UPDATE TABLE OF CONTENTS

• NEW STORY FEATS
• NEW DRAWBACKS
• NEW TRAITS
• NEW BOUND SPIRIT GRANTED POWERS: Life
• LORE/RULE EXPANSION: Human Artifacts
• NEW PSIONIC SPECIALIZATION: Path of the Disciplined Warrior
• NEW GENERIC EQUIPMENT
• NEW NANOSPELLS
• NEW SPECIES FEATS
• NEW HEROIC TALENTS
• NEW ABILITY: YorIna ("False Mage") System
• NEW LORE: The Quadrangles of Mars
• NEW ORGANIZATION: The Benevolent Martian Order of Cydonian Knights

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NEW STORY FEATS

Inerrant Justice (Story)
You will punish the guilty without letting any innocents be harmed as a result.
Prerequisite: Must have witnessed or suffered a grave injustice that went unpunished, or have the Born of Violence, Betrayal, or Bullied backgrounds. If the offender is not a challenging foe, it either advances to become one or allies with one or more creatures who are.
Benefit: Once per day, you can choose to take the maximum possible weapon damage die roll rather than rolling when you hit a foe that is unaware of you or considers you an ally. Bonus dice, including from sneak attack or feats are rolled normally.
Goal: Decisively defeat or slay the offender without killing any innocents in the process.  If you kill an innocent, you immediately lose this story feat and must wait a week to choose a new one.
Completion Benefit: You can use this feat’s benefit once per combat.

Magical Enigma (Story)
A troubling mystery lurks around you, tied to the origin of your magic or your family’s legacy, and you seek the truth at all costs.
Prerequisites: Innate magical talent or Proximan Lore-Keeper, and you must have an unknown secret about your magic or family history (even if you do not yet know the topic of the secret) or have the Progeny of Power or Reincarnated backgrounds.  You must have Magery as a trained skill.
Benefit: You either treat yourself as 1 level higher for the purposes of your Elementalism, Shamanism, Spirit Binding, or Theurgy abilities, or you treat your Wisdom score as 2 higher for the purposes of learning new spells and incantations.  Goal: Learn and verify the chosen magic secret for your family, defeating a challenging foe in the process.
Completion Benefit: Select one Knowledge skill. This is now a class skill for you.

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NEW DRAWBACKS

Empty Mask: You have spent so long hiding your true identity to escape political enemies that you have lost much of your sense of self. You take a -1 penalty on Will defense against mind-affecting effects. This penalty increases to -2 against foes who know your true identity.

Guilty Fraud: You received something through trickery that you did not deserve, and your guilt for the misdeed distracts you from dangers around you. You take a -4 penalty on Deception checks against creatures with an attitude toward you of indifferent or better.

Infamous: You were publicly linked, truthfully or not, to a crime of significant infamy. You draw attention wherever you go and risk imprisonment or worse in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed. You and your apparent allies take a -4 penalty on Persuasion checks to interact with law-abiding citizens (except enemies of the authority that accused you).

Secret Shame: You have a terrible fear of the public at large, a group, or an important person learning a shameful truth about you. You take a -1 penalty on your defenses against fear effects, and the DC of any Persuasion check to intimidate you is reduced by 1. If you would normally be immune to fear, you do not take these penalties, but instead lose your immunity to fear (regardless of its source).

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NEW TRAITS

SOCIAL TRAITS

Criminal Roots: Your family has long operated outside the law. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Persuasion checks to influence criminals and on Persuasion checks to intimidate law-abiding citizens, but take a –2 penalty on Persuasion checks to influence law-abiding citizens. Persuasion is a class skill for you.

Deep Cover: You have lived a double life since your youth, perhaps to avoid persecution for your true identity or in service to an enemy of the people or group associated with your cover identity. You can always take 10 on Deception checks to assume and maintain your cover identity. Deception is a class skill for you.

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NEW BOUND SPIRIT GRANTED POWERS: Life

Blood Is All: You can use the HP pool that Blood Is Life gives you to create temporary objects.  This expends an amount of HP from that pool dependent on the object made (see the table below).  This can produce a facsimile of electrically-powered items, which function as normal, but it cannot duplicate computer systems or smartgun systems.  These items last until expended or until the end of the encounter.

Lifesight: You can detect living targets in the dark as if you had Darkvision.  You can also determine the HP count of any living target you can see.

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LORE/RULE EXPANSION: Human Artifacts

I’m working on the actual crunch for artifacts, and have added some new ones as well.

[NEW ARTIFACT / CRUNCH COMPLETED] Ashkelon – Lance of Dragon’s End
Activated – Legend of St George – The legend of the soldier acting as cavalry while fighting a foe is present in many mythologies.  Activating Ashkelon summons a class-0 spirit beast that takes the form of an appropriate mount for the terrain you are in.  While mounted on this creature, the bearer of Ashkelon deals double damage with Ashkelon.
Unique Device Power – Dragonslayer – This weapon does +2 dice of damage vs dragon-like enemies.
Unique Device Greater Ability – Plague-Immune – The bearer of Ashkelon is immune to all forms of disease.

[CRUNCH COMPLETED] Brahmastra – Unknown Form of Destruction
Activated – Brahma’s Guarantee of Destruction – When activated, Brahmastra duplicates the effects of the Catastrophic Sunder: End of Things true incantation.
Unique Device Power – Radioactive – While evoked, Brahmastra emits a field of strong radiation in a 12-square radius around it.
Unique Device Lesser Ability – Mutable Form – Brahamastra changes the form it is summoned as each time it is called from a dismissed state.  Determine its form randomly using the tables for random Magic Device creation.

[NEW ARTIFACT] Crowley’s Deck – Harbinger of the Æon of Horus
This True Artifact was kept under the SDA’s radar until 2030 when its bearer chose to inform the SDA as to its existence under the condition that they remain anonymous. On first examination, there is no indication that there is anything magical about this seemingly mundane Thoth-Crowley Tarot deck, however it holds potent abilities regarding divination and magic. It has no known fragments.
Activated – Casting of the Major Arcana – Under Construction
Unique Device Power – Casting of the Minor Arcana – Under Construction
Unique Device Greater Ability –
Aiwass’s Predictions – A number of times per day equal to the amount that it can be Evoked, Crowley’s Deck can be used to divine the future.  A question is posed to the deck mentally, and a unique 5-card tarot draw is dealt.  This has a 70+CharacterLevel% chance of providing useful interpretation, assuming you can interpret a tarot spread.  This ability shows no outward signs of being magical in nature, it comes across as just a tarot draw, and it takes a full minute to use this ability.

[NEW ARTIFACT] Danselif – Dwarven-Made Blade of Hogni

[NEW ARTIFACT] Gram – Doom of Dragons

[NEW ARTIFACT] Gungnir – Wōtan’s Sword-Breaking Spear

[CRUNCH COMPLETED] Joyeuse – Holy Blade of the Imperator
Activated – Arma Imperator – Manifesting as a set of Carolingian-era (circa 800 CE) armor, Arma Imperator draws its strength from the mythology surrounding Charlemagne, first Holy Roman Emperor.  While activated, the bearer of Joyeuse gains a +5 bonus to all defenses and treats all damage taken from non-magical sources as nonlethal damage.
Unique Device Power – Sancti – +2 weapon damage dice damage against entities deemed fit by the GM.
Unique Device Greater Ability – Imperator De Fide – You can use your Knowledge [Culture (Human)] skill in place of Persuasion.

[NEW ARTIFACT] Kavacha – Heavenly Armor of the King of Anga

[NEW ARTIFACT] Mjolnir – Rune-Emblazoned Hammer of Thor

[CRUNCH COMPLETED] Murgleys – Death-Bringer of Ganelon
Activated – Arme Maudit de l’Arc-Traître – Ganelon’s treachery in the Matter of France is not historical truth, but it is however based on historical truth.  The blade that bears homage to the traitor so reviled in lore deals cursed wounds while activated.  Damage dealt by Murgleys in its activated form cannot be healed by medicine or magic, it must be healed through natural healing over the course of time.
Unique Device Power – Foedus – +2 weapon damage dice against living targets who are not trained in the Magery skill.
Unique Device Greater Ability – Accoutumé à l’Cocytus – You are immune to Cold damage.

