Union of Mind

God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
-Galatians 6:7

History

     Established in the early 1800s by religious groups, several small families discovered psychic abilities that allowed them to, briefly, conjoin with other psychics. The groups grow and divided over time, careful to keep their heads down and watch events around them.
     In the early 1920s, some Unions went 'rogue', becoming Psi Hives, in which one psychic is the center of the congregation and rules it. Troubles with the Hives, which were eventually destroyed, gave the Unions a common mission, to prevent Hives. Over time they did what they could to help quell other supernatural troubles. Given their talent for collecting information and lack of overt power, they worked as indirectly as they could.
     By the new millenia, the Hives were again on the rise. The growing overt nature of the supernatural also troubled the Unions. Eventually, the open nature of magic and supernatural made the presence of the Psi Unions more well known, with both positive and negative effects. The ability to Commune soon passed to rogue groups, that banded together to learn arcane secrets or simply gain power.
     It was the Unions' dirty secret that most of the Hives originate from exiled Union members that were mad, or became so from Communing. In some cases, entire Unions had gone mad. This was one reason the Psi Unions regarded the destruction of the Hives as their responsibility.
     The Unions defended Earth against the depredations of the supernatural, up until the end. Some were betrayed by Hive agents, others by Mythos influence, but most were killed in the final struggles against Cthulhu and his minions.
     As a people and subculture, the Unions were almost entirely destroyed, except for a hundred or so Unionists stationed on Mars, and a handful of missonaries on some of the Exodus vessels.

USO Pilots

     The evolution of space ships in the USO became increasingly dependent on skills gained from the Psi Unions and observations of the Psi Hives. As soon as technology became viable, pilots of space ships were cybernetically linked to their ship systems. With the decision to use Melted human MP reservoirs, it became clear that a psychic link would also be necessary.
     Pilots, by the late 2030s, were trained in the Commune ability. While most gained Unity skill from their exposure to the Psi Unions, they were also trained to gain a Hive skill. This Hive skill was focused on the Melted shipmates. Since the reservoirs were mindless, however, the Pilot would only gain a Pow boost, and not Int or Edu. Ships also had a large power plant to fuel the reservoir protomatter, the engine, and conventional weapons. In addition, numerous mana batteries could double available MP for short periods of time. The mana batteries could then be topped off during idle transit time or at refueling stations.
     Though many ships were still operated by conventional computers, the Union ships, as they came to be known, were highly effective and much more successful in campaigns against Evils.

Union Dynamics

     Unions are usually composed of familial and religious communities. The Communing psychic ability can, with repeated exposure, allow others to learn the gift. A new Union is fairly limited, due to the drain on a psychic of maintaining the Union alone. After a few months, others may learn enough Communing to spread the drain. Unions are vulnerable to insanity, often expelling or avoiding members who's thoughts could drive them mad.
     Due to ideological differences, most Unions remained rather isolated from one another up until the late 2020s. At that point, growing problems in the world polarized the Unions and forced them to resolve, or at least overlook, their differences.
     After the 2020s, the Unions worked hard to share information and skills. The increasing danger of the world as a whole gave them clear lines of community. In structure, the Unions became religious and trade communities, giving members a sense of stability in a chaotic world.
     Like the Hives, the Unions rely on magic batteries to help fuel their Communing. The same rules for Mana batteries apply for Unions, except that Union mana batteries are more often tied to specific individuals.

Mechanics

     Each Union member has the psychic ability 'Commune'. Each member connects to each other member, making a tight web (though expensive to maintain). Initial cost and cost per minute, per person, is (N-1)/2. Total MP or SAN cost per initial and per minute is !(N-1).
     That is, N is the number of members. !(N-1) means factorial, adding each number up to the final number. So if N is 10, !(N-1) is 45 (1 + 2 + 3...).
     The mental stats of a Union is the highest of those in the link. MP are shared freely. Memory of thoughts and events while in the link can be evoked with an Int%, Commune/2, or Unity skill check, beyond messages the Union impresses upon the members.
     After a link is through, each member must make a SAN check, 1/DN. N is the total number of different individuals in the link, whether briefly or the entire time.
     The Unity skill can be learned. It can be used to remember details about a Union, or remember bits about others who had been in the link. Also, Unity of a person/10 + Lowest other person's Unity/10 (rounded down) is avoided in SAN loss after the person leaves the psychic link of the Union. Unlike the Psi Hive Hiving skill, this skill does not deplete if the Union changes.
     The Unity skill is also vital to protecting the mind. If a Union is started with insane members, the insanity has a tendency to spread. Other members may be required to make SAN checks or Commune checks to break off their connections without being hurt.
     Characters with high Unity skill can use it to shield themselves and maintain connections with the mentally ill. The character must roll Commune to stay linked and then make a SAN check. Unity/10 is the amount of SAN loss that can be ignored. Unity/10 SAN loss is avoided.
     The Commune skill can be stirred in people with no natural psychic talent, but these people have no talent to develop in other psychic directions. People that do have talent will find it easier to learn, with a Union to assist them.

Character options

     Psi Unionists can be designed fairly easily as PCs. Hobby skills of Commune and Unity are likely. A Keeper may allow either or both of these skills to replace an occupational skill. Otherwise, a Unionist character is generated like other characters.