Well, my first post on Traveller psionics got linked on Castalia House's weekly Sensor Sweep, which was quite unexpected. And very cool; it was through Castalia that I found some of the blogs I read regularly now, so I'm hoping to see an uptick in traffic as a result.
Anyway, back to the psionics. It turns out that TK doesn't have any specialized abilities other than picking up bigger raisins as you get stronger. I was hoping there would be some interesting abilities like fine manipulation, or exploding small objects. Of course, I can always add them if I want to. And, like the other abilities, experience works with a monthly 8+ roll to improve a level. Nothing earth-shattering there. Or raisin-shattering.
So, we move on to the fourth talent, which is Awareness. This is bodily self-control. No, it doesn't mean you have a super-bladder. But it does come with four cool abilities, so let's take a look at them.
First, it's Suspended Animation, or 'feign death' for all you D&D fans out there. It's like cold sleep in the Low Passage death-boxes, except you don't die. That would be worth doing if you were on a long trip, instead of risking your life in the deathtrap known as 'Low Passage,' if you could convince the purser to let you hang out in a small pressurized container for a few days. The power is good for seven days, although it can be stopped through external stimuli like an alarm. It's a level 2 ability, costing 3 points. That's an efficient use of points, 3 for a power that lasts a whole week? Of course, you can't actually do anything during that week.
Next is Psionically Enhanced Strength. Hulk Smash! You convert your brain strength into muscle strength, translating 1 PSP per minute into a one-point bonus to your Strength score. Your maximum points gained is your current level of Awareness power, and you can't boost yourself higher than a 15 Strength no matter how high your level is. The strength boost lasts for an hour, then fades at 1 point per minute until you're back to normal. This is a level-4 ability.
Psionically Enhanced Endurance is the follow-up, a 5th-level ability that does for your endurance what the previous ability does. Same rules, same restrictions.
The fourth ability is Regeneration. So you can be the Hulk and Wolverine at the same time, if you've got the mental stamina to pull it off. One PSP equals one wound point healed. It's fast (a minute or so), and you can repeat the process if one application isn't enough to get you all the way back to healthy. It's even retroactive, so you can regenerate lost limbs and old wounds from years ago once you're strong enough to do it. You cannot, however, reverse the aging process. This is a level-9 ability.
In honor of the potential new readers, I'd like to ask you to take a look at my first science fiction publication, Bard Conley's Adventures Across the Solar System, which is a collection of ten linked short stories. It's available in paperback and e-book formats on Amazon right now!
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