Animal Affinity

With this power, the user develops an affinity for a particular animal type. The DM will randomly determine the animal type (see the Monstrous Manual for descriptions). The user undergoes a physical change when this power is used, depending on the animal and ability. For example, he may gain wings or claws.

When the user activates this power, he temporarily gains one of the animal’s attributes. He can gain the animal’s Armor Class, movement rate and mode, physical attacks, damage, and THAC0; hit points; or any other special ability—though only one of these can be gained at a time. The attribute lasts for every round that the cost is paid. Switching to a different attribute requires a new MTHAC0 roll.

Athasian Animal Affinity Table

Death Field

The psionicist sends a deadly energy field out from his own psyche. The psionicist immediately loses the number of hit points that he chooses (no saving throw). Others in a 20’ radius from the psionicist must save vs. Death Magic or lose the same number of hit points. Saving throws negate all damage, unless the target is in direct physical contact with the psionicist originating the death field, in which case a saving throw only drops the damage to 50%.

Fumble—the psionicist loses the hp, but fails to generate the field.

Energy Containment

This power allows the psionicist to absorb harmful, non-kinetic, non-chemical, non-negative-, and non-psychic energies such as heat, flame, electricity, sound, and missiles composed of magical energy—energy forms that wound fry or otherwise harm the defender. Any of these energy types can be contained by this power, i.e. the power drawn into the psionicist’s body, and safely transformed into light energy.

In effect, this protects the psionicist against energy attacks. If the psionicist passes the MTHAC0 check, then he suffers no physical damage from the attack, but must spend psps equal to the damage that he would have sustained. If this would drain the psionicist of all of his remaining psps, then the psionicist suffers physical damage normally from the energy attack, and in addition loses all remaining psps, and must save vs. spells or have his mind instantly breached.

When the character absorbs energy, he radiates visible light for a number of rounds equal to the points of damage he absorbed. Kinetic energy attacks such as physical blows, and negative energy attacks such as life draining and cold are not affected by this power.

Energy containment is reflexive, meaning that it is triggered automatically by any energy attack on the psionicist. The psionicist need not state that he is initiating the power before a round begins. If the psionicist has already taken an action, it still operates normally; however if he has not yet taken his action in the round when he uses this power, he must abort his intended action to initiate this power.

Meldmorph

The most powerful, lengthy, and dangerous of the psionic healing powers, Meldmorph allows the psionicist to meld himself with the trunk of a tree.

The benefit of Meldmorph is its extraordinary regenerative and rejuvenative power. As the psionicist remains part of the tree, the following things happen to his humanoid body once he emerges (in this exact order):

If the psionicist has the convergence power, he can meld one other person with him into the tree, and the Meldmorph affects both their bodies at the same rates.

Meldmorphed bodies are part of the tree. The tree gains bulk from the meldmorph, but in no way looks abnormal. Meldmorphed minds become part of the tree’s consciousness. The user is aware of the passage of time and even sees, smells, hears and feels in a limited way, though time speeds up an sixty-fold around him, so he won’t notice non-plant beings unless they move extremely slowly or stay still near him for an extended period of time.

For all purposes of detection (except perhaps the Cosmic Awareness High Science or the Wish spell), the melder has ceased to exist. One other way to determine whether a tree carries a meldmorphed psionicist is to use Plant Mind, Psychic Surgery, and Probe simultaneously on the tree. A psionicist can communicate with the psionicist using Mindlink, Plant Mind, Psychic Surgery, and Stasis Field.

A more risky way to find the psionicist is to defile the tree. If the tree is defiled, the psionicist gets a saving throw versus death magic. Failure means that the melder is irrevocably turned to dust with the defiled tree. Success means that the tree has managed to imbue the psionicist with its dying energy. The tree turns to dust, but the psionicist’s body is ejected with double his normal psp maximum. Defiler beware!

If the tree is destroyed by some other means besides magic, the psionicist needs to try to trigger his Meldmorph power. Failure means death with the tree; success means that he manages to metamorphose back to his normal shape, alive, but at 10-60% of his hit point maximum.

The psionicist may end the Meldmorph at any time he wishes by triggering the power again. When the psionicist exits the tree, he leaves a natural-looking hollow within the wood. The psionicist tends to miss the company of the tree, and will often come back to communicate with it. One danger of using this power is that meldmorphed minds become "tree-like" over time, and often do not wish to return to an animal state. Every five years that the psionicist stays in meldmorphed, he must save vs. spells or linger another d4 x 10 years as a tree. Since this is cumulative, and the psionicist must make this saving throw during the "lingering" periods, there is a strong chance that the psionicist will stay in tree shape forever! Every 100 years, the psionicist must save or forget that he ever was an "animal."

Metamorphosis

This power resembles magical polymorphing, but it has a wider application. The user can change himself into anything with approximately the same mass as his body: a wolf, a chair, or even a tree. While in this form, the user retains his own hit points and THAC0, but he gains the AC of the new form. He also gains all physical attacks the form allows, but no magical or special abilities. A new attack ability depends on the form chosen; a tree, for example, can’t attack, so it has no THAC0. Non magical movement is also gained. if the user metamorphs into another character race, use the Monstrous Manual book’s descriptions for that race.

