Medium [10] (B68) is a supernatural mental Advantage that allows characters to interact with spirits in three unusual ways: perception, communication and calling.
Perception[]
"Perceive" is elaborated on to not include sight: "You don't see them visually"
However it apparently involves some form of Detect (similar to Awareness in 3e) due to "know when they are nearby".
Speech[]
The "you can also speak with them as long both of you share a language" implies some kind of change to the norm.
Given that there are spirits who can presumably hear and be heard by those without medium, the purpose of this is probably twofold:
- to be able to hear insubstantial targets who are normally mute in regard to substantial listeners
- this is later clarified on H17/PP27 see below
- to be able to be heard by insubstantial targets who are normally deaf in regard to substantial speakers
Calling[]
"You can also call spirits to you" does not guaranteed being answered, but "they will hear it" is a strong statement. It's unclear if there are limitations on range, or how specific one must be in calling particular ones.
Boundness[]
P59 emphasizes spirits must be "unbound", where spirits "of the living" or "bound to objects" are off limits, however "spirits of place" CAN be contacted if the character is in the area (the spirit cannot travel to the medium)
Variants[]
P59 also suggests different versions could exist to represent dream world, cyberspace or parallel world.
Basic Range[]
B68 never lists specific numbers, just phrases:
- know when they're nearby
- speak with any spirit in your presence
- also call spirits to you
Range, Area, and Duration for Advantages on B101 could lead some to assume either a 2-yard radius or 100-yard range should be assumed.
Powers Range[]
P59 under Alternates mentions "To see spirits more than a yard away". The basic ability does not give the ability to SEE spirits, so it is referring to what one of the enhancements can do:
- Manifestation specifies "As long as they’re within a yard"
- Visual does NOT, it only says "while communicating with them"
There is a subtle implication here though, that since the ability can't let you see spirits EVER (more than 1y away) and visual lets you see ANY spirit you're communicating with, that to communicate with them they must be within 1 yard (as per manifestation) meaning the ability would have a smaller radius than the 2 yard default of basic set.
The range of "calling" is never specified and might be longer, like 2 yards, 100 yards, or even unlimited.
Hearing[]
Basic Set and Powers aren't verbally specific about this sense, instead using phrases like "communicate with" and "speak with". It does imply both parties can hear the other, but later books were more specific in using that exact term for clarity:
- PP27 "The ability to hear is Medium"
- H17 "mediums could only hear spirits that didn’t take ectoplasmic form"
Special Enhancements[]
- Manifestation (+100%)
- Universal (+50%)
- Visual (+50%)
Special Limitations[]
- Specialized (-50%)
Alternatives[]
- Spirit Empathy: improve odds of persuading spirits
- Detect (Spirits) [10]: sense the presence of spirits that are bound, possessing someone, or too distant to speak with.
- See Invisible
- Affliction can cancel Invisibility or Insubstantiality via Negated Advantage and help force spirits
- Channeling: spirit must possess in order to speak with others ala DC's Deadman.
Advantage as Enhancement[]
The "visual" enhancement of +50% costs 5 points on the base 10.
This seems effectively equivalent to B83's See Invisible which normally costs 15 points.