Forgettable?

[Jkeown]

I have a Hidden Place in my Urban Fantasy game (Ravenna) called Absentia. People from Absentia (Demonym: Absentees) are often forgotten shortly after they are encountered.

 

Is this a Constant Mental Transform (editing/removal of memories (EGO+1))? Or more of a Complication? Both? I'm torn.  

 

It should be noted that Absentees can remember each other.

 

Seems like it leads to this ungainly awful thing (I may be applying Constant improperly):

 

Forget Me:  Major Transform 4d6 (Person With Memories To Person Without Memories, Meeting Again), Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger, Misfire; Leaving; +1/4), Area Of Effect (3m Radius; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Constant (+1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2) (120 Active Points) Real Cost: 120

 

Or maybe I'm overthinking it and it's just this:

 

Social Complication:  Forgotten Soon After Parting Very Frequently, Severe, Not Limiting among Absentees 20 Character Points.

[Christopher]

I have a Hidden Place in my Urban Fantasy game (Ravenna) called Absentia. People from Absentia (Demonym: Absentees) are often forgotten shortly after they are encountered.

 

Is this a Constant Mental Transform (editing/removal of memories (EGO+1))? Or more of a Complication? Both? I'm torn. 

Short answer:

Both and Neither. Likely at the same time.

 

Longer answer:

Depends on how you use them. For many player Characters it could be both a Power and a Complication. It could also be the lack/lessening of a complication (if nobody remembers you, then nobody can pierce your secret ID).

What ifi a person sees you only indirectly? Like on a Camera or in a TV recording from the other end of the planet?

 

The build part:

Using Psychic Surgery type of Transform might be unessesary and will run into range issues.

How about:

"Invisibility (Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Taste), Only prevents being remembered, not being detected (-1)"

or even:

"Invisibility (Memory)"

Being invisible means you can not be percieved at all. Lessening it to "only memory" is possible.

And "Simulate Death" is defined as "Invisibility To Detect Life Signs/Paramedics (10 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes; -2), Requires An EGO Roll (-½) (total:

3 points) plus +1 with EGO Roll (2 Active Points); Only To Enter Trance (-1) (total cost: 1 point)."

 

Overall it does remind me of this Star Trek Episode:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Unforgettable_(episode)

[Doc Democracy]

Like the Silence from Dr Who.

 

Essentially it comes to the point of the GM.  Do you see this as helping the heroes more than it hinders or vice versa? Or do you see it pretty much as a wash - they can do someone a bad turn and they will not remember, they can do someone a good turn and they wont remember.  If they are out of sight, they truly are out of mind.

 

How quickly does the forgetting happen?  That can make a difference.  Does the forgetting mean that they ignore physical evidence such as a note telling you to remember them?  Does it trigger you to destroy such evidence?  Do you simply ignore the image or text that mentions them?

 

It is worth getting all that straight in your head - the concept is a brilliant one if you are telling a story and potentially frustrating in an RPG.  You can expect PCs to exploit it relentlessly.  You can expect them to rigorously find the lines which they need to tread.

 

Personally, if I was a kingdom close to absentia, I would have a school of magic dedicated to countering this, develop a special ops team specifically equipped to deal with rogue people that use their ability to the detriment of mine, to detect such people and to protect my elite from interference from them...

 

If a PC was from Absentia then that special ops team would also be an automatic watched complication.

 

Personally, I would be tempted to have it as a 0 point complication (building in the watched) to begin with and see where it goes...

 

 

Doc

[Ndreare]

I have built this power before add

 

Invisibility to Memory

 

People would remember doing weird actions, but they won't remember why our who they interacted with. I then let mental defence work as a perception bonus.

[Steve]

I have built this power before add

 

Invisibility to Memory

 

People would remember doing weird actions, but they won't remember why our who they interacted with. I then let mental defence work as a perception bonus.

How do you decide what bonus they have? Divide it by 5?

[Ndreare]

1 to 1 with Mental Defence.

This makes it much harder to remove memories from people with mental training.

But other settings may vary.

[Jkeown]

All good ideas! I like the ones based on Invisibility. I hadn't even gotten close to that. I've just dug a hole for myself with it, is all. My current Ravenna game has a Mortician (Hunter of the Dead), a Noble Wild Raccoon Healer, a Nightstalker (Magic Detective), an amnesiac wizard with a strange Svartalfr companion, and a Half-Golem Wall of Meat with a love of Shotguns.  I want to introduce Absentia as a place of sanctuary, but messing with player's memories without an actual power construct is asking for heat.

 

Game is weird enough as it is. Started with a hillbilly Shadow Cult and might end with the destruction of Indianapolis.

[Tasha]

It sounds very similar to Invisibility with the "Someone Elses Problem" special effect. Where the Person with invis is just ignored because the mind just writes them off as "Someone else's problem" so they are basically not remembered and not really noticed. (Thanks to Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series for this one)

[bigdamnhero]

We had a similar discussion a few months ago; you might find some good ideas there.

[Manic Typist]

Suggestion:

 

Everyone in the world who is not immune to this effect (not from Absentia) takes a Zero Point Complication: Can't Remember People from Absentia.

 

 

If someone wants to counter this, then they can use Transform or buy off the Complication and this will indicate that they've found a way around it.

[Mr. R]

There is a NPC in Threat Report by Green Ronin who has the same power.  They bought it as a Conceal effect (invisibility/Darkness) that affects memories with a Will save (Ego roll) to resist!

 

NPC is called Arcanix!