Psychic Creature (CR varies)[3pp]

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Gifted with abnormal mental fortitude and strange mind powers by some accident of birth or acquired through rare events, psychics have access to knowledge and talents that other creatures of their kind do not. As they age, experience hones their minds even further, granting them ever more power.

Psychics come in eight different varieties according to their particular focus: clairaudient, clairvoyant, empath, precognizant, psychometer, pyrokinetic, telekinetic, and telepath. Any given psychic may have one or more of these specialties, which are defined as follows:

Clairaudients can hear sounds made in locations other than their own and have power over sound.

Clairvoyants can see events in locations other than their own and have power over sight.

Empaths are sensitive to other creature’s feelings and have powers over emotion.

Precognizants can see future events and determine appropriate courses of action.

Psychometers can determine the history and qualities of an object or place by concentrating.

Pyrokinetics can control and produce flame with a thought.

Telekinetics can move objects and produce force effects with their minds.

Telepaths can read and project thoughts.

A psychic looks like any other member of its race, and psychics with different specialties are indistinguishable except for their abilities.

Creating a Psychic Creature

“Psychic” is an inherited or acquired template that can be added to any creature whose Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are each 3 or higher (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A psychic uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted below. The psychic gains all the abilities noted for each of its focuses in addition to those that pertain to all psychics.

Challenge Rating: The CR increases based on which focuses the psychic possesses. Each focus adds its own CR increase.

Clairaudient, Clairvoyant, Empath: Total HD 10 or below, same as the base creature; total HD 11 or higher, same as the base creature +1.

Precognizant, Telepath: Same as the base creature +1.

Psychometer: Same as the base creature.

Pyrokinetic, Telekinetic: Total HD 10 or below, same as the base creature +1; total HD 11 or higher, same as the base creature +2.

Initiative: A precognizant gains a +8 insight bonus on Initiative rolls.

Armor Class: A telekinetic gains a +4 deflection bonus to AC.

Defensive Abilities: The exact defensive abilities bestowed depend on the psychic’s particular focus, as follows:

Precognizant: Foresight (Su): A precognizant functions as though constantly affected by a foresight spell (caster level equals precognizant’s character level). The precognizant receives instantaneous warnings of impending danger to itself and gains a general idea of what actions it might take to protect itself. It is never surprised or flat-footed, and gains a +2 insight bonus to AC and on Reflex saves. This insight bonus is lost whenever the precognizant creature would be denied its Dexterity bonus to AC.

Pyrokinetic: Conscious Immunity to Fire (Su): So long as a pyrokinetic is conscious, it is immune to fire.

Telepaths: Informed Prediction (Su): If the telepath has successfully used detect thoughts against a creature within 24 hours, it gains a +2 dodge bonus against that creature’s attacks and a +2 insight bonus on saves against that creature’s spells and special attacks.

Speed: A telekinetic retains the base creature’s speeds and gains a fly speed equal to the base creature’s highest speed, with perfect maneuverability. If the base creature already has a fly speed, it either remains the same or increases until it is equal to the creature’s highest other speed plus 5 feet per point of Charisma bonus, whichever is faster. The telekinetic’s maneuverability becomes perfect if it was not already. Flight gained by application of this template is supernatural in origin.

Spell-like Abilities: A psychic’s spell-like abilities depend on its focus. A psychic’s caster level is equal to its total Hit Dice. Unless otherwise specified, all abilities are cumulative and the DCs are Charisma-based.

Clairaudient: A clairaudient gains spell-like abilities according to its character level, as indicated on Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities.

Clairvoyant: A clairvoyant gains spell-like abilities according to its character level, as indicated on Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities.

Empath: An empath gains spell-like abilities according to its character level, as indicated on Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities.

Precognizant: At will—guidance (self only); 3/day—augury, moment of prescience; 1/day— foresight.

