Psi-Wars: Ruminations on the Anti-Psi Space Knight

Continuing my series on the Space Knight, I’m going to delve into what they can do with their psionics, starting with Anti-Psi. For a more general overview of what you can do with Anti-Psi, see the Anti-Psi in Action post over on Mailanka’s Musings.

Starting Off

A Space Knight has a minimum of one level of talent and 20 points in actual abilities. What does that get you with Anti-Psi? As a general rule, this level of investment gets you abilities that only affect yourself, need skin to skin contact to work, or need a god-like extra effort to pull them off at range. Plan accordingly.

Astral Blade 1 gives you an attack against things like Force Ghosts, and against material targets you can drain Psionic Energy Reserves.. The latter ability is the more useful one, especially since it can’t be detected, can’t be taken away from, and directly attacks Energy Reserves. However, this is an extremely weak ability. Immaterial targets are rare, the psis you face may not have energy reserves, and if they have any amount of armor it’s completely negated.

Interruption 1 is the max you’re going to buy with 20 points, which means that it requires skin-to-skin contact with a subject to work. Even with skill 17 and extra effort, you’re still only going to really be able to do this at very short range at best. This isn’t all bad, though, since it gives you a way to break the influence a psi might have on someone, and it’s another avenue of resistance if a psi is trying to use them on you.

Para-Invsibility 3 gives a -3 to a psi’s attempts to detect you and anything near you with psi. This isn’t a lot, but it might make the difference between a psi getting their Danger Sense off or not, and that could make a world of difference in a fight. You’re also harder to see coming, which can be useful. With extra-effort, that goes up to -6, which still won’t guarantee protection, but it will help a lot!

Psionic Shield 10 should be read as “Immunity to Mind Tricks”, among other things. Telepaths are going to have a very hard affecting you, if they can do it at all. With extra-effort, you can extend this protection to everyone standing near you, which can be very useful if you’re going after a Telepath.

Screaming 1 may not seem impressive, but since you can buy up to skill 19, you can do more with it than you might think. On its own, it’s a potent defense against any psionics that would affect you or anything you’re carrying. You can also reliably extend this protection to anyone standing very close to you, and if you’re in melee with a psi, they’re going to have a much harder time using combat abilities. With Tiring Scream, a psi will quickly decide to leave you alone.

Resistant to Psionics +8 is another very potent defence, and is perhaps the most generally useful ability you can get with starting points. No matter what the psi is trying to use on you, it’s going to be very hard for them to make it work.

For Anti-Psi perks, Gaze into the Abyss will likely rattle psis, especially if you have one of the defensive abilities. Hostile Dampening is good for scaring psis and getting information out of them. Nonthreatening helps you get close to your targets, while Personal Awareness helps you notice when someone is trying to affect you. Simple Defense is good for making psis regret trying to affect you, whether or not they succeed, and Tolerance makes it more difficult to affect you with certain abilities.

In short, with one level of Talent, an Anti-Psi Space Knight is mostly focused on defense against psionics. There’s variations in the particular flavor you can get, but it all boils down into how you protect yourself against psi.

With 50-Points

I’m going to preface this by noting that, no matter what abilities you choose, the active ones are almost always resisted. Since any psi worth their salt is going to have good levels of skill and Will in their abilities, figure that you’ve got a 50% chance at best of pulling these off.

Astral Blade 7 is a very minor improvement over the base version. If you’re regularly fighting immaterial threats, it would be useful, but it’s just too narrowly effective to be worth the points otherwise.

Cancellation is a very potent ability, if you can touch the psi. Even with Cancellation 3 [50], you still need to make some contact with the psi. With extra-effort, you can do it at range, and at significant range if you can hit level 5, but the penalty to your skill from both range and extra-effort will make it difficult to affect the psi. If you have Luck, this is a good place to use it! You can also use this as Interruption, so keep that in mind.

Interruption 3 makes you very aggravating for a psi to deal with. If you can recognize that they’re trying to do something, you can try and shut it down, and the range penalties aren’t too bad. You’re going to want to buy as much Will and Talent as you can, though, because it’s all Quick Contests and psis tend to have good skill levels.

Para-Invsibility 10 means that you and anything near you can’t be detected with psi. Period. They can’t see you coming, they can’t find you, and they can’t use anything on you until they can physically see you. The downside is that you need to roll every minute. Try and persuade your GM to let you have No Nuisance Rolls for this.

