Inflicter P.C.C.

Created by Brett Hegr
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Not all psychics with healer-type abilities possess abilities that actually heal. The healer class involves psionic powers that affect the body and nervous system. Some psychics develop powers that allow them to induce tremendous strain (even death!) on the bodies of living creatures, a skill that makes them desired as assassins and feared as enemies. These psychics specialize in pain! Due to their powers, the men and women with these abilities most often are either pressed into some sort of intelligence/military service or become violent and megalomaniacal criminals.

Some genre notes... In Heroes Unlimitedtm, these psychics will probably be either ruthless villains or merciless vigilantes. For Nightbanetm these fellows are both wanted for employment and hunted for death by the Nightlordstm (could be either valiant defenders of humanity or deadly human traitors). If in Rifts®, these characters will be a reason psychics are feared. The Coalition will employ some of them as soldiers and assassins even as they produce propaganda using the Inflictors as a way to make psychics hated. In Phase Worldtm or Scrayperstm the characters will most likely be mercenaries or assassins for hire. If you are using my Delta Eight campaign stuff these psychics are the product of a D8 influenced program called 'Project Nerve,' an exploration of the effects a psychic can produce on the nervous system of living creatures.

O.C.C. Abilities and Bonuses:

  1. Sense Life: As a part of their attunement to the energies of the central nervous system, the character has a natural ability to detect living creatures. This power is constant and doesn't require any sort of effort or energy expenditure on the part of the Inflicter. Similar to the Psi- Stalkertm, the character can pick up on a particular life form's distinctive life energy. He can also recognize 'death' energy like that found in vampires and animated dead, just as easily. 'Spirit' energy as found in entities and ghosts can be sensed, but at a -10% penalty.

    This life-sensing ability also allows the identification and interpretation of a creature's 'life energy.' form. If a human magician is shapeshifted into a dragon, he still has a life signature of a human. The same thing applies if a dragon has metamorphosed into a human. A mutant human will still 'read' as a human, but the Inflicter will intuitively know the being has something extra. Since the Inflicters are trained in biology (and have an special +10% bonus to Biology skill rolls involving anatomy) they can make good guesses about the physiology of alien life forms and make general judgements about their DNA, so long as the target is within 30ft and line of sight.

    Base Skill: 20% plus +5% per level. Add +10% if the target is a familiar or distinctive one, and subtract -5% to -20% in a heavily populated area (such as a city or tropical jungle).
    Range: 60 ft, +15ft per level of experience. Double this when dealing with very powerful energies like that of supernatural creatures, gods, vampires, mutant humans with Invulnerability, Immortality, or Multiple Lives, etc.
    Duration: Automatic and constant. Does not require the expenditure of I.S.P.tm

  2. Pain Shock: This special ability of the Inflicter is an improved version of the power found in this file.

    Range: 80ft plus 10ft per level of experience.
    Duration: The ability lasts one melee per level and each psychic energy bolt requires one melee action to project.
    I.S.P.tm Cost: 10
    Damage: 2d6 damage plus 1d6 damage per level of experience - against S.D.C.tm beings this is S.D.C.tm and hit point damage and against M.D.C.tm beings it is mega- damagetm.
    Save Throw: Dodge
    Strike Bonus: +4, but can be increased to +6 for 4 I.S.P.tm and to +8 for an extra 8 I.S.P.tm per shock.

    A unique and torturous healer power that allows a psychic to channel psychic energy through his hands and eyes - and this energy is geared to wrack a victim's nervous system with pain, seizures, and muscle spasms.

    Living targets (and only living targets) suffer a cumulative -1 to strike, parry, dodge, and initiative penalty for every save vs pain (14, use P.E. bonuses) that fails. Roll this save every time a victim is struck by a Pain Shock. This lasts for 2d4 minutes plus one minute per level of experience, starting from the point of the very last Pain Shock.

    If more than 50% of a target's S.D.C.tm or M.D.C.tm is depleted or is suffering a -10 penalty or more, it must immediately save vs coma once every minute - failure means the character is unconcious for 2d4 hours. Alternately, if more than 25% of a target's S.D.C.tm is depleted in one melee, the victim must immediately save vs coma at -10% or falls unconcious for 2d4+4 hours.

    Creatures with limited invulnerability or artificially created invulnerability (which covers vampires, werewolves, Juicerstm, Craziestm, mutants with Invulnerability, super soldiers with the Limited Invulnerability super option, etc.) all take half damage from Pain Shocks and recover from the effects in half the normal time. However, the regeneration of this kind of damage takes twice as long as normal!

    Note that Pain Shocks have the unique ability to pass through body armor, power armor, some robot vehicles, and some vehicle hulls. They cannot penetrate any kind of force field or electromagnetic shielding.

