A new presence sense problem

[Veknironth]

Well, I looked at all of the presence sense posts and I think I have found a question that no one has asked.

Is Presence Sense something which is activated automatically or does the psychic have to focus on it to initiate it? It says a "6th sense which will alert the character..." so that implies that it works like 6th sense and is automatically activated. If that's the case, then why is there a duration?

-Vek
"OK, I didn't look that hard and this has likely been answered already."

[Grazzik]

Going with that interpretation, it's like activating the power for a duration before entering a series of tunnels, then the power picks up on the presence automatically while the power is active. Once on, no added concentration needed - it will ping you. If still in the tunnel system when the duration ends, just activate again. My take is that it still requires a conscious effort to activate the power to turn it on.

[ShadowLogan]

Well even "6th Sense" power has a duration technically ("Until the danger passes or happens"). The only other "auto" power in PF2E that comes to mind is "Mind Block Auto-Defense", but here you spend the ISP in a permanent manner (which the other two powers lack).

I think "Presence Sense" is an always on power, but you have to spend the ISP when you attempt to get specific for SN (near or far, number, power level) or to get any indication for mortals. The duration is there so you can do it "multiple times" within a specific time window (based on level) without burning through ISP (lets say you had to pay the ISP cost each time you "check" the situation as an APM in a 2minute window, for a 1st level character with 3APM that would be 3APM*8melee*4ISP = 96ISP which would be a challenge for anyone but a Mind Mage in PF2E main book and even they would be "hurting" here in terms of reserve ISP).

[Prysus]

Is Presence Sense something which is activated automatically or does the psychic have to focus on it to initiate it?

Greetings and Salutations. Well, it's been a couple of days and no one has said something similar to my thoughts, so I guess I'll post. Short answer: I'd say you have to "focus on it to initiate it."

It says a "6th sense which will alert the character..." so that implies that it works like 6th sense and is automatically activated. If that's the case, then why is there a duration?

For clarity, the full start of the line is: "Presence sense is a sixth sense .."

This states "a sixth sense," which is different than calling out Sixth Sense (the psi-power) specifically. To clarify, humans in general are considered to have five senses. Psionic powers, in particular those used to sense or give information, are sometimes referred to as "a sixth sense." The wording is more general than specific, and as far as I'm aware there's no "Sixth Sense" category of psionic powers (beyond Sensitive, in general).

Furthermore, what's written doesn't say that it works "like Sixth Sense" or anything equivalent, just that it IS "a" sixth sense. The wording never states that it's automatic. I find suggestions that it works akin to Sixth Sense (the specific power) to be a stretch.

Now, as stated above, I believe the answer is that it must be activated manually. With that said, I do think there's at least some some support it may have limited senses automatically. If we look at the "Sense Evil" power it reads: "This psi-power is a much more refined ability to feel the presence of evil."

Now, it doesn't state which ability this is "much more refined" than, but the power has a lot of similarities to Presence Sense. The main difference is that Sense Evil has a narrow focus. So, to me, it makes sense that these two powers have the same base, with the one being focused and one being more general. With that said, one could make a case that they both have the same limited automatic aspect, and that Palladium just never stated it for Presence Sense (which is a possibility).

Personally, I feel that letting Sense Evil having an automatic aspect while Presence Sense doesn't to be better game design. Sense Evil has a very limited focus, so giving it some automatic aspect makes it a more viable power to select. Presence Sense can provide more information overall, but requiring it to be consciously activated prevents it from just being overall superior. Note: Yes, there's also the I.S.P. cost, but I personally don't find that 2 I.S.P. is going to be the make or break of a power. Your opinion may vary.

Anyways, not sure there's anything definitive in any of the books. But, this has always been my take on the matter and the reason for it. Hope some of that helps. Farewell and safe journeys.



Additional Note: This played no part in my decision, but in Rifts Ultimate Edition (RUE), the first sentence of Presence Sense reads: "Presence Sense is a psionic probe and awareness that alerts the psychic to the presence of supernatural beings, creatures of magic, and other monstrous life forms."

This removes the line about being "a sixth sense," but I'm not sure it adds much clarity (for my sake). The first part mentions its's "a psionic probe," which makes it sound more of a conscious effort. However, the second half states it's an "awareness that alerts the psychic." Now, this second half could just mean it'll alert the psychic if they're probing, or it could be more of an automatic aspect similar to the Sense Evil power.

Again, this wording didn't play a part in my thought process or decision. However, I wanted to provide it for slightly different wording, and providing information so others could make their own decisions.

[kiralon]

I play presence sense like a sonar ping, with the ping detectable passively by those with the detect psionics power, so it has to be activated when you want to use it (Sleeping with a constant pinging would be annoying)