So where are the psychic abilities for the Fang Shih?

[Nightmask]

I imagine it's a cut-and-paste error but under the Base PPE section it refers to part of their PPE being spent on innate psychic abilities but the character has no psychic abilities whatsoever. It only has the Chi abilities that come from its Martial Art and its Geomantic spells it learns as it grows in level.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Level 3 edit

The Fang Shih, Tao Shih, and Wu Shih are magic classes. Thus should of been a OCC's.

[Nightmask]

It might be the ability to manipulate chi flow w/o cost or an editing artifact. (bad editing)
I doubt anything with in the N&S/MC setting will get updated due to the death of the writer.

I had a feeling it was an editing error, since the manipulating of chi is just a trained skill about proper arrangement of objects and their chi controlling spells are of course spells so you wouldn't be burning off PPE for that. A little too much cut-and-pasting going on.

[Tinker Dragoon]

I imagine it's a cut-and-paste error but under the Base PPE section it refers to part of their PPE being spent on innate psychic abilities but the character has no psychic abilities whatsoever. It only has the Chi abilities that come from its Martial Art and its Geomantic spells it learns as it grows in level.

The Fang Shih has no psionic powers, but is a psychic in the same way that the Arcanist in Beyond the Supernatural is, that is to say that these characters have a preternatural ability to sense and manipulate energies that are imperceptible to normal people. All of the P.C.C.s in Mystic China seem to follow this logic.

[Tor]

Here's my question: does being a non-psionic "psychic" like this make them immune to the Soul-Harvesting ritual from Psyscape?

Or oppositely, if they became Soul Harvesters, can they use the ritual?

I figure one easy way to operate is if they don't get that better savings throw (12 or 10 rather than 15) that they don't qualify.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Here's my question: does being a non-psionic "psychic" like this make them immune to the Soul-Harvesting ritual from Psyscape?

Or oppositely, if they became Soul Harvesters, can they use the ritual?

I figure one easy way to operate is if they don't get that better savings throw (12 or 10 rather than 15) that they don't qualify.

As magic classes they are only as vulnerable to soul-harvesters as other magic classes are.

[Tor]

Ah, but being a magic class doesn't exclude them from being psychic, as we well know with the Mystic in PF/Rifts, especially with one of these being called a 'Blind Mystic'. They lack ISP and there's no mention of a better savings throw, but being called a psychic class is kinda damning in terms of them being souleaters or their food.

[green.nova343]

They''re not a "psychic" like other Western-style psychics. They aren't listed as having a different base saving throw vs. psionics than other N&SS/Mystic China characters, which means that even a minor psychic does better against psionics than they do. Nor do they have any bonuses to that save from their O.C.C. Also note that, per page 166 in N&SS, Chi abilities are not the same as psionic or magic abilities, so they're not "psychic" like, say, Dog Boys or Mind Melters.

About the only possible way I could see them having a bonus against Soul Harvesting from Psyscape -- and that's only if the GM allows it -- is that, because they're blind, the Harvester isn't able to "see into the windows of their souls". But, since the Harvester description doesn't say anything about other blind people being immune, they're probably not immune either.

As for becoming a Harvester...considering that a) it's a Rifts O.C.C., and b) we're talking about the area around Lexington, KY as opposed to China, the chances of a Blind Mystic changing to the Harvester O.C.C. are pretty slim to none.

Now, what could be the Harvester's downfall is that their detection ability probably won't read Chi levels. And at 2D6 base, the Blind Mystic's P.P.E. is no higher than your average non-magic human in Rifts. So the Blind Mystic won't show up on the Harvester's radar as anything "special"...at least not until he starts with some kung-fu fighting to dazzle the Harvester. And heaven help the Harvester if it's an "evil" Blind Mystic; some Negative Chi attacks & infections would just ruin their day.

[Tor]

Saving throws aren't addressed because N&SS/MC don't actually have stats for psychic powers so it's a non-issue, like how chi doesn't get mentioned in other systems. Although some psychic abilities are mentioned as being possessed by some Infernals.

