XP Edition, Service Pack 1

Manual of Unnatural Power

By Jonathan S. Coolidge, D.O.

Overview:

General abilities have an advantage rating, indicating overall level of power.

                Scaled advantages are point based.  One spends a point to activate the ability.  The duration of the ability after spending each point, the overall effect of each point, and so forth goes into figuring out the cost of each point.  Most magic systems would fall into the category of scaled advantages, as would psionics.  Many other special abilities that can only be used in a limited manner would also qualify.  A spell is an effect generated by a scaled advantage.

                Done correctly, a scaled advantage should equal a general ability in cost if it ends up giving the same ability with the same limitations and duration, requiring the same amount of work on the part of the character to activate the ability.  Usually, a scaled advantage will one on one appear to cost more for the same ability if the scaled advantage is a versatile one.  The numbers unfortunately will not always cooperate to maintain this symmetry, and therefore GM intervention may be needed when designing one’s own scaled advantages.

Bear in mind that a person able to fly continuously will not necessarily fly for 24 hours continuously; characters (usually) need sleep and have to stay on the ground to interact with most people, (unless you’re running a weirder campaign.)  Therefore, a person with a scaled advantage that allows flight alone, equivalent to flying V, that grants that the person wishes to fly about an hour a day, every day, and up to five hours in a pinch has the same cost as just having flight V.  Note that it may be game mechanically simpler to have the latter, but the rules for the former are useful for calculating other advantages.  Additionally, spending less Ad points grants a more limited flying ability that might still fit many players’ character concepts.

                What follows in this reference stems ultimately from this one page, with the above mentioned fudging as needed to maintain balance.

                And yes, one must have at least one point of a scaled advantage to use zero-point spells available to that advantage.  One can still cast zero-point spells if all of one’s points are spent, however.

Example Advantages:

Endurance and Resistance, Physical and Mental:

                The basic rules for MI, PI, and EI are outlined with the Character Generation rules, which also outline the core rules of the game.  Reprinted below is the table listing the costs for raising Integrities, edited for space and assuming one has already factored in raw score modifiers earlier.

                As outlined in the original form of the above table, characters generally need to have explanations as to from where their increased Integrities came.  Slight elevations of MI can generally be explained fairly mundanely, such as by exceptional willpower.  Similarly slightly high PI can be accounted for by exceptional health in proportion to strength and endurance per se.  Same with EI.  However, any more than 20 points over the post-raw score determined value falls outside human limits, and if Supernature is used, any Ad points past these will apply.

                Generally, any MR, PR, or ER is outside human specifications and must be explained.  (That explanation could simply be that the character isn’t human, of course.  GMs may design a myriad mix of races or may even omit humans altogether from a Moonstone campaign.)  In a mundane human-world campaign that uses the optional Supernature, any MR, PR, or ER at all would apply.

                If having a coat of fur or scales causes a social stigma, this disadvantage must be acquired separately.

Enhanced and special senses:

                Using the human form as a point of reference, most people have a relatively good sense of color spectrum vision (though often only after using corrective eyewear) and a decent sense of hearing.  The human sense of smell is very mediocre, however.

                Be it through spellwork, clairvoyance, strange genetics, or simply by not being human, it is possible to perceive the world differently.  (See also the Book of Banes for sensory limitations such as blindness or nearsightedness.)

Vision II: the character has exceptional vision within the range of humanity.  The person is often the first to adjust to darkness or bright light and can see with the visual acuity of a normal person using binoculars to see distances or a magnifying glass up close.

Night Vision II: the character can see on a moonless night as though it were a full moon, and on a full moon see as though it were day.

Infrared Vision IV: the character can see into the infrared spectrum, effectively allowing under most circumstances one to see at night or in total darkness, seeing heat-based “colors” in addition to normal spectrum colors.  The person can also detect camouflaged forms as long as they are not fully concealed and are not guarding against this special type of vision.

Hearing III: the character has the auditory acuity of a wolf, hearing into the ultrasonic spectrum as well as unavoidably noticing every conversation in a large restaurant.  Such a person can be a discriminating audiophile, actually hearing the difference between an mp3 and a wma file.

Smell III: the character no longer simply uses scent for aromatherapy, but instead can discern details about a person’s whereabouts and dietary habits.  The person can recognize people by smell if blindfolded and can attempt as a single round conflict roll to detect beings hiding from him or her, even downwind.

