Teleportation is a talent that allows effectively instantaneous movement from one point to another point, bypassing intervening matter via metadimensional travel.
The basic talent allows teleportation of the psychic alone plus any light items on their person, such as their clothing or any readied items worn close to their body - i.e. in pockets, sheaths, holsters, belts or carried internally. By default, any worn armour or bulky containers, like backpacks or satchels, are all left behind; as are any items that the teleporter is physically holding in their hands.
Check: Average (8+) Teleportation check (1D seconds, PSI)
Reach: Distant. If the target location is occupied, the teleport will instinctually divert to the nearest vacant space.
PSI Cost: 2
To carry more equipment, or to customise the effects of teleportation to fit the situation, see the Advanced Teleportation rules below.
Advanced Teleportation
The following options allow advanced teleporters to use their powers more flexibly.
For each option below, increase the difficulty of the Teleporation check by one step and increase the PSI cost by 1.
- Burdened Apportation: Increase carry weight up to 100kg of equipment, creatures and armour. Select this option twice to carry up to 1000kg.
- Proficient Apportation: Reduces the time required for teleportation to a Minor Action. Select this option twice to reduce it to a Reaction.
- Differential Siphon: By anticipating and diffusing any energy changes during transit, ignore the Energy and Momentum rules.
- Far Step: Increases reach by two range bands, e.g. from Distant > Continental. If on-world, jumps beyond Very Distant require Differential Siphon.
For each option below, increase the difficulty of the Teleportation check by two steps and increase the PSI cost by 2.
- Forced Image: Force the teleporation through even with an outdated mental image of the target location.
- Blind Intrusion: Reduces reach by three range bands, but allows the power to target a distance and direction instead of a visited location.
- Stutter Jump: Reduces reach by three range bands, but allows the power to be used multiple times over the next 1D minutes for no extra PSI cost.
For each options below, decrease the difficulty of the Teleporation check by one step, and decrease the PSI cost by 1 (minimum 1).
- Travel Light: Carry weight can only include undergarments, skin-tight clothing, and anything contained inside the body.
- Short Step: Reduces reach by three range bands. As usual, this range may be extended with extra PSI Cost.
A Teleport's Guide
Teleportation always involves the movement of one’s body to another location. Independent items or people may not be 'sent' by this power, and any held or worn equipment that isn't teleported is left behind. If teleporting with people, willing passengers must be touched, and unwilling passengers must be grappled.
Teleportation involves certain requirements in order to be accurate, and safe, as per the laws of physics. Put simply, unless mitigated by the adjustments above, psychics must already have visited a location in order to teleport to it, and may need to restrict their power's reach to avoid destruction by planetary forces.
Pre-knowledge of Destination
A Traveller must always have a mental image of their destination before teleporting. This mental image is acquired by personally visiting the location first (this includes viewing it from a distance), having the mental image implanted in one’s mind by another person who has visited the destination (via telepathy), or by using clairvoyance to view the location with realistic levels of clarity.
Locations are fixed in reference to the most significant major gravity well nearby, usually the nearest planet or star. For example, it is not possible to teleport to the cockpit of a distant moving vehicle they once occupied, but they can teleport to another point on a planet’s surface even though the planet has since moved far through the stellar void.
If the layout of a location has changed significantly since that mental image was formed, then teleporting to it is often impossible without the 'Forced Image' adjustment above. Secure locations often protect themselves from hostile teleports by regularly rearranging their interiors.
Energy and Momentum
Teleportation involves serious restrictions on movement in order to ensure the conservation of energy and momentum, two laws of physics that can cause teleporting Travellers serious issues.
On planetary surfaces, teleportation is restricted to jumps of no more than Very Distant ranges. Jumps beyond visual range involve disorientation for a period of 2D – Effect of Teleportation check x 10 seconds. This restriction results from the law of conservation of momentum; on a rotating planet, two locations will have different rotational speeds and directions. A jump from a point on the Earth’s equator to its antipode would result in a total velocity difference between the Traveller and their surroundings of over 3,300 kilometres per hour.
Changes in altitude (actually all movement to locations of differing gravitational potential) will result in potential energy changes, manifesting themselves as alterations in body temperature. A jump of one kilometre straight down will result in an internal temperature increase of 2.5°C; this is sufficient to cause extreme fever, brain damage and even death. A jump upwards will cool the body by the same amount, with equally serious results. To be safe, a jump may not involve an elevation change of more than 400 metres and multiple jumps should not involve a cumulative elevation change or more than 600 metres in one hour.
Advanced teleports may be able to overcome these issues using the 'Differential Siphon' modifier, but they may also be circumvented somewhat through the use of technological devices such as energy compensators, heated suits and other means. Travellers may feel driven to invent such materials, commission their invention or seek them out from those who already have them.
Restricting Teleports
Teleports do not provoke the kind of persistent worry that telepaths induce in most mundanes, but their particular gifts cause a more physical concern. An experienced teleport can reach into any location they’ve ever been; security officials don’t just need to make sure that no teleport is in a restricted area, but that they’ve never been there before at any time. Access into the most important areas is carefully filtered to ensure that no outside teleporter ever gets a chance to see a location they might suddenly appear in several months or years later.
The criminal applications of teleportation are obvious, as is its utility in surveillance. Some bold teleports make excellent money as thieves or spies for whatever employer can afford their exorbitant fees. The price for their services is invariably high, not only due to the rarity of experienced teleports, but due to the consequences of arrest. As tempting as the criminal path can be for many teleporters, most are dissuaded by the penalties. Very few worlds have prison facilities that are in any way designed to cope with teleporting inmates. On advanced worlds, this means that criminal teleports are often implanted with surgical bombs keyed to explode if they leave a restricted area or stop receiving a specific signal from a government transmitter. On primitive worlds, this means that criminal teleports face summary execution for any crime more serious than a misdemeanor.
