Aberrant RPG - Problem Powers

[The Ranger]

Heres a question for all Storytellers out there. How do you deal with telepaths in your games? I always find them a pain in the behind. They can read NPC minds and really play hell with a good mystery. I know I could just disallow them but I am looking for something a little more inventive. Also I don't want to alienate the players so I can't dump on them without good reason.

[Courier]

Here are a some posibilities, 1. Telepathy based on imagery, such as dream sequences in movies and TV, this allows for information to be passed in a slightly obscure fashion that may not immediately destroy the mystery. 2. Telepathy based on stream of conciousness, this is alot of work but can be fun, the idea is that most of the time people aren't organizing their thoughts into convienient sentances, instead there is a confusing overlap of ideas, thoughts and sensory data being accumulated by the brain at the same time, and the telepath is unable to filter these thoughts. They may get the information they're looking for, but finding it in a long series of free associations and sensory information may be difficult. 3. Telepathy can be assumed to be an invasive procedure that the subject is aware of, the consequences of the act of reading someone's mind may be similar to those of rape. In this case telepath's will usually reign in their own activities.

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Even Gods die.

[Guest]

If the problem is that the telepaths tries to read every NPC´s mind, thus destroying the plot by finding out everything to easily here´s what you can do:

1. If the NPC´s are Nova´s, give them a nova power that makes Telepathy very hard to use on them, like Psychic shield. Novas with an extra can extend this power to baselines too, which an important Nova might to on his minions.

2. Deny access. When the characters communicates with an important NPC whose mind you don´t want to be read arrange it so that they can only talk to this person via telephone, Opnet or some other way that won´t allow telepathy to be used. And see to it that the person is far, far away so they can´t read his mind from a distans. Just don´t give them the opportunity.

3. Jack in the box. Make it more dangerous to use telepathy in a causal way. Use a NPC telepath that can plant mindbombs in people which damages any telepath which tries to read that mind. Or use extreme telepathic conditioning so that if a telepath tries to read about a certain subject the person goes catatonic or has a heart attack and dies. Some people might rather die than betray something they had sworn to do. This makes the characters more careful and keeps them from reading every NPC´s mind. And remember that reading a seriously insane persons mind could be very horrible indeed...

4. Limit what the NPC knows about a subject to near minimum. If they want to find out about a conspiracy the NPC´s perhaps doesn´t know who the rest of the people involved are, just their codenames and ways of contacting them that are untraceable. Or use disinformation. Remember how much Illuminati members opinions about the real purpose of it differed. They were aware that the other members had been told another story than what they themselves had been told by their recruitors, but that was because the other people weren´t important enough to be told the real purpose of the conspiracy. Thus a bunch of people work together efficiently, with each with a different, and often quite irrelevant, motivation that makes it very hard to map the organisation, because it´s impossible to know what is true and what is not. Brainwashing also makes for great disinformation. Read "The Illuminatus" by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson for ideas about advanced disinformation.

[Matt]

Similar to Uriel, I would recommend Psychic shield. However, one thing I try to avoid is making the character's powers useless. In my opinion, Telepathy, and mind powers in general, should really make a character powerful. With a lot of combat and action scenes, these characters don't get a chance to shine, so when they find a situation to use their power, the last thing I want to do is say that it doesn't work. While that would make my life easier, I know the player wouldn't enjoy the game as much.

When preparing adventures, I generally try to look at what powers the characters have and think of how they may use them with what I want to do with the game. For any obstacle they can't overcome, I try to make sure I put in 2 that are fairly easy. When dealing with mind powers, I usually jot down some ideas beforehand of what certain players know and can do within their organizations. If a player discovers everything, great. They will be happy with their character and the game. If not, I'll still have some tricks up my sleeve for next time.

Also, remember that not everyone knows everything that is going on. You can use the telepathy to get you from 1 point in the game to another, much like an interogation. Conversely, plan an adventure where the character can get it on almost the entire plot early on. This does a good job of putting the characters in an active position, instead of a reactionary one.

The most important thing about being a storyteller is to make the players happy. You can spend countless hours making an amazing adventure, but if you force them to do it your way, they won't have fun. I generally try to base my campaigns around things I think they will enjoy, then I build my story from within that.

Something else I do is at times just try to be as spontanious as possible. I'll just go with the BS as long as I can, and keep trying to build up the story and info the telepath gets. It makes the evening more entertaining for me, as I try to figure out how I can work new elements into the game.

Hope that helps.

