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PSIONIC SKILLS
Skill Descriptions
(Wis; Trained Only; Psion, Psychic Warrior Only)
Check: The DC and effect depend on the task attempted.
Task DC
Resist fear 15
Memorize 13
Ignore caltrop wound 13
Tolerate poison Poison’s DC
Willpower 15
Resist Fear: In response to a fear effect, the character can make an Autohypnosis check on his or her next round even if overcome by fear. A successful check grants another saving throw with a +4 morale bonus to resist the fear effect.
Memorize: The character can attempt to memorize a long string of numbers, a long passage of verse, or other particularly difficult piece of information (but can’t memorize magical spells or similarly exotic scripts). Each successful check allows the character to memorize up to 800 words (or strange sigils or numbers that would fill one piece of regular parchment, though multiple checks allow the character to remember multiples of 800). A character always retain this information; however, he or she can only recall it with another successful Autohypnosis check.
Ignore Caltrop Wound: If the character is wounded by stepping on a caltrop, his or her speed is reduced to one-half of normal. A successful Autohypnosis check removes this movement penalty for a period of 10 minutes. The wound doesn’t go away—it is just ignored through self-persuasion.
Tolerate Poison: In response to being poisoned, the character can make an Autohypnosis check on his or her next action. A successful check grants a +4 morale bonus on the saving throw to resist the poison’s secondary damage.
Willpower: If reduced to 0 hit points (staggered), the character may make an Autohypnosis check. If successful, he or she can take a normal action while at 0 hit points without taking 1 point of damage. The character must make a check for each strenuous action taken. A failed willpower check carries no penalties other than failure—the character can choose not to take that strenuous action. If the character does so anyway, he or she drops to –1 hit points.
Retry: See above.
Concentration (Con)
Check: A character can make a Concentration check to manifest a psionic power despite distractions, such as taking damage or getting hit by an unfriendly spell. A character can also use this skill to maintain focus on things other than psionic powers.
The accompanying table summarizes the various types of distractions that cause a character to make a Concentration check while manifesting a psionic power. “Power level” refers to the level of the power the character is trying to manifest.
DC Task
10 + damage dealt Injury or a failed saving throw during
+ power level the manifestation (for powers with a manifesting time of 1 full round or more) or injury by an attack of opportunity or readied attack made in response to the power being manifested (for powers with a manifesting time of 1 action).
10 + half of continuous Suffering continuous damage.
damage last dealt
+ power level
10 + damage dealt Damaged by psionic power (or spell).
+ power level
Distracting power’s Distracted by nondamaging power.
save DC + power level (If the power allows no save, use the DC it would have if it did allow a
save).
20 + power level Grappling or pinned.
10 + power level Vigorous motion (on a moving mount, bouncing wagon, boat in rough
water, belowdecks in a storm-tossed ship).
15 + power level Violent motion (galloping horse, very rough wagon ride, boat in
rapids, on deck of a storm-tossed ship).
20 + power level Affected by improved telekinesis (or earthquake spell).
5 + power level Weather is a high wind carrying blinding rain or sleet.
10 + power level Weather is wind-driven hail, dust, or debris.
15 + power level Manifesting defensively (so as not to provoke attacks of opportunity).
15 Caster entangled by a net, snare, tanglefoot bag, or power or spell that
similarly entangles the manifester.
Retry: Yes, though a success doesn’t cancel the effects of a previous failure, which almost always is the loss of the power being manifested or the disruption of the power being concentrated on.
Special: A character with the Combat Manifestation feat gets a +4 bonus on Concentration checks made to manifest a power while on the defensive.
Knowledge (psionics)
(Int; Trained Only)
Like the Craft and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of unrelated skills, although this entry specifically relates to the body of lore dealing with the phenomena of psionics in all its many manifestations.
Check: Answering a question about psionics has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).
Retry: No. The check represents what a character knows, and thinking about a particular question regarding psionics a second time doesn’t let a character know something he or she never learned in the first place.
Special: An untrained Knowledge (psionics) check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, a character only knows common knowledge about psionics, which is often apocryphal.
If a character has 5 or more ranks of Autohypnosis, he or she gets a +2 synergy bonus on Knowledge (psionics) checks.
(Int; Trained Only)
Use this skill to identify psionic powers as they manifest or psionic effects already in place.
Check: The character can identify psionic powers and psionic effects.
DC Task
15 + power level Identify a power as it manifests. (The character must sense the
power’s display, or see some visible effect, to identify a power.)
No retry.
15 + power level Learn a power from a power stone. No retry for that power until
the character gains at least 1 rank in Psicraft (even if he or she finds another source to try to learn the same power from).
20 + power level Identify a power that’s already in place and in effect. (The
character must be able to see or detect the effects of the power.) No
retry.
20 + power level Identify materials created or shaped by psionics. No retry.
30 or higher Understand a strange or unique psionic effect. No retry.
Additionally, certain powers allow a character to gain information about psionics provided that he or she makes a Psicraft check as detailed in the psionic power description.
Retry: See above.
Special: A psion gets a +2 bonus when dealing with a power or effect from his or her primary discipline.
