Powers: Cryokinesis

Powers: Cryokinesis

As promised, here's cryokinesis as a separate psionic power. 

 
This power includes abilities that allow the psi to create and manipulate cold.
 
Power Modifier: Every ability in this power has the limitation Cryokinesis, -10%. This reflects that it is part of this power, and that it uses the rules under How Psi Works (Psionic Powers, pp. 6-11).
 
Cold Ray – 9 points/level
Skill: Cold Ray (IQ/Hard).
 
You can fire a ray of psionically manifested cold. Take an Attack maneuver and make a skill roll, with all normal modifiers for a ranged attack.
Damage is 1d non-incendiary burning per level of Cold Ray; you can do less damage if you wish. Other stats are Acc 3, Range 20/100, RoF 1, Rcl 1. Any victim that is injured by the Cold Ray must make a HT roll at -1 per two points of injury received. On a failure, he gets -1 to DX for (20 – HT) minutes. If he fails by 5 or more, or critically fails, then instead he gets -3 to DX and becomes Numb (p. B146) for (20 – HT) minutes.
GMs may wish to set a maximum power level for this advantage. Alternatively, the rules for Arms Control (GURPS Powers, p. 138) can be applied.
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Increased 1/2D, 2x, +5%; No Incendiary Effect, -10%; Side Effect, -1 to DX, Secondary -3 to DX and Numb, +70%; Variable, +5%) [9/level].
 
Cold Blast – Hard
Default: Cold Ray-3; cannot exceed Cold Ray.
 
The ray affects an area of a 2-yard radius instead of affecting a single target. Everything in the area suffers the attack’s damage at -1 per die. On a miss, use the scatter rules (p. B414) to see where the area is centered. Active defenses don’t protect against an area attack, but victims may attempt to dive for cover or dodge and retreat to leave the area. For every 5 points by which the (penalized) roll succeeds, add another level of the Area Effect enhancement to the attack.
 
Cold Stream – Hard
Default: Cold Ray-3; cannot exceed Cold Ray.
 
The ray becomes a wide stream of cold that affects everything in a straight line. Treat this as a cone with the maximum width of one yard that deals the Fire Ray’s damage at -1 per die. Cones use special rules; see Area and Spreading Attacks (p. B413).
 
Frost Ray – Hard
Default: Cold Ray-6; cannot exceed Cold Ray.
 
Your cold ray becomes less intense. Instead of causing non-incendiary burning damage via frostbite, it deals fatigue damage at -1 per die. The FP lost cannot be regained until the subject is in a warm environment.
 
Cryokinesis – 14/26/38/49/62/74 points for levels 1-6**
Skill: Cryokinesis (Will/Hard).
 
Like Cryokinesis (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 55), but uses normal range penalties (p. B550) instead of the long-range penalties.
Statistics: Temperature Control 1 (Area Effect, 8 yards, +100%; Cold, -50%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Increased Range, LOS, +70%; Requires Will Roll, -5%; Short-Range 2, -20%) [9.25/level] + Burning Attack 1 point (Cryokinesis, -10%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Incendiary, -10%; No Signature, +20%; Selective Effect, +20%; Variable, +5%) [5.5/level]* + Fatigue Attack 1 point (Cryokinesis, -10%; Hazard, Freezing, +20%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Signature, +20%; Variable, +5%) [8.55/level]*.
* Alternative Abilities to Temperature Control. Divide these point costs by 5, then round up.

** The ability is open-ended, but you will have to calculate the costs for higher levels yourself.
 
Cryokinetic Shield – 3 points/level
Skill: Cryokinetic Shield (IQ/Hard).
 
You can partially or completely divert incoming cold attacks. Every time you are hit by a cold attack, roll against your skill. Success provides DR equal to your Cryokinetic Shield level. In a situation where you are under constant “attack” (i.e., being in a supernatural blizzard), roll once per minute. This is a passive ability.
Statistics: Damage Resistance (Cryokinesis, -10%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Cold, -40%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%) [3/level].
 
Expansion – Hard
Default: Cryokinetic Shield-5; cannot exceed Cryokinetic Shield.
 
Like the Expansion technique for EK Shield (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 33).
 
Suppression – Hard
Default: Cryokinetic Shield-5; cannot exceed Cryokinetic Shield.
 
Like the Suppression technique for EK Shield (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 33).
 