[Kane Knight]

Allow them to resist with Willpower, which is not explicitly sited, but not denied in the books either. Between that and the successes required to find more obscure facts, ya should be set...

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The Eleventh Wonder of the World.

Hype, Sacrelige, Uniforms...

[Kane Knight]

Any other powers out there that people find to be problem powers? Just wondering.

The most problematic in me games so far has been combat teleport.

It's hard to ambush a character that can just *BAMF* outta there.

Not a horrible, abusive power, but it can be a pain in the arse...

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The Eleventh Wonder of the World.

Hype, Sacrelige, Uniforms...

[The Ranger]

Temporal manipulation can be a bit of a pain but it is not as bad as Warp...you don't want to know what these guys have been doing with it. (Holding secret meetings on Pluto, attempting to Terraform Mars, droping asteroids on people, etc etc etc) My unabiding passionate hatred is reserved for the Possession Enhanced Dominate power which allows a player to "wear" NPCs as armour!!!

[Guest]

Teleportation can be a major problem, both for players and for the GM. Catching someone who the next second can be thousands of kilometers away can be quite tricky. One of my players who´s a teleporter had this problem with a NPC who also had teleport. His problem for this was to evolve this new nova power (I don´t have the papers with me so this is just a sketch of the rules):

Trace teleport.

Perception + Teleport.

When someone teleports they leave a quantum trace that a person with this power can lock onto. The trace remains for number of turns equal to the teleporters Quantum-Dormacy (minimum of one turn). Each turn after this increases the difficulty to lock onto the destination with one. The number of succeses scored decides how accurate the lock on was.

The chase became quite frantic after this... *teleport*trace*teleport*teleport*trace*teleport*teleport*trace*teleport*teleport*trace*teleport*trace*teleport*trace*run out of quantum pool*

[The Ranger]

Heh, heh. I like it. Do you allow it to work on Warp or is it Teleport specific?

[Guest]

Hmm... Probably, but with a higher difficulty on the Trace roll.

The Teleport/Trace war has now escalated when a third player bought not only Teleport but also a level 1 power that gives 2 automatic successes against Trace teleport per level. "No way I´m gonna let anyway trace me to my place!".

[Kane Knight]

I'd think it'd be harder to track Teleport than Warp.

Warp basically rends open a piece of space, Teleport is a smaller disturbance...

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The Eleventh Wonder of the World.

Hype, Sacrelige, Uniforms...

[The Ranger]

True. Can't see there being a problem tracing a warp, the blasted things are huge and nasty. To tell the truth any power can be a problem power it just depends on the players use of them. For example some players wont use telepathy on people unless totally necessary and others will use it with little or no provocation.

[Darkwave]

Here's my thoughts on Telepathy: When someone uses Telepathy on an NPC, or even a PC for that matter, instead of just forking over the details of someone's mind, make them work for it. Similar to Harrowing from Wraith, allow the telepath to "wander" around someone's mind as if they would a house or a city. If the target is prepared, this can play out like walking into a funhouse where some of the "surprises" turn out to be lethal booby traps. Treat the telepath as a "guest" in this person's mind. I wouldn't deny them the answers they seek, but I'd make them earn it, and maybe even give more cryptic responses than they had anticipated...

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"When did HE become a nova? Natural Agitator? No sh!t, dude!"

[Guest]

First, I'll add my vote to the "any power can be a problem power" thought. I've had clever players run my games off in so many unforseen directions simply by using a power or ability in a creative way, I don't even want to think about it. Of course, I've also had power gamers who just abused powers ruthlessly, generally in a rather brute force manner.

Second, on the telepathy topic, I'll agree with the use of Willpower as a defense. However, in one session I had the groups 3 telepaths linked together trying to pick secrets out of the mind of a baseline. When they used Pooled their dice rolls to crack into his mind, they got over 25 successes. They got the main piece of information they were looking for. However, they had to go through Hell to get it. This guy was a seriously wacked serial killer. They were trying to find out when he actually started his killing spree. They got an exact date. However, he they suffered a heart attack, and they were dumped out of his mind as he died. They later found out he deliberatly triggered the heart attack, to keep them from learning too much from him. He had incredible bodily control, on par with the famed yogis of India. That started them down still another interesting side story (where'd he get that training), which has led back into the main conspiracy they've been researching...

So, even when the PCs "ruin" the game, I just roll with it, improvise on the fly and slowly lead them back to the main storyline. It helps that I map out the major players plots and motivations, and then just let the rest of the world evolve to follow the PCs actions. That way, even telepathy or warp can't really ruin the game.

