Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

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Hotrod
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Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Hotrod »

I have a character concept I've been playing with that I'd like to develop a backstory for:a Psyscape native who is a Cyber-Knight.

There are some canonical issues with this. According to Erin Tarn, PsyScape disappeared about 80-100 years before the P.A. calendar started, which would put it about 190-210 years ago (Psyscape p14). The "God's-eye view" narration at the start of the section on Psyscape itself state that they stopped Nxla and the Harvesters 270 years ago and spent another 80 years rooting out the Harvesters, which would have them disappear 190 years ago (Psyscape, p24), or about 80 years before the P.A. calendar. According to RUE p61, this is almost the same time as when the Cyber-Knights first appeared.

It's an interesting that the disappearance of Psyscape coincided with the appearance of the Cyber-knights. I'd be interested in ideas on why that might have happened. Anyways, I have a few ideas for making a Psyscape native into a Cyber-Knight:

1. One of the first Cyber-Knights might have been taken into Psyscape just before it disappeared. Perhaps the knight was wounded and taken there to heal, or perhaps the knight fell in love with a Psyscape native and couldn't bear to be parted. Either way, such a knight might pass on the cyber-knight traditions down in isolation.

2. A Cyber-Knight might have gained entry to Psyscape during its disappearance. Psyscape exists in the astral plane, and it might be possible for a knight with the power of Astral Projection to find it. It might also be that Psyscape occasionally sent out scouts during its long absence, and a knight accompanied a scout back to the city.

3. A native of Psyscape may have escaped the city during its absence. 16% of the city is not psychic, and of those, 20% have magic O.C.C.'s. It's not crazy that a stir-crazy youth who's sick of chilling in a place where not much is going on might get one of those magic users to transport him or her out of the city.

Thoughts?
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Father Goose »

They all seem plausible to me. Question though: why a cyber-knight and not a psi-warrior (as they are canonically from Psyscape)?
taalismn wrote:Hey, you came up with a novel, attention-getting idea, you did the legwork, you worked it through, you made it fit the setting, even though initial thought might be 'nah, it can't work, it's too silly/stupid/lame', and you posted something that only required a little adjustment, yet can be added to, without diluting its original concept. How can we not give you due support and credit?
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Mack »

Never let a bit of canon text get in the way of a good character concept!

Personally I'd go with the first one.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

1. A Master Psychic Cyber-Knight from the order's beginnings isolated in Psyscape could serve as a decent secret history of the origin of the Psi-Warriors. As an alternate to 2., perhaps the monastery Xanatoa where some P-W are trained isn't in the Astral Realm as some suspect, but is the Dream Pool of an ancient Immortal of Sleep. This wouldn't be the worst way to introduce some HtH styles not found in N.America, particularly for use by citizens incapable of developing Master Psychic abilities or as a substitution for the Cyber-Knight's anti-tech mishmash.

2. I'm currently spending time compiling a list of all the mentions of Astral stuff in Palladium, so given Psyscape's dimension-straddling nature am biased towards development in that area. To the extent that abilities from other settings such as Astral Navigation/Transference are seen as being in keeping with Rifts the more novel approaches to in-setting specifics can be developed. Run of the mill Astral Domains such as mentioned in IIRC Merctown's Magic Guild notwithstanding, coterminous astral locales similar to Psyscape are found in Fadetowns, the Yucatan, presumably the mists surrounding much of China and Japan, and if it had been written likely the Australian Dreamtime. Detailing these unique interactions, perhaps along with D-Shifting areas such as Tennessee and the Rockies could fill out a World/Dimension Book.

3. There are more magic users in Psyscape than that. Only 42% of the population are Master Psychics. Admittedly, the Master Psychic O.C.C.s/R.C.C.s chart on pg 29 is screwed up for not including the Yhabbayar, Psi-Stalkers, CS mutant animals, and other Master Psychic R.C.C.s that would account for at least a third of the total, but save for O.C.C.s like the Mystic most of the people with non-psychic O.C.C.s are still psychic.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Father Goose »

Mack wrote:Never let a bit of canon text get in the way of a good character concept!

Personally I'd go with the first one.


I wholeheartedly agree, but I also like to know the reasoning behind any departure from canon. It helps to better understand the concept.
taalismn wrote:Hey, you came up with a novel, attention-getting idea, you did the legwork, you worked it through, you made it fit the setting, even though initial thought might be 'nah, it can't work, it's too silly/stupid/lame', and you posted something that only required a little adjustment, yet can be added to, without diluting its original concept. How can we not give you due support and credit?
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Hotrod »

Father Goose wrote:They all seem plausible to me. Question though: why a cyber-knight and not a psi-warrior (as they are canonically from Psyscape)?


