The Psion is what the corps mean when they say "psionic capital." A person whose gene-mark opens a channel to the Fold. Corporate programmes find them young, buy or indenture them from Rim colonies where a psionic child is a liability, and install the leash: a cortical shunt that dampens the Fold-sense and reports to local Kadiss infrastructure while coverage holds, a chemical stabiliser regimen dispensed by the operator, and an indenture contract that outlasts most Psions' life expectancy.
The Psion reaches through the Fold, the dimensional membrane between realspace and the deep. Every power manifeStation tears a pinhole in that membrane. The pressure accumulates behind the eyes, in the teeth, at the base of the skull. When it exceeds the threshold, the Fold tears back.
This is the Fold Point system. Every attempted power use adds its listed Fold Point cost. The Threshold (WIS + level) is the Psion's capacity before the fold notices. Exceed it and the Catastrophe Save determines whether the Psion controls the breach or the breach controls the Psion. Perils events range from nosebleed to possession to spontaneous dimensional rift. The corps budget for this. The actuarial tables assume one Perils event per Psion per fiscal quarter. The ones who exceed the table are decommissioned.
Registered Psions are tracked where local Kadiss coverage can reach their shunts. The shunt can be a locator, a dampener, and -- for some programmes -- a kill switch. Free and escaped Psions exist in dead zones, behind forged records, and among off-grid communities, while corporate recovery teams hunt the ones whose contracts or owners still carry enough weight.
Operating on the Fold chassis (d6 HD, half BAB, Fort/Ref poor, Will good, 4 SP). Light armour only -- anything heavier interferes with Fold attunement, and the shunt occupies the neural slot most combat augmetics would use. Prime requisites: WIS (will to hold the gate) and CON (the body must survive what the mind channels).
Rules Reference
Field
Value
Armor Allowance
Light
Bab Tier
half
Base Skill Points
4
Hd
d6
Hd Sides
6
Max Level
20
Primary Abilities
WIS, CON
Prime Requisites
WIS, CON
Save Tiers / Fortitude
poor
Save Tiers / Reflex
poor
Save Tiers / Will
good
Weapon Allowance
Pistol, Knife, Stun-baton
Notes
Archetype Niche: The Psion is the verse's reality-breaker and its most dangerous passenger. No power slots, no memorisation -- the Psion can manifest any known power any number of times per day, limited only by accumulating Fold Points that edge them toward catastrophe. This creates a unique risk/reward dynamic: the Psion can solve almost any problem, but every solution brings them closer to a Perils event. The Psion's niche is unlimited potential at catastrophic cost -- they are the most powerful class moment-to-moment and the most likely to kill the entire party if they push too far. The Kadiss leash (shunt, stabilisers, indenture) provides built-in narrative tension and GM leverage.
Multiclass Notes: Psions rarely multiclass due to the singular focus Fold manipulation demands. When they do, it is typically with Academic or Chaplain archetypes. Non-human psions use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Level Table
Sensitive
Field
Value
bab
0
fortitude
0
level
1
reflex
0
skillPoints
16
title
Sensitive
will
2
xp
0
Adept
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
0
level
2
reflex
0
skillPoints
4
title
Adept
will
3
xp
2500
Psion
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
1
level
3
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Psion
will
3
xp
5000
Mind-Breaker
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
1
level
4
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Mind-Breaker
will
4
xp
10000
Fold-Touched
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
1
level
5
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Fold-Touched
will
4
xp
20000
Fold Shaper
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
2
level
6
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Fold Shaper
will
5
xp
40000
Master Psion
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
2
level
7
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Master Psion
will
5
xp
70000
Fold Adept
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
2
level
8
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Fold Adept
will
6
xp
110000
Reality-Bender
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
3
level
9
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Reality-Bender
will
6
xp
160000
Fold Lord
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
3
level
10
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Fold Lord
will
7
xp
220000
High Fold Lord
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
3
level
11
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
High Fold Lord
will
7
xp
290000
Reality Shaper
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
4
level
