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PSIONICSINSTITUTES

An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS® Traveller® from Steve Jackson GamesBased on the award-winning Traveller science fiction universe by MARC MILLER

Written by AMANDA DICKERSONEdited by LOREN WISEMAN

Illustrated by PAUL DALY, JESSE DEGRAFF, GLENN GRANT, DAVID LYNCH, ED NORTHCOTT,

ALLEN NUNIS, BOB STEVLIC, and JOHN ZELEZNIKProduction Artist ❚ JUSTIN DE WITT

®

INTRODUCTION

2 PSIONICS INSTITUTES

The official Traveller setting has twobasic approaches to psionic powers: theThird Imperium and its allied clientstates officially suppress them, butsecretly support psionic training insti-tutes and the undercover use of psions.The Zhodani Consulate and its alliedclients embrace psi powers, and promote psions to the highest levels of

their government. Psionics Institutesenables Traveller players and gamemas-ters to explore both approaches in theirgames, in greater detail than ever before.The book covers the institutes and typesof institutional training available in boththe Consulate and Imperium, as well ascharacter templates and character cre-ation information. It gives several sample

institutes, as well as psi-using corpora-tions, mercenary units, and psi-friendlysocieties, worlds, and government agen-cies. Underground pro-psi societies(both within and outside the Imperium)are detailed. Using Psionics Institutes,players and game masters can add asixth sense to their campaign.

ABOUT THE CREATORSAmanda Dickerson has played

Traveller for years, and GURPSPsionics for much longer than that.After several articles she wrote for theJournal of the Travellers’ Aid Society werepublished, she moved on to roleplayingbooks. Her first book, Dead Sea Murder,is a complete RPG campaign for theFUDGE Terra Incognita game. Moreinformation is available from her website at www.angelfire.com/md/meadowlark.

Amanda lives in Ohio with her hus-band. Together they care for a dog (whoapparently suffers from attention deficitdisorder) and three cats (who have yet tofind an earthly use for the dog). Her life-long interest in the paranormal led toher hobbies of tarot reading, magick,and psychic research. Her obsessionwith the latter finally found an outlet inthis book.

Loren Wiseman has worked withTraveller in all its forms since the game’screation in 1977. He is currently GURPSTraveller line editor for SJ Games, andeditor for the Journal of the Travellers’ AidSociety, and was recently inducted intothe Academy of Adventure Gaming Artsand Design’s Hall of Fame.

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PAGEREFERENCES

GURPS Compendium I lists all thetitle abbreviations for GURPS titles.

Wherever a page reference includes aGT, it refers to a page in GURPSTraveller; e.g., p. GT54 refers to page 54of GURPS Traveller. P refers toPsionics, B to the Basic Set, T:AI toTraveller: Alien Races 1, T:FT toTraveller: Far Trader, T:GF to Traveller:Ground Forces, T:RF to Traveller: Rimof Fire, T:SM to Traveller: Star Mercsand T:ST to Traveller: Starports.

PSIONICS INSTITUTES 3

RESOURCESThe foundation for every GURPS

Traveller campaigns builds on the infor-mation in GURPS Basic Set, GURPSCompendium I, and GURPS Traveller.

The following are recommended:GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 1includes information on the psionicallygifted Zhodani race and the initialdetailed look at psionics in the Travelleruniverse. GURPS Psionics is the com-plete resource for creating and playingpsionic characters.

Additional useful resources: GURPSTraveller: Rim of Fire discusses theImperium’s psionics institutes and thepsionically empowered society on theRed Zone planet Heironymus.Depending on the type of campaign,GURPS Traveller: Star Mercs, GURPSTraveller: Starports, GURPS Traveller:Ground Forces, or GURPS Traveller:Far Trader may be useful.

For inspiration from fiction, there aremany psi-themed SF novels to choosefrom. This brief list is a good startingpoint:

A Thousand Words For Stranger,Julie E. Czerneda.

Mind Game, Christine Feehan.Shadow Game, Christine Feehan.

Mind of My Mind, Octavia E.Butler.

Kinsman’s Oath, Susan Krinard.Forge of the Titans, Steve White.TNT: Telzey and Trigger, James H.

