Metapsionics

This discipline controls psychic power itself, molding and shaping the energies that spill through the brains of those marked by MES, and allowing its practitioners to channel greater psychic power or to use that power more flexibly. Metapsionics is among the rarest, most arcane, and yet most esteemed of the psychic talents known to humanity.
"Esteemed" is perhaps generous, the reputation of metapsionics is complex. Relatively few mundanes have even heard of it as a distinct discipline, but those that have are as likely to respect it as they are to fear it. On the one hand, many metapsions work in mentorship or brainguarding, professions designed to protect mundanes from psionic threats. But on the other, metapsionic talents can make an already-dangerous psychic much more powerful. But even these mixed opinions are a far-sight better than those afforded to most psychics, and as such metapsions can generally enjoy a welcome place in society.

Harmonisation

Metapsions, being already sensitive to nearby psionic activity, can enter a deeper state of awareness with a Metapsionics check. Whilst in this state, the Traveller can visually and audibly detect the use, source and target of psychic powers; determine what sort of talents are active in their presence; and recognise whether a person they touch or observe is a psychic or has latent psionic abilities. The Effect of the check determines the clarity of insight the psychic receives.
Check: Routine (6+) Metapsionics check (1D rounds, PSI)
Reach: Short (dictates the range at which psionic activity can be interpreted)
PSI Cost: 1 per hour of use.

Static

The Traveller fills the air with psionic interference, inflicting a DM- equal to twice their Metapsionics skill level + 1 against any psionic power used within range (e.g. DM-3 for a Traveller with Metapsionics 1). The Traveller ignores this static, as do any other psychics in their Concert (see below). Static lasts for ten minutes per Effect, after which it will slowly fade over 1D minutes.
Check: Routine (6+) Metapsionics check (1D rounds, PSI)
Reach: Close
PSI Cost: 1

Silence

The metapsion attempts to conceal their own or another psychic's powers from metapsionic view. Whilst active, only psychics with a Metapsionics skill equal or exceeding the Traveller's can detect the concealed powers using Psychic Pitch, Harmonisation, Signature or Audience. In such cases, an opposed Metapsionics check is made to see if the Traveller's shroud is pierced.
Check: Average (8+) Metapsionics check (1D rounds, PSI)
Reach: Close
PSI Cost: 1, cannot be recovered until the Traveller ends this power's effects.

Fermata

The metapsion is capable of “holding” a psychic power in their brain, forming the energy patterns and then suspending them in a self-sustaining loop until it’s time to trigger their release. This reduces the held power's default casting time to 1D seconds, and its cost to 0 (its cost is paid in advance). The check to use fermata always works, but its result acts as a task chain when finally releasing the power. There is no limit to the amount of time that a power can be held, but only one power can be held at once.
Check: Average (8+) Metapsionics check (1D x 10 minutes, PSI)
PSI Cost: 1 + Cost of held power. These points cannot be recovered until the held power is released.

Audience

When the Traveller perceives a psychic power's use, either by being the intended target or by using Harmonisation, they may use this powerful but dangerous ability to turn the psi-scape to glass - capable of blocking, reflecting or shattering against the incoming power.
Check: Difficult (10+) Metapsionics check (Reaction, PSI).
Reach: Medium (based on incoming power's target)
PSI Cost: 1 + cost of intended effect, see below

• Half the incoming power's cost: The target becomes immune to the incoming power for 1D rounds.
• Incoming power's cost: The incoming power is reflected back onto the user, resulting in damaging or disorienting effects depending on the power.
• Incoming power's cost + D3 PSI: The incoming power succeeds, but INT or END damage is inflicted onto the caster equal to 1D per extra PSI spent.
• Incoming power's Effect: The incoming power succeeds, but the Traveller's next power use against the hostile psychic receives a DM+ equal to both psions' combined Effects.

This power comprises a brainguard's most potent tool, but it's danger lies in that the Traveller must make the check - and commit to spending at least the minimum required PSI - before learning what the incoming power is. Travellers cannot take permanent torch damage as a result of this power, but it can unexpectedly drain their PSI reserves and deal temporary torch damage.

