Telepathy

[hammersickle59]

I asked Steve Long:

 

If a character declares he is going for "memories" on Telepathy and succeeds, can he also send and receive surface thoughts (which is two categories easier)? Another words, does a character have access to all the categories below him on the telepathy chart?

 

His response:

Absolutely

 

I think I should have been more specific with my question, so I'll open this for discussion.

 

For example: your reading a targets subconcious, you get one piece of information per phase. The target has an important surface thought (the character hasnt even mentioned that he wants to hear surface thoughts). How can he hear the surface thoughts and subconcious (or memories, or deep hidden etc...) at the same time if he can only have one piece of info per phase? Maybe steve meant that you can easily switch to a lower category if your already deep? Maybe I should make a follow up question.

 

Also, I think it sort of makes sense that you cant do more than one category at a time. Your in a certain part of the mind/brain that has memories not surface thoughts etc...

[ghost-angel]

Re: Telepathy

 

I treat it you have access to all levels below the level you targeting, assuming you achieved that level. You can switch which level you are accessing as a 0-Phase Action, or at the GMs discretion you gain what he needs/wants you to have, or anything that the GM deems appropriate.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Telepathy

 

I imagine telepathy is a bit like being given access to a filing cabinet full of information. Each level you acheive allows you to open one more drawer.

 

If you are looking for something specific, you can go straight to that drawer, straight to the folder you need, and open it up and read it - quick and easy - but it doesn't mean you see everything else in the cabinet.

 

You can read anything in the drawers you can open, but, like a real filing cabinet, it takes time to ready through for general information. If there are files in other drawers with similar labels to the one you are looking for then they are quick to find too.

 

So, when someone uses telepathy, I ask them what they want to know, and tell them the answer if they get the right level of effect. I don't tell them what the guy is thinking about generally unless they ask that specifically.

 

A mind holds a lot of information. Telepathy doesn't just let you know everything the target knows instantly. it is much more controlled and balanced if you use it as an unresisted interrogation.

[dstarfire]

Re: Telepathy

 

I'd say that if the character's foolish enough to only grab what they think they want, without rummaging around for other useful/relevant info, that's their mistake. Though, I would give them at least a chance to correct that mistake the first time (are you sure you want to go straight for that information?).

 

Of course, that can lead to other fun stuff like making your players worry what evil traps/wrong leads/dangerous secrets the gm might have waiting in that persons mind.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Telepathy

 

You have to remember that telepathy is a sense like any other, and unless you buy the 'rapid' adder from enhanced senses (if your GM lets you) for it, then you can't read memories any quicker than the original owner: it can take a person anywhere from a fraction of a second to several minutes (or in my case days) to recall something with any accuracy. Indeed 'accuracy' with memories is always a moot point: two people viewing the same scene will rememebr different things, perhaps contradictory things because all memories pass through an individual's perception filters. Moreover memories that are often reviewed by the owner can change over time as they overwrite the bits that, for some reason, don't seem to fit.

 

This is well worth remembering as a GM: just because the telepathy succeeds, doesn't mean that the information obtained is necessarily completely accurate. Human minds don't store everything. If someone is recalling the scene at the bank during that robbery they simply might not have 'recorded' the colour of the hostage's shirt - it is not simply a matter of 'digging deeper' (although a skilled telepath CAN access memories that even the owner can't consciously recall, it still doesn't mean the owner remembers everything that has happened to them).