Senses

SENSES (SENSORY)

Name	Type	Action	Range	Duration	Resistance	Base Cost
Senses	Sensory	None	Personal	Permanent	-	1 per rank

One or more of your senses are improved, or you have additional sensory abilities beyond the normal five senses. Allocate ranks in Senses to the following effects. Some options require more than one rank, noted in their descriptions. So if you have Senses 5, for example, you can have darkvision (2 ranks), direction sense (1 rank), distance sense (1 rank), and ultra-hearing (1 rank), or any other combination adding up to 5 ranks. Like all sensory effects, Senses uses the sense types as descriptors. Options marked with an * below are considered beyond a normal sense and require the entire sense type cost be used to be affected.

ACCURATE • 2 OR 4 RANKS
An accurate sense can pinpoint something’s exact location. You can use an accurate sense to target something in combat. Visual and tactile senses are normally accurate for humans. Cost is 2 ranks for one sense, 4 for an entire sense type.

ACUTE • 1-2 RANKS
You can sense fine details about anything you can detect with a particular sense, allowing you to distinguish between and identify different subjects. Visual and auditory senses are normally acute for humans. Cost is 1 rank for one sense, 2 for an entire sense type.

ANALYTICAL • 1-2 RANKS
Beyond even acute, you can perceive specific details about anything you can detect with an analytical sense, such as chemical composition, exact dimensions or mass, frequency of sounds and energy wavelengths, and so forth. You can only apply this effect to an acute sense. normal senses are not analytical. Cost is 1 rank for one sense, 2 for an entire sense type.

AWARENESS* • 1 RANK
You can sense the use of effects of a particular descriptor with a successful Perception (or other appropriate Skill) check (DC Easy, with –1 disadvantage to your check per rank of distance). Examples include Cosmic Awareness, Divine Awareness, Magical Awareness, Mental Awareness, and so forth. You can apply other Sense effects to your Awareness to modify it. Choose the sense type for your Awareness; it is often a mental sense, but doesn’t have to be. Awareness counts as an “exotic sense” for noticing effects with the first rank of the Subtle modifier (see Subtle under Extras for details).

COMMUNICATION LINK* • 1 RANK
You have a link with a particular individual, chosen when you acquire this option, who must also have this ability. The two of you can communicate over a set distance like a use of the Communication effect. Choose a sense type as a communication medium when you select this option; mental is common for psychic or empathic links. For 2 Ranks you can communicate with multiple individuals if they also have this ability. If you apply the Dimensional modifier to your Communication Link, it extends to other dimensions as well (see Dimensional under Power Modifiers for details).

COUNTERS CONCEALMENT • 2 RANKS
A sense type with this trait ignores the Concealment effect; you sense the subject of the effect normally, as if the Concealment wasn’t even there. So if you have vision that Counters Concealment, for example, then visually conceled beings are visible to you. Concealed subjects seem slightly “off” to you, enough to know they are concealed to others. This trait does not affect concealment provided by darkness or opaque objects, for that, see Penetrates Concealment.

COUNTERS ILLUSION • 2 RANKS
A sense type with this trait ignores the Illusion effect and other effects with an Illusion descriptor; you automatically succeed on your resistance check against the illusion if it affects your sense type, realizing that it isn’t real.

DANGER SENSE • 1 RANK
When you would normally be surprised in combat, make a Perception or Intuition check (DC Easy): One degree of success means you’re not surprised, but can’t act during the surprise round (so you don’t suffer any conditions of being surprised), while two or more degrees of success means you are not surprised and may act during the surprise round (if any). Failure means you are surprised (although, if you have Uncanny Dodge, you are not vulnerable). The GM may raise the DC of the Danger Sense check in some circumstances. Choose a sense type for your Danger Sense. Sensory effects targeting that sense also affect your Danger Sense ability and may “blind” it.

DARKVISION • 2 RANKS
You can see in complete darkness as if it were normal daylight; darkness provides no concealment to your vision. This is essentially the same as Counters Concealment (Darkness).

DETECT* • 1 RANK
You can sense a particular item, descriptor, effect, or creature type with a successful Perception (or other appropriate Skill) check (DC Easy, with –1 disadvantage to your check per rank of distance). Examples include Detect Gems, Detect Affliction, Detect Poison, Detect Demons, and so forth. You can apply other Sense effects to your Detect to modify it. Choose the sense type for your Detect; it is often a mental sense, but doesn’t have to be. Detect counts as an “exotic sense” for noticing effects with the first rank of the Subtle modifier (see Subtle under Extras for details).