Schmitz.Gates of Hell, Susan Sizemore.

The Stars My Destination AkaTiger! Tiger!, Alfred Bester.

Additionally, these series are recom-mended:

The Pegasus Series, Anne McCaffrey.The Rowan Series, Anne McCaffrey.The Darkover Series, Marion

Zimmer Bradley.The Commonwealth series, Alan Dean

Foster. And several novels of the Babylon 5

series.

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . 2ABOUT THE CREATORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

About the Journal of theTravellers’ Aid Society . . . . . . 2

ABOUT GGUURRPPSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Page References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. FINDING A

PSIONICS INSTITUTE . . . . . . 4PRIMARY SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

It Runs in the Family . . . . . . . . . . 4Outside Looking In . . . . . . . . . . . 5Zhodani Institutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 5They Find You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Join the Military,

Learn Psionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Mercenary Recruiters . . . . . . . . . 6

Digging Through the Underground . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Red Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7SECONDARY SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ParaPsionics and Religion . . . . . . 8Media Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Politicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Scientific Community . . . . . . . . . 9

ALTERNATIVES TO

JOINING AN INSTITUTE . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2. PSIONICS INSTITUTES . . . . . 10OVERT INSTITUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Institutes in the Zhodani Consulate . . . . . . . . 11

Red Zone Institutes . . . . . . . . . . 13COVERT INSTITUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Imperial Institutes . . . . . . . . . . . 15Underground Institutes . . . . . . . 16

Religious Institutes . . . . . . . . . . 19Specialized

Psionics Institutes . . . . . . . . . 21

3. PSIONICS WITHIN

THE IMPERIUM . . . . . . . . . 22PUBLIC SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Military . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Political . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Scout Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

PRIVATE SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Colonial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Commercial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Medical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Mercenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4. CHARACTER TEMPLATES . . 40

Finding a psionics institute dependson who you are, where you are, andwhat year it is. Children of the psionical-ly gifted Zhodani noble and indentantclasses (see p. GT 78-80) begin psionicstraining soon after they learn to speakand receive a comprehensive psionicscurriculum in their schools. Althoughaverage Zhodani citizens (called proles)may possess latent psionic abilities, theydo not receive training. Upward mobili-ty is possible for prole children whodemonstrate considerable psionic apti-tude during standard testing. These for-tunate few are adopted into an indentantfamily, and with that comes all the rightsand responsibilities of that class.

Even within the Imperium prior tothe Psionic Suppressions (800 to 826),finding an institute for psionics was nomore challenging than locating any mun-dane college. During the Suppressions,institutes lost their charters and their

leaders were imprisoned. Whole familiesfaced persecution and many fled to moresympathetic worlds outside theImperium or to the Zhodani Consulate.The psions that remained in theImperium went underground, changingtheir names, their occupations, and liv-ing double lives. In the nearly 300 yearssince, the use of psionics has remainedostensibly illegal and psionics institutesofficially banned. However, theImperium secretly established two psion-ics institutes of its own, disguising themas military installations, and continuesthe covert use of psions.

Worlds outside the Imperium and theConsulate vary from oppression toacceptance of psis, and everything inbetween.

A few isolated worlds within theImperium developed cultures tolerant –or even supportive – of psionic abilities,despite the official ban on psionics.

These worlds are socially isolated (bychoice or by tech level) from theImperial community. In these cases, theImperium often interdicts these systems,declaring them Red Zones.

The underground psionic communitywithin the Imperium established manysecret psionics institutes shortly after theend of the Suppressions. Citizens of theImperium hear rumors of such facilitiesfrom time to time, but very few knowwhere they are. Just as psions in theImperium are searching for a place tolearn and belong, the psionics institutesare searching for their next crop of stu-dents. The first of many challenges for apsion in the Imperium is to locate apsionics institute, a quest on which onlythe most persistent succeed (see p.GT:AR1 137). Those who fail must devel-op their talents in some other way – ornot at all.

4 PSIONICS INSTITUTES

CHAPTER ONE

FINDING APSIONICSINSTITUTE

PRIMARY SOURCESThe first step is to find someone who

knows where a psionics institute is locat-ed. Primary sources have direct knowl-edge either of an institute’s location orhow to contact its representatives.