Empathy III: the character has a one-way telepathic ability to perceive one’s emotional state.  This ability can be used as an imperfect lie-detector, as well as helping to make one a better starship’s councilor.

Mind-reading V: the character can eaves-drop in on a conscious being’s actual train of thought.  If the thoughts are in a different language, this ability does not translate them, but the reader can still read empathic intent.  This ability can be deactivated at will, unlike other senses (unless the inability to block is added on—this would be Mind-reading- continual IV.)

Flying:

                (Flying I or II is not available as an advantage, due to FAA regulations.)

Flying III: A character with Flying as a rating three ability can break a fall with a glide, but cannot actually levitate or gain altitude.  Examples include Kira from the movie The Dark Crystal.

                Flying IV: At rating four, a character can levitate upwards to a maximum altitude of ten meters (in Earth gravity), wearing normal clothing.  The person levitating can carry about as much as the person can walk.  The person can float in any direction at walking speed, up to the maximum altitude.  If the person should be brought above maximum altitude (such as floating over a cliff), the person defaults to the guidelines of Flying III and sinks or glides until he or she reaches range limits.  Or, a person can have roughly the same degree of abilities with different limitations.  For example, in the popular comic series Spider Man, the lead character, while not technically flying but instead using a special web-slinging ability and a very high agility, effectively has the equivalent of Flying IV.  Rather than a fixed altitude limit, his altitude is limited to the height of buildings and other structures around him.

                Flying V: At rating five, a character can fly at running speed, with an upper altitude limit somewhere in the upper troposphere (if able to get past temperature and air pressure issues, or the time and energy it would take to climb a mile.)  It takes as much energy to fly at a given speed as it is to walk or run at that speed.  Examples include the common flying dream.

                Flying VI: At rating six, a character can fly at speeds on the order of 100 km/h, (about 60 mph here in America).  The character can accelerate at roughly the same speed as a sporty new coupe.  Flying energy costs are 1/10 that of walking and running.

                Flying VII: At rating seven, a character can fly at the speed of a passenger airliner (around 500 km/h, once you get past security and flight delays).  Flying energy costs are 1/100 that of walking and running.

                Flying VIII: At rating eight, a character can break the sound barrier, and flying is essentially effortless.

                Flying IX: At rating nine, a character can put on a space suit, pack a week’s supply of oxygen and food, and fly to the moon without a rocket.

                Flying X: At rating ten, a character can travel at relativistic speeds, traveling a ten light year distance, arriving a little over ten years later, having experienced only a month in space.

                Flying XI: At rating eleven, a character travels at warp speed, impressing Vulcan scout ships enough to make first contact.  Superman would be an example.

Limitations: Reliance on wings is not a direct modifier of flight itself, but it does have some effect; the presence of wings in a society where that is not normal might buy back Ad points through a disadvantage.  Additionally, wings can be injured, and someone relying on aerodynamics could be at a disadvantage compared to someone who flies by telekinesis, who could fly just as well being nothing more than a brain in a jar.  The above speeds and energy requirements are general guidelines; the GM may make changes, such as specifying that someone with the ability to fly specifically at 40 km/h by flapping wings has Flying V for purposes of Ad point cost, even though the abilities themselves are not precisely as outlined above.

Freedom from basic needs:

                Normally, people need to eat food, drink fluids, breathe oxygen, go to the bathroom, and sleep approximately eight hours a day.  Furthermore, a person requires a reasonable air temperature and pressure.

Freedom from need- Food I: the character still needs food, but can eat just about anything to fill the need.  This ability does not grant immunity to poison, but allows one to find nutrients in dirt.

Freedom from need- Food II: this ability reduces one’s need for nutrients to once a month or so.  Examples include robots requiring fuel cells (assuming they are readily available) but no daily meals.

Freedom from need- Food III: the person does not need to eat anything, but still needs water or something equally common or easy to acquire, or only needed occasionally.  A vampire would fit here if he or she only had to feed once a month or so.

Freedom from need- Food IV: the person does not need to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom.  The person still can if he, she, or it desires.

