Mindbenders

[Penumbra]

I was just wondering, exactly how hated and feared are mindbenders?
For instance, if you somehow found out a mindbender's powers, how might you react?
What if you fell in love with someone, then learned they were a mindbender?

[ale six]

What if you fell in love with someone, then learned they were a mindbender?

Never, never ever think of cheating on them.

[Rhyden]

I was just wondering, exactly how hated and feared are mindbenders?

A lot.

For instance, if you somehow found out a mindbender's powers, how might you react?

It depends on who your character is. Most average Zalanthans with little to no knowledge about magick would probably be extremely fearful and panicky.

What if you fell in love with someone, then learned they were a mindbender?

Most would probably arrange a break-up pretty quickly, but there are exceptions.

[Ghost]

Hmm... I look at it like...

You find out that your dude is actually a vampire..  Needing blood.  And except that he does not turn you into a vampire and make you someone cool.  Just kills you or turns you into a zombie or just feeds from you endlessly.

Maybe the similarity is not one to one, but try to look at it that way.  What would you do?

[jstorrie]

What if you found out your roommate was God?

And what if you really, really didn't like God?

Yeah. The feeling I think would best be described with 'absolute and boundless horror'. This mindbender could do anything to you, even scramble your mind right out. And he would, because everybody knows mindbenders are incredibly evil and incredibly crazy. They just pretend to be nice roommates so you don't figure them out.

[JohnGalt]

I've had a great amount of experience with this topic.  In my opinion, the populace would view mindbenders with extreme hatred and fear, as much if not moreso than a defiler or other dirty magicker.  As for individual people, especially in circumstances with very close relationships...thats really hard to gauge and is dependent on the characters involved.  

Think about it from the real world perspective, if you found out the person you loved was a mindbender, in a world where mindbenders were hated and feared as much as terrorists with biological warfare are in today's world, how would you react?  Would love overcome that animal terror?  Would you just deny it?  Would you start to rationalize away the fear?  Would you become greedy for the potential power those abilities could give you?  Would you second guess that the love was even real, that the mindbender didn't make you feel that way with their powers?  Would you become paranoid, and protective of your lover after accepting their dark secret?  Would you report it to someone, in hopes of proving your loyalty?  Or would you try and sweep it under the rug, and pretend it wasn't true?

You can see the possibilities for how to react are truly endless, and you just have to have a very clearly defined personality for your character to decide which way to go on these issues.  And after you have that clearly defined personality, you have to be ready to change it completely in accordance with the actions of the mindbender, because they are in fact mindbenders.  Maybe you should let yourself become possessed, or go insane, or any number of interesting and difficult pathways.  Its a wild, wild ride and it can be some of the most challenging roleplay you'll ever experience, but well worth the effort if you try playing out the situation properly.

[Penumbra]

Yeah, I just thought of that... if in the love situation, you started to hate them... well, they could just will you to love them, couldn't they?

[JohnGalt]

Yeah, I just thought of that... if in the love situation, you started to hate them... well, they could just will you to love them, couldn't they?

Maybe?  Or maybe they try, and you resist, and it becomes some crazy battle of wills?  Or maybe you fall for their 'love spell' and become insanely infatuated with them, like a love potion gone wrong.  There is just so many options on how to play out these situations.  Really take some time to sit down and think about it before you decide in a situation like this, because thought out reactions are much more interesting then sporadic knee jerk reactions.

[Penumbra]

Cool, sounds good.
Thanks all.

[Maybe42or54]

I was just wondering, exactly how hated and feared are mindbenders?
For instance, if you somehow found out a mindbender's powers, how might you react?
What if you fell in love with someone, then learned they were a mindbender?

1. If you see or findout someone is a mindbender, kill it, or report it. Chances are it is already fucking up your head.
2. I'd freak out and go into seclusion for a month until I think I got over it and hope to Tek it doesn't come back.
3. You'd kill them or report them, because obviously you don't really love them, they warped your mind to make you believe that so that can do god knows what to you, if they havn't already done it. You remember that weird dream you had where you were sleepwalking? That could have been your lover fucking with your mind and controlling you. You never know.

[Forty Winks]

Hmm, sounds alot like finding out your spouse/husband is a secret agent in RL...I think I'd react similarly.  :roll:

[Angela Christine]

Think about it from the real world perspective, if you found out the person you loved was a mindbender, in a world where mindbenders were hated and feared as much as terrorists with biological warfare are in today's world, how would you react?

How about if you lived in a world where mindbenders where hated and feared as much as they would be in the real world?

Everyone has secrets.  Most of them are really stupid things that other people wouldn't care about, but to you they are the deepest, darkest, most shameful things immaginable.  The mind reader knows your secrets.  All of them.  Even the ones you've buried down deep where you try really hard not to think of them.  You can't lie to him, he will know.  You can fool him, he will know.  You can't plot against him, he will know your plans as soon as you do.  Forget privacy, your very thoughts are on display to him.  You are naked, defenceless.  Deep down inside there is a tiny part of you that knows you are a repulsive little insect, and now he knows it too.  There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.  Wherever you go and whatever you do, the mindbender can reach out and crush you without even leaving his bed.  Mindbenders don't need to speak spells, so he can destroy you while he is calmly sitting in the tavern having an ale, and no one in the room will suspect a thing.

