what to do with a psychic gorilla

[Highwayman]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

For a twist on the conqueror ape idea' date=' here's a thought: the local villagers nearest to wherever he is ask him to protect them from the incoming army of [insert local strongman here'].

 

This leads to that, and before you know it, Psi-Ape is ruler of an African nation. . . more or less because the people asked him to.

 

Additional element: perhaps some quantity of locals worship him as a deity.

 

That would also fit in with an ape utopia plan. After all, it would never be safe while central Africa is politically unsable. The obvious solution is to conquer the humans and impose some peace and order.

[Intrope]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

some intertwined ideas:

 

His powers could grow, in that he can apply them to large numbers of other gorillas at once. So, he can see and hear from any of them, and psychically attack from any of them. This makes him rather tough to defeat.

 

He could also be revealed to not be an ape at all, but rather a psychic entity that was trapped (as a mistake during the experiments) into an ape's body. As he slowly becomes aware of this, he becomes capable of freely body-hopping into any ape (similar in effect to the above). What he actually is, and what he'll do once he becomes aware of it is anyone's guess. Moreover, he may find that the experiment actually damaged him in some way so he *must* be in an ape body rather than a free-floating psychic thingy.

 

He could also become an ape-borg thing: all the apes combine their (individually-limited) minds, become smart but not independent. These ape-borg then seek to take over (or build a safe haven).

[radioKAOS]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

The Gorilla's name isn't Ishmael is it? Quinn's books are a must read.

 

Anyhow, Ishmael sincerely wants to help the world, he's a psychic Gorilla. But he believes that mankind has basically fallen off the deep end and needs to return to it's more tribal roots.

 

Fits right in with what others have been saying...

[OddHat]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

I skipped over the Dr. Silverback section in that book because I have a prejudice against talking monkeys' date=' "simian rights", super-pets, and other "Silver Age silliness" (to use someone else's phrase).[/quote']

 

So many Champions gamers go on about how much they love "Silver-Age" campaigns, yet as soon as you give them talking monkeys, silly power limits, infinitely powerful and completely harmless "villains", Supers that can build a new Earth in seven minutes, and other Silver Age standards, they start complaining.

 

Interesting, neh?

 

Anyway, if you want to go the Telepathic Gorilla route in a "realistic" game, I'd use the real research we have on chimps and gorillas raised with humans and taught sign language as a jumping off point. Forget any concept of right and wrong in cultural terms, but compassion and empathy remain, as do jealousy, lust, greed, and rage. Existential angst is too abstract a trait, and so is the desire to liberate ape-kind. Loneliness and the desire to mate, as well as the desire to gain status are part of the animal mind-set. Real-world gorillas and chimps may develop crushes on humans that work with them, and they can also learn to hate humans whom they see as abusive to them and to those with whom they have bonded. Adding true human-level intelligence to the mix does not add a lifetime of education and other cultural conditioning.

 

Maybe your Super Gorilla, out of loneliness and curiosity, turns himself in to government scientists. He might easilly form an emotional bond with a sympathetic researcher, possibly a female PC or DNPC. Let his psionic powers prove key to stopping a menace or two, perhaps rescuing a trapped PC from the dream-lands or communicating with a coma victim who holds key information. Let his relationship with his female keeper be used to induce him to act on the part of the humans. Introduce a researcher with very low empathy, someone who treats the Super Gorilla and his keeper with contempt. With the SG's semi-heroic status established, the heroes learn that he has killed the unsympathetic researcher and made his escape. The PC or DNPC researcher prompts the PCs to pursue him. They find that while fleeing, his powers have increased. The SG kills a minor super-thug, a few gang members, and finally some police officers trying to capture him. The body-count keeps growing, and so do the powers of the SG. Then, he kidnaps the sympathetic researcher, his potential mate, and heads for a tall building.

 

Kong meets Coco.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

The Gorilla's name isn't Ishmael is it?

 

The scientists named him "Bongo". When he rebelled, he gave himself the name "Ganyeka", which means "excel" or "surpass" in Zulu.

[Agent 13]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

As a Frankensteinian character in that "tampered in God's domain" sort of way, you could have him take a cue from the Monster and head to the Arctic in a quest for peace and solitude. He could end up forming an enclave of outcasts up there, possibly using twists on those Silver Age tropes you dislike. And won't the heroes be surprised when they find out just what the Abominable Snowman that's started scaring the Inuits is?

[McCoy]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

How would you feel if you were exiled to a colony of people who were so severely mentally impaired (comparatively speaking) that even communicating basic concepts to them was a chore' date=' much less having a decent conversation? [/quote']

Like I was back in High School, why do you ask?

 

Maybe he should get on the web. "On the internet nobody knows you're a gorilla."

[Hermit]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

Like I was back in High School, why do you ask?

 

I believe I must rep you now

[Mutant for Hire]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

*sings*

 

What do you do with a psychic gorilla?

What do you do with a psychic gorilla?

What do you do with a psychic gorilla?

Early in the morning?

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

As a Frankensteinian character in that "tampered in God's domain" sort of way' date=' you could have him take a cue from the Monster and head to the Arctic in a quest for peace and solitude. He could end up forming an enclave of outcasts up there, possibly using twists on those Silver Age tropes you dislike.[/quote']

 

That's a neat idea. I'll have to keep that in mind for a future plotline.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: what to do with a psychic gorilla

 

I have started a thread concerning the story arc featuring Ganyeka (the lowland gorilla formerly known as "Bongo"), the Idea Men, the De-Evolutionaries, and the cyborg artist-villain "Nuvo".

 

Here it is:

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36915