Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Zadmar]

Sorry for the double entendre (and for the length of the post!).

When I picked up a copy of Savage Worlds Deluxe, I was very pleased to see there was finally a Mind Reading power. I was also in the process of reading "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" (the series of books that True Blood is very, very loosely based on), and I've recently been wondering how I might convert Sookie and/or her telepathy to Savage Worlds.

For those not familiar with the books, she "hears" what people are thinking, as if they were speaking what they thought - a little bit like Matt Parkman in Heroes (if you've seen that), except instead of complete sentences she receives a mixture of words and images, which requires some interpretation. It's not foolproof. It's also pretty overwhelming, as she has to expend effort to block it out, or to filter through multiple sets of thoughts.

I think the Mind Reading power provides an excellent starting point, but it would definitely need some trappings. Sookie's telepathy is difficult to use, often she can only detect the person's mood - but on the other hand, very few people can detect her using it. So how about:

Mind Reading (Telepathy trapping): Replace "The target is aware of the mental intrusion unless the mind reader gets a raise" with "The mind reader is only aware of the target's current emotions unless they get a raise". The question must concern something the target is currently thinking about, however you can use various tactics to try and make them think about it (eg ask them how their sister is, if you suspect them of murdering her). Alternatively you can pose a question in advance, if you're willing to wait around until they think about the subject (which may or may not happen).

Suggested modifiers:

+2: The target is mentally shouting or intensely focused on a particular thought (or they have the "Broadcaster" hindrance).
+2: You are physically touching the target.
+2: You have eye contact with the target.
-2: The target is intentionally trying to hide their thoughts.
-2: The target is a were-creature or shapeshifter.

There could also perhaps be penalties for reading the minds of people with hindrances like Delusional, Bloodthirsty, Combat Shock, etc.

Rather than being opposed by Smarts, I'd suggest using a new secondary stat: Willpower (half Spirit + 2). The target could spend a benny to make a Soak roll using their Spirit, with each success subtracting a success from the Mind Reading roll. This would make the reliability of the power a bit more consistent against each particular target (as there's just one roll instead of two, so less of a random element), and make it easier for the GM to "block" plot-killer questions.

Sookie can also use her telepathy to scan a crowd, in the same way as a person might listen to a crowd of people talking. This is obviously pretty difficult (at least -2), and she can't pick out details - I would probably limit the Mind Reading question to either "Is anyone currently thinking about X" or "What's the loudest thought in the crowd". Further rolls would be required to pinpoint the source of the thought. I'm not sure if this could really be bundled into the same power, or if she'd need to take Mind Reading a second time to get a new set of trappings.

She also has the ability to detect the presence and feel minds, and can even identify the minds as vampires, werewolves, humans, etc. I think this could be handled as a variant of Detect/Conceal Arcana, modified by trappings to work on minds rather than magic.

Sometimes she picks something from the person's thoughts and uses it to throw them off balance. However I think that's a perfect example of a Smarts trick, and doesn't require any special rules.

I'd also give her a couple of edges, modified with trappings:

Danger Sense: With a successful roll she can sense when someone is focusing their attention on her, and also gets a rough feel for their emotions (hostility, lust, etc). This means Danger Sense works normally against an ambush or surprise attack, and also works in other situations (like being stalked), but doesn't help if a tree is about to fall on her head, or a bomb is about to explode, etc.

Connections: She make a Streetwise check as normal (to locate the right time and place), but then rolls Notice instead of Persuasion to find the information she want to know. Two or more raises obviously doesn't give direct financial assistance or muscle, but it could provide information that's worth money to the right people, or that can be used to blackmail people into providing physical assistance.

RoC also has a hindrances that fits perfectly:

Dark Secret: -4 Charisma when dealing with humans that know about her "disability". If it ever becomes public knowledge, she gains the Wanted hindrance (powerful organisations wanting to use her abilities for their own purposes).

Finally, in terms of Arcane Background, I think I'd actually be tempted to go with Magic, as the Backlash fits well with the books (Sookie is sometimes overwhelmed by the wave of thoughts, and needs a moment to recover). Psionics is tempting for the psychic angle, but its Brainburn doesn't fit at all. Super Powers fits with the source of her telepathy, and would work okay as well. There's also the Innate Power from AoO, which could do the job. And on the subject of AoO, Power Mastery and the various Power Mod edges would be really useful here.

[Sitting Duck]

An alternative that might work is the Psychic Edges from the 12 to Midnight supplement Greene's Guide to Ghosts. The Edges were also printed in the first issue of Shark Bytes.
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[Ogma]

Um...

"How would you 'DO' Sookie Stackhouse..."

No comment.


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[VonDan]

Why would you want to Stat that drunken troll girl from Jersey Shore
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[Jeffrywith1e]

[Timon]

Do I have to warn you about dating a girl who really knows exactly what you are thinking?
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[Zadmar]

[warrenss2]

[GranFalloon]

[ogbendog]

which is why in the books, she dates vampires.

I've read them all, and watch they show. They are differnet, and the Sookie ones are a lot better than the later Anita Blake books. Early AB, ok. last several were paranomalporn.

[Zadmar]