Telepathy

Telepathy AN+0 CL
The basic telepathy action allows you to read minds at a range of up to 4 with no penalty. Unlike many other Actions, you may not pay additional stones to increase this range. To read a mind, compare your stones of effect with the target's Mental Defense (their Intelligence + the better of their Mental Defense Modifier or Telepathy AN); if your stones of effect are superior, you can read the subject's surface thoughts - their inner monlogue, as it were. It is possible to delve deeper into their memories, but this takes additional time during which you must maintain telepathic contact by spending at least 1 stone of effect each turn. The further back you wish to pry, the longer it is likely to take.

Having your mind probed in this way can be uncomfortable at best, but skilled telepaths can mask their mental presence by spending one additional stone of effect.

Telepathy is essentially a sixth sense, and so tuning it out actually takes practice and experience; untrained telepaths may pick up on subtle cues and incomplete snippits of stray thoughts whether they mean to or not. Even disciplined telepaths may feel overwhelmed in the presence of large groups of people experiencing powerful emotions.

In addition to reading minds, most telepaths can attempt other, more complex techniques listed below, even if they have not purchased the technique in question. You can attempt any technique by paying a number of additional stones of effect at least one higher than to the cost of the given option. For example, an untrained telepath attempting Mind Control (a +2 CL option) would need to pay at least 3 additional stones of effect in order to even have a chance of pulling it off.

