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Table of Contents
Welcome to Academy City! 4
Basic Mechanics 10
Making Your Character 13
Combat Mechanics 19
Weapons and Equipment 26
Powers Appendix 28
GM Aids 40
A Certain Scientific Character Sheet 48
A Certain Random School Sheet 49
Next Project! 50

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1. Welcome to Academy City!
The year is 20XX. It has been exactly twenty years from the current date. The city of Tokyo has become a
technological juggernaut leading the world into the future with the power of scientific achievements and
human ingenuity with just a little thanks to human evolution.

In this day and age there exists a breed of humans known as ESP (Extrasensory perception) users. Es-
pers or Psychics for short, they are an accepted part of society in this brave new world. They are how-
ever, a very tightly controlled and well trained part of society as every girl and boy with an ounce of psy-
chic power is sent to school in the new prefecture of Academy City. Here more than two million Espers
and all the parts of society needed to support them, come to school under a special curriculum at one
of countless schools where their powers are honed for future use. Government supported and accepted
they exist in a contrast to the other anomaly of humanity, magicians who put their faith and abilities in
Gods and rituals. These ancient rites exist side by side with the new Esper talents aided by the wonders
of science to create a vibrant world of breathtaking magic and awe inspiring technology.

Welcome to the World of To Aru Majutsu no Index!

If you fancy yourself a well read and educated person on the setting as perhaps you enjoyed the anime
or the manga, you may feel free to skip this introduction. However, it doesn’t hurt for a refresher as we
put it in the context of a Role Playing Game.

4
In To Aru Majutsu no Index the world has advanced to a state both easily recognized and easily misunder-
stood from what we know after the first decade of the second millennium. The basics remain the same in
terms of technology, and you’ll find all the 21st century conveniences without any issue if you were to go
through an average apartment. Mannerisms and general attitudes of populations are also fairly similar with a
few important exceptions. To make it short, people are still people and the fridge was happily not replaced by
a freeze dried food cabinet. However, what has really changed between our world and the world of Academy
City has been the functioning of society in response to the phenomenon of Espers.

Espers and Academy City:

The raising and care of the millions of Espers in Japan falls to special government sections who train, teach,
and care for them for the first two decades of their lives. The most stunning example of this exists in Acade-
my City in western Tokyo. Here 2.3 million live and study to become better Espers while scientists and teach-
ers perform experiments using psychic power to further their understanding of numerous fields from wind
current studies to cancer research to human cloning. Here is where the students in the Index RPG will live
nearly the entirety of their first eighteen years and where the Player Characters will live as well. It is all in all
a functioning city much like any other with the major caveat that it is dedicated to educating young Espers
and teaching what is known as the “Power Curriculum” or “Kaihatsu.”

The Power Curriculum:

This broad term is used to describe the many physical and mental challenges growing Espers must undergo
to awaken their latent talents. Much of it is similar to regular school work and some of it truly is typical
work for any school age kid. However, through various other exercises and practices by the schools of Acad-
emy City the students awaken their talents through small steps using their mind’s power to bend spoons or
manipulate small objects to finally going through tasks that test the limits of their finally awakened talents.
Teachers who are often non-Esper themselves are in charge of administering this curriculum with aid from
Doctors and scientists who exist in a plethora within the walls of Academy City. Every student who passes
through the halls of a school in this district of Tokyo will participate in Kaihatsu in some shape or form with
varying degrees of success.

Schools of Academy City:

The essential truth of schooling in Academy city is very simple with just the slightest of twists. Everyone is
learning the Power Curriculum. But not everyone is learning the same curriculum.

Every school in Academy City caters to teaching the psychically endowed the methods and means to awaken
their powers. However, while the end of this schooling road is very clear the road that leads there is not al-
ways so. At each institution the staff are given a certain amount of leeway as to how they teach their students.
While all of them also include a basic education as a normal student might receive outside the prefecture,
from there on the methodology tends to be different. Some teachers might be given to using techniques like
hypnotism and strenuous mind exercises like Columbus’ Egg. While on the other hand there are many who
stick to a simple set of spoon bending exercises combined with school work geared towards their under-
standing of Esper powers. Even environment is considered as some students are afforded to live in the lap
of luxury while others live with the bare minimum. As an Esper child your road to psychic awakening and
empowerment could take many forms.

5
Organizations:
Within and outside of the schools there are many organizations, mostly scientific and benevolent in nature,
working within the confines of Academy City. These organizations set up above and below ground to work
on the many projects that give the city its lifeblood and its purpose undertaking such grand projects as creat-
ing small clone armies or developing new convenience products for its citizens. However, as a fully function-
ing city at all levels it has its own private and public organizations not directly dedicated to the focus of the
city. A great example of one such group is a common sight amongst the throngs of students is the pan-school
disciplinary committee known as Judgment. They are entirely student age enforcers of school rules for the
Espers in Academy City and handle disciplinary actions in all sorts of situations while not being true police.
There are a number of other school related organizations that exist alongside official government organi-
zations and all these are known to the inhabitants. However, what happens inside supposedly abandoned
research complexes or under the old transport rails is only whispered in secret with many speculating as to
what could possibly be lurking in the shadows of the underground or lurking on the Outside. Its an open
secret that no one seems to pursue but here is where much of the darker and more secretive organizations
take to doing their work.

See the City!

In Academy City there are a few unmistakable landmarks and certain geographical features that everyone
native to the prefecture can point out on a map. A few include the Central Bridge that spans the waterway
dividing the city, the city gates where all new arrivals enter from Tokyo, and the central waterway.

Education for the Esper Generation! Tokiwadai Middle School – A prestigious school and
one of the top ranked schools in both the country
In Academy City there are thousands of schools and the Outside. Its grounds are part school part
all over the city. Each learning institution has its mock Victorian mansion with all students living on
own ways of teaching, its own interpretation of the the campus itself. The rest of the grounds consist of
Power Curriculum, and its own peculiar environ- gardens and a small sports facility. It has a high bar
ment. Every known Esper in greater Tokyo will of admittance and maintains a strict level of disci-
pass through the doors of an Academy City school pline and training amongst its students, even during
at some point but their talent, ability, and just a non-school hours.
little luck will dictate which of those doors it will
be. Nagatenjouki Academy – Thought to be the top
school in Academy City, it is known to send invita-
Schools of Academy City tions to Espers and non-Espers alike, as long as they
have the talent.. It runs similarly to Tokidawai and is
A Certain High School – The school Kamijou Tou- an active sports school.
ma attends in the series, this school is a fairly typi-
cal mid level Esper school that functions similarly Sakugawa Middle School – A fairly typical school
to any normal Japanese high school. It uses fairly modeled on the schools outside of Academy City.
typical methods like bending spoons with one’s The staff and students have a unique dress code and
mind mixed with the occasional harsher techniques manner of teaching that lends well to the aesthetics.
reserved for troublemakers. The grounds are fairly
expansive and well tended to and include a fields Zassou Academy – a technical school that, while
of grass with a set of windmills and a small pond located in Academy City, is actually unrelated to
making for rather picturesque picnic locations once Esper powers. It is primarily a school of computer
lunch period starts. programming and game design.

6
Kirigaoka Girl’s Academy – This school is fairly The Art Academy of Academy City - Yamabuki Art
typical in architecture, appearance, and other such Academy, with its nearly 900 students, is the single
aesthetics. Its student life is fairly similar to most largest art college in Academy City. To attend the
other typical schools as well. However, the crux of school, the student must pass a so-called Creative
its reputation as a top ranked school is its mindset Test where not only the students ESPer potential is
of valuing diversity over sheer strength, a distinc- measured, but also her creative talents. Once ac-
tion from some of the schools it’s ranked among. cepted, the school curriculum is very relaxed and
The Power Curriculum appears here in a form that students may come and go as they please.
caters to those with more unusual and outlandish
abilities.
Pan-School Events
Misawa Cram School – A rather unusual school
The Daihasei Sports Festival – An inter-school sports
even just from looks alone, this towering double
competition between a number of the schools in the
office building presides over the urban landscape in
city. Occurs during the summer.
an imposing manner. The students that attend this
school are there mostly for extra lessons or prepa-
Summer Festival – A number of schools open to the
ration for exams. They come from any number of
public for various festivities of their choosing. This
schools in the area to study or “cram.” However,
is much akin to the school festivals many Japanese
recently the school has been the nexus of a number
schools in the present day organize.
of ill rumors about science cults and brain washing.

Non-Canon Schools

Oyafune Athlethic Academy - A co-educational

independent high school for physically capable
Espers located in the twentieth district of Academy
City. Here students are taught a version of the Cur-
riculum that focuses heavily on achieving results in
tests of physical endurance and sports skills. It has
a tremendous reputation for creating highly athletic
Espers and is well known for those results.

Platinumberg International School (PIS) - Situated

on the thirtieth district of Academy City. It offers
an English medium, international primary educa-
tion. The school is a non-proft entity managed by
an Academy City Director. A very harsh school
where even minor infractions are punished. Due to
this, the number of students attending the school is
very small (only 230), but the ones who do are very
proper and, most often than not, skilled ESPers.

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Glossary Gemstone - A term referring to ESPers who were
born with their powers. They are exceedingly rare
Academy City/Gakuen Toshi - A special economic and tend to have stronger AIM fields than nor-
area on the western edge of Tokyo. Much of its mal.
development is solely dedicated for schools teaching
children how to harness latent psychic powers and Judgement - Academy City’s student-based dis-
expansive apartment complexes that serve as dormi- ciplinary committee. They are composed of
tories for the schools. Its 2.3 million inhabitants are students of varying grade levels and power, and
almost entirely composed of students or staff at these along with Anti-Skill, are tasked to maintain
schools. Other sections are well known for housing peace-and-order within the school system.
research laboratories government run or otherwise
which makes for tight security in the city. Kougyou Daigaku – A research university that
operates the security satellites watching over
AIM – An acronym of “An Involuntary Movement,” Academy City.
AIM refers to the invisible disturbances surround-
ing each Esper that is a natural result of having such Level – Refers to the general mastery and power
powers. While usually unnoticed, some Espers and over the Esper’s given domain. This analysis also
equipment can detect this aura, so it is often used to includes thought towards general usefulness in
track movement of Espers or gauge their level. combat or other areas. The range resides between
zero and five with each level higher from zero
Anti-Skill - Academy City’s police and security having less and less membership due to the sheer
forces. Unlike Judgment, members of Anti-Skill are mastery or power it takes to join the ranks as one
ordinary adults who work in the city. One is essen- climbs higher.
tially a volunteer when one joins Anti-Skill Ex. Level Five students only number seven known
members in Academy City and all exhibit an ex-
Aztecs – The Aztec Organization is a mage associa- traordinary talent for their psychic power.
tion that is implied to be one of the many societies
seeking the destruction or containment of the Magi- Level Six Project – An abandoned project that
cal Index. It is not limited to its native pantheon left many an abandoned research building in its
however and is known to imitate relics of Greeco- wake. Wholesale slaughter came from what was
Roman origin when performing more combat supposed to be a break through experiment and
oriented magic. eventually ordinary Espers willingly interfered
and ruined the project. Only a few researchers
Columbus Egg – Sometimes included by particularly and test subjects remain from it but all are ex-
cruel or harsh teachers in Kaihatsu, this practice tensively knowledgeable in their fields and in the
requires one to psychically balance an egg without darker underside of Academy City.
breaking it. Harsh punishments are said to await
those unable to complete it. Macronall Hamburger – A popular fast food chain
in Academy City.
Espers/Psychics – Those humans born with an innate
ability to control extraordinary powers. They are the Magic Chapel – A subsection of Necessarius du-
prime inhabitants of Academy City who have been tied with storing and keeping magical knowledge.
cordoned off with the purpose of training to hone
their powers aided the state and their peers. These
humans have one minor downside to their gifts,
they are unable to perform sorceries and magics for
reasons unknown.
8
Magical Index - Refers to Index Librorum Prohibi- Runes – A language developed by the Galman
torum, a girl whose photographic memory has led Tribe of England in the Second Century of the
to her use by Necessarius to store 103,000 gri- common era specifically to aid in magical rituals
moires of magical knowledge. She periodically has and processes.
her personal memories erased to help maintain
security of this store of knowledge. Skill-out – Skill-Out refers to the largest armed
Level 0’s group in Academy City, which have
Magic Name – A similar concept to a nom-de- numbers up to thousands. Their goal is to fight
guerre this name is used by magicians during their for rights in a city where those without abilities
official or personal use of magic for one purpose are picked on by those who flaunt their higher
or another. The method behind choosing such a esper abilities
name varies.
The Outside – The area bordering the special
Magician – One who can manipulate seemingly Tokyo Academy District. This term also refers
hidden forces to perform various feats by follow- colloquially to any area outside of Japan.
ing certain rituals and methods of creating it. The
users of magic are widespread and often dedicated Tokiwadai – Prestigious girl’s school serving the
to one God or another from Aztecan pantheons to middle school level. Some of the strongest up-
the Judeo-Christian God. Those who take on the coming Espers attend this school.
mantle of magician are devoid of psychic ability
for reasons unknown. Vatican/Catholic Church – A religious and magi-
cally oriented society based in the Holy See. This
Necessarius – The Vatican organization involved organization is known to cooperate with the
with magical experimentation and psychic pow- Puritan group on occasion and is implied by the
ers. The creators and keepers of the Magical Index source material to work in a similar manner.
are affiliated here. Unknown to the general public.

Power Curriculum Program – The defining word

for a wide set of mental and physical programs
that are meant to stimulate the human mind in
grasping an innate psychic power. It includes a
wide variety of methods, examples ranging from
normal school work to hypnotism and drugs.

Puritan – A religious and magical order based out

of the United Kingdom.

Roman Catholic Church – One of the most pow-

erful religious and magical organizations in the
world, its reach spans the globe and includes all
manner of sub-arms and sub-orders that maintain
the various aspects and faces of the church. They
view magic as a gift of the Judeo-Christian God
and have named a number of spells after names
associated with it. They are the keepers of the
Magical Index amongst a great number of other
relics.