[NEW ARTIFACT] Ruyi Jingu Bang – Monkey King’s Shifting Staff

[CRUNCH COMPLETED] Tezcatlipoca – Blood-Drinking Obsidian Blade
Activated – The Smoking Mirror of Blood  – When Tezcatlipoca is used to kill a sentient creature, that creature becomes ‘stored’ by the blade, and all of that creature’s blood is drained in the processing.  When activated, the bearer of Tezcatlipoca can summon a copy of one of these creatures that has been killed.  The copy is made entirely of blood, and therefore gains Damage Reduction of 10 and takes half damage from piercing and bludgeoning damage.  However, it takes double damage from fire and electricity.  It can morph into a puddle of blood to gain a climb speed equal to its original base land speed, and it can seep through cracks to pass through walls, doors, and windows. Once summoned, Tezcatlipoca ‘loses’ that stored copy.
Unique Device Power – Blade of Sacrifice – While evoked, Tezcatlipoca deals 2d4 bleed damage with every strike it makes.  This bleed damage does not stack with itself, only the highest amount of bleed damage remains after each strike.
Unique Device Greater Ability – Xiuhpohualli – When a sentient, living target is killed by Tezcatlipoca, the bearer of the Blood-Drinking Obsidian Blade can proverbially ‘steal the time’ of the target.  This de-ages the wielder by an amount of time of their choice, up to the age of the target.  This leaves behind a crimson, blood-like magical array beneath the creature which can be identified as Aztec in nature.

[CRUNCH COMPLETED] Tyrfing – Fiery Blade of Accuracy
Activated – Accursed Perfect Blade – While activated, the bearer of Tyrfing chooses a specific enemy they are fighting.  Against this enemy, Tyrfing threatens a critical hit on a roll of 10 through 20.  However, if this foe is not slain before Tyrfing is sheathed again, the bearer of Tyrfing suffers 5d10 Constitution damage.
Unique Device Power – Flaming Blade – When evoked, Tyrfing deals an additional amount of fire damage equal to the damage dealt by an attack.
Unique Device Greater Ability – Blade of Accuracy – Tyrfing’s critical threat range is improved by 2. Once this Ability is unlocked, Tyrfing threatens a critical hit on a roll of 8 through 20 while activated.

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NEW PSIONIC SPECIALIZATION: Path of the Disciplined Warrior

Anyone can lose themselves to a berserk fury – to master that berserk fury and use it to achieve your goals, that is true mastery of the path of the warrior.  With further training you can harness your person demons to push yourself farther, and even invade the minds of your foes with the slightest touch.  The Path of the Warrior manifests its core psionic ability as pushing a character beyond their own self-imposed physical limits. Developed as a counter to a psion’s natural tendency to focus their powers outwards, and therefore possibly invade the minds of others accidentally, the Path of the Warrior is the default Railakan Lissonian psionic training (compared to TARAWA System for Humans and Biodrone Control for Teuthidoids).  Most Lissonian psions also have this training, having done a sort of ‘study abroad’ program at a Railakan academy. Any psionically-talented character can choose this specialization, provided they have trained with someone who already has it.

Path of the Disciplined Warrior – At level 1, an adherent of the Path of the Disciplined Warrior can safely call upon their controlled berserk fury for 2 rounds per day plus an additional number of rounds equal to their Constitution modifier.  Each character level beyond 1st provides another 2 rounds of safe use per day.  At 1st level, Path of the Disciplined Warrior provides a +1 Square bonus to speed and a +2 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.  These bonuses increase to +2 squares and a +4 bonus to the ability scores at level 7, +3 squares and a +6 bonus to the ability scores at level 13, at level 18 they increase to +4 squares to speed and one of the ability score bonuses increases to +8 (each time you activate the ability you choose which score).  Activating Path of the Disciplined Warrior is a swift action.  While Path of the Disciplined Warrior is active, you cannot use any psionic power unless you have direct physical contact with your target.

Path of Pain – When Path of the Disciplined Warrior’s safe rounds of use are exhausted for the day, the ability can still be activated.  However, using it at this point deals 2d6 nonlethal and 1d6 lethal damage to the user per round (this damage ignores all Damage Reduction).  The body can only take so much of being pushed past its usual limits before it starts to injure itself.

Mindjacks – The Path of the Disciplined Warrior neglects the development longer-ranged psionic potential in favor of short-range and personal abilities.  At level 1, select an ability from the following list.  At level 5 and every 4 levels thereafter, select another ability from the list. These are all mind-affecting affects.

• Forced Hallucination – You gain the Illusion talent from the Illusion Talent Tree of Psionic talents, and can use it without spending a Hero Point.  However, you can only use it against a target that you can touch.  Once you have touched the target, the talent operates as normal, even if you break contact.
• Lose Yourself – While adherents of the Path of the Disciplined Warrior can be seen as dangerous, uncontrolled, vicious warriors, that is as far from the truth as is possible.  To harness one’s own potential and, if needed, rage, requires a level of willpower that goes far beyond normal.  Indeed, this singular devotion can be said to go far enough beyond conscious willpower and more into the realm of pure instinct.  Focusing on this instinct provides a notable advantage – the ability to lose one’s self to the instinct and operate purely on the combat at hand.  Once you have learned the Lose Yourself Mindjack, you are completely immune to psionic effects that do not originate from yourself while Path of the Disciplined Warrior is active.
• Mind Probe – You gain the Mind Probe talent from the Telepath Talent Tree of Psionic talents.
• Partyline – You can extend the benefits of the following Mindjacks to your allies: Lose Yourself, Strike Craft Telepathic Coordination, Synchronization (including the penalty), and Telepathic Coordination.  A number of allies up to your Charisma modifier can be affected by this, and they must be within line of sight of you when you activate this Mindjack as a standard action.  The Mindjack remains in effect until you dismiss it as a free action.  Allies affected by this Mindjack also can communicate telepathically with each other as if they all were psions and had the Perfect Telepathy talent.  This Mindjack has no effect on allies who are immune to Psionics.  If you do not have any of the Mindjacks that this can extend the benefits of, the only benefit that this Mindjack provides is the telepathic communication network.
• Strike Craft Telepathic Coordination – You gain the Strike Craft Telepathic Coordination feat as a bonus feat, even if you lack the Psionic Training feat – but you must have the Telepathic Coordination feat.
• Synchronization – While Path of the Warrior is active, you can concentrate your efforts against a single foe.  By doing so, you treat that foe as flat-footed against you, however this lowers your defenses by 5 versus all other foes.
• Telepathic Coordination – You gain the Telepathic Coordination feat as a bonus feat, even if you lack the Psionic Training feat.

Abyss of Personality – Everyone has their dark side, even the most serene warrior.  Of course, what is ‘dark’ is subjective, and dependent on the individual.  Through further use of your psionic ability on yourself, you’ve managed to create a splinter personality driven by the emotions you usually keep in check – love, anger, sorrow, fear, whatever they might happen to be.  Any time you activate Path of the Disciplined Warrior you can choose to activate Abyss of Personality as well.  This increases the speed bonus from Path of the Warrior by +2 squares and the ability score bonuses by +4 – however the character also becomes an NPC under the GM’s control during that time.  The ‘darker’ personality shares the same basic goals and desires as you, but it can go about achieving them in a drastically different fashion.

Invisible Touch – With the briefest touch, you reach (proverbially) right into your target and grab right hold of their heart. When you strike a target you can add one of the following effects to that attack as a swift action. These are all mind-affecting effects.

• Crawls Under Your Skin – Make a Psionics check. If you beat the target’s Will Defense, you implant a convincing mental illusion that the target has creatures crawling under their skin. For a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier, the target must spend a move action to uncontrollably panic and scratch themselves, dealing 2d6+Target’s Strength Modifier damage to themselves each time.
• Falling For Her – Make a Psionics check. If you beat the target’s Will Defense, the target takes half damage from the attack and moves -1 step on the condition track. The target becomes your ally, and its attitude towards you immediately shifts to friendly. The target fights on your side until the end of the counter, at which point it departs (or, if the GM wishes, the target might become your ally permanently and join your party). Anyone hostile to you becomes hostile to the target. If the target is of a higher level than you, it gains a +5 bonus to its Will Defense.  Enemies that cannot be bribed, blackmailed, or seduced (such as Low Dwellers) are immune to this effect.
• Slowly Tears You Apart – Make a Psionics check. If you beat the target’s Will Defense, you implant a tormenting mental illusion that rips apart the target’s very psyche. For a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier, the target takes 2d6+Your Charisma Modifier damage at the beginning of their turn.
• Take Everything She Sees – Make a Psionics check. If you beat the target’s Will Defense, on the target’s next turn they hand over to you an item of your choice that is in their possession.
• Waiting Here So Long – Make a Psionics check. If you beat the target’s Will Defense, the target is unable to use their free, move, or standard actions to move for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier.

