The Discipline of Scanning is the primary use most telepaths put their powers to. By reaching into the minds of others, telepaths can unearth lies or long-buried secrets. The Psi Corps ensures honesty and fairness in business negotiations by scanning the minds of the parties involved; the Centauri use their telepaths to dredge secrets out of the minds of rivals.
Deep Scan
Power Required: 10
Range: Close (P12 Medium)
Action: Full round
Telepathy Check: DC 16
Concentration: Yes
Multiple Subjects: No
Chakra Cost: 20
This is one of the most renowned and feared of all telepathic
abilities. While performing a deep scan, a telepath is able to
rummage through the entire contents of a subject’s mind,
examining all their secrets, lies and ambitions. The successful
use of the deep scan ability will effectively allow a telepath
to ask his subject one question every round which must be
answered truthfully, though this is done telepathically.
A deep scan is extremely uncomfortable for the subject, both
physically and emotionally, as the telepath penetrates roughly
into their mind. Any subject trying to resist the deep scan
will instead automatically suffer 1d3 points of lethal damage
every time a Will save is rolled (whether the save is successful
or not).
Even a subject not resisting the deep scan will automatically
suffer 1d3 points of nonlethal damage every round they are
being scanned.
Deep Scan Variations
G Gentle Scan (DC 20): The telepath
carefully protects the subject of the scan from
any painful memories or aberrant
thoughts, reducing the strain of
the scan. Only a single point of lethal or nonlethal
damage is suffered by the target every round.
G Brute Scan (DC 20): The telepath pushes deeply with
the scan, causing much more damage that necessary.
This scan always deals lethal damage, whether or not
the target attempts to resist.
G Holistic Scan (DC +2): Instead of asking specific
questions, the telepath simply assesses the current state
of the target’s mind. Each round, the telepath must
make an Intrigue check (DC 20). If successful, the
telepath learns one useful fact from the subject’s mind,
assuming the subject knows any facts relevant to the
telepath. For instance, the telepath might come across
a memory of a face in the crowd; the subject does not
know this person but the telepath does. Such a fact
is useful to the telepath but would not turn up in the
course of normal deep scan questioning.
G Extended Range (DC +3 / every additional 5 feet):
The telepath can stretch the physical limits of the scan,
although this is extremely difficult. For every increase
of +3 to the DC, the range is increased by 5 feet. Note
that P12s can use deep scan at medium range; Extended
Range in this case increases the range by 10 feet for
every +3 increase to DC.
Surface Scan
Power Required: 7
Range: Close (P10 Medium)
Action: Standard
Telepathy Check: DC 16
Concentration: Yes
Multiple Subjects: No
Chakra Cost: Free
This is one of the most well known and oft-used of all
telepathic abilities. By lightly scanning the surface thoughts of
a subject, the telepath will cause no pain or discomfort and yet
be able to read whatever the subject is currently thinking and
actually feel the emotions they are currently sensitive to. This
is commonly used by commercial telepaths in negotiations
to verify whether someone is telling the truth or not, but
anything the subject is currently thinking will be noticed.
Only surface thoughts may be picked up with a surface scan
and a deep scan will be required to discover any information
the subject is not currently thinking about.
If the Telepathy check fails, then the telepath still picks up
surface thoughts but cannot tell truth from lies or pick up on
a specific train of thought.
Sense Threat (DC 20): The telepath opens his mind up
to the fl owing nature of the Mindscape, ignoring any sort
of signals he receives except for all but the strongest of
emotions that come immediately before an attack. Unless
the attacker is emotionally dead or outside the range of
the telepath’s senses, the telepath with this power active
may use a Telepathy check as his initiative score in the fi rst
round of any combat, including a surprise round if there is
one. After his fi rst action, the telepath must roll a normal
initiative check and act in later rounds on that score.
Area Scan (DC 22): The telepath tunes out the physical
world and concentrates on actually reading the ambient
noise of the local Mindscape. Making a successful Telepathy
skill check then calls for the telepath to make a subsequent
Concentration check. The degree of success of that check
(see table below) determines the number of minds within
30 feet of the telepath will need to pass the required Will
save or be subject to a surface scan.
Concentration
result
Number of
surface scans
10 or less 0
11 – 15 1
16 – 20 2
21 – 25 3
26 – 30 4
31 + 5
Shift Scan
Power Required: 18
Range: Medium (P12 Long)
Action: Full round
Telepathy Check: DC 20
Concentration: Yes
Multiple Subjects: Special
Chakra Cost: 26
This telepathic ability is used most often by investigators
who need to scan multiple targets in a short amount of
time but cannot afford to risk the stress of multiple
individual scans. The telepath instead opens his mind into
a ‘scanning beam,’ placing the minds of those he wants to
scan in it moment by moment. The telepath makes the
skill check for this ability and chooses a target for a Surface
Scan, who can resist as normal. If successful the telepath
gains the information from the scan and this ability is
maintained, allowing him to change to a different target
next round. If anyone resists the ability successfully the
telepath’s concentration is broken and he will need to start
the ability anew on the following round.