The Lost Art

Metapsionics, more than any other discipline, was buried by the Scream - its secrets lost amidst psionic chaos and genocide. Even the powers since-recovered are only superficially understood, and barely scratch the surface of what this discipline is theoretically capable of.
Becoming entirely immune to psychic powers, the draining of another's psychic energies, telepathically affecting sentient AIs, mastery of other psychic talents, and forcible torching are just some of the abilities known once to be possible; but of which the knowledge is lost within pretech archives, purist cabals, and golden age ghosts.
In their adventures, Travellers may stumble across such knowledge, and if so should expect 'encouragement' to reveal what they know. There are master metapsions, both selfish and philanthropic, who are desperate to restore this discipline to what it once was.

Psychic Pitch

Metapsions are naturally attuned to the psychic energies around them, and are known for being able to use their abilities more reliably and with greater frequency. To reflect this, metapsions possess the following passive abilities:

• Metapsionic Travellers will always be aware when a psychic power is used nearby, and can interpret such energies further using the Harmonisation power.
• The Traveller's Metapsionics skill level is always added as a temporary bonus to their PSI characteristic maximum.
• Metapsions can torch more safely, taking all torch damage as temporary instead of permanent up to a maximum of twice their Metapsionics skill level.

Signature

The metapsion can trace the use of any psychic powers they’ve noticed, either by being the target or by using Harmonisation. For 1D rounds, this allows them to see and hear through the senses of a power's user, and gives them an intuitive awareness of their target's location - enough to treat the target as visible for the purposes of their own powers.
Check: Difficult (10+) Metapsionics check (1D seconds, PSI)
PSI Cost: 2

Composition

By interfering with the energies that flow through their neural channels, the Traveller may temporarily affect how another psychic power works. If successful, a metapsion may improve one of a particular power's aspects below, in exchange for worsening another. Composition also acts as a task chain for casting the affected power.

• Semplice: Adjust difficulty by one step.
• Forte: Adjust range by two bands.
• Rubato: Adjust the timeframe of the check by two levels
• Secco: Add or subtract 2 from the power's PSI point cost (minimum cost 1).
• Canon: Double or halve the impact of the check's Effect. In cases where Effect matters little, discuss the impact of this adjustment with the Referee.

The Traveller must then cast the affected power within the next minute, after which the power reverts to normal.
Check: Difficult (10+) Metapsionics check (1D x 10 seconds, PSI)
PSI Cost: 2

Concert

The Traveller forms a psychic gestalt with a number of nearby psychics up to their Metapsionics skill level + Effect, lasting for as long as the psychics are in close proximity with each other, and then up to 1D x 10 minutes afterwards.
This connection allows for the sharing of psychic power. Participants can distribute PSI points amongst each other at will, and can use psionic talents using the highest skill level available within the gestalt - though those completely untrained in that talent will also suffer the -3 untrained penalty.
Each psychic can only maintain one concert at a time, but the concert can be expanded if another psychic within the gestalt also uses this talent. Before the Scream, 'choirs' of metapsions would connect with each other to achieve incredible psionic effects. On a smaller scale, concerts are also used to train budding psychics, allowing them to use their powers without burning through their own miniscule PSI reserves and torching themselves.
Check: Difficult (10+) Metapsionics check (1D x 10 seconds, PSI)
Reach: Short
PSI Cost: 2

Mentors & Brainguards

Metapsionics is the rarest and most esoteric of the psionic disciplines, with few psychics having the necessary temperament or interest in developing these complex abilities. Without them though, new psychics could not be trained, and mundanes would be left helpless against psionic manipulation.
Expert metapsions are the only people capable of safely teaching other potential psychics how to control and channel their new abilities. Learning how to avoid accidentally triggering one's powers and suffering the damage that follows takes only a week or so, but actually teaching them to use their powers effectively can take years. Ideally, a budding psychic will spend their formative education in one of the sector's psychic academies, where metapsions can always expect to find reliable if somewhat regimented employment.
Beyond this, a competent metapsion is one of the few practical ways to protect a target from undetectable psychic assault. Without a vigilant brainguard, a head of state, interstellar celebrity, or planetary oligarch might find their minds rifled effortlessly by some undetected psychic intruder. As a consequence of such employment, many metapsions become much more physically competent and better-trained in combat than the average psychic.
Thanks to their value and rarity, psionic mentors and brainguards are not only highly regarded but can be very well compensated for their services.