Psionic tracking

[feralucce]

Writing up a character that has the ability to us psychometry to get the mental "scent" of a character and then track them... anywhere...

 

There is a network of jump gates.... and the player wants to be able to get a general direction towards the target with concentration.

 

I know tracking is a skill and you can use enhanced senses for it... but how would one build this supernatural tracking ability across the stars?

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

Start with a Detect based on the Mental Sense group.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

I'd suggest writing up this up separately from the character's 'standard' psionic tracking. Hyper-Man's Mental Detect would be the 'base' power, then add this:

 

Naked Advantage: Megascale, 1" = 1 light year (+4 1/4); limitation: requires Concentration (-1/2 or -1).

 

If the base power has the discriminatory adder, and you don't want the character to get that much info over interstellar ranges, add another limitation to the naked advantage: only provides direction.

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

Isn't Tracking still an Adder for Enhance Senses. I'd add that to the Detect.

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

After thinking about it, What's wrong with Mind Scan for this?

[feralucce]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

The problem with mind scan is that it is modified by the number of minds in the area of searching... and within the many light years possible that we want this power to work over... that would be such a negative modifier that it doesn't work within the framework of the campaign, really... That and it requires an active search... we want it to be...well... automatic after he has "scented" his prey

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

How far from the target can he establish the first "contact"?

[feralucce]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

it's like a blood hound, kind of... the psi-hunter establishes a "lock" with psychometry (holding an object of the target's to gain a resonance to track) and then he knows the general direction to the target... this does not take into account specifics like the jump routes, etc.. it's as the crow flies.

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

I would make the player buy Mind Scan for this in my game.

[dmjalund]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

use Psychometry to gain a 'lock' and Mind Scan to provide details

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

What if the question were instead "how to build the tracking ability of Dawnstar from the Legion of Superheroes?"

 

from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawnstar

 

Powers and abilities

 

Dawnstar's unique powers include the ability to track life forms and objects across light years of distance and through interstellar space. She can survive in deep space for long periods of time without a spacesuit or viable atmosphere, by generating a self-sustaining environmental forcefield. In deep space, she can travel at faster-than-light speeds. In an Earth-normal atmosphere or in a sizable gravity well, her speed is diminished.

She wears a Legion flight ring to signal for help, for monitoring of her location, and for other non-flight uses.[10]

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

I say Mind Scan. Getting the initial "scent" is actually using Mind Scan on the target when you can see him, and your "number of targets" is equal to 1. From there you just maintain the Mind Scan.

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

What if the question were instead "how to build the tracking ability of Dawnstar from the Legion of Superheroes?"

 

from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawnstar

I still would make it some version of Mind Scan, maybe with a powerful(i.e. high APs) Detect with Unified Power.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

I still would make it some version of Mind Scan' date=' maybe with a powerful(i.e. high APs) Detect with Unified Power.[/quote']

 

How can Mind Scan be used to track an object?

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

How can Mind Scan be used to track an object?

 

Sorry I should of been for clear. I would use Mind Scan for people and Detect for objects with the Unified Power Limit. This is not a minor power and should be priced accordingly.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

Sorry I should of been for clear. I would use Mind Scan for people and Detect for objects with the Unified Power Limit. This is not a minor power and should be priced accordingly.

 

So if you allow the ability to be used vs. targets with no mind why does a target having a mind require that Mind Scan be used?

 

I big part of Mind Scan is its 'mental targeting lock'. Nothing about the OP request indicates the ability would be used for such so Mind Scan seems like so much overkill.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

I'm with Hyper-Man on this one; the OP wants a power that does one thing; and although Mind Scan will do that, all the extra 'bells and whistles' just don't seem to fit.

[Escafarc]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

That's why there is a -1 Limitation for just locating the target listed under Mind Scan. Now if you want to have to follow the Targets exact trail(like most tracking senses do) which isn't what the OP wants then I would go with just a Detect.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

As usual with Hero, there is more than 1 way to do this. The easy way is limited form of Mind Scan which is tracking only (doesn't allow other mental powers through it etc). The other way is a Detect Mental Signature, ranged, targeting, tracking with a big Range Modifier and Megascale bought to interstellar levels. That way the character merely need to "scent" the targets Mental Signature in some way (via Psychometry I suppose) then once "locked on" can track the target on an interstellar scale.

 

Is there a reasonable limit to the range of this ability, or should the megascale be bought up so 1 Hex equals the size of the galaxy?

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: Psionic tracking

 

As usual with Hero, there is more than 1 way to do this. The easy way is limited form of Mind Scan which is tracking only (doesn't allow other mental powers through it etc). The other way is a Detect Mental Signature, ranged, targeting, tracking with a big Range Modifier and Megascale bought to interstellar levels. That way the character merely need to "scent" the targets Mental Signature in some way (via Psychometry I suppose) then once "locked on" can track the target on an interstellar scale.

 

Is there a reasonable limit to the range of this ability, or should the megascale be bought up so 1 Hex equals the size of the galaxy?

 

Megascale can be bought up to whatever level works best: 1 hex = 100,000 light-years ('size of the galaxy') would probably be overkill. The operative question is at what range, in light-years, should the Detect perception roll begin to take range penalties? Working backwards from that, there's no penalty from 0-8 hexes, so I'd set the hex size at 1/8th of the maximum unpenalized range.