Hello All,
I'm looking for a way to have a character make permanent followers that are bound to him in some way. The trick here is that it needs to be something the character can do accidentally.
Options I've checked out:
1. Heroes Unlimited's Divine Aura: 1 follower per level - No real choice made here on who the follower is, It's not exactly intentional but the character expects it, and I'm unsure how bound they are to the character. I'd also like it if the number of followers wasn't bound to character level.
* The Keldred from PF's Land of the Damned use this exact same power with only the bonuses modified slightly.
** I'm considering testing out variations of this power with a follower limit set by ME, MA, PB or something.
2. Rifter # 49 Vampire style Enslavement: I like the concept, especially how the mind slaves see the character as their master and the mechanics for sacrificing ISP per follower, but it's too deliberate. -- NOTE: There's a ring in The Black Vault Sourcebook that effectively does the same thing with more limits
3. Palladium Fantasy Summoner: Must be intentional and deliberate, and likely will have a limited duration. Not to mention the followers aren't exactly loyal.
4. Nightbane - Fleshsculpter: I've glanced over the spells, but the mechanics on making this work seem a bit vague to me. You can make people dumber, change their looks and change personalities, but It's too deliberate for my needs at the moment and I'm unsure how to handle this in game as it is.
5. Rifter #??: There's a pair of articles in two of the Rifters (I don't remember which ones off hand) that deal with high levels of MA & PB. I found this interesting, but with high levels of either it seems to become very easy to use this to create followers from everyone you try to charm. I'm unsure how to impose limits.
Other than these, there are psionics and magic spells that can influence and - given time - cause people to become beholden to a PC, but there isn't really any game mechanics that simulate this as a long term prospect. Narratively, there are a few options and plenty of concepts, but I'm looking for a good way to represent this mechanically with acceptable limits. I don't mind the character having up to a couple dozen mind slaves, but I don't want him to be able to charm everyone he meets and become ruler of the world.
What I'm looking for is something like a psionic ability or magical aura that influences people he interacts with. If he focuses too much attention on a person it causes an effect similar to the vampire enslavement (slightly less intense, maybe? maybe not?). Perhaps some combination of Divine Aura and Vampire Enslavement? I'm unsure.
I'm torn on the concepts available. Any thoughts?
PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
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Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
Achalon1 wrote:Hello All,
I'm looking for a way to have a character make permanent followers that are bound to him in some way. The trick here is that it needs to be something the character can do accidentally.
Options I've checked out:
1. Heroes Unlimited's Divine Aura: 1 follower per level - No real choice made here on who the follower is, It's not exactly intentional but the character expects it, and I'm unsure how bound they are to the character. I'd also like it if the number of followers wasn't bound to character level.
* The Keldred from PF's Land of the Damned use this exact same power with only the bonuses modified slightly.
** I'm considering testing out variations of this power with a follower limit set by ME, MA, PB or something.
2. Rifter # 49 Vampire style Enslavement: I like the concept, especially how the mind slaves see the character as their master and the mechanics for sacrificing ISP per follower, but it's too deliberate. -- NOTE: There's a ring in The Black Vault Sourcebook that effectively does the same thing with more limits
3. Palladium Fantasy Summoner: Must be intentional and deliberate, and likely will have a limited duration. Not to mention the followers aren't exactly loyal.
4. Nightbane - Fleshsculpter: I've glanced over the spells, but the mechanics on making this work seem a bit vague to me. You can make people dumber, change their looks and change personalities, but It's too deliberate for my needs at the moment and I'm unsure how to handle this in game as it is.
5. Rifter #??: There's a pair of articles in two of the Rifters (I don't remember which ones off hand) that deal with high levels of MA & PB. I found this interesting, but with high levels of either it seems to become very easy to use this to create followers from everyone you try to charm. I'm unsure how to impose limits.
Other than these, there are psionics and magic spells that can influence and - given time - cause people to become beholden to a PC, but there isn't really any game mechanics that simulate this as a long term prospect. Narratively, there are a few options and plenty of concepts, but I'm looking for a good way to represent this mechanically with acceptable limits. I don't mind the character having up to a couple dozen mind slaves, but I don't want him to be able to charm everyone he meets and become ruler of the world.
What I'm looking for is something like a psionic ability or magical aura that influences people he interacts with. If he focuses too much attention on a person it causes an effect similar to the vampire enslavement (slightly less intense, maybe? maybe not?). Perhaps some combination of Divine Aura and Vampire Enslavement? I'm unsure.
I'm torn on the concepts available. Any thoughts?
Is this for a PC or an NPC?
