SR5:Adept Powers

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Some powers are activated, and some are intrinsic. Adept powers that need to be activated before they have any effect have an activation cost listed in the power’s description (usually an action of some sort). When a power doesn’t list an activation cost, their effect is intrinsic—you don’t have to take any action to gain the benefit of the power.

Adept Drain

Some powers cause Drain. The Drain from adept powers is Stun unless specified in the description, and is resisted with Body + Willpower.

Adrenaline Boost

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 pp per level Activation Free Action Duration 1 Combat Turn Source Core

Initiative Score +2 Per Level After Duration Drain Per Level

This power lets you accomplish more in one Combat Turn. You get +2 to your Initiative Score for the current Combat Turn for every level of this power you have. At the beginning of the next turn after the Adrenaline Boost, you take Drain equal to the number of levels you have in this power.

Astral Perception

Prerequisite NONE Cost 1 PP Activation Simple Action Duration Constant Source Core

This power allows you to bridge the gap between the physical and astral realms and see into the astral plane. Since you’re dual-natured while you’re using astral perception, you can attack astral forms when you use this power. Follow all the normal rules for astral perception (p. 312).

Attribute Boost (Attribute)

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation Simple Action Duration 2xBoost Hits Source Core

Boost Attribute Magic + Level Test Limitation Only affects Dice Pools (Not Limits or Initiatives) After Duration Drain Per Level

You call upon inner strength to perform amazing physical feats beyond their normal abilities. Attribute Boost must be purchased for a specific Physical Attribute (Agility, Body, Reaction, or Strength); separate Attribute Boost powers may be bought for different attributes. This power cannot be purchased for a Mental or Special Attribute.

When you activate this power, make a Magic + Attribute Boost Rating Test. Each hit on this test boosts your attribute rating by 1, up to your augmented Attribute maximum. This only affects your dice pools; your Physical limit and Initiative ratings don’t change with Attribute Boost. The boost lasts for a number of Combat Turns equal to twice the number of hits you get. When the boost runs out, you take Drain equal to the level of this power.

Combat Sense

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Defense +1 DP Per Level against Ranged and Melee Attacks Surprise Attacks Perception Test before being attacked

Combat Sense provides an instinctive sense of any potential threats nearby. In defending against ranged and melee attacks, you get a +1 dice pool bonus to defense tests per level of this power. Adepts with this power are always allowed a Perception Test before a possible surprise situation, gaining the benefit of being alerted if the test is successful.

Critical Strike (Skill)

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Melee Skill +1 DV when using that skill

This power improves a specific melee skill: either Unarmed Combat, Clubs, Blades, Astral Combat, or a particular Exotic Melee weapon skill. The specific skill is chosen when you buy the power. Increase the DV of your attacks with the selected skill by 1. Critical Strike is compatible with weapons and other adept powers. The power may be selected multiple times, each time for a different melee skill.

Danger Sense

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Surprise Attacks +1 DP per Level on Surprise Tests

You are instinctively sensitive of your surroundings and of impending threats that may not be immediately visible. It’s the bad feeling that the character gets before walking into a trap, the gut instinct that makes them jump an instant before trouble hits. For each level of this power, you get +1 die on Surprise Tests.

Enhanced Perception

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Perception Tests +1 DP Per Level Assensing Tests +1 DP Per Level

This power sharpens all your senses. Add +1 die per level to all Perception Tests and Assensing Tests.

Enhanced Accuracy (Skill)

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Weapon Skill +1 Accuracy when using Skill

A weapon in your hands becomes an extension of your body. When you buy this power, choose a Combat Skill (Pistols, Clubs, Heavy Weapons, etc.). When you use the skill, add 1 to the Accuracy of the weapon you’re using. This power cannot be used with Unarmed Combat, but it can be purchased multiple times with a different skill each time.

Improved Ability (Skill)

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Skill Rating +1 Per Level Max Improvement 1.5 x Current Skill Level (Round Up)

This power increases the Rating of a specific Combat, Physical, Social, Technical, or Vehicle skill per level of the power. You need to know the skill in order to buy this power for it, and you can’t buy it for skill groups. The maximum improvement possible is your current skill level x 1.5 (rounded up).

Improved Physical Attribute

Prerequisite NONE Cost 1 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

This power allows you to increase a physical attribute (Body, Agility, Reaction, and Strength). This augments your attribute, so your Physical limit may also increase with the new Attribute rating. This power allows you to exceed your natural Attribute maximum, up to your augmented maximum.

Improved Potential (Limit)

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

This power allows an adept to raise one of your inherent limits (Physical, Mental, or Social), specified when you buy the power, by 1. You may buy this power multiple times, once per inherent limit.

Improved Reflexes

Prerequisite NONE Cost Variable, see table Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Reaction Increase +1 Per Level Initiative +1D6 Per Level (Max 5D6)

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This power increases the speed at which you react, just like wired reflexes. For each level, you receive +1 to Reaction (this also affects Initiative) and +1D6 Initiative Die (to a maximum of 5D6). The maximum rating of Improved Reflexes is 3, and the increase cannot be combined with other technological or magical increases to Initiative.

Improved Sense

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP each Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

This power gives you sensor y improvements not normally possessed by your character ’s metatype. These improvements may include low-light or thermographic vision, high or low frequency hearing, and so on. Any sense enhancement provided by cyberware or bioware can be provided by this power, unless that enhancement either gives you bonus dice to Perception Tests or needs wireless to work (or both).