Good question! I have four reasons:
First and probably foremost, I just don't care much for psi-warriors. As a concept, they don't make a lot of sense; I can't think of any military or martial school that ever said "Here, you've completed all this arduous training, now go do whatever you want with it, and don't worry about any standard code of ethics, behavior, or authority." I get a vibe that they're kind of like a martial artist, but mostly, they seem sort of milquetoast psychic warriors, and there are a lot of more interesting varieties of those out there. Warriors should train for a specific purpose. Art-wise, their presentation doesn't grab me. Mechanics-wise, they have nothing particularly interesting or special about them that you couldn't get just by playing a Mind Melter with a combat focus (and I suspect a Mind Melter with a combat focus would be better than a Psi-Warrior).

Second, I like the idea of having a character who is a bit of an outsider and dissident in the so-called utopia of Psyscape. The city in the mist detached itself from the world for almost two centuries in a way that seems deliberate, and for a city of heroes, this decision seems strange. Their policy of only opening themselves to the outside world when Nxla and Harvesters are about seems strange to me, especially for a society with a heroic reputation. I like the idea of a character who's interested in other threats beyond Nxla, one who rejects the isolationism of Psyscape. In this vein, I also like the idea of the character being a psi-stalker who feels an instinctive desire to hunt , and has grown up surrounded by psychics who, though valid prey for psi-stalkers, are off-limits in the peaceful society of Psyscape.

Third, Cyber-Knights are one of my favorite classes in Rifts. I love how they blend the supernatural with the high-tech as modern warrior with medieval ideals. I find them simultaneously inspiring and tragic. I also like the idea of using this character who has heard a great deal about the world of Rifts, but who has no experience in the world of Rifts.

Finally, in a power-gaming sense, I like the idea of combining and synergizing the abilities and bonuses of Psyscape natives, cyber-knights, and maybe psi-stalkers to create a potent melee-focused monster hunter. The idea of having an early-type of cyber-knight get stuck in Psyscape and starting his own offshoot is doubly appealing to me as a way to either modify or eliminate Zen Combat out of the character without impacting the broader setting; I dislike Zen Combat for reasons of both lore and mechanics.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Father Goose »

Hotrod wrote:
Father Goose wrote:They all seem plausible to me. Question though: why a cyber-knight and not a psi-warrior (as they are canonically from Psyscape)?


Good question! I have four reasons:
First and probably foremost, I just don't care much for psi-warriors. As a concept, they don't make a lot of sense; I can't think of any military or martial school that ever said "Here, you've completed all this arduous training, now go do whatever you want with it, and don't worry about any standard code of ethics, behavior, or authority." I get a vibe that they're kind of like a martial artist, but mostly, they seem sort of milquetoast psychic warriors, and there are a lot of more interesting varieties of those out there. Warriors should train for a specific purpose. Art-wise, their presentation doesn't grab me. Mechanics-wise, they have nothing particularly interesting or special about them that you couldn't get just by playing a Mind Melter with a combat focus (and I suspect a Mind Melter with a combat focus would be better than a Psi-Warrior).

Second, I like the idea of having a character who is a bit of an outsider and dissident in the so-called utopia of Psyscape. The city in the mist detached itself from the world for almost two centuries in a way that seems deliberate, and for a city of heroes, this decision seems strange. Their policy of only opening themselves to the outside world when Nxla and Harvesters are about seems strange to me, especially for a society with a heroic reputation. I like the idea of a character who's interested in other threats beyond Nxla, one who rejects the isolationism of Psyscape. In this vein, I also like the idea of the character being a psi-stalker who feels an instinctive desire to hunt , and has grown up surrounded by psychics who, though valid prey for psi-stalkers, are off-limits in the peaceful society of Psyscape.

Third, Cyber-Knights are one of my favorite classes in Rifts. I love how they blend the supernatural with the high-tech as modern warrior with medieval ideals. I find them simultaneously inspiring and tragic. I also like the idea of using this character who has heard a great deal about the world of Rifts, but who has no experience in the world of Rifts.

