Topic: About Psychic Powers

[arakish]

IMHHO, I think there are some errors in the SMP core book.  The mistakes deal with the psychic power skills.  Below is the excerpt I am addressing.

* - A character can never have more ranks with this psychic power than with his Tele-Send psychic power.

† - A character can never have more ranks with this psychic power than with his Tele-Receive psychic power.

§ - A character can never have more ranks with this psychic power than with his Psychic • Telepathy skill category.

My simple question to these is, Why not?  Why can't a character have more ranks than in the other listed power or Psychic • Telepathy skill category?

I think these should read as:

* - A character can never use more ranks with this psychic power than with his Tele-Send psychic power, when also using the Tele-Receive psychic power.

† - A character can never use more ranks with this psychic power than with his Tele-Receive psychic power, when also using the Tele-Receive psychic power.

§ - A character can never use more ranks with this psychic power than with his Psychic • Telepathy skill category.

But, then again, the original text can be considered to be guidelines and a GM can fall back to the Zeroth Law of GMs: Any GM can alter any guidelines to fit his world definition.


Now for another idea.  On my world of Onaviu, the Hatharnd have conquered the Peoples of the Light.  With the help of a terribly devestating plague, they even wiped out (exterminated) about 12 to 14 of other Peoples of the Light, with only 3 now remaining.

The Gist.

Hatharnd females are literally born with the capacity of 50 ranks in the Psychic • Telepathy skill category (Telepathy hereafter).  However, the ranks are not developed (i.e. - "X"ed).  The female must still be trained in the use of Telepathy (i.e. - the ranks are only "/"ed).  They are usually trained (i.e. - "X" the "/") during their childhood into tapping into this ability.  They also must develop the skills separately.  Once fully developed, a Hatharnd female is a force to be reckoned with.

If wondering, the Hatharnd males are nothing more servants, and also serve as only a means of reproduction.  Basically, the Hatharnd males are slaves to the females.  (Is that female cheering I hear...)

In my world, one of the surviving Peoples of the Light are the Krenosi Kreegog, a saurian-homonid based people.  Some confuse saurian with meaning lizard.  However, the new term of saurian now refers to "dinosaur-like."  And, it has been proven that the dinosaurs were not the cold-blooded, slow, plodding blunderers original thought.  Dinosaurs were warm-blooded, fast, and agile.  Oxygen isotopes in their bones are the exact same as in warm-blooded mammals of today.  Basically, one could think of saurians as being warm-blooded lizards since some dinosaurs (fossil impressions) had hides similar to some lizards of today's world.

Anyway, the Kreegog are basically a warrior-hunter peoples.  They are naturally viscious and savage, albeit almost as intelligent as an Alnara Altais (common human).  Although viscious and savage, Kreegog never truly killed just for pleasure (only humans do this).  The Hatharnd know this.  They actually have a Hatharnd female in every settlement with Kreegog who is the Kreegog Creche Prefect.  Her job is to take all the newborn Kreegog, wipe their minds, then reconstruct that mind into one that is quiescent with Behavioral Triggers to never harm any other person (including the Altais and Dangro).  Basically, the Kreegog are converted into "beasts of burden" since the horses and oxen were also wiped out in the plague.

My questions:

I see no psychic powers under the Telepathy category that is capable of completely wiping a mind, and/or reconstructing one.  There is the Behavioral Trigger power.

Any suggestions on how the new powers of Mind Wipe and Mind Reconstruction should work within the game mechanics?

Any and all suggestions will be seriously considered.  And yes, I am blundering into figuring the mechanics myself, but thought, "Why not ask others for suggestions?"

Thanks for any and all help.

rmfr

[Defendi]

Those don't appear to be errors, but your suggestions seem like they'd work fine as house rules.

[markc]

I will think on it but I think the powers were left out to prevent people from reducing targets to no exp or having to rebuild a PC from scratch.
MDC

[JimiSue]

There's nothing to stop those amazons from having those abilities as racial powers linked to their use of telepathy. That means you could essentially write it like you wanted it without having to worry so much about making it fit within the telepathy framework. It also occured to me you don't need a full mind wipe/reconstruct in any case. All you would need is something that removes the desire for aggression and/or disobedience - sounds like they use it on their menfolk as well! This would also mean that they could use it on adult saurians without having to rebuild everything that those adults need to remain a useful servant.

Maybe it's not even an active power - it's just a kind of aggression suppression-field that these girls naturally broadcast once they get trained up, so any male in their presence is docile and malleable. After constant exposure for years and years, that behaviour becomes ingrained and unquestioned so persists even when away from the girls.

The rules are yours - do what you want with them

[markc]

 One product you might want to look at is RMSS Shades of Darkness, in it it has some spell lists that might fit what you are trying to do and you can use them for reference.


 Is mind wipe going to do it or is aggression, a more genetic trait than a mental trait?
MDC

[arakish]

There's nothing to stop those amazons from having those abilities as racial powers linked to their use of telepathy. That means you could essentially write it like you wanted it without having to worry so much about making it fit within the telepathy framework. It also occured to me you don't need a full mind wipe/reconstruct in any case. All you would need is something that removes the desire for aggression and/or disobedience - sounds like they use it on their menfolk as well! This would also mean that they could use it on adult saurians without having to rebuild everything that those adults need to remain a useful servant.

Maybe it's not even an active power - it's just a kind of aggression suppression-field that these girls naturally broadcast once they get trained up, so any male in their presence is docile and malleable. After constant exposure for years and years, that behaviour becomes ingrained and unquestioned so persists even when away from the girls.

The rules are yours - do what you want with them

Thanks a bunch.  I never even thought of it being a passive, always-on power.  That could definitely work.

One product you might want to look at is RMSS Shades of Darkness, in it it has some spell lists that might fit what you are trying to do and you can use them for reference.


 Is mind wipe going to do it or is aggression, a more genetic trait than a mental trait?
MDC

I'll have to go buy it, if can, and check it out.  Thanks for that suggestion.

Is mind wipe going to do it or is aggression, a more genetic trait than a mental trait?

It is not aggression in the true definition.  It is just that the Kreegog are vicious and savage from being exceptional hunter/warriors.  One could make a case for it being either genetic or mental.  However, I think it would be more apt to say that it is environmental.  Just as a lioness cub learns being a hunter/warrior from being around mommy, etc.  Remember, they are only almost as intelligent as humans.  They use stone age technology for their weapons since the concepts of "smelting" and "forging" just would never occur to them.  Even though they watch the Dangro smithing things from metal, the Kreegog still cannot grasp the concepts.  To reiterate, they are only vicious and savage from being hunters/warriors.  They are based, more-or-less, on the dromeosaurs (the family that includes velociraptors).  And yes, they have that vicious claw on their feet.  It is not removed because some wealthy and high ranking Hatharnd may use one as a game hunter.  Sometimes, some Kreegog are trained to be vicious and savage killers for use in the Zanguin Pits with the Sualgar Zurhar.  But for the most part, the Kreegog are used as beasts of burden such as wagon pullers, plough puller, load carriers (since they are about three times stronger than a human), etc.

Thanks for the comments/suggestions so far.  Looking for more if they be coming.

rmfr

[markc]

 Have you looked in the RM2 Spell Users Comp? I think there is a genetic mastery list there that you might use as a basis. But the spell lists in SoD are great, create twins, decrease Re and other great spells. IMHO the product is good just for the lists (and a laugh) if you do not use the product.
 There is also a Horse Mastery spell list that my old RM2 GM says is great and was just what he was looking for, for a specific tribal group.
 

MDC