9
 2. Basic Mechanics
if all else fails...at GM discretion is the answer!

A Certain Scientific Roleplaying Game uses a d10 When swimming, roll a Coordination + swimming skill
roll-under system. check. On a failure, move 1/4 movement speed. On suc-
cess, move 1/2. When flying, move 2x movement speed.
Base Attributes: There are four base stats.
Physical - Physical strength and constitution. When jumping, use coordination + 1/2 physical for
Mental - Intelligence, speed of thought, intuition. length of a jump in inches and physical + 1/2 coordina-
Social - How much of a people person you are. tion for height. Round down.
Coordination - Agility, speed, and dexterity.
Skill Checks: Each skill check is done by first taking the
A stat of 10 or 11 is considered average. 7-9 are base stat for the check, applying any
considered below average. A stat below that probably apporpriate modifiers from skill or the difficulty of the
severely constrains that character’s lifestyle. 12-14 check. This is the target number for the check. Then
are above average and probably draw some admira- roll 2d10. A result that matches or is under the target
tion. 15 and above are exceptional and means the stat number is a success.
probably guides the character’s career.
On a roll of 19 or 20, the result is a critical failure.
Movement: Each character can move a number of On a roll of 2 or 3, the result is a critical success.
yards a turn equal to their Coordination stat divided
by 2 and rounded down - their movement speed.

10
Example skill checks: John’s character has a 12 for his Difficulty Modifiers for Skill Checks: Not all skill
Physical stat. He wants to lift something heavy and rolls checks are born equal. Often times, just rolling the
2d10, with a result of 11. He passes the test, but barely. base stat + skill unmodified isn’t a good enough repre-
sentation of how difficult a task is. Making a physical
He then decides he wants to climb the side of a building. check to lift a heavy box is not the same as making a
He has a skill of 4 in climbing and adds that to his Physi- check to manually flip a car.
cal stat for a total of 16. He rolls 2d10 with a result of 17.
Unfortunately, this isn’t enough and he fails to climb the Examples: When rolling a lockpicking check in total
building. darkness, the GM might rule that this is an
exceptionally difficult task and make the player roll at
Skills: There is no skill list for the game. Skills are free- -5 to the target number.
form and can be whatever the players come up with, For a lock that is somewhat sophisticated but not too
within reason. When designing a skill, players should much so, the GM may apply a -3 modifier.
restrict their skill to a single base stat. The skill can only For a lock that the player character is very familiar with
be applied in situations using that base stat. Consider or is worn down, the GM may give them a +3 bonus.
a skill of 1-3 to be something reasonably attainable by
anyone. 4-6 would probably represent someone skilled Opposed Rolls: There will come a time when char-
enough to make a living with that skill. Higher than that acters make rolls against each other. One character
is rare, with 10 being the pinnacle of human ability. could be trying to bluff another, and the other is try-
ing to discern whether or not they’re bluffing.
Guidelines for Freeform Skills: GMs should
encourage their players to pick interesting skills and In these cases, both players roll to see if they succeed
should allow liberal applications of their skill to a mul- their check. If one player fails and the other succeeds,
titude of situations. Think of skills less as one particular the other player wins the
activity someone is good at and more like a penumbra opposed check. If both players succeed, compare their
of ablities they have categorized under one name. GMs rolls with the target number. The player who succeeds
should, however, restrict players from taking skills that with a greater difference between their roll and the
are too vague or too all-encompassing. “Badassery” is target number wins the
not a skill. “Judo” is. See GM Aids chapter for skill ideas. opposed check. This is the margin of success of a roll.

GMs should also feel free to apply negative Example: In the above example, one character has their
modifiers for using skills in a way that is a stretch. lie skill at 3 and a social stat of 11, making a target
number of 14. The other has detect lies at 2 and a social
Examples: An academic-type character who takes a skill stat of 10 for a target number of 12. The first player rolls
in their particular specialization, say, neuroscience, could a 9 and has a margin of success of 5. The second rolls 5
apply their neuroscience skill not only to knowledge checks and has a margin of success of 7 and thus wins the op-
about neuroscience but also to identifying equipment in a posed check..
biology lab or
conducting frantic research in a library when pressed for When to Roll: Not every action requires a skill check.
time. However, in a situation where they’re called upon to Generally rolls don’t need to happen for something
address someone’s reaction to a drug that has some neu- that someone can casually do in real life and doesn’t
rological effects but also a plethora of other effects, they directly oppose someone else’s action.
might only be able to add one or two points of their skill to
the check. Thumbing through a book at the library to find out
more about a subject wouldn’t require a check.
A character with a gun skill would cover not only the use
of firearms but also their maintenance, knowledge of laws Frantically trying to find an obscure fact about some-
surrounding their use, etc. thing while the library is on fire and a bomb is ticking
down somewhere would require a check.
11
Esper Powers: Esper abilities don’t use the d10 roll 46-50: Stage 10. This is the true meaning of a Level Five.
under system to measure success. Easily short out the power of an entire city - on accident.
Instead, the esper when using their power rolls up to You’re wielding power that rivals that of the gods.
a number of d10 equal to their level and add up the
result. ex: A level 3 may choose to roll up to 3d10 but Further stages (11+) scale the same way by increments of
may choose to only roll 1d10 or 2d10 instead. 5 points on the dice roll and reflect incredible amounts
The higher the result, the more they can do with their of power.
power. Relative power of a specific use of an ability
progresses by stages. These are applied in combat as Contested Powers: When using esper powers to apply
well when rolling for status effects or negating them as a status effect on someone (ex: disorientation, mind
well as other applications. control) or when two espers use powers in opposition
outside of combat, each esper rolls d10s equal to their
Stage Guidelines level to determine power of their attempt and then rolls
1-5: Stage 1. The esper can hardly make an effect hap- 2d10 against the appropriate stat for their power (see ch.
pen with their power. Maybe they move some widgets 6) + the stage of their previous roll. This is a contested
across their desk. Maybe they can light a cigarette or roll as normal. Non-espers simply roll against the stat
give someone a mild burn. It’s not much. unmodified.
6-10: Stage 2. You can make a small display of your
power. Perhaps you can hurl an object across the room Critical Failures: When trying to use their power, an
or make a small golem. esper can lose control and suffer backlash. A level one
11-15: Stage 3. Your power is of very common level. cannot have a critical failure. Critical failures occur in
You might be able to call upon great physical strength the following cases: rolling 1d10: no critical failures.
or keep someone trapped for a short while inside a rolling 2d10: total roll 4 or below. rolling 3d10: total roll
barrier. 9 or below. rolling 4d10: total roll 14 or below. rolling
16-20: Stage 4. This is the upper limit of the common 5d10: total roll 19 or below. Espers can only critically
ESPer’s power. While not massive, it can be very effec- fail when they roll the maximum dice they’re allowed to
tive if used efficiently. You might be able to shift your (ex: level 5 rolling 4d10 has no chance for critical failure
body enough to form a brilliant disguise, if not to fly. even if they roll a 4).
21-25: Stage 5. You’re beginning to call upon high
levels of power. Your currents of air can cut from near Note that this produces a scale where use of more power
and far or power over torque might rip a reinforced has a higher risk of catastrophic failure. On a criti-
door off its hinges. cal failure, the esper fails to generate the desired effect
26-30: Stage 6. Things are getting dangerous. Trees from their power takes damage equal to the total dice
might turn into soldiers for you and your teleportation roll they made for that check. Powers under the Mental
might reach hundreds of feet. Combat section cause backlash damage to Mental HP.
31-35: Stage 7. It’s easy to stretch your powers into new
directions. You might duplicate increasingly complex The GM has the final say on the effect of a critical fail-
objects or begin to breed new strains of existing dis- ure. It can range from damage to yourself to a power
eases. outage in the whole city to critically injuring those
36-40: Stage 8. You’ve reached a level of power few around you as your powers fly out of control.
hope to achieve. Your near invisibility might extend
to possessions on your person, or you might shift the Critical Successes: Level one espers cannot have critical
odds to win the lottery. successes. Level two espers have a critical success on
41-45: Stage 9. You can probably level small buildings rolls of 19 or above. Level three espers on rolls of 26 or
with ease. If you’re reading someone’s mind, there’s above. Level four on rolls of 32 or above. Level five on
hardly anything that they’ll be able to hide from you. rolls of 37 or above. Multiply the esper’s total result by
1.5, rounded up.

12
3. Making Your Character
Character Concept: Come up with an idea for Point-Buy Character Generation
your character first. Maybe you’re the level 5
ace for your school. Maybe you’re the Judge- Base Stats: All base stats default to 10. In addition,
ment member who makes life living hell for each character has 5 points they can distribute to
the resident level 5. In any case, be thinking of their base stats in whatever fashion they choose.
what your character is doing in Academy City, Base stats may also be subtracted from one stat
what they want to accomplish, what their per- and added to another, though no stat may be be-
sonality is like. A more well-formed character low 6 or exceed 15 during character generation.
concept will make it more fun to make and play
your character. In addition, you have an HP stat that is your Physi-
cal stat multiplied by 5 and a Mental HP stat that is
To Roll or Not to Roll: This rulebook provides your Mental stat multiplied by 3.
guidelines for rolling up characters with ran-
dom backgrounds, esper powers and the like. When you are reduced to 0 HP in combat, roll a
Point-buy is recommended for maintaining a Physical check each round to stay conscious. On
standard level of power throughout a campaign a failure, you fall unconscious. When you are
and for players to really feel like they’ve created reduced to 0 Mental HP, you are afflicted with a
a character they want to play. However, the ran- major Mental effect. See the combat chapter (4) for
dom rolling rules are also fun and are especially details.
good for one-shots or short campaigns.
13
When you are reduced to -100% of your HP, roll a Esper Levels and Specializations:
Physical check to avoid death. A failure means your
character is now dead. The Powers Appendix should be used to pick
an esper power for your character, unless you
GMs should feel free to modify this to make more or are playing a level 0 and have no plans for your
less lethal campaigns. character to awaken latent esper talent later in the
campaign.
Character Points: Characters start off with a number
of character points with which to buy skills, esper Each ESPer level costs 5 character points. This
levels and esper specializations. GMs should be care- means it costs 25 points to be a Level 5, leaving
ful to scale the number of character points with the fewer points for skills There are tradeoffs to being
danger level of their campaign as well as the maxi- a powerful esper.
mum esper level players are allowed to buy.
Not every campaign needs level 5s - there are only
For basic campaigns, characters should start off 7 in Academy City after all, and the number of
with 35 points. This would represent a lower leveled level 4s is also low outside of elite schools such as
campaign, with character usually not exceeding esper Tokiwadai. Keep this in mind when creating your
level 3 and usually staying in the realm of level 1 or 2. character or creating a campaign. Don’t be afraid
to put a cap on esper level.
45-50 points should be used for a higher level, more
dangerous campaign. Combat will tend to be more Esper specializations - some espers are very good
lethal, and characters will generally have a wider va- at doing one thing with their power but not so
riety of skills to use in a given situation. GMs should good with others. MECHANICS TO COME SOON.
still limit esper levels to 4 due to the rarity of level 5s.

60+ points should be used for the highest level cam-

Random Character Generation
paigns, where players are free to make level 5 charac-
Randomly Generating Base Stats:
ters if they wish. These campaigns will involve plots
Each base stat starts at 5.
that generally put the existence of Academy City at
stake or have similarly large ramifications.
Roll 1d10 five times and choose the best four
results to add as you choose among your Physical,
Skills:
Mental, Social and Coordination stats, adding one
result to each stat and discarding the lowest.
The first 4 points of a skill cost 1 character point
each. Points 5 through 8 cost 2 each. Points 9 and 10
Character Points:
cost 3 points each. So for example, a character taking
Yeah, they still matter - skills are still bought and
4 in a skill spends 4 character points, a character tak-
when randomly rolling an esper level, treat it as if
ing 5 spends 6, and character taking 7 spends 10, and
you had bought that esper level.
10 in a skill spends 18 points.
Skills:
A skill may only be increased up to a maximum of
Due to the freeform nature of skills, it isn’t feasible
10.
to randomly generate them. Apply the point-buy
rules as you would normally.
A GM may wish to institute a lower skill cap for the
purposes of character creation. A recommendation
would be to cap skills at 5, 7, and 10 respectively for
each level of general campaign power level.

14
Generating Esper Abilities: Use the following charts to first determine what category of ability your character has
and then the specific ability.

Ability Category: Roll 1d10 twice - once for category, once for specific power
1-2 - Elemental
3-4 - Forces
5-6 - Mental
7-8 - Biological
9-10 - Anomaly
POWERS Elemental (1-2) Forces (3-4) Mental (5-6) Biological (7-8) Anomaly (9-10)
1 Air Gravity Memory Manip Plant Control Barrier Manip
2 Fire Friction Telepathy Phys. Enhance- Teleport
ment
3 Water Pressure Confusion Sensory Enhance Precognition
4 Earth Light Hallucination Regeneration Psychometry
5 Metal Telekinesis Sensory Manip Shapeshifting Portals
6 Electricity Mass control Emotion Manip Animal Control Technokinetics
7 Synthetics Temperature Dream Manip Animation AIM Perception
8 Magma/Lava Torque Power Null Photoreflex Probability
Memory
9 Ele/Mag waves Time Manip. Power Absorb Disease Projection
10 Wood Momentum Mental Enhance Chameleon Phase Walk

Each power is governed by one or two stats (see: ch. 6). Applying status effects and other contested rolls with pow-
ers use these stats. If there are two stats, average the two and round up. The stat used depends on the stat of the
attacker/user, not of the defender. Ex: When rolling contested for fire, use each esper’s mental stat, even if the
defender is a telepath and normally uses mental/social.

ESPer Level:
When rolling for level, treat it as if the player had bought that level when calculating remaining character points.
GMs should make sure to curb the number of Level 5s in their campaign, or even if a player is allowed to be a
Level 5. Remember, Academy City in the series has only 7 Level 5s.

