This schtick allows the spellcaster to affect the emotions and thoughts of humans and other intelligent beings. It also allows transfer of information over long distances, as well as limited mind reading and experience sharing. It generally does not work on animals and other semi-intelligent creatures.
Influence effects are usually telepathic, but certain sorcerers will use words carried on winds, hypnotic gestures, mind-affecting powders, spirit messengers, or similar effects instead. Do not let your magic be limited by preconceptions, pick one way to influence and stick to it.
The difficulty of most Influence effects is the target's Willpower. A target that knows he is about to be charmed can use Dodge to evade the effect. Subtle uses of Influence in non-combat situations can often be quite effective, as this disallows the Dodge.
On a Backlash, the sorcerer becomes extremely susceptible to suggestion and must obey the next instruction he is given. The source of the suggestion might be a friend, an enemy, or even a billboard or TV commercial.
Influence Effects
This is but a sample, as this schtick is well-suited to ingenious stunts by creative sorcerers.
Communication
A basic two-way communication. You can send what you see or imagine instead of speech.
The difficulty of communication-type effects depend on how familiar the sorcerer is with his target. Contagion is either an intimate item owned by the subject, a close friend or family member, or a former piece of the targets body, such as a lock of hair or fingernail clipping.
| Target | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Family | 5 |
| Friends (or Contagion) | 10 |
| Strangers, enemies | 15 |
| No line of sight | +5 |
| Only simple communication | -5 |
| Long-distance (5 km or more) | +5 |
Only simple communication means the effect is not used to manipulate the target you do not disguise your sending, no effect beyond communication is possible, and the target can end the effect at will.
Dream Riding
This allows the sorcerer to enter the dreams of another character. This only works on sleeping, unconscious, delirious or catatonic characters. Bringing others along costs a Magic point for a number of people equal to your Magic attribute. Unwilling targets require an Outcome equal to their Willpower.
Generally, sorcerers enter the dreams of others in order to get hard-to-find information or to correct psychic problems. It is also possible to manipulate the dreams of others in order to affect their psyches. This can be played out or resolved through simple dice rolls.
The rough way to use this power is to initiate combat. Such a combat works just as combat in the real world; both characters have access to any gear normally used. If either character fails a DeathTest, he is merely rendered unconscious, and suffers an impairment equal to the Outcome of the death test during the next day. If you bring companions along, the sleeper may create phantasmal versions of his normal allies to match their number.
While a character is Dream Riding, her body lies comatose. Long trances can be harmful.
Inspiration
Allows the sorcerer to plant a thought or idea in the mind of a subject. Subject may think he had the idea himself (this requires an Outcome matching his Willpower); or interpret the message as a sending from the sorcerer. If the character thinks its his own thought, there is no guarantee that the subject will consider the idea to be a bright one or be in any way impelled to act out its instructions; this is not mind control.
Sending
Telepathic messaging. You can send words, images, or thoughts, and the target can answer. You can send to a number of people equal to your Magic for a Magic point, or use a multi-target stunt.
A message can also be left in a particular place, and trigger when somebody comes near. See Divination: Warning for examples on how this can work.
Normally, it takes a continuous action to maintain a Sending, but spending an Magic point allows you to maintain the sending for a scene.
Telepathy
This is a telepatic communication link forged between two or more persons. It can last for a full session, though either recipient can end it at will. Establishing telepathy with more than one person costs a Magic point for a number of people equal to your Magic rating.
Empathy
You sense the target's general feelings and disposition. A few surface thoughts might slip in.
Emotion Control
Allows the sorcerer to foster a desired emotion in any thinking being. The love spell is the most famous example of this type. The sorcerer may also specify the object of the emotion, which need not be another thinking being. For example, a sorcerer could inspire hatred of a truck or lust to own a jewel. If the Action Result exceeds the difficulty, the subject is affected for a number of hours equal to the Action Result. If the Outcome exceeds the target's Willpower, he cannot control his emotions, otherwise he is influenced but can master himself when needed.
Any Stunts that exploit the emotion you have implanted receives a bonus equal to the Emotion Control Outcome, while stunts that oppose this effect suffer a penalty.
Mind Rape
A deep probe of a character's mind, reading memories and motivations. In order to use this effect, the target must have been rendered unconscious using Mind Blast or Dream Riding combat, or otherwise be totally in the sorcerer's power. The difficulty is the target's highest Action Value, and things hidden so deep that they are not available to the character's conscious mind require an Outcome matching Willpower.
It is possible to alter or delete the target's memories, motivations and personality, making him your mental thrall. Once the target has been enslaved, the sorcerer can muck around with his mind almost as much as he likes. Only story elements can save the poor schmuck. As player characters are not assumed to be into this kind of thing, the rules are somewhat sketchy.
Phantasms
Allows the sorcerer to send false sensory signals to a subject's mind. The subject sees, hears, smells, feels or tastes something that isn't there. The nature of the phantasm is entirely up to the sorcerer. Note that this spell alone does not make the subject particularly disposed to believe what his senses are telling him. For example, a sorcerer conjures up in the mind of a security guard an image of a smiling, felt-covered, purple dinosaur toting a Heckler & Koch MP5. The guard may well assume that he is hallucinating or that his eyes are otherwise deceiving him. Refusal to believe does not make the false sensory input go away, however; even a false image of Barney's evil twin can be quite distracting in the midst of a gunfight. The phantasm lasts for a number of Sequences equal to the Outcome of the Sorcery check.
Phantasms should almost always be used subtly, or they will lose most of their effect. The Specter and/or Illusion is similar and should be learned if you fancy this effect.
Confusion
This is a phantasm that sends no coherent image, instead cluttering the target's perceptions with random lights, sounds, smells et al. Anyone caught in this effect suffers impairment equal to half the Outcome (minimum one). The illusion lasts until the end of the Sequence.
Suggestion
Allows you to impose your will on a subject. The difficulty is your target's Willpower or Dodge. The subject will obey a single instruction, following its spirit as well as its letter. Instructions to which the target objects strongly require an Outcome equal to his Willpower.
In an intense situation, such as combat, the instruction only lasts one shot per point of Outcome. Unless the Outcome matches the targets Willpower, it will only cause the target to lose shots in confusion, not to actually do anything. Out of combat, it lasts about ten minutes per point of Outcome.
Posthypnotic suggestions (a -2 stunt) can lie dormant and activate at a later time.