Hive Mind
Core Copse Cluster
Mechanical Origins: Psyche • Command
The Hive Mind is more than you, your Vorhooks. It is the conduit of the global consciousness. Pylons are hunted in most places. Put to death because of their strange and wonderful abilities, the fear and paranoia, the stigma. In truth, they are the genetic flip of the switch which brings unity to civilization, and from the inside, individuality still reigns untouched and celebrated.
Pylon of the Vor
You are one among many. A Pylon of the Global Consciousness.
Growth Points: 10 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 1, Acquiring Pylon of the Vor after Level 1 is at the mercy of The Story Guide.
Routine Meditation: 1 Hour
While you are connected to a web of minds whose presence you feel as small points of energy spanning out from you in every direction, without a meditative trance to create a personal connection your general privacy is assured. Occasionally you will hear the voice of The Emperor, but this should not occur often. When you decide to spend part of your Routine meditating, you can ask questions of the void and occasionally receive answers, find mental maps, and access parts of the Archive of the Mind.
Notes: Pylon of the Vor can not be refunded by recission. Answers are not guaranteed. Not all Pylons are good actors or offer good advice. Pylons have unique signatures and may be called during meditation as a communication tool, not everyone answers all the time. There are things other than Pylons and The Emperor in the Vor.
Mental Sound
Using high vibrational thought, you can send sounds you can imagine out to subjects and victims you can sense.
Growth Points: 10 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 1
Celerity: 1 Action Debt, 1 Action Slot, or 1 Reserved Slot per Statement or Noise.
Choose up to your Awareness Score Subjects or Victims, they hear your Statement as if you said it to them. They can hear this statement regardless of how loud the environment is. If they can not hear at all, such as suffering from deafness or they lack an auditory organ, they can not hear the Mental Sound.
Sensory Spikes [i]
You sense sudden changes in emotion or intention of those around you.
Growth Points: 5 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 2
You gain a passive and stacking +2 bonus to Awareness Variable Checks regarding Detection.
Astral Projection
A mental image of yourself leaves your body and appears nearby.
Growth Points: 5 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 3, Mental Sound
Activation Celerity: 3 Action Slots or 4 Reserved Slots
Cancel Celerity: 2 Action Slots or 3 Reserved Slots
Duration: Until Canceled
Range: No more than 30 Tiles from your body or root.
A mostly intangible Astral Projection of you appears in a Tile you choose up to 30 Tiles from your body or a root location. You may choose to make this Astral Projection of you visible or invisible. Effects that reveal or see invisibility will reveal your image. When active you can not see or hear with your body, you may only see and hear with your Astral Projection. Your Astral Projection is capable of speaking at a low volume (3 Tiles to Earshot) or whispering to a single subject.
The Projection: The Astral Projection has 1 Hit Point and shares the Activator’s Evasion Score and if it takes damage, the Projection is Canceled causing (v:10) damage to the Activator. The Astral Projection may teleport anywhere within 30 Tiles of your body or any root with 1 Action Slot or 2 Reserved Slots. The Projection may take any physical action the Activator may normally take but those Actions have no real effect beyond the illusion of happening and consuming their normal Celerity cost.
The Projection can not pass through solid objects and swinging a weapon which is part of your normal equipment simply bounces off the target harmlessly. The Projection can’t pass through objects. The Astral Projection may only appear in the equipment you’re currently wearing, though you can choose any equipment you’re wearing to not appear as part of your Astral Projection. Objects or others attempting to make contact with your Projection simply pass through it. If they do so with enough force, such as with a damaging action, they feel the Projection is solid for a brief moment before it vanishes.
Astral Stress: Short term projections do not cause any stress. Remaining in Astral Projection for more than 1 Full Round causes 1 Mental Stress, then each 12 Full Rounds Astral Projecting causes an additional 1 Mental Stress. This Stress isn’t paid until Cancel. The maximum amount of time a single Astral Projection may last is 1 Hour. For every Mental Stress you accumulate above your maximum, you remain unconscious for that many hours.
Astral Anchor
Create Objects as Astral Anchors and use them as a root for your Astral Projection
Growth Points: 10 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 4, Astral Projection
Routine Ritual: 1 Hour
Creating an Astral Anchor takes an hour. Astral Anchors may only be Objects. For the duration of the Routine, you must remain within 1 Tile of the Object. You may have a maximum number of Astral Anchors equal to your Awareness Score. When you Activate Astral Projection, you may use an Astral Anchor as your Root location regardless of distance or plane of existence. An Astral Anchor remains an Astral Anchor as long as the Object is not moved. You may dismiss an Astral Anchor any time you make a new Astral Anchor.
Vorhook Living Anchor
Your allies, those you trust, and those who trust you.
Growth Points: 25 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 5, Astral Projection, Astral Anchor
Knighting a Vorhook: A willing subject becomes an Astral Projection Anchor for you. You may have a maximum number of Vorhook Anchors equal to your Awareness Score. This Process takes 3 Hours of meditation where you must remain within 1 Tile of the willing subject. Once a subject has become a Vorhook Living Anchor, they remain an Anchor for you until either they or you dismiss the status.