Psionic Overload 3 lets you use this at range, but arguably, you’re better off just getting Psionic Overload 2 and using the rest to buy up skill, Will, and Talent. This is cheaper than Cancellation, but it’s much less predictable in its effects. The greater likelihood of affecting your target should be weighed against the hazards of uncontrolled psionics. If you have Cancellation, then using this becomes a 5 point upgrade to that ability.

Psionic Shield 25 is ludicrous. Psis won’t be able to affect your mind, but you’re better off buying Psi Static. Still, something like Psionic Shield 10 is pretty good, especially if you put points in Talent, Will, and Skill to be able to use the techniques effectively. Expansion in particular may prove important!

Screaming 3 lets you generate a 2 yard radius around yourself where psis have a much harder time operating. With the extra points, you can even buy up more skill to make it harder still. However, the drawback is that you have to Concentrate to use this ability. You’ll need allies to effectively use this ability.

True Sight lets you see past psionic illusions, but how useful this is seems rather dubious. Psi-Wars psionics include very little in the way of illusions, and so it’s unlikely that this will come up much. Perhaps against certain types of Broken Communion?

Psi Static is the ultimate in personal protection against psionics. They can’t affect you, they can’t see you coming with psionics, and there is nothing they can do about it. This is perhaps the best ability Anti-Psi offers, because it’s guaranteed to work.

Conclusion

The single biggest problem with Anti-Psi abilities is that they’re almost always contested. Any competent psi is going to have good levels of skill and especially Will, and since so many of your abilities work only at close range by default, you can’t really sacrifice skill for range. Screaming is an exception, but you still need to get close and you can’t do anything else while screaming.

Really, if you want to go the Psi-Hunter route, take Resistant to Psi +8 and spend your 50 Power-Up points on something else. Your abilities are too unreliable and limited to do more as a 300 point character.

Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Elegans

The third of the Psi-Wars houses is that of House Elegans. Once proud, they've been laid low by the rise of the Empire. Let's take a closer look.

House Elegans

Who are they?

Never one of the most powerful houses, Elegans was nevertheless beloved by the other nobility for their charm and flair (not to mention their dueling prowess!). Their connections with the lost house of Alexus lent them a further mystique, and their exploits and scandals were favorite topics of gossip.

Then the Emperor led his coup, and Elegans found itself trapped between the fledgling Empire and the treacherous, untamed wilds of the galaxy’s Dark Arm. With much of the nobility fleeing into Maradonian space on the other side of the galaxy, support and aid was nowhere to found, and the traditional home of Elegans was captured, gutting the house in the process.

The survivors of House Elegans have scattered widely, and while many have made their way to Alliance space, evading Imperial pursuit along the way, many others have not, either going into hiding in the Empire or fleeing beyond its other borders.  Marchessa Anna Elegans is now the Lady of the house, but her power is tenuous at best, with the loss of territory and deep divisions among the members of the house hampering her efforts to preserve what remains.

How do the common folk see them?

Ask a typical member of the Alliance what they think about the Elegans, and the response you’ll most often get is confusion. With their holdings so far from Maradonian space, the Elegans have not had much exposure to the people of the Alliance.

What the people do have opinions on are the individual Elegans they’ve encountered, and these can vary wildly. Some see them as drunken, belligerent rogues with too much provide to accept their current circumstances. Others see the compassionate side of Elegans, and pity them for the trials they’ve gone through. Still others see them as heroic, taking the fight to the Empire where the rest of the Alliance sits around and bickers.

How are they seen by the nobility in general?

As a whole, the nobility tend to look on the Elegans with pity. Here was a proud house laid low by the Empire, with only remnants to carry on the name and tradition. But while many sympathize with their plight, here their thoughts go in very different directions.

Much of the nobility lost territory, power, and members during the rise of the Empire, and they’ve rallied around House Elegans as they call for revenge and a renewed effort to win back their lost worlds. They hold up Elegans as an example of their plight, and warn that, if the Alliance does nothing, the rest of the nobility is next.

Others detest Eelegans, for in Anna they see a firebrand who would goad them all into a headlong confrontation with the Empire. While they sympathize with the motives of Elegans, these nobles believe that such a confrontation is premature, and that her constant calls for a fighter will upset their carefully laid plans.