Rolling for Level: roll 1d100 and add the stat that is relevant to your power
1-15 - Level 0
16 - 30 - Level 1
31 - 50 - Level 2
51 - 80 - Level 3
81 - 100 - Level 4
101+ - Level 5

15
 School: Student Background:
Roll 1d10, reroll on 8-10.
Roll 1d10
1 - A Certain High School 1 - Experimental Subject/Child Error
2 - Nagatenjouki Academy 2-3 - Delinquent (Skill-Out)
3 - Sakugawa Middle School 4-7 - Regular Student
4 - Zassou Academy 8-9 - Honor Student
5 - Tokidawai Middle School 0 - Agency Connections (Judgement, Anti-
6 - Kirigaoka Girl’s Academy Skill)
7 - Misawa Cram School
Character Traits/Background Chart
If you want, add the non-canon schools from
chapter 1 for rolls 8-10. Roll d100 and use the result on the table below.

d100 00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
0 Phobia Inferiority Hero Wor- Firefighter Connected Indepen- Farmer Anemia First-born Animal
Complex ship dent of a huge Reflexes
family
1 Always on Local hero Animal Main Emotion- Butler/ Cook Can't stand Motorcycle Drug Ad-
the move Lover Character ally scarred Maid the Sun Rider dict
2 Judgement Fist-fighter Supersti- Nervous Engaged to Tsundere Journalist Occult Fan Memories Food Con-
tious be married of a past noisseur
life
3 Attacked Unlucky Over- Anarchist Foreigner Stalker Genius Coward Hippie Hetero-
by animal achiever chromia
(different
color eyes)
4 Celebrity Computer Charitable Pyroma- In a rela- Positive Religious Book Au- Crybaby Night Owl
whiz niac tionship thor
5 Orphan Unde- Olympian Fanbase Airhead Rebel Rock Star Multi- Survivor Morning
served lingual Person
reputation (Knows
more than
one lan-
guage)
6 Hobbyist Overconfi- Team- Part-time Attrac- Class Vertigo Hermit Melan- Bird
dent worker Job tive/Good President cholic Watcher
Looking
7 Bookworm Glutton Off the Perfection- Famous Royal Skilled Pariah Sharp Gambler
Grid ist Parent Blooded with Sight
(Higher Weapons
level than
one would
think)
8 Hooligan Gemstone Musician Family in New in Older Sympa- Only Child Fast Perfect
the city Town ESPer thetic Learner Childhood
9 Shut-in Didn't Wealthy Still living Childlike Karaoke Fisherman Last Child Natural Short Sight
want this! at home Addict Leader

16
Other Organizations: Random School Generator:

Your character can be part of Judgment, Anti-Skill, Don’t want to be part of a canon school but don’t like
Big Spider or a variety of other organizations in the non-canon ones we’ve provided? Roll up charac-
Academy City. If you’re generating a random charac- teristics for your own school and name it whatever
ter, you need to roll the Agency Connections result you want. This system also works great even if you’re
to do so. using point-buy to make characters. It’s an easy way
to save time on creating a school for your character if
For point-buy characters, GMs should be care- you don’t want to come up with all of it yourself.
ful about giving out organization membership too
easily. They should, however, consider giving level School History: roll d10 Academic Traits: roll d10
zeroes membership in an organization that could get
them access to weapons and better combat options. 1. poor construction 1. ruthless teaching
2. murderous past 2. slackers’ paradise
3. famous alumni 3. arts focus
Character Progression 4. haunting rumors 4. technical focus
5. horrible experiment 5. extracurricular focus
As the campaign progresses, the GM should award 6. well-funded 6. too much homework
players with character points when the plot is ad- 7. privately owned 7. cheaters’ haven
vanced or when their characters do something 8. glowing reputation 8. experimental teaching
particularly important to the storyline or something 9. religious affiliation 9. brilliant teachers
just really awesome if they choose. Generally, GMs 10. student suicides 10. cram school
should try to give out 1-3 points per session, with an
emphasis on rewarding good roleplaying and pun- Facility Traits: roll d10 Student Body: roll d10
ishing players who choose to be detached for a ses-
sion. Don’t be afraid to give someone 0 points if they 1. labyrinthine 1. many level 0s
spent the whole game texting their friends. 2. modern look 2. rich kids
3. high tech labs 3. slum kids
In between sessions, these points can be used to 4. gothic architecture 4. middle-class kids
buy skills at a cost of one point per skill level. It is 5. beautiful gardens 5. high average level
easier to gain skills as the campaign goes on than it 6. extensive sports fields 6. low average level
is during character generation. Be sure to roleplay 7. large gym facilities 7. mostly foreigners
what kind of situation would lead to your character 8. swimming pool 8. one gender
developing those skills. 9. combat training ground 9. one esper power/type
10. secret facilities 10. level 5 esper attends
They can also be used to buy base stat points at a
cost of 3 character points per base stat point. Base Population: roll d10
stats cannot exceed 20.
1. <100
In the case of a player who wants to increase their 2. 100-300
character’s ESPer level, they must first get the GM’s 3. 300-500
permission before spending the 5 character points. 4. 500-750
Leveling up is a significant event, so it should be 5. 750-1000
handled with roleplaying of any test or exam as- 6. 1000-1500
sessing the character’s use of their ability along with 7. 1500-2000
anything else the GM deems appropriate. It is me- 8. 2000-2500
chanically easy to level up (get 5 points) - however it 9. 2500-3000
should still be a limited and special occurence. 10. 3000+
17
 Location: roll d100 Academy City is made up of 23 Districts serving specific purposes.

1-3: District 1 25-27: District 9 49-51: District 17 reroll on

4-6: District 2 28-30: District 10 52-54: District 18 rolls of 71
7-9: District 3 31-33: District 11 55-57: District 19 and above
10-12: District 4 34-36: District 12 58-60: District 20
13-15: District 5 37-39: District 13 61-63: District 21
16-18: District 6 40-42: District 14 64-66: District 22
19-21: District 7 43-45: District 15 67-69: District 23
22-24: District 8 46-48: District 16 70: your school is in a hidden
secret location
District Number Functions/Specializations/Noted Locations
1 Where most of the city's administration is located
2 Training areas for Judgment and Anti-Skill
3 Accomodations for authorized outsiders (which also includes
hotels, private pools, etc.)
4 Food-related facilities, including experimental crop growing
5 Mostly filled with universities and junior colleges
6 Recreational facilities, which also includes an amusement park
7 Middle and high schools, school dormitories, boarding houses,
hospitals, the "Windowless Building" where Aleister Crowley is
located
8 Mainly for the various teaching staff of the city
9 Industrial arts and fine arts schools
10 Reformatories, nuclear energy research facilities, the city's only
cemetery
11 Goods transfer
12 Theology system schools
13 Kindergartens and primary schools
14 Accomodations and various other facilities for overseas students
15 A large district consisting of the city's major shopping district and
mass communications facilities
16 Focuses on commerce
17 Railway cargo storage and organization, where Touma fought Ac-
celerator to end the "Experiment"
18 Kirigaoka Girls' Academy and Nagatenjouki Academy
19 Uncertain; has been in a decline recently
20 Schools focused on raising athletic students along with their esper
abilities
21 Dams for water storage
22 The smallest district in terms of surface area; this district is mainly
for developing technology for an underground town in the face of
land shortages in major cities
23 Airline companies and aeronautics and space development
18
 4. Combat Mechanics
Combat Turn Sequence: When combat is Weapon Attack Mechanics: To attack with a weapon,
initiated, every character rolls 1d10 and adds their roll the corresponding base stat (physical or coordi-
coordination stat to that roll. The result is their ini- nation) + weapon skill + any accuracy modifiers the
tiative score. Characters take their turns in order of weapon may have. This is an opposed roll against the
highest to lowest intiative score. defender’s coordination to dodge.

Manuveurs: Each combat round, a character can On a successful hit with a weapon, roll the damage
perform a movement manuveur and an action. dice of the weapon and add your combat modifier to
that result.
Movement: Each character can move a number of
yards a turn equal to their Coordination stat divided Your combat modifier when using a weapon is de-
by 2 and rounded down - their movement speed. termined by your corresponding base stat for that
When swimming, roll a Coordination + swimming weapon. For every two points above 10 you have in
skill check. On a failure, move 1/4 movement speed. that base stat, increase your combat modifier by one.
On success, move 1/2. When flying, move 2x move- For every two below, decrease by one.
ment speed.
Unarmed attacks use an unarmed fighting skill.
Action: Basically anything that requires a skill check
is an action. Firing a weapon, using an esper abil- Example: A character with physical 12 and baton 3
ity, etc. In addition, it takes one action to ready a swings a police baton and rolls against 12+3+1. They
holstered weapon. A second movement can also be roll a 12 and succeed with a margin of 4. The defender
taken in lieu of an action. rolls an 8 against coordination of 9 and succeeds by
1, which means he is hit. The baton does 1d10 + 1
Free Actions: These can be taken at any time during damage for the combat modifier. So on a roll of 5, the
your turn without consuming your action for the baton does 6 damage.
turn. Talking is a free action, within reason. Drop-
ping a held item such as a weapon is also free.

19
Esper Abilities in Combat: At the start of each round, Weak: A Weak explosion may hit up to two people
each esper may choose to roll up to a number of d10 in normal combat or more if tightly packed to-
equal to their level. A Level 1 rolls a single die, a Level gether. A Weak wall could fill a doorway. A Weak
2 chooses to roll 1 or 2, etc. The result is the number line could hit up to three people if perfectly lined
of power points they have available to spend that turn. in a row to a maximum distance payed for of the
These can be spent on damage for an attack, modifica- attack.
tions for an attack, or stored for later use. Cost: 10 power points

Always check the Powers Appendix for ways specific Decent:A Decent explosion may hit up to five
powers change core mechanics. people in normal combat, two is spaced far apart,
more if tightly packed. A Decent wall could fill
Storing Points: Up to half (rounded down) of the a wide hallway. A Weak line could hit up to 7
remaining power points an esper has at the end of a people if perfectly lined in a row.
round may be stored to be used in later rounds if the Cost: 15 power points
esper wishes to do so.
Burly: A Burly Explosion may hit up to 15 people
An esper may not store more than their maximum roll in normal combat, five if they are spaced far
in power points each turn. This means once you hit apart,more if tightly packed. A Burly wall could
over twice your maximum roll in power points to use fill a street from sidewalk to sidewalk. A Burly
in a given turn, there is nothing to gain from holding line could hit up to 20 people if lined up right.
back all of those points - any points above twice the Cost: 25 power points
maximum go purely to waste.
Strong:This should be about a building sized
Attack Damage: The basic attack with an esper ability explosion, line an entire city block, or pierce
is treated as a melee range attack that hits one target. through an unlimited number of combatants
One power point buys one point of damage for that Cost: 35 power points
attack. Points spent on modifications or stored for
later use don’t count towards damage. Giant:City block sized explosion, Line effect for a
kilometer, etc.
Modifying Range and AOE: The range of an attack can Cost: 50 power points
be increased by 10 yards for each power point spent
on the attack up until a maximum of 100 yards, or 10 Apocalyptic: This attack crumbles multiple city
points. blocks. Treat this as a plot device, to be used by
BBEGs or by a player in a special narratively
To modify AOE, the player uses power points to buy driven scene if it is appropriate.
various levels of AOE. Cost: ???

20
Accuracy and Dodging: Upon declaring an attack Modifications: Attacks can be modified in one
using esper powers, the attacker makes an accu- of two ways:
racy roll. For attacks doing physical damage, roll
2d10 against your coordination. For this roll, add 1. The attack has an added mechanical effect
your ESPer level and the modifier from any AOE aside from damage.
increase (larger area attacks are harder to dodge). 2. The attack uses the esper ability in a way that
Subtract 1 from your coordination for each point is unconventional or deviates from the way the
above 3 spent on increasing the range of the attack. power is normally used.
The defender rolls coordination. Whoever suc-
ceeds with a higher margin of success wins (hits For both types of modifications, there are
with or dodges the attack). For mental attacks, use Small, Medium and Large effects, costing 1,
the mental stat in place of coordination for both 3, and 5 power points each. For each effect
attacker and defender. beyond the first, add 1 power point to the cost.
Ex: three small effects cost 1+2+2 = 5 points.
Defense: If you have stored up power points when two large effects cost 5+6 = 11 points. The GM
someone successfully attacks you, you can spend decides what size an effect is, but there are
those points to negate some of the damage at the guidelines below.
rate of 4 stored points per 1 point of damage negat-
ed. Describe how you do this with your power. Ex: Mechanical Changes Examples:
bringing up a sheet of ice to block a launched rock,
cutting through some of the vines of an attacking Small: plants coming up from the ground and
plant using a blade of vibrating iron particles, etc. making grabs at your feet to try to trip you
Additional points can be used for the purpose of Medium: A stunning effect to a shock, tempo-
bolstering the power stage of a defensive move to rarily dropping you
negate attack damage but do not reduce damage if Large: Plants wrap around someone and
only 1, 2 or 3 points are added instead of a multiple squeeze tightly, immobilizing them
of 4.
Power Deviation Examples:

Small: manipulating gravity to directly hit

someone with force
Medium: Using electromagnetism to create a
blade out of iron particles from the ground
Large: Using gravity to bend light

GMs may want to rule that the ability of an

esper to generate a powerful effect that deviates
from their power is limited by their level.

21
Mechanical Changes In-Depth: Each time an attack has Tripping [small]: An attack sweeps you off your
a mechanical change applied to it and hits the intended feet. On your next turn, you may only make a
target, the attacker and defender must make a contested movement or take an action, not both.
roll to see if the effect takes hold.
Stunned [medium]: Your head is spinning and your
For this, have each roll against the corresponding stat body is not responding, your mental status could
for the power type of the attack + stages of power. This be penalized. You are unable to act on your next
is a normal contested roll. turn.

