Dowser
The dowser, or diviner, is a Psion devoted to searching for lost objects or answers to questions, much like the wizardly diviner. The principal tool of divination is the dowsing rod, a stick that gently tugs in the direction of the item searched for.
Role
The dowser can often be hired by individuals to hunt for a missing person or item, or locate hidden natural resources like gemstones, gold veins, or water. Most people are sufficiently ignorant of psionics to confuse dowsing with other forms of magical divination, so dowsers can sometimes operate safely in Appollonia.
Distinctive Appearance
None
Special Benefits
When using his divining rod, the Psion gains a bonus psionic power unavailable to all other psionicists. It is called Dowse, and it allows the Psion to set his rod to guide the way to a hidden item. To work at maximum effectiveness, the rod itself must have actually come into contact with the item (or something of similar structure) being sought. If the Psion is looking for a friend's stolen long sword +2 his rod must have touched the sword before; if a vein of gold is being sought, the rod must be touched to raw, unworked gold (un-worked materials have different psychic structures to the same worked substances). If the item or something similar is not available, the power check has a -1 to -5 penalty; the DM decides the exact penalty based on the rarity and size of the item (bigger items are easier to locate). The maximum range of the dowsing depends on the substances between the dowser and the object; a recommended maximum is 5-10 miles for normal terrain. One round must be spent preparing to use Dowse, which costs 1 PSP to initiate and costs a further 1 PSP per turn employed. The rod gently tugs the Psion in the direction of the object. If he does not hold the rod with both hands, it ceases to function.
Special Hindrances
Because the dowser’s psionic skill lies mainly in the field of divination, he receives a -1 penalty on all psychometabolic or psychoportive power scores.
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