Mega-Manipulation
A Mega-Manipulative nova has the world wrapped around his
little finger. He is a master at influencing people in many different ways,
from subtle methods (persuasion, personal charm, bribery) to more in-your-face tactics
(intimidation, blackmail, devious trickery).
The fact that the nova is able to see through attempts to
deceive or influence him is equally as important. Mega-Manipulative novas are
so good at perceiving ways to affect others' opinions that they can tell when someone
else is trying to do it to them. To simulate this effect, each level of
Mega-Manipulation adds bonus dice (in addition to the standard bonus
Mega-Attribute dice) to detect or resist being manipulated or tricked.
• Stupendous: Experienced con men regard your skills with
reverence. You receive one extra die on any roll to detect or resist attempts
to manipulate or trick you.
•• Amazing: Even lawyers can't twist facts and persuade others
as well as you can. You receive two extra dice on any roll to detect or resist attempts
to manipulate or trick you.
••• Incredible: People will follow you to the ends of the
Earth if you ask them to. You receive three extra dice on any roll to detect or
resist attempts to manipulate or trick you.
•••• Spectacular: Odysseus would admire your cunning. You
receive four extra dice on any roll to detect or resist attempts to manipulate
or trick you.
••••• Godlike: Loki and Anansi
regard you as an equal. You receive five extra dice on any roll to detect or
resist attempts to manipulate or trick you.
Mega-Manipulation
Enhancements
Enhancements that characters with Mega-Manipulation may
learn or purchase include:
Hypnotic Gaze
A nova with this enhancement possesses low-level hypnotic
abilities. Although not as effective as the Hypnosis or Domination powers, it's
still a useful ability when the character wants to persuade someone to do
something. System: The nova must be within three meters of the person to be hypnotized,
and she must make eye contact with him. If they are separated or eye contact is
blocked, the attempt to hypnotize the target automatically fails.
An attempt to hypnotize takes a little while — at least
10 seconds, and usually a minute or longer. The target must be willing to
undertake (or at least not completely adverse to) what the nova is suggesting;
Hypnotic Gaze cannot be used to make someone do something she is opposed to
doing. However, the attempt to hypnotize the subject does not have to be
obvious; it can, for example, be worked into normal conversation if the nova is
clever. If necessary, the Storyteller can have the target make a Manipulation
or Perception roll to figure out what the nova is trying to do.
Once the nova meets all these conditions, the player
needs only spend a quantum point and make a Manipulation roll. If the roll
succeeds, the target is hypnotized and will do as instructed. A posthypnotic
suggestion can also be implanted to make the target do something (such as go to
sleep or scream) when he experiences a certain outside stimulus. A posthypnotic
suggestion fasts for one day per dot of Manipulation and Mega-Manipulation the
nova has; thereafter it loses all effect.
Persuader
A nova with this enhancement is an expert at bringing
people around to his point of view. He has an innate talent for knowing what
people are thinking and subtly manipulating their opinions until they are
thinking what he want them to think. He's a spin doctor supreme.
System: Whenever the nova wishes to persuade someone to
change their opinion, perform a particular task, or the like, the player
receives bonus successes. The exact number of successes depends upon what he is
trying to persuade the target to do. If the request is something normal, relatively
innocuous or harmless, the nova gets three automatic successes. Requests that
involve changing strong opinions or expose the character to minor danger,
embarrassment or trouble get two automatic successes. Requests which are
dangerous or could get the target in extreme trouble get one automatic success
(and the target normally has some kind of Willpower or other resisted roll).
The nova must spend a quantum point; the effects last for
one request or series of related requests.
Trickster
Unlike P. T Barnum, you can fool all of the people all of
the time. Trickery, treachery, deceit and sneakiness are your stock in trade.
A nova with this enhancement possesses an intuitive
talent for tricking and fooling people. She could trick Arabs into buying sand
or Eskimos into buying refrigerators. Somehow she can sense a person's
vulnerabilities and "soft" spots and use them against him. No one is
safe from a Trickster's wiles.
System: Whenever the nova tries to trick, fool or deceive
another character, the player receives three automatic successes on any roll
necessary to the task. Usually, this roll involves Subterfuge, but other
Abilities may be involved depending on the situation. The nova spends a quantum
point to activate the enhancement, and the effects last for the duration of the
situation that the nova is seeking to turn to her advantage.
The Voice
Just talking to a nova with this enhancement can be
dangerous. She is able to pitch her voice so that she uses infrasound and subharmonics, mixed in with her normal talk, to give nearly
irresistible suggestions and commands to whomever her speech is directed at.
Additionally, her voice is, in general, pleasant to listen to; her singing can
be absolutely divine.
System: The nova exerts a subtle mental control effect
through her voice. Only one person can be affected by this ability at a time.
The subject must be within 20 meters of the nova, and must be able to hear the
nova — deafness on the part of the subject, or other noises that drown out the
nova's speech, prevent The Voice from being used successfully. The other major
limitation on this ability is that any order given must be one that can be
performed in one turn — "Drop the knife!" or "Untie me!",
for example, but not "Play computer games until 1 tell you to stop"
or "Torture your friend to death." Any orders or suggestions that
would take longer than one turn to perform are automatically ignored by the
target. To use The Voice, the player makes a Manipulation roll. If he scores
even one success, the attempt succeeds — but the target may stop himself from following the order or suggestion. The target
makes a Wits roll to resist the command; each success he rolls counteracts one
of the nova player's successes. If the net result is zero or less, the command
fails. The target may also spend one or more points of Willpower to cancel
successes at a 1:1 rate.
The player of a nova with The Voice may apply her
Mega-Manipulation bonus dice to any Arts (Singing) or Perform (Singing) rolls
she makes.