You may Astral Project to a willing Vorhook like any other Anchor regardless of distance or plane of existence, however they may reject the projection and some effects may prevent it from being possible. When doing so the Vorhook Anchor serves as your root location. You may always “sense” a Vorhook Living Anchor, this sense only tells you if they remain alive and allows the use of certain Actions. It does not provide you a sense of location, and reciprocation to Actions are required for them to Activate. A Vorhook Anchor can cancel the connection and dismiss you. A Character who has Astral Projection unlocked can not be made into a Vorhook Living Anchor.
All other mechanics relating to Astral Projection still apply.
Mental Image
Using high vibrational thought, you can send sights you can imagine out to subjects and victims you can sense.
Growth Points: 10 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 6, Mental Sound
Celerity: 1 Action Debt, 1 Action Slot, or 1 Reserved Slot per Image.
Choose up to your Awareness Score Subjects or Victims, they see an image as if they imagined it themselves. They can imagine this image regardless of how bright or dark the environment is. If they can not see at all, such as suffering from blindness or they lack a visual organ, they can not imagine the Mental Image. A Mental Image may be sent simultaneously with a Mental Sound at no additional Celerity cost.
Sensory Spikes [ii]
You sense sudden changes in emotion or intention of those around you.
Growth Points: 5 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 7, Sensory Spikes [i]
You gain a passive and stacking +3 bonus to Awareness Variable Checks regarding Detection.
Combined with Sensory Spikes [i] your total bonus to Detection is +5.
Burden of Minds
Any number of willing Vorhook Living Anchors may accumulate Mental Stress caused by Actions Activated by you.
Growth Points: 25 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 7, Vorhook Living Anchor
Any time you accumulate Mental Stress, you may request of any of your Vorhook Living Anchors to take on the Mental Stress of the Action. Any Mental Stress they take on can not exceed their maximum Mental Stress, and you may not apply Mental Stress beyond their maximum Mental Stress. You may also accumulate Mental Stress caused by their Actions in their stead and are aware of when they take an Action which Accumulates Mental Stress. This effect does not allow them to share Mental Stress pools between each other.
Psychic Scream
Dispersing your Mental Stress into the Vor through a Psychic Scream allows you to near instantly reduce your Mental Stress, but being totally unguarded to the energies of the Vor has some backfire. If you Psychic Scream, all of your Vorhook Living Anchors, if you have any, hear it.
Growth Points: 15 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 8, Pylon of the Vor
Celerity: 1 Action Slot or 1 Reserved Slot
Mental Stress: Opening yourself unguarded to the Vor grants you (v:8) Mental Stress Relief while simultaneously causing you (v:4) Mental Stress Accumulation.
Notes: Psychic Scream has the potential to attract unwanted attention. Rolling higher on the (v:4) than the (v:8) causes net Accumulation. The maximum Stress Relief this Action provides is 7, while the most Stress Accumulation this Action may cause is 3. This effect is significantly powerful, your Story Guide may choose to further restrict its usage, but we see it as a Staple Gamble of Mental Endurance Builds.
Mental Concept in Concert
Using high vibrational thought, you can send a concept you can imagine out to subjects and victims you can sense. All those receiving a concept may join in a table time concert.
Growth Points: 25 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 9, Mental Image
Celerity: 1 Action Debt, 1 Action Slot, or 1 Reserved Slot per Concept.
Mental Stress: Accumulate 1 Mental Stress
Duration: Up to 12 Full Rounds (1 Minute)
Choose up to your Awareness Score Subjects or Victims, they immediately understand what you’re conveying. This is true telepathy. You may explain the information you want to express. Potentially several sentences. Anyone who is Subject or Victim to this information may join the Concert after you finish your opening statement. During the Activation of the Concert, time seems to stop.
Decelerated Time Sense: For up to 5 Minutes of Table Time, you and everyone in the Concert may communicate as if you were sitting in a quiet tavern at the Activation of the Concert.
Game Time: After the initial Decelerated Time Sense, any participant in the Concert may spend 1 Action Debt, 1 Action Slot, or 1 Reserved Slot to send a Sound or Image to the rest of the Concert for its Duration.
Notes: Each Player in the Concert can share their senses. Keeping Concert to 5 Minutes or less of Real Time is important. We recommend 2 minutes or less. If a special sense would allow you to connect a Player regardless of distance, they may join the Concert. The initial Concept shares the Character Knowledge on how the Concert works.
Astral Shift
Take the place of your Astral Projection with your physical body. Astral Shift has 3 forms; Body Shift, Root Shift, and Meditative Shift.
Growth Points: 50 Growth Points
Requirements: Level 10, Astral Anchor, Vorhook Living Anchor
Meditative Shift: Take the place of your Astral Projection at the location of an Anchor Object or Vorhook Living Anchor.
Meditation Celerity: 10 Minutes
Root Shift: Take the place of your Astral Projection at the location of an Anchor Object or Vorhook Living Anchor.
Celerity: 1 Full Round
Mental Stress: Accumulate 5 Mental Stress
Physical Stress: Accumulate 3 Physical Stress
Body Shift: Take the place of your Astral Projection within 30 Tiles of your body.
Celerity: 2 Action Slots or 3 Reserved Slots.
Mental Stress: Body Shifting more than once per minute causes Accumulation of 1 Mental Stress for every use after the first.
You and all of your Equipment materialize in the exact position and posture as your Astral Projection.
Notes: Astral Shift, like all Psyche effects, is non-magical in nature and is not considered a teleportation effect for the purposes of other Actions and Effects which apply to magic or teleportation.