All of the earlier suggestions for dealing with Telepathy are good, but I will second the caution about not making the players feel like they wasted the points by buying the power. Usually limiting the amount of info the NPC knows is sufficent to let them learn enough info to get to the next point in your plot.

Oh yeah, in my game M-Int has been the biggest "problem power" so far.

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Reality is a crutch for

those who lack imagination.

[Kane Knight]

Mega Intelligence? Interesting. Haven't had much of a problem with it, though the only person who's used it so far was unable to roleplay it or conceptualise what he could do with it.

My biggest problem powers have been the Enhancement "Hyperenhanced Hearing" and Cyberkinesis. Both were badly abusedd in my game, and as a combination, they became abused even more.

Fontunately, the character essentially committed suicide by attacking a combat-oriented Nova.

But I still shudder every time I see the netry on CK, or a character with that power.

[Jager]

I have used the 'haunted house' model myself. Also, the 'victim' is aware that someone is in their mind. By the ten year mark, most countries have laws against mental intrusion and coersion. If your players don't care about such things, eventually the bounty on their heads will make them worry just a little. That, and the fact that not many novas or baselines want to hang out with a mutliple rapist and his/her cohorts. In a different game, I had a telepath playing all sorts of cute games until a group of telepaths, worried about the potentially fatal social backlash against all telepaths, hunted him down and gave him his one warning. Lastly, don't forget the psycological problems that come from someone who reads the thoughts of everyone around them. Just ask another player what they would do if they caught this PC in their heads. Then tell the telepath that he picks up this thought one day when he is just peeking around. If he/she doesn't respect these other peoples personal rights, why is he going to respect those of his teammates?

As for Mega-Int, yep, you can really bend the world with it. Fortuneately, few 'power gamers' take this one (so far). I usually remind my players that having Mega-Int. is like having gone through grad. school and spending the rest of your life with kindergardeners. The smarter you get, the dumber the world seems. In my games, the Mega-Int. NPC's lay low and don't draw attention to themselves (kinda like they figured out that something is wrong on a big scale, and don't want to be squashed). I guess it depends on how much role-playing and NPC interaction you and your players have. Rarely do I feel the need to just say no. By discussing the ramifications of most powers (if any) characters either change their minds or are more careful on how they use their gifts.

[Guest]

I like some of the ideas for telepaths, especially Jager's. So far, I haven't had that one abused much. I'm not sure if my players are to honest, or just know that I'll screw them over if they abuse it too much.

I really love the idea of problems from looking into too many minds, and not liking what you find there. I think that maybe the best deterrant to abuse.

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Reality is a Crutch for

those who lack Imagination

[Guest]

I like some of the ideas for telepaths, especially Jager's. So far, I haven't had that one abused much. I'm not sure if my players are to honest, or just know that I'll screw them over if they abuse it too much.

I really love the idea of problems from looking into too many minds, and not liking what you find there. I think that maybe the best deterrant to abuse.

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Reality is a Crutch for

those who lack Imagination

[Jager]

That your players use, but don't abuse, their powers speaks volumes on your abilities as a storyteller. Yes, there is fun beyond the scarred lands of the munchkins and the dark realms of the "Power" GM's. Hallelujah.

[Jager]

I have been thinking of a way to run a group of thematic PC's. During character creation, I would like the PC's to not only buy their powers, but also think about what powers they will get in the future. Make this list their "in scope" powers, kind of like powers 'stunts' in Marvel. Now do I make the inscope powers cheaper and/or make the out-of-scope powers more expensive? I have already decided that the next time a player gets a power that he can use at half strength, its at 1/2 power level and 1/2 quantum. In the last game, two players 'cheesed' out their characters with a 5 Quantum and Reduced Energy Cost Bashing Quantum Blasts. Once they got to level 2, they blasted all day long. Several troops of NPC's later, I was getting pretty bitter. I just don't want to over-react for my next game.

[The Ranger]

Perhaps making the challenges less orientated towards what character is designed to do? If they are fighters give them a session or two where they are hired by project Utopia as impartial outside investigators into Project Proteus...they were hired because they are NOT investigative types so they shouldn't be able to find out anything except what they are ment to ...of course someone within Proteus might decide to spill the beans! Rescuse, disaster relief and PR missions are all good games for fighting types. Heck, send the investigative types into dangerous elite combat situations and watch the sparks.

[Jager]

Whoops, that was my last game in the first half of the run. They founded their own nova institute and then ran the younger novas who signed on. That was were the taint monkeys and min-maxers came in. The first team was actually well rounded. They just got caught up in the day to day running of their organization.

