Psionics for MechWarriors

These rules were initially developed for a Robotech: The Sentinels campaign using the Mechwarrior, Second Edition rules.  Several alien races in that setting have supernatural powers, and we needed a way to codify these powers and use them in play.  I enjoyed these rules during that campaign, and feel they are a natural addition to any MechWarrior game--though games that do not rely exclusively on mech combat (oh no!) would benefit most.

Psionic Potential

In order to make use of psionic powers, a character must 1) have the potential (naturally or otherwise), and 2) develop that potential through skills.  There are two methods of "achiving" psionic potential:  by virtue of one's race, or through a cybernetic implant.

Race: Human (Psychic)

Under these rules, human characters who set Race as Priority 1 (instead of 0) have psionic potential.  These characters automatically have access to all psionic skills.  Pychic humans may choose not to train in psionic skills, even though they have psionic potential.  Whether or not a psychic human has trained their abilities, they always perceive psychic phenomena (see below).

Advantage:  Psionic Implant

Requirements:  member of the Clans; combined LRN & CHA of 7+

Viewing psionics as volatile and unpredictable, the Clans bred any potential for psychic powers out of their bloodlines.  However, upon their return to the Inner Sphere and encountering psychic humans, controlled psionic development was pursued.  The solution was an ectoplasm-enhanced receptor implanted in the brain. Select one of the implant classes below; you gain access to that implant’s psionic skills (but no others).

Anyone with a psionic implant as the chance of perceiving psychic phenomena (INT check).

Gamma-class implant (2 pts):  Astral Projection, Clairsentience, Telepathy.

Kappa-class implant (3 pts):  Ectoplasty, Plasmakinesis, Telekinesis.

Mutant Humans (LegacySPORE)

In LegacySPORE, human mutants should be created as mutant animals, using the general rules update from After the Bomb second edition.  Instead of using the human description there, however, use the statistics presented below.  This plays off the mutant animal rules while still preserving aspects of the old method of creating human mutants.

As part of this rules update, options available to mutant animals are also expanded.

New Options for Mutant Animals

Add the following options to all other animals.

Human Features

Looks: The following options are available to non-human mutant animals:

[Partial -2] BIO-E for Androcephalic.  Androcephalic characters have bodies and limbs with no human looks, but heads—particularly faces—with full human looks.  Sphinxes are androcephalic mutants (often with the winged flight super ability).

[Partial +2] BIO-E for Hybrid.  Hybrid characters have legs and feet with no human looks,  but torsos, arms, and hands with full human looks.  The head has partial human looks—though often appears human-like with bestial traits (ears, nose, horns/antlers, etc.).  Fauns and harpies are hybrid mutants.

[Full -2] BIO-E for Zoocephalic.  Zoocephalic characters have heads with no human looks, but bodies and limbs with full human looks.  The deities of ancient Egypt were zoocephalic mutants.

In LegacySPORE, the only way a mutant animal can gain the traits of another animal is to select those traits as super abilities (such as Animal Abilities, Winged Flight, or the like)—BIO-E cannot be spent to develop such traits.  Using a priority system to maintain balance, all characters have the chance to develop super powers and/or psionics.

Orbimond: Monvesia Redux

I have spent years converting, building, and expanding my homebrew Dungeons & Dragons setting for that game's "5th Edition."  Previously, I has played the setting using the Rules Cyclopedia version of D&D, later converting to the Pathfinder RPG.  Over the last couple of years, I have spent more time "ret-conning" the setting, and editing older posts as new 5th edition material has become available instead of writing new content.  I believe the time has come to refocus, simplify, and re-present the setting--particularly now that the ruleset of 5th edition has matured enough to accommodate many early aspects of the setting.

Just as much of the setting is going to change as it is going to remain the same.  While the high concepts of the setting will remain, how they represent and are represented by the game rules will be altered.  The Six Spheres, Temperaments, Taint, etc. will be present in more simplified manners.  Dragon Island, its subcontinents, and the other regions will be populated by the various races of the game in ways that were not as originally presented--and more careful planning will be put into spreading the variety of races and the availability of class options available to them.

Many elements will be subject to removal, simplification, and revision.  The relationship between Temperaments and Alignments will be revisited, and a model that allows both may even be explored.  The re-classification of creatures will be abandoned, and the intentional omission of particular creatures will be revised.  If a game element exists in core D&D, then it will have a home in Orbimond without extraordinary conditions or mechanical modifications.

