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Psionics artwork

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. This is especially true when you can use your mind to read thoughts, levitate objects, and force choke all who dare oppose you. Such is the power of psions, who turn their energy inward to unlock the infinite potential of their own minds. They sharpen their wit the same way warriors sharpen their blades, transforming their raw intellects into deadly weapons capable of crushing skulls with a simple thought. They fortify their willpower the same way a blacksmith tempers steel armor, building an impenetrable defense that transcends physical limitations. Look inside yourself, psion, and behold the awesome power that lies dormant within you. What fragments of your power will you awaken first?

Examples of Psionics characters include:

Psionics

Archon

(Psionics | Combat)

Effects
  • Whenever you want, you can become completely invulnerable to all harm for a few seconds. Then, the GM gives you a condition. Archon can't make you immune to conditions you acquire through this trait
  • Descriptions
  • your skin taking the color of a starry night
  • becoming pure energy
  • showing your true form
  • Confusion

    (Psionics | Combat)

    Effects
  • You can give someone the condition "Confused" for several minutes. Confused creatures have a difficulty distinguishing friend from foe
  • Descriptions
  • disrupting their natural brain waves
  • filling their minds with nightmarish thoughts
  • Examples
    Erratic Behavior
  • attack an ally
  • move somewhere disadvantageous
  • throw away something valuable
  • Force Wave

    (Psionics | Combat)

    Effects
  • You can push everyone in a zone a close distance away, or one creature a far distance away
  • Descriptions
  • releasing a shock wave
  • emitting a psi pulse
  • unleashing an explosion of telekinetic energy
  • Lobotomize

    (Psionics | Combat)

    Effects
  • You can attack a creature and describe one of its capabilities. If the creature has any traits associated with that capability, they lose 1 of those traits for several hours
  • Descriptions
  • suppressing their memories
  • preventing their mind from acting
  • locking their abilities with magic
  • Projection

    (Psionics | Combat)

    Effects
  • You can take actions as if you're standing in any far space
  • Descriptions
  • animating your weapon
  • projecting a psychic version of yourself
  • bending reality with your will
  • Reverse Trajectory

    (Psionics | Combat)

    Effects
  • Collaborate on how you charge this trait. Spend the charge to send a ranged attack back at the attacker
  • Descriptions
  • using telekinesis to send back an arrow
  • unleashing psychic recoil
  • absorbing power to shoot it back
  • Astral Projection

    (Psionics | Exploration)

    Effects
  • You can travel to another dimension or plane. You may bring close creatures with you. Collaborate on what other dimensions or planes exist
  • Descriptions
  • your spirit leaving your body
  • going on a dream-quest
  • stepping into the nonphysical realm
  • Examples
    Planes
  • astral plane
  • dreamscape
  • shadow realm
  • a person's subconscious mind
  • heaven
  • hell
  • the afterlife
  • Perfect Mind

    (Psionics | Exploration)

    Effects
  • You have a perfect memory, and you can instantly complete complex mental errors
  • Descriptions
  • closing your eyes to think for a moment
  • copying something into your brain
  • being a genius
  • Examples
    Instantly
  • perform a calculation
  • create an elaborate story
  • read a book
  • write a play in your head
  • Pre/Postcognition

    (Psionics | Exploration)

    Effects
  • You can experience the future and/or past. Collaborate on how this trait works
  • Descriptions
  • receiving a vision
  • gazing through the timestream
  • calculating the sequence of cause and effect
  • Sensory Link

    (Psionics | Exploration)

    Effects
  • You can forge a link with a creature you're touching. For the next day or so, you can experience the world through their sense whenever you want
  • Descriptions
  • your eyes changing to their color
  • seeing and hearing things that aren't present
  • feeling auras
  • Telekinesis

    (Psionics | Exploration)

    Effects
  • You can exert telekinetic force. Collaborate on how this trait works
  • Descriptions
  • manipulating mass
  • concentrating intently
  • exerting force with your mind
  • changing gravity
  • Examples
    How it Works
  • you can't lift more than your weight
  • precision requires intense concentration
  • it's exhausting
  • Brainwash

    (Psionics | Interaction)

    Effects
  • You can add or remove a memory or personality trait from someone you're touching. You can't make them forget how to do things (talk, read, cast spells, etc)
  • Descriptions
  • devouring a memory
  • deleting a brain wave
  • brainwashing them
  • cutting out part of their mind
  • Mind Control