[Jager]

Has anyone put any thought into a Nova "Carnage" game? An end of the world, novas rushing about fighting other novas scenario? Do that for a few sessions with devastation and a dying earth. Then have a Time Traveling Nova give them the option to go back in time to before things were fated to end up this way. The Time Traveler must remain in the Time Stream to 'anchor' the survivors in the new timeline. Basically, they start out (again) with little but their powers and some basic idea that the world went horribly wrong. Thoughts?

[Kirby1024]

I've never really fleshed it out completely, but I had a sort of Time Travel scenario thought out in my head. Essentially, the insane baseline scientist (who has a pathological hate of novas) decides to go back to 1997 to sabotage the launching of part of the Galatea. Then I had the team meet up with a group of time travelling psions from the Trinity timeline, who while seeming to help the novas, are actually rooting for scientist guy.

However, I haven't yet fleshed it out completely. I had the setting, but nothing else. Still, it seemed like an interesting plot to just throw in there.

[The Ranger]

Shades of X-Men perhaps? In a game we played some organisation or another created the euivalent of a sentinal. This thing was nigh on invulerable to direct quantum attack and we had to drop an asteroid on its head to slow it down. (using warp)

I think the GM was thinking of running a "Night of the sentinals" type storyline but decided againnst it due to collective groaning. That and one of the characters (not the players)was an obsessive comic book collector and started rabbiting on about sentinals almost from the begining. His hunt for a senator called Kelly was funny though.

I was toying with the idea of a future game set in 2060 or so during the Aberrant war. The players would get to play future versions of their existing characters complete with new abberations. I was planning to increase taint to the Trinity level...ie 1quantum = 1 taint. The whole thing would be a few sessions long and run like a dream sequence. Just played with it really, never fleshed it out either. It would not have gone down well as most of the players in our group hate the idea of time travel.

[Jager]

The thing that changes it from the basic time travel jaunt is that there is no getting back. Once you start changing things, its a whole new ballgame. When one of the characters wants to duplicate the feat, remind them that the last guy to do this is now stuck in the time stream. I feel it would be more like being stranded on an alternate earth. I just like the "no way home" feel.

[Kane Knight]

Like the ideas, Jager. TP's governing TP's.

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The Eleventh Wonder of the World.

Hype, Sacrelige, Uniforms...

[Guest]

Doo bee dooo dum, did someone mention Sentinals???? We had fun with that guy, spec when Fuse sold him to a third world dictator. Heeeheeee.

[Guest]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
Has anyone put any thought into a Nova "Carnage" game? An end of the world, novas rushing about fighting other novas scenario? Do that for a few sessions with devastation and a dying earth. Then have a Time Traveling Nova give them the option to go back in time to before things were fated to end up this way. The Time Traveler must remain in the Time Stream to 'anchor' the survivors in the new timeline. Basically, they start out (again) with little but their powers and some basic idea that the world went horribly wrong. Thoughts?

The game I had envisioned had several characters of various backgrounds and allegiances inadveratantly being sent into the Trinity timeline. There they have to learn what happend in the past to make this future and so on. I would play up the differences in attitude toward Novas between their own time and the time in which they find themselves, and how their causes have evolved, changed and influenced the world. At some point in the future, they would be givin the opportunity to return to their own time, maybe to set things right, maybe not. So what do you think?

[The Ranger]

Could go really well. Only thing is that if they are in the Trinity timeline they would have to have some way of disguising their Quantum signitures as half the Psions on Earth can feel a Warp opening in near space, let alone some of the other possible powers.

Here's an option; have the characters cryo-frozen in 2020 and thawed out in 2120. They could be part of some hidden cache of Nova technology and have to deal with a world that has been told they are evil for the last sixty years. It could be interestig if they met up with the Eden Novas and remembered a few of them from 2020 as friends or maybe lovers...

[Jager]

Ranger; always the tricky beast. I like it.

[Guest]

Last night I won my battle with my telepath. I learned it when he went mad saying 'hey, I just runned out of quantum points another time!', so I would share my victory with all of you.

I have started keeping an eye at the timing of the events, to keep the possibility of regain quantum low. If the adventure is fast-paced, PGs has to use wisely their powers.

[Jager]

Nice job, MasMas. Keep hunting them down and using their weaknesses against them. They do fall down and go boom just like everybody else. Sometimes, you have to teach them that lesson.

