 About Bost Bost
Blindfighting - A character with blind-fighting is skilled at fighting in conditions of poor or no light (but this proficiency does not allow spell use). In total darkness, the character suffers only a -2 penalty to his attack roll (as compared to a -4 penalty without this proficiency). Under starlight or moonlight, the character incurs only a -1 penalty. The character suffers no penalties to his AC because of darkness. Furthermore, the character retains special abilities that would normally be lost in darkness, although the effectiveness of these are reduced by one-half (proficiency checks are made at half the normal score, etc.). This proficiency is effective only against opponents or threats within melee distance of the character. Blind-fighting does not grant any special protection from missile fire or anything outside the immediate range of the character's melee weapon. Thus, AC penalties remain for missile fire. (By the time the character hears the whoosh of the arrow, for example, it is too late for him to react.) While moving in darkness, the character suffers only half the normal movement penalty of those without this proficiency. Furthermore, this skill aids the character when dealing with invisible creatures, reducing the attack penalty to -2. However, it does not enable the character to discover invisible creatures; he has only a general idea of their location and cannot target them exactly. Contact - This proficiency gives characters access to the psionic attack forms necessary to open a closed mind. Contact allows characters to gain psionic attacks as they become available with level advancement (see Chapter 1). Psionicists automatically receive this proficiency; it doesn’t take up any of their available slots. As a psionicist increases in level, he automatically receives psionic attack forms as outlined on TABLE VII. Psionic attack forms don’t fill up a psionicist’s proficiency slots. Wild talents, however, must select contact and place it in an available nonweapon proficiency slot to gain its benefits. Once contact is slotted, a wild talent selects one psionic attack. He may select an additional attack by placing it in an available nonweapon slot after he has advanced the appropriate number of levels, according to his group’s progression rate. Wild talents may never have more than three of the five psionic attack forms. Control Sound - This power allows the user to shape and alter existing sounds. A man’s words could emerge as a tagster’s roar, or the noise of marching soldiers can be made to sound like the wind of a sandstorm. Sounds can also be layered, so that one singer can be made to sound like an entire choir. Control sound can also dampen a noise. The player must specify what sound the character intends to eliminate. For example, the user might quiet the strike of a hammer or eliminate the creak of a door. He couldn’t eliminate both at once, however.
Endurance - A character with endurance proficiency is able to perform continual strenuous physical activity for twice as long as a normal character before becoming subject to the effects of fatigue and exhaustion. In those cases where extreme endurance is required, a successful proficiency check must be made. Note that this proficiency does not enable a character to extend the length of time that he can remain unaffected by a lack of food or water. Flesh Armor - The psionicist transforms his own skin into nonmagical armor. No one can see the change, but its as if he had actually acquired some type of armor. The type of armor his body mimics depends on the result of his power check, as shown in the following table:
Inertial Barrier - This power is used as a defense, creating a barrier of psionic energy around the user and anyone within 3 yards of him. This barrier softens missile blows, shielding the user from damage by slowing and absorbing some or all of the potential damage caused by incoming attacks. However, the barrier also slows outgoing missile attacks—a drawback the user should consider. The power protects against damage from these forms of attack: any nonmagical missile weapon; any physical missile created by magic; any missile with magical bonuses; flames; some breath weapon attacks (depending on the nature of the breath); acid; gas; all forms of disintegration; and falling (damage is halved). Inertial barrier can’t stop missiles conjured from pure magic or protect against raw heat or cold, pure energy or light, or gaze weapons. An inertial barrier can’t keep enemies out, but it does slow them. Anyone trying to cross a barrier must stop moving when contact is made. In the next round, the barrier can be crossed (either entering or exiting). Missile weapons, whether passing into or out of the barrier, inflict damage in a modified fashion because the power saps energy from the missile. If a missile strikes its target after passing through the barrier (in either direction), the attacker rolls for damage as normal. However, the defender then rolls the same die to see how much damage the barrier absorbed. (Note: The defender doesn’t include any magical bonuses the weapon may have.) The defender subtracts his die roll from the attacker’s damage total. If anything remains, the defender loses that many hit points. If the defender’s roll equals or exceeds the total damage, the weapon falls harmlessly to the ground. If the missile is explosive, the barrier prevents weapon damage but not explosive damage.
