Universal Science
Power Check DC 8 Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma check
Initial Cost 1 PSPs or more (see description)
Maintenance Cost 1 PSPs / round or more (see description)
Range up to 10,000 miles (see description)
Preparation Time 1 bonus action or more (see description)
Area of Effect 1 target or more (see description)
Prerequisites none
The psionicist establish a mental contact between his mind and the target’s mind.
This psionic power is required to use other psionic powers having Contact as a prerequisite for the power to work against a target.
Most of the telepathic psionic powers requires a successful Contact, as described in each psionic power entry.
The psionicist, in order to establish a Contact, must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
- The target must be within the psionicist’s line of sight.
- The target must be a person the psionicist knows.
- The target must be a person the psionicist has contacted at least once.
A target may be Willing or Unwilling to receive the Contact, and both situations require a different approach.
Area of Effect. The psionicist can maintain the Contact with an unlimited number of targets, both willing or unwilling, as long as it has PSPs available.
Willing Target
If the target willingly decides to open its mind to the psionicist, then the psionicist will have complete access to the target’s mind and the power check is automatically successful. The initial cost and the maintenance cost are both 1 PSP/ round.
A target suffering a mind-control effect can be considered a willing target, if the psionicist is the source of the mind control, or if the controller asks the target to accept the contact and trust the psionicist.
A willing target is considered such only when it is aware that a someone is entering its mind, otherwise the target will instictively attempt to resist the contact.
Unwilling Target
An unwilling target feels that something is insinuating its mind or is aware that “someone” is trying to enter its mind.
As a consequence, the target attempts to resist the attack at the best of its capabilities.
The psionicist will have to find a more persuasive way to establish contact against an unwilling target by means of Mental Attacks. A successful mental attack against the target’s mind allows the psionicist to establish contact.
However, mental attacks have a limited range.
If the target is beyond the range of mental attacks, then the psionicist will have to patiently bore into the target’s mind, at a higher cost.
Increase the Power Check, the Initial Cost and the Maintenance, as described below:
- Power Check. Increase the DC of the power check to establish a contact by the adding the target’s Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. Important: If the psionicist is trying to contact a non-psionicist, then the psionicist makes the power check with advantage.
- Initial Cost. Increase the Initial Cost by adding the target’s intelligence, wisdom and charisma modifier. The initial cost may eventually drops to zero, but can never be negative.
- Maintenance Cost. Increase the maintenance cost by adding the target’s Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma modifier, whichever is higher.
Distance also affects how difficult is to establish contact against an unwilling target, and distance affects the Maintenance Cost, the DC of the Power Check and the Preparation Time of this psionic power, as described in the three tables below:
Maintenance Cost. The maintenance cost increases according to the distance as follows:
- Line of sight +0 PSPs
- 1 mile +1 PSPs
- 10 miles +2 PSPs
- 100 miles +4 PSPs
- 1,000 miles +8 PSPs
- 10,000 miles +16 PSPs
Range. The higher the distance between the psionicist and the target, the harder will be to establish a contact. Increase the DC of the power check as follows:
- Line of sight DC +0
- 1 mile DC +1
- 10 miles DC +2
- 100 miles DC +4
- 1,000 miles DC +7
- 10,000 miles DC +11
Preparation Time. The higher the distance between the psionicist and the target, the longer it will take to establish a contact. The psionicist pays initial cost once the contact is established. Increase the preparation time as follows:
- Line of sight 1 bonus action
- 1 mile 1 full round
- 10 miles 1 minute
- 100 miles 10 minutes
- 1,000 miles 1 hour
- 10,000 miles 8 hours
Natural 1.
Natural 20.
Note: this psionic power has been moved from the devotion list to the science list.