[Guest]

Recently I was running a game and I was having problems. I was trying to run a game full of mystery and intrigue and one of my players was using his telepathic powers to crack things open too quickly he had bought an extra that allowed him to scan undected so he would just read anyone he came across. I couldn't give super human powers to baselines so I used something one of my players refered to as a Shub mel. It was basicly a string of images that induced brain hemmoraging if viewed. I planted it in the subconcious of a directive agent. After the scan the player had a near death experience and was very wary about scanning to deeply into the minds of potential directive agents (the main foe). Now fear keeps them in line.

[Wizard]

Not to criticize but why are people intent on running mysteries with troupes involving telepathic characters?

And for those that are intent on running such with telepaths in the group:

- Have them run into psis and do not allow them hints to figure out that they are 'just' psi characters. Properly presented, your troupe's telepaths will make a swing into left field trying to figure it out to the accompaniment of the X-Files theme song.

- Orchestrate the mystery through a contact resistant to Psi. No, I don't mean psychic shielded up the wazoo, telepahtic immolates or other such twinkery that wouldn't exist in the world if it weren't for the troupe having a telepath. I mean:

an android constructed by a nova inventor.

a sentient computer program being desperately pursued by ******* 'cuz it knows too much.

another telepath that takes affront at the being scanned by this impudent upstart.

[Jager]

Shrimpus, each scan would have cost 3 Q each. How much did they have?

Now, in a world that has telepathy, all intelligence agencies have to have counte-measures if possible. Now, if your baseline agent gets captured, your screwed. You really can't stop them.

Likewise, bringing in a bunch of outsiders to make sure your minds are secure isn't an option, either.

You could catalog all known telepaths and have your key agents avoid them. You could draft the tepes and keep them out of your way. You could hire some elite to cap said nosey tepe.

Mind you, if they can prove that the tepe has gained some information from a secure government agent by using his powers, they should just arrest his ass for espionage and treason. That's what it is when you access top secret information without the proper security clearance. You get the proof by having him/her or one of their close associates mention it over a recording or passing it on to a third party.

When you go to arrest them, it is my suggestion that you send insufficient force. Make the characters want to break and run. If the Directive takes them into custody, they are infact much harder to kill. Novas don't die from food poisoning, prison riots, or falling down in the bathroom.

If they run, they are much easier to kill, legally even. Just place a bounty on their heads and have them listed as armed and dangerous. Once bounty-hunting novas realize they are up against a tepe, they will just kill him for safeties sake. If asked, they will say he was trying to take over his mind. How can it be proven that this wasn't the case?

I am not actually advocating that you kill your players, just scare them. It sounds like your tepe isn't too careful about what he does. He should be. He is the worst case scenario for anti-tepe lawmakers and he could start some real trouble for mentalist novas everywhere.

[Guest]

A. Level of power has no effect on its quantum cost only its nova point cost at startup

B. The key is fear. Without fear of repercussion why would you bother with telepathy, you could just torture anyone you wanted for information. the interrrogation rules are such that any competant person can crack you like an egg. If there is a possibility that something could go wrong it generates doubt which in turn leads to the question of whether a power should be used casually, and that is the whole point right.

C. The shub mel is planted in the unconscious via a machine

[Stheno]

Erm, Shrimpus, level of power does affect Quantum cost.

A level 1 power costs 1 quantum, a level 2 costs 2 and a level 3 costs 3 to use.

Put an extra on telepathy and it's a level three power.

Jager's right.

As usual.

I've been running a game with ridiculously powerful characters while I was in Italy, and Telepathy was certainly available to the characters.

The game is a mystery.

The telepath in the group still didn't spoil it.

Why ?

Well, you can only use telepathy on a known target (visible or known to you).

And more importantly, the players acted responsibly. Extensive countermeasures weren't necessary, simply because the characters were dubious about the morality of probing people's minds.

After all, if use of telepathy can ever be proven in court it's at the very least a violation of privacy, assault, and in some cases it might be regarded in more or less the same way as rape...or how would you feel if someone read your mind ?

Part of the problem of "problem powers" in my experience, is PCs who act in a completely amoral way, when most people are anything but amoral...

[Kirby1024]

I assume, of course, that with regards to Extras and Quantum expenditure, Reduced Quantum Cost is an exception to the rule? Or else it's just sooo stupid...

[MegaBee]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kirby1024:
I assume, of course, that with regards to Extras and Quantum expenditure, Reduced Quantum Cost is an exception to the rule? Or else it's just sooo stupid...

Right. You halve the quantum cost of the power's level without the Reduced Quantum Cost extra.

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"When all hope is lost, pig-headed refusal to acknowledge reality will always save the day."
--Andy Ihnatko