Today’s post contains some cinematic techniques from Pyramid 3/54 as Telepathy techniques and a new Telepathy ability. Note that the techniques become supernatural in nature, so Rule of 16 applies. The lunch isn’t free.

Aspect

Appealing Aspect

Hard

Default: Aspect-6; cannot exceed Aspect.

This technique is identical to the Fascination technique from Pyramid 3/54 p.7 except that you make only a single quick contest of Appealing Aspect (plus your Aspect level) vs Will, it has the normal drawbacks of a psi technique.

Regal Aspect

Hard

Default: Aspect-6; cannot exceed Aspect.

This technique is identical to the Power Gaze technique from Pyramid 3/54 p.7 except that you make only a single quick contest of Regal Aspect (plus your Aspect level) vs Will and it has the normal drawbacks of a psi technique.

Allure

6/7 points for levels 1 and 2

Skill: Allure (Will/Hard)

You can manipulate the perceptions of people around you so that they find your voice appealing. Make a quick contest of Allure vs Will at a bonus based on the standard range modifiers. Anyone who fails and can hear you reacts to you at +2, and you get +2 to use the skills mentioned in the Voice advantage (B97) against the subjects of this ability.

At level 2, use the long distance modifiers (B241).

Statistics: Voice (Requires Will vs Will Roll, -15%; Selective Area; Short-Ranged 2, -20%; Telepathy, -10%) [6]. Level two replaces Short-Ranged 2, -20% with Short-Ranged 1, -10%[+1].

Beguiling Words

Hard

Default: Allure-6; cannot exceed Allure.

This technique is identical to the Beguilement technique from Pyramid 3/54 p.6 except that you make only a single quick contest of Beguiling Words vs Will and it has the normal drawbacks of a psi technique.

Resonating Performance

Hard

Default: Allure-6; cannot exceed Allure.

This technique is identical to the Resonance technique from Pyramid 3/54 p.7 except that you make only a single quick contest of Resonating Speech vs Will and it has the normal drawbacks of a psi technique. You still need to make a performance and roll against the appropriate Resonance prerequisite skill to have something for the audience to remember.

Designer Notes

The techniques are simple the cinematic techniques from the Civil Arts in GURPS article at an extra -1 penalty for skill substitution. Aspect grants the Charisma advantage while Allure grants the Voice advantage, so already nearly supernatural techniques using those advantages as prerequisites seemed like natural choices for psi techniques. I didn’t want to add a second quick contest and decided that the normal psi technique drawbacks (Extra-Effort risks, FP cost, Rule of 16, etc.) were a decent trade off for avoiding an extra roll.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.