For determining the attack’s stages of power, use the Dazed [variable]: The world is blurred and just
guidelines from ch. 2 but use only the points spent on won’t stay still, it is very hard to keep you balance,
the attack (including all modifiers) to determine that. your coordination could be penalized..
For the next x turns where x was the stage of the
For determining the defender’s stages, apply the guide- attack, take a -3 penalty to all rolls.
lines to the points used to negate damage from the
attack. Poisoned [variable]: Some sort of deadly substance
has made it’s way into your body. Side effects vary.
Power Stage Chart Replicated
Paralyzed [large]: Your body cramps up, you are
Stage 1 1-5 still aware but you simply can’t move. Treat as
Stage 2 6-10 Constricted, substitute coordination for physical.
Stage 3 11-15
Crippled [variable]: A particularly nasty injury,
Stage 4 16-20 typically along the lines of broken bones jutting
Stage 5 21-25 out of the flesh. Take a variable penalty to all physi-
Stage 6 26-30 cal and coordination rolls.
Stage 7 31-35
Stage 8 36-40 Slowed [variable]: Something hinders your move-
ment, whether by flailing roots grappling your feet,
Stage 9 41-45
or a cast of ice encasing your leg. Take a variable
Stage 10 46-50 penalty to dodge rolls and movement.

Status Effects Hallucinations [variable]: You constantly see things

at the edge of your vision or hear distracting
It’s easy to think of mechanical modifications to an at- voices. Take penalties to all rolls.
tack as status effects. Here are some examples of status
effects that could be applied to attacks and the result Lost a Sense [variable]: A blind light, a loud noise,
of the effects. In some cases, status effects grow more or maybe even an esper, there are several things
powerful as the level of the esper increases. Some ex- that can leave you without one of your senses. Take
amples for that are below as well. These are only guide- appropriate penalties to move, dodge, etc.
lines to help. Feel free to modify them at will.
Mesmerized [medium]: Something is affecting
Constricted [large]: You are immobilized. Suffocating, you. Illusions, charms, they will try to gain your
getting crushed, if you don’t struggle to escape, it could complete attention. You are unable to act until an
be your final hour. Roll against physical - 3 each turn to attack or other shock snaps you out of it.
escape. In the hands of a particularly high level esper,
this status may also cause 1d10 -3 damage each turn
from its crushing force.
22
Mental Powers in Combat • Mind control your target for a number of hours
Some esper powers won’t cause their victims physical equal to half your esper power.
injuries but can nonetheless be very effective at chip-
ping away at their mental fortitude. Their effects are Confusion:
subtle but wear down their opponents psychologically • Switch the sensory inputs of two of the target’s
until they are inflicted with a major mental effect. senses. for a number of hours equal to your esper
level. This is a deeply traumatizing experience and
The following powers fall under this category and are sends the mind into shock as it tries to comprehend
considered Mental Attacks: information with the wrong parts of the brain. Clos-
ing your eyes or covering your eyes won’t save you
Memory Manipulation from being forced into the worst acid trip ever.
Telepathy
Confusion Hallucination:
Hallucination • Thrust your target into their own personal hell for
Sensory Manipulation a number of hours equal to your esper level. Their
Emotion Manipulation own mind turns against itself as it imagines itself
Dream Manipulation subjected to all their worst fears.

When using one of these powers in combat, roll the Sensory Antagonism/Agonism:
dice for power points as usual and spend points on • Cut off all of your target’s senses for a number of
damage and effects as usual. hours equal to your esper level. The sensory depriva-
tion starts to drive them mad.
For rolls to hit or dodge, replace use of Coordination • Throw your target into a blissful state for a number
with Mental instead. of hours equal to your esper level. They are oblivious
and will not react to anything.
However, Mental Attacks do damage to Mental HP • Cause your target great agony for a number of
rather than normal HP. When someone is reduced to hours equal to your esper level.
0 Mental HP or lower, they are automatically inflicted
with a major mental effect that corresponds with the Emotion Antagonism/Agonism:
mental power used against them. • Your target feels emotionally dull for a number of
hours equal to your esper power, as if they were an
These effects are the pinnacle of an esper’s ability and automaton.
cannot be bought normally. In order to achieve an • Greatly enhance, dull or invert a particular emo-
effect such as complete mind control or large scale tional reaction someone has for a number of days
memory loss, the esper must put in the time and effort equal to your esper power. They could irrationally
to hammer down their opponent’s mental defenses fall in love with someone or feel completely de-
until they give. tached from their lover.

Here are some examples for what kind of major effects Dream Manipulation:
can be purchased. Make your own as well: • The next time your target goes to sleep, you have
complete control over what happens to them in their
Memory Manipulation: dream for a number of hours equal to your esper
• The target is unable to form new memories for a level times two. They are unable to wake up from
number of days equal to your esper level. this dream until the time is over unless you will
• Wipe a number of days from the target’s memory them awake.
equal to your esper level.

Telepathy:
• You know the deepest secrets the target is trying to
hide from you. 23
Critical Failures: When rolling dice each turn to deter- Sample Combat
mine power points, an esper can lose control of their Balthazar and Meriam, a level 3 plant control user and
power and suffer backlash from it. A level one cannot level 2 electricity control user respectively, are tagging
have a critical failure. Critical failures occur in the fol- along with Ben, a member of Anti-Skill to investigate
lowing cases: rolling 2d10: total roll 4 or below. rolling some criminals. Ben has equipped himself with a pistol
3d10: total roll 9 or below. rolling 4d10: total roll 14 and a riot shield while the other two are unarmed.
or below. rolling 5d10: total roll 19 or below. Espers
can only critically fail when they roll the maximum The trio encounters two criminals, one of them a level
dice they’re allowed to (ex: level 5 rolling 4d10 has no 4 synthetic control user and the other a common thug
chance for critical failure even if they roll a 4). armed with a rifle.
Note that this produces a scale where use of more
power has a higher risk of catastrophic failure. On a Each of the five rolls a d10 for initiative, adding their
critical failure, the esper gains no points this round Coordination stat.
and instead loses all stored points and takes damage
equal to the points they would have gained plus the Balthazar: 12 + (1d10 = 5) = 17
stored points they lost. Powers under the Mental Com- Meriam: 8 + (1d10 = 3) = 11
bat section cause backlash damage to Mental HP. Ben: 13 + (1d10 = 6) = 19
Syn Con: 10 + (1d10 = 5) = 15
For normal attacks, the GM rules the result of a criti- Thug: 11 + (1d10 = 2) = 13
cal failure. The attacker could hit themselves with their
weapon. They could hit an ally. Etc. The turn order is: Ben, then Balthazar, then the Syn
Con, then the thug, then Meriam.
Critical Successes: Use the normal critical success rules
for non-esper power attacks and for dodges. A critical Ben goes first and, being the cautious type, decides to
success means an automatic dodge. For an attack, it hide behind his riot shield as his action.
means an automatic hit that deals the maximum dam-
age that the attack can do (ex: pistol at 2d10 + 2 would Balthazar goes and rolls 3d10 for his power, with a result
do 22 damage) of 16. He’s also a bit cautious now and doesn’t know
what esper powers the criminals have, choosing to
For esper attacks, do the following: Level one espers store half of his points - 8 - instead of using them for an
cannot have critical successes. Level two espers have a attack. Nonetheless, he chooses to move closer, getting
critical success on rolls of 19 or above. Level three es- (12/2 = 6) yards closer to the criminals.
pers on rolls of 26 or above. Level four on rolls of 32 or
above. Level five on rolls of 37 or above. Multiply the The Syn Con is panicked. He rolls 4d10 with a result
esper’s total power pool for that turn by 1.5, rounded of 20. Balthazar is about 20 yards away, so the Syn Con
up. Do not apply the maximum power points rule for sinks 2 of his 20 points to increase the range of his at-
this turn. tack and then sinks 2 points into area of effect for good
measure. That leaves 16 points which the Syn Con
Unconventional Powers: Some powers aren’t modelled chooses to sink all into damage. Luckily for Meriam and
well by this system of attacks. For example, animal Ben, they aren’t standing anywhere near Balthazar and
control wouldn’t have a way of directly doing damage. aren’t targeted in the 20 square yard area of effect.
See the Powers Appendix for explanations of how some
of these powers can be used in combat. The Syn Con rolls against 10 (coordination) + 4 (level) +
2 (points into AOE) to hit versus Balthazar’s roll against
After Combat Recovery: HP recovers by half your max 12 (coordination). Both roll 2d10 and both get a result
each day of normal activity, by your max each day of of 11. This is a success for both, but the Syn Con suc-
rest, and by max per half day of medical treatment. ceeds by a margin of 5 whereas Balthazar only succeeds
Mental HP recovers by max each day. by a margin of 1 and thus the attack hits for 16 damage.
24
Balthazar’s Physical stat was 10, so he had a max HP of 50, Now each character has gone once and the next
which would be reduced down to 34. Balthazar decides to round starts.
play defensively though and spends his stored up 8 power
points to negate 2 points of damage (costing 4 power Ben sees a clean shot and takes aim at the Syn Con
points per 1 point of damage). He is instead at 36 HP. with his pistol, rolling against 13 (coordination) +
5 (pistol skill) = 18. He rolls a 10, with a margin of
The thug goes next and stays in place, electing to shoot at 8. The Syn Con rolls 7 against 10, with a margin of
Ben. With a Rifle skill of 3, the thug rolls against 11 (coor- 3 and is hit. The pistol does 2d10 +2 + 1 (combat
dination) + 3 (skill) = 14. The result of 2d10 is 11, which modifier) = 13 damage this turn.
is a success by 3. Ben is not so lucky and rolls 2d10 = 15
against his Coordination of 13 and fails to dodge. The Syn Con had a low Physical stat of 8 and thus
only 40 HP. He’s down to 17 HP already.
The thug rolls well on 3d10 for the damage through the
rifle with a result of 25. The riot shield absorbs 20 of the Ben goes next, rolling poorly on 3d10 for his power
damage and breaks, causing Ben to take 5 HP of damage. and only accrueing 10 points. He sinks 2 into range
to hit the Syn Con and puts the rest into damage.
Meriam’s turn is up. She feels like she has an opportunity He rolls against 12 + 3 = 15 with a result of 10.
to attack because the Syn Con appeared to her to spend all A margin of 5. The Syn Con rolls against 10 and
of his energy in the one attack against Balthazar. She rolls comes up with 13, a failure. A vine lashes out at
2d10 for her power and gets an amazing roll of 18. From him and deals 8 points of damage, leaving him at 9
her vantage point, the Syn Con is half hidden behind a HP.
wall, so she decides to move to get a better view. She can
only move (8/2 = 4) yards a turn and doesn’t move enough The Syn Con is having a very, very bad day today.
to get a better shot. On his turn he rolls for his power and gets a 12.
Since this is below 14, this constitutes a critical fail-
She decides that she can modify her power somewhat to ure. He gains no points and takes damage equal to
still hit, electing to draw up a vibrating whip of iron par- the amount he would have gained + the number of
ticles with her electromagnetism which can curve around points he has stored. Since he has no points stored,
the wall and hit the Syn Con. She also decides that she this is 12 damage, bringing him to -3. Since he’s at
might as well try to trip him in the process. The Syn Con or below zero, he makes a check to stay conscious,
is about 30 yards away, so she also sinks points into range. rolling against his Physical stat of 8. He rolls a 10,
This all costs her 3 (range) + 3 (medium deviation effect) failing it and falls unconscious.
+ 2 (small mechanical effect and an extra point since it’s a
second effect) = 8 points, leaving 10 damage possible if she The thug is noticeably freaked out by this turn of
hits. events and decides to book it instead of sticking
around and fighting it out.
She rolls against 8 (coordination) + 2 (level) = 10. On 2d10,
she rolls a 5. The Syn Con rolls against 10 (coordination) Notice from this example that combat does not
and rolls a 6, a margin of success one less than Meriam’s. have to end in one side being completely demol-
The attack hits for 10 damage and the Syn Con has no ished. Death is not the only result of combat. NPCs
points left to negate any of it. who think they’re outgunned should rationally run
away. Similarly, the PCs should know that they
Now Meriam and the Syn Con make a contested roll to see don’t have to see every battle through to the bit-
if the trip effect applies. 18 points in an attack is stage 4, ter end. If things aren’t going their way, it might be
and electricity is mental. Meriam has a 10 mental stat and best for them to run.
the Syn Con has a 13. So they roll 2d10 against 14 and 13,
getting 15 and 9 respectively. The attack does damage but
does not cause tripping.

25
 5. Weapons and Equipment
Guns, Germs and Steel: Sometimes esper powers Some melee weapons, such as rapiers and dag-
aren’t the best tool for the job when it comes to gers, rely more on finesse than brute strength and
combat. An esper could be gifted with an ability thus are based on the Coordination stat. Most
such as psychometry that leaves very little room ranged weapons like bows and firearms need a
for combat applications. The Level 0 in the steady hand to be used effectively and are also
party also needs a way to defend themselves. based on Coordination.
That’s where weapons come into play.
Weapon Mechanics: A character must have the
As the party will likely be playing students corresponding weapon skill to use bladed or
given the setting, most of these weapons will ranged weapons. Others (ex: clubs) can be used
be of the improvised variety or weapons that unskilled by rolling only the corresponding stat.
are easy for teenagers to acquire. Firearms
and more lethal weapons will still be available Each weapon has two character traits. First is
but will probably require association with the an accuracy modifier. This number is added or
proper organizations (legal or criminal) to be subtracted from the target number when making
obtained. a skill check to use the weapon.

