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.
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 withthe 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.
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 flowing 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 first round of any combat, including a surprise round if there is one. After his first 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
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.