Nightbane pg 67 "Master psionic characters, including all psychic PCCs need to roll a 10 or higher"

That means that all the PCCs in Mystic China are master psionics Keep in mind this includes the Natural/Genius from Between the Shadow in spite of having low ISP, mostly spending PPE on learning skills, and only knowing 2 minor psionic abilities. I'm unsure that it would include Guardians though (in spite of having access to Super Psionics) or Acolytes or Channelers or Mystics though, as none are PCCs.

[eliakon]

Saving throws aren't addressed because N&SS/MC don't actually have stats for psychic powers so it's a non-issue, like how chi doesn't get mentioned in other systems. Although some psychic abilities are mentioned as being possessed by some Infernals.

Nightbane pg 67 "Master psionic characters, including all psychic PCCs need to roll a 10 or higher"

That means that all the PCCs in Mystic China are master psionics Keep in mind this includes the Natural/Genius from Between the Shadow in spite of having low ISP, mostly spending PPE on learning skills, and only knowing 2 minor psionic abilities. I'm unsure that it would include Guardians though (in spite of having access to Super Psionics) or Acolytes or Channelers or Mystics though, as none are PCCs.

I would not assume that a line in Nightbane about PCCs applies to PCCs in Mystic China. Its quite likely that all PCCs in Nighbane can be considered masters, but it does NOT follow that all PCCs everywhere are, nor that they get the bonuses of such.

[Tor]

Unless there's some indication to the contrary, it's a safe assumption that a rule about something in one system should apply to the others where information is lacking. Otherwise you'd not know what to do regarding the psionic powers of the assassin-leopard Infernals. If it's okay to draw on other games' stats (presumably HU or Nightbane, since they're also SDC systems) about psionics to fill in one hole in Mystic China's discussion of psychics, it's only reasonable to draw on them in regard to other ones.

HU doesn't use the term PCC, but Nightbane does, which is why I refer to it. I'd bring up Beyond the Supernatural since I know it also uses the term but I don't have that book.

PF 2nd Ed also uses it, which I have... pg 155 "Master psionic characters, including all psychic OCCs or PCCs, need to roll a 10"

Even if BtS ends up saying something different, PF and Nightbane pretty much concur on this. As does Rifts, though it uses the term 'psychic RCC'.

This resistance to psionics could be avoided by a GM saying 'I'm calling this an OCC, not a PCC', which is fine, I'd go along with that. These guys have some psychic-esque abilities, but so do Mystics and they're an OCC (well, in Nightbane and Rifts, the Psi-Mystic is a PCC in PF)

[eliakon]

Unless there's some indication to the contrary, it's a safe assumption that a rule about something in one system should apply to the others where information is lacking. Otherwise you'd not know what to do regarding the psionic powers of the assassin-leopard Infernals. If it's okay to draw on other games' stats (presumably HU or Nightbane, since they're also SDC systems) about psionics to fill in one hole in Mystic China's discussion of psychics, it's only reasonable to draw on them in regard to other ones.

HU doesn't use the term PCC, but Nightbane does, which is why I refer to it. I'd bring up Beyond the Supernatural since I know it also uses the term but I don't have that book.

PF 2nd Ed also uses it, which I have... pg 155 "Master psionic characters, including all psychic OCCs or PCCs, need to roll a 10"

Even if BtS ends up saying something different, PF and Nightbane pretty much concur on this. As does Rifts, though it uses the term 'psychic RCC'.

This resistance to psionics could be avoided by a GM saying 'I'm calling this an OCC, not a PCC', which is fine, I'd go along with that. These guys have some psychic-esque abilities, but so do Mystics and they're an OCC (well, in Nightbane and Rifts, the Psi-Mystic is a PCC in PF)

I know your views on cross over and the like, just as I know my views. That said I would be more than willing to use it as a guide, but I would not personally be at all comfterable with making it a hard and fast 'this is and must always be'

[Tor]

All rules in all games are optional, GM can discard whatever they like, all rules are guides. I'm just talking about the canon universe