Question about Dispel - use it on Mental Powers already "played"?

[Wintermute]

So, here's what I was thinking. I'm playing a strong mentalist. At some time, the team i'm with might go up against another mentalist.

Evil Mentalist (EM) plays Mental Illusions on a member of my team. (s)He hits, and the target A doesn't make his breakout roll. He's now under the influence of the Illusion. Illusions are Instant Powers, so as far as EM is concerned, he's done and can move on to other targets.

I realize my teammate is under the influence of some illusion. As a Mentalist, I want to be able to reach into the mind of my teammate, and "turn off" this illusion (this example would work with Mind Control as well.) I could try "screaming" at him with telepathy, but that might not work. I could try to Illusion my own teammate with "reality", but if I don't roll high enough, my illusion wouldn't superceede (sp?) EM's initial illusion. So, the closest power I could think of in FREd is Dispel.

The only way I can think to do this would be have Dispel for Mental Illusions, but then target my teammate, who is under the influence of the Illusion. I'm thinking this would stop the Illusion, and bring my teammate back to "normal."

So, can Dispel work this way? While the intial power is Instant, the effect is a "constant," at least until the player Breaks out. I'm trying to figure out ways, as a mentalist, to help them...

Thanks (and i hope this is in the right forum!)

[Steve Long]

Generally speaking, you shouldn't use Dispel to remove an existing Mental Illusion, Mind Control, etc., any more than you should use it to Dispel an existing Entangle or Dispel the damage from an Energy Blast. A better bet is to use the rules for competing Mental Powers on 5E 80.

But of course, the GM should apply some common and dramatic sense in evaluating the situation. If the mentalist is paying END to maintain the effect, perhaps a Dispel would work. If the mentalist has just issued a change order, maybe a Dispel used within a Segment or two of that would work. And so on.

Definite fodder for my The Ultimate Mentalist notes file. ;)