Otherworldly Races of Monvesia

RETCON NOTE:  This is the first of two posts replacing "Elves of Prace and Xahaca."  This post also replaces "Neshu of Raviq." 

In the world of Monvesia, the transitive planes are known as Otherworlds--homelands for those beings called daemons.  Eight in total, these planes are bound to companion pairs sharing common Spheres and Dominions.  While humans can develop a connection to one of these planes, there are other mortal races which have been born from them (though remaining "native" to Orbimond).  Four in total, these races are each the product of a pair of otherworlds, and they demonstrate the same Temperamental variation as humans.

These races are:

• Elves of Faerie and the Abyss, native to Prace, Xahaca, and Vasperon
• Gith of the Dreaming and Limbo, native to Desolation and Vaynon
• Neshu of Infinity and Eternity, native to Raviq and Sylane
• Spirit Folk of the Empyrean and the Inferno, native to Fuhon, Henjal, and Helyon

As a whole, these races have alien cultures that often confound their neighbors.  They even consider themselves different than their mortal companions.  Conflicts involving these races are typically internal--each race consisting of rival factions.  Even their religious traditions exist beyond the common saints of the Spheres.  Furthermore, their otherworldly origins make them immune to the Taint, which otherwise plagues the moral races.  

As a class of race, they share many commonalities--but their specific planes of origin separate them drastically from each other.

Mages of Monvesia - Scholars

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Mages of Monvesia" and "Savants of Monvesia;" see also "Mages of Monvesia - Malefactors."

Mastery of the arcane arts can be achieved by strengthening one's connection to the Spheres of Power.  While some mages make pacts or embrace an inborn otherworldly nature (see malefactors), a dominant majority do so through years of research, experimentation, and formal study.  These scholars view themselves as "true" mages, and often argue that they are the more powerful of their kind.  These include the industrial Artificers and the academic Wizards.

Artificer

This class is detailed in Eberron: Rising from the Last War.

From a Pracian perspective, the ways of artifice began with the dwarves and gnomes (and, presumably, neanderthals).  Humans would learn the arts from them, and spread them throughout the Monvesien Valley to the other races of Prace.  In Henjal, artifice is as old the the scalikind Empire of the Morning and Evening Star--whence it spread from the Forest of Vines to the Sea of Fuhon. While in Raviq it was practiced by an elite, priest-like caste of revered craftsmen.  Fuhonese artifice is a unique blend of all three traditions, since the korobokuru would have brought their Pracian tradition with them.

Alchemists are by far the most common artificer.  Local traditions of alchemy can be found throughout the regions Monvesia, each with their own names and customs.  This specialty forms the basis of the Natural Sciences of Goliath Medicine.

Battle Smiths and Armorers (Unearthed Arcana) are tied as the second-most widely known artifice specialties.  The two are just as often seen working side-by-side (particularly during times of war) as they are rivals. 

Artillerists are a closely-guarded dwarven secret in Prace--though the korobokuru in Fuhon have been more willing to share the art.  In Henjal, kobolds have independently developed their own artillerist tradition; it is meant to be secret, but a drunk kobold can't always keep such secrets.

Mages of Monvesia - Malefactors

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Mages of Monvesia;" see also "Mages of Monvesia - Scholars."

Mastery of the arcane arts can be achieved by strengthening one's connection to the Spheres of Power.  This can be approached through formal study (see scholars), or else through otherworldy pacts or natural power.  The latter typically exist outside of "accepted" society, and are therefore called malefactors--commonly understood as "evil-doers," though originally meant to mean "incorrect doers."  There is nothing inherently evil about the sorcerer or warlock.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Sorcerer

Different races have their own traditions "explaining" the nature of sorcerers.  To an extent, each version of the sorcerer story is true.  That is, these different versions of what a sorcerer is represent the sorcerous origins common to that race's history.

According to the omnipresent Senarian churches of the humans in Prace, sorcerers are possessed of an inborn connection to one of the Spheres.  While all adherents of the elemental philosophies believe that every being has such a connection, it is the sorcerers who have accepted it and gained power from it.   A sorcerer's elemental connection may be tied to his or her race (or culture, if human), personal philosophy/temperament, season of birth, etc.--but it does not define every aspect of the character.  Two origins reflect this:  Shadow Magic (Xanathar's Guide) and Storm Sorcery (Sword Coast or Xanathar's Guide).