Freedom from need- Food III (cannot eat): Freedom from need- Food IV, coupled with the inability to eat or drink, downgrades the overall rating, as a disadvantage is paired with the advantage.  Similarly, the above vampire would have a rating two advantage if he or she could only feed on blood, and could not eat food, even for social purposes of appearing normal or enjoying a gourmet.

Freedom from need- Air I: the character can hold one’s breath for up to ten minutes.  In theory, a person in the real world can do without air for four minutes, but most people can’t hold their breath longer than thirty seconds to one minute.

Freedom from need- Air II: the character can hold one’s breath for an hour at a time.  Dolphins have this ability.

Freedom from need- Air III: the character can get by on a few breaths a day, and can stay underwater for more than a week with a scuba tank.

Freedom from need- Air IV: the person can get oxygen passively through diffusion, breathing air or water amphibiously.  Note that this ability does not affect pressure or prevent “the bends” if diving without experience.

Freedom from need- Air V: the character does not require oxygen at all, and can do fine on any planet with a reasonable air or water pressure.

Freedom from need- Air VI: the character can tolerate a vacuum, but feels a little uncomfortable.  (This ability does not protect from the cold of space.)  The person can withstand pressure at ocean depths up to a mile.

Freedom from need- Air VII: the person is essentially impervious to air pressure differences.  The person could wade around at the center of a star if he or she also had enough Ad points to spend on temperature resistance.

Stealth and Invisibility:

                Some entities are masters of the art of not being seen.  The concept of invisibility has sparked numerous story arcs and is featured in the lore of everything from vampires to electronic cloaking devices.

Detecting an invisible character is done as an attack action.  (This is an example of when a character not only may not know “combat” took place, but would never know he or she was the one “attacking.”)  Each Roman numeral counts as three points of focused ability to add to the defense roll.  Usually, the raw score to attack is Sensory and to defend is Agility.  Special senses that do not rely on sight, such as enhanced smell (or hearing, if the invisible being doesn’t have invisibility- silent) add 3 points of focused ability to the attack roll for each Roman numeral, cumulative with any other abilities.  Note that certain sight-based abilities may negate invisibility altogether (such as infrared vision—except for invisibility- infrared.  Yes, prior editions of Moonstone’s Manual of Unnatural Power has spawned a number of advantage arms races.)

Stealth II- shadow: the character can hide in shadows.  One must remain still to remain unseen.

Stealth II- camouflage: one can camouflage to blend in with surroundings.  One must remain still to remain unseen.  This is game mechanically the same as shadow, differing only in context of when and where one can hide.

Trackless III: the character leaves no visible evidence of having been there when traveling through wilderness terrains.  The character leaves no scent.

Invisibility IV: the person can become invisible at will, but becomes at least partially visible when attempting to engage in melee or hand-to-hand combat, or when moving quickly or otherwise expending energy.  The being does not move quietly under this ability, however, and still carries his or her usual scent.

Invisibility- active V: similar to Invisibility IV except that the person can remain fully invisible even when fighting or running.

Invisibility- silent VI: similar to Invisibility IV except that the person moves completely soundlessly while invisible, except when he or she wishes to speak or make noises willingly.

Invisibility- active, silent VII: similar to invisibility IV except with the benefits of both active and silent invisibility V.  In combat the person makes sounds as he or she hits his or her opponents in combat but not when dodging attacks.  When running, the person is silent.

Invisibility- corporeal (x-1): only the person’s body oneself becomes invisible.  Invisibility does not include clothing or other items.  To be invisible, the person must be naked.  This limitation lowers the cost of invisibility by one numeral.

Invisibility- infrared (x+1): adds invisibility to the infrared spectrum to one’s repertoire.  It raises the total cost of invisibility by one Roman numeral.

Invisibility- odorless (x+1): the character has no smell.

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Invulnerability:

Characters can be resistant to certain forms of damage-dealing phenomena.  For example, a character who is a dragon (assuming the GM is willing to fork over enough Ad points to pull off a convincing one) may be immune to fire, eating and breathing the stuff like air.

For the sake of saving a little time (and making this reference just slightly larger and thus more impressive-looking), here is from the basic rules again the list of damage types.

Resistance to a specific damage type grants an effective PR or MR against the relevant damage type.  One Ad point grants 10 points of MR or PR against a selected damage type.