IT RUNS IN THEFAMILY

Scientists believe there may be agenetic factor determining who has psipotential. The existence of families withseveral generations of psions is evidencethat this is true. For those lucky enoughto be born into one of these bloodlines,

the matter of finding a psionics instituteto attend is vastly simplified.

Traditionally, youngsters attend thealma mater of their gifted relative. Like-minded institutes pool resources so theirstudents and graduates are aware ofsome of the other programs. Children ofpsionic families in the Imperium aresheltered from the hostilities faced bymost psions. They are encouraged from ayoung age to discover and develop theirunique capabilities, and trained in hidingtheir talents from their persecutors.

The most powerful and prestigiousfamilies are known in the psionics

community as kites. Kites created the firstpost-Suppressions psionics institutes andthey remain one of the central influencesregarding curriculum, protocols, andpolicies. One or two kites generally domi-nate the board of directors of any giveninstitute. It is common for most of thefaculty of an institute to be related byblood or marriage to the controlling kites.

In less blessed families, a relative whois secretly psionic watches the youngergeneration for signs of psionic talents.That relative will approach such a childat the right moment to guide themtoward one of the institutes.

For creating and playing psionicscharacters, GURPS Psionics is thedefinitive roleplaying resource. GURPSTraveller: Alien Races 1 includes anoverview of psionics institutes and thenature of psionics in the Traveller gameuniverse. This chapter builds on thefoundation of those texts.

Psionic characters created for theTraveller universe must follow certainguidelines, which include accepting dis-advantages in exchange for the advantageof psi (see p. GT84-85). Briefly, all psionsbegin with Social Stigma. To acquirepsionic powers and skills a charactermust take a 10-point UnusualBackground disadvantage. By increasingthat to a 15-point Unusual Background,the psion can gain access to a psionicsinstitute. All other psions must embarkon a quest to locate one. Without psionicsinstitute training, characters can onlypurchase latent powers limited to +1 –and they are unreliable at that. Additionalpsionic advantages, disadvantages, limi-tations, enhancements, and quirks arecovered in detail in GURPS Psionics.

Once an institute has been located, apotential student must pay for the test-ing that will determine what powers (ifany) he possesses. This testing is con-ducted over a period of two weeks andcosts Cr5,000 (which may be refunded ifthe results are inconclusive). Details for

roleplaying this testing is provided inGURPS Traveller: Alien Races 1.Individuals with at least one psionicpower at level 1 or greater can ask toattend the institute.

Institutes charge an additionalCr100,000 for the required four monthtraining period. This price includesroom and board. Students unable to payfor the training may arrange to work offthe debt by performing certain “favors”for the institute.

Psi powers can be improved as longas a character already has at least onepoint. Psionic skills can be acquired andimproved like any other skill, throughexperience or study (see p. B82).Students at the institutes train 14 hoursa day. At that rate a character point isearned every two weeks. By the end offour months the newly train psion hasearned eight character points forimproving psionic powers or skills.Additional training with a qualifiedinstructor adds one character point per200 training hours. They can also beearned through self study at a rate of 400hours per point. Later, if the psion usedhis powers on an intensive daily basis,he can gain an additional two and a halfcharacter points in that power or skillannually (see p. P8).

While attending the institute, a psioncan focus on one or two specific skills or

spread his character points across sever-al skills. Some psionic powers only offera few skills, such as teleportation, whichenables the psion to concentrate onthem to reach a high level of power andskill. With the many skills available totelepaths, the psionics institute couldprovide training in several areas to givethe psion a solid base on which to buildwith later experiences.

To roleplay psionics institute train-ing, the personality of the institutecomes into play. Some institutes (partic-ularly mercenary, military, and someunderground institutes) will focus theirtraining primarily on combat applica-tions. Others will allow the psion morefreedom of choice. Instructors discussthe student’s power and skill options sothe training can be tailored to his per-sonal goals. For the player and gamemaster, this means dedicating a solidtwo weeks of game time during trainingon a single skill for each point that it willbe increased.

