Blackmoor Vituperative

More from Bulletproof Blues: Telekinesis. My co-author Susan was a great help in clarifying this. I think this is a huge improvement.

Telekinesis

Activation: Attack
Task roll: Accuracy
Target: Single Target
Range: Ranged
Cost: 1 character point per rank

Telekinesis permits a character to move objects at range. The maximum mass the character can lift with their Telekinesis is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table and look up the corresponding value in the “Lifts” column. Telekinesis is not normally able to inflict damage directly (to do so, use Blast), but it may be used to squeeze a target or smash a target into unyielding surfaces.

Telekinesis may be targeted using either Accuracy or Willpower. The attribute used by the attacker to hit the target must be chosen when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

Using Telekinesis requires an Accuracy (or Willpower) task roll against the Agility of the intended target. Grabbing inanimate objects with Telekinesis is generally automatic, unless the GM wants to make it difficult for some reason. To break free of the Telekinesis, the target must make a successful Brawn task roll against the rank of the Telekinesis.

If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Telekinesis is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking free of it. For example, if a character is being held by a rank 6 Telekinesis, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8 ) to break free of the Telekinesis.

If the defender succeeds at the Brawn task roll to break free, they may use their remaining movement action. If the character being held with Telekinesis gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break free as a free action instead of a task action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Telekinesis, they would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8 ). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking free is simply a free action. If the defender has Telekinesis, they may use the rank of their own Telekinesis in lieu of their Brawn to break free.

Characters being held by Telekinesis are considered “restrained”. A restrained character is not helpless, but they can’t use normal movement until they break free of the Telekinesis. Attacking the held character is easier (attackers gain a +3 attack bonus when attacking the held character), and their attacks are easier to avoid (defenders gain a +3 defense bonus when the held character attacks them).

A character with Telekinesis may either squeeze or move what they are holding with the power.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to exert strength in an attempt to hurt the held character, the compression causes Endurance damage, and the damage rating (DR) of this attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Telekinesis. Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating of the Telekinesis. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to move the held character, the distance an attacker may move the defender is based on the Telekinesis of the attacker and the mass of the defender. First, look up the mass of the defender or object to be moved in the “Lifts” column of the Benchmarks table (rounding to the nearest weight value), and find the corresponding rank for that weight. Subtract that rank from the Telekinesis of the attacker, and look up that resulting rank in the Benchmarks table. Find the corresponding distance in the “Throws” column. This is how far the attacker could move an object of that weight in one round. This rank is also the damage rating (DR) of the impact if the attacker makes the defender hit a solid object such as a wall or the ground. Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

Example:

Darkmind has Telekinesis 7, and wants to move Stone. Stone weighs 800 pounds, which would be rank 4 in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table. Subtracting 4 from Darkmind’s rank 7 Telekinesis gives us rank 3. Consulting the “Throws” column for rank 3, we find that Darkmind can move Stone 25 feet per round.

Darkmind uses Telekinesis to smash Stone into an armored car. The impact has a damage rating of 3. After subtracting Stone’s rank 7 Invulnerability, the attack does no damage to Stone at all. The armored car has Invulnerability rank 8. It is rocked on its wheels a bit, but suffers no real damage from having Stone smashed into it.