Carapace (Psionic)

The psionicist can change his own or another's physical form with this power, creating a chitinous exoskeleton. However, because the skin is heavily damaged in the process, this is generally a last resort to keep a character alive.
The process causes great discomfort. The outer layer of skin turns to very hard, insect-like material, with a huge carapace that gives more protection to the back and head. Any clothing or armor must be removed before the power is used clothing is torn and ruined, while armor causes the power to fail. Once changed, the character gains a natural AC 2 on his limbs and front and AC 0 on the back and head. Dexterity immediately drops by 10 points, but after ten rounds of getting used to the new joints, the penalty is halved to -5. The character can still be recognized from the front, but his features are contorted and twisted.
Once maintenance is ended, the character pain fully transforms. The exoskeleton breaks away over five rounds, taking most of the skin with it. The character emerges bloodied, with hit points equal to level (or 1 if he was already severely wounded) and needing at least a full day's rest.
Power Score— The character suffers no Dexterity loss.
20 — The initial transformation is worse than usual—the character must make a system shock check or die.