Make a Psionic Ability for Infusion

[Albert Altmann]

Stealing this format because I can (also need a new procrastination outlet). The abilities may not necessarily align with the existing disciplines, as there are more ways to engage in psionics than the four formally established ones anyway ^{and not like these ideas are going anywhere beyond this thread so what’s the point restricting oneself too much}

I’ll start.

Ice Sentinel – creates an ice spire on a chosen tile. The spire obstructs passage and imposes movement penalties in a 1-tile radius (same kind of penalty as walking on oil or webs does). Taking any damage will cause the spire to shatter, launching 12 ice shards in all directions, each dealing Cold and Mechanical damage and chilling the recipient within a 3-tile radius. Heat damage will melt the spire instead.

Aphotic Shroud – cloaks the target in impenetrable gloom, imposing maximum obscurity penalty on all ranged attackers regardless of environment or equipment (renders NV goggles and any sources of illumination ineffective, basically). Additionally reduces precision of all incoming attacks by 1-5% (scales with effective skill).

Searing Edge – while the ability is active, your slashing attacks scorch the target, dealing additional Heat damage at the cost of X psi points, but cannot apply bleeding wounds. Heat damage is calculated as percentage of the Mechanical damage dealt, up to a cap (both the cap and the percentage scale with effective skill). A portion of Heat damage dealt via the ability cannot be healed for a number of turns (both the portion amount and number of turns also scale with effective skill).

Piercing Frost – while the ability is active, your piercing attacks frostbite the target, dealing additional Cold damage, chilling the target, reducing its healing effectiveness for 1-4% and increasing all Cold and Mechanical damage taken by 0-2% (stacks 5 times and scales with effective skill) at the cost of X psi points. 

Necrosis – diffuses a toxic cloud in the targeted area, afflicting the targets within with large scale cell death, periodically making them take unresisted Bio damage. Each such instance has a chance to critically hit, causing organ failure which debilitates the target, reducing all of its offensive and defensive skills to a varying degree. Bio damage scales with effective skill, while critical chance scales non-linearly with target’s missing health (100% - 70% - 40% - 10% of max health > 0% - 2% - 10% - 50% chance to critically hit). Fortitude may reduce the toxin’s damage and duration, as well as chance and severity of organ failure, but cannot fully resist the toxin’s application.

Stygian Offering – sacrifice half of your remaining lifespan to expedite Infusion’s release by an unspecified amount of time. Has no use limit nor cooldown, only that user’s death will delay the release by an unspecified amount of time instead. A wager with the reaper, eh?..

[Eidein]

Some psi spell where you can rewind to where you were a couple turns ago or leave your body momentarily for some turns and return back, enemies might camp where you return too.

[Amannamedsquid]

- Neural Leech (TC): Thought control ability that allows you to drain an opponent's health to heal yourself while also dazing the target with a small chance of stunning them instead. If the target is a psionic, you'll steal their psi points instead (if they run out, you start stealing their health). Have to be at melee range to do it. Higher TC skill increases health and psi gains and increases chance to stun.

- Ball Lightning (PK): Psychokinesis ability that summons a sort of friendly psionic lightning turret for about 4 turns. It can't move, has about 100 base health, immunity to electrical damage and thought control abilities, true sight, a permanent electroshock aura effect (which can hurt you if you aren't careful) and will attack enemies with electrokinesis (which can hurt you if you aren't careful). Higher PK skill increases it's health and damage.

- Temporal Reset (TM): Temporal Manipulation buff that starts a 4 turn countdown when activated. When the timer is up, it resets your health and psi points to what they were when you cast the ability (minus the psi used to cast). Also regain or reset any buffs that were active when cast and gets rid of any debuffs acquired while the countdown was active. Has high TC skill requirement, has a long cooldown and does not scale with TC skill. Handy in longer
battles.

- Neural Mirror (TC): Thought Control buff that when active, has a decent chance to reflect mental attacks back at attackers. Higher TC skill increases the chance.

- Gravitational Imbalance (PK): Psychokinesis ability that creates a field of stronger than normal gravity over a wide area for about 3 turns. Enemies that enter this field lose 5 movements points with every space (They lose 5 action points if they have no more movement points), have reduced melee damage and melee hit chance and take gradually increasing mechanical damage every turn that bypasses damage threshold and shields for as long as they remain in the field. You are unaffected (Hence the Imbalance part) but allies and bystanders will be affected and they will take it out on you. Higher PK skill increases damage and enemy hit chance and damage reduction.

- Entropic Cataphract (??): Psionic ability which is gained outside of the usual psionic mentors and that permanently summons something called an Entropic Shade, an aberration which is hostile to all living things including you. So summoning one near yourself or allies or to kill a single stray dog will probably hurt you more than it helps. It has decent health, true sight, immunity to thought control abilities and poison/bio damage, high resistance to mechanical, acid, heat and cold damage, vulnerability to energy and electric damage, and it's melee attacks inflict void rot. It has a few psi abilities too: Psycho-temporal dilation and contraction, Entropic Reccurrence and Telekinetic Grounding. A special feat gained outside of levelling upgrades this ability to summon the Greater Entropic Shade. Besides everything the regular one can do, the Greater Entropic Shade has more health, does more damage, and can use Force Emission, Temporary Rewind, Neural Leech and Temporal Reset.