I'm Turnin' to Stone

[Dust Raven]

Gotta bit of a thought to toss out to the wolves...

When you use a Transform to turn a targe to stone (or any other inanimate substance or object), does the target retain awareness of its surroundings, capacity for thought and other aspects of the mind, and can that mind be contacted with Mental Powers or contact other minds with Mental Powers? It occurs to me that just turning someone to stone (a purely physical transformation) won't change anything about the mind, but would it still allow to block that mind from the world around it?

[ghost-angel]

I think the perception of a person transformed depends on what they are transformed to.

A living thing: yes, whatever senses said thing has.
A non-living thing: no, statues can not see.

To continue with the statue transform, you still retain your mind and soul... So I would imagine that anythone with Mental powers would be able to contact the mind trapped in the statue (which I would imagine be a lot like a sensory deprivation chamber) and communicate with it.

On the other hand, perhaps the mind and soul go into some kind of stasis and have no perception of anything inward or otherwise. In that case, I'm not sure if anything would be able to interact with the trapped mind.

Perhaps it's a bit of both...

Either way, I would assume that anything transformed into a Statue cannot see/hear/speak/smell/taste or feel anything unless the Transform left any of the tactile senses in place.. "Transform into Status With Eyes" for example.

In fact.. if you did a Transform to Statue with Eyes and the mind could perceive you could conceivably use said statue to see through with Mind Link... ooh, spies. the villains castle is lined with statues in every hall that the villain uses to spy on anyone in his domain with.

[prestidigitator]

Eh. I think if you Transform someone into something completely non-functional, it is really a toss up as to whether they still, "retain their mind and soul." They very well may not, at least for the time being. They just haven't been Transformed into anything useful to the attacker either. What really matters is that once the Transform is reversed (however that is defined as happening), the person is alive and well again (er, provided no one has decided to chip off his/her arm). So I think it is completely up to the GM (and/or the player who defined the Transform, depending on how much the GM allows the player to define). It may even vary between different Special Effects or concepts.

[schir1964]

Gotta bit of a thought to toss out to the wolves...

When you use a Transform to turn a targe to stone (or any other inanimate substance or object), does the target retain awareness of its surroundings, capacity for thought and other aspects of the mind, and can that mind be contacted with Mental Powers or contact other minds with Mental Powers? It occurs to me that just turning someone to stone (a purely physical transformation) won't change anything about the mind, but would it still allow to block that mind from the world around it?

Strictly depends on the SFX of the power.

- Christopher Mullins

[Guyon]

I would think of them in stasis. Since there brain is solid stone, they can't really think. But the stone does not destroy there spirit, so they are not dead.

My opinion is they can not do ANYTHING while turned to stone, but if reverted back to flesh they should be dazed for a moment and not know what went on while they were stone.

[Supreme Serpent]

Concept/SFX. Decide when you make the power.

If it's bought as a non-Transform power, like a massive Entangle, then the victim would absolutely still be conscious/aware, unless other steps (continuous NND, entangle blocks XYZ senses, etc) were taken.

[Blue]

I think it's generally the GM's call because there's such a wide range of things you can be changed into.

"I change the prince into a Toad". GM could argue that you need the "Animal" class of minds before you could telepathically communicate with him.

"With a touch I turn her to gold!" I'd argue that if she's gold thorugh-and-through then she can't be communicated with and wouldn't remember anything that happened during that time of transformation, but in an appropriate game I'd rule the other way. (Like if it was important for the heroes to hear about the villain's vain boasting to his statues about his dastardly plan).

[Guyon]

Oh yes I agree with Blue.

I took it literally as turn to REAL stone. A toad would have consciouses :-)

[Sean Waters]

...cos you ain't comin' home...

Hmm, who will be the voice of dissent...Howdy y'all.

Transform can work in three ways: physical, mental and spiritual. Each element has to be defined when the power is built: a physical transform can not mentally transform a target, or spiritually transform it.

