EMPATHY
- E0 -- No detectable empathic ability.
- E1 -- Strong sympathetic ability, especially in physical contact with the other person.
- E2 -- True ability to sense and identify the emotions of nearby people without seeing them.
- E3 -- Greater range of sensitivity and the ability to project emotions, to calm or stimulate people for example.
- E4 -- More powerful than E3's. They can get a true psychological profile of anyone and impose an emotion on another, or project true physical sensations. Can form permanent bonds with people which have no known range limit.
- E5 -- Exceptional control, range and ability. Non-verbal communication. Much valued in the field of psychiatry.
- E6 -- Extraordinary capabilities and range.
Chakats are usually E3 or E4.
TELEPATHY
- T0 -- No detectable telepathic ability.
- T1 -- Dectectable talent, confined mostly to hunches and ease of non-verbal communication.
- T2 -- First level of real talent. Minimal ability to communicate words, phrases or intentions to another telepath.
- T3 -- Full ability to converse and convey images to another telepath up to a range of about 2000km. Partial ability to communicate with nearby non-telepaths.
- T4 -- Full ability to communicate with both telepaths and non-telepaths anywhere on the world.
- T5 -- Greater power and subtlety than T4. T5's can "read minds", extracting knowledge that hasn't been voluntarily given. Range extends to at least all of the solar system.
- T6 -- Extraordinary abilities and no known limit to range.
Skunktaur telepaths are usually T4 or T5.
NOTE: Telepathic speech is only capable when both parties have a common frame of reference. Telepathy cannot translate languages¤, nor can it interpret a truly alien mind.¤ In combination with a strong Empath, this liability can be overcome somewhat.
TELEKINESIS
- K0 -- No detectable telekinetic ability.
- K1 -- Detectable talent, mostly trivial, barely able to influence small objects.
- K2 -- True ability to manipulate small objects.
- K3 -- Able to exert as much force as through manual manipulation. Can produce heat by exciting molecules.
- K4 -- Able to exert considerably more force than through manual means. Has a clear perception of where an object is without having to see it.
- K5 -- Exceptional control, range and ability. Can deduce the nature of materials merely by mental touch.
Skunktaur telekinetics range from K3 to K5.
ASTRAL PROJECTION
- A0 -- No astral projection ability.
- A1 -- Detectable talent, usually uncontrollable.
- A2 -- True ability to project one's perceptual abilities away from one's body to observe remotely. Range is limited to several metres only.
- A3 -- Range jumps dramatically to many kilometres. Able to perceive finer details.
- A4 -- Able to range anywhere on a planet. Can perceive any detail as if physically there.
- A5 -- Exceptional control, range and ability. Range can extend to anywhere in a star system. Can also project a ghostlike image of themselves that can guide someone else by non-verbal or non-telepathic means.
Skunktaur astral projectors range from A3 to A5.
TELEPORTATION
- P0 -- No teleportation ability.
- P1 -- Minimum Talent, can only teleport small objects very limited distances.
- P2 -- Able to teleport objects of at least 50kg mass to a distance of at least 100km.
- P3 -- First level where person can teleport self. Mass limit – 200kg approximately. Range: blind teleporting – at least 800km; 'porting to a familiar site – anywhere on the planet.
- P4 -- Range increases to entire solar system, but precision suffers badly unless the person has previously been to the destination in person or receives a telepathic 'fix'.
- P5 -- Range limit unknown, but only able to make interstellar 'ports with a 'fix' or previous personal visit.
Teleporters are the rarest of Talents but have been known to occur in many unrelated species, including chakats.
Pure-breed skunktaurs only ever have one of three special abilities, and a gene-linked paw-shaped fur marking on their right breast shows which – Red for telepathy, Blue for telekinesis, and Black for astral projection. However, skunktaurs can share or reinforce their abilities, so several working in a team can accomplish amazing things.
Chakats are all empathic to some degree. Although this is normally their only Talent, occasionally one will be born with one of the other Talents also. However, any chakat can form a link with a skunktaur to share hys abilties just as they do amongst themselves. A crossbreed child of a chakat and a skunktaur can inherit both parents' abilities.
Chakats and skunktaurs are the only species where all members have a Talent, but most other species have the occasional Talent pop up.
There exist other Talents, but they are usually unique combinations of the ones mentioned already. One such Talent is called Technomancy. This combines aspects of Telepathy, Telekinesis and Astral Travel to achieve things neither ability can do alone. It gives the practitioner particular affinity with machines. Some do better with mechanical systems, some with electronics. Their abilities are much prized, since they can track down and diagnose subtle problems in complex systems that evade normal troubleshooting procedures. Unfortunately, as they grow in skill, technomancers tend to retreat into communion with their machines, eschewing contact with people. Some of them also propose that "artificial intelligence" is not inherently distinguishable from the natural kind, that computer-based expert systems are "alive" just as an organic mind would be. Technomancers are most often Blue or Blackpaw Skunktaurs; to distinguish themselves from these groups they dye their pawprints silver.