Telepathy and you (Feature Request)

[Rosalin]

If you're a Mummer like me you don't carry around an ESP crystal anymore. Telepathy is a very simple ability. Though I suspect that most Mummers do not learn Telepathy since it serves the role of an item that is only 300 riln. An ability slot is worth drastically more than this. Thus I have a proposition.

Allow those with Telepathy to have a more universal access to tuner colours. I think that atleast having more access to networks other than gray would be an incentive to have the Telepathy ability. Afterall having a tuner on your crystal costs riln (150 per 6 hours if I remember correctly) Otherwise the only method of talking or listening to other colours happens with an ESP crystal, which feels like defeating the purpose for such a wonderful ability.

This last bit isn't really needed but, an extra that could really be a plus for me atleast.

**An echo of [color] in the corner of your mind faintly relays, "That's the man. Be careful." **

--TWHISPER there's no chance of getting caught in stealth if your whispers are telepathic. Unfortunately that means it's a one-way message but, even so. Being able to do this in only the same room OR being able to do this across the network could also be extremely valuable. Even this power alone (provided that the person is tuned into the same colour) I think would be a wonderful addition. Plus whispering to people in the same room is dubious when other characters can see you doing it. Mummers would be able to communicate messages between eachother within a crowd and it would be entirely unknown.

**Glancing at Ferdinand you can see a faint trail of [color] passing from his mind towards Marsha's own.**

Additionally to add some risk. This could be an ability that is detected by MINDSENSE. If there are two Mummers in the room and one Mummer uses TWHISPER to another character then the Mummer possessing MINDSENSE may very well get a message that they can see [ESP-COLOR] passing from the person whom sent the whisper to the target of their discrete words.

Between Mummers I think this would be very interesting both in Gameplay and RP.

[Xanthe]

I agree that having it only access the gray channel makes it a bit useless, but I've treated it more as a skill that perhaps influences the other skills you learn?
Mummers are pretty powerful to begin with. My main issue is that we can't target secondary mobs with words. so if there's two laborers, we can only put the first to sleep. (Bugged). Anyway, that's my two riln. Get that fixed and I'll be happy.

[Sneaky]

Yet more reasons to not trust the ESP network.

[Sneaky]

You can target the second laborer, I believe you have to target it first.

[Xanthe]

No, you can't. I tested it. It will not target secondary mobs with the same name. I tested it very thoroughly with Alila present.

[Sneaky]

So like I said you just have to target the second carrier and then cast the word
You utter the Word of Wonder, directing the emotion toward an infested carrier.
An infested carrier appears deeply mesmerized.

an infested carrier arrives from the southeast.

You are now targeting the second infested carrier.

You utter the Word of Wonder, directing the emotion toward an infested carrier.
An infested carrier appears deeply mesmerized.

[Abandoned Caravan] (OutPlGrFlDt) [temperate] Mild, Partly Cloudy, Calm
At the center of the area there is a small circle of stones. The grass sways back and forth in the wind. You also notice an abundance of algae and mushrooms growing on and around the rocks. The air feels warm and a little humid.
The area is slightly noisy.
Also here: an infested carrier (mesmerized) and [[an infested carrier (mesmerized)]].
Obvious paths: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest.

[Rias]

While the syntax definitely needs to be updated to allow for more intuitively targeting others, Sneaky is correct: You can first enter TARGET 2 CARRIER, then CAST WONDER and it will target the second carrier instead of the first, since you previously established the second as your default target with the TARGET command.

Back onto the topic of the original post: Letting Mummers with the Telepathy ability target specific colors for private communications sounds super neat, and would give the ability a bit more purpose other than a minor convenience and prerequisite for other abilities.

I feel like allowing them to access other channels without a tuner would make tuned channels less popular than they already are, though. I know I wouldn't see much purpose in using a tuned channel for sensitive matters if I knew any Mummer could tune in and listen despite not having the appropriate tuner. As an alternative: Allow a Mummer to tune to a channel when holding a tuner and having Telepathy active. Doing so could drain the tuner of some of its duration, so a tuner wouldn't have infinite duration for Mummers using them in this fashion.

