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Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:44 am
by AaronCE
I seem to remember somewhere about this, but for the life of me I can't remember exactly where. Would you think the generic Mind Bond power would work with a ghost? (and other intangible beings)

I've always been a big fan of Mind Bond. Both for the complete unbiased knowledge of whom/whatever, but also the delicious associated insanity/neurosis/psychic backlash. All kinds of interesting plot points and consequences.

Oh, and, on the Mind Bond topic, being a PFRP 1st version veteran, the idea of the Mind Bond wearing off (for the psychic) wearing off, always struck me as a bit counterintutive. So in the updated versions, and Rifts/etc. what is teh consensus on Mind Bond and Total Recall? I.e. keep the details (or at least be able to recall the specifics you want to)...

~A

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 12:35 pm
by Mouser13
Mind bond and Total Recall offically don't work since total recall only works with what you have read.

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 3:16 pm
by AaronCE
Mouser13 wrote:Mind bond and Total Recall offically don't work since total recall only works with what you have read.


I suppose that depends on what version of Total Recall you're working with.

~A

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 1:57 am
by Nekira Sudacne
AaronCE wrote:
Mouser13 wrote:Mind bond and Total Recall offically don't work since total recall only works with what you have read.


I suppose that depends on what version of Total Recall you're working with.

~A


it's the only version i've ever seen.

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 7:49 pm
by Prysus
Nekira Sudacne wrote:
AaronCE wrote:
Mouser13 wrote:Mind bond and Total Recall offically don't work since total recall only works with what you have read.


I suppose that depends on what version of Total Recall you're working with.

~A


it's the only version i've ever seen.

Greetings and Salutations. Rifts GM Guide says read, and R:UE even puts "read" in italics. However, if you go to PF or HU (both second editions) the wording reads:

"... remembers every word he reads or hears, or everything he sees."

I'll grant I'm too lazy to check all the other main books, but I did check the ones listed above. Maybe it's one of the many S.D.C./M.D.C. setting differences (as both HU and PF are S.D.C.), or maybe some othe reason. Anyone who wants to do more research into it can feel free. Now I'm not saying it would work with Mind Bond, but it is more than just reading (and for note, the original poster mentioned PF 1st edition in his post as well, so it's not like he focused solely on Rifts to narrow the field and consider other settings not applicable). This post was merely for information of what is in the books.

As for would Total Recall help save the information learned in a Mind Bond? Well, I would personally say no. Total Recall is a Sensitive psionic, but Mind Bond is a Super psionic. In my opinion a Super psionic would trump the Sensitive psionic. Mind Bond says it only lasts for so long so it only lasts for so long (in my opinion). There is nothing in the book stating such (to the best of my knowledge), but to me that just seems a logical thought/conclusion. Opinions on that may vary I suppose. Thank you for your time and patience one and all, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 11:29 am
by ZorValachan
A way to get a convoluted yes.

Mind bond.

Immediately say what happened into a recorder.

Play back and write down.

Read.

Total Recall when need arises.

The Mind Bond power even states the other person won't really know the memory fades, so probably won't make notes, etc. implying the Psychic would. So the above is pretty much going by the book as a string or chain of what to do to link Mond Bond to Total Recall. And if the Total Recall % roll fails..well listen to the recording again, or read your notes.


I do like how in R:UE (177) Toal Recall has reads in italics (as Prysus stated above), then in the next sentence adds 'written and visual information'

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:31 pm
by Mallak's Place
Recently my character was Mind Bonded by a Coalition Mind Melter as a form of quick Field Interagation , Unfortunatly she didnn't know my character was a Necromancer and she wasn't prepared for my character memories of her "Training" and life as a Slave in the Pheonix Empire, she had to roll a Horror check and rolled a 1.
The poor girls was curles up in the fetal position wimpering "get them out. get them out" for days :twisted:

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:51 am
by Lord Z
I am reminded of a Heroes Unlimited character of mine, Doctor Van Dragen, the Memory Broker. I proposed the Mind Bond + Total Recall combo in a thread over at Nexus Nine some time ago, specifically asking if the combination would work since the wording in both powers wasn't totally clear. Despite my own doubts, the Niners decided unanimously that the combo would work. Most even thought that it would be an affective way to collect complete skills and maaaybe spells. I drew the line at learning new psychic powers through this method.

The Memory Broker had some other tricks up his sleeve. He also used Mind Wipe to erase his own secrets from his victim's memories. The easy version of Mind Wipe is only temporary, but the Mind Bond effects wear off first due to an even shorter duration. Then he would turn around and resell the secrets and/or skills using Insert Memory. He's still wanted by Interpol for creating a black market of stolen memories.

None of this would work with nerfed Rifts:UE version of Total Recall. I suspect that word reads is in italics to draw attention to the change from previous versions. You'd think that a master psychic wouldn't be so limited, but Rifts:UE had a lot of weird rules for the sake of game balance.

I've used Van Dragen in a couple of campaigns as an NPC. He ended up in the Court of Tarot.

Back to the original topic of the thread, I would guess that Mind Bonding with a ghost would work if the psychic were herself immaterial from Astral Projection or similar technique. It partially depends on what you mean by "ghost." There isn't a true ghost monster in any of the Palladium games. Haunting Entities and Soul Fragments come the closest for different reasons.

Re: Mind Bond Ghost?

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:08 pm
by Lord Z
The Hypnotic Suggestion is a nice touch. Van Dragen had that power also, but he primarily used it in the classic psychoanalyst context. He was a psychiatrist who developed his powers while experimenting on patients in an asylum. At the time, he was searching for Young's collective subconscious that all of humanity shares but he instead found an artificial collective memory bank of his own making. The Hypnotic Suggestion is really required since the psychic is already inside the victim's mind, wiping out selected memories. He could also erase the memory of the other character getting into the situation in the first place.

Which skills did you use to create the physical contraption for holding entities?