Mass Effect Biotic Talents

Biotic Talents

Biotics Talents are accessed by characters using implants that enhance natural abilities to manipulate dark energy. These abilities include hurling enemies around with the mind, raising shields that are resistant to enemy fire but still allow the player to fire through them, and creating small singularities that cause destructible parts of the environment to fly at enemies.

Biotic Specialists manipulate the world around them through the use of dark energies and can have devastating effects on people, furniture and in truly powerful cases even vehicles and starships. Most Biotic Specialists eschew learning more mundane skills like Combat Talents and usually rely heavily on their abilities in combat situations rather than modern weapons.

Biotic Amp

All characters that eventually become Biotics start off with a natural ability to manipulate dark energy that is all around us. These abilities are rather weak and it takes implants in the body to attune the person and allow them to effect a greater amount of dark energy to create barriers, hurl objects and freeze enemies. These implants are called Biotic Amps.

There is no one Biotic Amp in a person, but several that work together to focus the dark energy being manipulated to a more powerful force. Usually placed under the skin near the brain or nerve centers, Biotic Amps become a part of the character.

Biotic Amps are not perfect, the early works of humans turned out amps that could cause tumors, schizophrenia and eventually death. Modern amps are far more stable but no Biotic Specialist forgets that amps can be a danger to their minds and bodies.

A Character without a Biotic Amp cannot use Biotic Talents.

Talent Types

As with the other Talent Sets, Biotic Talents have Offensive and Defensive uses. Examples of Offensive Talents are Throw, Singularity and Expulsion. Examples of Defensive Talents are Resistance, Barrier and Wall.

Biotic Skills

To access the Biotic Talents character must be proficient in the different Biotic Skills:

Telekinesis: These Talents effect objects around the character: enemies, environmental items and weapons. A character with a high Telekinesis skill can be an offensive juggernaut tearing deck plates from ships to hurl at enemies, throwing enemies from rovers or rendering opponents momentarily helpless with Lift.

Kinetic Fields: These Talents use dark energy to create protective barriers around oneself and others. A mostly Defensive Talent Set, a master of Kinetic Fields can shield himself from rocket blasts, create a wall of dark energy to protect a group or even create a blast of kinetic energy from themselves outwards with Expulsion.

Distortion: Uses dark energy to twist and distort the surrounding environments to the Biotic Specialists liking. A character with high Distortion skill can freeze opponents in place, create singularities that draw multiple enemies towards it or even completely destroy an object with Crush.

Talents associated with each of the skills uses the characters dice to make the skills work.

Example: A character has Telekinesis 3D+1 and Kinetic Fields 2D+2. When using Throw (a Telekinesis skill), the character rolls 3D+1 to try and effect a geth trooper. IF the character instead wanted to use Barrier (a Kinetic Fields skill) he would roll 2D+2 instead.

Note: remember that whether or not the rolls are successful, the character cannot use Throw or Barrier again for 2 rounds.

Improving Biotic Skills and Talents

To increase a Biotic Skill (IE Telekinesis, Kinetic Fields or Distortion) it costs the normal amount of Character Points.

However, unlike Attributes, when you increase a Biotic Skill it does not automatically effect your Talents. Biotic Talents use either the base Biotic Skill die code or the Talents own die code, whichever is greater.

Example: A character has Telekinesis 3D+1 and the Powers Throw and Lift. Throw has been increased previously and is at 4D+1 while Lift has not be increased. The player spends 3 Character Points and increases Telekinesis to 3D+2 (or one pip). When the character uses Throw he rolls 4D+1 (not 4D+2 because it did not increase one pip) and Throw's own die code is higher When using Lift on the other hand he uses his new Telekinesis skill of 3D+2.

Talents may be increased independently of their Biotic Skill (IE a character can have Telekinesis 3D but Lift 4D+1). The rules to increase a Biotic Talent are the same as a base skills (spend Character Points equal to the number before the "D" to increase the skill one pip).

If the Talent has yet to be improved the character spends Character points equal to the Biotic Skill the Talent is used in.

Example: A character has Telekinesis 3D+2 and wants to increase Throw one pip. The characters Throw skill is 4D+1. The character spends four Character Points and his Throw Talent improves to 4D+2. If the character wanted to improve Lift (which has not been improved previously) the character looks at the Biotic Skill die code (Telekinesis 3D+2) and spends 3 Character Points and improves Lift one pip to 4D.

Getting New Powers

Each time one of your Biotic Skills increases to a new die code (IE from 3D+2 to 4D) you may buy one new Talent for 5 Character Points.

The new Power is not improved and when used you roll the Biotic Skill's die code. A new Talent may immediately be improved one pip as normal.

You may only choose a new Talent from the Biotic Skill that was improved.

Example: A character increases their Distortion skill from 1D+2 to 2D and may buy a new Distortion Power for 5 Character Points. The player looks through the Distortion Power list and decides to take Warp. He may then spend 2 more Character Points and increase Warp to 2D+1. If he later increases Telekinesis to a new die he may spend 5 Character Points to gain a Power from the Telekinesis Power list.

Some Talents have prerequisites. Singularity for example requires you to have Distortion or Warp 5D before you can select it as a talent. This means your Distortion skill must be 5D or your Warp Talent must be 5D before you can buy Singularity as a new Talent (after spending 5 Character Points to learn it.)

You must still reach a new die code in the Biotic Skill before you can select a new Power.

Example: A character increases Warp from 4D+2 to 5D and now meets the prerequisites for the Talent Singularity. Once the character gains a new die code in Distortion, he may choose to buy Singularity as a power. You must improve a Biotic Skill to a new die code before choosing to buy a new Talent.

Defenses Against Powers

Most Talents are opposed rolls. This means you roll your dice in a Biotic Skill or a particular Talent versus the targets defense roll. Each Talent tells which other skill is a defense roll against it.

Some Powers have difficulty rolls based on what you want to do. Some Talents add their die code to other skills or yours or another characters defense rolls. Look at each Talent for the rules on using and defending against them.

Telekenesis Talents

Offensive Powers:

• Lift
• Throw
• Pull

Defensive Powers:

• Slow
• Halt

Telekinesis is about using dark energy to move things found within the environment around the character. Clever use of the Telekinesis Talents can be devastating to enemies.

Kinetic Fields Talents

Offensive Powers:

• Expulsion

Defensive Powers:

• Barrier
• Resistance
• Protect
• Wall

Kinetic Field Talents are about using dark energy to build barriers between the character, his allies and their enemies. A mostly defensive Talent Set, it can still be used by crafty players to swing the tide of battle to their favor.

Distortion Powers

Offensive Powers:

• Warp
• Singularity
• Crush

Defensive Powers:

• Conceal
• Camouflage

Distortion Powers are based around flooding an area with dark energy to effect enemies in negative ways and even to help allies. Distortion specializes in using dark energy to control the environment and things within it.

Omni-Talents

An omni-talent is one that has ties to two or three Biotic Skills, Telekinesis, Kinetic Barriers and Distortion. For example, some omni-talents are tied to Kinetic Barriers and Telekinesis or Distortion or Telekinesis. Omni-talents cannot be increased, they use your base "D" in each skill.

An omni-talent can be chosen anytime you increase one of the skills its attached to to a new "D". For example, if the omni-talent you want is attached Telekinesis and Distortion, if you increase either Telekinesis or Distortion to a new "D". You can only use the power if you have at least one "D" in all of the skills that the omni-power is attached to.

• Swordplay