A third group of nobles, partially overlapping with the second, calls for a formal dissolution of Elegans, and incorporating their remaining holdings into other houses, citing the house’s weakness and inability to control its membership as reasons. Some are doing this for political reasons, especially those who oppose Elegans’ populist and warmongering stance, while others see opportunities for economic gain.

What are the strengths of House Elegans?

With Elegans existing as only a shadow of its former self, it can be difficult to say that they even have strengths. This is misleading, for while they certainly don’t have the economic or military power they once had, the house is not entirely without advantages.

Foremost among these is the legendary Elegans charm. People who meet the Elegans tend to like them, especially if they’re making an effort to make a good impression, and so they find themselves willing to support the Elegans, financially or otherwise.

Elegans also has the support of large parts of the nobility who also lost much with the rise of the Empire, and their very losses make them a rallying point for those calling for revenge.

On an individual level, Elegans have passion. The Empire may have gutted their house, but so long as any of them remain, they will never give up the fight against the Empire. They may not have the strength to stand against the Imperial Navy directly, but they will lead insurgencies, wreak havoc among the starlanes as pirates, and more.

What are the weaknesses of HouseElegans?

The greatest weakness of Elegans as a house is that they are dependent for their very survival on the support of others. With the loss of their worlds, their lord and his heirs, and their wealth, Elegans has very little to draw on. Traditionally, a house that fell on such hard times would be dissolved by the Senate, and Marchessa Anna Elegans is fighting hard to keep her house from suffering the same fate.

The Marchessa is also faced with the daunting task of leading a house whose membership is widely scattered, many of whom have their own ideas on how to take the fight to the Empire. Worse still, Anna Elegans is several steps removed from the previous lord of the house, and while those with a better claim are either dead or in hiding, this undermines her authority.

On an individual level, Elegans cannot count on the support of their house, for even if the Marchessa agrees with their goals and methods, there's not a lot she can offer them in terms of resources.

How can House Elegans be the good guys?

First, note that House Elegans is so deeply divided that the house as a whole can hardly be said to be good or bad. Instead, what you’ll find are individual members of House Elegans acting in either role, depending on what motivates them and how they go about achieving their goals.

Heroic members of House Elegans are out fighting the good fight, opposing the oppression of the Empire and empowering the people they meet. These are your Robin Hoods of the setting, to give but one inspiration.

How can House Elegans be the bad guys?

Villainous members of House Elegans chart a darker course. Revenge against an Empire that cost them everything is their primary motivation, and they will go to any lengths to see it destroyed. Cut-throat brigands, assassins cutting a swathe through Imperial leadership, and insurgents sowing terror among the Imperial populace are some of the possibilities you’ll find here.

See also the discussion on Elegans psionics further down. Telepathy has some scary abilities in its list!

Which Communion Paths do they follow?

By far the most common paths for Elegans are Righteous Crusader or Rebellious Beast, depending on whether they fight for principles or for revenge. Some, especially those with revenge as a motivation, turn to the path of Death.

Others have turned to debauchery as a means of coping with the trauma of losing their house, and these walk the path of the Beautiful Fool.

What role does House Elegans’ psionics play?

The combination of Aspect and Emotion Sense means that people tend to like the Elegans, and they’ve got a knack for reading people that lets them navigate social landscapes readily. This is large of part why, even though the house is facing hard times, individual members are often able to find support wherever they go.

The more manipulative members of the house use Aspect and Emotion Control to push people into doing what they want, and even heroic members will use it to increase the impact of their inspirational speeches.

When fighting the Elegans, the battle is as much mental as it is physical. Instill Fear makes it hard to stand and face them, while their Emotion Sense lets them pick out those who are already wavering.

More subtly, Mind Clouding allows them to slip past living guards (but not robots!) without being noticed, making them excellent at infiltration and reconnaissance.

The most gifted Elegans, with full access to Telepathy, are some of the most feared psions in the setting. Mental Surgery lets them brainwash people, Mind-Wipe to make people forget what just happened, and Sensory Control lets them play games with what people perceive. More ethical Elegans will still get a great deal of mileage out of Sleep, Telescan, and Telesend/Telereceive.

Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Grimshaw

Continuing my series on the Noble Houses of Psi-Wars, let’s have a look at the conservative, elitist Grimshaw, and why people see them as “obvious” bad guys and how they can be much more than that.

House Grimshaw

Who are they?