If you physically transform a target into a stone statue, I can see no good reason it shuold have any of its physical senses: statues don't, but the mind should still work, including any mental powers (and vulnerability to mental powers) that don't have a physical component (like requires eye contact), and the spirit should still reside there.

If that makes no real sense, and let's face it, were talking about turning someone to stone, so there are no real guidelines to apply here, then you need to build the power differently. It probably makes more sense to have the target in some sort of stasis, so I'd argue that the power should be built as a physical AND mental transform AND, quite possibly, a spiritual one too.

While we a re on the subject, sometimes it might be useful to be turned to stone: the room is about to be flooded with flesh eating acid: stone will give you life support and immunity to flesh eating acid, so when is a transform something thatgives you powers, i.e. when is it something you need a higher effecct than 2xBODY to complete? The answer to thatone probably involves the words 'judgement call', but can anyone thing of any broad guidlines that might be useful?

[Badger]

The first thing i thought of was Han Solo in carbonite. I know his body didnt turn to stone. But just curious was his mind in stasis? I think it was but, I am know good in interpreting a coherent plotline out of Lucas so I am unsure.


Also if the mind still works in the statue that the character's body has been turned into. Wouldnt it be likely that the mind of the character would run the risk of eventually going a bit mad?

[Dust Raven]

...cos you ain't comin' home...

...If I'm turning to stone... You've been gone for so long... And I can't carry on... Yes I'm turning,I'm turning, I'm turning to stone

Hmm, who will be the voice of dissent...Howdy y'all.

Transform can work in three ways: physical, mental and spiritual. Each element has to be defined when the power is built: a physical transform can not mentally transform a target, or spiritually transform it.

If you physically transform a target into a stone statue, I can see no good reason it shuold have any of its physical senses: statues don't, but the mind should still work, including any mental powers (and vulnerability to mental powers) that don't have a physical component (like requires eye contact), and the spirit should still reside there.

If that makes no real sense, and let's face it, were talking about turning someone to stone, so there are no real guidelines to apply here, then you need to build the power differently. It probably makes more sense to have the target in some sort of stasis, so I'd argue that the power should be built as a physical AND mental transform AND, quite possibly, a spiritual one too.

While we a re on the subject, sometimes it might be useful to be turned to stone: the room is about to be flooded with flesh eating acid: stone will give you life support and immunity to flesh eating acid, so when is a transform something thatgives you powers, i.e. when is it something you need a higher effecct than 2xBODY to complete? The answer to thatone probably involves the words 'judgement call', but can anyone thing of any broad guidlines that might be useful?

Good points. But if being turned to stone doesn't actually alter the mind at all, but just keeps that mind from interacting with the world around the character's body (which is now stone), would that still count as a Mental Transform, or just a Physical Transform that shuts the brain off?

[prestidigitator]

I think I would probably just deal with it as a GM when it came up. Would I allow them to use Mental Powers? Maybe, but I might give them a limited time to do it, seeing as they will probably lose all sense of reality in little time. Would I allow them to, "remember," the time that elapsed? Maybe, but who without Absolute Time Sense would really be able to judge the time without any senses or any biological queues to go by?

I'm willing to bet my interpretation would change based upon whether it was a Superherioc game or a Heroic one, and upon the general, "reality level," as well. I wouldn't think it unheard of for a superhero to call in the help mentally if turned into stone, but a fantasy wizard? Probably not, unless (s)he had set up magical contingencies.

[ghost-angel]

I'm leaning heavily towards the "Depends on the game you're in" direction for the full and exact effects of a Transform: To Stone power/spell.

This is one of those where the SFX really seems to matter, as well as the game setting you're in.

[Foxx!]

Dust Raven!

Basically, I think it's player/GM call because you decide that effect when you buy the power. But how about a Limitation "target's mind is still free"?

Cheers!

[Dust Raven]

Dust Raven!

Foxx!! (I needed two !s)

Why are we yelling at each other?


Anyways, I think my question is answered. For once the vague and mysterious "it depends/varies" squarely answers my question. A normal Transform may shut down/out the mental faculties without actually causing a change in them, but it doesn't have to (which is the duh part ).