Telepathy Charm

E/F/M:

Casters of the Telepathy Casting can lay the dweomer upon them-selves or upon another subject- This Cantrip, Effect enables several different capacities for the subject For one thing, it enables two-way or broadcast communication between the subject and another who, if not normally able, will be enabled to 'read" thoughts from the caster, or between the caster and all able to receive is broadcast. It can empower the reading of thought messages and the thoughts of others (mind reading). It can also bring about the capacity for control of another mind through Telepathic means. All functions are operative during Casting Time duration, and each function is detailed below: Two-Way Communication: The base distance of any telepathic channel is equal to one mile per 10 STEEP points of the caster. This is modified by the relative familiarity of the subject to the caster, as well as whether or not the subject is capable of telepathy or other similar mental projection. This is summarized below:

Broadcast: Thoughts can be "broadcast' to virtually any distance. Thoughts so broadcast can be received by any being with telepathic ability who is awake and not concentrating on something else (so don't send out any secret information!). However, it is possible to channel thoughts along a -Light beam' aimed only at at a specific person or group. and so an eavesdropper would have to be aware of the "charmer being used and be concentrating so as to monitor it To channel thoughts, however, requires that the practitioner either be able to see the persona on the receiving end, know that receiver personally, or have some other prearranged manner of contact Eavesdrop-ping personas are considered to know what "channel" is being used if they possess the same information about the recipient as does the broadcaster. Telepathic Reception: Probing minds requires one of two cases: (1 ) The persona under the Effect must be in visual contact with the subject to be "read." or (2) the one empowered by this dweomer must. have had previous mental contact. with the subject. whether the caster or the subject initialed it. and know the general whereabouts of the subject within a one mile radius of a known locale (regardless of that locale's distance). When there is visual contact this must be maintained throughout the whole of the probing. In either case, whether at a distance or within visual contact. the able individual must make a K/S check against M TRAIT al a DR to be found by consulting the table below each BT the subject's mind is probed telepathically. 'Thus, if the K/S check proves to be successful, the telepath is thereafter able to spend up to 10 CTs mind reading. The Difficulty Rating for K/S checks and the Heka cost depend on the type of thoughts read by probing, as follows:

¥Includes recent memories ¥ ¥ Include. memories about one year to five years old Includes memories over five years old Notes: Willing subjects can allow their mind to be read, is the DR is then two levels easier than usual (as above). Unwilling personas who are aware of the attempt are at one DR tougher. however, and those who possess Telepathic Power: Sensory Capacity. Thought: or Mental Comma. can "shield" their mind to make the DR three levels tougher. Surface thoughts are what is immediately on an individual's mind. Those are the only kinds of thoughts which those with a Mental TRAIT lower than 36 posses. Secondary thoughts are those things which are close to the surface but are not actually being mentally' spoken' at the moment Deepest thoughts are things which are not at all a part of what the conscious mind is currently up to. Guarded thoughts are any thoughts which personas would not particularly care for the mind reader to know they have. Personas with any Mental Powers will be able to tell when someone is attempting to read their minds and may prevent the mind reader from so doing by tying or beating that individual in a contest of K/S Areas. (The mind reader uses the caster's STEEP in this Sub-Area, and the opponent uses whatever licks-producing K/S Area or Power is most applicable to ability to engage in a cont.t of this nature.) Both the attacker and the defender may expend Heka on a one-for-one basis to increase effective STEEP rating for this struggle. A tie allows the attacker to try again. but a defeat means that the persona cannot again so attack the defender for a period of 24 hours. An attacker who wins. however, may then proceed normally, but must suffer the Difficulty Rating increase for a "Shield. Mind" if the defender is capable of shielding as noted above, or that of an "Unwilling Subject" otherwise. Telepathic Control: Telepathic Control requires is successful probing of thoughts at. the "Deep" level. Of course it is most probable that a K/S versus K/S battle will be required. In any event. if a probe of deep thoughts succeeds, the able persona can then, instead of reading those thoughts, elect to control the mind of the subject in order to do this, the mind reader must expend

