08-11-2021, 11:06 AM | #21 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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There is no obligation to allow player access to tools that break the campaign. Doubly so during character creation. And if a player is adamant that their character concept(s) needs those tools, then maybe that player wouldn't enjoy the campaign you're offering. If a Priest technically has access to a divine Mind Control spells or abilities, there's always the option that their god just doesn't want to grant them access to that. Maybe as a trial or possibly a punishment for one or more transgressions. It's worth remembering that D&D gods can override the wishes of their priests regarding what spells they can use each day. PC Mages might just not be able to find scrolls or books with any campaign breaking spells. And research into those types of spells always fails, produce unreliable versions or the spells turn out to have major flaws that render them more or less useless. |
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08-11-2021, 11:22 AM | #22 | |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
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08-11-2021, 11:36 AM | #23 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
It's certainly hard for a player to complain about not getting to use mind-control abilities they spent points on if they can't spend points on mind-control abilities. They'll probably complain about the prohibition instead, and try to convince the GM to make exceptions. ;) But ultimately, if mind control is outright banned for PCs the way Status 8 is, or banned from the campaign save for rare, powerful foes the way TL12 ray guns are, the problem is solved.
In GURPS, beware the implications this has for prerequisites. A lot of mental-influence spells are prerequisites for spells that might not be troublesome. For example, even if you think Mind-Reading is worrisome, Mind-Sending seems cool enough and is obligatory for Lend Skill and thus Borrow Skill . . . but has Mind-Reading as a prerequisite. The Wisdom spell seems fine, and is a prerequisite for a boatload of important stuff, but is also nearly impossible to learn without some creepier Mind Control. There are a lot of hidden dependencies you'll have to reroute around for your campaign if you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Of course, you could leave the prerequisites alone and say the versions PCs learn are flawed and don't work, but that resurrects the "But I paid points!" objection.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
08-11-2021, 11:42 AM | #24 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
I could also remove prerequisites altogether. They're not needed for balance.
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
08-11-2021, 11:52 AM | #25 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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08-11-2021, 11:57 AM | #26 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
Huh. Good point. A Pentagram spell stops mind control just fine and is pretty cheap (seriously, the pentagram spell does enough stuff that you're likely to find things like "we put a pentagram on every flagstone, so treat every hex as a separate pentagram spell. Have fun with trying to cast offensive spells").
Last edited by Anthony; 08-11-2021 at 02:16 PM. |
08-11-2021, 01:47 PM | #27 | |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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08-11-2021, 02:26 PM | #28 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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I've no doubt a deep dive into the Potterverse is full of horrors, however.
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08-11-2021, 05:12 PM | #29 |
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
This is always an option and a good option. But I really want to point it out for this campaign idea in particular. The campaign sounds like it's about haggling with merchants, worrying about stock, dealing with the law and the unlawful, etc. If that's the goal, then having Mind Control even exist in the setting throws a giant wrench in that type of campaign, the same way Create Gold Coin and time travel would, or like how many espionage stories become entirely based around shapeshifters once shapeshifters are known to exist. Some things just throw the campaign off the rails before it even starts.
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08-11-2021, 05:42 PM | #30 | |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: How to protect merchant from mind control?
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countermeasures, merchants, spells |
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