Finally, in a power-gaming sense, I like the idea of combining and synergizing the abilities and bonuses of Psyscape natives, cyber-knights, and maybe psi-stalkers to create a potent melee-focused monster hunter. The idea of having an early-type of cyber-knight get stuck in Psyscape and starting his own offshoot is doubly appealing to me as a way to either modify or eliminate Zen Combat out of the character without impacting the broader setting; I dislike Zen Combat for reasons of both lore and mechanics.


I can get behind every part of this explanation and would love to either GM or play along side this character.
I also dislike Zen Combat. It is clunky and too hard to implement in anything other than a straight forward one-on-one fight.
Based on your explanation, I think you know which backstory best fits the character and I hope you get the chance to play him.
taalismn wrote:Hey, you came up with a novel, attention-getting idea, you did the legwork, you worked it through, you made it fit the setting, even though initial thought might be 'nah, it can't work, it's too silly/stupid/lame', and you posted something that only required a little adjustment, yet can be added to, without diluting its original concept. How can we not give you due support and credit?
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Father Goose »

Also, I would love to see you write up an alternative version of the Cyber-Knight OCC for those descended from the teachings of the Psyscape school. Complete with backstory, modified Code, and lack of Zen Combat nonsense.
taalismn wrote:Hey, you came up with a novel, attention-getting idea, you did the legwork, you worked it through, you made it fit the setting, even though initial thought might be 'nah, it can't work, it's too silly/stupid/lame', and you posted something that only required a little adjustment, yet can be added to, without diluting its original concept. How can we not give you due support and credit?
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

Hotrod wrote:Mechanics-wise, they have nothing particularly interesting or special about them that you couldn't get just by playing a Mind Melter with a combat focus (and I suspect a Mind Melter with a combat focus would be better than a Psi-Warrior).

Well lets put that to the test then.

Skills:
The Psi-warrior starts with HTH: Martial Arts and 5 WP (4 are of choice) vs Mind Melter's Basic and 1 WP (of choice). Starting the Mind Melter has more Related and Secondary Skills to choose from than the Psi-Warrior, but by Level 15 they are even in terms of Related Skills and the MM has more than double the Secondary Skills. The MM could expend Skills to match the Psi-Warrior's HTH level and diversity of WP they get from their OCC for a total of 6 Skills (more to match the OCC listing). It should also be noted the Psi-Warrior has access of Physical Skills the Mind Melter does not (who can take Sniper which the Psi-Warrior can not), and receives bonuses in some Skill Categories related to combat focus.

So on this front the Mind Melter could match a Psi-Warrior in terms of Skills, but it would require more of an investment to reach which and might still not match a Psi-Warrior build completely (at the same level).

Power Selection:
At 1st Level the Psi-Warrior has half of the quantity of powers the Mind Melter has, and to boot no Super Category. However by Level 15 the Psi-Warrior has a total of 49 Psi-Powers (8 of which are Super Category) versus the Mind Melter's 48 total Psi-Powers (7 of which are Super, but depending on selection can have upto 22 additional Super). In terms of diversity/selection the Mind Melter is superior.

Neglecting ME attribute scores or other variable sources, the Psi-Warrior starts with 120 ISP vs the Mind Melter's 180 ISP assuming a max roll (min. is 30 each), by Level 15 it's 232v320. So on average the Mind Melter is going to have more ISP available to them before factoring in ME score (neither get a bonus to ME) or other factors like Implants (Bio-Wiz or otherwise) or training training (3rd Eye or CS for ex) that would wash if both had them.

Here the Mind Melter wins out in terms of raw power. They can also match a Psi-Warrior in terms of powers selected, and might get powers earlier than the Psi-Warrior or powers that the Psi-Warrior doesn't get that could have a combat focus/use.

Class Bonuses (before Attribute scores or Skill modifiers are considered):
The Psi-Warrior receives bonuses to Strike, Parry, Initiative, and Attacks when they use the Psi-Shield or Psi-Sword powers (not all bonuses apply to both powers) and the Mind Melter does not. There is also a note that the Psi-Warrior can use the Psi-Shield to parry projectile/energy-blasts (at penalty), something a Mind Melter can not do based on the power description.

The Psi-Warrior also receives better bonuses (in total) to Disarm, Pull Punch, Dodge, Roll with Punch than the Mind Melter.

The Psi-Warrior also receives a bonus to Save vs Comma/Death, the Mind Melter does not. The Psi-Warrior by Level 15 is superior to the Mind Melter's Save vs Possession bonus. The Mind Melter however has superior Save vs Magic Illusion, Save vs all types of Mind Control, and Save vs Horror Factor by Level 15.