Until such time as other, official origins are introduced, these two can be used to mimick the other elements.  Use Shadow Magic for Light Magic: reversing references to necrotic and radiant damage as well as darkness and light.  Use Storm Sorcery for other primal elements, such as Flood, Quake, and Wildfire Sorcery:  use alternate damage types and movement speeds as appropriate.

Among the successors races of the Empire of the Morning and Evening Star, it is said that sorcery is the result of having had a Dragon Ancestor.  This connection is not necessarily one of direct ancestry, but could represent a bloodline having been favored by one of the dragon lords of old.

Remember, there are only six types of dragons in Monvesia--each associated with one of the elemental forces of one of the Spheres.  Therefore, this is one origin that also follows the Temperamental beliefs of the Senarian churches.  (An early version of 5th Edition Monvesia used a variation on the Dragon Ancestor to represent Elemental Magic).

In the land of Desolation in Raviq, the HMDJVNW have taken control and cursed the native races into submission with a psychosomatic ailment known as Taint.  This cure is so potent in Desolation, that even the land, the neighboring Frenetic Ocean, and magic itself have become warped.  Some who have been affected by the Taint have also gained a connection to the Wild Magic that was released into the world because of it.

Warriors of Monvesia - Mystics

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Savants of Monvesia," which previously incorporated elements from the earlier "Warrirors of Monvesia" post.  See also "Warriors of Monvesia - Men-at-Arms."

There are warriors whose power and ability exist beyond mere training as men-at-arms.  Though paladins draw power from their faith and rangers from their esoteric knowledge, these classes are not much different than the fighter class--even the point of demonstrating many of t
he same combat styles.  Barbarian and monks, however, are more ascetic in their approach to empowered combat.  These classes have a more mystic appreciation of the combat arts.

The designation "mystic" is borrowed from the Rules Cyclopedia, which uses the term for its version of a monk-like class.  It is not to be confused with the Mystic class which has been presented as an optional psionic class.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Barbarian

Barbarians are spiritual warriors from various traditions.  While each path is bound to a particular culture, followers of those paths are not bound to those cultures.

Totem Warriors often emerge from Galtic druidism, which is a naturalistic faith that venerates alimal guides and guardians.  These sacred warriors typically accompany and protect druids of the Circle of the Shepherd--though many barbarians of this path exist beyond the religious community as well.

New options for the totem warrior can be found in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

The Beast (Unearthed Arcana) draws on the same Galtic tradition as the Totem Warrior; with sacred warriors of this path more commonly associated with the Circle of the Moon.  As with their counterparts above, barbarians of this path are not bound to "religious service" (though they are often considered the equivalent of Paladins).

The Shepherd/Totem and Moon/Beast dichotomy among Galtic druidism may represent an orthodox/heterodox schism in the original tradition.  Which as much as the tw denominations have in common, they are dissimilar in  in key doctrinal and practical areas.

Monvesian Culture: God-King Cults

In the west, there is a tradition of deifying the leaders of empires.  Clerics may serve these rulers and the cults of their glory as if they were gods or saints.  These traditions are formalized cults of personality.  These priesthoods are long-standing, but the "living saints" they venerate change over time.  Three god-kings have risen to prominence:  the Pharaoh of Raviq, the Mikado of Fuhon, and the Nagaraja of Henjal.

In Prace, a similar cult of personality has also developed around the Emperor of Dray--but the semi-theocratic nature of the Empire prevents the Emperor from arising to the status of god-king.  Given the nature of the Temperamental Orders, however, the Order favored by the Emperor tends to be favored by the nobility as well.

Clerics of the God-Kings

When in service to a god-king, a cleric must choose a domain from those spheres related to the ruler's dominant alignment.  Keep in mind, however, that inheriting the mantle of a god-king will affect one's alignment points:

• Pharaoh, gain 2 AP each in Dynamism and Vitalism
• Mikado, gain 2 AP each in Idealism and Materialism
• Nagaraja, gain 2 AP each in Vitalism and Nihilist

Should a god-king have no clear dominant alignment, then the spheres of the title's temperamental association should be used.

