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Old 05-27-2021, 04:36 AM   #1
johndallman
Night Watchman
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Mind Control

Mind Control [50] is an exotic mental advantage, allowing you to mentally dominate those you can see, or touch. It appeared at GURPS 4e, replacing the 3e advantages Telecontrol and Mindwipe.

To use the basic form of the advantage, concentrate for a second, and win a Quick Contest of your IQ against your intended victim’s Will. This takes normal range modifiers, ‑1 for each person you currently have under control, and time modifiers on an unusual scale: +2 for a minute of concentration, or +4 for an hour. If you succeed, the victim becomes effectively Reprogrammable, with you as their master, while you keep concentrating, and for as many minutes after that as your margin of victory in the quick contest. If you lose the contest, you cannot retry for 24 hours, and your target realises that you’re attempting some kind of coercion. On a critical failure, you also lose control of anyone else you had at the time.

This advantage does not provide telepathic communication, or anything similar. Buy that separately if you want it. Your victim is compelled to act as you tell them, but they use their own capabilities to do so; you don’t have control of muscles (that needs Possession), but of motivations. The Reprogrammable disadvantage has the rules on victims’ ability to interpret orders.

If you are forced to stop controlling a victim (knocked out, moved to another plane, etc.) or you try to get a victim to do something against their principles or sense of self-preservation (harm loved ones, kill themselves, etc.) roll another Quick Contest, and if the victim wins, they break free of your control. They may well seek immediate revenge.

Mind Control is frequently modified. It usually requires a Power Modifier, and Extended Duration, to increase your time in control after stopping concentrating, is valuable. Useful enhancements include Cybernetic (from Mind Reading, allows you to affect Digital Minds), and all attack modifiers that are compatible with Malediction. Plausible limitations include Aspected (Only on opposite sex, or only on same sex), Sense-Based and Cybernetic Only (also from Mind Reading).

Special modifiers include Conditioning (+50%) which allows you to change someone’s personality (altering mental disadvantages) for periods of days, or permanently on a critical success. Memories can be removed by adding aspected Amnesia, or added as Delusions; note that someone else with this ability can undo your work! Conditioning Only (‑50%) means you can only do that. For +10%, your victims have no memory of what happened to them while you were controlling them, and for ‑40%, your victims have no initiative while under control and are mindlessly obedient.

Powers has significant additions: Independent (+70%) frees you of the need for ongoing concentration, which has major benefits and a few downsides. Emotion Control (‑50%) only lets you control feelings, rather than actions, and Suggestion (‑40%) limits you to general suggestions. Powers also has implementations via drugs, hypnosis, pheromones and vibrations.

Psionic Powers adds more: enhancements to make the victim rationalise their memories, a straightforward way to make Conditioning last until changed via drugs, hypnotism or therapy, and a combination of Suggestion and Emotion Control. There are also lots of complete abilities built on Mind Control.

The Mind Control spell college does similar things to this advantage, but in a very different style. Bio-Tech points out that this advantage doesn’t have to be supernatural, and DF makes it an ability for bards and druids. Some DF clerics have aspected versions, and Summoners have a variety of creatures on tap with immunity, or serious resistance. DF 14 Psi has a simplified build. Horror has lots of nasty things to do with this advantage, and Emotion Control (One Emotion, ‑80%). Hellsgate demons are uniformly immune to this advantage, while Locations: Monster Hunters has the same simplified advantage as DF 14 for PCs, and variations for monsters. Social Engineering: Back to School provides Mind Control’s bonuses to Brainwashing, and Supers lets you buy your victim as a Minion Ally. Zombies provides the Zombie Command (‑25%) limitation, although many types of zombie are immune.

Powers mentions that extreme Charisma can provide similar effects. This is certainly true for the only character I’ve seen played with this advantage, who only uses it when reactions and talking won’t work. People get much crosser about having their will overridden than about being persuaded.

How has this advantage played in your games?
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