Body Control
Most psychics turn their paranormal abilities outward, sensing things beyond normal perceptions or controlling them with their wills. Other psychics turn their powers inward. Psychics with Biocontrol regulate their autonomic nervous systems with the ease that others tie their shoes. Proper use of Biocontrol allows a psychic to shut down pain, regulate his internal organs or even direct the flow of blood and glandular secretions at will. While some otherwise normal people learn basic techniques of biofeedback, the truly talented psychic can perform marvels beyond all but the most dedicated meditative disciple.
Roll: Stamina + Meditation
- ● Basic Body Control -- The psychic has power over his body to a basic degree. By entering a self-induced hypnosis state, he controls basic functions. He can stop a small cut from bleeding, ignore small amounts of pain or hold his breath longer than he would be able to under normal circumstances. Roll at difficulty 6 for the effect to succeed. While in this self-imposed trance, the character can do nothing else but focus on his body. He remains peripherally aware of his surroundings but can bring himself out of the trance at will.
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- ●● Self-Healing -- By maintaining his internal focus over a long period of time, the character accelerates the healing process. Psychics with self healing recover at a vastly accelerated rate, as their bodily controls allow them to more efficiently reknit flesh and fight off infections. Roll at difficulty 7, though the current wound penalty does apply to the dice pool. Every success reduces the time for the wound to heal by one stage on the healing chart. The character must spend his time resting comfortably (preferably under some sort of medical care) for the power to work. For instance, if Raymond was Mauled, he would roll his Stamina + Meditation minus 2 dice. If he scored three successes, he would heal from Mauled to Wounded in three days. He could then roll again to heal from Wounded to Injured.
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- ●●● Hysterical Strength -- The psychic gains control of his adrenal glands, allowing brief periods of hysterical strength and speed. The player rolls at difficulty 8. Every two successes on the roll gives the character one additional point to Strength, Dexterity or Stamina, up to a maximum of five dots in any characteristic. The effect lasts one scene, after which the player must roll again at difficulty 6 to "soak" these successes in bashing damage--as the psychic "comes down" from the hysterical episode, his body responds to the excessive stress and pain. (Some psychics see this more as a form of channeled energy than as a scientific methodology and might well have Hysterical Strength without any glandular response. The results are the same.)
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- ●●●● Ignore Pain Response -- he psychic has the ability to shut off his pain centers for a brief period of time. This does not heal any damage, though it does let him function while injured. Roll against difficulty 7. Every success allows the psychic to ignore one die of wound penalties for one scene. At the end of the scene, the wound modifiers return, and the character cannot deflect away the pain again until he has healed at least one wound level.
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- ●●●●● Mind Over Matter -- The character's control of his body is complete. At will, he can stop his heart, control the immune system and accelerate or suppress cell growth, generation or processing. In effect, the pyschic can direct his body consciously to perform feats of biology almost as if cells responded individually to his mind. The psychic can nullify most toxins with a difficulty 8 roll, though sufficiently large doses (like a quart of mercury) would overwhelm his system. He can fight off just about any mundane disease, allergen or irritant and can even try to counteract severe diseases like HIV or cancer (again, at difficulty 8). With pain control (previous), he can flex and contort his body into unnatural positions and slip out of bonds or into tight spaces. He can hold his breath for minutes at a time while remaining active and, if necessary, can actively redirect toxins to other parts of the body--so he might be able to keep his mind and hands working by shunting the effects of poison gas all into his legs. The psychic can, if he prepares his body against trauma, gain a normal Stamina soak against any sort of damage, even aggravated (difficulty 8; successes determine the maximum number of dice that the psychic can use to soak lethal or aggravated damage for the scene, not counting armor or other external modifiers).
Note: Although theoretically possible in the Dark Ages, this power has mostly manifested from the end of the 19th century through the 21st century. It might be paradoxical, but Indian yogis have been doing this kind of thing for centuries.