You can't trust your own thoughts, your own perceptions, your own mind.  Did you really think for a moment that the elf over there is a sweet peice of ass, or was that something he put into your head to humiliate you?  Did you really doubt the divinity of the Highlord, or was that a worm of doubt planted by the mindbender?  Is this cave really empty, or is the mindbender preventing you from seeing the monster that lairs here?  Is your room really empty, or is the mindbender simply preventing you from seeing him?  Are you really being chased by a Mekillot, or is that just a psychic phantom sent to frighten you?  Do you dare stop running to find out?  

Like an evil Santa Claus the mindbender knows when you are sleeping, he knows if you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good . . . and you've been very, very bad.


Angela Christine

[Maybe42or54]

Ac. You frighten me.

[Forty Winks]

Damn. *shivers* This is the reason I play Armageddon. Thankyou for that insight, AC.

[Bogre]

"What, yer a fuckin' minder? Ye've tricked me inta providin' for you, ya stupid whore! Yeh'll die afore you bear me tainted children!"

Etc.

[Yokunama]

For instance, if you somehow found out a mindbender's powers, how might you react?
What if you fell in love with someone, then learned they were a mindbender?

Those questions will depend upon the character. Everyone will not react the same way in situations.

[Cenghiz]

Forgive me for derailment. Just wrote to say that I love AC, even when she grits her vaginal teeth.

[Tamarin]

"What, yer a fuckin' minder? Ye've tricked me inta providin' for you, ya stupid whore! Yeh'll die afore you bear me tainted children!"

The beautiful mindbender smiles wryly at you, then blinks her eyes, and you forget everything that happened in the last five minutes.

The beautiful mindbender smiles sweetly, and says in sirihish:
   "Oh honey, you're home.  I cooked you a kank-steak, medium rare, just the way you like it."

[Bogre]

And thats the beauty of it, Tamarin.

[Anonymous]

(waves a hand) move along, these are not the driods you are looking for.

[joyofdiscord]

Those questions will depend upon the character. Everyone will not react the same way in situations.

Yes, true, but I think that can be taken as a given.  I don't think he was asking "how will every character, obviously being all exactly alike, respond to this situation."  Some things are so extreme as to make some kinds of responses unlikely for -any- character.  If someone kidnaps, tortures, and kills all your family, friends, and loved ones, you are probably not going to decide that that person should be your best friend, no matter what your personality.  The exact nature of the response will vary from person to person, but it's virtually guaranteed to be an extremely negative one.  I think this can be generalized to Zalanthas.  Consider the Zalanthan mindset, and especially AC's post.

I definitely wouldn't use "every character is different" as an excuse to just blow it off with an "oh well, my character is in love and love is the most important thing evah, and is very open-minded about these sort of things, and I can just not codedly think anything I don't want them to know anyway."  A loved one being a mindbender can only mean bad things for a Zalanthan, IMO.

[Hexxaex]

I always was under the impression that if someone found out someone else was a mindbender, they would immediatley try to kill them.  Psionicists have an incredible amount of power over people, but there's hardly anything known about their powers.  People just assume the worst.

That's what I thought all along.

[Forty Winks]

I always was under the impression that if someone found out someone else was a mindbender, they would immediatley try to kill them.

Ah, in that case I would hope that the player who suspects otherwise would be using -alot- of thinks if not already, even when plotting the mindbender's death. Not only would it be realistic, it opens up alot of avenues for potentially awesome roleplay situations and plots that the mindbender can put into action...if indeed the person supected is a mindbender. And..there are always ways to combat a mindbender if you are prepared...at least that's what Zalanthans might think with their limited understanding of the Way... :twisted:     :roll:

[Yokunama]

Those questions will depend upon the character. Everyone will not react the same way in situations.

Yes, true, but I think that can be taken as a given.  I don't think he was asking "how will every character, obviously being all exactly alike, respond to this situation."  Some things are so extreme as to make some kinds of responses unlikely for -any- character.  If someone kidnaps, tortures, and kills all your family, friends, and loved ones, you are probably not going to decide that that person should be your best friend, no matter what your personality.  The exact nature of the response will vary from person to person, but it's virtually guaranteed to be an extremely negative one.  I think this can be generalized to Zalanthas.  Consider the Zalanthan mindset, and especially AC's post.

Yes, but people have different ways of dealing with such things. Take the text in your post I put the bold tags around.

:arrow: The character could commit suicide and join the rest of their family in death.
:arrow: They can find that bastard, kick him/her/it in the ass to death, and leave them out in the sands.
:arrow: Have the character try to forget a bout it.
:arrow: Go crazy and believe that this is all a dream that you'll wake up from eventually.
and so on....

There are a lot of ways that situations could be handled. Even though the general public might see this as something to panic about, people have their way of dealing with things differently. Some might become interested in the ways of a mindbender, some might fear them and report his exsistance to the tempalarate, some might feel so powerless and scared they'd join the mindbender, and so on.