The Psi-Warrior also gains starting attribute bonuses (PS and PE certainly are combat orientated attributes), the Mind Melter does not.

This is comparing the Psi-Warrior and the Mind Melter as they both appear in WB12 Psycape (RMB era), the RUE update to the Mind Melter alters things slightly as they get a bonus to strike (general) and the Psi-Warrior does not (I do not know if WB12 received a RUE shadow update that preserves RMB advantage or not), the RUE-MM is also better at Disarm and Initiative (general) now, with the rest remaining the same (they also get a Perception Bonus, a mechanic that did not exist in WB12). Given we are looking at combat focus, the Psi-Warrior has more diverse bonuses as they apply to combat (though in specific cases a MM could still be superior).

Hotrod wrote: The idea of having an early-type of cyber-knight get stuck in Psyscape and starting his own offshoot is doubly appealing to me as a way to either modify or eliminate Zen Combat out of the character without impacting the broader setting; I dislike Zen Combat for reasons of both lore and mechanics.

Not that I disagree about Zen Combat in general, though I find it easier to just drop it entirely or convert the lower level stuff into leveled class bonuses and drop the rest (maybe drop Level 3 but Level 4 and above is definite in terms of drop. Level 1 doesn't do anything and Level two is basically they get a WP, Level 4 is when then mechanic issues arise).
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Mack »

The thing about Psi-Warriors that always bugged me is the lack of choice in selecting psionics. You get 'em when the books says, and that's pretty much it. For me it was a huge turn off as there are certain powers I would want much earlier.

So, yea, I'd take the MM with a combat focus, a Master Psi Cyber Knight, or a Super-Spy (Psi) before considering Psi-Warrior.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Hotrod »

ShadowLogan wrote:
Hotrod wrote:Mechanics-wise, they have nothing particularly interesting or special about them that you couldn't get just by playing a Mind Melter with a combat focus (and I suspect a Mind Melter with a combat focus would be better than a Psi-Warrior).

Well lets put that to the test then.
{snip}

Excellent breakdown. They come out to be more even in combat and total powers count than I would have thought. That said, I agree with Mack; the infliexibility of the "you will get X power at level y" approach is another strike against this class for me. I'm confident that a purpose-built combat-focused Mind Melter would have a clear advantage over a Psi-Warrior in the early levels and sustain that advantage in the mid-levels. Even at high levels, the Mind Melter's selection of super-psionics and higher ISP would win out; they just have too many weapons to make this a favorable comparison.

ShadowLogan wrote:
Hotrod wrote: The idea of having an early-type of cyber-knight get stuck in Psyscape and starting his own offshoot is doubly appealing to me as a way to either modify or eliminate Zen Combat out of the character without impacting the broader setting; I dislike Zen Combat for reasons of both lore and mechanics.

Not that I disagree about Zen Combat in general, though I find it easier to just drop it entirely or convert the lower level stuff into leveled class bonuses and drop the rest (maybe drop Level 3 but Level 4 and above is definite in terms of drop. Level 1 doesn't do anything and Level two is basically they get a WP, Level 4 is when then mechanic issues arise).


I have two solutions for my issues with Zen Combat, either of which address the key problems I have with it:
1. Keep most of Zen Combat as written, but replace all initiative and anti-tech bonuses with Counter-Dodge, an ability that allows CK's to simultaneously automatically dodge a ranged attack and counterattack in the same move (costing no action).
2. Scrap Zen Combat entirely. In its place, use the mechanics of Hand-to-Hand: Commando or one of the eastern sword-based martial arts from Rifts: Japan.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by HWalsh »

I stopped reading once the words "power gaming sense" were uttered.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

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HWalsh wrote:I stopped reading once the words "power gaming sense" were uttered.

Would you prefer "mechanics sense" or "synergizing abilities sense?" The idea is to make a player character who specializes in hunting and killing supernatural foes up close. I wanted to optimize and focus these character traits in ways that are consistent with the lore of the setting and the mechanics of the game.

