Hi all. I am looking at creating some setting specific psychic powers that are like individual uses of magic action. So the ability to Heal, or Mask etc. I was thinking this could be achieved with a talent that enables a character to use Discipline, to use one of the magical actions. Something like:

Psychic Blast
Tier: 2
Activation: Active (Action)
You may suffer 1 Strain to make a Discipline check in order to perform the Curse spell action against a foe. You may augment this action just like using magic.

Sound reasonable?

Kind of confused, is the intent of the talent for the user to drain 3 strain or just 1 strain, as using magic skill is default 2 strain drain (CRB, 211)? Also is the knowledge rank still valid in the setting, as the ranks in knowledge is essential for add-ons like "despair"?

If you're going to use magic as the baseline for your psychic powers, I would suggest two things:

1. Come up with a Psychic skill that your characters need to use and not use Discipline
2. Take the Signature Spell talent from RoT and make it ranked, with each rank being a different power (and the options chosen are the only way to use the power)

So if you want a psychic blast, it's the attack spell with the manipulate and range effects. It always uses those effects, even if the range isn't necessary, and is always the same difficulty.

Also, strain is suffered after the spell is cast, not before, so advantages on the spell check cannot be used to recover that strain. As @HelloRPG asked: are you expecting 1 strain before and 2 after? Or are you making magic easier to use, since it's one strain, instead of two, and it's before, instead of after?

12 hours ago, HelloRPG said:

Kind of confused, is the intent of the talent for the user to drain 3 strain or just 1 strain, as using magic skill is default 2 strain drain (CRB, 211)? Also is the knowledge rank still valid in the setting, as the ranks in knowledge is essential for add-ons like "despair"?

1 Strain instead of 2. Essentially you get to use these abilities more, as you can only use one magical action. As to Knowledge, you could use Discipline instead.

12 hours ago, c__beck said:

If you're going to use magic as the baseline for your psychic powers, I would suggest two things:

1. Come up with a Psychic skill that your characters need to use and not use Discipline
2. Take the Signature Spell talent from RoT and make it ranked, with each rank being a different power (and the options chosen are the only way to use the power)

So if you want a psychic blast, it's the attack spell with the manipulate and range effects. It always uses those effects, even if the range isn't necessary, and is always the same difficulty.

Also, strain is suffered after the spell is cast, not before, so advantages on the spell check cannot be used to recover that strain. As @HelloRPG asked: are you expecting 1 strain before and 2 after? Or are you making magic easier to use, since it's one strain, instead of two, and it's before, instead of after?

Good idea. 1 Strain would be after the spell, in keeping with the rules.