For example, a character living in our world but familiar with the idea of alternate realities by reading sci fi and fantasy novels and playing role-playing games might have a +10 or even a +20 MR against crossover shock.  Such a person would ignore completely the d10 damage done by going on a virtual ride in Orlando and could possibly soak a d20 first-time encounter with a witch who can manifest things that are statistically impossible.  The person still probably will take some mental injury upon first meeting a live faerie or personally living through an alien abduction, but will take off the first 10 or 20 points worth.  Repeat exposure to phenomena eliminate future rolls for similar situations, but the alien abductee who then sees a werewolf shifting now takes damage once again, while a seasoned world-traveler, with 10 Ad points spent on Invulnerability- Crossover shock: +100 MR would just see each as extensions of one particular world.  Granted, the person would still be prone to horror damage unless invulnerability for it were acquired as well.

Longevity:

                Some beings just live longer than others.

Longevity I: the character has a natural life expectancy of 100-150 years, depending on dietary habits and lifestyle risk factors.

Longevity II: the character has a natural life expectancy around 200 years.

Longevity III: the character has a natural life expectancy around 500 years.

Longevity IV: the character has a natural life expectancy around 1000 years.

Longevity V: the character has a natural life expectancy that is either indefinite or so long that the character’s aging will not come into play game mechanically under any circumstances.

Immortality VI: the character not only has an indefinite life expectancy, but he also cannot be killed except by one particular physical damage type (such as heat.)  The character tracks how much damage is taken by that damage type versus other types.  If PI falls below zero but he or she has not sustained sufficient damage of the specific damage type to bring the person’s PI to zero, then the character loses consciousness but remains alive no matter how low PI falls.

                For example, a character with Immortality- except heat VI has a baseline PI of 100.  She sustains 60 points of damage by a fireball and then gets struck by three separate sword blows in an epic battlefield, each dealing 25 points of damage.  The character is at –35 PI and is unconscious, but she remains alive.  No amount of slashing will kill her.  If her arms are cut off, they will crawl back towards her body and reattach themselves.  If diced into fleshy bits, they will reassemble themselves.  She heals as though she were resting.  (The example character does not have Regeneration, a separate ability, so her healing rate is 3 PI per day.)  If, however, her corpse is burned, she will go through the usual dying process when her total amount of PI lost through burning damage reaches 100.  (At that point, she would be at –75 PI unless she sustained additional cutting damage.)

                To prevent a possible Munchkineering abuse, the GM may rule that a character cannot have Invulnerability to the same damage type that is one’s Immortality exception.

Immortality VII: the character not only has an indefinite life expectancy, but he also cannot be killed except by a specific means (such as cutting off one’s head.)

Immortality VIII: similar to Immortality VI, except that the means of killing the character would require undertaking an epic quest.  “No wait, there’s some writing on the ring.  It looks like Elvish….”

Regeneration (rapid healing):

                This describes the ability to recover from injuries at an accelerated rate.  A normal character recovers 2 PI /day when active (during most days role-played out) and 5 PI /day when at rest (when between games or during designated rest days.)  People or other beings with the regeneration ability heal faster.  A similar ability can apply to the recovery of MI or E.  In faster rates of recovery, any time spent not engaging in strenuous activity is spent effectively at rest.  That means for someone with Regeneration V, if that person takes a five minute break to rest, that being recovers five points of PI during that time.

Transformation:

                Shapeshifting is a very ubiquitous ability, expressed by everything from lycanthropes to dragons in some legends.  Beings with the ability to transform into two or more configurations have an additional layer of complexity in character design, as each ability may be available to one or both forms, and certain ordinary abilities (such as speaking) may be limited or unavailable in one or more forms.

This advantage does not buy off any abilities inherent to the alternate form, which must be paid off with other Ad points at –2 rating.  For example, someone who can shapeshift into a human-sized bird must add Flying- bird form only IV separately, unless he or she shapeshifts into an ostrich.

Disadvantages only present in alternate form are at reduced rating as well; usually they are at –2 rating as advantages are, but they can be worth less or not at all.  For example, disadvantages based on appearance and beauty are generally of no game-mechanical consequence if one’s alternate form is a shrubbery or fish.  However, in a typical campaign world, being an ugly versus a beautiful mermaid makes a significant difference.  In cases with transitional forms, the disadvantage is at –2 if it applies to all but one form, and at –1 if it only applies to either one extreme or the transitional forms.  Disadvantages inherent to an alternate form, such as a tree’s lack of mobility or a wolf’s furriness and inability to speak except in barks and yowls, are worth nothing.

