Questions about Psi in the new edition

[Ian Turner]

So I haven't seen the new rules yet, and likely won't until October, when my books are supposed to arrive, and was looking over my old books and wondering what would be possible under the new rules.

Back in D&D, I always liked the idea of 'combat divination' spells, in the vein of how Jean Grey opened up Mastermind's mind to 'all of the universe' and drove him nuts, or The Crow gifted a killer with the '30 hours of pain, all at once, all for you' that he'd inflicted upon one of his victims, or even the GURPS spell 'death vision' that forces someone to view alternate visions of their possible death. Is it possible under storypath for a Clairsentient to 'gift' someone with distracting, or even crippling, insights? Flashbacks to your worst injury? Distracting sensory perceptions of events all around you as your senses swap uncontrollably? "Woo, first I could see sounds as streaks and explosions of color moving through the air and now I see the individual cells in my hand. This would be a great trip at any time I *wasn't being shot at!*"

Telepathy can overlap, opening up a target's mind to the 'surface chatter' of everyone around them, or just 'shouting' distractingly in a person's mind, to distract / disrupt them during combat, or using the Babel Effect in reverse, and making someone (or even everyone in an area, if one gets truly Biblical) unable to understand or communicate in language.

Similarly, I wouldn't mind knowing if Biokinesis lends itself to some of the more outre biological forms of attack available in the animal/plant kingdom, like allergenic spores or urticating hairs or bombardier beetle gas or termite 'glue,' or the more commonly-seen-in-comics venomous spines / thorns, bio-electric 'electric eel' touch, spider-webbing, etc. Wings and claws are fine, but even simple utility effects like bio-luminescence to generate light, or wall-clinging for superior climbing, or a flexible skeleton to 'land like a cat' could be situationally useful, and lead itself to a Norca being even more independent and self-sufficient and arrogant about it than they already are.

[Bunyip]

So I haven't seen the new rules yet

It sounds like you’re a Kickstarter backer so you should have access to the PDFs. I’d recommend taking a look at them while waiting for the books to arrive!

Is it possible under storypath for a Clairsentient to 'gift' someone with distracting, or even crippling, insights?

Clairsentient? No, as their powers don’t give access to other people’s minds. A telepath could add crippling memories of her own past trauma. And a telepath and clairsentient working together could open a victim’s mind to vast sensory distractions.

Similarly, I wouldn't mind knowing if Biokinesis lends itself to some of the more outre biological forms of attack available in the animal/plant kingdom

Yes. If it’s in the animal kingdom, a biokinetic could do it.

[Mateus Luz]

The concepts of the Psi are not different from the first edition, most of the modes are the same and work about the same. So, if it’s not in the “reach” first edition, it’s probably not in the second, except...

There are rules for Proxy level powers, you can imagine it’s good...
There are a few changes in the modes, for example, Crio and Piro were combined in Thermokinesis, with a new mode, Perikinesis being the “force field mode”, added to PK.
There are rules for Quantakinesis and Teleportation in the first book (they also were changed from first edition).
The way weapons and attacks work in the new edition are quite different, and BK (also many of the attacking powers) are more flexible, with variations build quite easily. Let’s say, the BK want a simple claw, easy, want to throw nails at bulet speed, ok, you want a possum like piss, well, you need to say what’s the effects of the bad smell, but you can do it. Same for armor...
The rules for combining powers are there and clearer than before.

If you are a backer, you must have access to the rules, of not, you can go thru the forum and there are a few discussions about the changes in the Psi powers.

[Ian Turner]

The way weapons and attacks work in the new edition are quite different, and BK (also many of the attacking powers) are more flexible, with variations build quite easily. Let’s say, the BK want a simple claw, easy, want to throw nails at bullet speed, ok, you want a possum like piss, well, you need to say what’s the effects of the bad smell, but you can do it. Same for armor... The rules for combining powers are there and clearer than before.

More standardized powers frameworks would be cool. I remember it being vaguely annoying that the Cryokinetic, Pyrokinetic, Electrokinetic and Algesic Techniques to inflict Bashing damage on someone at range seemed to have oddly different mechanics, and sometimes different effects if you had higher Mode ratings.

I was kind of spoiled by the more generic frameworks in the Players Guide where pretty much everyone used the same mechanic for their 'inflict Bashing damage attack' and 'inflict Lethal damage attack' and 'imposed a Difficulty penalty to others by causing painful shocks/allergic reactions/giving them heatstroke/telepathically shouting in their heads' instead of having three or four different mechanics for the same basic result.

