How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

[Cinniuint]

Am working on a character with numerous personalities. This is based out of several sources, the most familiar to this audience being Legion from the X-Men and a character that I vaguely remember from an issue of Doom Patrol about the same time many years ago. The notion is much like Legion, The characters parents were assassinated in front of him when he was five by a Rogue like assassin, then the kid turns the tables and the assassin ends up in the kid, along with the kids parents. The kids personalities mostly derive from the shock of the event and either have flight of fight mentalities and powers. But some personalities derive from the kids fantasies, or from the assassin and the kids parents. Am trying for at least 50 and maybe many more personalities.

 

Obviously the basis is multiform.

 

Some of the personalities abilities are also based on the MPD, such as telepathy usable only on self, Summon to summon alternate personalities, and an astral projection usable while not dominant personality, only while dominant personality sleeps. Problem with that last power: Does the appropriate personality pay for it, with the advantage cost, or do each of the other personalities pay for it, since it is potentially usable only when the multiform is turned to them? And what is the value of the advantage?

 

So: I am wanting two things out of this thread

 

Ideas for personalities

and

Rules discussion for some of the more problematic abilities

Ok, three, I also want some more problematic abilites (Those are the fun ones, after all)

 

The character was five when his mind was fractured, most of the personalities are immature (about 8-10), relatively unskilled, male, and seldom seen.

 

The primary is mature a bit beyond his real age of about 14-15.

He might have inherited head of state from his parents, depending on campaign he lands in.

 

A few of the personalities have some maturity due to coming out more often than the rest or due to having derived from the personality of the assassin or one of the parents.

 

A few of the personalities are female, including all those derived from the characters mother.

 

I need a name, so the character shall be called Janus, both because Janus' two faces imply the MPD and because He is the god of Portals and the primary personality is a teleporter, mostly working with teleport gates.

 

This post has gotten long, so I'll sign off.

[Greywind]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

Different character sheets...

[Cinniuint]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

Yes, a binder full. Someone else was talking about almost the same character on the boards back in '03, but decided to just do a VPP, NCC possibly as multiforms only. I want recurring personalities, some with strong ties to the world, so I need character sheets for each one, and a very complex chart for determining who shows up under what circumstances. I think each character will have circumstances likely to cause them to submerge, and most will have to make an EGO roll at intervals determined separately for each personality to remain dominant. When a personality submerges, the circumstances determine which chart I roll on to determine who emerges next. Obviously some characters will want to come out in a combat situation, some won't. Tables will be weighted to allow appropriate characters to appear more often than inappropriate ones, weakening somewhat the NCC disad. But inappropriate characters will sometimes have to come out and either deal with what they find or waste time submerging again.

 

One personality has the ability to summon any one of the other personalities, who will at least initially, be slavishly devoted. Role play may change that. My problem with that power is: does the summoned personality have its own body, or does it possess the body of the summoner? You could argue it either way, perhaps with a disad for the possesion version, but I favor the separate body version, because it is funnier.

[Badger]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

A headache to play.

 

 

In any case, I'd try to keep it 2 or 3 personalities if it was me. Otherwise, I'd be the insane one.

[Black Ops]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

And a Headache to pay for if you intend it as a PC.

[Cinniuint]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

As changes will be not more than one or two a game session (I hope), not so much of a headache to play, albeit a headache to remember individual personalities and who did what. Am used to keeping character diaries from playing Amber, however.

 

Not really a headache to pay for, but a headache to design. 64 300 point forms is only 90 active points, and with the no conscious control, that gets reduced to 45 or less, depending on other limitations and GM.

 

Base personality stats: Str 10, Dex 18, Con 15, Body 10, Int 18, Ego 13, Pre 15, Com 14, PD 3, ED 4, SPD 3, REC 6, END 30, STUN

 

The stats are intentionally weak, as the character is young, and built on the notion of a normal plus powers. If the personalities ever become reintegrated, the character will probably have a cosmic power pool. As is the character is a formidable teleporter. If the head-of-state option gets used, imagine the job of the body guards of a willful teleporting child.

 

Sample personality: Ego +10 (23)

 

Powers:

Telepathy 15d6 reduced END usable only on alternate personalities

 

Summon 1 300 point being, devoted +3/4, expanded class +1/4, specific being +1 the target is the characters alternate personalities. Extra time one turn -3/4 activation 15- -1/4

 

This character also has most of the skills of the base character, and is one of the personalities that is aware of what has transpired while submerged.

 

This also makes the character one of the most mature and well rounded of the personalities, even though I don't plan for it to be a frequently appearing personality.

[Cinniuint]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

Just an update, for anyone who cared about this thread. I got the character built, and played it quite a bit. I was concerned that the character might be too much of a focus, drawing attention away from the other characters. This did happen, but was much more due to the Head of State perq than to the MPD of the character. The GM was also good at rotating through the PCs, giving each a chance to be central to the story. The other players very much liked the character, but found the character to be too weak. Everyone liked the character, though, and encouraged me to bring it back after I retired the character due to story difficulties.

 

Built the character with 32 personalities. A multiform in which all the forms looked the same, except the one female personality, which did have a female version of the characters usual body. I may soon start posting the individual characters. Some of the personalities were quite developed, others, shyer, more retiring, rarely came out and had rather undeveloped personalities as a result. Each character was built on either a "fight" concept of some sort, or a "flight" concept. Some of the flight characters had eventually developed fighting personalities, but were stuck with their "flight" power suites.

[Cinniuint]

Re: How do you build: Multiple personality disorder?

 

Just an update, for anyone who cared about this thread. I got the character built, and played it quite a bit. I was concerned that the character might be too much of a focus, drawing attention away from the other characters. This did happen, but was much more due to the Head of State perq than to the MPD of the character. The GM was also good at rotating through the PCs, giving each a chance to be central to the story. The other players very much liked the character, but found the character to be too weak. Everyone liked the character, though, and encouraged me to bring it back after I retired the character due to story difficulties.

 

Built the character with 32 personalities. A multiform in which all the forms looked the same, except the one female personality, which did have a female version of the characters usual body. I may soon start posting the individual characters. Some of the personalities were quite developed, others, shyer, more retiring, rarely came out and had rather undeveloped personalities as a result. Each character was built on either a "fight" concept of some sort, or a "flight" concept. Some of the flight characters had eventually developed fighting personalities, but were stuck with their "flight" power suites.