Disadvantages present in primary form (be it human or whatever form the character uses for the majority of his or her social life in the game) are still at full rating unless shapeshifting conveniently overcomes the disadvantage.  This becomes a matter of campaign context.  In a science fiction campaign in which people shapeshifting into wolves is normal, then blindness in human form that can be overcome by shifting into a transitional wolf form is at –1 rating.  It is at full rating, however, in a world in which werewolves are actively persecuted or only believed to exist in horror movies.

If one has a transitional form, advantages present in both transitional and one full form are at –1 rating.  Advantages present only in one form (only in either one extreme or only in the transitional forms) is at –2 rating.

Transformation IV: the character is able to shapeshift between two different forms.  (Unless specified otherwise in a typical campaign, one of those two forms is assumed to appear human or close to human.)

Transformation- transitional V: in addition to Transformation IV, the character can assume transitional forms that blend aspects of the two conformations.  For example, if a human character has the ability transformation- transitional V (wolf), the character can shift not only from human to wolf form, but also into an anthropomorphic half-human, half-wolf creature. Transformation- limited polymorphism VI: in addition to transitional forms, the character can shapeshift into a variety of closely related forms.  For example, a character with Transformation- limited polymorphism VI (canine) can become a wolf, fox, dog, dire wolf, or any other canine.  (note that sizes extremes must still be factored in as below, otherwise the character can no more than double or halve normal size.)

Transformation- broad polymorphism VII: similar to the above, except that the character’s range of forms includes a much broader range of possibilities.  Examples include (but are not limited to) “any carnivorous mammal”; “any reptile”; “any fish”; “any plant”; “any non-special rock or gem”; or similar grouping.  (Note that scientific taxonomy abuse is acknowledged; the plant kingdom is a broader group than carnivorous mammals.  The grouping is based more on overall capabilities.)  Again, special abilities and extreme sizes must be acquired separately.

Transformation- large size (x+y): Each quadrupling of mass from a humanoid base (about 60-70 kilograms) raises the overall rating of the transformation by one.  For example, a person who can shapeshift into a horse has Transformation- (horse) VI, because a horse has roughly sixteen times human mass.  (Such a person with a transitional form would have a rating VII ability.)  The transitional form can vary in size from an anthropomorphic equine humanoid with human proportions to a slightly smaller than normal creature that is mostly horse.)

                For each plus one rating in large size, the character’s PI doubles while she is in large form.  (This includes both current and maximum PI.)  The PI halves when shifting back.  (In transitional forms, use the closest PI set.)  MI and PR do not change.  EI does not change, but the character only loses half EI with any injury.  For example, if a character increases in size with a +2 rating large size transformation, and she has a normal PI of 100, it is 400 in the enlarged form.  We’ll assume she is at full capacity and has a full capacity EI of 100 as well.  If she is then injured for 20 points of PI, she loses 20 PI but only 5 EI.  PI is lowered from 400 to 380; EI lowers from 100 to 95.  If the character then shifts back to a normal size, PI becomes 95.  Loss of PI by shifting to a smaller form does not count as an injury.

Transformation- small size (x+y): Each dividing of mass by ten from a humanoid base raises the overall rating of the transformation by one.  For example, a person who can shapeshift into a house cat has Transformation- (cat) V, because a cat has roughly 1/10^th human mass.  (Such a person with a transitional form would have a rating VI ability.  The transitional form can vary in size from an anthropomorphic feline humanoid with human proportions to a larger than normal creature that is mostly cat.)

                For each decrease in size by rating, the character’s PI is reduced in half.  (This includes both current and maximum PI.)  This loss of PI does not count as an injury.  MI and PR are not affected.  Energy losses with injury follow the same logic as with large size transformation; loss is proportional to injury.  For example, a character at 100 PI and 100 EI shapeshifts into a cat.  PI is reduced to 50; EI remains 100.  The cat is then wounded for 10 PI.  The character loses 20 EI (EI loss is doubled once, since size rating was halved once), bringing total ratings to 40 PI and 20 EI.