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NEW GENERIC EQUIPMENT

Augmented Overlay
Cost: 1500 Credits per user
Augmented Overlay systems are common in engineering and business. To use an overlay, every member of the team must have some form of AR display. The Augmented Overlay’s AI (AOAI) monitors the data gathered by the various team members and computer systems, and displays any relevant information on each user’s display. For example, an archaeologist is working in a trench when a new satellite pass detects an interesting surface feature nearby. The overlay would highlight this feature in the archaeologist’s display. Later, when the team’s linguist manages to translate the alien alphabet, the AOAI would automatically overlay any alien text with the current best-guess translation.  The AOAI is not a ‘true AI,’ it is instead actually a self-learning algorithm that takes into account team member’s specializations and makes a ‘best guess’ as to who could use any information that has been learned. For an experienced team, the Augmented Overlay is a great boon, giving a +2 bonus to all Intelligence-based skill checks as long as someone on the team is trained in the skill being used (as if every user were automatically using the aid another action). However, processing the flood of information from an AOAI can be distracting; each user suffers a –2 penalty to all Perception checks while running the system on their AR display.  Activating or deactivating the Augmented Overlay is a swift action.

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NEW NANOSPELLS

Ammo Rain
Action: Full-Round Action
Range: 12-square area centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Penalty to Caster: 2d8 nonlethal damage
Magery DC: 25
Nanite Control DC: 25
Target: All enemies within 12 squares of you
NMS Reserve Cost: 2 Units
Special Requirement: Requires a loaded ranged projectile weapon, shield gauntlets, and 2 NMS External Reserve Tanks (which are destroyed by casting this nanospell, but can be used to provide the 2 NMS Reserve Unit cost).
You lob several NMS External Reserve Ranks high into the air, utilizing your shield gauntlets to have them achieve a significant enough height.  Then you fire a single shot from your weapon into the tanks, which detonate and rain copies of your shot across the area around you.  Make a single ranged attack roll with your weapon, this attack is made against all enemies within 12 squares of you, and ignores all forms of cover and concealment except total cover.  You do not need to have line of sight to effect any target.  Each enemy that you hit takes the damage from your normal attack with that weapon (roll once and apply to all hit targets) – effects that only apply if you aim or take a similar action do not apply.  Missed targets take half damage.  This is an area-of-effect attack.
Special:
You can spend a Hero point to remove the requirement to have NMS External Reserve Tanks for this nanospell.
Overcast: Each grade of Overcasting adds an additional 2 units of NMS Reserve Cost and 2 NMS External Reserve Tanks to the nanospell, but for each grade of overcasting you roll the damage an additional time.

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NEW SPECIES FEATS

Adaptive Shapeshifter [Species]
Prerequisites: Trained in Knowledge [Life Sciences], Yoitsuni
Benefits: You gain access to the Evolutionary talent tree (see Heroic Talents) and gain one talent from it as a bonus talent.

Force Control Implants [Species]
You have been implanted and trained with the JolKoar’s YorIna (“False Mage”) System, granting you potent abilities to control the four fundamental forces of the universe.
Prerequisites: JolKoar’Hul or JolKoar. Presumably, biologically-similar species could receive the implants, but this would be on a case-by-case basis.
Benefits: You are trained in the Knowledge [Physical Sciences] skill and can access aspects of that skill which require Force Control Implants. You have the YorIna System, read more on that here.

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NEW HEROIC TALENTS

• Evolutionary Talent Tree
  • You have expanded your control over your shapeshifting to allow you to introduce elements of other species into any of your forms. These talents only apply when you are not in your Mode 1 form. This talent tree is only available to Yoitsuni who possess the Adaptive Shapeshifter feat.
  • Ambush: Whenever you attack a flat-footed enemy with a natural attack, you deal an extra die of damage. This talent may be taken more than once, each time it is taken adds another die of damage.
  • Attribute Increase: Each time you assume a form you can increase the physical attribute modifiers (STR, DEX, CON) of that form by +2. You can take this talent multiple times. You can choose to apply multiple +2s to the same attribute or spread them out among the three attributes – however they must be distributed in increments of 2.
  • Fast Healing: You gain Fast Healing 2. This talent may be taken a second time to increase the Fast Healing to 5.
  • Scent: You gain the Scent ability. (Scent: You have a keen sense of smell. At close range (within 10 squares), you ignore concealment and cover for the purposes of Perception checks, and you take no penalty from poor visibility when tracking (see Survival skill).
  • Swift: You increase your base speed by 2 squares. This talent can be taken multiple times, it’s effect stack. ‘Base Speed’ is defined as the highest speed that a given form naturally possesses.

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NEW ABILITY: YorIna (“False Mage”) System

Okay, this thing has been in the works for…a while. And it’s still a work in progress, but it is mostly done.

YorIna System

Utilizing technologies that have been slowly developed and perfected over the millenia by the JolKoar since the Exile, the YorIna System represents the current pinnacle of JolKoar technological capability. Developed during the closing days of the 7th Cycle and early days of the 8th Cycle, the YorIna System has helped to ‘close the gap’ – in a matter of speaking – between the JolKoar’Hul and the JolKoar.

While true magic (in the getting the spirits to do things for you sense) has existed amongst the JolKoar for as far back as they can remember, it was one of the things that was weeded out by Mu’Lun’Cui and her team of geneticists during when they created the JolKoar’Hul in the 4th Cycle. The justification for this was that the genetic markers for innate magical talent had become unstable with the majority of the JolKoar population living in artificial environments. Early trials of the JolKoar’Hul genome without the removal of these markers lead to a disturbing rise in the amount of magically-talented invidiuals with a predisposition towards electromagnetism spirits – or worse, destruction spirits. In the wake of several disasters with these prototypes, it was decided that the markers would be removed all together. As such, it left the JolKoar with a remaining advantage over the JolKoar’Hul, one that the JolKoar‘Hul had grumblingly resented for some time.  Utilizing small-scale force manipulation technology, the JolKoar‘Hul were able to implant enough of this technology into their bodies to afford themselves similar abilities.  When combined with the cybernetic systems already required to command JolKoar vessels, it soon became a prerequisite for a commander to also be one of these “YorIna.”  While the system was designed for use with the JolKoar’Hul biology, it was easy enough to adapt it to the JolKoar, however it has proven to be impossible to implant into the JolKoar’Amask.

YorIna Abilities – A user of the YorIna system begins play with 2 abilities dealing with Electromagnetism, and learns more as they level, along with abilities dealing with the other fundamental forces.

Autoshields [Tech-Based] – Properly-trained users of the YorIna system manifest a low-level gravitational field around themselves for protective purposes.  This field has a number of hit points equal to 15 * Character Level and protects the user against a number of forms of damages ("modes") determined by their character level.  The modes are chosen from the list below:

• Energy (Electricity, Energy, Fire, Ion, Radiation, and Stun damage)
• Explosive (B/S/P)
• Physical Melee
• Physical Ranged

Any damage of the appropriate type that would injure the wearer is deducted first from the autoshield’s hit points. Damage comes off the autoshields before applying the effects of damage reduction.  If you have any form of personal shielding (anything with an actual SR score), determine the effects on that before determining the effects on your autoshields. The autoshield’s hit points are also reduced by 1 HP per round when activated. Autoshields reduced to 0 HP are not destroyed, but are temporarily rendered inactive (switched off). Autoshields regenerates lost HP at a rate of 1 HP per round while the autoshield is switched off. Activating or deactivating your autoshields is a free action on your turn or a reaction when it is not your turn.

Wireless DNI – The YorIna system requires a direct neural interface, thus providing one for the user.  This DNI has no physical interface, and can only communicate wirelessly. This functions as an implanted short-range commlink, allowing the character to communicate through this comlink without making a sound at all, they basically just think what they want to say and the comlink picks up on the nerve signals, interprets it, and transmits. Additionally, the user’s brain functions as a simple datapad, allowing for the viewing and editing of data with a thought. The DNI follows all the usual rules for a tech-based DNI.

Cyborg – You are treated as a cyborg and therefore fully vulnerable to Ion damage.

Radiation Immunities – At 3rd level, a YorIna user becomes immune to alpha radiation – since alpha radiation cannot penetrate skin, this is actually an immunity to ingested and inhaled alpha decay sources.  This expands to include beta radiation at level 7, and gamma radiation at level 11.