Levitation - This power allows the user to float by using telekinesis on himself. The user can lift himself at the rate of 1 foot per second, or 60 feet per round. He can descend as quickly as he wants by simply letting himself fall, then slowing down as he nears the ground. The user can always levitate his own weight. Additional weight, such as equipment or passengers, is a hindrance. Every 25 pounds of added weight improves the power’s MAC by 1. Levitation isn’t flying. The power provides no horizontal movement. The user can hover motionlessly and drift with the wind if he wants, or he can push off a wall or other fixed object and drift up to 60 feet per round in a straight line. He can’t stop, however, until he meets another solid object, lowers himself to the ground, or stops paying the PSP cost. Two powers- control wind and project force—can help the levitating user propel himself forward and change direction. The use of these additional powers requires the extra expenditure of PSPs and MTHAC0 rolls.
Mental Armor - This proficiency allows a character to improve his mental armor class (MAC). Each time this proficiency is placed in an available nonweapon slot, the character’s MAC improves. Nonpsionicists improve by +1 for each slot; psionicists improve by +2. The proficiency may only be slotted once per level advancement. Mining - A character with mining proficiency is needed to site and supervise the operations of any mine. First, the character can attempt to determine what types of ores or gems can be found in a given area. To do this, he must spend at least a week searching a four-square-mile area. The DM may rule that more area must be searched to find anything of value and may thus increase the amount of time required. At the end of the search, the character can say what is likely to be found in this area. After this, the character can site the mine. On a successful proficiency check (made secretly by the DM), the character has found a good site to begin mining for any minerals that may be in the area. The check does not guarantee a successful mine, only that a particular site is the best choice in a given area. The DM must determine what minerals, if any, are to be found in the region of the mine. On a failed check, the character only thinks he has found a good site. Much effort is spent before the character is proved wrong, of course. Once the mine is in operation, a character with mining proficiency must remain on site to supervise all work. Although this is a steady job, most player characters will find it better to hire an NPC for this purpose. Mul Exertion - The mul’s Constitution score is added to the type of labor, which results in the total number of hours (or days) he can work before he must rest. Regardless of the type or length of exertion, eight hours of undisturbed sleep allows a mul to awaken fully rested and ready to begin work again. Normal Activity (walking, conversation) Con (days)
Rejuvenation - This proficiency allows a psionicist to recover PSPs more quickly than is usual by entering a rejuvenating trance. This state of deep concentration requires a successful proficiency check. For every hour a hero maintains this trance (and makes the check), he regains PSPs at twice the usual rate (one-quarter of his total instead of one-eighth). He can’t expend PSPs while in this trance, and his state is much like deep sleep. Stonemasonry - A stonemason is able to build structures from stone so that they last many years. He can do simple stone carvings, such as lettering, columns, and flourishes. The stone can be mortared, carefully fitted without mortar, or loosely fitted and chinked with rocks and earth. A stonemason equipped with his tools (hammers, chisels, wedges, block and tackle) can build a plain section of wall one foot thick, ten feet long, and five feet high in one day, provided the stone has already been cut. A stonemason can also supervise the work of unskilled laborers to quarry stone; one stonemason is needed for every five laborers. Dwarves are among the most accomplished stonemasons in the world; they receive a +2 bonus when using this skill. Telekinesis - This power allows the user to move objects without touching them. Telekinesis tends to be physically taxing, as it takes a lot of internal energy to move objects. Small objects are easy, but larger, more massive objects are significantly more difficult. The cost listed above assumes the object being moved weighs 3 pounds or less. For heavier objects, use the following: • PSP cost equals the item’s weight in pounds.
Telekinesis moves the targeted item up to 60 feet per round. Items moving at such a slow rate of speed don’t make effective weapons, but items weighing more than 3 pounds can be used to disrupt spellcasting or psionic use. (The user rolls his base THAC0 score to hit, with a penalty equal to one-third of the item’s weight, rounded down. For example, if a hero whose THAC0 is 15 wants to attack a wizardess whose AC is 0, he needs an 18 or better to hit her with a 10-pound rock.) Telekinesis can be used to perform very fine work, such as writing or sewing. The user must be capable of performing the work himself, and a second MTHAC0 roll (and second round of power use) is needed to complete fine work. If the hero wants to use the power to pull an item away from an opponent, use the rules for psychic contests, except that the defender uses his Strength score to decide the contest.
Tumbling - The character is practiced in all manner of acrobatics--dives, rolls, somersaults, handstands, flips, etc. Tumbling can only be performed while burdened with light encumbrance or less. Aside from entertaining, the character with tumbling proficiency can improve his Armor Class by 4 against attacks directed solely at him in any round of combat, provided he has the initiative and foregoes all attacks that round. When in unarmed combat he can improve his attack roll by 2. On a successful proficiency check, he suffers only one-half the normal damage from falls of 60 feet or less and none from falls of 10 feet or less. Falls from greater heights result in normal damage. Kung Fu Notes
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