Body Control
Defaults: None.
This ability lets you affect involuntary bodily functions such as heart rate, blood flow, and digestion. One use of this skill is to enter a deathlike trance, during which only those who can win a Quick Contest of Diagnosis vs. your Body Control skill even realize that you are alive. This requires (30 - skill) seconds of concentration, minimum one second.
You can also use this skill to flush poisons from your body. To do so, you must first roll against Poisons (or Alchemy, Pharmacy, etc., as appropriate) to identify the poison. You cannot attempt this roll until you know you have been poisoned. In most cases, you only discover this when the first symptoms show! A successful Body Control roll – adjusted by any modifier to the HT roll to resist the poison – flushes the poison in 1d hours, after which it has no further effect.
Finally, you may use the higher of this skill and basic HT to resist any Affliction, magic spell, or psionic attack that is normally resisted by HT.
Martial Arts
Body Control can replace HT when resisting Pressure Points]], Hand of Death (see Innate Attack), or chi powers (see Chi Projection). Because it's also effective against the Affliction advantage and poisons, as stated in the Basic Set, and can resist chi-based afflictions, the GM might find it simpler to let it replace HT for all rolls to resist the afflictions, regardless of origin. Use the rules for flushing poisons to end enduring effects. The skill for identifying chi-based ailments is Esoteric Medicine.
In fiction, Body Control is often used to manage injury. It can replace First Aid and Physician when you treat yourself (only) under the rules on Recovery. Effective TL is that of Esoteric Medicine in the campaign – TL3, unless specified otherwise. Body Control serves as First Aid for bandaging and treating shock. If your level is HT+2 or better, you're considered to be in a physician's care when figuring long-term recovery. If you also receive external medical care, you must choose between it and this skill's benefits; the two don't "stack."