Weapons and Stats: Each weapon corresponds The second is a damage roll. On a successful hit
to a certain base stat that governs its use. Most with the weapon, roll the specified dice, add a
bashing weapons such as batons, bats and clubs combat modifier, and deal that much damage to
use the Physical stat, as do large swords, axes, the target.
etc.
For examples, see the Combat Mechanics
chapter.
26
Weapon Types Ranged Weapons
These are more guidelines than they are hard and Ranged weapons require membership in Anti-
fast rules. Skill or an equivalent law enforcement agency or
a criminal group to possess. The GM should lean
Unarmed: Sometimes you just have nothing to use heavily towards limiting if not prohibiting their
for a weapon. Doesn’t mean you can’t turn your use by PCs. These are mainly NPC weapons.
body into a deadly weapon with proper martial
arts training. For each 10 yards past 30 that a firearm is fired,
subtract 1 from accuracy.
Stat: Physical
Accuracy: +0 Bows: Longbows, crossbows
Damage Dice: 1d10-1 Stat: Coordination
Accuracy: -3
Simple Clubs: These weapons could include a Damage Dice: 2d10
broken off chair leg, a police baton, a particularly
thick tree branch, or a cane. No matter what the Small Firearms: Pistols, derringers, etc.
player has chosen to name their skill, they can Stat: Coordination
wield similar weapons that fit this list. Accuracy: -1
Damage Dice: 2d10 + 2
Stat: Physical
Accuracy: +1 Big Firearms: Rifles of all sorts, shotguns, etc.
Damage Dice: 1d10 Stat: Coordination
Accuracy: +0
Big Stick: Baseball bats, long wooden staffs, etc - Damage Dice: 3d10
these larger blunt weapons can really hurt if they
connect, even breaking bones or causing serious
internal injuries. Two hands to wield.
Equipment/Misc
Riot Shield: These occupy someone’s hand when
Stat: Physical
held. As an action for their turn, someone can
Accuracy: +0
choose to duck behind the shield rather than
Damage Dice: 1d10 + 4
make an attack or take another action. If they do
so, the riot shield absorbs all ranged weapon dam-
Small Blades: Pocket-knives, daggers, and the like
age they would take. The riot shield is treated as
may be small, but their sharp edges make them
if it has 20 hit points. When its HP is reduced to
lethal weapons.
zero, any damage over the minimum amount to
reduce it to zero is dealt to the user. Other attacks
Stat: Coordination
can go around riot shields and are not blocked.
Accuracy: +2
Damage Dice: 2d10 -4
Body Armor: When worn, all damage taken is
reduced by 2.
Big Blades: Axes, swords, all your classical medi-
eval fantasy weapons go here. Two hands to wield.
Taser: on a hit, the target rolls vs Physical to see if
they are stunned and unable to act next turn.
Stat: Physical
Stat: Coordination
Accuracy: -1
Accuracy: -2
Damage Dice 2d10.
Damage Dice: 1d10
27
6. Powers Appendix
Unique Power Mechanics Golems and animals require a Mental stat of at
least 6 to act on their own. Otherwise, the esper
Certain powers don’t function well using the must spend a turn mentally issuing orders and
standard system of power points as damage. forfeit an action on their turn in order for the
Here are some of them and how to use them. animal or golem to act.

Animal Control and Animation: When rolling Physical Enhancement: Divide your roll for
for these powers, add up the result of the dice power points by two, rounded down. Distribute
and double it. These points can be distributed these between your Physical and Coordination
to form the base stats of an animal you control stat. This can only be stacked three times.
or a golem you create. For animation, you can
instead use these to bolster the stats of a golem This does grant temporary HP, but this is lost
you control instead of creating a new one. Each as soon as the battle is over and the esper stops
esper can control a number of animals/golems using this power. This loss of HP cannot reduce
equal to their level. Buffing a golem makes a a character to less than 0 HP. If a character is
single golem count as one more golem. already below 0 HP, they lose no HP from this.

Golems and animals can be given modifications Modification points can be used to augment
to their attacks by spending power points. A physical attacks using weapons each turn, giv-
maximum of 21 points can be spent on a golem ing them area of effect shockwaves or stunning
or animal in this way. capabilities, among other effects.

28
“Enhancement” Powers, Shapeshifting: Pay a Stage (5 Large Effect (5 points)
power points) for 3 Boost Points. Boost Points can be Probability (make a car swerve into an enemy)
spent as a free action to: - Enhance a Base Attribute by 1 Phase Walk (cause internal damage to a foe through
for 2 Boost Point. Recalculate all derived values. - En- phasing)
hance another value by 1 for 1 Boost Point. Powers list Power Nullification *requires level 4 or above (shut
which stats and values can be enhanced. No enhance- down someone’s power so violently they face backlash
ment may be greater than the number of Stages paid. from it)
Regeneration (cause cells to grow out of control)
Physical Enhancement: Physical, Coordination, Accu- AIM Perception: *requires level 4 or above (manipu-
racy, Movement, Melee Damage, Damage Reduction, late someone’s AIM field to turn against them, doing
Dodge feedback damage.)
Shapeshifting: Unarmed Damage, Dodge, Unarmed
Range, Damage Reduction, Movement, Swim Speed, Fly
Speed Non-Combat Powers
Photoreflexive Memory: Coordination, Accuracy, A Yet some other powers have essentially no ability to
Skill, Dodge be used offensively in combat. For these abilities, treat
Sensory Enhancement: Social, Accuracy, Dodge, Initia- their use as if the esper were out of combat rather
tive, Ranged Damage than using the power point system. Some of these
Mental Enhancement: Mental, Dodge, Initiative, Known powers may have other effects as per GM discretion.
Skill, Ranged Damage Here are some examples:

For extra abilities such as flight for shapeshifters, refer Chameleon - can be used to make yourself hard to hit.
to the stage chart in the basic mechanics chapter for Give enemies a penalty to accuracy checks or perhaps
guidelines. they’re unable to even see you.
Precognition - you sense attacks coming. Add to your
Photoreflexive Memory: Spend power points on your dodge.
ability and measure its power using its stage. Use the Psychometry - when attacked at range by an invisible
number of the stage as your skill rating for any skill that foe, picking up one of their projectiles will let you see
you’ve seen someone use before up to the maximum of them.
their skill.
Additional Combat Effects
Unconventional Combat Usages Some powers make modifications to core combat
mechanics.
Certain powers may not necessarily have offensive
combat as their most intuitive use but nonetheless have
very effective combat applications. However, since these Barrier Manipulation: Negate all sources of damage at
are unconventional uses, these powers always require a a rate of 2 power points per 1 point of damage.
deviation effect to deal damage:
Power Nullification: Negates damage from esper and
magic attacks at a rate of 1 power point per 1 point of
Small Effect (1 point) damage.
Mental Enhancement (launch a mental blast of energy)
Power Absorption: When used on an esper with power
Medium Effect (3 points) points, drain stored points equal to the amount of
Teleport (teleporting items into other people) power points spent. If you drain more than they have,
Barrier-Field Manipulation (using barriers to push they lose the points they would gain next time they
people) gain points until you have drained points equivalent
Portals (dropping stuff on people, flinging them using to your expenditure.
portals)
Light (shoot a concentrated laser) Regeneration - Can be used on the fly to heal injuries
in battle at a rate of 1 hp per 2 power points. 29
Power Descriptions: Here are basic descrip- Large mechanical effect: The all consuming blaze you
tions of the powers in the game as well as suggestions summon’s searing heat reaches the height necessary to
for modifications when using the powers in combat. melt matter down. Your opponent’s cover means little.
Please note that these are guidelines, rather than Small deviation effect: Smoke is a result of fire, and
restrictive definitions of the powers. Some of these are your power over fire extends to control that result by
powers with alternate systems for how to use them - you manipulating smoke.
may not apply the modifications directly in these cases Medium deviation effect: The fire you create need not
but instead use them to guide the cost of various actions. travel between you and your target. You may attempt
Codependent Effects: Some of the mechanical modifi- to force combustion of your target.
cations require use of a deviation to achieve (ex: prison Large deviation effect: You’re like a god of fire; dem-
of ice requires ice manipulation for a water controller). onstrate your mastery by walking through the hottest
The esper must purchase both effects. (ex: ice ma- flames unharmed.
nipulation costs 3 + prison of ice costs 5 + 1 since it’s a
second effect for a total cost of 9). Water Control [Mental/Coordination]
Water forms itself according to the ground it flows
on, the exception is you. You have the power to con-
Elemental Powers trol and form water, with the right training tsunamis
are within your reach.
Air Control [Mental/Coordination]
You control the flow of air, you can create mighty Small mechanical effect: Shoot a high pressure stream
winds or snuff out the greatest flame with the power fo of water that can push your foes into each other or
your mind. knock them down.
Medium mechanical effect: Create a sheet of ice under
Small mechanical effect: Create space by blowing your your foes that makes it difficult for them to move and
opponent yards away. remain standing.
Medium mechanical effect: Disarm a threat by whip- Large mechanical effect: Encase your foes in a prison
ping an opponent’s weapon away with a concentrated of ice or trap them in a sphere of water.
gale. Small deviation effect: Disperse water vapor as mist.
Large mechanical effect: Create a cyclone to whip help- Medium deviation effect: Turn the water you’re ma-
less victims into the air. nipulating into ice and shape it at will.
Small deviation effect: Push yourself with a current of Large deviation effect: Suck the water from an area,
air to move at great speed. dehydrate the target of your attack.
Medium deviation effect: Use your command over air to
take to the skies within a cushion of air. Earth Control [Mental/Physical]
Large deviation effect: Seize all the air from within an The earth itself obeys you, it cracks open at your
area, making breathing impossible, but remember to word and forms itself with a wave of your hand.
maintain the effect or air will flow back.
Small mechanical effect: Trip your foe by shifting the
Fire Control [Mental] earth beneath them.
Mighty flames obey your every command, by rising Medium mechanical effect: Call the ground to rise
to your full potential as an ESPer you can create infer- before you, creating instant cover.
nos with a snap of your fingers. Large mechanical effect: Rip open the earth and create
an abyssal fissure beneath your foe
Small mechanical effect: The flames you summon burn Small deviation effect: Rocks, gravel, and pebbles fly
your foes where they make contact. from the ground towards your target.
Medium mechanical effect: Your clever control over the Medium deviation effect: Form a suit of armor or
power of fire allows for the shaping of your conflagra- sword from the stone beneath you.
tion to scorch a large area without harming your allies. Large deviation effect: Stomp the ground and generate
earth quaking shock-waves.
30
Metal Control [Mental/Physical] Magma Control [Mental/Physical]
Metals bend to your will, cars quiver like jelly on a Earth melts under your stare, asphalt bubbles
washing machine and U-beams bow before you. You as you walk by and the guys in the skyscraper
ARE the Iron Man. better hope the foundation isn’t concrete.

Small mechanical effect: Bend a gun in on itself. Small mechanical effect: Convert the ground into
Medium mechanical effect: Crumple the engine block of extremely hot lava.
a car. Medium mechanical effect: Cause your lava to
Large mechanical effect: Warp the structures of build- spray towards a target, possibly burning.
ings. Large mechanical effect: Magma from deep with-
Small deviation effect: Fix pieces of metal. in the earth gushes upwards towards your target.
Medium deviation effect: Fire pieces of metal like a gun. Small deviation effect: Solidify lava.
Large deviation effect: Manipulate the iron in one’s Medium deviation effect: Create a protective ring
blood to cause iron poisoning. of lava around yourself.
Large deviation effect: Safely surf lava.
Electricity Control [Mental]
The current within your body is at your command, Electromagnetic Wave Control [Mental]
you can shoot arcs of lightning from your fingertips and Radiation, UV Rays, X Rays, Microwaves and
start appliances by looking strictly at them. Gamma Rays are all under your control.

Small mechanical effect: Awaken someone with a light Small mechanical effect: Harass others with wave
zap. attacks intended to daze.
Medium mechanical effect: Stun a foe with an electric Medium mechanical effect: Poison your target
shock. with heavy radiation
Large mechanical effect: Paralyze your target with cur- Large mechanical effect: Cause blindness by burn-
rents coursing through their body. ing eyes with concentrated waves.
Small deviation effect: Magnetize an object. Small deviation effect: See through barriers with
Medium deviation effect: Create a vibrating blade out of X Rays.
iron particles from the ground or fire a railgun attack Medium deviation effect: Overload wireless de-
Large deviation effect: Manipulate or detonate electron- vices.
ic devices using your powers. Large deviation effect: Completely deceive scans.

Synthetic Material Control [Mental] Wood Control [Mental/Physical]

Man made materials like plastic, glass and ceramics Turn chairs into spears, turn tables into shields,
are like putty, ready to be formed by your hands. make the walls of a log cabin strike your foe with
spikes. You can manipulate wood, but only once
Small mechanical effect: Sharpen paper to knifelike it’s dead.
levels.
Medium mechanical effect: At your word, a broken win- Small mechanical effect: Deliver a dazing blow
dow springs back into place with a wooden strike.
Large mechanical effect: The very clothes your enemy Medium mechanical effect: Shape wood into a
wears turn against them and constrict. desired form, such as a club or bench.
Small deviation effect: Change the design on a tee shirt. Large mechanical effect: Create a wooden prison
Medium deviation effect: Fling shards of glass at high to trap your prey.
speed. Small deviation effect: Mend broken wood.
Large deviation effect: Break items down to raw materi- Medium deviation effect: Send splinters from a
als. wooden weapon into someone’s bloodstream.
Large deviation effect: Kill living trees, bringing
them under your power. 31
Force Powers Large mechanical effect: Turning up the pressure of
the air around your target allows for constriction.
Gravity [Mental] Small deviation effect: Daze a foe by hurling a ball of
You have control over gravity itself. Pin your foes pressure at a foe.
with a crushing force or leap from rooftop to rooftop as Medium deviation effect: Deafen your foe by over-
if you were lighter than air. whelming your target’s eardrums with pressure.
Large deviation effect: By applying huge internal pres-
Small deviation effect: Hit someone directly with force sure on the foe, you can attempt to cripple them.
rather than manipulating the gravity around them.
Medium deviation effect: Align two objects to gravitate Light [Mental]
towards each other. Light bows to your command. You can switch a
Large deviation effect: Bend light with gravity. room between pitch black darkness and a blinding
Small mechanical effect: Increased gravity around your brightness with but a thought.
enemy reduces their ability to move and to dodge other
attacks. Small mechanical effect: Create a bright flash to daze
Medium mechanical effect: Decreased gravity around enemies.
your enemy leaves them floating helplessly through the Medium mechanical effect: Blind a target with intense
air, unable to control their trajectory. light.
Large mechanical effect: Your enemy is pinned to the Large mechanical effect: Turn invisible.
ground by an immense gravitational force. Small deviation effect: Make something appear to be
of a different color.
Friction [Mental/Physical] Medium deviation effect: Fire off a laser beam
Walk on ice with the greatest ease or watch your op- Large deviation effect: Manipulate light to create a
ponents slip and fall no matter how sturdy their footing false image in another’s eyes.
is. Friction is under your control.
Telekinesis [Mental/Coordination]
Small mechanical effect: Take away friction between Spooky action at a distance. Your ability to ma-
others and the ground, sending them sliding. nipulate the world doesn’t stop at your fingertips. Lift
Medium mechanical effect: Slow others down by turn- and throw objects from afar.
ing up the friction around them.
Large mechanical effect: Creatinge huge friction be- Small mechanical effect: Trip someone by pulling
tween the air and skin, you can constrict your foe. their leg out from under them.
Small deviation effect: Reduce friction on the bulk of Medium mechanical effect: Launch a stunning teleki-
your body to move faster than usual. netic blast.
Medium deviation effect: Increase friction on your soles Large mechanical effect: Grasp and lift a foe into the
to the point where you can walk up walls. air with the strength of your mind.
Large deviation effect: Use friction to start a fire. Small deviation effect: Rip away an opponent’s weap-
onry.
Pressure [Mental] Medium deviation effect: Manipulate weapons from
You can manipulate pressure. Lazily pop balloons by far, such as fencing with an opponent 20 yards away.
increasing internal air pressure or crush your enemy’s Large deviation effect: Fly by psychically lifting and
bones with your power. maneuvering yourself.