Example Scaled Advantage: Wizard Magic

Rating IV scaled advantage (5 Ad points for each Wizardry point)

Written “Wizardry IV (scaled, X points),” where X=total number of points of wizardry

Wizardry points are the number of points of wizard magic a character has.  An individual spell costs a certain number of wizardry points to cast, equal to its spell rating.

A person practicing wizard magic is able to produce a wide variety of effects or create for one’s self a diverse choice of different special abilities.  The tradeoff for this versatility is that not only must the person draw from a finite pool of energy, but also that person must do a considerable amount of work and research to understand not only the nature of magic, but also how to produce each individual spell.

To wizards, spells are in terms of game mechanics not just effects generated by a scaled advantage.  They are also archivable data that can be copied, backed up, copyright-protected, compressed, and otherwise manipulated in much the same manner as we do with computer files.  The computer analogy continues to follow in that wizards usually will load spells into their own memory from a written archive, and use their own physical form to channel and direct the copied spell, while leaving the original safe in written form.

Only a wizard knows how to copy a written spell into memory; anyone else looking at one in writing will simply see interesting but incomprehensible designs.  Not all wizards necessarily use the same written language.  All wizards are also able to copy a spell from memory into written form.  Doing so does not delete the spell from memory.  The written spell can in turn be re-memorized or cast directly from the written document.  Doing the latter erases it unless it is recorded by a special means.

Many wizard spells are devoted to “metamagic”—that is, they are designed to assist in managing spells, such as spells designed to translate or decode other spells, spells designed to compress or decompress spells, and spells designed to encode other spells so that they can only be read by wizards who not only know the same language, but also who can decode the specific encryptions.

Each wizard has his or her own list of available spells.  When first designing a wizard character, that character may start off with four times his or her wizardry point total worth of wizardry spells in his or her repertoire.  The wizard may then research additional spells at a rate of one new spell per month at rest, or may accumulate spells through the course of adventuring within game sessions.  One can increase starting spells at a rate of 3 spells per Ad point (or by increasing starting wizardry points).  Use this for determining total character value when a wizard’s total number of spells is higher than four times total wizardry points.

A wizard can only hold in active memory a fixed number of spells equal to one’s maximum wizardry points.  However, one can “forget” one spell to make room for another.  It takes one hour of rest for each spell so exchanged.  Casting a spell does not remove it from memory, but it does use up wizardry points.  By default, a person regains wizardry points at a rate of 10% of his or her maximum, rounded up to the next full point.  (Someone with 1-10 points total regains 1 point per day; 11-20 regains 2 / day, etc.)

General guidelines for designing a spell: One Wizardry point should equal being able to create for one hour one rating V ability.  Times halve for rating VI abilities and double for rating IV.  Spells designed to deal damage deliver one d100 for every two wizardry points spent and add 3 points of focused ability to the attack roll for each wizardry point.

Below are some example spells, though their names do not have to be used as is.

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Example Scaled Advantage: Psionics

Variable rating scaled advantage (see below)

Psionics involves use of willpower and abilities that are in theory (more or less, depending on your campaign rules) latent in all individuals but only developed in a few exceptional beings.  Often the tendency to exhibit these abilities is hereditary but not always.  Whether psionics is a type of magic (or magic a form of psionics) or it is something entirely different is debatable, but often the only person who knows for certain is the GM.

While psionics may be easier to use than wizardry (not requiring complex memorization rules and study habits), it is not as versatile and does not offer metamagic benefits such as networking or writing extra copies of spells.

Some people have multiple psionics talents, whereas others have a more limited set.  Psionic capabilities can be grouped into four groups: Psychokinesis (the ability to manipulate matter), Clairvoyance (perceiving events from a distance), Precognition (predicting the future), and Telepathy (communicating with thoughts).

The above-listed rating ½ abilities are simply a few of many possible examples.  Note that many abilities, such as mind-reading or levitation (which would be equal to Flying IV) are virtually identical to non-scaled advantages.  If the person can spend enough points to equal that ability continuously, then the Ad point cost should be exactly the same.  By the same token, there is nothing wrong game mechanically with simply saying that the non-scaled advantage is made possible by psionics, having a character with a psionicly endowed ability without using this scaled point system.

A person with Psionics IV (scaled) can spend points to manifest any psionic ability, including all of the examples that follow in all of the four groups listed below.

