Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Four:Special Rules and Systems (section)

== Madness: ==

A genius who believes that his worldview is the only correct one and that all others are mistaken, deluded, lying, or conspiring against him is an unmada.

This attitude is, in theory, opposed to the notion in the Peerage that Mania is something outside regular reality that impinges upon it. Nonetheless, some members of the Peerage are unmada. Other unmada are rogues, typically lonesomes who barely understand who they are or what they're doing. (Not all lonesomes are unmada, though: many realize that their wonder-working is not entirely "sane," even if they lack the language to explain what's wrong with them.)

All Lemurians are unmada. The principle behind Lemuria is that one's worldview as a genius is correct and that anyone who opposes it opposes you. To connect the many different contradictory philosophies of individual Lemurians, Lemuria postulates an "Archweltanschaaung," a Unified Theory of Genius in which every Lemurian's worldview is simultaneously valid.

Illuminated are also all unmada. Though they may seem perfectly cognizant of their nature, they nonetheless twist reality merely by their existence as Inspiration spills from them into the mundane world.

An unmada experiences the following modifiers and special conditions:

* Attempts to argue against them (usually Persuasion checks) based on external facts about the world, or to change their mind with regard to facts about the world―but not about moral or Obligation-based considerations―suffer a penalty equal to half their Inspiration.
* An unmada suffers double the normal Jabir penalty.
* An unmada loses one point of Mania per day instead of regaining one like other geniuses. The genius cannot refuse to spend this point of Mania.
* An unmada generates a field around herself, called an unmada field, its extent based on her Inspiration. An unmada who cannot spend a point of Mania (see above) cannot sustain her field, which collapses until she gets a point of Mania. (Once she has Mania, she immediately spends one point to restore the field.)

=== The Unmada Field: ===

An unmada field extends around an unmada, covering an area based on her Inspiration. A mad scientist's unmada field reflects the unmada's own beliefs, echoing her philosophy back at her and twisting reality and perception so the unmada's worldview and aesthetic sensibilities are repeatedly validated.

This unmada field offers a rich environment for manes, who can remain stable (not orphans) if ideologically compatible with the unmada's madness. Manes spawned by the genius' madness or drawn by compatible nonsense inhabit the unmada field. They have no fixed number, but geniuses usually estimate a total number of Size units of manes in an unmada field equal to genius' maximum Mania.

{|
|+
|'''Inspiration'''
|'''Area'''
|'''Nature of Local Manes
|-
|1
|Same building
|Small regular objects and plants
|-
|2
|City block
|Small animals, hand-held objects
|-
|3
|Several city blocks
|A few clever person-sized animals, many smaller creatures
|-
|4
|City neighborhood
|A few intelligent creatures, several animals, many smaller creatures
|-
|5
|City directional location
|Thriving ecosystem and small communities
|-
|6
|Half of city
|Thriving intelligent culture
|-
|7+
|Entire city
|A few Inspired manes
|}

The manes inhabiting an unmada field view their sustainer as a sort of liege. Maniacal animals treat him not quite as a master, but as a source of safety and authority. An unmada automatically receives Allies (Unmada Manes) with a dot rating equal to half his Inspiration. Manes can guard areas, report suspicious activity, pass along information, or offer super-scientific advice (if intelligent). They will not be used as a personal army or security force. A genius needs automata or beholden for lab work or muscle; unmada manes don't serve in that capacity. These manes, of course, also have a vested interest in keeping a mad scientist crazy.

An unmada field follows a genius, though it may take time to re-establish the field if the genius moves a lot. If a genius moves outside of his field, his effective Inspiration (for determining area of control and the richness of the maniacal life there) begins at zero and increases at a rate of one dot per week until it reaches its maximum.

An unmada field is noticeable to geniuses. (See [[Genius_The_Transgression/Chapter_Four:Special_Rules_and_Systems#Detecting_Wondrous_Things:|#Detecting Wondrous Things]], below) Even at low levels, ripples of insanity swirl through a genius' home. Evidence against his world view seems to disappear. Arguments falter, growing confused and unconvincing. As an unmada's power grows, small objects appear that satisfy the unmada's philosophical or aesthetic sense: one might find that the store next to an Etherite's house sells tiny but functional toy electro-guns or more cars with fins tend to drive by, while traditional Oracles find unsavory technology disappearing around them, replaced by simple, well-made machinery. A powerful unmada is basically sovereign inside his own mind, immune to contradictory evidence―which vanishes―and surrounded by eager, fawning servants, happy to feed the echo doctor's delusions back to him. Manes that match the genius' ideas appear constantly, reshaping the unmada field like fairy-tale brownies until it resembles the unmada's ideal environment.

=== Going Crazy and Getting Better Again: ===
A genius becomes an unmada by failing an unmada check. Several types of frantic Maniacal work can trigger an unmada check. (See [[Genius_The_Transgression/Chapter_Two:_Character_Creation#Unmada.2C_Brilliant_Madness:|#Unmada, Brilliant Madness]]) Some geniuses deliberately cultivate madness, repeatedly performing [[Genius_The_Transgression/Chapter_Two:_Character_Creation#Deep_Inspiration:|#Deep Inspiration]] without spending the Mania gained until they lose their minds.

Snapping out of being an unmada is not easy. If the genius is a Lemurian, she must leave her baramin behind, either becoming a rogue or joining the Peerage. This takes a full month for the subscription to run out. Next, she must focus on "stoppering" the flow of Mania. This requires one point of Willpower per day for a number of days equal to the genius' Inspiration. These points must be spent every day, in order, or the genius must start again. During this time, an unmada's resident manes will grow increasingly frantic, attempting to stop her from abandoning her psychological state.

Once the work is done, the genius must spend all her current Mania and make an Inspiration + Resolve check. (A genius can spend her Mania on "nothing" at her normal expenditure rate.)

''Dramatic Failure:'' The genius' maniacal resolve hardens. She must make an unmada Check, which threatens Illumination.

''Failure:'' The genius cannot escape her unmada status. She may start again by spending Willpower again.

''Success:'' The genius escapes her unmada status. Her unmada field diminishes as if her Inspiration were declining by one point per day until it is gone.

''Exceptional Success:'' The genius snaps back to full lucidity. Her unmada field disappears instantly and she regains a number of Mania equal to her per-turn expenditure.

''Suggested Modifiers:'' Every point of Mania still in the genius' system (-1), the genius has fended off her unmada manes (+1 to +3), the genius has risked Illumination in the past month (-2), the genius has left her unmada field (+1), the genius still belongs to a Lemurian zotheca (-2), the genius belongs to an unmada-free collaborative (+2)