Small mechanical effect: Slow the enemy’s approach by

using pressure to resist their movements.
Medium mechanical effect: A sudden drop of pressure
in the air around your target negatively impacts the
body, briefly stunning them.
32
Mass Control [Mental/Physical] Time Manipulation [Mental]
Glass bends like rubber. Paper becomes a stiff cut- You can never have too much time. Slow
ting edge. Your thoughts can mold the rigidity and down time and wow your foes as your pistol
hardness of objects, twisting them to your will. shoots faster than a machine gun. Hit your en-
emies before they can even see you coming
Small mechanical effect: Soften the ground, causing
people’s feet to sink down and slowing speed. Small mechanical effect: Slow down others’ time-
Medium mechanical effect: Make a shield as brittle as lines.
glass. Medium mechanical effect: Speed up your per-
Large mechanical effect: Harden your body to protect sonal time.
yourself. Large mechanical effect: Freeze a target in time.
Small deviation effect: Make a club out of cloth. Small deviation effect: Retrocognition.
Medium deviation effect: Tear through glass without Medium deviation effect: Reset the last few sec-
causing a shatter. onds of reality.
Large deviation effect: Trans-state matter explosion. Large deviation effect: Hop a short distance in
You cause sublimation, turning a solid into a gas in an time.
explosion.
Momentum [Mental]
Temperature [Mental] The trajectories of moving objects obey your
You are Laplace’s Demon’s worst nightmare. Trans- whim. Redirect bullets Neo-style. You are The
fer heat between objects in ways that seem impossible. One.
Never suffer through the scorching heat of a summer
day again. Small mechanical effect: Deflect a thrown rock.
Medium mechanical effect: Shift a bullet’s trajec-
Small mechanical effect: Make your weapons burn the tory away from you.
skin of those they strike. Large mechanical effect: Alter a car’s path.
Medium mechanical effect: Send a foe’s body into Small deviation effect: Halt momentum.
shock by suddenly dropping the temperature around Medium deviation effect: Reflect momentum.
them. Large deviation effect: Recognize paths of all
Large mechanical effect: Turn metal to molten liquid. moving objects detected.
Small deviation effect: Turn heat to energy.
Medium deviation effect: Manipulate air pressure.
Large deviation effect: Survive nearly any temperature.
Mental Powers
Memory Manipulation [Mental/Social]
Torque [Mental/Coordination]
Revisionist history at it’s best. Memories are
Many things give when you just give them a twist.
our past, they define our personalities and expe-
Break open a bank safe with a huge shearing force, or
riences. So what happens when someone is able
just open a jar of pickles.
to control them? It’s up to you to find out!
Small mechanical effect: Turn an opponent’s ankle.
Small mechanical effect: Change the details of a
Medium mechanical effect: Spin an opponent round,
remembered scene.
dizzying them.
Medium mechanical effect: Erase a portion of the
Large mechanical effect: Cripple a foe with a mighty
victim’s memories.
wrench of their back.
Large mechanical effect: Rewrites memories of
Small deviation effect: Halt rotation.
your target.
Medium deviation effect: Generate cyclones and whirl-
pools.
Large deviation effect: Twist energy.
33
Small deviation effect: Share your memories. Medium mechanical effect: Create a subtle hallucination
Medium deviation effect: Combine memories viewed more difficult to realize for what it is.
to create a memory more representative of the events. Large mechanical effect: Major hallucination, fool sev-
Large deviation effect: Trap someone within a memo- eral senses at once.
ry. Small deviation effect: Give several targets the same hal-
lucination simultaneously.
Telepathy [Mental/Social] Medium deviation effect: Make someone hallucinate that
Skip those pesky human communication methods someone or thing is not, in fact, there.
and plunge directly into the brains of others, even Large deviation effect: Create a dangerous phantasm ca-
uninvited! Talk with them, see what they’re thinking, pable of harming the foe. Effects disappear if the target
you can even manipulate them! All of this and more can overcome the hallucination.
in the wonderful field of telepathy.
Sensory Manipulation [Mental/Social]
Small mechanical effect: Send a message. The nervous system is your domain. Pain and plea-
Medium mechanical effect: Perfectly predict the tar- sure are your toys. Care to test Pavlov’s conditioning to
get’s next move. the limit?
Large mechanical effect: Gain insight into another’s
thoughts. Small mechanical effect: Send a foe into a daze of plea-
Small deviation effect: Broadcast thoughts to a full sure.
area. Medium mechanical effect: Stun a foe with sudden shock
Medium deviation effect: Stun your foe by perform- pain.
ing a “DOS” on your opponent, flooding them with Large mechanical effect: Paralyze a foe with an unbear-
information. able blend of pleasure and pain.
Large deviation effect: Project a thought into another’s Small deviation effect: Feel someone else’s senses.
mind covertly. Medium deviation effect: Reverse senses, such as making
hot seem cold.
Confusion [Mental/Social] Large deviation effect: Issue one single, one word com-
Blur the senses, change perception, warp the sanity mand performable in one round.
of your foes. People won’t even know what’s going on,
because, well, that is just the thing you do. Emotion Manipulation [Mental/Social]
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such
Small mechanical effect: Fog the senses of another. shaping fantasies, that apprehend. More than cool rea-
Medium mechanical effect: Swap two senses. son ever comprehends... It comprehends some bringer
Large mechanical effect: Blend all the senses into one. of that joy; or, in the night, imagining some fear, how
Small deviation effect: Share a sense with another easy is a bush suppos’d a bear.
individual.
Medium deviation effect: Overlay information from Small mechanical effect: Create conflicting emotions in
another person’s senses. the target.
Large deviation effect: Completely black out a sense. Medium mechanical effect: Cause infatuation with some-
thing within your target’s vision, mesmerizing them.
Hallucination [Mental/Social] Large mechanical effect: Subtly manipulate your victim’s
Humans, we are sensitive folk. We know our world emotions to influence them into making the decisions
because of that sensitivity. Touch, taste, smell, sight, you desire.
hear; the senses are yours to play with. Have fun! Small deviation effect: Relay another’s emotions into
your target.
Small mechanical effect: Daze a foe with outrageous Medium deviation effect: Create an aura of a certain
imagery. emotion in an area.
Large deviation effect: Release an intense emotional
wave.
34
Dream Manipulation [Mental/Social] Small deviation effect: Convert stolen power
Leave the confines of your body and enter the won- points for another power into points for power
drous field of dreams. Strolling through other people’s absorption
subconscious, you can irrupt into them when they are Medium deviation effect: Create an absorbing
most vulnerable. Just be careful, not every dream is a shield.
good dream. Large deviation effect: Transfer stolen power to
another.
Small mechanical effect: Tweak the surroundings of a
target’s dream. Mental Enhancement [Mental]
Medium mechanical effect: Boost another’s morale the You need a little push, a little extra on your per-
next day by ensuring they had great dreams. formance? That’s cool, that’s cool. You’ve got what
Large mechanical effect: End the dream, awakening the you need. Go beyond your own limits. Reach for
dreamer. the sky.
Small deviation effect: Recreate a dream you’ve experi-
enced. Small mechanical effect: Push your brain’s raw
Medium deviation effect: Create a dream within a power to higher levels.
dream. Medium mechanical effect: Increase your speed of
Large deviation effect: Astrally project your conscious- thought to multiple times normal.
ness, allowing for stealthy observation, but a psychic Large mechanical effect: Calculate trajectories
might notice you, and you’re especially vulnerable with and velocitities to determine what happens where
no body. when.
Small deviation effect: Release a mental blast.
Power Nullification [Mental/Physical] Medium deviation effect: Sense others’ presences.
Strip the gifted abilities of the people around you, Large deviation effect: Clairvoyance.
take them out of their comfort zone. What is a psychic
without his powers? Test them, bring them down from
their high levels.
Biological Powers
Plant Control [Mental]
Small mechanical effect: Imbue part of your body with
Some people have a green thumb, and can
power nullifying properties temporarily.
seemingly make any plant grow. You can do far
Medium mechanical effect: Short range nullification.
more than that. Through sheer will, you can com-
Large mechanical effect: Shut down a power hard
mand plants into taking action, as well as conduce
enough to cause backlash.
growth or withering.
Small deviation effect: Dispel an affliction.
Medium deviation effect: Create a small, shortlived nul-
Small mechanical effect: Trip someone with a vine.
lifying field.
Medium mechanical effect: A lattice of plants
Large deviation effect: Power amplification.
makes a sturdy barrier in front of you.
Large mechanical effect: Immobilize and crush
Power Absorption [Mental/Physical]
someone with vines.
You are hungry for other people’s powers, there’s
Small deviation effect: Manipulate a plant to pro-
just no food finer than the abilities from others. Use it
duce more of its irritating powders and acids.
against their own masters. Just be careful, gluttony has
Medium deviation effect: Cause a plant to start to
never been good...
wither and die.
Large deviation effect: Temporarily grow a large
Small mechanical effect: Drain stored points.
plant out of your body that can be weaponized. It
Medium mechanical effect: Absorb power through a
feeds on your nutrients.
melee weapon.
Large mechanical effect: Absorb power from a distance.
35
Physical Enhancement [Mental/Physical] Small mechanical effect: Instantly recover from most
You understand the link between mind and body. physical status effects.
Through your mind’s psychic power, you can am- Medium mechanical effect: Regain a lost sense
plify the capabilities of your body to reach incredible caused by injury.
heights. Large mechanical effect: Regenerate a limb or other
significant part of the body.
Small mechanical effect: Your next punch is unnatu- Small deviation effect: Detect poison in food you are
rally strong, causing your opponent to be winded for eating and neutralize it.
a turn. Medium deviation effect: Heal someone else’s injury.
Medium mechanical effect: You punch the ground Large deviation effect: Cause someone’s cells to repli-
and cause a shockwave to stun all around you. cate out of control, creating a painful growth.
Large mechanical effect: Your unarmed attacks inflict
crippling injuries. Shapeshifting [Mental/Physical]
Small deviation effect: Your body becomes unnatu- Quick adaptation and adjustment to your body al-
rally resistant to injury. lows you to change your form to suit circumstances,
Medium deviation effect: You slam your weapon be it with claws or another person’s visage.
into the ground in front of you, launching a wave of
kinetic energy in a line. Small mechanical effect: Your arms are long and
Large deviation effect: You move with supernatural stretchy, able to trip foes from a distance.
speed, seeming like an illusion. Medium mechanical effect: Grow a shield made of
bone from your arm.
Sensory Enhancement [Mental] Large mechanical effect: You shapeshift extra limbs
You might not know anything, but with senses like that are able to pin a foe in place while you pummel
yours, it’s easy to find anything out. Tough test? Just them.
read the answers off that guy in the far corner of the Small deviation effect: You have eyes on the back of
room, they might as well be written on the board, your head. Literally.
with eyes like yours. Medium deviation effect: You grow claws coated with
a corrosive acid.
Small mechanical effect: Your eyesight is amazing. Large deviation effect: Grow a system of organs in-
Take no penalty to shooting targets at long range. side you that let you breathe fire for a short distance.
Medium mechanical effect: Your enhanced hearing
is like echolocation, giving you a 3D map of the area Animal Control [Mental/Social]
around you. You’re king of the jungle, and you have the power
Large mechanical effect: You have no blind spots, be- to make any animal obey your orders.
ing able to see around you in all directions and to far
distances. Small mechanical effect: Make animals reluctant to
Small deviation effect: See outside of the visible spec- come close to the area around you without having to
trum of light. manually control them.
Medium deviation effect: Blend and modify senses, Medium mechanical effect: Control an animal that is
using synaesthesia and mental tricks to better pro- normally very wild and untamable.
cess sensory information. Large mechanical effect: Turn a very faithful animal
Large deviation effect: You can see AIM fields and against its owner.
understand someone’s ability by seeing it used. Small deviation effect: Knock out an animal.
Medium deviation effect: The animal under your
Regeneration [Mental/Physical] control is stronger than it normally is (+ stats).
Injuries fatal to the average person mean little to Large deviation effect: Under your influence, an ani-
you, as you heal at supernatural speed. At a high mal temporarily manifests body parts such as wings
enough level, you might even recover lost limbs. or claws that it normally does not possess.
36
Animation [Mental/Coordination] Disease [Mental]
The power of life is in your hands, and you can Colds, viruses, plagues, they’re pawns to you.
share it with inanimate objects to make temporary While only an elite few may generate a disease,
golem servants. you can manipulate them to infect your target,
protect yourselves, or cure their victim.
Small mechanical effect: The stuff you’re cobbling to-
gether for a golem doesn’t quite fit together right, but Small mechanical effect: Your target goes into a fit
a spark of your power makes it move very naturally. of coughing for a turn, taking a penalty to dodge
Medium mechanical effect: Animate a gelatinous and accuracy.
object. Medium mechanical effect: Your target vomits up
Large mechanical effect: Animate many small objects blood from the sickness you inflict, remaining
as a single flying swarm entity. stunned for a while.
Small deviation effect: Your animation includes elec- Large mechanical effect: A painful disease sends
trical parts that continue to function despite a lack of the target’s body into spasms and they are unable
power supply. to act.
Medium deviation effect: Your golem somehow is Small deviation effect: Diagnose a disease.
blessed with senses despite lacking components that Medium deviation effect: Cure a minor illness.
would enable it to take in information about its out- Large deviation effect: *requires level 4 or above.
side environment. Generate a new disease with your chosen charac-
Large deviation effect: Your golem creation is able to teristics.
act on its own without your input.
Chameleon [Mental]
Photoreflexive Memory [Mental] Your body adapts to your surroundings to
“Don’t worry, I saw someone try this in a movie, conceal yourself. Why run for cover when you can
once!” If you’ve seen it done, you can repeat it, from become all but invisible?
a parcour roll to a karate kick.
Small mechanical effect: Seemlessly blend into
Small mechanical effect: See through someone’s ac- your surroundings, even while moving.
tions, gaining a bonus to hit and dodge. Medium mechanical effect: Even your clothing
Medium mechanical effect: If someone successfully starts to blend into your surroundings somewhat.
took a movement action that required a skill check Large mechanical effect: You are completely un-
such as climbing or jumping within the last set of noticeable.
combat rounds, you may replicate that action and Small deviation effect: You change colors rapidly in
succeed automatically. a way that disorients a foe.
Large mechanical effect: Mirror someone’s actions Medium deviation effect: Become someone’s looka-
perfectly as they do them. like.
Small deviation effect: You can exceed someone’s skill Large deviation effect: Temporarily change the ap-
when you copy it. pearance of an object you can touch while you are
Medium deviation effect: Remember someone’s ac- touching it.
tions so well that you can watch them write a letter
and then replicate the letter later by copying their
motions. Only works for small actions without a skill
Anomaly Powers
check.
Barrier-Field Manipulation [Mental]
Large deviation effect: Replicate a low level version of
The best offense is a good defense. Well, your
an esper power you’ve seen used before by a level 3
mind provides you with the greatest defense. Cre-
or higher.
ate impenetrable walls with your psychic abilities
and ward off any harm.