House Grimshaw, one of the great pillars of the Federation, was also one of the last to join. Following the execution of Shio Daijin, Grimshaw distanced itself from the feuding that had enveloped the Galactic Core, patiently watching over the Alexian homeworld of Maradon, the great factory cathedrals of House Alexus, and the central archive held on the moon of Atrium, waiting for a true successor to claim them once more.

When the Federation arose, Grimshaw reluctantly admitted that no such heir was likely to be found, and so as the last remnant of the Alexian government, they gave the Federation the legitimacy of their approval. Over time, they grew to become the great industrial base of the Federation, and in the days before the rise of the Empire, Bale Grimshaw was counted as one of the leaders of the noble houses.

Despite their prestige, the Grimshaw never truly considered themselves a member of the Federation, and kept their power concentrated in their homeworlds of Maradon space. This proved wise, for following the Emperor’s coup, Bale Grimshaw was able to escape with a largely intact power base.

Disgusted with the petty squabbling and the erosion of traditional noble values that they see as leading to the uprising, Grimshaw now calls for a return to the ancient ways, with an aristocracy dedicated to the duties their heritage brings. That this would also promote the power of Grimshaw is a burden they are willing to bear.

How do the common folk see them?

Cold, distant, and ruthlessly efficient, there is little love for the Grimshaw among the people of their worlds. Yet, they have also maintained order in their region for centuries, and their government functions with the regular, predictable pattern of clockwork.

While this desire for efficiency and order led Grimshaw to be a leader in the adoption of robotic labor, they took great care to avoid the disrupting effects found in other noble domains. Where they could, they retained their current workforce as technicians and overseers, and where they couldn’t, Grimshaw attempted to find new roles for them.

The price of this order is freedom. House Grimshaw expects that its people will know their place in society, and to keep to it without complaint. In many cases, this place is also hereditary, where if someone’s father was a factory overseer, it is likely that his children will eventually assume oversight of that factory.

Despite Grimsahw’s best efforts, there is a growing population of people without such a role. Use of robotic labor displaced more people than they could accommodate, and addressing this is a primary concern of the house, with the specter of another uprising haunting them.

How are they seen by the nobility in general?

House Grimshaw’s position as the stewards of the legacy of Alexus affords them respect by traditionalist, and their economic might draws both admiration and envy. Their support for the traditional rights and privileges of the nobility is another point in their favor.

However, Grimshaw’s devotion to duty and order is seen as insufferably self-righteous by many, and while other nobles respect their traditionalism, their call for a return to the days of the Alexus and the Oracular Order is considered terribly antiquated. Still, the stability of the Grimshaw realm lends weight to their arguments, and some are starting to take the idea seriously.

Others fear Grimshaw’s claim to moral authority as a cloak for their political ambitions, and they see in Bale Grimshaw someone who wishes to revive the Alexian Empire with himself at its head.

What are the strengths of House Grimshaw?

The economic power of Grimshaw is one of the keys to the Alliance’s continued survival, for while not a match for the Empire’s full power, it is sufficient to keep ahead of the losses in the ongoing conflict. Without it, the Alliance would not collapse immediately, but attrition would eventually force them to sue for terms with the Empire. House Grimshaw has parlayed this power into influence, exchanging the output of their factories for support from lesser houses.

House Grimshaw’s continuity with the government of Alexus, the stability of their realm, and their support for traditional noble privilege affords them a moral authority. While this is denigrated by many who would rather break from the legacy of the Alexian Empire, many others have come around to Grimshaw’s point of view, and represent a growing bloc within the House of Lords.

Stewardship of the remaining holdings of House Alexus is another asset, though it is one that Grimshaw, strictly speaking, cannot make use of. But if an heir to Alexus could be found (or fabricated), then House Grimshaw is in a position to support their claim to the throne.

What are the weaknesses of House Grimshaw?

Grimshaw’s distance from the people and their promotion of traditional noble rights and privileges earns them many enemies in the House of Commons. While much of the nobility is hesitant to undermine their own position by backing the Commons, if Grimshaw looks to be growing too powerful, other nobles may choose to do so.

The conservatism of House Grimshaw, while well-founded and also one of their strengths, could also hamper them. The Empire is rapidly developing new technology, and Grimshaw’s desire to carefully consider the impact of technologies they adopt could leave them at a disadvantage in the arms race.

How can House Grimshaw be the good guys?