Telepathic tecniques include:
 * +1 CL = Astral Travel. As the action from the core rule book, p.44.
 * +2 CL = Edit Memories. (details forthcoming)
 * +1 CL = Empathy. Similar to the ability to read minds, you can pick up on a person's emotions in great detail. You can even convey emotions, the relative strength of which is determined by stones of effect.
 * +1 CL = Telepathic Illusions. You can force a person to see and experience things that are not truly there, by your design. Compare stones of effect vs your target's Mental Defense as usual; stones of "damage" determine the complexity and relative scope of what they experience. If your target's Intelligence or enhance senses MN (such as Animal Senses or Enhanced Vision) is greater or equal to your Telepathy AN, they still perceive the illusion but become aware that it is false; it may be easier to disbelieve especially unlikely illusions. Otherwise, they remain utterly convinced that what they are experiencing is real.
 * +2 CL = Mental Block. This technique allows you to lock away a portion of a target's supernatural powers, temporarily blocking access to some or all of the associated Actions and/or Modifiers. With enough time and effort, a mental block can be made permanent. You cannot block mundane Actions, such as Close Combat or General Knowledge (instead, use the Edit Memories technique, above). Creating a mental block works as follows:
 * The Difficulty is equal to the portion of the AN or MN you wish to reduce; thus, if you wanted to reduce an AN from 6 to 2, the Difficulty would be 4. Your Telepathy AN must meet or exceed the Difficulty to even attempt the procedure. If an AN or MN is reduced to zero, it cannot be used at all.
 * The Resistance of a mental block is equal to the Difficulty x the desired Duration (found on the Difficulty & Resistance chart). To create a permanent block, multiply the Difficulty by 20.
 * Removing a mental block requires the Repair Minds technique; however, a telepath can always remove a block of their own creation without penalty. To remove a block, a telepath must first overcome the same Difficulty, and Resistance equal to the Difficulty x the remaining duration of the block. A permanent block has a resistance of Difficulty x 20 stones.
 * +1 CL = Mental Bolts. You can project a bolt of pure thought at another mind, momentarily disrupting it and potentially causing unconsciousness or even death. Compare your stones of attack vs your target's Mental Defense; for each stone of "damage", remove one stone of energy from each of their actions, starting with stones of effect (if any), followed by stones shifted to defense (if any) should they run out of stones of effect. If you still have stones of "damage" left over, they are treated as actual damage.
 * +1 CL = Mental Links. This technique creates a link with one or more other minds within range, enabling you to maintan telepathic contact should they then move beyond your usual range. You can have any number of links at once, but each link costs 1 stone per Page to maintain.
 * +1 CL = Mental Shields. You can shield the minds of your allies from telepathic attacks. You must pay one stone per ally during each page of protection; each ally you protect adds your Telepathy AN to their Mental Defense. If any ally already has a Telepathy AN or the Mental Defense modifier, use whichever value is highest. Any mind with which you have a mental link is automatically protected unless you deliberately choose not to shield them.
 * +2 CL = Mind Control. Perhaps the most feared telepathic technique, Mind Control allows a telepath to force a lesser mind into helpless submission in order to steal control of their body. It works as follows:
 * Compare your stones of effect against the target's Mental Defense as usual; record any stones of "damage" as they represent your degree of control over their actions.
 * For each stone of "damage" you may control one of your target's actions, using their own stones of energy - remember that they get two actions per page, so it costs two stones of "damage" to fully control a target for a Panel. You may continue to control your victim's actions until you run out of stones of "damage" - though you can simply attempt to re-exert control on the following Page if you so choose.
 * If you only control one of their actions in a Page, your victim may use their second action for anything they choose - even actively trying to resist whatever it is that you're making them do with their other action.
 * Other characters can plead with your victim in an attempt to talk them out of your control. In this case, compare their stones of an appropriate Action (such as Social Skills, Statecraft, or Psychology) to your remaining stones of "damage"; if their stones are superior to yours, your victim snaps out of your control.
 * It costs two stones of Telepathy each turn to maintain control over a subject.
 * +1 CL = Possession. As Mind Control (see above), but you lose control of your own body the moment you gain control of theirs. Only autonomic functions (such as your heart rate and respiration) continue; otherwise, your body goes limp. If you actually purchased this technique, you can choose to remain standing instead. For an additional +1 CL you can upgrade this option to Mind Control.
 * +2 CL = Psychometry. You can read the subtle psychic impressions that people leave behind on objects they have handled and places they have been. Compare your stones of effect against the subject's Mental Defense as usual; any stones of "damage" represent the maximum timespan in which you can look back into an object's history (consult the Duration row of the Difficulty & Resistance chart). If successful, you can attempt to read the surface thoughts and emotions (using the Empathy technique, above) that the subject was experiencing at the time.
 * +1 CL = Repair Minds. Through "psychic surgery" you may attempt to undo many long-term telepathic effects, such as a mental block or an altered memory (see Edit Memories and Mental Block, above). At the GM's discretion, and with time and effort, you can treat and possibly even cure naturally-occurring mental illnesses, including anything from nail biting to major disorders.
 * +2 CL = Suggestion. You can implant hypnotic suggestions into your target's subconscious mind, which will then be carried out as though they had been the target's own idea all along.  It works as follows:
 * Compare your stones of effect to their Mental Defense as usual; stones of "damage" represent the amount of time the target is willing to spend following your suggestion (consult the Duration row of the Difficulty & Resistance chart).
 * Innocent suggestions that the target might be inclined to perform anyway are the easiest to implant, while a victim is like to tire of a difficult or dangerous task more rapidly. Suggestions that are complex, strenuous, or outside of the target's comfort zone may suffer a 1 or 2 stone penalty in duration; suggestions that entail a reasonable expectation of injury or a serious breach of the target's moral code may suffer a penalty of up to 5 stones in duration.  Suggestions that are blatantly suicidal or involve a fundamental breach of deeply held moral beliefs are usually outright impossible and are immediately ignored.
 * The target of a successful suggestion do not consciously remember that they have been manipulated, though they may recall having interacted with you, and may be unable to explain or justify their actions after the fact.
 * +1 CL = Telepathic Communication. You can hold two-way mental conversations with nearby minds, or with individual targets within range as easily as you can speak out loud; this does not cost any stones of effect if you have purchased this technique. For the cost of one stone per Page you can create a group conversation, allowing a number of minds up to your Telepathy AN to share their thoughts with each other. One stone of effect will also allow you to broadcast your thoughts one-way to any minds within range, singling out or leaving out individuals that you are aware of as you please - something akin to mental shouting.

Other options include:
 * +2 CL = Intelligence Bonus. This enables you to boost your maximum stones of effect, though many techniques are still limited by your Telepathy AN.
 * +1 CL = Absorb Thought. If another telepath attempts to contact your mind against your will, you may transfer any stones of effect blocked by your Telepathy AN directly into your Energy Pool. Stones in excess of your usual limit bleed off at a rate of 1 per Page.
 * -1 CL = Can't Read Minds. You lack the basic ability to read the minds of others.
 * -1 CL = Requires Eye Contact. You must make and maintain eye contact with a target in order to affect them with your telepathy. Targets aware of your actions who wish to actively resist by averting their eyes may shift stones of defense into their Mental Defense instead of their Physical Defense. They may instead avoid your telepathy alltogether by completely shutting their eyes, though they must deal with the usual penalties for blindness.
 * -1 CL = Specialist. A telepathic specialist is capable of a handful of related techniques chosen at character creation. They may not attempt to use techniques that they have not purchased.
 * -1 CL = Singleton. For an additonal cost level, a true telepathic specialist can only use one technique. The basic ability to read minds does not count as a technique in this case.