Psionic Power: Total Recall

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Alurnos
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Psionic Power: Total Recall

Unread post by Alurnos »

I cannot seem to find information on this power. According to the book, the ISP is 2, duration is permanent, with 3 ISP to recall "blocks of information". Some people say it is 2 to acquire the power and you do not have to spend 2 each time you want to remember something and others say it is 2 to remember specific things (a book, a scene, etc). Can I get an official response on how this works, or be pointed in the direction where I can the find the information on this. Please and thank you.
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The Dark Elf
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Re: Psionic Power: Total Recall

Unread post by The Dark Elf »

GL on an official answer....

I play it as the 3 is a typo. u can recall all details (but I always use the rolls unless the player uses ISP). For full details use 2 ISP (not 3). Thats how I do it.
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drewkitty ~..~
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Re: Psionic Power: Total Recall

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

The long standing consensus on the mechanics are: it takes 2 ISP to write the memory, and 3 ISP to recall the memory.
With a table to see if you can remember stuff after the ISP runs out.

BTS2 total recall is worded a bit differently but with the same basic mechanics. 3 ISP cost to activate write mode of the power for 30 minutes. And having a 3 ISP cost to recall the details remembered. Out of ISP, the memory is fuzzy and details cannot be remembered. With a note that only details that happen during the active writing duration can be remembered in exact/word for word detail without mistake.
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Re: Psionic Power: Total Recall

Unread post by Daniel Stoker »

See I always read it as costing 2 ISP to remember a 'specific block of information' meaning say like how President Washington assigned his cabinet from the history book you read in the 5th grade but if you want to know all that you read in absolute detail including what paragraph four line 3 and the 4th word in from the left you needed to spend 3 additional ISP.


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Re: Psionic Power: Total Recall

Unread post by Prysus »

Alurnos wrote:I cannot seem to find information on this power. According to the book, the ISP is 2, duration is permanent, with 3 ISP to recall "blocks of information". Some people say it is 2 to acquire the power and you do not have to spend 2 each time you want to remember something and others say it is 2 to remember specific things (a book, a scene, etc). Can I get an official response on how this works, or be pointed in the direction where I can the find the information on this. Please and thank you.

Greetings and Salutations. I'm not sure which setting specifically you're looking at (for most, it won't matter), but Beyond the Supernatural Second Edition (BtS2) might give a clue. Before I mention what BtS2 says on the power, I should note there are often variations from game line to game line, and not every power will always work the same. BtS2 is a lower power setting, and as such it may work differently there than in other settings (such as Rifts, PF2, and HU2). Now, onto the quote ...

Beyond the Supernatural, Second Edition RPG; page 128 wrote:Duration: Permanent memory; 30 minutes per use of Total Recall to memorize material and the same when trying to recall it in exact detail.

I will also note the the I.S.P. cost is listed as 3, not 2 like in most other settings. The description about spending 3 I.S.P. to recall in perfect detail remains the same. However, the text regarding remembering when you're out of I.S.P. is a bit different, and there's no % roll listed as with the other versions.

If we were to use the BtS2 version as the basis of intent, then the 2 listed would be to activate the recording (so to speak). I'd stick to 30 minutes, same as above. So if you wanted to memorize something (in a non-BtS2 setting) that was 2 hours long, you'd need to spend 8 I.S.P. Then, to recall something from that 2 hour span, you'd need to spend 3 I.S.P., if you're only looking for an exact quote or something. However, if you were trying to recite an entire 2 hours speech from memory it would be 12 I.S.P. (3 per 30 minute block being recalled), in my opinion based on the BtS2 wording.

Note: As a G.M., I tend to just say, "Spend 2 I.S.P. permanently, and the power is always in record mode. Then you only need to spend 3 I.S.P. when you're trying to remember something specifically." I find it just makes for smoother game play and helps keep things moving, as I generally favor rules lite games. Your mileage may vary.

That's all for now. Hope some of that helps. Thanks for your time and attention, and may you all have a wonderful day. Farewell and safe journeys.
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