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
I'd build a custom major super power and tailor it to the exact effect I want. Maybe they give off highly addictive pheromones that grant the character a slowly increasing degree of suggestion over everyone within a small radius over time who fails to save vs non-psychic mind control. Start it as a bonus to charm impress and escalate through sychophantic obsession (where the accidental subjects can hurt people because thats what it seems like the character wants), and finally end with absolute obedience. The real beauty of Palladium's disdain for balance is that you can do whatever you want as long as you're able to express it in vaguely compatible rules.
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
HWalsh: It's for a PC.
Bill: I like where your head's at, but what you're describing seems more like a slow acting Love Charm spell that would/could affect everyone. That slow acting Love Charm spell like effect could possibly work for what I'm after, but I'm trying to come up with a mechanical system that maintains some limits on the ability. Any thoughts?
Bill: I like where your head's at, but what you're describing seems more like a slow acting Love Charm spell that would/could affect everyone. That slow acting Love Charm spell like effect could possibly work for what I'm after, but I'm trying to come up with a mechanical system that maintains some limits on the ability. Any thoughts?
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
What kind of limits?
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
Something like the vampire enslavement system in Rifter #49 that requires 5 ISP perm for each servant, The ring from The Black Vault that requires a char to transfer 1 ME point to their victim, or Divine Aura's level limit (I don't like this, but it's an example, please read above) 
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
The problem, as I see it, with limitations like those is that they involve a sacrifice on the part of the player character. That's fine for a regular power; the player can choose whether or not to give up the resource. For an uncontrolled power, their only choice is to avoid circumstances where the power can work or run out of the finite resource quickly. That would frustrate me as a player.
What about a cost to the thrall? Something that makes them increasingly useless the more of them the player has or the longer they're enthralled. The former would incentivise the player to avoid situations where another person could be enthralled, but not have a permanent consequence for failing. The latter would give them a reason to look for opportunities to free the thralls before they're rendered useless. Particularly for good-aligned characters, those could work.
Another option could be to put a finite cap on how many people can be enthralled at any given time. If the player wants to be able to make another thrall, he or she has to figure out how to free at least one of their current batch.
What about a cost to the thrall? Something that makes them increasingly useless the more of them the player has or the longer they're enthralled. The former would incentivise the player to avoid situations where another person could be enthralled, but not have a permanent consequence for failing. The latter would give them a reason to look for opportunities to free the thralls before they're rendered useless. Particularly for good-aligned characters, those could work.
Another option could be to put a finite cap on how many people can be enthralled at any given time. If the player wants to be able to make another thrall, he or she has to figure out how to free at least one of their current batch.
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
The Chiang-Ku has its ability to create an elixir that while granting some form of power also is highly addictive. (Rifts England)
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
They are award how it works and how to free the slaves by drinking g it themself presumably so hard to imagine this happening accidentally unless they stockpile potion which is stolen without their knowing.
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
The Chiang-Ku is aware of its effects, but do not advertise that they have the power, They give it out to their 'trusted' minions. At least those of evil alignment do. Also I was suggesting it as a basis for something for OP to create something that would work for his game.
Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
I'm focusing on the 'accidental' though. The Chaing-Ku can't willingly give out the elixir or the slavery is on purpose.
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H.P. Hovercraft
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Re: PC Accidentally Creating Slaves
If you're looking for up to "a couple dozen," accidental slaves, then I think the Divine Aura-type approach would be best, but with you modifying the number to something based off the char's PB/ME/MA.......like you suggested in the OP.
Maybe this character's cap could be: X number of Followers equal to their most appropriate stat + 1DX per level. This would give the number of followers the player is looking for (roughly), while still keeping things under a certain limit that's acceptable to what you're willing to allow. You COULD even think of this type of formula as "Divine Aura-version 2," which grants a large number of Followers in leau of any of the other powers/bonuses.
As far as the "most appropriate stat," goes, what exactly is the concept behind the origin of this ability? Is it Psionic in nature? Magical, Divine or biology based? That question in-and-of itself could help give you a better framework to build this on.
Maybe this character's cap could be: X number of Followers equal to their most appropriate stat + 1DX per level. This would give the number of followers the player is looking for (roughly), while still keeping things under a certain limit that's acceptable to what you're willing to allow. You COULD even think of this type of formula as "Divine Aura-version 2," which grants a large number of Followers in leau of any of the other powers/bonuses.
As far as the "most appropriate stat," goes, what exactly is the concept behind the origin of this ability? Is it Psionic in nature? Magical, Divine or biology based? That question in-and-of itself could help give you a better framework to build this on.