Grimshaw is right. The galaxy is meant to be ruled by the aristocracy, who have been carefully bred over the years to produce better rulers and a better fit for their Communion role. Their insistence on order, while it may seem stifling, truly is for the benefit of those they rule. The unbridled populism of the Empire and the slower egalitarianism of the Alliance goes against the proper order, and will lead to a dark age.

The discovery of a true heir to Alexus would strengthen Grimshaw’s position. A revival of the Oracular Order, perhaps precipitated by the discovery of their lost lore, would also do much to enhance their position.

How can House Grimshaw be the bad guys?

Bale Grimshaw is cynically using the concepts of duty and order and tradition as a means of promoting his own power. Under his rule, the common people will be oppressed and confined to their prescribed roles, the rest of the Alliance subjugated to his will, and a new Empire will take shape under his direction.

Alternatively, Bale Grimshaw himself is sincere in his beliefs, but he is being used by a resurgent branch of the Oracular Order, who have promised him that following his path will lead to a new golden age for humanity. This conspiracy seeks to topple the Empire, only to rule the galaxy through their own puppet Emperor.

Which Communion Paths do they follow?

Grimshaw’s dedication to duty and the preservation of order inclines them to follow the path of the Righteous Crusader, though more as inquisitor and upholder of the regime than as a standard bearer of righteousness. The Mystic Tyrant is another common path, stemming from their distance from the people and their belief that only they have the vision to rule.

Less commonly, Grimshaw’s isolation from people leads them to fall into the path of the Other, becoming strange, distant monsters without a shred of human empathy.

What role does House Grimshaw’s psionics play?

In many ways, Grimshaw’s psionic talents plays to a sense of theatrics. With Light Amplification, Presence, and Flash, a scion of House Grimshaw can make themselves very obvious, serving to both awe and intimidate onlookers. Their most dramatic ability, Lightning, is as much a display of power as it is a damaging ability.

More than that, Grimshaw possesses the power of ergokinesis in a setting dominated by technology. The implications of this become readily apparent when you consider that all weapons in common use are susceptible to it, droids and computer systems control the machinery that society relies upon, and people routinely carry communicators and other devices on their person. With a contemptuous wave of their hand, they can completely knock out all of those.

With Electric Vision, you’re not going to sneak spy gadgets past a member of House Grimshaw, nor could an Imperial Commando sneak up on them in the dark. If they try, they’re going to be lit up like a beacon!

Those with an even stronger gift and access to the full power of Ergokinesis are even more potent. They have no need for fancy gadgets to compromise your computer system, for with Data Retrieval, I/O Tap, or Remote Control, all they need to do is touch them to make it give up its secrets, catastrophically compromise the systems they control, and more. Those with higher levels of these abilities only need to be near it!

Just imagine what they can do in the Empire, with all of its highly centralized systems!

Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Sabine

Over on Mailanka’s Musings, we’ve seen posts introducing the main noble houses of the Alliance, Sabine and Grimshaw, and we'll soon see Elegans and Kain. In my discussions with Mailanka, I was struck by him mentioning that people tended to see Sabine as the “good guys”, and Grimshaw as the “bad guys”. This surprised me, because to my eye there was far more nuance to each house than that, and there’s many ways that each house could be used.

So, I’m going to delve into my views on each house, what I think stands out about each of them, and how you might engage with them in a game.

House Sabine

Who are they?

House Sabine has been the guiding light of the Federation since its inception. Even when they did not lead it themselves, they held extraordinary insight, and it was common for the Federation’s leaders to consult with them before major decisions. By the twilight days of the Federation, though, their influence had waned, and their warnings of what was to come went unheeded.

When the War Hero was executed and the Emperor led the revolt that decimated the senior leadership of the Federation, Nova Sabine was ready to take action, rallying and organizing the remains of the Federation as they fled into Maradonian space. They are now the leaders of the Alliance, but are plagued by mistrust and resentment.

How do the common folk see them?

The people of Persephone love the Sabine, with their willingness to mix with the common folk and their tradition of gentle, wise guidance endearing them to many. Their guidance is eagerly sought, for their insight and desire for fairness is well known. Yet, at the same time, the Sabine are apart from their people, their distinctive appearance and aristocratic breeding but one factor. The Sabine are unnerving, often seeming aware of matters before they are told about them.

The people of other worlds are less enamored of the Sabine, but their push for more egalitarian policies is well-received in many quarters. However, there are those who wonder about their motivations for doing so, and what advantage they might be seeking to gain.

How are they seen by the nobility in general?

