Telepathy

Telepathy Mystical Proficiency (Wits) 1600 hours Psionic Counts as two skills at character creation Double learning difficulty

Questions and answers regarding Telepathy. Can I read minds? You bet, that's the main reason most people take this skill. However, you are limited to surface thoughts only. For most people, this is a rather scrambled stream-of-consciousness thing, with half-sentences and a few pictures.

Can I have a conversation using telepathy? Of course. It is as easy as having a conversation verbally. The other person does not need to be telepathic if you are in contact with their mind, but some people have a bit of difficulty at first with forming a proper reply. One of the odd things about telepathy is that something you are trying to send to a telepath (if you lack the skill yourself) sort of pushes the thought into a part of the brain where normal scanning cannot read it properly. The first time you are involved in a telepathic conversation try speaking a reply out loud until you are comfortable with a purely mental response.

Can someone tell when their mind is being read? Yes, if they are familiar with that sensation. It's faint, but there if you know what to expect.

Can a telepath keep from being detected? Yes, if they use a very light 'touch'. This requires a separate skill check, or penalty to the roll, or both, depending on what sort of mood the Game Master is in.

Can I keep my mind from being read? If you detect or suspect telepathic contact, you can try to not think about whatever secret you are trying to hide. In another irony of telepathy, this makes it very easy for a mind mage to read. There is also the phenomenon called 'The Imp of the Perverse'. That means it's nearly impossible to not think about something. Try it yourself: whatever you do, don't think about a brown dog. No brown dogs at all. Notice how that little mutt just keeps wagging his tail back to the forefront of your mind. Thinking about multiplication tables and such has some effect against intrusion by causing a lot of mental noise, but this only really works if you can totally focus on whatever trick you are using to fully occupy your brain's processing power. Most people can't pull this trick off too well. The best layman's defence against telepathic intrusion is to try and think about something so horrible and disgusting that the psychic won't want to stay in that filthy cesspool you call a mind. Pervert.

What sort of range does telepathy have? At first level, you are limited to touch only. Using the 'mind meld' grip is purely optional. At second level you get about three feet of range, or someone standing right in front of you. It doubles every level thereafter, to six feet at level III, twelve feet at level IV, twenty-four at level V, et cetera.

How difficult is it to use? Fairly hard—like most psychic proficiencies Telepathy requires a roll of 15 or better. What is a telepathic voice? A telepathic 'voice' is how you sound to yourself when you are talking. It is also usually the same mental 'voice' used when you are thinking about something in words. For this reason you may not at first recognise the 'voice' of your mind mage friend when she sends you a message (and vice-versa), but familiarity is gained pretty quickly.

Can I send pictures? Yes, but keep it simple. You can also send other sensory data, such as a sound or touch, but it is usually easier for most people to communicate in words. Text can be sent just as readily as speech, but this only works when both the telepath and the target are fully literate and comfortable with the written word—and can read that language. Sending a flash image of something written on a piece of paper is usually not very effective. Unless you stream the content to them they only get the impression of a paper with something written on it, not what that something is.

What about emotions or other feelings, can I send those? Not very well. Telepathy uses higher mind functions, so the baser feelings aren't conveyed very well. Even smell doesn't always convey very effectively.

So telepathy is dry content then? No. You can, for example, 'speak' to someone in an angry tone even if you cannot telepathically send your rage itself. Telepathy can be used in conjunction with Telempathy, however. Also note that most people (except the really stupid ones) can easily tell the difference between a telepathic sending and what they are themselves thinking and feeling. You cannot, for example, pinch your own bum, telepathically send that feeling to someone, and blame the bloke behind her. She will most likely know that someone sent the pinching sensation mentally, and will be mad at you (and not that other spud) for violating her mind.

How fast is a telepathic conversation? It is about as fast as a verbal one. It takes most people just as long to think of what to say either way, and telepathy doesn't stop you from stumbling for a word. At lower skill levels thinking back too fast can overwhelm the telepath, and part or all of the message might be lost. Two experienced telepaths who are familiar with one another and are in mutual contact can speed this process up greatly, to four or more times as fast as speech.

What is a 'contact'? This means a mind mage is inside someone's skull psionically, and can send or receive messages, or use other psychic skills. Telepathy is not really an area effect, and generally only works once you are inside someone's mind.

Can I send to multiple people at once? Yes. You can globally broadcast a thought to everyone within your range, or to a smaller bubble within that range. To just pick out your guildmates and send a message to them without the enemies they are in melee with isn't possible with a global send. You will have to contact them separately. You can have multiple telepathic contacts at once. They will have to be initiated separately (one per action) and you will have to make a Wits check for the second and subsequent ones, with a cumulative -2 penalty to both the Wits check and Telepathy skill for each additional mind.

Is it possible to mindlink everyone in the guild? Yes, if you are willing to act as a relay. With a bit of practice it isn't all that difficult for you to put your brain in a passthrough mode, so that everyone with whom you are in telepathic contact can speak to one another directly without having to tell you, and then you tell someone else. The hard part is in contacting all of the guild's minds in the first place. If something breaks your concentration that breaks all of the links, however. This is also an all-or-nothing proposition. If you put everyone in the group into mutual contact you cannot have a telepathic side conversation with just one person. Group mindlinks are always voluntary. An unwilling participant does not need to make a saving throw to resist. The only messages passed along on the network are deliberately sent. There is no real danger of a stray thought slipping out (no more than accidental curse words when you bang your shin) and the telepath acting as a relay cannot read your mind otherwise.

Can I then read the minds of everyone in the room? Reading a whole bunch of minds at once is difficult and distracting. It can also lead to insanity. You can sort of keep your mental feelers open and get a few stray thoughts, but it's like trying to eavesdrop on every conversation in a dance club. In other words, it's usually an exercise in futility, and your brain is the worse for wear for having tried. For several simultaneous minds being read you will have to contact each one separately.

Is language a barrier? Usually, yes. When most people are talking to one another at least the important conversational bits are in the form of words, even for a very visual person. You can try to read or send images or simple concepts when there is no common language. This is more effective than pantomime or drawing in the dirt, but not by much. Being a telepath doesn't get you out of having to study to learn a new language and culture. There are visual people and there are verbal people. There is also strong support for additional categories. However, most people don't neatly fit any one category, and are a melange of verbal, visual, and other elements. Words, pictures, and other thoughts are going to be filtered by both the telepath's mind and their target's.

Can I telepathically transmit skills? Yes, but this isn't an instantaneous download. You have to teach someone the old-fashioned way, even if you can augment the learning process telepathically. One-third of your Telepathy skill, rounded up, can be added to Teaching skill checks.

Can I scan for life signs, Captain? Yes, just like you could use your ears or nose for the same effect. Using telepathy in this way is more like hearing an overly loud television next door: you can tell it's there, you just can't usually make out what's on. Some thoughts may be picked up, however. This is not something on which you can rely, but is more of a Game Master tool: "You sense a small group, hunting for someone and moving with a purpose." Finding out more than that is the regular mind reading part of Telepathy.

Are you available for birthday parties? Very funny, wise-ass. Next question.

What sort of damage can I cause with Telepathy? If you mean hit point damage, none. At its heart Telepathy is a psionic conversation skill. You can no more injure someone with it than you could harm them by shouting curse words. You cannot change, delete, or even access memories. You cannot cause their body to go into shock. You cannot convince their lungs to stop inhaling and exhaling, nor convince their brain to make the lungs stop. You cannot even make them go to sleep—it didn't work when they were children and their parents tried to make them go to bed, it certainly won't work for you now. Now, psychological scarring on the other hand…