Psionics: Psychometabolism Abilities

Psionics: Psychometabolism Abilities

Psychometabolism is a variant power presented at the end of GURPS Psionic Powers. It borrows some abilities from Psychic Healing and provides a sample ability, but isn't expanded upon anywhere. Looking through Expanded Psionics Handbook for D&D 3.5 I've found many psychometabolism abilities that seemed to be easy to convert over to GURPS. Here's some of them.

Adapt Body – 30 points

Skill: Adapt Body (HT/Hard).

Your can manipulate your physiology to adapt your body to any terrestrial environment. You never require Increased Life Support (p. B139). The transformation takes 10 seconds, during which time you are unable to take any external action and may suffer harm from hostile conditions. You can make skill rolls to activate this ability every second as soon as you get exposed to a different environment, but you can delay adaptation by making a Will + Talent roll once per minute (repeated rolls are at -2 if you suffer injury, or -5 if the injury exceeds your HP). Your body may undergo visible changes in the process – including acquiring new organs such as gills – but you can’t choose a specific form or appearance. You are not protected against Innate Attacks or weapons with comparable effects, or against sudden, intense changes such as collisions, explosions, explosive decompression, or fires.

Statistics: Injury Tolerance (Environmental Adaptation; Psychometabolism, -10%; Requires HT Roll, -10%; Terrestrial, -50%) [30].

Extraterrestrial Adaptation – Hard

Default: Adapt Body-5; cannot exceed Adapt Body.

You can adapt even to environments of other planets and space.

Instant Adaptation – Hard

Default: Adapt Body-8; cannot exceed Adapt Body.

When using this technique, the transformation takes only 1 second instead of 10.

Breath of the Black Dragon – 11 points

Skill: Breath of the Black Dragon (HT/Hard).

A 10-yard jet of acid erupts from your mouth. Roll your skill to hit. Don’t apply range penalties; treat this as a long melee weapon rather than a ranged attack. It does corrosion damage with dice equal to your level of this ability. The GM must determine what the maximum level available in the campaign is.

Statistics: Corrosion Attack 1d (Based on HT, +20%; Jet, +0%; Psychometabolism, -10%) [11].

Intense Corrosion – Hard

Default: Breath of the Black Dragon-20; cannot exceed Breath of the Black Dragon.

When using this technique, the acid you spew becomes much more corrosive than usual. For each point of basic damage you inflict, reduce the target’s DR by 1.

Chameleon – 3 points/level

Skill: Chameleon (HT/Hard).

You can alter the color of your skin to blend into your surroundings for 6 seconds by making a successful skill roll. In any situation where being seen is a factor, you get +2 per level to Stealth skill when perfectly still, or +1 per level if moving. Clothing reduces this bonus to +1 per level when you are motionless, with no bonus if you are moving (unless the clothing is, in the GM’s opinion, camouflaged relative to your current environment). This ability does not normally help in the dark or against someone relying upon senses other than sight.

Statistics: Chameleon (Psychometabolism, -10%; Reduced Duration, 1/10, -20%; Requires HT Roll, -10%) [3/level].

Dynamic Masking – Hard

Default: Chameleon-4; cannot exceed Chameleon.

When this technique is used, your skin pattern adapts instantly to new surroundings and corrects for “motion blur.” You get your full Stealth bonus (+2 per level) when moving.

Heat Masking – Hard

Default: Chameleon-2; cannot exceed Chameleon.

When this technique is used, the bonuses are also applied against attempts made to detect you with Infravision.

Prolonged Masking – Hard

Default: Chameleon-2; cannot exceed Chameleon.

With this technique, each activation of this ability lasts for 1 minute.

Specific Pattern – Hard

Default: Chameleon-2; cannot exceed Chameleon.

When this technique is used, you can consciously select your surface pattern. The effects are mainly aesthetic, but there’s a useful side benefit: you can assume a high-visibility pattern that gives +2 per level to your attempts to signal others and distract enemies, and to others’ rolls to spot you.

Dissolving Touch – 6 points

Skill: Dissolving Touch (HT/Hard).

You produce potent acid and exude it through the skin of your palm. Roll your skill to hit and deal 1d corrosion damage per level of this ability, if you successfully hit. You cannot wear gloves or gauntlets – you must touch the target with your skin.

Statistics: Corrosion Attack 1d (Based on HT, +20%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Psychometabolism, -10%; Touch-Based, Reversed, -20%) [6].

Intensified Dissolution – Hard

Default: Dissolving Touch-20; cannot exceed Dissolving Touch.

When this technique is used, for each point of basic damage you inflict, reduce the target’s DR by 1.

Lingering Acid – Hard

Default: Dissolving Touch-5; cannot exceed Dissolving Touch.

When this technique is used, the acid you exude is sticky. It deals the same damage to the subject again 10 seconds later after you successfully hit it with this ability. The target can wash the acid off to negate this damage.