Psychics
Psychics in the world of NYC: Veil of Shadows, are not limited to only being telepaths. A variety of psychic skills exist among those whom are classified as psychics. Listed here are the most commonly known and basic groups of psychic ability, others exist but are not as well known or documented.
Telepathy
Generally thought of and portrayed in modern science fiction as "mind-reading" or hearing another's thoughts, telepathic humans often have skills that go beyond those basic generalities. Humans with telepathy have the ability to control any mental function that the brain controls. This means they are able to hear other's thoughts, read memories, implant thoughts and memories, send thoughts, read and feel emotions, and even cloud dreams.
Unfortunately, the first bloom of telepathy in most psychics, particularly stronger telepaths, is not pleasant. The mind (typically that of a pre-teen or early adolescent) is overwhelmed with an influx of information: thoughts, feelings, and memories from those around the telepath. A very few are lucky enough to possess a level of mental shielding naturally that allows them to only siphon a very small bit of this mental stimuli.
Learning to cope with, and/or block out the thoughts and emotions of others takes a great many years of work, and endless patience. Even when a telepath is able to master this skill, blocking out all awareness completely leaves the individual fatigued and drained.
Many a telepath in centuries past was proclaimed to be demon-possessed and would be exorcised or tried, found guilty and put to death to free the soul. In the modern world, telepaths are often diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenics or of suffering from some other mental ailment. They are medicated, often heavily, and when the right dose of medication is achieved it does lower the volume on or silence the world around them.
Subset powers of telepathy include: empathy, dream-walking and consciousness (astral) projection.
Telekinesis
Telekinesis (sometimes seen as "psychokinesis") is the ability to move and manipulate objects with the mind. Depending on the weight of the object and the strength of the telekinetic, objects can be thrown and levitated. Humans with telekinetic ability can also learn to influence mechanical and electrical objects to work on their own. For example, a keyboard may type letters, an MP3 player may play MP3s, and a car engine will start.
To use this ability, objects must be in line of sight. A telekinetic can not turn on the television in the apartment next door or even open the refrigerator and float a beer to themselves, unless the refrigerator is clearly visible. Extensive training is needed to lift or move anything greater than twenty-five pounds. A Psychic with extensive training will, at most, be able to lift the same amount that they would at their peak physical condition, and generally no more than 250 pounds.
Untrained telekinetics, like telepaths, have limited control over their powers. This means that when they are in highly agitated and emotional states, they will often affect objects without intending to do such a thing. Some have been known to levitate, vibrate, and/or break objects during moments of extreme anger, happiness, sorrow and sexual passion.
Subset powers of telekinesis include pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, hydrokinesis, and biokinesis.
Clairvoyance
The ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical events from a remote location is known as clairvoyance. As with other psychic abilities, a clairvoyant's first encounter with this ability is triggered by an emotional or stressful event. For the untrained, intense emotions and stress will remain the triggers. For those who take the time and have the patience and focus, they can learn to manipulate their senses and guide the ability. The latter group is a only a small subset of clairvoyants.
Many times, a person with this ability will often catch brief glimpses of criminal or disturbing events, such as a home being broken into, or a person being preyed upon. Sometimes these are merely random impressions, but sometimes these visions have meaning. The clairvoyant may be near the situation, and potentially in a position to do something about it. Other times, they serve as a warning for a larger event that is to happen. Religious types, particularly the fervent and devout, might interpret these as messages from their deity. (Or as a curse and a touch from a demon.)
The visions are typically flashes of an event or situation, lasting from a few seconds to no more than two minutes. They can happen in two different ways, depending on the psychic. The first is like watching a movie, seeing events as they unfold. The second is more akin to seeing through the eyes of the perpetrator. In latter, there might even be an emotional component that the clairvoyant can feel. These unexpected visions often leave a clairvoyant disoriented and confused.
Subset powers of clairvoyance are precognition and clairsentience.