As a cyber-knight, this character will be someone folks naturally gravitate to when they have a monster nearby that needs slaying. Cyber-knights also have a great skill-set for hunting the supernatural.
As a psi-stalker, this character can feed on P.P.E., become M.D.C. during a fight with the supernatural (in addition to the cyber-armor), can sense/track the supernatural, and instinctively wants to hunt the supernatural. As a psi-stalker, this character is automatically a master psionic and therefore gets the highest possible damage option for the psi-sword.
As a native of Psyscape, this character is raised in a community that's big on hunting/killing the supernatural and can (even if not a psi-stalker) sense/track the supernatural and gains some useful bonuses (especially with the "double one ability's power" perk applied to the psi-sword).

A major focus of this combination is upping the damage of the psi-sword to something that can be a serious threat. At first level, the character's psi-sword would only do 2D6 damage, but it would ramp up fast: 4D6 at second level, 6D6 at third, 8D6 at fifth level, 10D6 or 1D6x10 at sixth, and so on. At 15th level, this character would do 20D6 or 2D6x10 per swing. While the regular psi-sword power could also be optimized in a similar way, I prefer the Cyber-Knight version.

Of course, we'd also have to consider the bonuses from being a Cyber-Knight, Psyscape native, and Psi-Stalker, which would make this character potent in an up-close, dismounted fight, especially against the supernatural. We'd have to figure out which bonuses to keep and which to get rid of from the Psi-Stalker, and how the other psionic power selection would work.

This character would also come with some drawbacks. In a roleplaying sense, the character would have no experience in the wider world, having only lived in the isolation of Psyscape. In a mechanics sense, the character would have to feed on P.P.E. like any other psi-stalker. In a setting sense, the character would be something of an oddball among Cyber-Knights (whose training/traditions have likely evolved), the people of Psyscape (who are natural prey for Psi-Stalkers), Psi-Stalker communities (cyber-knight stalkers are rare and weird); the character would have some ties within all three communities, but would always be something of an outsider.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

Presuming the Third Eye Bonus single power multiplier went to the Psi-Sword it just keeps a Psi-Stalker Cyber-Knight in pace with a dedicated melee character wielding a magic sword. How the bonuses to Sensitive abilties might interact perhaps warrants a look, but I think the other Psyscape native abilities are what's actually interesting, none of which are that crunchy. How would a character balance an intrinsic need to hunt with the better angels of their nature, particularly when they constantly are emitting their emotional state such that it might negatively impact the ability to address that need? I could see the character responding to the stressors of their nature in several ways: by fully embracing their passions, abnegating them, or even paradoxically learning to feel in a way counter to their inclination, so as to best optimize their efforts spent hunting. Similarly, the Dreamvision of Psyscape natives is almost tailor made for the Cyber-Knight lore, and lends further weight to my earlier suggestion of incorporating elements of the Dreamstream or an Immortal of Sleep.

One thing I noted when looking through Psyscape is an arguable lack of technological focus. With the exception of Psi-Techs and Psi-Ghosts, the latter of which being mutants who would have come to the community after its return, none of the O.C.C.s go much beyond modern W.P.s in terms of tech skills. The description of the city doesn't lend itself to such either. To whatever degree one thinks of Cyber-Knights as engaging with high technology I'd consider if one coming from Psyscape might do so to a different extent. At the very least it might reflect on how the C-K's Cyber-Armor is different than the standard.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Axelmania »

seems plausible that a Psi-Warrior or two might've encountered Coake and been one of the ones to teach him to psi-sword
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Hotrod »

Curbludgeon wrote:Presuming the Third Eye Bonus single power multiplier went to the Psi-Sword it just keeps a Psi-Stalker Cyber-Knight in pace with a dedicated melee character wielding a magic sword.

I rather like the way that this character's psi-sword power would grow over time from the equivalent of a decent pistol at level 1 to the equivalent of a powerful pulse weapon at level 6 to the impact of a medium-range missile at level 15 (which the character could double with a second psi-sword and a dual attack). There are few abilities and weapons in Rifts I can think of that scale that well.

Curbludgeon wrote:How the bonuses to Sensitive abilties might interact perhaps warrants a look, but I think the other Psyscape native abilities are what's actually interesting, none of which are that crunchy. How would a character balance an intrinsic need to hunt with the better angels of their nature, particularly when they constantly are emitting their emotional state such that it might negatively impact the ability to address that need? I could see the character responding to the stressors of their nature in several ways: by fully embracing their passions, abnegating them, or even paradoxically learning to feel in a way counter to their inclination, so as to best optimize their efforts spent hunting.