Ship-Link – By the time they reach 5th level, a properly-trained user of the YorIna system has learned how to properly link themselves to their ship to allow the systems on the ship to work properly.

YorIna Abilities

• ELECTROMAGNETISM
  • Alter Light – Utilizing the fact that visible light is just a form of electromagnetic radiation, you can hide yourself using your abilities.  This only affects visual methods of detecting you, not sound.  This ability allows you to make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check instead of a Stealth check for the purposes of hiding from visual detection.  This also allows you to manipulate light levels nearby, letting you create a light level equal to a standard flashlight.
  • Drain Charge – As a standard action, you can draw the energy out of an electronic device.  If you choose to, you can channel it into a target within 6 squares of you, dealing 2d6 damage if you beat their Reflex defense with a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  Smaller or larger power sources will deal less or more damage at the GM’s discretion, 2d6 damage assumes a standard power pack.
  • Electrical Bolt – As a standard action, you can project a bolt of electricity.  This blast deals 1d6 electricity damage per 2 character levels to all targets in an 8-square line extending in a direction of your choice from you.  This functions as an area-of-effect attack that uses the result of a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check instead of an attack roll to determine the effects.  This ability can be used once per encounter.
  • Electrical Weapons – Your power over electricity allows you to generate electricity to wreath your weapon(s) in at will.  If you wield a ranged weapon, this electricity is instead applied to the ammunition you fire.  The amount of extra damage this deals is dependent upon your character level.  This damage also applies to the Railgun ability (see below) if you have it.
    • 1st-6th: +1d6 electricity damage
    • 7th-10th: +2d6 electricity damage
    • 11th-15th: +3d6 electricity damage
    • 15th and above: +4d6 electricity damage
  • Infrared Control – Once you learn this Ability, any source of electricity damage you have from your YorIna abilities can do Fire damage instead.
  • Lightning Strike – As a standard action you can call forth a sudden blast of electricity directed at a single target within 12 squares of you and within your line of sight.  Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check and compare it to the target’s Reflex defense.  If you beat their Reflex defense, they take 1d4 electricity damage per 2 character levels you have.  You can use this ability once every 3 rounds.
  • Magnetic Grip – This ability has two functions.  The first functions as the Move Object Force Formula, except that it can only affect ferromagnetic objects.  You may use this function once per encounter, and you may spend a Hero Point to charge the object with electricity, causing it to do additional damage equal to the normal damage it does.  This additional damage is electricity damage.  The second function of this ability is that you may spend a swift action to gain a climb speed which only allows you to climb ferromagnetic surfaces, or objects that have metal in them (such as rebar).  Maintaining this climb speed takes a swift action each round.
  • Plasma Strike – As a standard action once per encounter, you can create and manipulate plasma to attack a target.  Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check with a against a target within 24 squares and within your line of sight.  If you beat the target’s Reflex defense, it takes 1d6 fire and electricity damage per 2 character levels you have.  You can choose to make an attack against a precise area of their body as if you were making a weapon attack.
  • Railgun – As a standard action, you can accelerate an ferromagnetic object with a mass less than 0.1 kg to absurd velocities.  This functions as a weapon that operates at rifle ranges, and the amount of damage it does increases with level.  You are considered proficient with this weapon.  You add half your level to this damage, as normal for a weapon.  This is considered a heavy weapon for the purposes of feats and talents.  You may use this ability once every 3 rounds.
    • 1st-6th: 2d8x2 damage
    • 7th-10th: 2d10x2 damage
    • 11th-15th: 4d10x2 damage, operates at heavy weapon ranges now
    • 15th and above: 4d10x2 damage, ignores 5 points of DR
  • Recharge – As a standard action, you can channel electricity into an electrical device, recharging it as if it had been recharged in a normal fashion.  You can do this once every 3 rounds.
  • Refined Electromagnetic Control  (Requires level 7 or higher) – You can make a Magery check to perform one of the listed actions.
    • EMP: As a standard action, you may release a burst of broadband microwave radiation, scrambling electronics and fusing circuits. This burst is centered on you, and affects all electronics within a radius equal to 4 squares + 1 square/character level (though you may willingly decrease the radius if you so desire). The results of your Magery check determine the duration that electronics in the vicinity are scrambled, and the extent of the damage caused to them:

      Result	Time	Damage
      Up to 15	1 round	1
      16-20	2 rounds	1d4
      21-25	3 rounds	2d4
      26-30	4 rounds	2d6
      31+	5 rounds	2d8

      The damage caused by this ability ignores any hardness the electronics may have. Electronics specially shielded against EMPs or harmful radiation are immune to this action.  Once activated, you must wait 5 rounds before using this ability again.

    • Maser: As a swift action, you can activate this ability and make a Magery check.  The result of your check determines the duration of this ability.  Once this ability ends, you must wait 5 rounds before using it again.

      Result	Time
      Up to 15	1 round
      16-20	2 rounds
      21-25	3 rounds
      26-30	4 rounds
      31+1	5 rounds

      While you have Maser is active, once per round as a move action you may concentrate a stream of microwave radiation at an opponent as a ranged touch attack. This uses thrown weapon ranges. If you hit, you inflict 2d4 nonlethal damage, +1d4 nonlethal damage for every 2 character levels you have, adding your Wisdom modifier to the result.  If you score a critical hit with this attack, the damage is considered lethal damage. This damage is treated as radiation, and any bonuses the target has to their Fortitude defense vs radiation also applies to their Reflex defense vs this attack.

  • Resist Electricity – You gain Resist Electricity 10.  Once your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check improves to +20, this increases to Resist Electricity 20.
  • Tune Frequencies – Once you learn this Ability, any source of electricity damage you have from your YorIna abilities can do Ion or Stun damage instead.
• Gravitation
  • Accelerator – As a standard action, you can accelerate an object with a mass less than 0.1 kg to lethal velocities.  This functions as a weapon that operates at pistol ranges, and does 2d8 damage.  You are considered proficient with this weapon.  You add half your level to this damage, as normal for a weapon.  This counts as a pistol for the purposes of feats and talents (but you can’t customize it with Tech Specialist or Superior Tech).
  • Altered Constant – As a swift action, once per encounter, you can choose to make yourself heavier or lighter.  If you make yourself heavier, you gain a +4 bonus to Strength.  If you make yourself lighter, you gain a +4 bonus to Dexterity.  This bonus lasts for 1 round per 3 character levels.
  • Assisted Leap – You gain a +10 bonus to Jump checks and fall at rate of 12 squares per round.  You never take falling damage. The Jump bonus increases to +20 at 12th level and +30 at 18th level.  Unless you choose to do so, you never fall prone when falling from a height.
  • Advanced Personal Gravity – You can choose which direction is ‘down’ for you, effectively granting you climb speed equal to your base speed.  This can also be used to gain a fly speed only usable in zero-gravity environments or a swim speed.
  • Extreme Personal Gravity – Your ability to choose which direction is ‘down’ improves, granting you a fly speed equal to your base land speed.  You must have Advanced Personal Gravity to choose this ability.
  • Reverse Gravity – As a standard action, you can suddenly reverse gravity below a target within 12 squares of you and within your line of sight.  Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check. If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check beats that target’s Reflex defense, this ability has an effect – otherwise they successfully dodge out of the way and the ability has no effect. If you beat their Reflex Defense, they are launched upwards 5 squares, plus an extra square at level 4 and every 4 levels after that. At level 1 you can only affect targets up to Medium size with this ability – this increases to Large at level 8, Huge at 16, and so on, increasing one additional size step every 8 levels. If the target hits an object preventing its upward movement before the movement is completed, it takes 1d6 damage for every square of movement it had left to move upwards. After the upward movement is complete, calculate falling damage as normal (1d6 for every 2 squares of falling). This ability can be used once every 5 rounds.
  • Shared Personal Gravity – As a swift action, you can share the benefits of Advanced Personal Gravity (but not Extreme Personal Gravity) with a number of creatures equal to 1/4th your character level.  The creatures must remain adjacent to you, and this effect lasts for 1/5th your character level, and you must wait 5 rounds after it ends before activating it again.
• Strong Interaction
  • Detonate – You can sever the subatomic bonds in a target object, turning it into an unstable piece of matter which will detonate violently shortly thereafter. You can spend a swift action once every 5 rounds to destabilize an object in your hand.  This turns the object into an explosive, which will detonate at the end of your turn, dealing damage according to the list below.  This cannot be used with objects weighing 5 or more kilograms.  The damage this does is half fire, and half destructive power.  The object can be thrown at simple thrown weapon ranges, and functions as a grenade.  You add half your level to the damage done by Detonate.
    • <1 KG – 4d6 damage, 2-square burst radius.
    • 1.0-1.9 KG – 6d6 damage, 2-square burst radius.
    • 2.9-4.9 KG – 8d6 damage, 4-square burst radius.
  • Intense Detonation – In addition to doing damage, Detonate now affects its targets with radiation (regardless of if they are hit or not), with an intensity determined by your level.
    • 13th-14th – Mild Radiation
    • 15th-16th – Moderate Radiation
    • 17th-18th – Severe Radiation
    • 19th and higher – Extreme Radiation
  • <MORE ABILTIES IN THE WORKS>
• Weak Interaction
  • I originally didn’t want to release these rules without some stuff here, but balancing them is proving to be…difficult. Weak interaction is a mysterious thing, even in reality, so developing ideas for it to begin with is hard. Anyway, nobody gets these until level 19, so for the moment I can leave the weird world of matter conversion and forced radioactive decay alone.

