Talent/Spell of the Week: Telekinesis

[Shostak]

This IQ 13 Thrown spell allows a wizard to manipulate objects within their sight and those out of sight but on their person as though they had an invisible body with which to do so. Wielding weapons telekinetically is difficult (-4DX). Telekinesis must be maintained each turn, at the relatively high cost of 2. The spell description implies that a wizard can only cast Telekinesis on their self, and the discussion of an invisible body manipulating objects gives us a useful guide to how quickly an object might be transported--perhaps the wizard's normal MA. My reading is that the wizard could telekinetically act on an object the same turn that they cast the spell.

Telekinesis offers such enormous potential that one could find great entertainment in playing a wizard with only this or perhaps another couple of spells. It is an ideal spell for a thief, spy, or typical tomb-robber who worries about booby-traps; with Telekinesis, one can open a door or pick up a gem or idol from a respectable distance, and a Pickpocket might use the spell to purloin purses remotely. Perhaps Alchemists and Chemists could make their labwork less potentially injurious to themselves by mixing ingredients from the safety of a nearby room with telekinesis. The spell's range is as far as the wizard can see, so combining it with Far Vision offers an obvious exploit.

Some examples of other obvious applications of Telekinesis include pulling someone's cloak or hat down over their eyes, snuffing out a candle, transporting a lantern to reveal a dark area, opening or closing a door to create a distraction, and surprising a horse by slapping it's rump. Although tactical applications such as grappling or tripping an enemy are not discussed in the brief spell description, it might be reasonable for a GM to apply the same -4DX to any combat use of Telekinesis.

Conversation Starters

• What talents, other than those for weapons, might be exploited with Telekinesis?
• How often does Telekinesis see use in your games?
• Can a wizard use Telekinesis while doing something else, like casting another spell?
• How would you handle a wizard wanting to trip or tackle someone telekinetically?
• If you are not using the RAW version, how have you tweaked the spell?
• How has Telekinesis been imaginatively used in your games?

[Bill_in_IN]

What talents, other than those for weapons, might be exploited with Telekinesis?

I would say that most most talents/spells can be exploited in some way in conjunction with Telekinesis. Some would be more practical or effective than others. I know that this is a broad answer but the question was broad too.

How often does Telekinesis see use in your games?

I haven't knowingly seen it in any of the Legacy games that I have played in but suspect that it has been present. It hasn't been in any of my games, yet. IN my classic TFT days, we did come across it with several NPCs. We had one PC fighter character that picked up an item that had Telekinesis. He used it to remotely open doors, chests, trip traps, etc.

Can a wizard use Telekinesis while doing something else, like casting another spell?

I would say that normal magic rules apply. It is an action to cast Telekinesis spell. Once activated, other spells can be cast provided that the wizard spends the ST to maintain Telekinesis.

How would you handle a wizard wanting to trip or tackle someone telekinetically?

I would say that much of that would depend upon the wizard's stats. A ST 8 wizard will have trouble tackling a ST 12 Reptile Man. Using Telekinesis to trip someone will depend upon the wizard's ability to move objects capable of tripping a character. If the wizard is too weak to move a heavy rock into one's path then he must choose something lighter for the deed. I suppose that a smaller character could push a bigger/stronger character to knock them down due to the bigger character not being prepared for such an attack. A savings roll of 3/DX or 4/DX could apply.

If you are not using the RAW version, how have you tweaked the spell?

We stuck with RAW, I believe, along with our interpretations with respect to what the wizard/user could manipulate. We did omit the -4DX for using weapons for which the caster had the talent. The trickiness is how it is applied even if you are following RAW for the Telekinesis spell. There is plenty of room for variance in that respect.

How has Telekinesis been imaginatively used in your games?

I don't know how "imaginative" pushing/tripping foes, opening doors/chests, using weapons is perceived to be. I can say that a pair of broad swords attacking the party with no visible foe was imaginative and a huge distraction to say the least.

Before the RULES police show up, I'll say this about the above Classic TFT scenario. It was an NPC Fighter Wizard with a ring that had both Telekinesis and Invisibility. It was a surprise for the PCs to be confronted with NPC fighters with one that had Sword and Two Weapons talents while being invisible and also telekinetically using two broad swords. Since none of the PCs had Mage Sight, they couldn't definitively locate the invisible foe and that one got away when the visible NPC fighters started dropping. No one got his cool ring either. They did get the two broad swords that dropped to the ground when the invisible NPC decided to run. I will take credit for creating this NPC.

[hcobb]

The one advantage of Telekinesis over Summon Myrmidon and Staff to Snake is that it takes effect on the turn of casting rather than waiting a turn for the summons to respond. It is not worth the higher maintenance cost to do so. (IQ 13 vs IQ 10 is "free" given how useful Staff III is.)

[Shostak]

Telekinesis enjoys many more advantages than taking effect the turn it is cast. Range is one. The fact that the force is invisible is another. I believe in you, and trust that you can find others.

[hcobb]

Astral Projection clearly allows for TK (at 6 ft/turn), but doesn't say one way or the other if Summon works. (You can't pull the snake out of your astral form and have it do physical effects.)

A wizard can send his snake, scout or summons through a gate or use Long Range Teleport for infinite range. The gate method allows for the search and snake retrieval of items up to 32 pounds. (I suppose, your reading of ITL 65 no doubt differs.)

The big limitation on TK is that there is no X-ray vision spell to use alongside it and you can't fire it off blind by the limits on thrown spells. (You can't use a summons to look around corners because this wouldn't let you target TK on anything the wizard does not himself see.)

[Bill_in_IN]

Telekinesis wasn't used much in our Classic TFT days but it was interesting every time that it was used.