Someone with Psychokinesis (either Psionics IV(scaled) or Psychokinesis III (scaled)) is capable of manipulating matter with the mind.  With generalized psychokinesis, the person can levitate one’s self (with enough points spent), levitate objects, start fires, and so forth.

One point of psychokinesis can generate enough power and force to deal ½d100 in damage, should one attempt to use psychic lightning bolts, hurled flames, or thrown objects as a weapon.  Each point spent in such an attack also gives the attack roll +3 focused ability to the attack action.  One point of psychokinesis can instead lift one person’s weight worth of an object for one hour.  One can spend ¼ or ½ of a point if one is interested in manifesting smaller feats such as reaching for a glass of water without getting out of one’s chair (¼ point) or flying for less than one minute (½ point.)  However, other fractional units are only allowable if the GM is very tolerant of dealing with the math.  (½ point can deal d20 damage; ¼ point deals d10, with +1 and +0 focused ability respectively.)

A character may only have a limited form of psychokinesis, such as flying or throwing fireballs alone.  Treat flying and fire-throwing in the same manner as the wizard spells “Connecting Flight” and “Generic Fireball” accordingly when determining those specific actions.  Note that someone able to make and throw fire can do more than just mimic the fireball spell.

Telepathy allows one to send thoughts to other people as well as to read other people’s thoughts.  One psionics point or telepathy point grants one the ability to read thoughts for one hour (identically to Mind Reading V), read emotions for four hours (identically to Empathy III), send thoughts out to others for two hours (“Sending IV”), or to communicate two-way telepathically for 30 minutes (a rating VI ability.)

One can use telepathy as a zero-point ability to translate language from an individual.  A person with general psionics (who can combine telepathy with clairvoyance and precognition) can even translate written documents.  (This makes a psionic wizard very versatile when working with ancient magic texts.)  Int is the raw score used.  If one fails the action roll, one can attempt it again by spending psionic points; each point generates a +5 bonus, but each failed attempt retried must match with higher psionic points.  Difficulty depends on degrees of separation between the psionist himself and the person being translated, but typically is a d20 without special exemptions.  Translation rules come into play after the information to be translated is gained.  (I.e. one who uses mind-reading must use this ability to translate if the thoughts are in another language.)

Telepathy can be used as a weapon.  A telepathic attack deals ½d100 damage to the target’s MI for each point of psionics spent, and gains a +3 to fine score to the attack roll for each point spent.  Telepathy can also be used to block psychic attacks, giving a defense roll using Wil as a raw score and a +5 per psionics point spent.  A telepathic defense can be a zero point ability using Wil without psionics point bonuses.  (One can also expend EI.)  Each ability can be bought individually as a rating I scaled advantage in lieu of more broad psionic abilities.

Clairvoyance is the ability to see events from a distance as they happen.  It mimics (or perhaps is the same as) using a crystal ball to see events far away.  Clairvoyance without the astral projection ability is a rating II ability at 2 Ad points per 1 point.  A person can also have astral projection alone, without other forms of clairvoyance, as a rating II ability.

Astral projection is an extreme form of clairvoyance, in which one’s mind leaves one’s body.  A person astrally projected is connected to his or her body by an invisible cord, one that is only severable by killing the person.  The mentally projected form is able to travel at effectively infinite speed but has no physical body.  A person so projected can employ other psionic abilities, though psychokinetic abilities are at double cost.  The person cannot otherwise affect physical objects until one returns to one’s physical form.

The astral realm could in and of itself be the subject of an entire campaign.  More often, however, it is used as a parallel realm used for occasional adventuring.  In the storyline Genetic Wars, the astral realm was even used as a form of hyperspace for spaceship FTL travel.  In a realistic campaign, a person astrally projected is more or less safe from any harm except for any possible threat to the physical body.  However, many more adventuresome campaigns like to add encounters within the astral realm.  Any injuries sustained by combat with the more hostile denizens would deal damage in MI rather than PI.

Precognition involves the ability to see the future.  A player can spend a point of precognition to have the character willingly foresee specific events.  One point generally reveals enough to produce about a minute worth of information.  (Bear in mind that a typical TV commercial gives a lot of information in 30 seconds.)  This information is delivered instantaneously to the character—that is, he or she is not tied up for a minute receiving psychic input should something else pressing happen at the same time.