I was hoping for the 'offensive Clairsentience' thing if only because I've seen it used so memorably in the comics (or on movies like The Crow, or even fringe TV shows like Andromeda), and it fit the precedent set by Catabolysis of 'Biokinetics powers usually only affects the user, *except* for when he uses it to melt other people's faces off...'

If you are a backer, you must have access to the rules, of not, you can go thru the forum and there are a few discussions about the changes in the Psi powers.

I've been catching up on old threads, to get a heads up on stuff like Perikinesis, but I have had no luck with BacketKit, and after a few months of trying, have given up on getting a sneak peak, so I'll just wait for the printed books to arrive in the mail. Thanks for the extra detail, though!

[Ian Turner]

It sounds like you’re a Kickstarter backer so you should have access to the PDFs. I’d recommend taking a look at them while waiting for the books to arrive!

Perhaps I'll give that another try. It's possible that BackerKit wasn't working back when I was trying it. (More possible though that I am just hopeless with technology.)

Clairsentient? No, as their powers don’t give access to other people’s minds. A telepath could add crippling memories of her own past trauma. And a telepath and clairsentient working together could open a victim’s mind to vast sensory distractions.

That's a shame. Some more aggressive options would have been nice.

Yes. If it’s in the animal kingdom, a biokinetic could do it.

That will be cool. Turning one's hand into a giant bone blade is all well and good, but I like the idea of glues or webbing or urticating hairs or paralyzing nematodes or similar non-lethal 'debuffing' options that might simulate tangler/net guns or the stunning jolts of a cattle prod or taser. I very much like the idea of a Norca who thinks of herself as 'the weapon' and is endlessly versatile and not just some thug who has a knife that can't be disarmed. (Although there are plenty of times that the big bone spur/blade is indeed the best option. No need to be using tanglers or stunners or irritants on aberrant minions! Save the 'debuffs' for the bigger targets that your bone knife wasn't going to hurt anyway, or the human operatives you didn't want to shish-ke-bab...)

Thanks for the reply!

[Bunyip]

That's a shame. Some more aggressive options would have been nice.

Clairsentience has some offensive options, and it can make characters some of the hardest to hit in Aeon, but it was never (in 1e or now 2e) able to give access to another person’s mind - that’s the province of Telepathy, and it doesn’t make sense that Clairsentience would suddenly start doing something so far outside its field.

Every Aptitude has things they’re good at, and things they lack. That’s because Aptitudes aren’t naturally meant to be one-and-done. Psions have to work together more closely to overcome these challenges, which fits thematically to AEon’s Unity tag. Ideally, a psion would have no limitations on having Clairsentience and Telepathy and would use both together to overwhelm a victim’s senses in ways like you’re asking.

And you’re welcome. Always happy to talk AEon.

[Mateus Luz]

The problem is that many of the comix and games don’t focus on what means each power, as does Aeon.

Jean is described as having Telepathy and Telekinesis, but she also have clarisentience on a lower level, so she combines them all to some effects (as the ones you described).
D&D have a way to divide the psi focused on the effects and not the way it works, so flight is a Teleportation power because it allows you to move and pirokinesis is a Metacreative power because it create stuff. Also Clairsentience is the “universal” power descriptor, when the power is too complex or don’t fit on the others, like copying someone else powers, or redo reality.

[Jetstream]

The problem is that many of the comix and games don’t focus on what means each power, as does Aeon.

Jean is described as having Telepathy and Telekinesis, but she also have clarisentience on a lower level, so she combines them all to some effects (as the ones you described).
D&D have a way to divide the psi focused on the effects and not the way it works, so flight is a Teleportation power because it allows you to move and pirokinesis is a Metacreative power because it create stuff. Also Clairsentience is the “universal” power descriptor, when the power is too complex or don’t fit on the others, like copying someone else powers, or redo reality.

Well, I mean, if you wanna play Jean Gray the game you want is Aberrant. Aeon isn't a supers system, it's a system focusing on sci-fi futurism stuff and extramental powers.

As for D&D, Psionics is pretty much just another kind of magic there, with a wooooo mind powers overlay.

[Mateus Luz]

Well, I mean, if you wanna play Jean Gray the game you want is Aberrant. Aeon isn't a supers system, it's a system focusing on sci-fi futurism stuff and extramental powers.

As for D&D, Psionics is pretty much just another kind of magic there, with a wooooo mind powers overlay.

Agree with every letter...