Aberrant RPG Mega-Attribute Enhancement: Acumen</strong> (Mega-Wits)

[Matt]

Aberrant RPG Mega-Attribute Enhancement: Acumen (Mega-Wits)
Humans - and therefore most novas - are dependent on a wide variety of environmental factors in order to function at their best. As with their physical and social requirements, people also have intellectual needs that must be met in order to avoid mental stagnation and prevent the eventual degradation of their healthy brain functions. Even worse, their minds often are prevented from developing to their full potential in the first place due to harmful influences in their intellectual environments. Mega-Witty novas with this enhancement can shrug off those problems with ease, as their evolved intellects can function just fine without adequate intellectual stimulation and will develop properly in even the most hostile intellectual environments. While this can cause social conflicts with people and cultures of an anti-intellectual bent, such is only to be expected and planned for in advance.

System: The nova can sustain himself intellectually for an indefinite period on residual quantum energies. So long as he still has at least 1 quantum point in quantum pool, the nova will have no need for sources of intellectual stimulation to keep his mind active and fully capable, but will still enjoy and desire such. For purposes of this enhancement, sources of "intellectual stimulation" include having intelligent discussions with other people near the nova's intellectual plateau, all forms of thought-provoking entertainment and exposure to the arts. The nova will still require a knowledge base to work from, but that won't be any great problem if the nova also has a Mega-Intelligence rating and suitable enhancements.

The nova is also able to operate and develop at his full intellectual capacity in the most hostile of intellectual environments. For purposes of this enhancement, "hostile intellectual environments" contain some or all of the following harmful influences: anti-intellectual social norms, prevention of full access to instruction, dishonesty and disinformation by the instructor, the instructor's refusal to explore controversial topics which are germane through intelligent and measured discussion, any irrelevant distractions and all harmful social influences intended to prevent the nova from making full use of and improving his own critical thinking and complex reasoning. (This covers all forms of harassment and abusive speech.)

The nova is automatically immune to undesirable (distracting, harmful, subversive, virulent, self-destructive, etc.) memes* of all sorts, hysterical reactions, cognitive distortion, all forms of cognitive bias**, mundane detrimental biofeedback effects and gaslighting***. The nova also gains 6 Willpower or Attribute successes against Inspired effects which cause detrimental biofeedback effects or reduce the character's Intelligence and/or Wits ratings and those of the corresponding Mega-Attributes. The nova can automatically recognize cognitive dissonance - when two cognitions, or a cognition and a behavior, are in contradiction - within his own thought processes and correct for it as he pleases. Finally, the nova can detect and identify any and all memes he encounters as an automatic action.

Acumen is an automatic enhancement and requires no quantum point expenditure.

*Meme: a concept, behavior or style that spreads through sapient minds via their communications, much like diseases spread among living organisms.
**Cognitive Bias: a form of distortion in judgment resulting in false deductions about a given subject.
**Gaslighting: a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his own memory and perceptions.

 

This is a part of the Aberrant RPG book Aberrant: Nexus. Aberrant is a role playing game that shares a common universe with the Adventure! RPG and Trinity RPG game lines. Download the sourcebook for Aberrant: Nexus.