Alternatively, the GM can spend the points for him or her, revealing information that the player would not know beforehand, that the character would want to know.  The term for this is precognitive favor.  For example, if the character were about to enter an ambush, the player would not know, but would wish to know beforehand.  Characters with precognition should have a specified limit of points that can be spent for this reason.  For example, a character with psionics (all) may have a total of five points, three of which may be spent on precognitive favor.  When the player spends psionic points, he or she must specify again how much of the remaining points are available.  A premonition from precognitive favor also provides about a minute worth of information.

Exotic Advantages

This category is included at the end because these advantages are rather bizarre, even compared to the above.  Most of these are not recommended for first-time gamers or normal power-level campaigns.  They are included here for the experienced Moonstone players—all seven or eight of us—with the hopes that they may be better integrated into the main system in the future.

Crossover:

This is the ability to travel from one realm of existance to another.  In Moonstone’s playtesting and in the parallel works of Heather Varley and Thomas Weigel, two of the players and both major contributors, this ability and its ramifications were major story elements.  Obviously, in unlimited form, a character would be essentially unstoppable, being able to escape nearly any crisis and return with a solution from a parallel universe.  So, it makes sense to establish some guidelines.

Crossover VI (New Moonstone campaign standard): in my storyline New Moonstone, a person with Crossover ability can use it no more than once per day (24 hours, not necessarily the length of the world’s day), but can transport up to five people including or excluding one’s self through the generated portal to the other world setting.  Crossovers can also pass on their ability, but only once every ten years or so.  The main limitations to their power is the fact that they can only go into a defined, finite set of realms—a limitation essentially required in any balanced campaign.  In the story, however, I chose not to forbid the ability to use Crossover within a realm, so it doubles as a form of teleportation, making it a very useful ability (and thus expensive in terms of Ad points.)

                Characters with Crossover are immune to Crossover Shock, a phenomenon in which a person, transported from one reality to another, suffers a disorientation with a loss of MI, associated with the emotional upheaval of having one’s basic sense of reality uprooted.  The experience can be enjoyable or horrific, but it is none-the-less unsettling.  People with strong imaginations tend to be buffered and take less damage, but imagining and seeing it live are not the same.  (This feeling can be experienced by people unfamiliar with metaphysical phenomena going into a stronger Wiccan circle for the first time, by suddenly realizing that the reason your eyes are turning yellow and that your hearing is profoundly improved is because you’ve been bitten by a werewolf, or by going to a Renaissance festival or gaming convention for the first time.)

Dreamwalking:

                Dreamwalking is the ability to enter into other peoples’ dreams and assume control over their direction, as though one were lucid-dreaming inside one’s own subconscious.  This can be done for therapeutic purposes, for purposes of espionage, or for more sinister purposes.  Rules for dream realms would be in some respects similar to astral projection, unless one wished to run more complex campaigning within dreamtime.  In a simpler form, characters with this ability are simply fluent or not fluent in lucid dreaming.  All dreamwalkers are fluent in lucid dreaming.

                Dreamwalking is a rating II scaled psionic ability, an offshoot of telepathy.  One point of dreamwalking projects a person into a dream.

Once inside the dream, a malicious dreamwalker can attack the dreamer (through nightmarish imagery), dealing ½d100 for each point of dreamwalking (or telepathy or psionics) spent.  The point spent to project into a dream does not count towards this attack.

The dreamer can fight back if he or she is a lucid dreamer; lucid dreaming grants an MR of 25 to dreamwalking-based attacks.  Additionally, if the dreamer is psionically endowed (Psionics IV (scaled), Telepathy III (scaled), or Telepathic defense I (scaled)), a dreamwalking attack counts as a telepathic attack and can be blocked accordingly.  This ability applies whether or not the defender is a lucid dreamer.  (If the dreamer is not, he or she will believe during the course of the dream that the dream is real and might believe the attack is physical rather than mental; he or she will see one’s self as defending using in-context means.)

Lucid dreaming I: the character can lucid-dream.  Lucid dreaming is a rating one ability by itself.

                Dream control, however, is a focused level ability.  One must have the lucid dreaming advantage to be able to use this ability.  A person with dream control can apply its points using Wil as a raw score towards attack actions and defense rolls in dreamtime as well, either by itself or adding its points to a telepathic attack or defense.