In addition to the sensory enhancements listed for cyberware and bioware, other improvements that can be selected include:

Direction Sense

Add +2 dice to Navigational skill tests when traveling. In addition, with a Perception + Intuition (2) Test, you can identify the direction you’re facing and if you’re above or below the mean sea level.

Improved Tactile

The adept ’s fingers are sensitive to imper fections on the sur face of an object, allowing you to notice something as subtle the indentation of wr iting on a piece of paper (even paper on a pad beneath the sheet that was actually wr itten on). Add +2 dice to tactile Perception Tests.

Perfect Pitch

With a Perception + Intuition (2) Test, you can recognize a musical tone either from hearing it or even feeling the vibration frequency. This doesn’t mean that you’re a good singer, just that you can recognize when you’re off key.

Human Scale

With a Perception + Intuition (2) Test, the adept can figure out the weight of an object down to the gram if he is able to lift or carry the object. Can be useful for carnival barkers and arcanoarchaeologists trying to figure out how much that statue they’re trying to snatch off a pressure plate weighs.

Killing Hands

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP Activation Free Action Duration Constant Source Core

This power lets you inflict lethal damage with your unarmed attacks. When inflicting damage on the target of an unarmed attack, you may choose whether to cause Stun or Physical damage. Killing Hands may be combined with other adept powers that increase unarmed damage. Your Killing Hands attacks are magical, so they can bypass a creature’s magical defenses against attack, such as the Immunity to Normal Weapons power, and may be used by adepts with Astral Perception during astral combat.

Kinesics

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Kinesics grants you complete control over your body’s nonverbal and subconscious communication and social cues, even when you’re in stressful social situations. It includes facial expressions, body movements, eye movements, fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure, and even control over sweat glands, making it difficult to gauge your emotional state and truthfulness. Add +1 to resist Social Tests and tests to read your emotions like Judge Intentions, assensing, or truthfulness tests.

Light Body

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Light Body is used to make incredible jumps over long distances. Add the power ’s level to your Agility before calculating maximum distance you can jump. Also, add 1 die per level to your Gymnastics Test when you make your jump. If you should happen to fall, reduce the ef fective distance of a fall by the level in meters when calculating your falling damage.

Missile Parry

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation Interrupt Action (–5 from Initiative Score) Duration Constant Source Core

You can catch slow-moving projectiles such as arrows, thrown knives, grenades, or shuriken out of the air. When using this power, add +1 die per level to your defense pool against the attacker’s ranged attack test. If you generate net hits, you pluck the missile out of the air. You need to have at least one empty hand to use Missile Party.

Mystic Armor

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

This power protects you from physical attacks. For every level, this power gives you 1 point of Armor (cumulative with other armor, but not adding to encumbrance) that also protects against damage you take in astral combat.

Natural Immunity

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.25 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Add +1 die per level to your tests to resist toxins and disease.

Pain Resistance

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

Pain resistance allows you to ignore the effects of injury (but not the actual damage). For every level of pain resistance, the wound modifiers on the Condition Monitor move one box farther down the chart, so that with 1 level of this power, you take the –1 penalty after 4 boxes of damage instead of 3. If you have 2 levels of the power, the penalty doesn’t kick in until you have 5 boxes of damage. Pain Resistance works equally on the Physical and Stun Condition Monitors. Pain Resistance also allows you to resist pain from torture, magic, illness, etc. Each level adds +2 dice to any test you make to withstand suffering.

Rapid Healing

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

You recover from damage more quickly, magically healing yourself over periods of time. Add +1 die per level to your Body for Healing Tests. Also add +1 die per level to any tests made to heal you through magical or mundane means (such as a Heal spell or the First Aid skill), whether the attempt is made by you or another character.

Spell Resistance

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

You are inherently resistant to spells. Add +1 die per level to Resistance Tests against spells, spell rituals, alchemical preparations, or Innate Spell critter power (but not other critter powers). Spell Resistance does not interfere with spells that you choose not to resist.

Traceless Walk

Prerequisite NONE Cost 1 PP Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

You can move over surfaces—even snow, sand, or thin paper—without leaving visible traces. You make no noise through contact with the floor (though movement may still cause other sounds), and any hearing-based Perception Tests to detect you suffer a –4 dice pool penalty. You don’t trip ground-vibration or pressure sensors. You can’t walk across liquid surfaces—you’re magical, not miraculous—but you can walk across deep snow without sinking. While you can be tracked by non-visual cues such as scent, even those Track Tests are more difficult and get a –2 dice pool penalty.

Voice Control

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP per level Activation - Duration Constant Source Core

You get an amazing level of control over the properties of your voice. You can change your voice’s pitch, modulation and tone at will, as well as increase your volume. You can mask your voice and imitate sounds within the normal range of metahuman vocalization (no infrasound or ultrasound) and mimic the voices of others. If you use this trick to fool a person or a voice recognition system, make an Opposed Test using your Impersonation + Charisma [Mental] against the voice recognition system’s Rating x 2, or against the Perception + Intuition of characters the adept is attempting to fool, adding the level of this power as a bonus to your dice pool.

You can also adjust your voice to generate positive social effects, giving you +1 per level to your Social limit.

Wall Running

Prerequisite NONE Cost 0.5 PP Activation Simple Action Duration Constant Source Core

You can run up sheer walls or other vertical surfaces a limited distance. Make a Running + Strength [Magic] Test, with hits indicating the number of meters you may climb up in an action phase. If you want to run up longer distances, you’ll need steps, ledges, or somewhere you can stop and then use this power again. If you want to run across a vertical surface instead of up it, you can do so by combining this power with a Sprint action (p. 162). At the end of your movement, you fall off the wall, whether you made it as far as you wanted or not.