 2D6 damage and stunning the target for D4 rounds. Such is the pain of the dark current that psychic victims suffer a -2 penalty on any attempt to activate their own psychic talents while stunned. A psychic opponent armed with a beamrazor or possessing the disrupt energy talent is allowed a PRE saving throw to resist a dark lightning attack, but may make no other action in any round they do so. Using this talent always earns the psychic a point of corruption.

Disrupt Energy: by activating this talent a character harmlessly deflects any single ranged attack with her bare hands. This talent may be used as a reaction against any attack in the round; if the character has already used her action for the round, her activation roll for the talent receives a penalty of -2 to succeed. The psychic can disrupt no more than three attacks per round.

Farsight: as per the visions talent, but with a greater degree of control. The psychic can extend her perception to events and people outside of her immediate knowledge.

Mind Rape*: rips the deepest thoughts and darkest secrets from the target’s mind with neither subtlety nor mercy. Target’s PRE saving throw to resist suffers a -2 penalty. Use of this talent always earns a corruption point.

Mind Warp: implants false memories in a target that fails a PRE saving throw (-2 penalty); talent may also be used to project false images into a target’s mind (illusions).

Mind Wipe: erases memories in a target that fails a PRE saving throw. Each use of this talent requires the target to be restrained for D20 minutes while the erasure occurs. Talent can be used to remove a level of experience from the character (one level per use), including the associated milestone, if appropriate; doing so also removes D4 points of psychic corruption. Rarely used by Star Knights except as a stern punishment.

Move Any Object: move any size object at a range of sight. If used to injure an opponent, most large objects do D20 damage plus the psychic’s level of experience and require a PHY saving throw to avoid being knocked unconscious for a number of minutes equal to the damage inflicted; such an attack requires a successful attack roll (PRE) to have any effect. Especially huge objects cannot be wielded effectively for attack, but can be made to fall on and crush opponents; in this case, no attack roll is necessary, though an AGI save is allowed to escape being pulped (failure requires the victim to roll on the critical damage chart in Chapter 3, using only a D4 instead of a D8, though PHY adjustment still applies). This talent is difficult even for masters to use; the psychic receives a -2 penalty to the PRE saving throw to activate it.

Razor Throw: character can attack an opponent up to 10m away with her beamrazor by hurling the weapon and guiding it with her mind. No attack roll is needed if the talent is activated successfully (damage is standard as per ‘razors: 2D8 plus level of experience).

Rend Space*: uses the negative power of the void of deep space to tear herself apart in a massive explosion of dark energy, capable of destroying even dreadnought class ships. Psychics within four SUs of the suicidal Shadow Lord may make a PRE saving throw to save themselves and their ships, but even those who succeed take 4D8 damage from psychic backlash and suffer D4 system damage rolls (see Chapter 4). Use of this talent destroys the psychic and she may use neither the ascension nor resist death talents.

Shatterstrike*: doubles the damage of a single successful attack. As this psychic talent must be activated in the same round as the attack action, both rolls (to activate the talent and the attack roll) are made at a -2 penalty. If a sentient target is killed in the use of this talent, the psychic earns a corruption point.

Vitality Transfer: the psychic can transfer any number of hit points from herself to another individual, including one who has been mortally wounded (requires at least six hit points be transferred to stave off death). If this expenditure would reduce the psychic’s own HPs below zero, then she gives her own life in exchange for the injured individual.

[to be continued]

[Kloane War Knights is copyright 2013 by Jonathan Becker and Running Beagle Games. The X-Plorers rpg is copyright 2009, Dave Bezio & Grey Area Games. The X-Plorers trademark is used under the X-Plorers Trademark License]