If a character has 5 or more ranks of Use Psionic Device, he or she gets a +2 synergy bonus on Psicraft checks to decipher powers encoded in power stones.
(Int; Psion Only)
Use this skill to spy on someone with the remote viewing power.
Check: A character can’t use this skill without some psionic means to remote view, such as the remote viewing power or an appropriate psionic item. Use of this skill is described in association with that power. The remote viewing power allows a character to spy on others, and this skill just lets the character do it better. This skill also improves a character’s chance to notice when he or she is being viewed remotely by another, or to block being viewed by another, as described under the remote viewing and remote view trap powers.
Special: Characters with the Scry skill get a bonus equal to their Scry base rank to Remote View checks, and vice versa.
(Con; Trained Only; Psion, Psychic Warrior Only)
Use this skill to keep from succumbing to a mortal wound.
Check: A character can attempt to subconsciously prevent him or herself from dying. If the character has negative hit points and are losing hit points (at 1 per round, 1 per hour, or 1 per day), he or she can substitute a Stabilize Self check (DC 15) for his or her first normal stabilization roll to become stable. If successful, the character regains no hit points, but does stop losing them. If the first Stabilize Self check is unsuccessful, the character goes back to making normal stabilization checks each round.
Use Psionic Device
(Cha; Trained Only; Bard, Psychic Warrior, Rogue Only)
Use this skill to activate psionic devices, including power stones and dorjes, that otherwise the character could not activate.
Task DC
Contact power stone 25 + power level
Emulate psionic power 20
Emulate psionic feat 20
Emulate psionic class feature 25
Emulate ability score 25
Emulate alignment 30
Activate blindly 25
Check: A character can use this skill to decipher a power encoded in a power stone or to activate a psionic item. This skill lets a character use a psionic item as if he or she had the appropriate psionic power or feat. It doesn’t allow the character to use psionic items that require paying power points to operate.
When a character is attempting to activate a psionic item using this skill, he or she does so as a standard action. The checks that the character makes to determine whether he or she is successful at emulating the desired factors to successfully perform the activation are instant, however. They take no time by themselves and are included in the activate psionic item standard action.
A character makes emulation checks each time he or she activates a device such. If the character is using the check to emulate a quality in an ongoing manner, he or she needs to make the relevant emulation checks once per hour.
The character must consciously choose what to emulate. That is, he or she has to know what it is he or she is trying to emulate when making an emulation check.
Note: In cases described below in which effective level is important, it is okay to have an effective level of 0.
Contact Power Stone: This works just like learning a power from a power stone with the Psicraft skill, except that the DC is higher.
Emulate Psionic Power: This use of the skill allows a character to use a psionic item as if he or she had a particular power on his or her class power list. To activate a power stone (an object that stores a specific power) or use a dorje, the character must have a particular power on his or her class power list. By using the skill this way, the character can use such an item as if he or she did have the power on your list. The character’s effective manifester level is the check result minus 20. If the character’s effective level is lower than the manifester level, he or she might fail to manifest the power.
This skill does not let a character manifest the power. It only lets the character use it from a power stone or dorje as if the power were on the character’s class list. Note: If the character is manifesting it from a power stone, he or she has to contact it first.
Emulate Psionic Feat: Sometimes a specific psionic feat is needed to activate a psionic item. This skill does not let a character use that feat. It just lets him or her activate psionic items as if he or she had it.
Emulate Psionic Class Feature: Sometimes a psionic class feature is needed to activate a psionic item. The character’s effective level in the emulated class is the check result minus 20.
This skill does not let the character use another class’s class feature. It just lets him or her activate psionic items as if he or she had it.
If the class whose feature the character is emulating has an alignment requirement, the character must meet it, either honestly or by emulating an appropriate alignment as a separate check.
Emulate Ability Score: To manifest a power of a particular discipline from a power stone, the character needs a high score in the key ability A character’s effective ability score is the check result minus 15.
Emulate Alignment: It is possible that some items have positive or negative effects based on the user’s alignment. A character can use these items as if he or she was of an alignment of his or her choice. A character can emulate only one alignment at a time.
Activate Blindly: Some psionic items are activated by special thoughts or actions. A character can activate such items as if he or she were using the command thought or action even if the character is not and even if he or she doesn’t know it. The character does have to use something equivalent. The character gets a +2 bonus if he or she has activated the item at least once before.
If the character fails by 10 or more, he or she suffers brainburn (see below). Note: This brainburn is in addition to the chance for brainburn that a character normally runs when manifesting a power from a power stone and the power’s manifester level is higher than the character’s level.
Retry: Yes, but if the character ever rolls a natural 1 while attempting to activate an item and fails, then the character can’t try to activate it again for a day.
Special: A character cannot take 10 with this skill.
If a character has 5 or more ranks in Psicraft, he or she gets a +2 synergy bonus on Use Psionic Device checks related to power stones.
Brainburn: When things go awry, the user of a psionic item sometimes improperly manifests the stored power. The resultant psionic surge persists for 1d4 rounds, unless the item is flung 15 feet or feet away or destroyed. The surge deals 1d4 points of electricity damage per power stored per round and arcs across multiple targets. The user is the primary target, and one ally within 15 feet is the secondary target (chosen at random).