In addition to skills training, otherdynamics can come into play during thefour month training period. Studentrivalries, Imperial raids, undergroundfaction wars, gauntlets, psionics games,and training missions are just a few ofthe challenges adventurers mayencounter during their stay at an insti-tute. Every institute has its own person-ality, and that gives its students a differ-ent experience. The following sectionsexplore more deeply the differencesbetween various types of psionics insti-tutes and what their students can expect.

The names and other details of all ofthe sample institutes contained heremay be revised and adapted to suit anindividual campaign. Many locationshave been only been generally sketchedin, to make it easier for a game master tofit them in where desired.

10 PSIONICS INSTITUTES

CHAPTER TWO

PSIONICSINSTITUTES

Anti-psi prejudice is widespread with-in the Imperium, a side-effect of thePsionic Suppressions. While the use ofpsionics is illegal within the Imperium, tosimply be psionic is not. What this meansin practice is that psions must exerciseextreme caution in using their talents.Untrained psions have little control whenthey (intentionally or unintentionally) usetheir gifts. These latents sometimes utilizetheir low level of ability in their daily liveswithout realizing it.

Once trained, even those who didn’tintend to use their powers except in anemergency give in to temptation. Afterall, why should a teleporter spend anhour commuting to and from workwhen he can avoid the hassle with ablink of an eye? Why should a telepathwonder if the attractive woman acrossthe bar is interested when he can sneaka “peek” and find out for sure? Suchharmless indulgences can lead to greateroffenses, and end in disaster.

Psions across the Imperium pursueemployment based on their interests andskills just like ordinary citizens. Almostevery field presents opportunities for

clever psions to exploit. This unfairadvantage is one reason that psionicsbecame illegal in the first place. Illegal ornot, psions continue to secretly use theirabilities to get ahead in their chosen pro-fessions. To minimize the chances ofgetting caught, they gravitate toward sit-uations where they work alone or with asmall and trusted group of comrades.Self-employment is another option.

The moment an individual uses hispowers he becomes a criminal. In theImperium (where prejudice still runsrampant) even being suspected of pos-sessing psionic abilities is reason enoughfor dismissal from employment, evictionfrom living quarters, and justificationfor social abuse. Many psions have givenup any pretense at legality and plungedwith both feet into a life of crime.Beyond using psionics, some choose toengage in other illegal activities. With afew precautions, psions can even com-mit murder and get away with it – whichis another reason psionics has becomeso feared. The criminal acts of a few canspark widespread crackdowns.

Understanding this, some PsionicUnderground communities self-police inorder to reduce the number of lawenforcement raids and to rehabilitatethe image of psionics in general. ThePsionic Underground is present to somedegree on most high population planets.It is in the Underground where roguepsions can make contact with psionicsinstitute scouts, purchase psionic drugsand equipment, find leads on employ-ment opportunities which require psion-ic skill, and of course enjoy a social envi-ronment where psionics is acceptable –all activities which are considered illegalin the Imperium.

Through a quirk of genetics, destinyor just luck, the one tie that binds thepeople who make up the Underground isthat they all happen to be psionic.Coming from all walks of life, these folkshave discovered ways to use their abili-ties to their advantage – even in moremundane fields. Since the Suppressions,psionics has once again filtered backinto mainstream society. This chapterexamines some of the ways psionicssecretly plays a role in the Imperium.

22 PSIONICS INSTITUTES

CHAPTER THREE

PSIONICSWITHIN THEIMPERIUM

PUBLIC SERVICEDespite its own ban on psionics, the

Imperium covertly employs psions inseveral branches of public service.Psionics provides advantages too valu-able to disregard simply on principle.The Imperium trains psions for militaryservice and these retirees often continueto serve the government in non-militaryfunctions.

Outside of this secret but sanctioneduse of psionics, other psions falselypresent themselves as normal citizensin order to qualify for government jobs.The number of Imperial employeeswith psionic capabilities is on par withthe estimated ratio of psions in the gen-eral population. Not only do the variousbranches of public service have psionsin their ranks, but many of these

departments are charged with dealingwith the “psionic problem,” whichincludes establishing and enforcinglaws on the subject.

LAWENFORCEMENT

The Imperium secretly hires psions towork in law enforcement, primarily for