TEARZ:Psi

Mystik MindSkapes! Not just Psi!

By 'Knockwood' Additional Content By Shanya Almafeta

(Did this go through legal?)
(Not yet. Got one more round of editing to do.)
(OK, just make sure that goes through before release. And don't forget the trademarks, damn it!)

The mind. The final last frontier.

Within the minds of all creatures are vast labyrinths, corridors and passageways that twist among themselves at the speed of the stray thoughts they are. Intelligence becomes complexity, wisdom becomes ornateness—and light or dark is determined by Alignment.

A few classesT.E.C.s can enter these labyrinths to help their friends—or utterly destroy their enemies. These are collectively called the Mystik MindSkapers. The three T.E.C.s in this group are:

• Mystik MappMakers
• Mystik Mar-Odd-Ers
• Mystik Masturs

(The 'odd' spelling is there because the continual journeys into others' minds cause Mystik MindSkapers to live in different mental circles than the rest of the world, and their language reflects it.)

(You're kidding, right?)

Basic Mystik MindSkaper Abilities:

1. Breach the Wall of Mentalus
3. See the Paths and Destinations

Mystik MappMaker Abilities:

1. See the Paths and Destinations
2. Locate Within the MindSkape
3. Block the Tunnel of the Soul

Mystik Mar-Odd-Er Abilities

1. Locate Within the MindSkape
2. Void the Chasm
3. Thespis Charm

(Can we make these sound less scatological, please?)

Mystick Mastur Abilities

1. Block the Tunnel of the Soul
2. Rip the Walls of Wondering
3. Fold the Floors with Fury!!!

(Christ, is this guy a metalhead or what?)

Ability Descriptions

Block the Tunnel of the Soul
Once the Mystik MindSkaper finds the correct tunnel that connects thoughts between two Noudes, he can block that tunnel with his Mistik Meat Body to stop any thoughts going that way. Blocking the tunnel between the Judging Noude and the Action Noude causes the victim to not do anything; blocking the tunnel between the Precept Noude and the Figuring Noude prevents him from interpreting what he sees or hears; and so on.

Breach the Wall of Mentalus
This is the basic ability to enter the Mystik MindSkape of someone. A 1st-level Mystik MindSkaper must touch his victim and concentrate; at later levels he only has to point to his victim from across the room. (Put the MMS Distance & Gesture chart here.)

Fold the Floors with Fury!!
Utterly destroys the structure of the mindscape the PsyMystik MindSkaper is in. If in a Node, can utterly destroy that area; if in the maze, can cause the entire mind to collapse! (What's the difference? Clarify)

Locate Within the MindSkape
The Mystic MindSkaper can search through the labyrinth of someone's mind for a specific memory—it will look like a large gem when found. When grabbed by the Mystik MindSkaper, it will be accessable in his own mind.
(Look—you can call this “telepathy”. It's in the dictionary. No one will sue you for using a word that's in the damn dictionary!)
(Can't copyright it either.)

Rip the Walls of Wondering
Destroys the section of MindSkape that the Psy is in. The character rips apart the walls of the tunnel he's in, leaving RUBBLE behind! (OK... what's the difference between this and “Fold”?) It leaves the floors & stuff intact, tho. And you can't use this on nodes. (That helps. Edit this better)

See the Paths and Destinations
Allows the Mystik MindSkaper to look at the entire labyrinth from overhead to determine the overall mental state of the victim. Note that you cannot change anything from up there, just look at it.

Thespis Charm
Allows the Mystik MindSkaper to re-write one memory of the victim by acting out the new memory right there, creating a gem of the performance, and replacing the gem of the old memory with the new one.
(Who's Thespis?) (Guy that wrote the first play ever. Learned about him in Drama class. Kid did his homework.)

Void the Chasm
Allows the Mystik MindSkaper to eliminate one memory or skill by removing the memory-gem and then flooding the area to eliminate any trace of the skill.
(What do you need the flood for?)

Mystik MindSkapes!

When a Mystik MindSkaper uses the Mystik MindSkaperonic skill “Breach the Wall of Mentalus” on a victim, the Mystik MindSkaper enters the victim's mind. At first he sees an overhead view of the “Labyrinth”, which is a series of passageways that twist and turn, yet all look alike. (Still too close. Change!)

When he wants to do something in the mind, such as Locate Within the MindSkape, he descends into the Labyrinth itself and must traverse the corridors in turn to find the memory. The memories themselves resemble large gems, though only important ones will be visible.

Doing the MindScape TrekTraverse takes time, as the Mystik MindSkaper must travel through the caverns, fight or deal with stray thoughts and ideas he encounters, and deal with the traps and snares the victim typically has in his brain until he finds what he's looking for. This is a good time for the other players to take care of housekeeping activities, such as updating their T.E. Sheets, or counting their Coins Won.

(So basically it's a dungeon crawl for the brain guy, then?) (Yes, but he's tougher. Check the chart.)

During the MindSkape Traverses, the GM may call for rolls. Rolls in the MindSkape are different from other rolls. For one thing, one die rolled must be a specially marked 6-sided die, which is treated as a “Mystik d5”. When rolled, if this die comes up 1-5, add the roll normally; if it comes up 6, add the roll, but also add one Migraine Point to the character's total.

(So it's a d6, basically.) (no, it's a d5 that's special)

The other dice are determined by the relevant skill level:

1	d4+d4+Mystik d5
2	d6+d6+Mystik d5
3	d8+d8+Mystik d5
4	d10+d10+Mystik d5
5	d12+d12+Mystik d5

When rolled, the dice must be higher than the MindSkape Challenge Number:

	MCN
Easy	10
Normal	15
Difficult	20
Hard	25

(These numbers are screwed up! Where are the playtest notes?) (We didn't have the time for playtests this year. Maybe we'll get some in time for Ultimate TEARZ™.)