That is a fascinating character concept; I hadn't realized that the Psyscape natives' "radiate their nature" power was constantly on. The 100 ft range to other psychics and 12 foot range to nonpsychics would mean that anyone within melee range would pick up the character's emotional signals. This could work against the character while hunting supernatural prey, providing that prey with an early warning and making sneak attacks impossible unless the character has learned to control and discipline his mind and instincts. Some ideas on this:

The character might take the gambling skill twice and specialize in poker or something like it that requires bluffing. Ironically, the character would be something of a compulsive gambler not because he's hooked on the thrill, but because he knows he needs practice controlling the thrill. One might tie that gambling skill % to his ability to control his emotions as an extra requirement for close-quarters sneak attacks. This might lead the character to enjoy the act of bluffing a little too much.

The character might focus emotional energy through some kind of art: a musical instrument, dance, singing, painting, sculpting, poetry, or some combination thereof. This "warrior artist" could create art as a method of coping with his instincts and emotions. Selecting the appropriate skill/s twice might allow the character, with a successful artistic skill roll, to channel emotion into the creative process and achieve a state of controlled calm for a certain period of time.

If the character takes the Total Recall power, the character could call up and relive memories of powerful emotional and/or traumatic memories as a way to deplete emotional energy and achieve a state of calm. This practice could also result in the character being especially affected by these memories and motivated by them, making the character more focused on following through with the urge to respond to these memories than most people would. Forgiving might be an option for this character, but forgetting would not be, and the character might be particularly focused to the point of near obsession on not allowing certain types of events to happen, and it might be impossible to mask feelings of vengeance when a situation is similar to the traumatic memory of the character.

Exercise and physical competition might be a big thing for this character, which would support the player selecting lots of physical skills. This would help focus the character that much more on close combat, but it might also lead to the character regularly challenging those around him to contests of skill, strength, or endurance. A satisfactory contest (not necessarily a win) might give the character control over his emotions for a certain period of time.


Curbludgeon wrote:Similarly, the Dreamvision of Psyscape natives is almost tailor made for the Cyber-Knight lore, and lends further weight to my earlier suggestion of incorporating elements of the Dreamstream or an Immortal of Sleep.

I would see the Dreamvision power as a source of great frustration for this character; a true kindred spirit would be rare. This character would be too disciplined to find many kindred spirits among other psi-stalkers. Even among other cyber-knights, the instincts and passions of the character might be too much to find more than a scant few kindred spirits among Coake's followers. As for Psyscape natives, I doubt the character would find many kindred spirits there, especially given his concept of being someone who disagrees with Psyscape's isolationism.

Finding a true kindred spirit might well be a great motivator for this character. Perhaps his motivation to leave Psyscape comes from having found such a kindred spirit in a Dreamvision somewhere out in the world, and the character wants to find him/her.

Curbludgeon wrote:One thing I noted when looking through Psyscape is an arguable lack of technological focus. With the exception of Psi-Techs and Psi-Ghosts, the latter of which being mutants who would have come to the community after its return, none of the O.C.C.s go much beyond modern W.P.s in terms of tech skills. The description of the city doesn't lend itself to such either. To whatever degree one thinks of Cyber-Knights as engaging with high technology I'd consider if one coming from Psyscape might do so to a different extent. At the very least it might reflect on how the C-K's Cyber-Armor is different than the standard.


If we take the idea of an early Cyber-Knight starting his own school in Psyscape 200 years back, it seems justifiable to change some aspects of the class, as they would have developed on their own in isolation. I'd probably tone down or throw out the anti-tech aspect of the class and possibly focus more on anti-supernatural abilities. The Psychic Academy of Psyscape has a Faculty of Psychic Technology that specializes in designing, building, and repairing psychic devices (though, frustratingly, it provides no examples of such tech). It might be interesting to consider adapting some Crystal Magic powers from Palladium Fantasy's Island at the Edge of the World. Some ideas:
Sensory: I might add to the Psi-Stalker's ability to sense supernatural evil and magic energy, since those powers come with both Psyscape natives and psi-stalkers. I would probably keep the overall number of available psionic powers lower than the standard master psionic cyber-knight or the psi-stalker. A few sensitive powers useful for hunting might be a good way to go.