YorIna Feats

Force Formula Training [YorIna]
Prerequisites: Intelligence 12, Force Control Implants
Benefit: You add a number of Force Formulae to your suite equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).
Special: You may take this feat multiple times.

YorIna Talents

These talents are only available to users of the YorIna system, and can be taken in any talent slot (like Heroic Talents).

• Adept YorIna: You may use any Force Formula that normally requires a swift action, or standard action, as a full-round action instead.  If you choose to do so, you may reroll your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check to activate that Force Formula, but you must accept the result of the reroll even if it is worse.
• Channel Energy: Whenever you use the negate energy Force Formula to successfully negate the damage from an energy attack, you can spend a Hero Point as a reaction to immediately activate any Force Formula currently in your Force Formula Suite.
  • Prerequisite: Negate energy
• Cloak of Shadow: You can spend a Hero Point as a swift action to bend light around you, veiling yourself in shadows.  Until the end of the encounter, whenever you move and end your movement at least 3 squares away from your starting position, you gain concealment from all targets until the beginning of your next turn.
• Disciplined Strike: Whenever you use a spell or incantation that has an area effect, (such as slam), you may exclude a certain number of targets from the effects of that spell.  The number of targets that you may exclude in this manner is equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
• Field Detection: As a swift action, make a DC15 Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  If the check succeeds, you can detect the presence, general strength, and origin (or direction of origin of the source is out of range) of electromagnetic and energy fields within 12 squares of you.  You can also determine the type of the field, allowing you to detect communications devices, sensors, and other electronic equipment.  When dealing damage to a target with a source of technology-based Shield Rating (SR), a successful check allows you to detect minute fluctuations in the shield, reducing their SR by -5 against your attacks until the end of your turn.
• Flight: As a swift action, you can spend a Hero Point to fly.  You gain a fly speed equal to your land speed, and you can ascend at half speed or descend at double speed.  The flight lasts until the start of your next turn; if you’re still airborne at that time, you fall.
  • Prerequisite: Adept YorIna
• Force Cloak: As a  swift action, you can surround yourself with an invisible bubble of jamming that shields you and anything you’re carrying from electronic surveillance.  The bubble also blocks all electronic sensors and communications.  The cloak lasts for as long as you concentrate (a standard action) or until the start of your next turn.
• Force Cloak Mastery: As the Force Cloak talent, except that you can expand the bubble to envelop a number of creatures (including yourself) equal to your character level.
  • Prerequisite: Force Cloak
• Force Formula Thesis: When taking this talent, select a specific Force Formula. When using this Force Formula, you gain one free Hero Point, which must be used to augment that use of the Force Formula, either through features of the spell itself or Force Control Techniques and Force Control Secrets. This ability does not let you exceed the limit of using only one Hero Point per turn. In addition, you gain one extra use of this spell per encounter.
  • Prerequisites: Ina’Maq, Skill Focus (Knowledge [Physical Sciences]), Force Formula Training
• Force Harmony: Once per encounter, you can activate one YorIna talent that requires a Hero Point to use without spending a Hero Point.
• Gravitational Natural: You possess an innate talent with gravitatonal manipulation, and uses of the ability come more naturally to you than it does to others. Once per encounter, you may expend a Hero point as a free action to use any Force Formula with  the  [gravitation] descriptor, even if you  do not normally have that power in your Force Formula suite. You can select this talent multiple times. Each time you select it, you may use this talent one additional time per encounter.
• Gravitational Power: Whenever you roll a natural 20 on your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check to activate a Force Formula with the [gravitation] descriptor, you may choose to use that Force Formula again immediately as a free action.  You may direct the second use of the Force Formula against any eligible target.
• Gravitational Prodigy: When you take the Force Formula Training feat and select move object as one of your Force Formulae, you can also select one extra Force Formula to add to your Force Formula suite for free.  This Force Formula must be one of the Force Formulae affected by the Gravitational Savant talent.  You can gain only one extra Force Formula each time you take the Force Formula Training feat, regardless of how many times you choose the move object Force Formula.
• Gravitational Savant: Once per encounter as a swift action, you may return a Force Formula with the [gravitation] descriptor to your suite without spending a Hero Point.
• Grenade Defense: You can use the Move Light Object application of the Knowledge [Physical Sciences] skill to cast aside grenades that are thrown at you.  As a reaction when you are attacked by a grenade of any kind, you can make a Force Control check with a DC equal to the attack roll of the incoming grenade.  If your check equals or beats the DC, you hurl the grenade to a location where it explodes harmlessly, negating the attack.  Whether or not you are successful, you take a -5 penalty on Force Control checks until the start of your next turn.
• Improved Flight: The fly speed provided by the Flight talent now lasts for a full day.
  • Prerequisite: Flight, 9th level.
• Ina’Maq: Whenever you take the Force Formula Training feat, you may select one additional Force Formula, as though your Intelligence score were two points higher. This bonus is retroactive, so you may select another force spell to add to your Force Formula Suite for each time you have taken the Force Formula Training Feat. In addition, when making Knowledge [Physical Sciences] checks for any purpose other than to activate a Force Formula or a Force Control Ability, you may re-roll the check if you are not satisfied. You must use the result of the re-roll, even if it is lower.
• Move Massive Object: When you successfully use the move object Force Formula to move an object of Large size or bigger, you can make an area attack with the object instead of throwing it at or dropping it on a single target, as normal for the spell.  You must spend a Hero Point when you cast the spell to do this, and the area you target is based on the size of the object: Large, 2×2; Huge, 3×3; Gargantuan, 4×4; Colossal and larger, 6×6.  When you use move object to make an area attack with the object you are moving, you compare your Force Control check to the Reflex defense of each creature, object, and vehicle in the target area.  If your check equals or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, it takes damage from the object (as determined by the move object spell).  Otherwise, the target takes half damage.  This is an area effect.
  • Prerequisites: Gravitational Power, move object
• Sense Disruption: When you come within (10 x Your Heroic Level) kilometers of a disruption in the ‘normal’ pattern of the four fundamental forces (Gravity, Weak, Electromagnetic, and Strong), you get a vague impression of it’s direction and distance from you. What constitutes ‘normal’ is of course up to the purview of the GM, but this talent usually allows you to sense magic at work, high concentrations of electromagnetic radiation, gravitational anomalies (sometimes at ranges larger than normally allowed for this talent), and dangerous radiation.
  • Prerequisites: Ina’Maq
• YorIna’s Focus: As a full-round action, you may make a DC 15 Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  If the check succeeds, you regain one spent Force Formula of your choice.

Force Formulae

Bastion [Gravitation]
Gravitationally rooting yourself to the surface you stand on, you reinforce yourself and become an immovable, resistant bastion.
Time – Move Action
Target – Self
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check: The result of the check determines the effect, if any.
DC 15: Your movement speed is reduced to 0, and you cannot be moved or knocked prone by another character. Your damage threshold is increased by 2. These effects last for one round.
DC 20: As DC 15, except your damage threshold is increased by 5
DC 25: As DC 15, except your damage threshold is increased by 10
DC 30: As DC 15, except your damage threshold is increased by 15
Special – This formula can only be used while on a solid surface (i.e. cannot be used in water, vacuum, etc.). A character using this formula cannot charge.  This formula may be maintained from round to round. Maintaining this formula is a move action.  You may spend a Hero Point to impose a -5 penalty to any enemy who attempts to tumble through your space or threatened area. 

