Power Build: Astral Sense

[Blue]

Here's the idea, please give suggestions:

 

The character, whom we'll tentatively call REACH, has a "cosmic awareness" type of sense. Reach leaves their body at a moment's notice (leaving it vulnerable, like with Astral Travel) but cannot go far. They are then able to observe the area from a 3rd person perspective and can take in all kinds of details that weren't previously noticed. I mean, everything from the fact that the carpet has fleas to the spider in the corner building a web, to the erratic heartbeats of characters and the smell of an ever so slight gas leak in the kitchen.

 

Here's the catch. The reason they can't go far from the body and generally stay in the same room is that the further they get, the more sensory overload they experience.

 

So the character likely gets an outrageous sensory bonus to notice things, probably linked with a few other special sensory abilities (Since they can now see in the dark, etc.), but if they do this in a very large room it all becomes too much. And if they do this outdoors they could literally go insane.

 

I think the "leaving the body" thing is more of a special effect than anything else. I don't necessarily think they should astral travel or anything. And it being done in a confined space prefents the "backlash". But the character can expand beyond the room (probably by evoking an spatial awareness type of aspect of the power coupled with Telescopic vision) and look beyond, but the further they go, the more they see and the more insane they get.

 

I'm thinking doing it out-of-doors might causing an outright madness might be an actual disadvantage seperate from the power build.

 

Any thoughts on building such a thing?

 

How would I simulate over-reaching just a bit? Side Effect: Transform?

[Hawksmoor]

Re: Power Build: Astral Sense

 

Buy all of your wish list senses in a compound power. Add Concentration 0DCV must concentrate through out use and Side Effects (Psy Lim too much sensory inpute makes you nutters) and that should do it for a simple construct.

 

Hawksmoor

[Blue]

Re: Power Build: Astral Sense

 

That would certainly cover it.

 

I'd just vary the intensity and duration of the nuttiness (as GM) based on how many active points they used at the time or selecting to do this outdoors.

[Bengal]

Re: Power Build: Astral Sense

 

That's perfect. In fact, Clairsentience has a specific blackout disad, and side effects has a specific case where you can build temporary Disads into a power as a side effect. I'm thinking about using that for an ability akin to Rogue's, where a character can absorb memories and personality (but also psych lims).

[OddHat]

Re: Power Build: Astral Sense

 

Astral Form: Clairsentience (Sight And Mental Groups, Detect (Magic) And Spatial Awareness), Analyze, Discriminatory, Mobile Perception Point (can move up to 6" per Phase), Single Dimension (Astral Space) (65 Active Points); Blackout (-1/2), Side Effects (Side Effect always occurs whenever the character does some specific act; 1 1/2d6 Transformation towards twisted madnes if moves more than 12" from body, Partial Transform, healed by time or psychic therapy; -1/4) (37 real points)