Psionics
Psionic abilities are treated like skills for the purposes of making Psionic rolls. There are several potential modifiers to rolls, these are summarized below.
Modifiers to Psionic Skill Rolls
| per additional person | + or ndash; 1/2 modifier, whichever increases difficulty |
| intelligent humanoid | no modifier |
| intelligent non-humanoid | -10 |
| semi-intelligent creature | -20 |
| unintelligent creature or animal | -35 |
| unknown creature type | -30 |
| willing telepath | +1/2 PSI, use lowest of pair |
| willing non-telepath | +1/4 PSI of non-telepath |
| unaware | +10 |
| aware and resisting telepath | -1/2 PSI of target |
| aware and resosting non-telepath | -1/4 PSI of target |
| previously Mind-Linked | +10 |
| total quiet, no one else present | +15 |
| comfortable, familiar location | +10 |
| per additional ability used | +10 |
Psionic skills are listed by group, Telepathy, ESP, Psychokinesis, and Biomanipulation. The psionic abilities are described after the list.
Telepathy
- Animal Communication
- Astral Projection
- Empathic Transmission
- Empathy
- Illusion Generation
- Mental Shield
- Mind Link
- Mind Meld
- Mind Read
- Mind Wipe
- Possession
- Psionic Blast
- Suggection
- Telecontrol
- Telepathy
ESP
- Astral Vision
- Clairaudience
- Clairvoyance
- Precognition
- Psi Sense
- Psychometry
- Read Aura
- Sixth Sense
- Total Recall
Psychokinesis
- Force Bolt
- Levitation
- Matter Creation
- Matter Rearrangement
- Pyrokinesis
- Telekinesis
Biomanipulation
- Adrenal Control
- Alter Aura
- Blind
- Cause Pain
- Cellular Metamorphosis
- Deaden Pain, Others
- Deaden Pain, Self
- Deafen
- Death Trance
- Healing Touch
- Induce Sleep
- Lend Health
- Mind Over Body
- Mute
- Paralysis
- Rapid Healing
The psionic rules are deliberately vague, owing to the immense diversity of psionics in the Star Trek universe. In the ability descriptions, specific rules are included where they would be helpful but GMs are encouraged to modify these rules as they see fit.
Each ability description also states whether the ability affects the user (self) or a separate target (other) or has a physical effect on the environment (external), as well as citing examples of the power from the various television shows and motion pictures.
Ability Descriptions
| Adrenal Control (self) | duplicates the effect of a stimulant, restoring CURR OP END lost due to stun damage, fatigue, etc. Mr. Spock has used Adrenal Control in several episodes to combat fatigue. |
| Alter Aura (self) | the character can disguise his aura from probing psychics, concealing information. (c.f. See Aura ability) |
| Animal Communication (other) | negates the -35 penalty for communicating with unintelligent animals, but remember that the animal can still only understand the most basic thoughts and feelings. |
| Astral Projection (self) | the psionic can project his "spirit" out of his body and move about freely invisibly and intangibly. It is up to the GM to put limits on the range and other aspects of the power. |
| Astral Vision (self) | allows the character to perceive Astral forms. (see Astral Projection) |
| Blind (other) | the psionic can negate a target's sense of sight rendering them blind. It usually must be maintained by concentration. |
| Cause Pain (other) | causes MAX OP END damage (GM's decision as to exact amount) for every round of concentration. When concentration ceases the damage disappears. The Talosians in The Menagerie used Cause Pain to try to force Captain Pike to cooperate. |
| Cellular Metamorphosis (self) | the ability to change one's physical form. Exact level of the ability is up to the GM. The Antosians taught Garth of Izar the ability to change his shape in Whom Gods Destroy, though he was limited to new forms of approximatley the same shape and build. Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can change into almost any form, including those of varying size. |
| Clairaudience (self) | enables the character to center his sense of hearing at a distant location. The exact range is up to the GM. |
| Clairvoyance (self) | the character can center his sense of sight at a distant point. Exact range is up to the GM. |
| Deaden Pain, Others (other) | the character can negate the feeling of pain in a subject, canceling any penalties. Lt. Ilia negated the pain from Chekov's injury in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. |
| Deaden Pain, Self (self) | the psionic can ignore the effect of pain on himself, negating penalties. Spock was able to continue to work on a solution to the parasite problem in Operation: Annihilate despite being in constant pain. |
| Deafen (other) | similar to the Blind power except that it effects the target's sense of hearing. |
| Death Trance (self) | the user enters a death-like coma. He is unaware of his environment and his life signs are undetectable except with sensitive instruments. An alien scientist fooled Doctor Crusher into thinking he was dead in the episode Suspicions. |
| Empathic Transmission (other) | the character can project emotions, causing others to feel that emotion, like fear, hate or love. |
| Empathy (self) | the character can detect emotions from others. Counselor Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation is an empath. |
| Force Bolt (other) | the character can project a bolt of energy that causes MAX OP END damage. Exact damage is up to the GM. Gary Mitchel and Dr. Dehner attacked each other with Force Bolts in Where No Man Has Gone Before. |
| Healing Touch (other) | the character can heal MAX OP END damage in others. Exact limits are up to the GM. John Doe in Transfigurations healed Worf's mortal wound. |
| Induce Sleep (other) | the psionic can cauuse a target to go unconscious. The exact mechanism is up to the GM. |
| Illusion Generation (external) | the psionic can create realistic illusions in the mind of the target(s). The level of the illusion is up to the GM. The Talosians in The Menagerie used powerful illusions. |