As alignment in Monvesia is fluid, a god-king's dominant alignment will change over time--and successors may be of vastly different alignments than their predecessors. Clerics of the god-kings, therefore, must adapt to the temperaments of their rulers.  Should a cleric's domain become unavailable during play, a new domain must be selected.  All abilities of the old domain are lost, and any abilities of the new domain appropriate to the cleric's level are gained.  The abilities of the old domain are lost immediately; however, the abilities of the new domain are not gained until either 1) the cleric gains a level, or 2) the character completes 40 days in meditative isolation.

Monvesian Culture: Cult of [Human] Perseverance

No discussion of human culture and history is complete without exploring the Cult of Human Perseverance (which would come to be adopted by non-humans as the Cult of Perseverance).

This religious tradition began as a reaction against the HMDJVNW, who once dominated and demanded the piety of the proto-human-goliath race.  Having found the "gods" to be terrifying beings from which emancipation was necessary for survival, both the humans and goliaths developed athiest religions during their respective exoduses.  For the goliaths, religion became the veneration of rudimentary (and highly superstitious) science and medicine.  For humans, it became an early codification of temperamental psychology and philosophy.  In its early stages, this temperamentalism was void of the canonization of sanctified beings.

Priests of Monvesia

In Monvesia, the two priestly classes cover all spiritual traditions.  While each tradition is rooted with a particular race, you do not need to be a member of that race to follow that tradition--you simply must train in that race's tradition.  There may be some restrictions on how far a character can progress in ecclesiastical hierarchy if your character follows another race's traditions, however.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Cleric

Clerics gain their magical ability from their devotion to one of the Six Spheres.  Often, particularly among humans and dwarves, this takes the form of veneration for various saints who have ascended to immortality.  Though in some cases, such as among goliaths (and in early human history), religious traditions are centered on the ideals of a Sphere.

By Any Other Name.  While Pracians speak of saints and archsaints (including paragons and wise ones), other races use their own terms.  To the races of Raviq, these are akhu ("shining ones") and netjeru ("gods"); in Fuhon they are kami ("spirits") and ōkami ("great spirits"); while in Henjal, they are asuras ("powerful ones") and asurendras ("powerful lords").

Clerics should pick a religious tradition first, which will include one or more Spheres; a domain should be selected from the Spheres available to that tradition.  If a dungeon master is using only the Player's Handbook (and Dungeons Master's Guide), then only one or two domains are available to each Sphere; otherwise, two or three domains are available.  Alternately, a character may choose the domain they want, and then choose a religious tradition to match.

• Aerosphere (Idealism):  Arcana, Knowledge
• Hierosphere (Altruism):  Light, Protection, Unity
• Hydrosphere (Dynamism):  Life, Nature, Tempest
• Lithosphere (Materialism):  Forge, Order, War
• Necrosphere (Nihilism):  Death/Grave, Twilight
• Pyrosphere (Vitalism):  Revelry, Trickery, Wanderlust

Aeons, Things, & Horrors (SPORE)

Beyond the confines of Physical and Psychical Spaces of the SPORE TriCosm, there exist a host of ancient beings called aeons.  These are the eldest of a class of beings known for "meddling" in the affairs of psychical space.  Their Psychical and Psychical descendants include both the Elder and Younger Things.  While aeons and elder things are more clearly inspired by the Lovecraft Mythos, younger things are too.  Their ilk can be seen in the "Star-Spawn of Cthulhu."

These three classes of alien being are decribed below, with a handful of examples.

Aeons

Aeons are the most ancient beings, pre-dating the known universe—which, to them, is little more than the corpse of their beloved brother (see "The Beautiful Dead One," below). The Aeons are native to the proto-space of Ooloni, which predates the space-time of our Universe (and the SPORE TriCosm). Though there are hundreds of Aeons, though only a handful take part in the affairs of the SPORE setting.

The aeons are godlike in power and influence—but like the gods of Earth’s classical era are both fallible and vulnerable. They demonstrate very “human” emotions, motivations, and insecurities. They are often divided by their motivations into two classes: Sephiroth (or Empyreal/Heavenly Delights) and Qlippoth (or Infernal/Hellish Horrors).  The line between these two classes is quite blurry, howevever--and one aeon could be seen as both sephiroth and qlippoth, depending on the context used when discussing it.

