Mind Powers (FiD)
Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page |
Mind delves into sentience and intelligence. It is the power most associated with normal folk such as humans and alternate humans such as elves, orcs, social aliens, and other sentient creatures and even intelligent objects like control devices all the way up to sentient AI.
Anthropomorphic man is the epitome of mind, a civilized being, part of a society, sapient and cultured if not necessarily human. It represents the end product of evolution and, by extension, ultimate intellect. It can exist independently of life, in machines and undead.
Mind attacks are mental bolts and blades that can only hurt sentient creatures.
Mind Power Effects
Action | Basic No minimum 3 Stress |
Advanced Minimum 2 Dice 5 Stress |
Master Minimum 4 Dice 7 Stress |
Apex Minimum 6 Dice 13 Stress |
Attune | Mind Monitor You can detect sentient creatures and use of mind powers. |
Mindforge You can end the operation of a mind ability. You can summon an spirit skilled in a particular action. These are not creatures, their advice gives +1d on their chosen action. |
Summon Hero You can summon folk from other planes, which is usually alternate realities. This is used to summon heroes in times of crisis. Learning who to summon may require study or be a a score in itself. |
Parallel Plane You can create a portal that allows travel to and from another reality for a limited time. |
Command | Mental Mandate You can command intelligent creatures even if normally couldn't, but you cannot understand them. |
Psyche Parley You and allies can communicate with intelligent creatures. |
Mental Monarchy You can give commands to intelligent creatures as if you were their superior. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts. |
Thought Thrall You can permanently bind intelligent creatures to service. Unless affected by other powers, they will stay in one location and act according to your instructions, like very loyal and literal-minded goons. |
Consort | Pretend Persona You can an assume an identity and reflect it in your actions, such as a healer, noble, merchant etc. This the impression you give without changing your appearance. |
Assume Aspect You assume the form of a normal humanoid, such as humans and variant humans. Add 1d to one action and subtract 1d from all actions covered by an attribute except if you just raised one of them. |
Gift of Guise You can shapechange a willing or helpless creatures into any humanoid. This can be a curse, it can be broken but it is not easy. You can easily break the effect. |
Gift of Gab You can give sentience and intelligence to non-sentient creatures, giving them roughly human intellect. |
Finesse | Psychic Saddle If there is an intelligent (but not sentient) mount or vehicle, you can ride it as if it was domesticated and you had the keys. |
Neural Needle You can use the power as a fine and potent close-range attack, similar in effect to a fine potent dueling sword or pistol. |
Neural Nudge You can do fine manipulation of the power, allowing you to do send small and exact suggestions to intelligent creatures. This allows you to make others open doors and perform other minor manipulations. |
Psyche Surge Your power manifests like a storm of blades, suppressing the effect of multiple opponents and acting as a fine potent weapon. |
Hunt | Trace Thought You can focus on a particular thought and vaguely sense and track creatures that share this thought. |
Mental Marksman You can use your power to attack, similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle doing mental damage. |
Cognitive Cascade You can use your power to attack similar to a fine and potent grenade. This allows you to fight many creatures in the same area very effectively, but there is a risk of collateral damage. |
Cognitive Cataclysm You call down the equivalent of a fine potent artillery barrage, attacking everything and intelligent creature in a wide area. |
Prowl | Psychic Pursuit You can hide in crowds and identify someone you know when you see them, even if normal identification is not possible. |
Astral Ascent You can detach your astral body, which is immaterial, transparent, and can hover. Any attack scatters it and sends your consciousness back to your body. While you project your astral body, your physical body is like an automaton; it can be led but takes no actions. |
Astral Adventure You send your and allies' astral bodies to any location you know of or into the presence of any creature you know. |
Astral Gateway You send your and allies' astral bodies to other planes, into someone's dream, and other mystic locations not of this world. |
Skirmish | Mental Melee You can use the power as a close-range mental attack, similar in effect to a melee weapon or pistol. |
Psychic Strike Same as Skirmish Attack, except the weapon is fine and potent. |
Cognitive Cover Your power creates distractions that prevents an intelligent enemy from benefiting from numbers and otherwise works as a fine potent weapon. |
Mental Storm Your power strikes out in all directions, attacking all enemies in a wide area. |
Study | Identify Intellect You can identify intelligent objects and creatures. |
Analyze Intellect You learn the powers and abilities of something you analyze. |
Past Perception You can read the past events of something you analyze. This includes previous owners and how the object has been moved around as well as significant scenes. |
Universal Understanding You research everything in a wide area. This is easy to do where you are, more difficult at range. You can then use hindsight on some of these targets. |
Survey | Thought Trace You can sense manifestations of the mind power at a distance and understand their general nature. This works even when you can't see the target, but both range and information suffers. |
Astral Assembly Choose an ally; you can send your astral body to their location. See prowl: Astral Ascent. |
Astral Audience Choose a location or creature. You send your astral body to that location. |
Psychic Panorama You perceive from all intelligent creatures at once over a wide area. As long as you concentrate you retain this perception and can report what you see to others. |
Sway | Intellectual Intuition You can understand intelligent creatures even if normally couldn't, and gauge their motivations. |
Intelligent Interpreter You and allies can communicate with intelligent creatures. |
Eloquent Enchantment You can post suggestions in the mind of intelligent creatures, which will be triggered under conditions you specify. Common suggestions are to steal something, attack someone, or ignore some event. This is a subtle power, but easier to spot once triggered. |
Cognitive Conversion You change the personality and motivations of intelligent creatures. This power is permanent, but blatant. The target remember their past, but regard it as unimportant compared to their new motivations. |
Tinker | Automation You imbue mind into objects. Handle can create simple triggers, like a push button. |
Create Cognition You can imbue limited intelligence in an object, allowing it to sense a situation nearby and react by directing whatever abilities the item may have or send a mental alarm. |
Install Intellect You can imbue limited intelligence able to hold simple conversations. With Attune: Mindforge you can make sentient items. |
Mass Mind This is similar to create, above, but you mass produce intelligent objects, even a set of different objects. |
Wreck | Disrupt Device You mess with intelligence in items, that is their ability to react to the environment. Noisy and leaves the damaged object in place. |
Sabotage System Similar to Disrupt Device. Can also mess with control surfaces like buttons or steering. |
Silent Sabotage Similar to Sabotage System, but destroyed targets are disabled silently or you can remove certain functions from them, such as the ability to sense you and allies. |
Terminate Tech Similar to Sabotage System, but over a large area. This can negate control devices over a large area, forcing everyone to rely on manual handling of objects. |
Expanded Mind Powers
Expanded descriptions of effects that differ significantly from Typical Powers.
