dmjalund Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 New Class of Mind: The Universe Some psychic and/or magical philosophies consider the universe as a thinking being. Sometimes it is referred to as Fate or Destiny. So theoretically it could be considered a target of Mental Powers. No doubt it would be a very alien kind of mind, so giving it a Mental Class of its own seems appropriate. So what could this mean? What would be the mental stats of the Universe? EGO MDCV MOCV MD one could argue that the EGO of the universe is infinite (or nearly so) but one could argue, that affecting a small part of the universe should be easier than affecting all of it, so smaller effects would work against smaller EGO values Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class What do you have in mind? Do you want to make things like local manipulation of the space-time continuum? And how big is "a small part of the universe"? Is there anything that is even remotly as big and powerfull as the universe in the official rulebooks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nexus Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class This sounds like a special effect for other powers. What do you see this accomplishing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted March 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class Example 1] Telepathy "EGO" you know the immediate causes of things you observe. e.g. that tornado formed just before we got here. that car driving by is running of diesel that bird flying overhead has spotted its dinner you can tell - without looking that the mechanism in control of the traffic lights is a metal box halfway down the street. YOU know who farted on the lift. "EGO"+10 you know general causes of things you observe e.g. that tornado over there was caused by a weather instability in the Gulf (and not by the Weather King) that car was late for work because its occupant slept in. that bird is part of a flock that is nested three blocks from here. The entire traffic system can be controlled by a computer down-town (but is currently being controlled by an outside source) that person has been eating beans from a can. "EGO"+20 that weather instability was ezaserbated by global warming. the occupant of that car was up late last night doing something very enjoyable with someone very pretty he met last night. that flock came up from the south about two months ago, the outside source affecting traffic is Cybatroxx - who started affecting traffic 2 hours ago. that person is completely broke due to bad choices in the stock market "EGO"+30 weather spirits are conspiring to enhance global warming that relationship will last about 3 months that bird species is in decline, but will recover after they start adapting in about 20 years Cybatroxx is planning a diversion so he can rob the State Bank the stock market is being manipulated to cause financial devastation, so that the Brain can take over the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class New Class of Mind: The Universe Some psychic and/or magical philosophies consider the universe as a thinking being. Sometimes it is referred to as Fate or Destiny. So theoretically it could be considered a target of Mental Powers. No doubt it would be a very alien kind of mind, so giving it a Mental Class of its own seems appropriate. So what could this mean? What would be the mental stats of the Universe? EGO MDCV MOCV MD one could argue that the EGO of the universe is infinite (or nearly so) but one could argue, that affecting a small part of the universe should be easier than affecting all of it, so smaller effects would work against smaller EGO values Makes sense to me. Genre precidents, in Marvel the being Eternity is the sentient personification of the universe. How does a Buddhist order a hot dog? "Make me One with Everything!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class I smell cheese.... Seriously, what you describe are effects of knowledge, pregognition, being (locally) omniscient, and/or exceptional deduction. When I am right about where this goes for "Mind Controll" of the universe, I say that effects will be going to be blast, change environment, transform or something similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class Example 1] Telepathy "EGO" you know the immediate causes of things you observe. e.g. that tornado formed just before we got here. that car driving by is running of diesel that bird flying overhead has spotted its dinner you can tell - without looking that the mechanism in control of the traffic lights is a metal box halfway down the street. YOU know who farted on the lift. "EGO"+10 you know general causes of things you observe e.g. that tornado over there was caused by a weather instability in the Gulf (and not by the Weather King) that car was late for work because its occupant slept in. that bird is part of a flock that is nested three blocks from here. The entire traffic system can be controlled by a computer down-town (but is currently being controlled by an outside source) that person has been eating beans from a can. "EGO"+20 that weather instability was ezaserbated by global warming. the occupant of that car was up late last night doing something very enjoyable with someone very pretty he met last night. that flock came up from the south about two months ago, the outside source affecting traffic is Cybatroxx - who started affecting traffic 2 hours ago. that person is completely broke due to bad choices in the stock market "EGO"+30 weather spirits are conspiring to enhance global warming that relationship will last about 3 months that bird species is