So, I am taking a 2 week holiday (unfortunately, it's almost over) and had some time to write some RPG related stuff, a lot of it related to Arcana Evolved and/or the Diamond Throne conversion to 4E. A little stupid of me to focus that, since it would be far more important to plan my online D&D campaign I enjoy a lot, or to create at least the baseline for a Mutants & Masterminds campaign I consider as an alternative campaign parallel to the WotC H/P/E series of 4E adventures. Two of our core players in my regular campaign can't come as often as they used to, so we have to improvise. Playing D&D with less than 4 players is always a little awkward and something other games don't suffer as much from, especially if one where to customize a campaign to a smaller group. (Published adventures don't work so great for that.)

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So, the first topic are the Verrik. The Verrik are a humanoid race with a reddish skin in the Diamond Throne. Non-Verriks always feel a little strange around Verriks, though few knew the dark secret behind this. (For more, check your Arcana Evolved Variant PHB or Diamond Throne sourcebook).

Design Note
Both racial powers are minor actions attack powers. I am not sure if Dazed vs. a (usually long slide) is a “fair” deal, but I didn't want the attacks to deal damage either - at least not in their basic form.

Synaesthetic Senses (Racial)
Prerequisite: Trained in Perception, Verrik
You can use all your senses to aid your perception. You ignore all penalties for blindness when you can still hear and all penalties for deafness when you can still see. You gain a +2 feat bonus to Perception when neither deafened or blinded.

Verrick Mental Discipline (Racial)
Prerequisite: Int 13+, Wis13+, Verrik
You can choose to use either Mind Touch and Limited Telekinesis each encounter (But not both in the same encounter). You also gain a +1 bonus to all atacks with powers that have the Verrik keyword that lack the Implement or Weapon keyword. This bonus increases to +2 at 15th level and +3 at 25th level.

Design Note
Verrik Mental Discipline bonus to attacks is basically the racial equivalent to something like Weapon or Implement Expertise. If you are not a fan of either feat and have developed an alternative “math fix” you don't need that part.

Racial Paragon Path – Verrik Mentalist
Some Verriks learn to master the innate racial talents for psychic abilities. Verrik Mentalist are such Verriks. Verrik Mentalists are sometimes advisors to powerful individuals, especially for the various Verrik crime syndicates and the Verrik government itself. But far more often they are used – but seldomly discovered – as spies or counter-spies, using their mental abilities to gain knowledge and relay it to their allies. As spies, they have always be prepared for being exposed and so they are well-trained in using their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to escape their enemies.

Prerequisite: Verrik Mental Discipline, Verrik
Mental Action (11th level): When you spend an action point to gain a standard action, you can immediately use your Minor Telekinesis or Mind Touch Power as a free action before or after the action, even if you have already expended the power this turn. This use of the power does not expend the power for this encounter.
Verrik Telepathy (11th level):
You can communicate telepathically with every creature within 10 squares you can see. You must share a common language with the creature to communicate meaningful, unless you have already targeted the creature with your Mind Touch power.
Verrik Telekinisis (11h level): You gain the Wizard Cantrip Mage Hand as an at-will power. The power loses the Arcane Keyword and gains the Verrik keyword.
Aggressive Mental Disciplines (11th level):
Mastermind (16th level): You can use each your Mind Touch and your Minor Telekinsies Power once per encounter. When you use either power, you can expend your use of the other power and deal 1d10 + the highest of your Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom modifier. The damage is psychic if you used Mind Touch, or force if you used Minor Telekinesis for the original power you used.
Design Note
I always found the Verrik had a very “Vulcan”-like touch, and so here they get their Vulcan Mind Meld. I suppose one could also create a Ritual version of the power that provides a little more help (more along the lines of something like Consult Oracle) but is even more restrained in its general usability (longer duration, wiling and helpess targets only).

Mustrum_Ridcully