Psionic Aphasia: The Tower of Babel

[daeudi_454]

Okay, Granted this would only be effective against a team, but it would work nicely.
It also has the added bonus of making that annoying self-important Richards, I mean megavillain finally shut up.

Aphasia: Drain Language Skill 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points), any Communication power one at a time (+1/4), Ranged (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense applies; +1) (55 Active Points)

Tower of Babel: Drain Language Skill 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points), any Communication power one at a time (+1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (12" Radius; +1 1/2) (60 Active Points)

You only need one succesful to-hit roll to completely wipe out any ability to communicate meaningfully.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Er...not really. What if the targets know more than one language?

[Dust Raven]

Use the +2 All Communications Powers Simo and you won't have the problem Dr. A points out.


One other thing though. Anyone with Mind Link or Telepathy can still communicate freely (well, kinda), as neither of those are dependant upon language. Also, Universal Translator will completely circumvent the tiny Drain unless large enough to Drain that as well.


Really cool idea though!

[Kristopher]

Not sure I care for the idea of Adjustment Powers affecting Skills.

[Killer Shrike]

If the ability to understand / speak any language poorly costs 20 character points, then it should cost at least 40 points to prevent a person from understanding language, and go up from there if an Area or multiple people are affected. 60 for 1 area or Autofire x5, 80 for a Radius or Cone, etc.....and thats an at least.

[daeudi_454]

Actually, if you use the +2 affects all communication powers simultaneously, it would affect telepathy, mind link, and Universal Translator... Take more hits or more dice, but still

Sorry Kristopher, that's part of the system. Besides, it is about the only way to do certain things. Like the Mind Bleeders from Rifts Africa.

[prestidigitator]

I don't really like Drains on Skills, as they are way to cheap for their effect. I'd rather handle it through Change Environment or Negative Skill Levels (you could simply make a Negative Skill Level decrease the level of fluency of an affected target by one).

Or how about Flashing (or using Darkness for) the voice, "Sense," as listed in the section on senses? Targets could still hear, but not communicate vocally. To include other forms of active communition, add the, "voice," senses of other Sense Groups such as Radio and Mental.

You could also probably use Change Environment, Images, or Mental Illusions to change/overwhelm the communications to/from anyone affected (hit by the Mental Illusions or inside the area of the other Powers). Change Environment could be particularly appropriate, forcing anyone to make an Int or Per roll to understand any particular message.

Of course, you are probably going to have a difficult time justifying the denial of Sign Language use unless the power really does, "work against the speach areas of the brain," or somesuch SFX.

[ghost-angel]

On the first one the first Mentalist you come across with any decent Mental Defenses will be unaffected and smack you into oblivion.

On the second I didn't see a BOECV, so Power Defense will stop that one...

It's an interesting trick, but as others have pointed out Drain on Skills is cheap.

Presdigitator has some really good ideas that could better achieve the effect.

[austenandrews]

I would only allow Drain v.s. a Skills if the Skill was bought as a Power.

[Dust Raven]

I know!

Change Enviornment -20 to PER Rolls, only affect the perception of spoken and written language (and possibly sign language, but I think a shrug and a sigh and smile are pretty much universal, so not included in the description).

The idea is not to make everyone not have a language, or all have completely different languages, but to make each person not understand anyone else who is trying to communicate through language.

[daeudi_454]

The biggest point of thhe power is to unnerve the enemy.
Anyone remember the last episode of Farscape, season 2?

it's more about the psychology of the attack.

regarding drains on skills being too cheap... so what? the cost of the skill is part of the game balance. Mental awareness is only 3 points, and can be drained for 1d6 set effect, and no one seems to have an issue with that. A psionic (yes I missed the BoECV for one of those) or especially a neurokinetic or mind bleeder or scanner should be able to this that cheap-
I consider something like this, especially if it is just one skill at a time, and the return rate is not bought up, to be the mentalist equivalent of a cantrip.

[Lollygagger]

Could you do this as Darkness vs. Hearing with a really funky special effect?

[daeudi_454]

you could, but the value for the Limitation: "Only to make speech unintelligible" would be so arbitrary as to overcomplicate the matter.

[Lollygagger]

you could, but the value for the Limitation: "Only to make speech unintelligible" would be so arbitrary as to overcomplicate the matter.

Why would you need a limitation at all? Its a special effects issue, isn't it?

[daeudi_454]

No- because I only want to affect speech, not the cocking of a gun, or the sound of a twig snapping underfoot.

[Lollygagger]

No- because I only want to affect speech, not the cocking of a gun, or the sound of a twig snapping underfoot.


Okay, so the only thing the darkness messes with is voices, and even then all it does it make them unintelligible rather than silent. -1/4.