Heka equal to the M TRAIT of the individual that is the target of the mi. control. If for any reason such additional ticks is not expend., there is no control and contact with the subject and it is lost Control: This suppresses the ego of the subject. The persona of the subject will be under total control of the Telepathic individual for as long as the duration of Time for this Casting's Effect lasts. Thereafter, control is lost instantly. Practitioners controlling subjects will have the sensory viewpoint of subject. The subject's mind will have to be read normally. however, if that is desired. The Difficulty Rating of this process is based on memories, though. rather than current thoughts, so DR runs from "Difficult" for recent. ones to "Extreme." The superego of the controlled individual is readable as memories, and the id can be probed at I DR easier because there is no ego there to repress it Controlling personas can operate their subject's body as if it were their own. walking, talking, etc.. in the same way as would the controlled persona Those who know the latter, however, will have a I% cumulative, plus their Perception STEEP. chance per hour of interaction with the con-trolled to notice something is "odd." The GM will have to decide such matters. Meanwhile, the body of a practitioner controlling such a subject is no longer "awake." With the active mind gone, the body sinks into a trance stale, relaxing as if it were asleep. (Spirit possession at such a time is a very possible danger!) There are some important things to keep in mind about the telepathically empowered persona and the controlled body. The practitioners Mental and Spiritual TRAITS et sL. transfer to the controlled body, and with them go all K/S. Physically, however, the TRAITS. CATEGORIES, and ATTRIIBUTES are those of the controlled, while Physical K/S Areas are not. These Areas are also of the te I e path is persona's own, except that they function at 50% STEEP only. This is because the link between mental command and neural/muscular response is not well established. For each AT the practitioner is in control of the body, 1% of STEEP is returned, is that only after 50 or more ATs of control can telepathic personas use their Physical K/S to their actual potential. Telepathic personas have some advantage while in control of another body, for in its trance-like state, their own bodies are recovering heka at twice the normal rate for mere sleep. As there is an invisible channel between their bodies and their minds, telepathic personas are able to utilize the heka reserve of their own bodies at will. This is fortunate in another way, for they can't tap the controlled body ticks as long as they are attuned to their own. If anything untoward occurs to the "native" body of such a telepathic persona, so that it dies then the persona could be in real trouble! Bodily death in such case means that the telepath's mind is trapped inside the controlled body. The ego of that body will have to be dispatched somehow, or else there will be far more trouble than merely running out of Saks to use. The gamernaster must have an immediate K/S v. K/S contest take place. telepath's M TRAIT versus that of the controlled persona. Special Failure means that the practitioner's mind is destroyed. Failure means that the caster's ego is suppressed inside the bodyÑand more about this matter later. Success means that the ego of the controlled remains repress.. Special Success means that the suppressed ego is destroy., and the controller is now the person in who's body she or he has been mentally residing. It's evident. then, that there are only two clear cases of defeat and victory, Special Failure and Special Success. Failure or Success otherwise indicate that there's a body with two minds and two egos, two MTRAITS and two S TRAITS. The solution to this which we propose the garnemaster is There are now dual egos within the body of the subject personal Allow the two egos to have a conversation, mind -to-mind as it were, and work out an arrangement This can be a regular, non-hostile sharing of being in control, Tum on tum. it can also be a shared alertness and "pooling" so to speak. Each ego is then there to experience and contribute. This makes for an exceptionally powerful persona with a whole lot of K/S Areas and high STEEP, for the higher score in any common K/S Area would be the one used. Ambidexterity will be developed. with ease. When one ego (mind) is "outside- of the body the other will be there to operate and protect it However...garnemasters have many options to allow this and still keep things balance. First adverse "Quirks" used liberally set matters right. Next. Speed ATTRIBUTES can be reduced according to the force of personality of the two egosÑthe stronger the two, the slower . reactions, based On a minimum penalty of-2 and a maximum of,6. Intercommunication takes time, Finally, a division of APs between the two separate sets of M TRAIT K/S Areas and the two S TRAITS K/S Areas slows development towards a super-persona There will be duplication of effort a and building up of the same ability in each ego that way. (This should provide a really fun HP to play and to CM for tool)