[Kalden]

I always was under the impression that if someone found out someone else was a mindbender, they would immediatley try to kill them.

I figure this whole 'HATE HATE KILL KILL' is a little over the top. Commoners are often shallow and stupidly impressionable (hmm, impressionable...a word many of us should take heed of), but above all they are streetwise opportunists. If someone is honest (or foolish) enough to tell you that they're a mindbender, and they're a close friend at the same time, you can count them as a valuable ally. You stay close to them, help them hide their secret, and use it to survive.

You could rat them out, but where's the profit? And wouldn't they know the second that you did it?

The thought might flash through your mind...you could try brutally to suppress/hide the idea, but it would just come back stronger and stronger...the mindbender knows, you think, and the paranoid panic sets in...

I can see it going in many ways, but an immediate 'DIE, YOU EVIL BASTARD' is not salient among them. Please.

The exact nature of the response will vary from person to person, but it's virtually guaranteed to be an extremely negative one.

I disagree. Anyhow, how estranged your character is from society and your relationship with said mindbender makes all the difference.

[Armaddict]

Because of their ability to deal directly with peoples
minds, true psionicists are killed on sight (though of course none would be
so foolish as to announce their presence openly, just as a defiler would
not) in just about every civilized region of Zalanthas, due to their highly
dangerous potential.

That's from the helpfiles.

You can say that it's only templars and such that only kill them on sight, and as their friend, you may help them out, due to there being no 'bonus' with turning them in.  But there actually is.

Know how scary it would be to have a templar in your face asking why you didn't turn in your friend who was a mindbender?  Know how painful of tortures templars come up with in their sometimes sick and twisted minds?

I think not having to worry about that situation is a -huge- bonus.

[Kalden]

Think about it. There are only three situations in which a mindbender would reveal his powers:

• To a loved one. Complete trust.
  
• To incite fear.
  
• For protection or money.
  

I'll give you some examples of #1.

• You grew up with a kid. You were always together, living the streets. You fought off elves, muggers, broke into houses, got wasted, and lost your virginity together. Through it all, your friend always had a peculiar affinity with the Way. His connections were always strong...sometimes he would run and speak to you at the same time. Sometimes it felt like he knew what you were thinking -- it was a little strange, but you two pretended it didn't exist. One day he does something obvious, and you ask him about it. Do you turn him in?
  
  
• You grow up on the streets hustling. Dealing spice, nickin', squeezing into windows and stealing whatever you can. One day you meet a waifish little whore, and you fall in love. You've been with her a year when she gets pregnant. Her connection with the unborn baby's mind is so strong...you'd always noticed something strange about her ability with the Way. You ask her, and she admits to some extra talent with the Way -- nothing really special. She can't read minds, but she can do other little things. Do you turn her in?
  
  
• You're a mercenary. You have a kid and watch him grow up with his mother, who works as a crafter or guard or something. You've always contributed coin to raise him, and you love him gruffly, but you've noticed his exceptionally strong mind all his life. He grudgingly admits to having a little extra ability with the Way. It's a surprise, but you've always suspected something was strange there . Do you turn him in?
  
  
• You started off as a smart, tough salt-gatherer, and gradually worked your way to hunting. You were mentored by a grizzled old man. He's quiet, thoughtful, and always seemed a little wiser than most. After years of roaming the sands with him, saving each other's life more than once, he informs you that he can do some things with the Way that normal people can't. Do you turn him in?
  
  

Those are typical, realistic examples. Unfortunately, most of the admissions that happen on Armageddon probably fall into the second and third group, and maybe the third group the most.

In a perfectly realistic world, mindbending ability wouldn't mean that you're necessarily an evil mind-reading power-hungry son-of-a-bitch. Most people wouldn't cultivate the powers too much. It would come in degrees. They would be around, living in the world and trying to suppress their powers except in extreme circumstances.

[Armaddict]

I don't think the common populace thinks of mindbending as something that can be used for good, due to propoganda that has -always- been there from the templarate and reinforced by everyone else affected by the same propoganda.

Much the same way as Magick isn't evil itself.  Only a mindbender can use it's powers without you ever knowing it...and even with a trusted friend...how trustworthy are they after you realize they can read your mind, could have been manipulating you for years?

I'm not saying there aren't exceptions.  But I think the anti-mindbender mindset has been put up by the staff because that's the way it -is-.

[Bogre]

Very good points and examples, Kalden, but here's just something from the other side of the coin.

What would all those people think about someone holding a secret that long against them? Especially one that could endanger them along with the mindbender? It would be a break in trust (something not easily earned nor given in Zalanthas.)  I think many would feel spited and angry, and that's added to the fear that your thoughts might have been adjusted in the first place.

[Adhira]

There have been some pretty good answers so far to this thread.  The helpfile on the topic (see help mindbender) provides a good basis for how the populace at large would feel.

As the question has been addressed I'm locking the thread so that we don't stray too far into speculation of what a mindbender could possibly do, or reveal any IC sekrits.  :wink:


Adhira