    (Psionics | Interaction)

    Effects
  • You can control the mind of a visible creature that isn't significantly more powerful than you. Collaborate on how this trait works
  • Descriptions
  • overpowering their pathetic will
  • enslaving their mind
  • implanting your thoughts and desires
  • Examples
    How it Works
  • they struggle to break free
  • it gives you a crippling headache
  • you can't move while doing it
  • Read Mind

    (Psionics | Interaction)

    Effects
  • You can hear visible creatures' thoughts. Collaborate on how this trait works
  • Descriptions
  • listening to their thoughts
  • leeching their brain waves
  • seeing their dreams
  • feeling their desires
  • Telepathy

    (Psionics | Interaction)

    Effects
  • You can telepathically communicate with far creatures
  • Descriptions
  • sharing a collective unconsciousness
  • hearing what each other say
  • speaking via a shared mind-control
  • Share Memory

    (Psionics | Interaction)

    Effects
  • You can share memories with creatures you're touching. They gain any of your memories you like, and you gain any of their memories they like
  • Descriptions
  • accessing their subconscious
  • dreaming their dreams
  • giving them a vision of what you experienced

  • © 2023-2023

    studioKeywi

    Distances

    Touch

    Physical contact and adjacent spaces

    Near

    Several steps, or 3 spaces

    Close

    A room, or 5 spaces

    Far

    A building, or 10 spaces

    Very Far

    Several buildings, or 20+ spaces

    Keywords

    Bolster

    Players can spend their bolsters to increase a related roll. The GM can spend bolsters to make a PC decrease a related roll. Unspent bolsters eventually expire.

    Refer to Chapter 2 of the rules for more about increasing/decreasing rolls

    Collaborate

    Traits that tell you to collaborate are intentionally vague and ambiguous. Work with the GM to create a balanced and thematically appropriate effect. Collaborations should be an ongoing process. For example, you may discover that an effect is too strong or weak after a few sessions, so you and the GM should rebalance the effect

    Condition

    A condition is anything that temporarily affects your capabilities or status.

    Refer to Chapter 3 of the rules for more about conditions

    Defense

    Defenses make you more resilient during Challenges. Defenses grant one or more boxes, which function the same as Challenge Number boxes. However, defenses have unique requirements that allow you to mark them only in specific situations

    Minion

    A minion is a creature that serves another creature through a contract.

    Refer to Chapter 7 of the rules for more about minions

    Shrine

    A shrine is a divine conduit that allows a specific deity or set of deities to affect the mortal world.

    Refer to the Faith theme of the rules for more about shrines

    Temporary Item Trait

    A temporary item trait is any item trait that you did not spend XP to acquire. Temporary item traits come from a variety of source: magic items, potions, spells, etc. They're free and don't affect the XP cost of buying other item traits. You can't upgrade temporary item traits

    Temporary Trait

    A temporary trait is any that you did not spend XP to acquire. Temporary traits come from a variety of source: magic items, potions, spells, etc. They're free and don't affect the XP cost of buying other traits. You can't upgrade temporary traits

    Worldbuild

    Worldbuilding a collaborative process wherin the players and the GM work together to create something about the game world. One person is in charge of the worldbuilding event, and the other players support that player.

    Refer to Chapter 6 of the rules for more about world building

    Zone

    A zone is an area of effect. If a trait affects a zone, collaborate on logically fitting zones that you can create with that trait, and write them into your trait. Example zones:
    Blast: An explosion that affects one space and adjacent spaces. Blast attacks can be melee or ranged.
    Cone: A 90° cone that extends out to a Close distance. Cone attacks are considered to be melee.
    Line: This is a line of spaces that extends out to a Far distance. Line attacks are considered to be ranged.

    About

    Tavern Tales Toolkit 0.0.1-alpha-5

    Based on the Kickstarter 1.0.1 version of Tavern Tales with minor modifications

    Modifications

    • Metamagic has been renamed Augment and moved from Arcane traits into General traits
    Tavern Tales, the Tavern Tales logo, and any other associated artwork were orginally © 2014-2017 by Dabney Bailey, and has since been released under the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license

    Links

    Tavern Tales KS 1.0.1 on Fandom Tavern Tales Discord