Defense: The Psyscape Cyber-Knight gets some psychic crystal implants grafted to his skeleton in lieu of the standard cyber-armor. As the character gains experience, the implants and the character develop and attune, granting some potent powers.
+Crystal skin: At level 1, whenever the character's MDC transformation takes place, a thin layer of crystallized ectoplasm automatically forms around the character. This outer layer of armor can absorb damage at the cost of I.S.P. to the character; each point of M.D.C. inflicted subtracts 1 I.S.P. from the character's available pool. If the character's ISP drops to zero, the crystal skin vanishes and will not return until the character regains some I.S.P. The crystal skin also provides the benefits (and penalties) of mind block while active, making it useful in combat, but preventing the character from using psychic senses. The character can choose to prevent or de-activate the power at any time. The skin will always look faceted, but takes shapes and styles that suit the character; usually something akin to plate armor. The crystal skin is not environmental, but will activate on top of environmental body armor (not power armor or a robot/vehicle, though; it's too thick).

At level 3, the Psyscape Knight can also activate this power at will for 10 minutes by spending 24 I.S.P. when his MDC transformation is not active. He also begins to learn to bend light with and through the skin, giving him the chameleon ability for 20 minutes, costing him 5 I.S.P.
At level 5, the character gains the ability to adjust the crystal skin to refract light around him, turning the character invisible to visible light for 10 minutes. Activating this ability costs 20 I.S.P.
At level 7, the crystal skin becomes immune to lasers and magical light-based attacks; they merely bounce around and cause the character to glow for a few seconds. This immunity is automatic and costs nothing.
At level 9, the crystal skin becomes immune to electricity and lightning, including magic lightning; it simply conducts around him harmlessly. This immunity is automatic and costs nothing.
At level 11, the crystal skin becomes resistant to all other types of energy weapons and energy magic (except kinetic), reducing their damage by half (rounded up).
At level 13, the crystal skin's activation cost drops to nothing, though it will still drain the character's I.S.P. when it takes damage. Activating the crystal skin power will automatically trigger the psi-stalker's MDC transformation, even if no supernatural foes or ley lines are present.
At level 15, the crystal skin gains the ability to absorb and channel damage into the character's psi-sword. Any damage the crystal skin absorbs will be added to the damage of the character's next psi-sword strike. That extra damage can be stored for up to 10 minutes.

Combat Awareness: These crystal implants would also provide constant precognitive enhancements and defenses that improve over time as they conform to the developing character's psychic energies. In lieu of Zen Combat, I might add a progression of awareness-based abilities/bonuses:
+At level 2, the character gains an immunity to sneak attacks and can create a rigid and indestructible crystalline psi-shield for 10 minutes with 20 I.S.P. The crystal psi-shield is capable of parrying arrows, guns/energy weapons, and magic attacks, though with the usual -9 penalty. The shield can also block some wider area-effect attacks like dragon breath and explosions with a successful parry roll, but this costs an attack as the character ducks behind it.
+At level 4, the penalties for parrying arrows, guns/energy weapons, and magic attacks with the crystal psi-shield drop to -4.
+At level 6, the character can parry arrows, guns/energy weapons, and magic attacks with his psi-shield at no penalty, and he can parry those same attacks with his psi-sword at -4.
+At level 8, the character can parry arrows, guns/energy weapons, and magic attacks with his psi-sword(s) without penalty. Explosions and area-effect weapons still require a psi-shield to block.
+At level 10, the character's can sense attacks better through his combat awareness than with his human senses; he can fight without penalty even when blinded or deafened.
+At level 12, the character's psi-shield becomes free to activate and require no action to do so.
+At level 14, the character's psi-shield no longer requires a hand to use; it will move on its own and attempt to parry or block all incoming attacks without any conscious effort on the character's part. When the character is not under attacked, it will appear to be slung on his back.

Offense:
+The Psi-Sword of the Psyscape Cyber-Knight has the potential to be the most powerful version in existence. At first level, the character's psi-sword would only do 2D6 damage, but it would ramp up fast: 4D6 at second level, 6D6 at third, 8D6 at fifth level, 10D6 or 1D6x10 at sixth, 14D6 at ninth, 16D6 at twelfth, 18D6 at thirteenth, and at 15th level, this character would do 20D6 or 2D6x10 per swing.