Ballistakinesis [Gravitation]
You use directional gravity fields to spray an area with dangerous debris.
Time – Standard action
Targets – All targets within a 2×2 area (the entire area must be within 12 squares of you and in your line of sight).
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  Compare the result to the Reflex Defense of each target in the affected area.  If the check result equals or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, the target takes 3d8 points of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (your choice) and takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls until the start of your next turn.  This is an area attack. Targets missed by this suffer no damage (unlike most area attacks).
Special – You may spend a Hero Point when you activate this formula, in which case targets whose Reflex Defense you fail to exceed with your skill check take half damage.

Blind [Gravitation]
You hurl dirt, dust, and debris at your foe, affecting its perception.
Time – Swift Action
Target – One creature within 12 squares of you and in your line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  Make one roll and compare the result to the target’s Reflex Defense.  If the result equals or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, the target is considered flat-footed, and all other creatures have concealment from your target until the start of your next turn.  Creatures that do not rely on eyesight to perceive (such as those with some form of tremorsense) are immune to this effect.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to use this formula as a free action, instead of as a swift action.

Crush [Electromagnetism, Gravitation]
You lift an enemy into the air and brutally crush them, overload their nervous system, and slam them into the ground.
Time – Standard Action
Target – 1 creature within 6 squares and line of sight
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check and compare the result against the target’s defense of your choice.  Any damage dealt by Crush is considered to be originating from a single source and is applied in one sum against the target’s damage reduction and damage threshold.
DC 20: If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check equals or exceeds the target’s Fortitude Defense, it feels a crushing force constructing around them, dealing 3d6 bludgeoning damage.
DC 20: If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check equals or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, it is lifted off the ground and slammed back down, dealing 3d6 bludgeoning damage.
DC 20: If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check equals or exceeds the target’s Will Defense, the electricity coursing through their nervous system overloads their senses and damages their organs, dealing 3d6 electricity damage.
DC 30: As DC 20 except you target two Defenses and deal 3d6 per defense exceeded.
DC 40: As DC 20 except you target all three Defenses and deal 4d6 per defense exceeded.
DC 50: As DC 20 except you target all three Defenses and deal 5d6 per defense exceeded, plus you add half your heroic level as bonus damage per defense exceeded.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to compare the damage provided by your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check against each eligible Defense separately.  Each damage total is only then compared individually to the target’s Damage Threshold.

Destruction [Strong Force] – You sever some of the subatomic bonds of your target, unleashing an extremely small nuclear blast.
Time – Standard Action
Target – 1 creature within 6 squares and line of sight
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the result, if any.
DC 28: The target takes 3d8 damage.  If your Magery check matches or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, you may push the target 1 square in any direction and knock it prone.
DC 33: As DC 28, except the target is pushed 2 squares.
DC 38: As DC 33, except the target takes 4d8 damage.
DC 43: As DC 38, except the target takes 5d8 damage.
Special – You may spend a Hero Point to move the target -1 step on the Condition Track when you successfully hit with Destruction.

Disarm [Gravitation]
You disarm an opponent by using a gravity field to pull the weapon from their grasp.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One creature within 12 squares and within line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  Use this check in place of your attack roll when attempting to disarm the target (see Disarm, SECR 152).  If your disarm attack succeeds, you may choose to let the item drop to the ground in the target’s fighting space or have the item fly into your hand (in which case you must have a free hand to catch it).
Special – Feats that improve disarm attacks (such as Improved Disarm) do not apply to disarm.  You can spend a Hero Point to damage or destroy the target weapon instead.  If your disarm attack succeeds, the weapon takes damage equal to your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check result.  You must declare that you are using this option before making your disarm attack.

Fold Space [Gravitation]
You create a high-intensity gravitational field for an amount of time barely longer than planck time. This allows you to warp spacetime for long enough to transport yourself or a target a short distance, but not long enough to damage your surroundings catastrophically.
Time – Full-round Action
Target – You, or One held or unattended object within 6 squares and line of sight or one vehicle you occupy.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the maximum size of the object you can transport and the distance you can transport it or yourself.
DC 20: You can move a Medium or smaller object (or yourself) up to 6 squares.
DC 25: You can move a Large or smaller object (or yourself) up to 12 squares.
DC 30: You can move a Huge or smaller object (or yourself) up to 18 squares.
DC 35: You can move a Gargantuan or smaller object (or yourself) up to 24 squares.
DC 40: You can move a Colossal or smaller object (or yourself) up to 30 squares.
Special – If the object you are transporting contains other objects or creatures (such as a vehicle or starship), everything contained within the object is transported as well.  You can spend a Hero Point to increase the maximum size of the object you can move by two categories, up to Colossal (cruiser) in size, or double the distance the object is transported.

Gravity Manipulation [Gravitation]
You bend the very fabric of space around you, placing the weight of proverbial worlds on the shoulders of your enemies and crushing them beneath the unforgiving wrath of physics.
Time – Full-Round Action
Target – All creatures within 6 squares of you.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the effect, if any.
DC 28: Any target that was in flight immediately falls to the ground, and no target may take flight until the beginning of your next turn.  Any targets grounded by this effect take falling damage.  Additionally, compare the result of the Magery check to each target’s Fortitude Defense.  If the Magery check equals to exceeds the target’s Fortitude Defense, the target is knocked prone and has its speed reduced by half on its next turn.
DC 33: As DC 28, but any target for which the check exceed their Fortitude Defense takes 1d6 damage. This damage ignores DR.
DC 38: As DC 33, but the damage is increased to 2d6.
DC 43: As DC 33, but the damage is increased to 3d6.
Special – The results of this spell are greatly dependent upon the gravity where the user casts it. All damage dice are replaced with d4s in Low-Gravity Environments, and replaced with d8s in High-Gravity Environments. This spell automatically fails if used in a Microgravity Environment.

Grip [Gravitation]
You create a gravity field around your target, crushing them with intense strength.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One target within 12 squares and within line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 15: If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check equals or exceeds the target’s Fortitude Defense, the target takes 2d6 points of damage and can only take a single swift action on its next turn.  Otherwise, the target takes half damage and may act normally, and you may not maintain the spell.  Targets larger than Medium add a size modifier to Fortitude Defense against this spell: Colossal +50, Gargantuan +20, Huge +10, Large +5.
DC 20: As DC 15, except the target takes 4d6 points of damage.
DC 25: As DC 15, except the target takes 6d6 points of damage.
Special – You may maintain your concentration on the targeted creature to continue damaging it from round to round.  Maintaining the grip formula is a standard action, and you must make a new Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check each round.  If you suffer damage while maintaining a grip you must succeed on a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check (DC = 15 + damage taken) to continue concentrating.  You can spend a Hero Point to deal an additional 2d6 points of damage with your grip.

Inertia [Gravitation]
You can use gravitational fields to artificially increase your inertia in a specified direction, allowing you to easily perform mind-boggling maneuvers of movement.
Time – Move Action
Target – You
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  The result of the check determines the result, if any.
DC 15: You move up to half your speed along a wall as though it were the ground, ignoring the normal effects of gravity for the duration of this movement.  If you are not on the ground when you end this movement, you fall to the ground.
DC 20: As DC 15, except you can move at your normal speed along the wall.
DC 25: As DC 15, except you can move at your normal speed + 2 squares along the wall.
DC 30: As DC 15, except you can move at your normal speed + 4 squares along the wall.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to increase the speed you move along the wall by +2 squares.

Lightning [Electromagnetism]
You blast your target with an intense wave of electromagnetic emission, searing and disrupting them.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One target in line of sight and within 6 squares of you.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  Make on roll and compare the result to the target’s Reflex Defense.  If the attack hits, the target takes 4d6 points of Electricity damage and moves -1 step along the condition track.  If the attack misses, the target takes half damage and does not move along the condition track.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to move a target an additional -1 step along the condition track when you successfully hit it with lightning.