    Special! After the fourth level of experience, the Inflicter can control his power enough to target specific organs! Treat this as a normal called strike with small targets like the eyes and spleen having a -6 strike penalty, medium targets like the heart and liver having a -4 strike penalty, and organs like the lungs and intestines having a -2 target penalty. The effects should generally be improvised by the GM, and shouldn't be life threatening unless the brain, lungs, or heart is targeted. This targeting can be used to weaken or incapacitate by way of diarhea or a collapsed lung or even kill by stopping the heart directly. Against this artificially induced death/coma, targets are +10% to save.

  3. Other Psionic Powers: At level one, the character also has the minor psionic powers of Bio- Regeneration, Induce Pain, Induce Sleep, Psychic Surgery (can be used in torture), Alter Aura, Death Trance, and Mind Block. Select three more minor powers from among all the categories. The character also possesses the super psionic powers of Bio- Manipulation, Death Trap, and one other power of choice.

    At level two, the character gains the minor powers of Deaden Pain, Psychic Purification, and Increase Healing. The character also gains the super psionic power of Bio- Regeneration.

    At every odd numbered level of experience after level two, the character develops a new super psionic power. At every even numbered level of experience after two, the character develops two new minor psionic powers.

    For some more variety (and descriptions of some powers) look in this file. Inflicters will usually develop a few Mind Bleeder powers - select one in place of a super psionic power or the two minor psionic powers. The most common ones are Brain Bleed, Impervious to Bio- Manipulation, Neuro- Touch, and Neural Strike.

    Note: It is uncommon for the character to develop a kinesis, telemechanic, empathic, or telepathic power. Only two or three such abilities will ever be posessed and most often development of the power will be a protective one such as Psi-Aura or Psychic Body Field. These powers are not the normal focus of the character's abilities. In Rifts® and Nightbanetm it is more common, since there are so many strange creatures out and about.

  4. I.S.P.tm: Take the character's M.E. attribute and add 2d4x10+40. Add another 10 I.S.P.tm per each additional level of experience. The character saves as a master psionic, but doesn't normally get the benefit of his M.E. bonus to save vs psionics (only unless a serious test of wills is taking place). The character has a large energy base but not a lot of variety in psychic powers. The recovery of I.S.P.tm is standard (equivalent to a Mind Melter).

  5. P.P.E.tm: Most of this energy has been burned off in the production of psychic abilities. As usual, roll 2d6.

  6. Attribute Bonuses: Add a +2 to the P.E. attribute.

  7. O.C.C. Bonuses: +4 to save vs horror factor, +4 to save vs pain, +2 to save vs psionic attack (only needs an eight or greater), and also gets a one- time bonus of +10 hit points.

Attribute Requirements: I.Q. of 10 and M.E. of 14
Alignment: Any, but usually not a good alignment. Villains tend to be Diabolic and heroes are often Aberrant (think Dirty Harry plus Jedi mind trick).
Experience Point Table: Use the same table as the Mind Melter, Mind Master, or Mind Mage.
O.C.C. Skills: The skills of the Inflicter represent the most common military training. A character who wasn't trained in military application of his powers should use the same skill base as the Mind Melter or a similar psychic.
Speak Native Language (98%)
Literacy in Native Language (+10%)
Speak one language of choice (+15%)
Math: Basic (+20%)
Radio: Basic (+10%)
Read Sensory Equipment (+5%)
Biology (+10%)
Intelligence (+10%)
Select four Espionage or Rogue skills
Athletics
Two W.P.s of choice
Hand to Hand: Expert

Hand to Hand: Martial Arts or Assassin can be selected at the cost of one 'other' skill, and other more advanced forms for more 'other' skills.
O.C.C. Related Skills: Select five other skills. At levels two and five choose another two other skills, and at levels seven and ten choose one additional other skill. All new skills begin at level one proficiency.
Communications: Any (+5%)
Domestic: Any
Electrical: Any Basic Electronics only (+5%)
Espionage: Any (+10%)
Mechanical: Basic Mechanics and Automotive Mechanics only (+5%)
Medical: Paramedic only
Military: Any (+5%)
Physical: Any (+5%)
Pilot: Any
Pilot Related: Any
Rogue: Any
Science: Math and Chemistry only (+5%)
Technical: Any (+5%)
W.P.: Any
Wilderness: Any
Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select six secondary skills. The skills start at the base skill level and only benefit from I.Q. bonuses.

Standard Equipment, Weapons and Armor, and Money: All this depends on the character's background. If in a modern day setting, use that of whatever psychic character classes are available. Soldier types would get 5d4x100 dollars in weapons, armor, and sensory devices and would likely be employed by some sort of agency or branch of service. For Rifts®, soldiers will have the same/ similar possessions as a Coalition Military Specialist (except for the implants and the robot vehicles - a conventional vehicle will be available), mercenaries have stuff equal to that of a civilized Psi- Stalkertm mercenary, and non- soldiers get the same equipment as a Mind Melter.

Cybernetics and Bionics: Cybernetics and bio-systems (the latter are preferred) will be considered for medical reasons only.