in decline, but will recover after they start adapting in about 20 years Cybatroxx is planning a diversion so he can rob the State Bank the stock market is being manipulated to cause financial devastation, so that the Brain can take over the world. In other words, Cosmic Awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class I smell cheese.... Seriously, what you describe are effects of knowledge, pregognition, being (locally) omniscient, and/or exceptional deduction. When I am right about where this goes for "Mind Controll" of the universe, I say that effects will be going to be blast, change environment, transform or something similar. Seems more a special effect for other powers. Then again, Mind Control effectively allows you to use someone else's abilities Indirectly, and Telepathy allows you to access the knowledge of others. Is it cheesy? It depends. How high is the Universe's MDCV and Ego? Does it have Mental Defense? It may be much more expensive to buy enough Telepathy and Mind Control that affects the Universe class of mind than to buy a Cosmic VPP to be able to access all the same results with the same SFX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class Seems more a special effect for other powers. Then again' date=' Mind Control effectively allows you to use someone else's abilities Indirectly, and Telepathy allows you to access the knowledge of others. [/quote'] That's the big question: Has the universe any influence of what happens in it in the first place? Has it any knowledge one what hapens in it and does it even has the same "concepts" that a pc does? When the answer is yes, you are basically Telepahting/Mind Controlling a beeing that is way above any known god, and afaik he human gods are suposed to be 2000+ Pionts in the modern and where even more powerfull "back-then". Also a good piont: Are you just controlling our dimension of existence, or others too (perhaps an entire d&d inspired Multiverse?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted March 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class Mental Illusions This can trick the Universe into behaving inappropriately. Mental Illusions against the universe only affect things that do not have an EGO stat. I will call these things "unthinking". (those with EGO can still "see" the illusions but do not see them as real) Non Sentient computers (have an INT stat but not an EGO stat) may see these things as strange and perhaps unreal, but their physicality still reacts as if they are real. If you can convince the universe that a wall doesn't exist, then things can pass through it (even thinking beings - although the wall still kinda looks like its there, but the wall believes it doesn't exist). If you create a "monster" illusion at a high enough level, the monster can damage inanimate objects - but anything with an EGO stat of its own remains unaffected. This can cause indirect damage by making a ladder think it doesn't exist while someone is standing on it. If an object breaks out of an illusion of its nonexistence while something else is inside it. If that something has an EGO, it is "spat" out unharmed (or at GM's discression, some STUN). Otherwise, the object is either permanently stuck there or "spat out" with the rules for bad teleport. at "EGO" cosmetic changes affect the area. To a thinking being nothing seem to have changed - except things FEEL different. It takes a certain amount of creativity to exploit this level. examples Machine Sensors can see an object, but it seems to be made of a different substance. The ground becomes slippery - but only to unthinking objects. The ATM machine recognised an invalid card - but sends you to an empty or random account. Having been overcast all day, it finally decided to rain. at "EGO" + 10 Major Changes Thing can be made to seem broken - even to the point that pieces can be removed. Although the edges seem stange to a thinking observer so the "break" doesn't seem real. mobile objects can "disappear" so that you can walk through them. an object can be separated from another object it is mechanically connected to. e.g. a door can be separated from its doorway. a power line develops a power point one can use to recharge ones plasma rifle. wet streets evaporate instantly Note that these cannot "break the rules" the Universe is less likely to believe something floating in the air for no reason or electricity coming from nowhere. at "EGO" + 20 immobile objects can "disappear" even if they are solidly connected to something you don't want to "disappear" at "EGO" + 30 the area around you becomes ghostlike and stops obeying any laws of physics. Remember, the Universe will eventually 'break out' of the Illusion. "disappeared" objects become real again. "broken" objects reform unharmed (often at the location of the largest piece, but the universe can choose another location if it wants to). "created" objects disappear and "transformed" objects revert. but separated objects remain separated. also - unless you have achieved the level required to make the universe remember it as real - the universe will realize what was done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockham's Spoon Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Re: Out There Idea: Universe as Mind Class Reality manipulation by mentally connecting with the universe is a clever sfx, but mechanically this is a suite of powers that are not mental at all. For what you have detailed, I would go with a VPP that requires an EGO roll at -1/10 Active points (-½) accessed in the VPP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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