The Sabine have a decidedly mixed reputation among the nobility at large. Their decisive leadership during the rise of the Empire  saved many who would have otherwise perished in the coup, and when the Empire finally pursued, it was Nova Sabine who had brought the Houses together to meet them in battle.

Yet, that very leadership leaves many skeptical of the Sabine. They were too well prepared for it. Did they help the Emperor rise to power? Or did they simply have advance warning, but chose to use the ensuing chaos to improve their own standing?

Nova Sabine’s push for greater opportunity and protections for the common folk fuel this mistrust, and much of the nobility resents the erosion of their traditional privileges. In addition, some of the formerly more powerful houses, those who lost the most in the coup, resent Sabine for being a marginalized house that they must now follow. The Duchess remains the Speaker of the Senate, but the suspicion and resentment of the rest of the nobility threaten to undermine her position.

What are the strengths of House Sabine?

Thanks to their preparation, House Sabine weathered the rise of the Empire with much of their assets intact, allowing them to form the core of the Alliance forces. As other houses rallied, this prominence has diminished, but they still contribute much to the war.

A less obvious strength is the ubiquity of the Sabine. While the leaders of the Federation may have disdained them, the purity of the Sabine bloodline, their beauty, and their excellence as councilors led to them extensively marrying among the other houses of the Federation. Consequently, they have an extensive network of contacts, including in the Empire, and are well positioned to both gather and pass on information.

The greatest asset of House Sabine is its oracular ability. On a grand scale, they have a greater understanding of the currents of history and Communion than most, letting them take actions to direct it down the paths they desire. On a more personal level, their insight and knack for finding things makes them excellent guides.

Traditionally, they do not publicly use their oracular abilities. Part of this is a preference to whisper a thought in the right ear, and part of it is a Cassandra effect that plagues the house. When they attempt to openly predict the future, their warnings go ignored.

What are the weaknesses of House Sabine?

While Sabine is a royal house, with strong ties to the Alexian Empire, they lack a firm base of support among the other nobility, who for the most part attempted to relegate them to a marginal role. Their resurgence does not sit well with many.

Sabine is also not a martial house, and while their holdings have been buffered from the worst of the fighting, they stand to suffer greatly if they are ever directly attacked.

How can House Sabine be the good guys?

Egalitarian and idealistic, the Sabine would love nothing more than to guide the galaxy into an era of peace, prosperity, and equality. They despise the Empire for how it oppresses its people, and if they can bring together the other houses into a truly unified force, they would topple the Emperor, dismantle his regime, and establish a democratic government.

The Sabines need support, however, and player characters could go out and work on each house, persuading them of the wisdom of their vision. Alternatively, Sabine could provide them with cryptic clues leading to the location of lost Alexian relics, with which they could legitimize their leadership.

How can House Sabine be the bad guys?

House Sabine are master manipulators. Duchess Nova Sabine saw the rise of the Empire coming, and so positioned her house to take advantage of the chaos. Her egalitarian policies which empower the common folk are a smoke screen, for her true goal is to bring the other houses to heel. If left unchecked, she has the potential to turn the Alliance into another Empire, using her oracular ability to identify and eliminate any resistance to her rule.

The Sabine also use their network of spies and contacts as assassins, quietly eliminating those they deem a threat. Alternatively, their use of Golden Whin can be used to coerce other members of the Alliance into supporting their plans.

Which Communion Paths do they follow?

House Sabine exemplifies the Bound Princess, for they strongly believe in the measured use of power for the good of their people. They are also prone to fall into Madness, both for genetic reasons and because of their oracular power, where the weight of their visions overwhelms them.

They do not typically fall into Paths of Dark Communion, but those who break from the House’s traditions often take to the Beautiful Fool, casting off their house’s restraint to indulge their own desires and using their oracular ability to manipulate others.

What role does House Sabine’s psionics play?

As noted in Strengths, their tendency to oracular abilities makes the Sabine unparalleled guides, whether as prophets or as seekers. When they make a suggestion, or claim that something will happen, you’d do well to listen. They’re quite likely right!

More generally, Sabine are espers. They know things, and for the gifted (or foolhardy) among them, this can manifest as a blind faith in their own ability. They know what’s going to happen, and have an intuitive sense for what’s going to happen, so why should they follow anything other than the first thing that occurs to them?