To this, I'd like to add some kind of activated anti-supernatural ability. The psi-stalker can feed, of course, which is helpful against magic users and psychics, and that's plenty for level 1, but I'd like to give this character an option to spend ISP to add extra effects to an attack:
+At level 2, the character can spend 5 I.S.P. on any successful psi-sword attack to do an extra 1D6 damage. Once the character can create two psi-swords, the character can add 1D6 to both weapons on a dual strike for 10 I.S.P.
+At level 3, the character can spend 25 I.S.P. on a successful psi-sword attack to do double damage. If dual-striking with two psi-swords, doubling the damage requires 50 I.S.P.
+At level 5, the character can spend 25 I.S.P. to strip away a supernatural foe's damage resistances and immunities for 10 minutes, allowing anyone to hurt the foe with any type of M.D.C. weapon.
+At level 7, the character can spend 25 I.S.P. to temporarily (10 minutes) cripple a supernatural foe's power that doesn't cost PPE or ISP, like a dragon's fire breath, a Raksasha's shapeshifting ability, or a vampire's ability to regenerate. The character must be familiar with the foe's powers (possible Demon/Monster lore skill check) and the player must specify which power he/she wants to disable.
+At level 9, the character can spend 50 I.S.P. to cripple a foe's supernatural strength, temporarily reducing it to regular strength and preventing it from doing M.D.C. damage with punches, kicks, or bites (any weapon the supernatural foe uses will still do M.D.C.).
+At level 12, the character can spend 100 I.S.P. to strip away a supernatural foe's damage resistances/immunities and disable all their special powers for 10 minutes in a single attack.

In terms of bonuses, I would leave most of the OCC bonuses "as is" for the cyber-knight, though I would strike Zen combat completely. I'd also incorporate many of the psi-stalker bonuses as well, especially the psychic resistances. In terms of the other combat bonuses, I'm not entirely sure how to mix the two; some psi-stalker bonuses seem intrinsic to the species (such as the ambidextrous one), while others might be due to training (which I would not want to include).

Ok, I've probably gone a bit overboard with this, and I'd want to play test some of these abilities, but but I think these powers would give the character good progression and potent supernatural abilities while forcing the player to put some thought into when/how to expend I.S.P. on offense and defense. The character would have some very potent anti-supernatural abilities, and would be decent against tech enemies, too. In any given session, the player would have to decide things like:
-Is it more important to have my crystal skin defenses up or to be using my senses?
-Is it better for me to dual-wield psi-swords for more damage or use a psi-shield for better defense?
-Which foes are worth me burning up I.S.P.?
-Should I focus on doing more damage or on crippling/disabling this foe?

I'd also need to adjust some of the starting skills of this class; modern weapons would not be much of an option, at least not at the start, and piloting skills would be basically nothing beyond horsemanship (not a lot of space for vehicles or guns in Psyscape). Those skills would have to come later. Maybe this class could take the pistol W.P., but nothing more than that. I'd want to keep this character weak at long-distance and vehiclular combat.
Last edited by Hotrod on Sat Sep 12, 2020 5:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Curbludgeon
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

While the damage output of a 15th level Master Psychic Cyber-Knights Third Eye Paired Psi-Swords is serious, there are enough mitigating factors that one shouldn't blanche. There aren't many 15th level characters, for one, and it's only by 9th level that the MP C-K exceeds the damage per attack of a level 1 character with an activated Battle Fury Blade.

I like the idea of Psychic Technology pulling from sources like Palladium's Crystal Magic instead of simply aping the Amaki's Gizmoteer. I very much approve of this sort of character utilizing a combination of gambling-honed bluffing, artistic sublimation, and forced traumatic musings in order to balance the vectors of their ethos.

I'm mulling over some of the ability descriptions, which could warrant a benchmark comparison to a melee-dedicated Mind Melter, but enjoy where things are going. While it might be seen as drawing a bit from the D&D/Pathfinder Soulknife, I could see a character learning to throw a Psi-Sword 1/round for a few I.S.P. as part of a tertiary ranged emphasis. In one game where I did away with Zen Combat I emphasised how the C-K's quintessential psionics were without cost, and substitued in abilities such as Telekinetic Leap and Intuitive Combat. How well a simple power-based setup would compare to a series of scaling abilities might reflect on how Crystal tech is portrayed in the setting.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Mack »

For Mind Melters, keep in mind that it will take them two full melees to summon two Psi-Swords.
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Re: Cyber-Knights and Psyscape

Unread post by Axelmania »

Mack wrote:For Mind Melters, keep in mind that it will take them two full melees to summon two Psi-Swords.

or Psi-Warriors, for that matter

for all their benefits with psi-sword, activation time didn't seem to factor into it.

I wonder if Bubblemakers could store up that costly activation time in advance so that bubble-popping could insta-activate swords?
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