DIMENSIONAL* • 1-2 RANKS
You can extend your senses into other dimensions. It’s assumed to apply to all your senses, allowing you to sense your proximate location in the other dimension(s), but is sense dependent on a specific sense. You can take the limited flaw to have it limited to one sense. For a more extended range, use Remote Sensing. Cost is 1 rank for one dimension, 2 for a group of related dimensions.

DIRECTION SENSE • 1 RANK
You always know what direction north lies in and can retrace your steps through any place you’ve been.

DISTANCE SENSE • 1 RANK
You can accurately and automatically judge distances.

EXTENDED • 1 RANK
You have a sense that operates at greater than normal range. Your range with the sense—the distance used to determine penalties to your Perception (or other appropriate Skill) check—is increased by 1 rank, meaning you subtract your ranks in extended from the rank of the range before determining any –1 disadvantage per rank of range modifier to your checks. Each additional time you apply this option, your range increases by 1 rank. An extended sense may be limited by conditions like the horizon and physical barriers between you and the subject, unless it also Penetrates Concealment.

INFRAVISION* • 1 RANK
You can see in the infrared portion of the spectrum, allowing you to see heat patterns. Darkness does not provide concealment for objects differing in temperature from their surroundings. If you have the Track effect, you can track warm creatures by the faint heat trails they leave behind. The Gamemaster is the final judge on how long the trail remains visible.

LOW-LIGHT VISION • 1 RANK
You ignore circumstance penalties to visual checks for poor lighting, so long as it is not completely dark.

MICROSCOPIC VISION • 1-4 RANKS
You can view extremely small things. You can make perception checks to see tiny things nearby. Cost is 1 rank for dust-sized objects, 2 ranks for cellular-sized, 3 ranks for DNA and complex molecules, 4 ranks for atomic-sized. The GM may require an Expertise skill check to understand and interpret what you see.

PENETRATES CONCEALMENT • 4 RANKS
A sense with this trait is unaffected by concealment from obstacles (rather than Concealment effects). So vision that Penetrates Concealment sees right through opaque objects, for example, and hearing that Penetrates Concealment is unaffected by sound-proofing or intervening materials, and so forth.

POSTCOGNITION* • 4 RANKS
Your senses extend into the past, allowing you to perceive events that took place previously. You can make Skill checks to pick up on past information in an area or from a subject. The Gamemaster sets the DC for these checks based on how obscure and distant in the past the information is, from DC Moderate (for a vague vision that may or may not be accurate) to DC Hard (for near complete knowledge of a particular past event as if you were actually present) and any advantage or disadvantage he feels is appropriate. Your normal (present-day) senses don’t work while you’re using Postcognition; your awareness is focused on the past. Your postcognitive visions last for as long as you concentrate. Postcognition does not apply to sensory effects like Mind Reading or any other ability requiring interaction. Postcognition may be Limited to past events connected to your own “past lives” or ancestors, reducing cost to 2 ranks.

PRECOGNITION* • 4 RANKS
Your senses extend into the future, allowing you to perceive events that may happen. Your precognitive visions represent possible futures. If circumstances change, then the vision may not come to pass. When you use this ability, the Gamemaster chooses what information to impart. Your visions may be obscure and cryptic, open to interpretation. The Gamemaster may require appropriate Skill checks for you to pick up on particularly detailed information, with a DC ranging from Moderate to Hard and any Advantage or Disadvantage he feels appropriate. The GM can also activate your Precognition to impart specific information to you as an adventure hook or plot device. Your normal (present-day) senses don’t work while you’re using Precognition; your awareness is focused on the future. Your precognitive visions last as long as you concentrate. Precognition does not apply to sensory effects like Mind Reading or any other ability requiring interaction.

RADIO* • 1 RANK
You can “hear” radio frequencies including AM, FM, television, cellular, police bands, and so forth. This allows you to pick up on Radio Communication (see the Communication effect). This is the base sense of the radio sense type. It’s ranged, radius, and acute by default.

RADIUS • 1-2 RANKS
You can make Perception (or other appropriate Skill) checks with a radius sense for any point around you. Subjects behind you cannot use Stealth to hide from you without some other concealment. Auditory, olfactory, and tactile senses are normally radius for humans. Cost is 1 rank for use with one sense, 2 ranks for one sense type.