12
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Reality Shaper
will
8
xp
360000
High Reality Shaper
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
4
level
13
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
High Reality Shaper
will
8
xp
430000
Mind Lord
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
4
level
14
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Mind Lord
will
9
xp
500000
High Mind Lord
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
5
level
15
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Mind Lord
will
9
xp
570000
Fold Archon
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
5
level
16
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
Fold Archon
will
10
xp
640000
High Fold Archon
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
5
level
17
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Fold Archon
will
10
xp
710000
Void Seer
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
6
level
18
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Void Seer
will
11
xp
780000
High Void Seer
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
6
level
19
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
High Void Seer
will
11
xp
850000
Supreme Psion
Field
Value
bab
10
fortitude
6
level
20
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Supreme Psion
will
12
xp
920000
Special Abilities
Fold Power Manifestation
Field
Value
level
1
name
Fold Power Manifestation
description: The Psion tears a pinhole in the fold and pulls power through. Power Check: d20 + WIS modifier + Psion level >= Power DN. Success manifests the power and adds its listed Fold Point cost -- the pinhole widens. Failure: the power fizzles (add the listed Fold Point cost even on failure). Natural 20: +50% effect, add the listed Fold Point cost once -- the fold gives more than was asked for. Natural 1: power fails, roll on the Fold Cascade table (d12), add the listed Fold Point cost once -- something on the other side reached back. Powers Known: 3 Minor at level 1, +1 Minor per level. 1 Major at level 3, +1 Major per 2 levels. 1 Master at level 7, +1 Master per 3 levels. Minor DN 8-10, Major DN 12-15, Master DN 16-20. The full power list (18 powers across 3 tiers) is specified in the Fold Psionics rules.
Fold Threshold
Field
Value
level
1
name
Fold Threshold
description: The Fold Threshold = WIS score + Psion level. This is the Psion's capacity -- how many pinholes the fold tolerates before it tears back. Every attempted manifestation adds its listed Fold Point cost. The pressure builds. When Fold Points exceed Threshold, immediate Catastrophe Save: Will save (DC = 10 + excess Fold Points). Success: Fold Points reset to Threshold - 2, Fatigued (-2 all rolls, 1 turn) -- the Psion forces the fold closed, but the effort leaves them drained. Failure: roll on Catastrophic Perils sub-table (d6), Fold Points reset to Threshold - 5 -- the fold wins. The breach is real. The party may not survive it. Fold Point recovery: 1 + WIS modifier per hour of rest. Full night's sleep (8 hours) resets to 0 -- the pinholes heal while the Psion sleeps, assuming they still can.
Major Powers access
Field
Value
level
3
name
Major Powers access
description: The Psion's Fold Power Manifestation now draws on the Major power tier: 1 Major power known at level 3, +1 Major power per 2 levels thereafter. Major powers carry a higher Power DN (12-15) than Minor powers and a correspondingly larger effect. This is the milestone at which the Psion's tear in the Fold widens enough to pull through more than a minor manifestation.
Master Powers access
Field
Value
level
7
name
Master Powers access
description: The Psion's Fold Power Manifestation now draws on the Master power tier: 1 Master power known at level 7, +1 Master power per 3 levels thereafter. Master powers carry the highest Power DN (16-20) and the largest effect of the three tiers -- the widest pinhole a Psion learns to hold open, and the one most likely to draw the Fold's attention back.
Fold Attunement
Field
Value
level
5
name
Fold Attunement
description: The Psion's Fold-sense extends beyond manifestation -- they feel the fold the way others feel air pressure. The Psion senses active Fold phenomena within 100 feet: other psions manifesting, Fold entities, dimensional rifts, LaGrange Cores in operation. The Psion identifies the general nature and approximate power level -- this is not a skill, it is the body's Fold-attuned nervous system interpreting fold-ripples as sensation (pressure behind the eyes, taste of copper, skin crawling in a specific direction). Once per day, the Psion can re-roll a failed Power Check -- a second tear, forced through before the first closes. At level 10: twice per day. At level 15: three times per day. At level 20: the Psion can also re-roll a failed Catastrophe Save once per day -- the fold has tried to break them so many times that the body has learned to hold.