Friday 24 July 2015

Psychic Powers in Savage Worlds

I've been looking for ways to play modern pulp (XCOM, psychic warfare, horror) and the hassle of making a homebrew "core" system to hang it on (I'm simply recreating a d10 minimalist version of Infinity) has me looking for ready-made solutions.

Savage Worlds is the king of pulp, and is more wargame than RPG.  So what psychic powers can I borrow to fulfil my psychic power wishlist?

Savage Worlds uses a generic "magic" system that lumps together psychic powers, miracles, arcane "magic" magic, super powers  and weird science.  It uses generic spells, in which the "trappings" are different but the end effect is similar, i.e. the "Bolt" spell could be a bolt of lightning, ice, a fireball or just raw energy.  Italics are superpowers from the Super Power Companion sourcebook.


Telekinetic
-Push/Pull/Crush
-Deflect/Barrier
-Biokinesis (heal) Heart stop (destroy)
-Teleportation
-Cyro/Pyro/Electrokinesis
-Levitate/Double jump
Barrier
Blast (Ranged AoE attack)
Bolt (aimed attack)
Burst (AoE spray)
Deflection (Protector - protects others)
Healing/Greater Healing or Regeneration
Stun
Ensnare
Telekinesis
Teleport
Absorption (absorb/deflect telekinetic attacks)
Decay (destroy materials/wound)

Force Control
Fly, Flight or Leaping
Malfunction (electric items)
Matter Control
Resistence (to fire, ice, electricity etc)
Smite/Attack (Melee/Ranged) (telekinetically guide/boost damage of blows/weapon)
Telepath
- Mind Read
-Mind Control
- Mental attack (freeze)
- Illusion
-Psychic Link
-Psychic Block (nullify)
-Fear
Dispel (negate psychic power)
Fear
Invisibility
Puppet (control enemy) or Possession
Chameleon (imitate another)
Illusion
Mind Control
Negation (block psychic abilities)
Paralysis

Mind Reading
Esper
-Remote Viewing -> Bilocation
-Clairvoyance
-Scrying/Divination
-Psychometry
-Precognition
Boost (raise/lower stat of self/other) = precog
Detect Arcane (sense other psychics)
Awareness (ignore obscurement/gang ups)
Danger Sense (ignore ambushes, pregame advantages)

Copycat (psychometry - mimic abilities)
Duplication (bilocation)
Heightened Senses
Intangibility (spirit form/remote viewing) - maybe mix with Altered Form
Uncanny Reflexes


Phew. That's... ....quite a list.  Maybe I don't have to start from scratch after all....

Actually, the more I look through Savage Worlds material, the more I wonder why I don't see more wargame AARs using this system. Perhaps it's too pigeonholed as a RPG.  It certainly has some decent mechanics - better than games like, say, Frostgrave, which everyone is so hyped about, and can be adapted easily through the fantasy-pulp-sci fi spectrum, plus it comes with a huge array of in-depth settings (and in some cases, miniature lines.)  

From comments on the first psychic powers post, I've decided to allow shorting/malfunctioning of electrics (it's an extension of electrokinesis I guess).  The rest of the powers gel with Wikipedia (source of all mankind's knowledge) as I'm looking for "realistic" or "commonly acknowledge" psychic powers, rather than something seen once on a random anime.  However I'm interested in any other common abilities that I may have missed...

1 comment:

  1. Only 6.5 years later....

    http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/psionics.php

    ReplyDelete