Psychometer: At will—detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, detect magic, detect poison, legend lore; 3/day—detect secret doors, detect snares and pits; 1/day—analyze dweomer, locate object. To use its “At will” abilities, a psychometer must touch a single object or creature. These abilities otherwise function as the spells.

Pyrokinetic: A pyrokinetic gains spell-like abilities according to its character level, as indicated on Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities.

Telekinetic: A telekinetic gains spell-like abilities according to its character level, as indicated on Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities.

Telepath: At will—detect thoughts; 1/day— dream, mind blank, phantasmal killer, telepathic bond.

Feats: A psychic gains Iron Will as a bonus feat.

Skills: A psychic gains racial bonuses on certain skill checks according to its particular focus, as follows:

Clairaudient: A clairaudient gains a +10 racial bonus on Perception checks to listen. If a psychic has both this focus and clairvoyance that is bonus is just a +10 racial bonus to Perception.

Clairvoyant: A clairvoyant gains a +10 racial bonus on Perception checks to spot. If a psychic has both this focus and clairaudience that is bonus is just a +10 racial bonus to Perception.

Empathic: An empath gains a +10 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks and a +5 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks.

Psychometer: A psychometer gains a +5 racial bonus on Appraise, Disable Device, Perception, and Use Magic Device, as well as Survival checks made to track creatures.

Telepath: A telepath gains a +5 racial bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks.

Languages: A telepath gains telepathy 100 ft. as a supernatural ability.

Psychics and Psionics

The psychic template offers a way for you to introduce psionic-like abilities into your game without adapting a full psionic rule set (see Ultimate Psionics by Dreamscarred Press). If you do use some form of psionics in your game, the psychic could have a role as an untrained psionic character. Another option is to make them totally magical in nature, and thus in conflict with the usual psionic-using folk

Table 2-34: Psychic Spell-Like Abilities
Total HD	Clairaudient
1-2	3/day—ghost sound
3-4	At will—ventriloquism
5-6	1/day—sound burst
7-8	3/day—silence, 1/day—shatter
9-10	5/day—clairaudience
11-12	5/day—deafness
13-14	1/day—zone of silence
15-16	1/day—shout
17-18	1/day—greater shout
19-20+	1/day—wail of the banshee

Total HD	Clairvoyant
1-2	3/day—detect magic
3-4	1/day—detect secret doors
5-6	1/day—see invisibility
7-8	1/day—arcane sight
9-10	3/day—arcane eye, clairvoyance
11-12	3/day—blindness
13-14	1/day—prying eyes
15-16	1/day—true seeing
17-18	1/day—greater arcane sight
19-20+	1/day—greater prying eyes

Total HD	Empath
1-2	3/day—remove fear, 1/day—hideous laughter
3-4	1/day—cause fear
5-6	3/day—oppressive boredom, 1/day—scare
7-8	2/day—good hope
9-10	2/day—rage
11-12	2/day—fear
13-14	3/day—crushing despair
15-16	1/day—symbol of fear
17-18	1/day—sympathy
19-20+	1/day—antipathy

Total HD	Pyrokinetic
1-2	3/day—produce flame, 1/day—pyrotechnics
3-4	1/day—flaming sphere
5-6	3/day—flame arrow
7-8	3/day—fire trap, quench
9-10	1/day—fireball
11-12	2/day—wall of fire
13-14	1/day—fire storm (as ice storm but fire damage)
15-16	1/day—delayed blast fireball
17-18	1/day—incendiary cloud
19-20+	1/day—meteor swarm

Total HD	Telekinetic
1-2	At will—mage hand, 1/day—pyrotechnics
3-4	1/day—animate rope, 2/day—hold portal
5-6	1/day—floating disk
7-8	1/day—control water, 2/day—sympathetic vibration
9-10	1/day—resilient sphere
11-12	3/day—telekinesis
13-14	1/day—repel wood, repel metal or stone
15-16	1/day—reverse gravity
17-18	1/day—telekinetic sphere
19-20+	3/day—wall of force

Psychic Template & Feats

Psychic-focused feats