PSI and their standing in the world

[Onkl]

Hi guys

I am planning a post-apoc campaign. One of my players really, really wants to portray someone with psionic powers. After much reluctance (I have never gm'ed a game with PSIs in it) I have allowed him to make a PSI character. His psionic abilities have the limitation "Costs Fatigue", if there is no cost mentioned in the PDF. I am also very restrictive in what PSI abilities I will allow PCs to take.

Now I have stumbled upon a problem I am not sure how to solve.

I don't want the PSI character to walk around and openly declare he has abilities unknown to man. This has two reasons (and probably 100s more I don't):

a) Some people might not particularly like mutants and/or PSIs -> He would be endangering himself
b) Some people might love PSIs, maybe a crazy cult is just waiting for salvation in form of a PSI -> The character could be overwhelmed

The PC, just the same as all the other PCs, grew up in a Vault with about a 1000 inhabitants. So there is no doubt that they all know each other.

The PSI PC got his abilities by being part of an experiment in the vault. He's the first survivor of the procedures. So the other PCs might not know about his abilities... but it's improbable.

What can I do to make this character try to keep his secret?

I've looked at the DisAd "Secret" and it seems to be the right choice. The problem with this DisAd is the heterogeneity in a post-apoc world. In my world, there is no central place of authority. So the consequences of the player disclosing his secret are different from town to town.

He might be the star and a demi-god in one (Which might not be a DisAd at all), in the other he will be shot on sight.

Could you please give me some ideas on how to handle this?

Thanks

Onkl

[vierasmarius]

Something to keep in mind is that, if Psi is possible in your campaign world, then there may be other Psis out there who developed powers either naturally or through experiments / accidents. Also, post-apoc societies tend to be superstitious lots. In short, while Psi may be rare, it may not strike people as a complete surprise (ie, Fear or Awe). Of course, the exact reaction depends on the nature of his Psi; an ESPer will likely face more mistrust than a TKer.

As an early wake-up call for him, have them witness a witch-burning. The villagers will accuse the "witch" of various demonic acts, including reading minds and calling up spirits to move objects. Whether these claims are true is of course irrelevant. It should serve to show the player the potential consequences of obvious exotic powers.

[Onkl]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

As an early wake-up call for him, have them witness a witch-burning. The villagers will accuse the "witch" of various demonic acts, including reading minds and calling up spirits to move objects. Whether these claims are true is of course irrelevant. It should serve to show the player the potential consequences of obvious exotic powers.

A wake-up scene is a great idea, thanks. I will do that. Do you have any ideas how to model this whole problem with the game-mechanics?

[lexington]

There's no need for game mechanics (two opposite reputations will cancel out their costs). Just explain to him that revealing his power is Russian Roulette.

[Tinman]

Originally Posted by lexington

There's no need for game mechanics (two opposite reputations will cancel out their costs). Just explain to him that revealing his power is Russian Roulette.

This. Let him see / hear the fear & superstition ect... so he sees the danger.

[Flyndaran]

Exactly what type of powers he has would make a big difference. Has he decided yet?

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by Tinman

This. Let him see / hear the fear & superstition ect... so he sees the danger.

The psi also loses the tactical advantage of the "element of surprise". If I had this guy's powers, I'd only pull out the powers in emergencies or when I could be reasonably sure I wouldn't be caught or seen.

And if someone saw me use my powers that I couldn't be sure I could trust, I'd make sure they couldn't ever reveal my secret, most likely by killing them before they got the chance, if other options like memory erasure weren't available.

And to be clear, I'd do that even if there wasn't superstition or potential prejudice if I was revealed; I'd follow that general principle just to keep the secret to keep the value-added advantage of other people not knowing (keeping your personal information private preserves your freedom in general). Heck, I probably wouldn't even tell my closer friends or family, excepting maybe my sister just because I'd feel too sad if I didn't believe I could trust her.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Onkl

A wake-up scene is a great idea, thanks. I will do that. Do you have any ideas how to model this whole problem with the game-mechanics?

Secret would work, though it implies that once it's out it's out, and should be replaced by another suitable advantage (such as Enemy, Social Stigma, etc). In this case, the effects of revealing the Secret are far more unpredictable; perhaps give it the "Unreliable" limitation, and if the roll "fails" then the reaction is not negative. Alternately, give him limited Social Stigma + Social Regard, with modifiers to indicate that these only manifest after he demonstrates his powers. For any given group, he doesn't know which way they'll respond.

Neither of these methods feel quite right, IMO. I'm sure other folks will have some better suggestions.

[starslayer]

Keep the secret value low- to say 'serious embarrassment', every time the secret is revealed have it morph into an applicable disadvantage until dealt with (If you want him to spend more time KEEPING the secret, have it morph into 2x its value in disadvantage until dealt with).

BAD things:
-Enemy
-Social stigma
-Cursed (Not actually divine curse, just everyone throws rocks at you, kicks you, and you are powerless to do anything in response)
-Insomnia
-Chronic pain (not actually chronic pain, but all of the rocks you keep getting pelted with are giving the same effect)
-Diabolical voices (Not actually voices, but all of the negative things people are saying are having the same effect)

"Good" things:
-Dependents (They love you, they follow you around, they'll do anything you say, but if you abuse them or let them down you get no CP for this session!)
-Noisy (You aren't more noisy, but everyone is looking for you, waving hi, following you around because they think your awesome; same effect)
-Insomnia
-Nightmares/chronic pain/reduced fatigue/etc (You aren't actually having nightmares/chronic pain/reduced fatigue/etc; but <PCs prefered gender> thinks they are god and this is leading to a lot of sleepless nights, strained muscles, and spent energy).

If the PC does not remove the disadvantage in a nice quiet 'this was a punishment for you not keeping your secret' way; have it spiral even further out of control at 2x value (Dealt with enemy by killing enemy; now have enemy group, let your dependents die; now you have an enemy (as well as lost CP; turning down all those offers from the <preferred gender>, get a negative reputation or spurred on by the rejection they turn into full dependants).

When the PC finally deals with the problems effectively, then it reverts to the secret again

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Onkl

He might be the star and a demi-god in one (Which might not be a DisAd at all), in the other he will be shot on sight.

Could you please give me some ideas on how to handle this?

Thanks

Onkl

The thing to bear in mind that is that even in a post-apocalyptic wasteland there are travellers. Word gets around. If he makes himself famous, then he gets a (generic) Enemy who wants to kill or enslave him. The Enemy won't be in every town, but that's why Enemies have appearance rolls. Calculate the secret's value based on that.