Mental Damage

[Aroooo]

I need some second opinions. For my B5 writeups, I'm trying to figure out a way, either as a power advantage or maybe a linked power, to simulate deep scans causing pain from prolonged exposure to the scan or from probing too far.

I'm currently leaning to just calling it special effect and leave it at that, but there have been cases where subjects have died from deep scans. (Okay, they were NPCs :))

So, anyone care to share opinions?

Thanks,
Aroooo

[championsguru]

I'd go with it as part of the special effect with it doing probably a third of the Telepathy damage classes in Ego Attack that Does BODY. Since this also seems to cause pain to even the more powerful psi's I'd not have Mental Defense be effective against it.

Bester is so coool.

Champions Guru

[Syberdwarf2]

How about a trumped up telepathy, receive only, linked to a 1d6 RKA with an increased STUN multiplier?

[Tom McCarthy]

Depending on the level of mental defence in the campaign, Does BODY (with GM's permission) might do the job. Alternatively, a side effect or link on the highest dice that the target is hit with a small NND RKA BOECV Does BODY might also be the way to go.

[JmOz]

I would say a link to the higher dice, (anyone over TP 8d6 must double link a Ego Attack does body with the dice over it at a rate of 1d6 per 1d6)

[Talon]

If it's a property of the campaign world (i.e., all deep scans cause it), I'd write it up as an external effect -- the character doesn't pay or receive points for it. Since it has bad (you can hurt or kill someone) and good (you can hurt or kill someone) effects, that seems fair.

The writeup could also include means for bypassing it (don't know B5 well enough to know if skilled and/or powerful mentalists can get past this side effect).

[Gary]

Just have a campaign rule that all telepaths must buy a -1/2 Side Effects limitation. That's enough for 1.5D6 ego blast does body. And Side Effects don't allow mental defense to protect.

[Aroooo]

Originally posted by Gary
Just have a campaign rule that all telepaths must buy a -1/2 Side Effects limitation. That's enough for 1.5D6 ego blast does body. And Side Effects don't allow mental defense to protect.

I thought about making it a Side Effect, but those are usually applied to the caster of the power, not the recipient, correct? So, I thought it would be against the rules to have a Side Effect on Deep Scans, causes x damage to target if y effect is achieved. Which is how I originally wanted to do it till I re-read the Side Effect limitation. I've also thought about using Damage Shield on Deep Scans if y effect is achieved, but haven't played with DS's in 5th ed. yet.

Aroooo

[Aroooo]

Originally posted by Geoff Speare
If it's a property of the campaign world (i.e., all deep scans cause it), I'd write it up as an external effect -- the character doesn't pay or receive points for it. Since it has bad (you can hurt or kill someone) and good (you can hurt or kill someone) effects, that seems fair.

The writeup could also include means for bypassing it (don't know B5 well enough to know if skilled and/or powerful mentalists can get past this side effect).

So far I like this reasoning the best. Keeps is simple, and the costs down. Have to think this out further and post more soon.

Aroooo

[Xandarr]

Originally posted by Geoff Speare
If it's a property of the campaign world (i.e., all deep scans cause it), I'd write it up as an external effect -- the character doesn't pay or receive points for it. Since it has bad (you can hurt or kill someone) and good (you can hurt or kill someone) effects, that seems fair.

I don't agree with this logic. The argument that any power which is able to do damage to someone shouldn't cost anything, because "damage" is both good and bad doesn't wash in the HERO system. Otherwise EB and RKA would be free powers. I realize this is taking the argument to an extreme, but it is a valid point.

I also don't agree with using the Side Effect limitation as suggested, because the Side Effect wouldn't affect the user of the power, it would affect the target. My opinion is that this should be built similar to how JmOz suggested: link an EB Based on ECV to the Telepathy and make it propotional to the amount of dice in telepathy. Maybe something like this:

Deep Scan: 8d6 Telepathy PLUS 4d6 EB, Based on ECV (+1), Proportional effect (each step on the Telepathy Effect Chart does 1d6 damage; -¼); Linked to Telepathy (-½). Active points = 40+40, Real Cost = 40+ 23.

If other telepaths cannot resist the effect of the EB, you may want to consider using a variant that has the EB as an NND which does Body. Don't know what the defense would be since I don't watch the show.

Just my (deep) thoughts,
Steve

[Dr.Device]

How about coming at this from the opposite direction?

Instead of messing with the Telepathy power, give all characters a mandatory (0 pt.) susceptibility to Telepathy at more than
the +0 level of effect. Since you don't get your defenses against susceptibilities, Telepaths are vulnerable, too, if they are
allowing themselves to be scanned. If they are resisting, their ego defense protects them only as long as it keeps the other
telepath out of their mind.

You can tune the susceptibility to meet the exact needs of the campaign, but I would suggest 1d6 for each +10 effect.

Further, you would also need to decide if some characters could be allowed to buy off the susceptibility.

[Ndreare]

I believe DR Devise has the rite idea make it a fact of the world don't make the players waste all their points on FX like these.


P.S.: An EB AVLD (MD) Does Bod linked to telepathy would do all these things any way. So for every three dice of mind scan they take 1die of Energy blast. and allow MD to resist but remember few people should ever have an ego over 20 ie a MD over 4.