Attune
Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from other planes of existence.
Perceive: You gain the ability to detect supernatural creatures and powers. Your senses become attuned to the chaotic energies that permeate the world, allowing you to perceive entities and phenomena that are beyond the ordinary senses of mortals.
Dismiss: Through sheer force of will, you can compel any creature native to another plane of existence to return to that plane, or to cease the operation of any power. By disrupting the connection between the target and their plane of origin, you can banish them from the mortal realm or neutralize their abilities.
Summon: By tapping into the chaotic forces of other planes, you can call forth creatures from realms of pure chaos. However, these summoned beings are generally unwilling servants, and their obedience may be tenuous at best. You can issue them a single command, which they must obey, but maintaining control over them beyond that initial command may require further study or even a separate score.
Gate: With the power of Gate, you can create temporary portals that allow travel to and from chaotic planes of existence. These portals are unpredictable in nature, and the destination may vary each time they are opened. Exercise caution when using this power, as it can lead to encounters with beings of immense power and unpredictability.
Command
Assume control over intelligent beings and shape the course of events to your will.
Mental Mandate You can command intelligent creatures even if normally couldn't, but you cannot understand them.
Psyche Parley You and allies can communicate with intelligent creatures.
Mental Monarchy You can give commands to intelligent creatures as if you were their superior. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts.
Thought Thrall You can permanently bind intelligent creatures to service. Unless affected by other powers, they will stay in one location and act according to your instructions, like very loyal and literal-minded goons.
Consort
Influence and manipulate social situations to your advantage.
Pretend Persona You can assume an identity and reflect it in your actions, such as a healer, noble, merchant etc. This the impression you give without changing your appearance.
Assume Aspect You assume the form of a normal humanoid, such as humans and variant humans. Add 1d to one action and subtract 1d from all actions covered by an attribute except if you just raised one of them.
Gift of Guise You can shapechange a willing or helpless creatures into any humanoid. This can be a curse, it can be broken but it is not easy. You can easily break the effect.
Gift of Gab You can give sentience and intelligence to non-sentient creatures, giving them roughly human intellect.
Finesse
Master subtle and precise applications of your powers to achieve your goals.
Psychic Saddle If there is an intelligent (but not sentient) mount or vehicle, you can ride it as if it was domesticated and you had the keys.
Neural Needle You can use the power as a fine and potent close-range attack, similar in effect to a fine potent dueling sword or pistol.
Neural Nudge You can do fine manipulation of the power, allowing you to do send small and exact suggestions to intelligent creatures. This allows you to make others open doors and perform other minor manipulations.
Psyche Surge Your power manifests like a storm of blades, suppressing the effect of multiple opponents and acting as a fine potent weapon.
Hunt
Track down targets and unleash the power of your mind in combat.
Trace Thought You can focus on a particular thought and vaguely sense and track creatures that share this thought.
Mental Marksman You can use your power to attack, similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle doing mental damage.
Cognitive Cascade You can use your power to attack similar to a fine and potent grenade. This allows you to fight many creatures in the same area very effectively, but there is a risk of collateral damage.
Cognitive Cataclysm You call down the equivalent of a fine potent artillery barrage, attacking everything and intelligent creature in a wide area.
Prowl
Navigate unseen realms and explore the depths of consciousness.
Psychic Pursuit You can hide in crowds and identify someone you know when you see them, even if normal identification is not possible.
Astral Ascent You can detach your astral body, which is immaterial, transparent, and can hover. Any attack scatters it and sends your consciousness back to your body. While you project your astral body, your physical body is like an automaton; it can be led but takes no actions.
Astral Adventure You send your and allies' astral bodies to any location you know of or into the presence of any creature you know.
Astral Gateway You send your and allies' astral bodies to other planes, into someone's dream, and other mystic locations not of this world.
Skirmish
Engage in mental combat with precision and finesse.
Mental Melee You can use the power as a close-range mental attack, similar in effect to a melee weapon or pistol.
Psychic Strike Same as Skirmish Attack, except the weapon is fine and potent.
Cognitive Cover Your power creates distractions that prevents an intelligent enemy from benefiting from numbers and otherwise works as a fine potent weapon.
Mental Storm Your power strikes out in all directions, attacking all enemies in a wide area.
Study
Uncover secrets and unlock the potential of your intellect.
Identify Intellect You can identify intelligent objects and creatures.
Analyze Intellect You learn the powers and abilities of something you analyze.
Past Perception You can read the past events of something you analyze. This includes previous owners and how the object has been moved around as well as significant scenes.
Universal Understanding You research everything in a wide area. This is easy to do where you are, more difficult at range. You can then use hindsight on some of these targets.