[Alila]

It seems to be an issue specific with words; the targeting syntax works for copies in anything else--elemancy and melee combat--and targeting or re-targeting with the words seemed to work, but only when they were not the same creature. If there is a hound and a laborer, then she was capable of sleeping them both, but if there were two hounds or two laborers, shifting focus to the second hound or laborer would still target the first with words. Hopefully this makes sense? Sorry.

[Jirato]

On the original topic of Telepathy and tuned colors, this was an actual ability in game (Advanced Telepathy), but I removed it.

First, the skill was only available to "Trusted" mummers. - Mummers who had the at-the-time Mummer Guru's approval. I didn't really care for this as it lead to perceived favoritism, and required too much attention to manage, especially after said Mummer Guru left the GM team.

Second, it implied that we wanted Mummers to be spies. While you can certainly play your mummer as a spy if you want, it is not my intent to steer the guild as a whole in that direction.

And third, for the reason Rias mentioned, I was concerned that if knowledge of it was ever made public (It was kept pretty hush-hush between the two trusted mummer characters and the rest of the player base, for the above reason), it would create a distrust of any alleged privacy between on the various tuned ESP channels and discourage use of them.

I'm not really inclined to add it back, either as a separate ability as it was or as an extension to the existing Telepathy ability.

Mummers are not intended to be super psionic warriors with a wide variety of awesome abilities and powers. They're storytellers/bards/what not with some convenience abilities to make their life a little easier. This is the same reason why most of their "combat" abilities, which I'm even hesitant to call them that, are more geared towards passive crowd control rather than direct confrontation. They're not really a combat guild.

[Rias]

It seems to be an issue specific with words; the targeting syntax works for copies in anything else--elemancy and melee combat--and targeting or re-targeting with the words seemed to work, but only when they were not the same creature. If there is a hound and a laborer, then she was capable of sleeping them both, but if there were two hounds or two laborers, shifting focus to the second hound or laborer would still target the first with words. Hopefully this makes sense? Sorry.

Right, It's an issue with Words specifically. As Sneaky and I said, you have to - as a workaround, because this is buggy behavior that unfortunately requires such until fixed - first enter TARGET 2 CARRIER (or whatever creature), then CAST <word> - without specifying a target. Don't type CAST WONDER CARRIER or CAST WONDER 2 CARRIER because that will then override the target you set with the TARGET 2 CARRIER command, and you will end up with the buggy command behavior again. I tested it in-game and was able to use Tranquility and Wonder on both targets of the same type and name in the same room.

Again, this isn't the way it should be - it's some wonky behavior with Word targeting that will be hopefully fixed so you can then just type CAST WONDER 3 LABORER as works with pretty much everything else.

[Rosalin]

Rias allowing a Telepathy user to leech an hour off of a Tuner's duration would be perfect as currently like I mentioned You just have to put said tuner on an ESP Crystal. (And if it leeches an hour that matches the current ability duration as well so I feel like that works. OR alternatively in 30 minute increments.)

The reason I had suggested it at all was just to give some extra usage to Telepathy. I didn't think it would come off as a big spy kerfuffle. With the knowledge presented however I can see why it would be a problem. Though that leeching idea (Where you take chunks of time off of a tuner to allow a connection) I think is at least fair since without a crystal we can't do it at all. (And surprisingly cost efficient!) I just didn't think that it would become an issue of privacy.


I had always imagined I would use Telepathy in some circumstance where my Mummer was captured and stripped of the trinket. Though I had instead opted to never have the Crystal on me if only because I liked to think that it was cooler that my Mummer didn't require a crystal to connect at all.

I would like to know your thoughts on the TWHISPER idea though Jirato. (I will reiterate that it's a one-way whisper so it is already placed with a certain limitation that at least in my mind is rather balanced as only Mummers would have two-way comms and that requires both of them to have the ability.) Even if it's only for use on characters in the same room as you.