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