Levitate [Gravitation]
You ignore gravity’s pull by creating gravity fields to pull yourself in a specific direction.
Time – Move Action
Target – You
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 15: You gain a fly speed of 2 squares, but can only move vertically.  You may move up to your fly speed as part of this action, and if you end this movement adjacent to a horizontal surface, you can move 1 square onto that surface as a free action.  At the start of your next turn, if you are not standing or holding onto a solid surface, you fall to the ground.
DC 20: As DC 15, except the fly speed increases to 4 squares.
DC 25: As DC 15, except the fly speed increases to 6 squares.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point as a reaction to activate this formula when falling.  You can reduce your fall distance by a number of squares equal to the fly speed provided by this power.  If you reduce the fall distance to 0 squares, you safely land on your feet. You can maintain the levitate formula from round to round, extending the normal duration.  Maintaining levitate is a move action, and whenever you maintain this power, you can move vertically up to your fly speed.  If you take damage while maintaining levitate, you must succeed on a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check (DC = 15 + damage taken) to continue to maintain the power.  If you fail this Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check, you immediately fall.

Move Object [Gravitation]
Using carefully-applied gravitational fields you can move a target around.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One character or object within 12 squares and within your line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  The result of the check determines the maximum size of the target you can lift (see below).  If the target is a creature that resists your attempt, your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check must also exceed the target’s Fortitude Defense.  You can hurl the target at (or drop it on) another target in range if your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check exceeds the second target’s Reflex Defense.  Both targets take damage determined by your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check result.
DC 15: Move object up to Medium size (deals 2d6 points of damage).
DC 20: Move object up to Large size (deals 4d6 points of damage).
DC 25: Move object up to Huge size (deals 6d6 points of damage).
DC 30: Move object up to Gargantuan size (deals 8d6 points of damage).
DC 35: Move object up to Colossal size (deals 10d6 points of damage).
Special – You may maintain your concentration on the targeted object to continue to move it from round to round.  Maintaining the move object formula is a standard action, and you must make a new Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check each round. If you suffer damage while maintaining move object, you must succeed on a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check (DC = 15 + damage taken) to continue concentrating. If you deal damage with the move object formula, you cease to be able to maintain it. If you use move object against a hovering or flying object (such as an aircraft or starship), the target can oppose your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check with a grapple check as a reaction.  If the target wins the opposed check, you are unable to move the target. You may spend a Hero Point to increase the maximum size of the object by one category and deal an additional 2d6 points of damage (maximum size Colossal (frigate, 12d6 damage).

Negate Energy [Electromagnetism]
You manipulate the incoming electromagnetic energy directed at you and either dissipate it or alter it to be harmless.
Time – Reaction
Target – One attack made against you that deals energy, electricity, fire, ion, or stun damage.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  If the result of the check equals or exceeds the damage dealt by the attack, the attack is negated and you take no damage.  If your check result is less than the amount of damage dealt, you fail to negate the attack and take damage as normal.
Special – You must be aware of the attack (and not flat-footed) to negate it.  If you are successful, you can spend a Hero Point to regain hit points equal to the damage of the negated attack, up to a maximum of your full normal hit points.

Rend [Gravitation]
By creating two gravitational fields you can move a single target, whether it is a creature or object, in two different directions simultaneously. Naturally, this is not good for the target.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One target in your line of sight and within 6 squares of you.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  Compare the result with the target’s Reflex Defense.  If the check equals or exceeds the target’s Reflex Defense, the target takes 3d6 damage.  If your Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check is a natural 20, you score the equivalent of a critical hit, and the target takes double damage.  If you deal enough damage to reduce the target to 0 hit points, you rip the target into two separate parts (living creatures are automatically killed).
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to deal an additional 2d6 damage to the target.

Repulse [Gravitation]
With an omnidirectional blast of gravity you clear an area around yourself.
Time – Standard Action
Targets – All adjacent targets
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The targets make Strength checks, adding their base attack bonus.  If you beat a target’s Strength check, you push it back 1 square plus 1 additional square for every 5 points by which you exceeded the target’s check result.  If you push the target into a larger object, the target takes 1d6 points of damage.  The target adds its size modifier to its Strength check: Colossal, +20; Gargantuan, +15; Huge, +10; Large, +5; Medium, +0; Small, -5; Tiny, -10; Diminutive, -15; Fine, -20.  In addition, it gets a +5 stability bonus if it has more than two legs or is otherwise exceptionally stable.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to apply a -5 penalty to the target’s Strength check to resist your repulse.  Additionally, after spending a Hero Point, if you successfully push the target into a larger object, you deal an extra 2d6 points of damage from the extreme force of the thrust.

Shatter [Gravitation]
You stress an object telekinetically on its critical points, potentially shattering it.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One unattended object within 12 squares of you and in your line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the effect, if any.
DC 20: The object takes 4d6 points of damage.
DC 25: The object takes 6d6 points of damage.
DC 30: The object takes 8d6 points of damage.
DC 35: The object takes 10d6 points of damage.
Special – You may spend a Hero Point when you cast this spell to increase the damage dealt by +2d6.

Slam [Gravitation]
With a gravitational wave, you blast targets in a cone and possibly knock them over.
Time – Standard Action
Targets – All targets within a 6-square cone and within line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  Make one roll and compare the results to each target’s Fortitude Defense.  If the result equals or exceeds a target’s Fortitude Defense, it takes 4d6 points of Force damage and is knocked prone.  If the result is less than a target’s Fortitude Defense, it takes half damage and is not knocked prone.  This is an area effect.  Targets larger than Medium add a size modifier to Fortitude Defense against this spell: Colossal +50, Gargantuan +20, Huge +10, Large +5.
Special – When you activate this formula, you can spend a Hero Point to deal an additional 2d6 points of damage to targets in the area.

Slow [Gravitation]
Increasing the gravity around your target, you slowing them as the load they are carrying steadily increases, making it difficult for them to move.
Time – Standard Action
Target – One creature within 12 squares and within line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] Check.  If your result equals or exceeds your target’s Fortitude Defense, they take the following effects as determined by your check result:
DC 15: Target’s speed is reduced by  square until the beginning of your next turn.  The target is also encumbered, as though carrying a heavy load, taking a -10 penalty on Acrobatics, Climb, Endurance, Initiative, Jump, Stealth, and Swim checks.
DC 20: As DC 15, except speed is reduced by 2 squares.
DC 25: As DC 15, except speed is reduced by 3 squares.
DC 30: As DC 15, except speed is reduced by 4 squares.
The target adds a size modifier to its Fortitude Defense: Colossal, +50; Gargantuan, +20; Huge, +10; Large, +5; Medium or smaller, +0.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to impose a -5 penalty to your target’s Fortitude Defense against the use of this power.

Surge [Gravitation]
Through the use of carefully-applied gravitational fields, you enable yourself to jump great heights and distances as well as move quickly.
Time – Free Action
Target – You
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 10: You gain a +10 Force bonus on Jump checks and your speed increases by 2 squares until the start of your next turn.  The Force bonus on Jump checks includes the adjustment for increased speed.
DC 15: As DC 10 except: +20 Force bonus on Jump checks, speed increases by 4 squares.
DC 20: As DC 10 except: +30 Force bonus on Jump checks, speed increases by 6 squares.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to increase the formula’s Force bonus on Jump checks by 10 and increase your speed by an additional 2 squares.  Using the surge formula counts as a running start for determining a Jump DC.

Thrust [Gravitation]
You gravitationally push a target away from you.
Time – Standard Action
Targets – One object or character within 12 squares and within line of sight.
Make a Knowledge [Physical Sciences] check.  The target makes a Strength check.  If you beat the target’s Strength check, you push it back 1 square plus an additional square for every 5 points by which you exceed the target’s check result.  If you push the target into a larger object, the target takes 1d6 points of damage. 
The target adds its base attack bonus and its size modifier to its Strength check: Colossal, +20; Gargantuan, +15; Huge, +10; Large, +5; Medium, +0; Small, -5; Tiny, -10; Diminutive, -15; Fine, -20.  In addition, it gets a +5 stability bonus if it has more than two legs or is otherwise exceptionally stable.
Special – You can spend a Hero Point to apply a -5 penalty to the target’s Strength check to resist your thrust.  Additionally, if you successfully push the target into a larger object, you deal an additional 2d6 points of damage from the extreme force of the thrust.

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NEW LORE: The Quadrangles of Mars

Dividing Mars on a map is not an easy task at the moment due to the impending terraforming and large expanses of unoccupied territory. Due to this, the UMC uses the old quadrangle system developed by the United States Geological Survey in the 1960, albeit with changed names for each quadrangle.

Amundsen Quadrangle (Old Mare Australe)
Amundsen Station was the USA’s polar station for water supply purposes. These days it is one of two major water sources on the planet.

Barsoom Quadrangle (Old Aeolis, formerly Burroughs)
Originally named the Burroughs
Quadrangle, it was renamed in 2028 when Burroughs Station grew to the point where it was re-designated the Barsoom Colony.