Combining Abilities When using premade abilities instead of designing your own, one may feel frustrated that he has to pay for two or more separate abilities when he could make them into a single, more cost-efficient ability. For example, Cryokinetic Shield and Pyrokinetic Shield are almost identical, and both of them can make sense as both cryokinetic and pyrokinetic abilities. What if the character wants to have both? In that case, he could take both of them as alternative abilities, or combine them into a single ability called Thermokinetic Shield that’s part of both powers (use the highest Talent). On the other hand, the GM might want to restrict these diametrically opposed abilities and forbid taking them in this way. GURPS is flexible, so do not be afraid to change things.   Thermokinetic Shield – 3.25 points/level Skill: Thermokinetic Shield (IQ/Hard).   You can partially or completely divert incoming cold and fire attacks. Every time you are hit by a cold or fire attack, roll against your skill. Success provides DR equal to your Thermokinetic Shield level. In a situation where you are under constant “attack” (i.e., being in a supernatural blizzard or trapped in a fire), roll once per minute. This is a passive ability. Statistics: Damage Resistance (Cryokinesis/Pyrokinesis, -10%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Cold, Fire, -35%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%) [3.25/level].   What if the character also wants to protect himself from lightning? Then he can upgrade this ability to EK Shield (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 33) to cover all types of energy.

 
Drain Heat – 45/48/50/53/55/57.5 points for levels 1-6, plus 7 points for each additional level
Skill: Drain Heat (Will/Hard).
 
You can drain heat from living creatures, replenishing your own inner enegies. You must win a Quick Contest of skill vs. your target’s HT; you are at -1 per yard of distance between you. At level 1, you must concentrate for 30 seconds before rolling; if the subject moved, use the worst distance penalty in that time frame. If you win, you gain 1 FP and the subject loses 1 FP. The FP lost by the victim cannot be regained until the subject is in a warm environment. Draining more FP requires another 30 seconds and another Quick Contest. At level 2, it takes 15 seconds to steal 1 FP. This drops to eight seconds at level 3; four seconds at level 4; two seconds at level 5; and one second at level 6. At level 7 and above, you can drain (level-5) FP from a victim every second; roll a new Quick Contest per second instead of per FP stolen.
Minor fatigue loss is difficult to notice; see Detecting Psi (GURPS Psionic Powers, pp. 11-12) for details. If the subject ever successfully resists, you must wait one hour before attempting to drain him again.
Statistics: Leech 1 (Accelerated Healing, +25%; Based on HT, +20%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Freezing, +20%; Increased Immunity 2, -20%; Malediction 1, +100%; Only Heals FP, -20%; Ranged, +40%; Steal FP, -25%; Takes Extra Time 5, -50%) [45]. Further levels reduce Takes Extra Time, one level at a time [+2.5/level], and then add further levels of Leech [+7.2/level].
 
Far Theft – Hard
Default: Drain Heat-5; cannot exceed Drain Heat.
 
Like the Far Theft technique for Steal Energy (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 51).
 
Freeze – 3 points/level
Skill: Freeze (IQ/Hard).
 
You can touch any liquid water, Concentrate, and instantly freeze it with a skill roll. Critical failure means the transformation happens, but in a way that’s inconvenient or dangerous – the GM should be creative! You can freeze up to 10 x (level squared) lbs. of water – 10 lbs. at level 1, 40 lbs. at level 2, 90 lbs. at level 3, and so on.
For reference, a hex of ice one inch thick weighs 37 pounds. Ice can support weight equal to (50 x square of thickness in inches) pounds.
Statistics: Create (Cryokinesis, -10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost 1, +20%; Transmute Water to Ice, +50%; Transmutation Only, -100%) [3/level].
 
Ranged Freeze – Hard
Default: Freeze-4; cannot exceed Freeze.
 
You may freeze water from a distance. Apply normal range penalties (p. B550) to the water you want to freeze, but you may never freeze water inside a creature.
 
Glacial Infusion – 17/20/23/28 points for levels 1-4
Skill: Glacial Infusion (Will/Hard).
 
You freeze the subject’s flesh, causing the subject to shiver and become numb. Roll a Quick Contest of skill vs. the subject’s HT. If you win, the subject temporarily loses his sense of touch as per the Numb disadvantage (p. B146) and gains Bad Grip 2 (p. B123) for minutes equal to your margin of victory. This ability does not work on creatures not made of flesh, such as skeletons, diffuse beings, plants, constructs, etc.
                At level 1, you must make skin-to-skin contact to use Glacial Infusion. At level 2, any touch will do. At level 3, you can use your ability at range; your skill roll is at -1/yard. At level 4, apply normal range penalties (p. B550) instead.
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on fleshy targets, -10%; Contact Agent, -30%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Disadvantage, Bad Grip 2, +10%; Disadvantage, Numb, +20%; Malediction 1, +100%; Melee Attack, C, Cannot Parry, -35%; No Signature, +20%) [17]. Further levels remove Contact Agent [20], then Melee Attack [23], and then improve Malediction to 2 [28].
 