While this is often true (Sabine don’t get lost much!), the truth is that their abilities are still fallible. This is one of the reasons behind the restraint that Sabine traditionally have. If they’re mistaken, following their impulses could do more harm than good.

Another consequence is that Sabine value knowledge quite highly. Their upbringing includes an extensive education in history, politics, economics, and many other areas, for these are also used as tools to predict the future, and they can corroborate a vision or a hunch.  They also possess some of the most extensive libraries in the galaxy, and are always looking to expand their collection.

The most gifted among the Sabine, those with Bloodline Purity 4 and unrestricted access to ESP powers, are spies, scouts, and treasure hunters extraordinaire. Clairaudience and Clairvoyance are invaluable tools for snooping around without people realizing it, Retrocognition gives glimpses of what happened in a place, and Seekersense is endlessly useful for finding people, places, and things. You can run, but you can’t hide from the Sabine.

However, I’ll also note that the Sabine aren’t telepaths. They sometimes give that impression, but they just have high ranks in Observation, Body Language, Current Affairs, and other such skills. What looks like mind reading is really just well-informed guessing!

Ravens N' Pennies March Patreon Review

Every month, Christopher R. Rice over at Ravens N’ Pennies releases a selection of goodies for his Patreon backers. Befitting the blog’s namesake, they are an eclectic bunch, and no two months see quite the same things covered. So, what do we have this time around?

The Hurt Locker - More Psi-Tech I

In this article, you’ll find a collection of gizmos that are either useful for psis or make use of psionic phenomena to operate. This first issue gives you the Obfuscating Material Coating for the sneaky sorts, Telekinetically Bouyant Textiles that gives psychokinetics a way to carry loads more easily, and the Sonokinetic Sound Baffler that, funnily enough, muffles sounds in its area of effect.

On the whole, this is a neat collection of useful toys, and if you’re making use of GURPS Psi-Tech, these will fit right in. If not, then reflavor them for your preferred brand of paranormal phenomena and use them anyway.

Boil and Bubble: Thaumaturgic Ritual Path Magic

Christopher loves creating variant forms of Ritual Path Magic, and they’re always interesting to read. Thaumaturgic Ritual Path Magic is no exception, which reflavors Ritual Path Magic and tinkers with its rules to suit a form of Christian magic that invokes angels to power its spells. It’s well worth a look as a basis for spirit-invoking Ritual Path Magic as well as an interesting variant in its own right.

The one disappointment I have is fairly minor. While it lists patron angels for a few of the Paths, it doesn’t do so for all of them.

GURPS 101: Alternate Alternate Form Rules (June 2016 Special #1)

A guest entry from Emily Smirle, Alternate Alternate Forms is one of the most elegant rules I’ve ever seen for GURPS. Treating alternate forms as alternate abilities is a simple yet brilliant idea, and there’s a good bit of advice on how to use this variant. If you have shapeshifters in your campaign, this article will be very helpful, especially if you’re running a high point total game with correspondingly powerful alternate forms.

GURPS 101: More Telepathy Powers for Psionic Powers (June 2016 Special #2)

As Christopher notes in the intro, there’s never enough powers for Psionic Powers. So, this article presents two more Telepathy abilities. Affinity gives you a telepathic bond with a person of your choosing, while Telelinguism lets you learn any language given enough exposure to it. Both come with suitable techniques that increase the usefulness of the two powers.

If you’ve got telepaths or telepathic creatures in your game, give this a look. They’re very thematically appropriate and have many applications for the creative.

GURPS 101: Dungeon Fantasy Styles - Zodiac Styles

A long guest piece by Hal Batty, Zodiac Styles details six martial arts for Dungeon Fantasy, based on animals of the Chinese Zodiac. To say that this is a fun article is an understatement. Each animal style comes with its own set of skills, perks, and power-ups, perfectly suited to the animal in question. The strong, tough Ox, the fleet-footed Rabbit, the cunning Snake, and more all make an appearance.

My favorite of the styles may be the Snake, with their focus on cunning, sneaky tricks, and rapid, precise strikes that leave their foes unable to effectively strike back.

If you have martial artists in your Dungeon Fantasy, this will give them some fun options to play with. If you don’t have martial artists, make a few as adversaries so that you can play with these. And if that’s still not an option, consider allowing other characters to learn these styles. That’s just how much fun they are.

In fact, the only real downside is that the other half of the Zodiac doesn’t get their own styles. On the upside, that gives you room to create your own styles, using these as inspiration.