| Lend Health (other) | the charcter heals others by taking the damage into himself. The character will usually the use some form of Rapid Healing. Gem in The Empath could use Lend Health. |
| Levitation (self) | allows character to levitate (not fly unless they have some means of propulsion). |
| Matter Creation (external) | the ability to generate matter in any form. Exact limits are up to the GM. The god Apollo in Who Mourns for Adonis exhibited this power as did the alien creatures in Encounter at Farpoint, who could transform energy into matter like a transporter. |
| Matter Rearrangement (external) | the ability to change one form of matter into another. Exact limits are left up to the GM. The alien entity in Day of the Dove used Matter Rearrangement to change phasers into swords. |
| Mental Shield (self) | allows the user to use his full PSI when defending against mental attacks. |
| Mind Link (other) | allows the psionic to create a psychic bond between himself and others. This allows the linked individuals to share the advantage of Telepathy and ESP powers possessed by the psionic that are normally limited to self. It is usually temporary. Spock formed a Mind Link between himself and the other landing party members in Spectre of the Gun to allow them to ignore the Melkotian illusion as he could. |
| Mind Meld (other) | a combination of Mind Link, Mind Read, and Telepathy, the psionic's and the target's minds are effectively merged, they both have nearly unlimited access to each others thoughts, literally a melding of minds. Each person involved usually retains some aspect of the other. Spock and Sarek have both used Mind Melds on several occasions. |
| Mind Over Body (self) | the character can force his body to ignore the debilitating effects of hunger, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and extreme temperatures for a limited amount of time. Once the power wears off however the character will likely suffer the cumulative effects that have been ignored. Spock used Mind Over Body in The Immunity Syndrome to resist the fatiguing effect of the space amoeba. |
| Mind Read (other) | the character can read aother's mind, learning their memories and uncovering secrets. The Betazoid Tam Elbrun in Tin Man possessed a high level Mind Read which he could not control. |
| Mind Wipe (other) | the psionic can in effect selectively erase and modify a subject's memories. Nomad used a Mind Wipe on Uhura in The Changeling. |
| Mute (other) | similar to Blind and Deafen except that it allows the character to halt another's ability to speak. |
| Paralysis (other) | the psionic can prevent a target from utilizing voluntary muscles (like arms and legs), paralysing them. With penalties, the character may wish to specify which muscles he wishes to paralyze, like a single limb, or may wish to try to effect automatic systems like the heart and lungs. Exact difficulty is up to the GM. Trelane, The Squire of Gothos, paralyzed members of the landing party in that episode. |
| Possession (other) | the psionic vacates his own body and possesses another, usurping that individual's mind and personality with their own. Janice Lester used a form of possession to take over Kirk's body in Turnabout Intruder. |
| Precognition (self) | the ability to see the future. The extent of the premonition and its accuracy are up to the GM. |
| Psi Sense (other) | the ability to detect the use of psionic powers nearby. |
| Psionic Blast (other) | The character can attack others with a bolt of pure mental force. For the purposes of damage, treat the target's INT as MAX OP END for unconsciousness and death. |
| Psychometry (external) | also known as object reading, the ability to pick up psychic emanations from an object and learn about past owners and events surrounding that object. The degreee of information obtained is up to the GM. |
| Pyrokinesis (external) | the character can cause flammable materials to ignite and can increase or decrease the intensity of existing fires. The GM may wish to allow the character to generate a bolt of flame by igniting the atmosphere by making a PSI roll with penalties. |
| Rapid Healing (self) | the character can cause injuries to heal at an increased rate. Jem, The Empath, had Rapid Healing. Vulcans enter a trance in order to use Rapid Healing, as seen in A Private Little War. |
| Read Aura (self) | allows the psionic to perceive an individual's aura. By reading an aura the psionic can find out general information of the subjetc, whether they are good or evil, their state of health, general disposition, etc. Exact information obtained is up to the GM. |
| Sixth Sense (self) | this power is always on. On a successful PSI roll the character is aware of any immediate danger to himself. |
| Suggestion (other) | the psionic can plant a thought or idea into another's mind and that individual will believe it is their own. The complexity of the suggestion allowed is up to the GM. Spock used Suggestion on a Yang in The Omega Glory and on a guard in A Taste of Armageddon. |
| Telecontrol (other) | the character can control another's bodyfrom a distance while still maintaining control of his own. The Platonians in Plato's Stepchildren used Telecontrol on Kirk and the other's. |
| Telekinesis (external) | the ability to move objects with one's mind. The exact amount a character can lift is up to the GM. Gary Mitchel exhibited Telekinesis in Where No Man Has Gone Before. |
| Telepathy (other) | the character can communicate with others by projecting their thoughts into the other's mind. The other cannot respond unless they also possess Telepathy or the contacting character also possesses Mind Read. Betazoids like Lwaxana Troi possess Telepathy. |
| Total Recall (self) | the character has perfect memory and can recall everything he has seen or done with total clarity. The Ullians in Violations possessed Total Recall which they used in tandem with Mind Link to help others recall forgotten memories. |