Resistance is futile...

[Immortaldreamer]

It's a "how would you" post.

 

Basically, I'm writing up a species that has a Borg-like collective consciousness. The net effects I'm looking for are:

 

A) Members of this species can all communicate telepathically at any time, over a planet's distance. Mind Link gets me closest here, except it's hellishly expensive, given the number of minds involved, plus you need LOS to establish, and that isn't the case here...the link simply is there as long as they're alive.

 

Information can be shared freely among the collective. So if someone needed to know "Who's the President of the U.S. in 1841", as long as even one of them knew the answer, the question could be transmitted to the collective and the answer received.

 

Any ideas on this? I can do it with Mind Link, and a VPP for Knowledge skills, but I'm wondering if that's the best way.

[GamePhil]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

Mind Link is certainly the way to go, but instead of buying it for the entire race, consider buying it for some large number of nearby members. These others will also be linked with another group, and so on, until the entire race is covered. You could also take No LOS Needed, because you can re-establish it any time. Instead, you could take it Inherent and Always On (you can't change who one character is Linked with after buying the Power), and it can't be Dispelled. Either way, take the Limitation for Only With Others With Mind Link.

 

For the Knowledge, you could either just assume that you'll eventually get an answer from someone else in the Collective, or buy KS: Everything The Collective Knows to a high roll (also possible similar Sciences, Area Knowledges, and so on). Or, of course, you could figure out all the Skills needed or go with the VPP, if you prefer.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

The Mind Link really isn't expensive.

 

In the 4th Ed Ultimate Mentalist there's a rule stating that Mind Links are an open circut. Meaning if you are Mind Linked to someone who is already Mind Linked to a third person, you too are then Mind Linked to the 3rd person as well. The number of minds you can link to (that you pay for) is how many links you can personally establish. You are allowed to link to unlimited people as long as someone else is doing the linking.

 

So even with, say, 2 billion people, if each one can link to any other, then you just need a chain links to get everyone linked. Perhaps a central brain that can link to many at no LOS to catch strays if a link in the Mind Link Chain is broken.

 

Since the Borg arn't really up on support the individual, you could always just make that entral brain (possibly written up as a computer) that has all the KS, PS and SS skills of the collective, which it can use to spit information to its drones when necessary.

 

Alternately, you can write each drone up with Repository Of Borg Knowledge: KS: Accumulated Informatio of the Bord Collective 18-, Linked to Mind Link (-1/4), which would cost about 7 points.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

I'd give each member a simple Mind Link with a single central collective. The central collective can be written up separately (or treated as a plot device).

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

I'm not sure you need to worry about LOS at all. Every time one of these guys is born (hatched, created, transformed), won't there be at least one other one right there, within LOS, to get the link started? Then you just leave it on for the rest of its life.

[Zeropoint]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

Originally, the Borg were/was conceived as a distributed consciousness, a single mind inhabiting myriad bodies. I'm thinking that some kind of huge duplication would be the way to go here.

 

Of course, the original concept was, I suppose, too difficult for the folks at Paramount to grasp, and they were changed into an insect-style hive with a queen who controls the whole collective and recieves information from each drone.

 

Remember this: in the original concept, there is only one Borg. The drones are no more separate individuals than your neurons are.

 

Okay, I'm ranting about an interesting concept being dumbed down, so I'll stop now.

 

Zeropoint

[Eodin]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

My 2 cents --- Use either Mind Link or HRRP for the mass telepathy, but my preference for what you're asking would be Mind Link. A x8 level should be more than sufficient to guarantee at least one 'line' is open. You might also give them a low power Mind Scan usable only if/when a connection is lost (like the cellphones trying to find the closest tower).

 

Mind Link assumes anywhere on the planet, so unless you want them to communicate anywhere in the universe, you don't need the Anywhere adder.

 

And I agree with the others about the all knowledge - buy it as KS: Knowledge of Everything 25- (16 Active Points), Only Usable When Mind Linked (-1/4). Cost 9 points. If you want everyone to have access to the same non-background skills as well -- Electronics, Mechanics, Weaponsmith, etc. -- then I would go with a VPP for skills only, and I would enforce a max on the skills at about 16- to 18-, and again make it dependent on the Mind Link being active. You've got to be very careful with this VPP, and not let it replace other learned skills the telepath possesses through experience of life.

[Magmarock]

Re: Resistance is futile...

 

I just scanned everyone's responses, and I can't believe that Transform wasn't mentioned. When a being is assimilated, they are Transformed in a way into what everyone else is.

 

So a cumulative Transform to Hivemind would do it. Once the Transform is complete, the being will now have the Mindlink, with the Always On Limitation and whatever else the GM deems necessary.

 

Mags