Brittleness – Hard
Default: Glacial Infusion-5; cannot exceed Glacial Infusion.
 
In addition to normal effects, you make the subject’s flesh brittle. Whenever an injury cripples one of the subject’s limbs or extremities, it breaks off. If the subject can make a HT roll, it falls off in one piece; otherwise, it shatters irrecoverably. Furthermore, should the subject fail any HT roll to avoid death, he is instantly shattered and instantly goes to -10xHP. Additionally, the subject takes double injury from crushing attacks.
 
Selective Glaciation – Hard
Default: Glacial Infusion-2; cannot exceed Glacial Infusion.
 
You can choose to affect only specific body parts instead of the whole subject. For example, you could affect only his left arm, or anything except his head.
 
Ice Slick – 27 points for level 1, plus 6 points for each additional level
Skill: Ice Slick (IQ/Hard).
 
You freeze the moisture in the air or existing water to cover a patch of ground with a thin layer of ice, making it extremely slippery. This may affect an area up to (Ice Slick level)+1 yards in radius. You must touch the edge of the area and make a successful skill roll. Ice slicks are very difficult to see. Anyone not actively watching the ground for ice must make a roll against IQ-3 to notice an ice slick before stepping onto it. All DX-based activities, including attack and defense rolls, are at -2 in the slippery area. In addition, those moving into or through the area must roll against DX-2 every turn or fall; this roll is at +1 if walking at Move/2, +2 at Move/4, and +3 at Move/8 (round down, minimum 0). Critical failure causes 1d-2 injury to a randomly chosen limb.
The ice slick is so thin that it melts in ten seconds, unless the ambient temperature is below freezing. However, you may concentrate to prevent it from melting; in that case, it will only melt 10 seconds after you stop concentrating.
Anyone with Perfect Balance or Terrain Adaptation (Ice) may ignore the effects of this ability. Anything less, including special footwear, doesn’t help. Character on skates can skate (p. B220) on the area of effect.
Statistics: Control Ground Friction 2 (Accessibility, Only to reduce friction, -25%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Environmental, Air/Water, -5%; Persistent, +40%; Visible, -10%) [27]. Additional levels add Control Ground Friction (Accessibility, Only to reduce friction, -25%; Cryokinesis, -10%; Environmental, Air/Water, -5%; Only to increase area, -50%; Persistent, +40%; Visible, -10%) [6/level*]. Note: Based on Control Friction from GURPS Supers.
 
Lingering Ice Slick – Hard
Default: Ice Slick-2; cannot exceed Ice Slick.
 
Your Ice Slick starts melting 30 seconds after you stop concentrating instead of 10 seconds.
 
Ranged Ice Slick – Hard
Default: Ice Slick-4; cannot exceed Ice Slick.
 
You may use Ice Slick from afar. Apply normal range penalties (p. B550) to the edge of the area.
 
Mask Heat – 3.6 points/level
Skill: Mask Heat (IQ/Hard).
 
Identical to the same ability in the Pyrokinesis power.
Statistics: Obscure (Infravision; Cryokinesis, -10%; Defensive, +50%; No Area of Effect, -50%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Stealthy, +100%) [3.6/level].
 

Cryokinesis Perks DR 1 (Limited, Cold, -40%; Partial, Hands, -40%) [1] Chill Factor (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 56) Striking Surface (GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks, p. 12). This represents the character condensing moisture into something resembling ice knuckles. Sure-Footed (Ice) (GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks, p. 8)

 
Additional Cryokinesis Abilities
The following traits require no special modifiers to be Cryokinesis abilities.
- Metabolism Control (Cryokinesis, -10%; Hibernation, -60%) [1.5/level]. No skill needed; passive ability.
- No Cold-Blooded (Cryokinesis, -10%) [5 or 9]. No skill needed; passive ability.
- Protected Power (Cryokinesis, -10%) [5]. No skill needed; passive ability.
- Slippery (Cryokinesis, -10%) [1.8/level]. No skill needed; passive ability.
- Temperature Tolerance (Cryokinesis, -10%) [0.9/level]. No skill needed; passive ability. This represents a reflexive, defensive use of Cryokinesis.
- Terrain Adaptation (Ice; Cryokinesis, -10%) [5]. No skill needed; passive ability.