Some forms have intrinsic advantages. Changing into a fish or rock renders the user immune to drowning, though he doesn’t retain any senses not normally associated with his new form. He may opt to keep some of his own senses when he transforms, but these are likely to give him away. Nonmagical movement powers are included, such as flying, jumping, dodging, etc. It does not confer special powers such as psionics, poison, gaze attacks, etc.

Like any massive change of shape, metamorphosis causes great physical stress. The user must make a system shock roll. If the roll fails, he expends 6 PSPs, changes form only for 1 round, and immediately passes out for 2d6 turns.

Nerve Manipulation

This power allows the psionicist to do terrible things to the nervous system of another creature. With a touch, he call inflict wracking pain, unconsciousness, or even death. This power works best on creatures of the psionicist’s own species; there is a -2 Penalty to the power check if the psionicist uses the power on a creature of a different species, and a -4 penalty if the psionicist uses the power on a creature of a different order such as an insect or a mollusk.

The psionicist must touch the skin of the victim, which can be a difficult proposition in combat—a normal attack roll to hit the victim is required. If he attacks successfully, the effect on the victim is deter mined by the psionicist’s initiation roll.

The victim may attempt a saving throw versus poison to avoid the effects of the psionicist’s touch. Any of the effects can be neutralized by the application of a neutralize poison spell or the successful use of the antidote function of the science poison simulation. If the psionicist wishes, he can "pull his punch," using a lesser effect oil the victim than that indicated by the power check result.

Fumble—The psionicist must save Versus poison or suffer one of the above effects, determined randomly.

Poison Simulation

The psychometabolist can use this power to produce natural toxins from her own body. The psionicist can only simulate poisons that she has experienced or tasted herself; if she had survived the sting of a giant scorpion at some point in the past, then she can reproduce the scorpion’s venom. (If the psionicist purposely tastes or injects a small amount of poison in order to learn how to simulate it, she suffers half the normal effect and gains a +2 on her saving throws against that dose.)

The psionicist can create the poison in her bloodstream or saliva. If she creates the toxin in her bloodstream, she can nick herself with a blade to get to it. Poisons the psionicist simulates can be used in their normal fashion; contact poisons can be used to poison victims with a touch, injective poisons can be smeared on weapons, and so forth. If the psionicist has an ingestive poison in her bloodstream and is bitten by a monster, that creature is affected normally by the venom.

An attack roll is required to hit an opponent with poisoned spittle or an envenomed blade, and the victim gets a saving throw appropriate to that poison type. A dose of the psionicist’s poison remains potent for a number of rounds equal to her level or until it has been applied once.

This ability also has two secondary uses. First, the psionicist also learns how to construct antidotes for poisons she has been exposed to. This power gives her a +4 on any saving throw against poison, and a +8 bonus on poisons she can manufacture herself. Secondly, the psionicist can produce an antidote to treat someone else if that person has been poisoned with a toxin that the psionicist knows how to create.

Fumble—The psionicist poisons herself for 10-30 points of damage (save versus poison for half damage).

Resilient Field

This power makes the psionicist immune to negative energy or energy draining attacks such as level loss, cold, or magical/psionic sleep/paralysis attacks, psychic drain or vampirism. This science is reflexive; it must is checked each time a "negative" attack strikes the field;" both each individual attack cost PSPs. If a check fails, negative attack has its normal effect on the target.

Fumble—the psionicist loses 10-60 PSPs.

Shadowform

This power transforms the user into living shadow. The user, his clothing, armor, and up to 20 pounds of equipment all transform. He can blend perfectly into any other shadow. His movement rate, however, is 6 (regardless of what it was before), and he can only travel through darkness and shadow. Areas of open light are impassable.

While in shadow form, the user only can be noticed by life detection, other types of psionic detection, or by a true seeing spell. He can’t harm anyone physically or manipulate any corporeal objects, but he can use psionic powers.

Steal Health

If the target fails a saving throw vs. death magic, it absorbs the psionicist’s wound or disease, in a sense "giving" its hit points over to the psionicist. Only one specific wound or disease at a time can be so transferred.

Psionicists with power absorb a disease using Lend Health, and isolate and contain it using Biofeedback, and bestow the original disease upon another creature as if the psionicist was a normal disease carrier. The psionicist spends 10 psp per day that she contains the disease, and 10 psp per target that she attempts to bestow it on. If she discontinues containing the disease, she can no longer bestow it on targets, and must check this power successfully in order to destroy the disease without contracting it.

Note that this power allows the disease to be bestowed by the psionicist’s touch, but once bestowed behaves and is communicated normally (whether airborne, waterborne, etc.)

Fumble—obvious, isn’t it? The psionicist contracts the disease, and cannot be cured with her own psionics.