Ranged Empathy

[pgb]

Empathy doesn't have a well-specified range; you are just required to "meet" the target. If I want a longer-ranged version, do I start by adding Ranged (pB107)? If so, does that mean that range penalties based on the speed/range table automatically apply? Or do I treat it as already (roughly) having standard -1/yard penalties?I realize that, once I have a version in a standard category of range penalties, I can modify it with Short-range or Long-range, but I want to get started in the appropriate RAW way.

Thanks,

Paul.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by pgb

Empathy doesn't have a well-specified range; you are just required to "meet" the target. If I want a longer-ranged version, do I start by adding Ranged (pB107)? If so, does that mean that range penalties based on the speed/range table automatically apply? Or do I treat it as already (roughly) having standard -1/yard penalties?I realize that, once I have a version in a standard category of range penalties, I can modify it with Short-range or Long-range, but I want to get started in the appropriate RAW way.

I've always treated it as working if you can interact or observe the subject in a meaningful way. You wouldn't need to reduce range penalties, because they don't apply. I would consider apply perception penalties (relying on only voice or only vision), but it wouldn't be based on range.

[Plane]

I think Ranged is the default, Psionic Powers 58 lets you save -60% by taking Melee Attack and Contact Agent. You can also take Short Range 2 instead.

Apparently to take Short Range 1 you need the "Remote" enhancement as a prereq.

[evileeyore]

I recommend grabbing Psionic Powers, it has Empathy written up as a ranged psionic power called Emotion Sense.

Though... you'll also need Powers to figure out what Short-Range is as that's not in Basic.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by naloth

I've always treated it as working if you can interact or observe the subject in a meaningful way. You wouldn't need to reduce range penalties, because they don't apply. I would consider apply perception penalties (relying on only voice or only vision), but it wouldn't be based on range.

"direct, personal meetings", as it is phrased in Powers p48. I always took that to mean very short range, like touching distance.
Here is PK's fairly recent take on the Basic advantage, which can be contrasted with the somewhat more "Telepathy"-like Emotion Sense ability from Psionic Powers.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

"direct, personal meetings", as it is phrased in Powers p48. I always took that to mean very short range, like touching distance.
Here is PK's fairly recent take on the Basic advantage, which can be contrasted with the somewhat more "Telepathy"-like Emotion Sense ability from Psionic Powers.

Good info. 2-10 yards without penalty is quite a bit more generous than "ranged." You'd probably need clairsentience to observe, telepathic contact, or the enhancement from powers that allows you to extend it via electronis means if you were doing it from further away.

[vicky_molokh]

The Remote enhancement and the write-ups in Psionic Powers serve as evidence that Empathy normally isn't limited by the ability's range limits themselves, but rather by the limits of personal meetings. With Remote, you can use it over a phone, and the range of phones is, well, good.

[Anaraxes]

The Basic Set Empathy is not itself an exotic or supernatural ability, like in the usual SF implication of the word. It doesn't have a range with a sudden and marked cutoff, because that's the limit of your mutant power or telepathy. It's just a talent for sensing and understanding other people's emotions. Thus, no specific range. It works as long as you can reasonably interact with people -- phrased as "meeting" them, which in normal English means fairly close proximity, along with decent vision and sound. You could call that one yard, or three, but it's not generally important. The ability doesn't have range.

If you must shoehorn it into a category for other advantages, clearly it's not "Melee Attack" -- you don't have to touch people. Ten yards occasionally appears (and Psi Powers goes to some trouble to take that out wherever it does, so it can use some consistent ranges. "Remote" allows the ability to work via indirect means that can still be considered as bringing you into contact and interaction, like a telephone or CCTV.

So if you wanted to have the ability work beyond normal personal interaction distances, without requiring that sort of telecommunications assistance, I would indeed just add Ranged. But a better match would be to leave the Empathy without any mods, and instead add the ability that's letting you remotely observe and interact with the subject, whether that's Telepathy or Clairsentience or Telecommunications. If the remote sensing/communication ability only works for purposes of Empathy, and the character doesn't have that ability for other purposes, then you might fuss with modifiers to limit it -- but that's when I'd instead take the simple way out and stick with Ranged.