Aeons and Elder Things (see below) use the pronoun It/Its, always capitalized. Younger Things may identify with a gender or not, and use whichever pronouns they choose.

Vampyres (an OtherSPORE Kith)

The Vampyre is a new Thallain/Cambion kith for OtherSPORE; it is compatible with other Changeling: the Dreaming chronicles--1st, 2nd, or 20th Anniversary editions.  They are a Thallain counterpart to Redcaps, based on the legend of the creation of the prodigal Vampires (and would, therefore replace Ghasts in any chronicle in which they are used).  Inspiration is taken from the Ghast, the Night Hag, the Sevartal, and the Weeping Wight.

Vampyres can trace their lineage to an unseelie redcap whose hunger for flesh mutated into a thirst for blood.  This drew the attention of a cacodaemonic prince, who gave that redcap a place in his court in the Underworld.  This redcap became the patriarch of a new lineage of cambion who shared his thirst for blood and compelling nature.

These cambions are responsible for the vampire legends that have spread among mundanes.  However, a lot of mundane mythology regarding vampires is a result of misunderstanding the vampyres kith--as well as Hollywood extrapolation on key stories.   While they are not undead themselves, they often use near death experiences (often through blood loss) to trigger chrysalis among fledglings.  Garlic allergy, fear of running water, and fetishes for sleeping in dirt and/or coffins have all been personality traits of individual vampyres, but are not universal.

Seemings

Childling vampyres (called waifs) would be described by mundanes as small for their apparent age--frail and sickly.  Their large, dark eyes simultaneously express innocence and sadness.  Waifs will use their appearance to inspire pity among those they manipulate.

Wilders are eternally youthful and beautiful.  They typically have lustrous black or red hair, full lips, bright eyes, and porcelain smooth skin.  They are commonly slim and graceful.  Wilder vampyres will manipulate others with their physical allure.

Grumps (called nosferatu) are lean and pale; hair is pale, stringy and thin--at least for those who still have it.  Fingers, nails, ears, and noses are all long and pointed and hooked; and fangs are prominent at all times.  Their complexion is blotchy and sickly, with bloodshot eyes and yellowing teeth.  Nosferatu will manipulate others with fear.

The Desecrated, Undead of OtherSPORE

World of Darkness: Mummy, Second Edition was an early take on alternate undead for the World of Darkness universe.  Written as a supplement to the early editions of Vampire: The Masquerade, this book allows players to create mummies--living dead whose bodies and souls have been ritually preserved, and are capable of rising from the dead no matter how often they are slain.  These rules in this book are more compatible with Changeling: the Dreaming and Freak Legion than those of Mummy: the Resurrection, so are used here to create The Desecrated, a class of Younger Things in the OtherSPORE setting.

For centuries after the Otherwords were separated from the Mundane World, humans still tried to achieve immortality.  One theory was that if a body was preserved, so was the soul--and so spells and rituals were developed to accomplish that goal.  However, while the fetch was able to be preserved with he body, the wraith was not (see below concerning fetch/ka and wraith/ba).  These spells shouldhave worked, though--it is only the separation of the Worlds by the daemons that prevents these methods from working properly.  Without a wraith/ba, these preserved dead are open to desecration by the awakening Elder Things: taking the form of a false wraith (a "bane spirit"), a Younger Thing (a descendant of the Elder Things) can possess a mummy, merging with its body and fetch/ka--forming a new life form.

An unintended side effect of this desecration process is that the Desecrated Younger Thing is bound to the customs surrounding the specific rite used to create the mummy.  Though references are made to mummies of other cultures, Mummy 2E primarily deals with Egyptian mummies--and the book is aware of that fact, identifying these "Shemsu-Heru" as ethnocentric in their use of the term "Others" to collectively refer to all other mummies.  Shemsu-Heru only represent one of the main Rites.  Here, I make an attempt to flesh out the other rites referenced in the original book, together with a few of my own.  These Rites are:

• Cabiri, the Greco-Roman Rite
• Incorrupt, the Abrahamic Rite
• Mallki, the Andean Rite
• Shemsu-Heru, the Egyptian Rite
• Sokushinbutsu, the Dharmic Rite