RANGED • 1 RANK
You can use a sense that normally has no range (olfactory or tactile in humans) to make Perception (or other appropriate Skill) checks at range, with the normal –1 disadvantage per rank of range modifier to your check. This can be enhanced with the Extended Sense effect.

RAPID • 1 RANK
You can read or take in information from a sense faster than normal: each rank increases your perception speed by a factor of 10 (x10, x100, etc.) with a single sense, double cost for an entire sense type. You can use rapid vision to speed-read, pick up on rapid flickering between frames of a film, watch video replays in fast-forward speeds, and such, rapid hearing to listen to time-compressed audio “blips,” and so forth.

TIME SENSE • 1 RANK
You always know what time it is and can time events as if you had an accurate stopwatch.

TRACKING • 1 RANK
You can follow trails and track using a particular sense. Basic DC to follow a trail is Easy or opposed by the passive Stealth of the target, Active Stealth if the target is trying to conceal its trail, modified by Advantage or Disadvantage, as the GM sees fit. You move at your speed rank –1 while tracking. For 2 ranks, you can move at full normal speed while tracking

ULTRA-HEARING • 1 RANK
You can hear very high and low frequency sounds, like dog whistles or ultrasonic signals, including those used by some remote controls.

ULTRAVISION* • 1 RANK
You can see ultraviolet light, allowing you to see normally at night by the light of the stars or other UV light sources.

EXTRAS
Affects Others: You can grant the benefits of one or more Senses to another character. Apply Affects Others only to the ranks of the chosen sense(s). +0 if you lose the sense while loaning it to others or +1 cost per rank

Area: The Area modifier only applies to Senses that affect Others, and only to extend their benefits to everyone in an area. Apply the Selective modifier for the ability to choose who in the area does and does not benefit from the Senses. To affect the area of a sense itself, use the Extended and Radius traits of the Senses effect. +1 cost per rank

Innate: Senses, particularly those of aliens or constructs like robots, may be Innate, although this does not prevent sensory effects like Concealment or Dazzle from disabling them. Flat +1 point

Ranged: Likewise, the Ranged extra only applies to Senses that Affect Others, extending the distance at which you can grant their benefits. To extend the range of a sense itself, use the Extended, Radius, and Ranged options of the Senses effect. +1 or +2 cost per rank

FLAWS
Limited: Some Senses may be Limited to only sensing certain things or only under certain circumstances. As usual, the sense must lose about half its utility to qualify for this flaw, less than that is more likely a particular descriptor associated with the sense and may constitute a complication at the GM’s discretion when it comes up in play. –1 cost per rank

Noticeable: Senses with this flaw are particularly noticeable in some way: your eyes may glow, for example, or you may emit a noticeable sound, vibration, energy, or the like for use as a sensor. –1 cost per rank or Flat –1 point if only for part of the sense

Unreliable: Some Senses may be unreliable; the GM makes checks for reliability when the sense is used. Two variations of this flaw may apply: in the first, the Senses effect is unreliable, when it doesn’t work, the character perceives nothing with that sense. In the second, the character’s perceptions are unreliable, the sense appears to work, but the character gets the wrong information. For this reason, the GM should make all reliability checks for Senses in secret, just informing the player of what the character does (or does not) notice. –1 cost per rank

NORMAL SENSES
Senses are broken down into sense types, used as descriptors for sensory effects. Here are the traits of normal senses, for use when modifying them with the options from Senses:
VISUAL
Normal vision is ranged (with a –1 per rank of range), acute (able to distinguish fine details) and accurate (able to pinpoint the locations of things).

AUDITORY
Normal hearing is ranged (with a –1 per rank of range), acute (able to pick up details like differences in tone), and radius (able to pick up on sounds coming from any direction). Normal hearing is not accurate.

OLFACTORY
Normal olfactory senses, which lump together smell and taste for descriptor purposes, are fairly limited. The sense of smell is a radius sense, able to pick up on scents coming from any direction. Its “range” is quite limited, however, effectively only close, except for especially strong scents. Ordinary olfactory senses are neither acute nor accurate.

TACTILE
The normal sense of touch is, by definition, close range. It is accurate (in that you know the location of anything you can touch) and radius (in that you can feel things from any surface of your body).

MENTAL
The “sixth sense” or mental sense type is fairly crude in normal instances, limited essentially to interactions with the Insight skill and awareness of mental effects used directly on you. Thus it is close range and has none of the Sense qualities.