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Message no. 1
From: "J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.CAIS.COM>
Subject: NERPS PSI 0.04 1 of 4
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 1994 14:27:58 -0400
In order to make commenting easier (and to make it easier to
skip over Tim Skirvin's optional Essence modifier charts), I've split
up the current book into four messages.
I'm calling this version 0.04 so that the version history can
include Kyle Kohler's recaps (Recap 1.0 becomes 0.01, and so forth.)
All versions prior to 0.1 will be avaliable only in ASCII format
(though I'm editing in a good WYSIWYG word processor.) Information on
FTP sites and filenames is at the end of the document.

NERPS: PSI 0.04 1 of 4
What is N.E.R.P.S.: Shadows of the Mind?
History of N.E.R.P.S.: Shadows of the Mind
What is Shadowrun Psionics?[1]
History of Psionics in the Sixth World[2]
Short Fiction
(two works by Kyle Kohler)

NERPS: PSI 0.04 2 of 4
Creating the Psionic Character
Psionics-Related Skills
Psionics Pool
Psionic Disciplines
Abilities
(for each discipline)[1]
A Description of Cyberpsionics

NERPS: PSI 0.04 3 of 4
Cyberware and Bioware[1]
Cyberware and Bioware (optional rules modification)

NERPS: PSI 0.04 4 of 4
Special Functions of the Psinoic Mind
"Hacking" Psionic Abilities
Telepathic Communications (PsiNet)
Mental Combat[1]
Initiating[1]
Meta-Abilities[1]
The World Around a Psi
The Beings[1]
The Places[1]
The World[1]
Psionic Design
How Powers Work[1]
Psionic Formulae[1]
Inventing New Abilities[1]
Examples of Design[1]
Directory of Powers[3]
Glossary[3]

FOOTNOTES:
[1] Barely written if at all; needs much work.
[2] I've got a newer version of this somewhere and will
add it before the book is finished.
[3] I'll compile these once the rest of the book has been
finished to everybody's satisfaction.

FTP INFORMATION:
FTP to cais.com, directory /usr/jdfalk/nerps-proj
This file is 'book0.txt'; the four parts are 'book1.txt'
through 'book4.txt'. All four are combined in 'fullbook.txt' (makes
sense, right?) The files 'psi-sr.txt' and 'psi-nerps.txt' are the raw
materials (over a megabyte of messages) which I used to come up with
this version of the book.
You can also EMail me for a copy, but be sure to EMail ME,
<jdfalk@****.com>, and NOT the NERPS or SHADOWRN lists!!

--
J.D. Falk <jdfalk@****.com>
NERPS Editor & General Motivator
Message no. 2
From: "J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.CAIS.COM>
Subject: NERPS PSI 0.04 1 of 4
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 1994 14:28:27 -0400
What is N.E.R.P.S.: Shadows of the Mind?

N.E.R.P.S.: Shadows of the Mind is an unofficial supplement for the
role-playing game Shadowrun, published by FASA.
Standard disclaimers and other information will be added to this
section later.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

History of N.E.R.P.S.: Shadows of the Mind

On July 9, 1994, Ken Dye asked the members of the ShadowRN mailing
list, "Are you guys familiar with the GURPS and Cyberpunk psionic
rules? What do you guys think of running these in SRII? Sounds like
it might be neat."

This set off a rash of posts, talking about the best ways to implement
mental powers in Shadowrun. Over the next four days, over 600
kilobytes' worth of discussion took place on the mailing list. Then
the discussion moved over to the NERPS mailing list, where another 600
kilobytes of Psionics material was developed over a period of about
two weeks.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

What is Shadowrun Psionics?

to be written later

----------------------------------------------------------------------

History of Psionics in the Sixth World

by J.D. Falk

By 2050, thermaturgical scientists had finally finished proving that
magic exists according to laws which conventional scientists did not
totally understand. Though this was considered a major breakthrough
and received a lot of media coverage, it still did not answer the
underlying question of how magic acutally works to the satisfaction of
the largely mundane (non-magical) general scientific community.
At this point, a small series of papers was released which showed
something even more confusing. While testing large numbers of people
who had proven themselves to be magically active, researchers at MIT&T
had discovered that not all "mages" used the same -- or even similar
-- methods to acheive similar effects.

Much of this could be explained by the differences between hermetic
and shamanic practices, so they removed all shamanic mages from the
test group and tried again. And again. And again.

After some time, it was found that the majority of the so-called
hermetic mages worked according to well-known and mostly understood
formulae, gathering their energy from the Astral plane. But some
neither followed these formulae or used Astral energy. As if that
wasn't enough of a surprise, it was found that the more powerful of
this type could access and travel through Astral space just like any
other mage!

Through continued research, a new magic-like discipline was
discovered, which is called Psionics becuase the energy seems to come
mainly from the persons' own mind. There are very few people, human
or metahuman, with Psionic abilities -- though some of the figures may
be attributed to general ignorance of the differences between Hermetic
magic and Psionic abilities, it is generally thought that the
development of Psionics is unrelated to The Awakening, and has
actually been an ongoing process throughout the history of mankind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Short Fiction

Geoffrey Dawson
an unfinished work by Kyle Kohler

"What object am I holding in my hand now?"

