Psychic Knack - Impressions, contributed by
Pete Sears
Mesmerist Level 2
"No Detective. Miss Cambridge had nothing to do with this murder...Call it
more than a hunch."
You have the ability to open yourself to emotional impressions that have been
left on persons places or things. You always are able to take in the strongest
emotional context attached and in some cases you have visions of that event.
System: When the Mesmerist wishes to scan something for psychic impressions,
He makes a Perception+Awareness( or Rapport when used on a person) in order
to discern the strongest emotional content attached to it. (note that this might
not be what the mesmerist expects. A hammer that was used as a murder weapon
might have impressions of the 12 years it was used as a carpenter's tool...and
that carpenter's general emotional content as impressed on the hammer over time.)
The Mesmerist must touch the person, place, or thing.
The Mesmerist may also elect to try a much deeper scan of something by placing
himself into a deep trance. (which takes at least 10 minutes) and then spending
a point of Inspiration and then making the Awareness/Rapport roll. When this
is done the mesmerist may then step into emotional events and view them as if
he were there when they happened. Invariably the Mesmerist seemingly enters
the body of one of the participants. There are a couple of downsides to this
Precognitive fishing expedition though. Any damage you sustain during the trance
ends it immediately, You may also sustain damage in the vision. (while this
damage does not necessarily end the vision it can be extremely unpleasant..)
Example: Dr Prospero is examining a murder scene at the behest of friend.
Since he's coming up dry for clues he elects to enter a trance and see if he
can piece together what happened. After entering the trance, He realizes that
he's entered the body of the victim who was slowly tortured to death by Tommy
"Two-Times" Freschetti. Each time the victim suffers damage. Prospero must roll
a stamina+resistance check to remain in the vision. If he fails, he suffers
1 point of bashing damage for each 1 one the check roll, which he may soak.
If he botches he may not soak this damage... and is bounced back into the real
world. Prospero gets up the worse for wear and vows justice upon Tommy Two-Times.
Later on his career, Dr Prospero scans another crime scene only to find himself
in the body of the killer this time. He'll get a good look at the killer's hands
and hear the killer's voice. He'll know the killer was aroused when he cut his
victim's throat and he'll probably be slapped out of his trance by his compatriots
who are worried over his giggling before he can identify the killer at all.
Storytellers are encouraged to be spectacularly cruel with botches on the roll
above. Mesmerists might develop horrific mental imbalances as a result of trauma
or touching the minds of deeply troubled individuals.