37
Small mechanical effect: Cover an ally in a protec- Psychometry [Mental]
tive barrier. Everything is imprinted in reality, and your
Medium mechanical effect: Create a barrier in the ability lets you see that. Take information from
same space as a foe, stunning them. every object you see. If walls could talk... Well,
Large mechanical effect: Lock up a foe within a they can. To you.
tight barrier.
Small deviation effect: Trip a foe with a small bar- Small mechanical effect: Locate the object’s origin.
rier by their feet. Medium mechanical effect: Identify former owners
Medium deviation effect: Hurl a barrier at a foe of the object.
like a bowling ball. Large mechanical effect: View the past from the
Large deviation effect: Lift yourself through the object’s perspective.
air within a spherical barrier. Small deviation effect: Allow an object to verbalize
in your mind.
Teleport [Mental/Coordination] Medium deviation effect: Observe a former state of
No more traveling, no more hurrying up, no an object or area.
more stuck in traffic. Move from one place to Large deviation effect: Ask an object a favor, such
another in the blink of an eye. Just be careful not as the sidewalk telling you if someone’s following
to teleport into something nasty. you.

Small mechanical effect: Teleport something small Portals [Mental]

into your hands. Want to teleport, but you want to actually see
Medium mechanical effect: Teleport with espe- where you are going? Not instantaneous, but more
cially high weight or for unusual distance. practical. Portals: for the good of all of us, except
Large mechanical effect: Teleport something into the ones who are dead.
the same space as another object.
Small deviation effect: Teleport without changing Small mechanical effect: Open a portal from a
momentum. short distance away.
Medium deviation effect: Blink in and out of exis- Medium mechanical effect: Create an especially
tence in the same spot. large portal.
Large deviation effect: Teleport energies. Large mechanical effect: Open a portal within an
object. *High level
Precognition [Mental] Small deviation effect: Create a one-way portal.
Use your psychic third eye to reach into the Medium deviation effect: Create an explosion by
future, acknowledge and defy fate. Why wait till making a portal within a portal.
things happen, when you can know it right now? Large deviation effect: Create a portal in front of
you to absorb an attack and behind the enemy to
Small mechanical effect: Forwarn yourself of deliver it right back.
danger.
Medium mechanical effect: Forsee the next com- Technokineticism [Mental/Coordination]
bat round. Not just for hikkikomoris, now your computer
Large mechanical effect: Attempt to see a specific can really be your best friend. Your control over
moment of the future in the distance. machines can turn cars and toasters into deadly
Small deviation effect: See the past. weapons.
Medium deviation effect: Detect interferences
within the time-space continuum. Small mechanical effect: Set off alarms.
Large deviation effect: View a possible alternative Medium mechanical effect: Shut down robots or
future. machinery.
Large mechanical effect: Force a self destruct.
38
Small deviation effect: Identify a system’s priorities. Projection [Mental/Physical]
Medium deviation effect: Hack through security A simple thought can temporarily project
systems. an object into existence. You’ll always have the
Large deviation effect: Reconfigure a machine for a right tool for the job.
new purpose.
Small mechanical effect: Project a knife into
AIM Perception [Mental] reality.
You can tell what power someone has from a Medium mechanical effect: Generate a sharp
distance or how skilled they are at using it. AIM sword.
fields reveal a lot more about themselves than Large mechanical effect: Create a large wall.
espers commonly think. Small deviation effect: Use simple moving parts
in an object.
Small mechanical effect: detect the number of Medium deviation effect: Project dexterous
espers in the area. hands.
Medium mechanical effect: Gain insight as to the Large deviation effect: Constrict someone with
general level of the espers nearby. bands of projected energy.
Large mechanical effect: Identify an ESPer’s power
and level without needing to see it used. Phase Walk [Mental/Coordination]
Small deviation effect: Exert limited influence over You are like a ghost - you walk through walls
your AIM field. and other solid objects. Great for espionage
Medium deviation effect: Surpress an AIM field. and spying - or just peaking your head into the
Large deviation effect: Turn an AIM field against locker room.
an esper.
Small mechanical effect: Daze a target by phas-
Probability [Mental] ing through them.
You can twist Lady Luck’s arm - but she’ll get Medium mechanical effect: Dodge an attack by
you back. Win the lottery but then find everything phasing just in time.
else in your life starts going wrong to pay back the Large mechanical effect: Materialize inside of a
luck debt and restore balance. target, dealing crippling damage to their body.
Small deviation effect: Allow other matter in
Small mechanical effect: Make a person suffer the contact with you to phase with you.
misfortune of tripping. Medium deviation effect: Move freely from
Medium mechanical effect: Give yourself the extra gravity
luck needed to make a tough shot. Large deviation effect: Phase through energy.
Large mechanical effect: Cause the unbelievably
unlikely event of a hit and run to befall your vic-
tim.
Small deviation effect: Shift the odds away from
one specific outcome.
Medium deviation effect: Transfer your luck to
another.
Large deviation effect: Steal someone’s luck.

39
 7. GM Aids
because god knows you’ll need ‘em…

Players stumped during character creation? Adventure Seeds:

Have some
Recommendations for Freeform Skills: You’re GMing. Session is in an hour and you
don’t have anything for the players to do? Try one
Physical: Running, Climbing, Pain Tolerance, of these:
Karate, Baseball Bat (weapon), Hold Your Li-
quor, Swimming, Axe (weapon), Forced Entry A power enhancing experiment on a level 5 goes
horribly wrong, sending them into a coma and
Mental: Computers, Engineering, Discerning creating a projection of themselves as pure
Eye, Current Affairs, Architecture, Coun- psychic energy that is now ravaging the city.
terfeiting, Physics, Medicine, Photographic
Memory An organization caring for child errors is more
than it seems. When the child errors, now trained
Social: Charm, Detect Lies, Deceive, Intimida- espers, are brainwashed into breaking into a
tion, Fast-Talk, Haggle, Public Speaking, Com- highly classified scientific facility, the PCs must
manding Presence, Seduction, Disguise cope with the moral quandary of killing them or
trying to stop them with some other means.
Coordination: Driving, Acrobatics, Stealth,
Conceal Item, Bow (weapon), Firearms (weap- Russian mages attack Academy City. Riding
on), Lock-pick, Throwing bears. That shoot lasers from their eyes and
throw sharks.

40
The animals of the city are acting strange, working An experimental test subject has escaped, and
together to steal valuables such as jewelry from the Judegment is brought in to help capture it, more
citizens of the city. Perhaps this is the work of an specifically: The players are tasked with it.
esper... Stuff that the campaign could include:
- Mysteries: Figuring out where the subject is
Rumor has it that your school was built on top of from clues.
an old underground laboratory. You know there are - Conspiracy: The escape is actually part of a test
some doors that have been locked for the entire time and the higher-ups in Academy City are involved.
you’ve been at school. Perhaps one of them leads to - Action: A gang of delinquents, hired by the
something more than a mere janitor’s closet. higher-ups, are protecting the subject.

You and your friends are helping a lab conduct ex- There’s a terrorist attack against the players’
periments with AIM fields as part of a school proj- school. They somehow avoid capture and must
ect. After a few hours, you start to leave, dejected as now try to work against the terrorists from in-
it seems like nothing out of the ordinary happened side.
when you realize that the lab is now a lot bigger on - Mysteries: The terrorists seem to be planning on
the inside than it was when you came in. Where using the captured students for something.
did that hallway come from? And where does that - Action: If the players choose to fight the terror-
staircase lead up to? Weren’t you already on the top ists.
floor?
Judgement: A series of children gone missing
While on the way to school, the subway train you’re turns out to be way worse than expected when
on suddenly stops in the middle of a tunnel and their charred corpses are found in a sacrificial
shuts down. Adding to your confusion, it begins to circle.
talk and laments that no one ever wants to stay on
the subway - they’re always too busy trying to get On the day of the school excursion, the players
somewhere. A technokineticist esper playing pranks end up being late for the school back home and
or something more? they are left behind. They must now survive in
an unknown town, with technology thirty years
A young child discovers one day that they are a behind what they are used with, with the money
gemstone. Unfortunately, they are kidnapped soon on their persons.
after by Skill-Out who then hole up in the top level
of an apartment, taking other hostages along the
way. Top scientists in the city consider recovery
of the gemstone a top priority and are willing to
storm the building by force and take lethal action
despite the high risk of collateral damage. The party
is contacted by one of the Skill-Out members who
was a childhood friend of one of them. The member
admits that they are uncomfortable with kidnapping
someone so young, especially since they didn’t ask
for their powers but is lost as to what to do.

41
Sample Characters and Campaign Nojima Rin
School: Okinaki High School
It’s very easy to generate your own NPCs with this Rin is a cute and cheerful girl, but don’t let her
system and even create your own schools. If you’re new appearance fool you, this girl is actually the most
to GMing though, here’s a sample of a more involved powerful ESPer in Okinaki High School.
campaign idea you can use along with some pre-statted [Height: 158cm, Weight: 48kg, Eyes: Blue, Hair:
NPCs to help you get started. Chestnut, Skin: Slightly tanned
[Regular Student]
Yoshino Mai (Airhead, Teamworker)
School: A Certain High School Female, 18yrs
Mai gave up on school very early, when she was kicked Level 4 Fire Controller 
out of the judo club for overly violent behaviour. Now Physical 11
she prefers freedom over classrooms. She’s a level 0, but Mental 10
she compensates with her athletic ability. Social 14
[Height: 163cm, Weight: 50kg, Eyes: Brown, Hair: Coordination 12
Bleached blond, Skin: slightly tanned]
[Delinquent] Skills: Charm 5, Gymnastics 3, Leadership 3,
(Rebel, Olympian) Running 3
Female, 15yrs
Level 0 Frantz Eisenmeister
Physical 16 School: Platinumberg International School
Mental 12 Franz, originally from Germany, attends Platinum-
Social 12 berg International School. He is one of the highest-
Coordination 14 ranked in Platinumberg, an honour student.
[Height: 183cm, Weight: 75kg, Eyes: Blue, Hair:
Skills: Judo 7, Baseball Bat 3, Indimidate 4, Streetwise Blonde, Skin: Fair
5, Danger Sense 2, Current Affairs 2, Pain Tolerance 4, [Honor Student]
Detect Lies 4 (Connected, Tsundere, (Foreigner))
Male, 17yrs
Tanaka Makoto Platinumberg International School
School: Tokiwadai High School Level 4 Gravity Controller
Makoto finished the first year of high school without Physical 10
leaving her room. A very bright, but not very social Mental 14
girl. It’s not that she doesn’t like people, she just prefers Social 12
to interact with them from behind a computer screen. Coordination 11
[Height: 152cm, Weight: 42kg, Eyes: Brown, Hair: dark
brown, Skin: pale] Skills: Multilingual (German) 4, Physics 4, Studying
[Honor Student] 4, Speed-reading 1, Computers 2
(Shut-in, Unlucky)
Female, 16yrs
Level 3 Probablility Controller
Physical 10
Mental 14
Social 8
Coordination 14