Geoffrey Dawson looked over the metal barrier and met the technician's
eyes.

"Mr. Dawson?" the technician said in a tone indicating that he
expected an answer immediately.

"Look, I've been in this damn training program for a month now and all
you've done is this one test! Haven't I proved that I can tell what's
in your hand yet?"

"We need to establish if you do in fact have any special abilties, Mr.
Dawson."

"Fine. You are holding a clipboard. On it are the words, 'Red, Dog,
and Corporation.' The words are in red ink. Attached to the clipboard
is a pen containing blue ink."

Noticing the technician's eyes widen in surprise at all the
information being revealed, Geoffrey decided to have a little fun.
"Mr. Dawson, why haven't you told me you could tell all of this. This
means..."

"Your full name is Frederick Rasputin Sanders. You were born in 2021.
Your parents died when you were 18. You joined the Aztechnology six
months later. And, you can frag your findings!"

The door to the testing room opened and two burly guards walked in.
"I think it is time for you to go eat lunch now, Mr. Dawson. You
musn't lose any energy."

Geoffrey nodded his head. "Yeah, lunch time."

"It's not because I just scared the hell out of you with the
revelation of my powers," he thought to himself. He quietly stood up
and was accompanied by the two guards to the cafeteria, where he stood
in line with the other "potential subjects." Closing his eyes,
Geoffrey concentrated on envisioning the testing room he was just in.
It slowly appeared in his mind. He saw the doctor still seated. He
looked rather pale. Concentrating more, he saw s

[NOTE: this part was cut off. Any idea what Kyle had in mind?]

were th" the doctor sputtered out. "Test subject number 456-09D just
exhibited major psionic abilities. Judging from just this brief
witness of his power, I would have to say that he is at least a rank 3
Psi. We had our magical staff assense him, to make sure he wasn't a
mage trying to fool us. No magical aura whatsoever. He is definitely
a Psi."

The exec's brow creased, "Hmmmmm. That would make the eighth one
we've discovered this month. And a rank 3 you say? Most of the ones
we found could barely lift a pencil or pick up on strong emotions.
What powers has he exhibited?"

Shaking with excitement, the doctor forced himself to calm down and
said, "Well, up until now, he has exhibited a low level mind probe
ability. He could tell what a person's favorite color was or on a
rare day, what their name was. But today, he displayed a highly
focused mind probe along with possible clairvoyant abilities.
Alternately, the clairvoyant ability could have been a mind link. I
felt no probe in my mind, but that does not neccessarily mean
anything. I will need to run more tests, of course." The doctor
leaned back in his chair, practically beaming.

"I'm afraid not, Dr. Sanders. We will be moving all of the subjects
that have displayed reasonable powers to a different testing facility.
You've done a good job, but the matter is now out of your hands."

"But . . . but you can't do this! This is my job! My life! How do
you think you can just up and move all the subjects out of here? They
must stay and be tested! By me and the rest of the staff!" The
doctor flew up from his seat and stood in front of the executive.

"We have decided that due to recent developements by other
corporations in the study of Psionics, it would be best to make this
project a secret. All of our top researchers have already 'vanished'
along with the prime subjects. Now, if you will excuse me, I have
arrangements to make." The executive stood up and walked towards the
door.

"But what about me? I've devoted my entire life to the study of
Psionics. What am I supposed to do?"

The executive stopped with his hand on the door knob and turned.
"Oh, don't worry Dr. Sanders. You will be vanishing too." He smiled
slightly as he left the room.

Dr. Sanders sighed in relief at hearing the news, thinking of how glad
he'd be to move out of his crummy apartment downtown. "Why are you
two still here?" he asked the bodyguards. Their only reply was to
pull out their pistols and shoot the doctor in chest.

Geoffrey's attention was snapped back to his body as he felt a nudge
on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Geoff?"

Geoffrey opened his eyes and waited for them to focus on his
surroundings. He saw Janet standing next to him, a concerned look on
her face. She was dressed in the same thing that all the subjects
wore, grey pants and a grey shirt. "Oh, I'm fine, Janet. Let's go
sit down." As he walked with Janet to an empty table, he thought to
himself, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bane
an unfinished work by Kyle Kohler

Bane leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "200,000 nuyen. 50
of it right now, the rest when I give you confirmation of the kill."

He patiently waited for Mr. Johnson's repsonse. Sure 200,000 was a
lot for the assassination of a researcher, but he could get away with
asking it. As far as he knew, he was the only Psionic Assassin
around. Because of his uniqueness, he could ask for prices like this
and not be laughed at. Besides, after the brief scan he had done of
Mr. Johnson's mind, he knew the man was willing to pay up to 250,000.
He was just giving the corper a break.

Mr Johnson thought for a second and then said, "Fine. Everything is
in this briefcase. I expect this job to be done in less than . . . "

"Three days. Yes, I know."