Beer Quadrangle (Old Margaritifer Sinus)
Beer Station in Beer Crater is home to the first official brewery opened on Mars that operated with locally-sourced materials. Operating since 2003, the Beer Station Brewery is officially-incorporated oldest business on Mars.

Carter Quadrangle (Old Phaethontis)
John Carter Station in Newton Crater is the capital of the Carter Quadrangle.

Cydonia Quadrangle (Old Mare Acidalium)
The Cydonia Colony is the capital of the Cydonia Quadrangle. Near the colony is the infamous "Face on Mars," which was just a mundane hill until an unknown party altered it in the course of one night in 2024 to look like a large face. The hill is now a tourist attraction.

Clyne Quadrangle (Old Ismenius Lacus)
Clyne Station in Lyot Crater is the capital of the Clyne Quadrangle.

Hellas Shores Quadrangle (Old Hellas)
Hellas Shores is currently not populated enough to have a designated capital. A sizable portion of the area will be flooded in the process of terraforming, and as such it is a prospect for future colonial endeavours.

Herschel Quadrangle (Old Mare Tyrrhenum)
Herschel Station in Herschel Crater is the capital of the Herschel Quadrangle.

Howard Quadrangle (Old Amenthes)
The Robert E Howard Artist’s Enclave located in Terra Cimmeria is the capital of the Howard Quadrangle, and is a popular destination for writers seeking to ‘get away from things’ to encourage their creativity. The Enclave is the oldest settlement on Mars not founded by a nation, having been established in the early 1990s by a group of forward-thinking investors.

Huygens Quadrangle (Old Iapygia)
Huygens Station on the rim of Huygens Crater is the capital of the Huygens Quadrangle, and is a center of research regarding the conditions of ancient Mars.

Kaiser Quadrangle (Old Noachis)
Kaiser Station in Kaiser Crater is the capital of the Kaiser Quadrangle, and is a center of research regarding ore deposits on Mars.

Kennedy Quadrangle (Old Sinus Sabaeus)
Kennedy Station is located near Schiaparelli Crater and is the titular capital of the Kennedy Quadrangle.

Kepler Quadrangle (Old Eridania)
Kepler Qudrangle is currently not populated enough to have a designated capital.

Khrushchev Quadrangle (Old Lunae Palus)
Khrushchev Station is located near Kassei Valles and is the capital of this quadrangle.

Lowell Quadrangle (Old Casius)
Lowell Colony on the ‘shores’ of Utopia Planitia, roughly 75E, 45N. This quadrangle capital is the location of a major installation for the Martian Terraforming Organization.

Milankovic Quadrangle (Old Diacria)
Milankovic Colony in Milankovic Crater is the capital of this quadrangle.

Osterman Quadrangle (Old Argyre)
Osterman Colony located in Galle Crater is the capital of this quadrangle. In an effort to attract tourists to the area, a theme park based on the graphic novel Watchmen is under construction there.

Olympus Quadrangle (Old Tharsis)
Olympus Base is on the lower eastern slopes of Olympus Mons, and is used as the starting point for the most frequented climbing route to the summit. It is the capital of this quadrangle.

Petrov Quadrangle (Old Arcadia)
Petrov Station – named for the first cosmonaut on Mars – is located on the slopes of Alba Mons and is the capital of this quadrangle.

Jezero Quadrangle (Old Syrtis Major)
Jezero Station in Jezero Crater is the capital of this quadrangle.

Sagan Quadrangle (Old Oxia Palus)
Sagan Colony located in Sagan Crater is the home of the Sagan Astronomy College and is the capital of this quadrangle.

Senenmut Quadrangle (Old Arabia)
Senenmut Station located between Pasteur and Cassini craters is the capital of this quadrangle.

Schiparelli Quadrangle (Old Amazonis)
Schiparelli Station in Tooting Crater (Tooting Station was deemed an ‘unacceptable’ name by the UMC), and is the capital of this quadrangle.

Southern Shores Quadrangle (Old Thaumasia)
The Southern Shores Qudrangle currently has insufficient population to merit declaring a capital.

Syria Planum Quadrangle (Old Phoenicis Lacus)
Syria Planum is the home to an extensive array of settlements, most notably the eponymous Syria Planum Colony which is the capital of the quadrangle. There is a heavy TAAF presence in the area, especially in the Noctis Labyrinthus area, which is considered restricted space – unauthorized entry into the area is not permitted.

Tombaugh Quadrangle (Old Elysium)
Tombaugh Colony is the capital of this quadrangle. The volcano Elysium Mons and the area surrounding it are under the control of TAAF and are considered restricted space, unauthorized entry into the area is not permitted.

Utopia Planitia Quadrangle (Old Cebrenia)
Originally only home to the historic park marking the landing site of the USA’s first mission to mars, a colony has been growing up around this park. This colony (Utopia Planitia Colony) is the capital of this quadrangle.

Valles Marineris Quadrangle (Old Coprates)
The quadrangle capital, Valles Marineris Colony in Tithonium Chasma, is the oldest permanently-inhabited human settlement on Mars – and it shows.  In the depths of the Valles Marineris canyon system, far beneath the glittering ground offices of the Valles Marineris Orbital Shipyards you’ll find old cosmonaut housing repurposed into storage rooms and power generator enclosures, probably still with references to the old USSR.  The colony is currently in a state of transition, for the longest time they were building upwards towards the upper edge of the canyon, now they find themselves starting to move the colony itself up onto that upper edge, piece by piece.  While the inhabitants of the colony-proper have come to terms with the eventual forced relocation due to the terraforming project, those that dwell in the enclaves and retreats scattered outside the colony are decidedly against this forced relocation.
Notable among the opposition is the enclave of New Murmansk, who’s organized crime rings went far enough in their opposition to merge together to form the Red Dragons, who briefly seized control of the colony in 2030.
The Valles Marineris Colony itself is a 7 level enclosed structure built in the depths of Tithonium Chasma in a narrow part of the canyon, plus a non-pressurized spaceport (Veronika Lagunov Spaceport) built on the edge of the canyon on the surface.  The lowest level of the colony, originally the old Soviet installation, now serves as the utilities department of the colony, and requires regular maintenance to keep the cobbled-together collection of old Soviet and newer standardized UMC technology working properly.  Above that is the primary residential level, followed by a research level, then industrial installations, then the market level, then the business level (where the Shipyard is headquartered), and lastly the government level.
Outside of the colony there are several scattered enclaves, such as New Murmansk, ПНС-Mars (the headquarters for the Putin News Community’s operations on the planet), and "Little Beijing" (which has no official name).  Additionally, the Valles quadrangle has a large number of personal retreats scattered around the are as well, often in small communities of four or five retreats over an area of 20 square kilometers.
TAAF presence in the area consists of the Eos Chaos area, which is considered restricted space – unauthorized entry into the area is not permitted.

Volkov Quadrangle (Old Mare Boreum)
Volkov Station is the capital of this quadrangle. An underground facility located near the North Pole of Mars, it was the primary water source for Russian colonies on the planet. These days it is the primary source of all non-recycled water on Mars, and is a major hub for MTO operations.

Williams Quadrangle (Old Memnonia)
Williams Station is the capital of this quadrangle.

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NEW ORGANIZATION: The Benevolent Martian Order of Cydonian Knights

Originally a social club founded by bored employees of the Robert E Howard Artist’s Enclave who just wanted to ride around the Martian desert and drink, the Benevolent Martian Order of Cydonian Knights soon bloomed into Mars’s first independent philanthropic organization.  Formed along the idea of similar organizations on Earth, it attracted the attention of artists, entertainers, philanthropists, and politicians, and has become the premiere charity organization on the Red Planet.

While the majority of their time is spent doing charity work, once a year they assemble for their annual speeder bike rally, which starts at the Order’s headquarters in the Cydonia colony and heads convoy-style to the Order’s original lodge at the Robert E Howard Artist’s Enclave.  The dust blown up by the parading speeder bikes, groundcycles, and airspeeders can be seen from orbit as tens of thousands of members blast across the Martian desert like a cavalry charge of the days of yore.

Founded in 1995, Robert E Howard Artist’s Enclave, Howard Quadrangle, UMC

Members: ~52,300

Headquarters: Cydonia Colony, Cydonia Quadrangle, UMC

Resources: High

Dues: High (5,000 Credits per year)

Patron: None

Secrecy: 0

Connection Rating: 3 (6 in UMC)

Benefits