Skills: Math 5, Computer Savvy 5, Gambling Games 3,

Research 4, Memorization 1
42
Utsumi Masashi The Campaign: Meta-Story
School: Oyafune Athletic
Utsumi is the captain of the track team in Oyafune Intrigued by the poltergeist phenomenon and every-
Athletic, a very popular boy that has his own fanclub thing else surrounding Level Upper, Academy City’s top
on the school. scientists are working on a technology that would en-
[Height: 172cm, Weight: 59kg, Eyes: Brown, Hair: able high powered level 4s to easily ascend to the power
Black, Skin: Tanned) of a level 5. The technology involves use of brain im-
[Regular Student] plants and a strange energy field that alters AIM fields
(Morning Person, Fanbase) that it overlaps.
Male, 18yrs
Level 2 Phase Walker Experimentation has already begun in secret, with
Physical 14 horrifying results. Nonetheless, science must continue,
Mental 8 for the sake of those who are still alive. Maybe the PCs
Social 10 personally knew some of the experimentation victims or
Coordination 14 are targeted for experimentation themselves. The fol-
lowing are scenarios using the NPCs that can also help
Skills: Running 7, Social Grace 5, Brawl 4, Inspiring draw the PCs into the main plot.
Presence 2, Enhanced Endurance 3

Edward Cutter The Campaign: Entry Points

School: Yamabuki Art Academy
Edward, originally from California, attends Yamabuki The Next Level 5?
Art Academy, he is often described as laid-back and
carefree by his friends. He enjoys spending his days on Franz and Rin are considered the next top candidates
the premises of Yamabuki, drawing and painting. for level 5s in the city, and both come from schools
[Height: 179cm, Weight: 77kg, Eyes: Brown, Hair: that currently do not have a level 5 in attendance. Each
Light brown, Skin: Fair] school is racing against the other to prove that they’re
[Regular Student] capable of producing a level 5 in order to attract more
(Hippie, Positive, (Foreigner)) students for the coming school year. Pressures are
Yamabuki Art mounting on both Franz and Rin, and neither of them
Male, 15yrs seem particularly interested in being part of these
Level 0 school politics. They will have to watch out for teachers
Physical 12 at their schools who want to adopt...less humane meth-
Mental 12 ods of developing their powers.
Social 14
Coordination 16 Righteous Principles, Misguided Fury

Skills: Painting 6, Sketching 6, Photographic Memory Mai’s best friend, the top level 4 of A Certain High
4, Calming Voice 3, Multilingual (English) 4, Plant School, mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago. By
Knowledge 3, Photography 2, Architecture 3 twisting a few arms and having the luck to be in the
right place in the wrong time, Mai has stumbled on
enough information about the new Level Upper proj-
ect to cause her to snap. She knows very little about the
project but knows enough to realize Franz and Rin are
the top candidates for this system. Mistaking them for
willing accomplices in her friend’s tragic fate, she sets off
on a plan to kill them both and stop the project.

43
Accidental Espionage She soon found herself on the run and wanted as a
Or: How it all Started cyberterrorist. To make it worse, Utsumi never re-
turned to find her, and she still has no idea where he
No one would ever have expected Makoto and Utsumi could be. Staying away from the more populous parts
to make a good couple, but they’ve been inseparable of the city, she hardly had a chance to tell anyone of
since Makoto’s second year of high school when they what she found. Almost everyone she sought help
met at an inter-school Summer Festival. Turns out, from has died - either from unlikely freak accidents
Utsumi’s father is one of Academy City’s preeminent or mysterious circumstances.
scientists and works with computer modeling, so they
found common ground with each other very easily. The only exception was one particular level 0 men-
tioned in the file of one of the level 4s who fell victim
One day, Utsumi borrowed his dad’s work computer for to the experiments…She left Makoto almost as soon
a school assignment and asked Makoto for help. They as Makoto told her what had happened to her friend,
found an encrypted partition on the hard drive, secured driven by the vendetta Makoto herself was too afraid
with an advanced system infamous in Academy City to persue. It seems like anyone who stays close to
for stumping even the best professors at the top com- Makoto for too long becomes a victim of her now-
puter science departments. Just as a joke, Utsumi asked terrible luck. Her phone disabled, her computer left
Makoto to use her esper powers to guess the password. at home, Makoto is completely out of her element
She’d had a lot of experience altering computer-related and has resorted to hiding in various slums for fear of
probabilities from playing poker online and knew she discovery if she goes to a place where she could find
couldn’t pull off something so difficult, but she tried a computer and upload the incriminating documents
anyway to humor him. online.
‘
As she drew on her power, she immediately felt some- As for Utsumi, he lies comatose in a secret facility
thing was different. By some complete fluke, she was somewhere. Being the son of a top researcher, he was
able to exercise a much greater command of probability spared death upon his discovery, but the security
than ever before and correctly guessed the password to guards were nonetheless brutal in executing his cap-
the encrypted drive. ture. If he could be freed and awakened, perhaps he’d
have a lot to say about what he saw in the labs.
What the couple found horrified them - lab reports de-
tailing the gruesome deaths of the first test subjects for Well-Intentioned, but Terrible Advice
the new Level Upper. It seemed a lucky break for them
and for the citizens of Academy City to have this infor- Edward Cutter has never hesitated to dabble in…well,
mation revealed. Unfortunately, every demand made of let’s just say not strictly legal recreational activities.
luck incurs a corresponding debt, and Makoto’s com- Life’s no fun if you can’t take risks and feel completely
puter wizardry commanded a hefty price. laid back doing so. But when a friend asked him for
advice on whether to participate in a secret study on
After copying the incriminating documents, Utsumi the mental effects of manipulating AIM fields, per-
decided that he had to see for himself what was going haps his cavalier approach to life steered him wrong.
on at his father’s workplace using his esper ability. Un- Even a carefree guy like Edward knows when to be
able to talk the outraged Utsumi out of his plan, Makoto suspicious, and he is now doing everything he can to
decided to wait for his return. That’s when her luck truly find out why his friend is now a babbling wreck in the
ran out. asylum. His intuition tells him that this is something
more than an “unfortunate medical accident.”
As the price of twisting probability in such a way, Ma-
koto soon found that everything was going wrong. The
laptop with the documents was set to phone home every
time the encrypted drive was accessed.
44
How to Use the Characters Makoto’s luck is truly atrocious. She will spend hours at
a time in abandoned buildings and the least populated
Each character can be used as an easy way to further areas she can because she seems to have the misfortune
the plot if the players decide that they want to ignore of seeing law enforcement whenever she goes anywhere
what’s going on in the city. Not as a way to railroad the with people. The constant running and lack of nourish-
players onto the plot if they’re really determined to do ment has taken a physical and mental toll on her.
their own thing - but rather to show that their inaction
does have consequences in Academy City and bring Utsumi: The players may never encounter or even hear
the campaign to life more. of Utsumi if Makoto is left to die. She will likely assume
him dead and prioritize finding a way to release the
Aside from the starting point that introduces a char- documents online. The players may discover his contin-
acter, the players should also run into them at vari- ued existence if they do enough digging into the com-
ous points in the campaign. Whether they decide to puter records of Academy City labs or do some investi-
pursue the plot about experimentation on level 4s or gative work in the labs themselves. If when he awakens
whether they decide to come up with their own sepa- the players still have not found out much about the new
rate adventures, you should still make the city feel alive Level Upper, his testimony can be a convenient way to
and give them a sense that there are a lot of things out give the players more information.
there happening that they could have influence on.
Maybe they’ll jump onto this plot after seeing enough Edward: Edward is a good first character for the players
chaos happen. to run into if you don’t want them to immediately know
too much about what’s going on. He’ll be unable to give
Mai: The players will find Mai very driven and com- useful information, but he make take the players to see
mitted to her goal, and if they do discover enough of his friend in the asylum for a glance at what the horrible
the truth behind what’s going on to see the flaws in her effects of the experimentation can be.
version of the story, it’ll still be very hard to convince
her without showing her concrete evidence. If there is a skilled telepath among the players, they may
even be able to pull out some useful information from
The characters should run into her bring a beatdown the friend, though the experience of sifting through
on anyone who she thinks could give her more infor- such a fractured mind may be traumatizing to say the
mation. If she isn’t convinced to change her methods least.
to be less overt, she could end up being arrested or
even killed. Perhaps even more destabilizing to the Rin: Out of the two top candidates for the new Level
city, she could succeed in her plan to kill Rin or Frantz Upper, Rin is the one most likely to end up either cap-
- or both, with or without the players’ assistance. tured and forced into experimentation or killed by Mai
if everything is left alone. She is an optimistic girl and
Makoto: If the players offer her assistance, she will would be skeptical if the players approached her and
probably reluctantly accept at first but later run away immediately announced that there was a conspiracy to
out of fear that her luck will bring ruin to them as well. sacrifice her for science. However, she is a very effective
Will the players finally break the curse, or will they ally in combat if it comes to that.
become simply the next victims of her luck debt?
Frantz: Frantz is a bit more nervous about how zeal-
Makoto is a character that the players definitely have ous his teachers seem to be about having a Level 5 at
to run into early on - either in a slum if they happen the school. This combined with his connections with
to explore there or in a more populous area as she powerful foreign corporations gives him a bit more of a
becomes more desperate and willing to risk exposure. chance to survive. As time goes on, he should eventually
She should be played in a sympathetic way - the play- develop a vanguard of hired mercenaries, disguised as
ers should care about her plight. Without the play- normal citizens, especially if the documents are leaked.
ers’ intervention, she will probably end up finding a The players may find his connections useful if they have
computer to use to upload the documents online - and no other ways to gather intelligence.
45
then be found and killed soon after.
Possible Plot Directions Mai is Stopped: Either she’s been arrested or the
players have somehow convinced her that killing Rin
The Documents are Released: In this scenario, either and Frantz isn’t the right thing to do.
the players have helped Makoto and somehow sur-
vived to put her findings online, or Makoto sacrificed At this point, if she’s still free, her methods should
herself to ensure the documents would be made probably change. The players could spend time so-
public. cializing with the various underground elements she
had been affiliating with. Some of her contacts may
The public is likely outraged about this, but it is also also have friends who were victim to the program.
likely that Academy City does a great job of convinc-
ing everyone that the documents are fake and pro- It’d probably be more interesting if the players didn’t
paganda from Magic institutions to destabilize the get access to the documents in this case and instead
city. If the players don’t make an effort to establish the had to rely on hearsay from Mai, Edward and their
credibility of their sources in other ways beforehand friends to figure out what’s really going on. Throw
and simply rush to upload the document online, this them a lot of rumors and false happenings to keep
should be the result. them guessing.

In any case, it will be harder for Academy City to Mai Succeeds: Tragically, Mai has succeeded in
directly experiment on Level 4s, especially the two killing Rin, Frantz or both of them. The scientists
prime candidates. This doesn’t mean they won’t keep running the new Level Upper experiments certainly
trying and expand their experiments to child errors or do experience a setback from this, but murdering
even gemstones they might have discovered. the prime test subjects won’t stop the science from
getting done.
Rin and Frantz will definitely be on edge, but they can
expect to be relatively untouched by their teachers or It could be very easy for Mai’s actions to catalyze a
Academy City scientists. However, Mai might still be backlash against many different groups who could be
convinced that they are in on the whole project and plausibly blamed for the experiments. Her example
could try to kill them. of violence is one that could lead to people finding
easy scapegoats for the tragedies that are going on.
The Documents are Destroyed: Something got screwed
up somewhere. Maybe the flash drive with the docu- In this case, the players would have a harder time
ments was shorted out by an electrical attack in a finding out anything about what’s going on. Makoto
fight. Maybe the players really screwed up and got would probably prove more elusive if she has es-
Makoto killed or captured. In any case, it’ll be much caped the players’ grasps already - she may even be
harder to show the existence of the experiments now, suspected of colluding with the scientists since she’s
and the players will have to find alternate sources. dating the son of one of the top researchers.

This could be a good time for them to find a way into Resolution: There are many ways for the players to
the Utsumi story arc. It would be especially interesting eventually stop the experiments (or further them
what the results would be if Utsumi were to awaken if they’re malicious like that). If the players have
to find that Makoto had been killed for finding that rolled up fairly powerful characters, the combina-
information from his father’s computer… tion of them along with Rin, Frantz and Frantz’s
connections could prove to be enough brute force
Edward’s friend might also be a good source of infor- to infiltrate some labs. Otherwise, the players would
mation now. Of course, if the players are powerful and have to try to force enough information about the
gutsy, they may try to do some infiltration on their experiments into the public consciousness that the
own. researchers would have to give up continuing the
experiments under the heat of public scrutiny.
46
Frequently Asked Questions:
Through the course of writing this, we’ve been
compiling a list of clarifications and common
questions that we’ve run into.

Q: What’s the difference between Hallucination,

Sensory Manipulation and Confusion?

A: Let’s start with Sensory Manipulation. You usu-

ally need to manually manipulate what someone
experiences, making it difficult to affect multiple
people. In addition, you mostly manipulate what
happens within one sense. Confusion allows an
esper to switch the inputs a mind has for different
senses. This includes switching senses between
people. Hallucination creates an illusion that can
be seen/heard by multiple people. It also does not
necessarily require manual manipulation of its ef-
fects, able to access a target’s mind and manifest as
their fears or other objects and people from their
past.

Q: I want to play a member of Anti-Skill or a

teacher at a school. How do I do that?

A: You don’t have to roll for random characteris-

tics or organization affiliations when you make
a character. Feel free to make an older character
who’s already out of school as long as your char-
acter fits with the ones the rest of your group has
rolled up.

Q: Are higher numbers or lower numbers better?

A: Generally, lower. Whenever you are roll 2d10 to

do a skill or stat check, you want a lower number.
The only time you want a higher number is when
you make the roll to determine how powerful
your esper power is.

47
A Certain Scientific Character Sheet
Player Name: School and Organizations: Unspent Charac-
Character Name: ter Points
ESPer Mage Level:
Ability:
move
current current speed
Character background, traits, short bio:

max hp = max mental Coordina-

Physical x 5 hp = tion/2

Stats Mental x 3 round down

Skills
PHYSICAL MENTAL SOCIAL COORDINATION

Equipment and Weapons:

A Certain Random School Sheet
School Name:

School History

Academic Traits

Facility Traits

Student Body

Population

Location

Other Info
Next Project!