Somewhat startled at having his thoughts read, Mr. Johnson stood up
and left the table, vanishing as he was engulfed by the crowd of
dancers. Bane grabbed the briefcase and left the club through the
back exit. He walked a few blocks to where his Rapier was parked. He
stuck the briefcase in the small luggage compartment, hopped on, and
keyed the engine.

He rode to his apartment and went inside. He sat down on the small
sofa and put the briefcase on the coffee table. He popped it open and
looked inside. A credstick and a small chip were all that it
contained. He took the chip and slipped it into his telcom. Typing a
few commands, the data on the chip was accessed and displayed on the
telecom monitor.

"Hmmm...so my target is an Ares boy. Let's see, head researcher in
the experimental division of the Magical Branch in the Bellevue
district. Says here, he's a mundane. Pure drek. You don't get to be
the head researcher of any magical branch unless you've got hands on
experience. You'd think if these fraggers want me to kill him, they'd
at least give me good info."

Bane spent the next few hours going over every last bit of data on his
target. He then called up his decker buddy.

"Hey Wraith. How's biz? Same here. Look, I need you to get me any
info that you can on Doctor James Rutherford Daniels. And I need it
yesterday. One more thing, keep this quiet. He's with Ares. Yeah,
yeah, I know you're called Wraith for a reason. Just reminding you
okay? Alright, contact me when you've got something. Thanks chummer"

Bane put down the phone and went to sleep. He slept peacfully until
he was interrupted by his door being smashed in. He got to his feet,
still groggy from sleep. Two men forced their way in and pointed
large pistols at him. Before he could react, they shot him in the
head.

Bane sat upright in bed. Sweat covered his body, and his head still
hurt from where the men in his dream had shot him. "Jesus! That was
so real." He glanced at the clock and saw that it was ten in the
evening. He climbed out of bed and got dressed. "Time to go make
myself seen in the shadows," he thought to himself. He walked into
the living room and started making some soycaf. The sound of a car
door caught his attention. He walked over to the window and peeked
out. He saw two large men get out of a Eurocar WestWind and approach
his apartment building.

Two men that looked strikingly familiar.

"Drek!" Bane ran over to the telcom and left a message for Wraith to
contact him at Dante's Inferno. He then grabbed the briefcase still
lying on the coffee table and ran into his bedroom. He popped open
the briefcase and shoved a change of clothes, all his data chips, and
his Colt Manhunter inside. Closing the briefcase, he reached into the
closet and grabbed his katana. As he slid it onto his back, he
reached into a shoebox and smiled as his fingers clasped around his
Ingram Smartgun. He grabbed the two clips that were also inside.

Sliding on his jacket and slipping the two clips in his pockets, Bane
closed his eyes and concentrated.

Allowing his awareness to extend, he reached out with his power and
envisioned the front of his apartment building. "Damn" he thought to
himself as he saw the two men were already outside of his door and had
their pistols drawn. He snapped his attention back to his body as he
heard the first smash against his door. He heard the thin wood begin
to give. Concentrating again, Bane envisioned a large bar going
across the door. He grabbed the briefcase and made his away to the
window and opened it. The strain increased on his mind as the two men
outside smashed again on the door, this time braced with Bane's
telekinetic powers. As he slid half of his body out the window, a
bullet whizzed by his head. "There's three of them?" Bane expanded
his senses to the alley outside and saw a third man positioned at the
alley entrance. His head began to pound with the pressure of keeping
the door shut and expanding his senses. Bane scurried back inside.
Slipping just his Ingram outside, he carefully aimed, guided by his
expanded senses and fired a few bursts. None hit.

Unable to concentrate enough to hit his target, Bane came to a
decision. He stopped bracing the door, burned the clip into the man
in the alley, and leaped out the window. He now concentrated all of
his energy into slowing his fall from the three story building. He
slowly descended and hit the ground running. Bullets gouged the
asphalt near his feet as he reloaded his sub-machine gun. He sprinted
past the crumpled body of the man in the alleyway, sparing only a
quick glance. He ran across the street to where his bike was and
hopped on. Revving the engine, he opened the throttle and took off.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 3
From: "Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: NERPS PSI 0.04 1 of 4
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 1994 17:53:19 -0500
On Mon, 26 Sep 1994, J.D. Falk wrote:

> History of Psionics in the Sixth World
> by J.D. Falk

This needs to be longer. At minimum, probably about 10 pages. It needs
to include a timeline, famous psionic people (real and fictional), news
reports, scientific reports, and, of course, toss in some shadowtalk.


> Short Fiction
> an unfinished work by Kyle Kohler

The total amount of fiction also needs to be longer. Probably about 15
pages or so, and it needs to show EVERY facet of being an esper. Not
just using the power, but also initiating, learning meta-abilities,
designing your own powers, cyberpsionics, and the "psi-corp" if we want
to build that into the game.


____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I do not necessarily speak for the
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> City of Mankato or anyone else
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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P+>++ L++$ 3- E---- N+++ K+++ W M+ V-- -po+(---)>$ Y++ t+ 5+++
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Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about NERPS PSI 0.04 1 of 4, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!