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[✓] Mental Magic Rewrite


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~+ Mental Magic +~

~*~

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Glossary:
Real Mind - A mind belonging to an existing creature. It is solely the creature’s, and is linked to that creature’s soul.
Artificial Mind - A mind created in the Void by a Mental Mage. It is linked to the Mental Mage and may be freely manipulated by them.
Target - The individual being affected by the Mental Mage.

 

~ How it works ~

~*~

The term ‘Mental Magic’ covers many abilities and skills that evolve due to the interaction between two minds; namely, the Mental Mage’s mind and the target mind. Whether the target mind is one that already exists or one created by the Mental Mage is an entirely different story, and utterly separate abilities stem from the interaction with either.

 

The minds of thinking beings may be entered through the Void due to the slight trace they leave upon it, and they may thus be affected by alterations created by the Void-user. Thoughts, emotions, desires and more are all intangible by nature, and thus leak out into worlds beyond the mortal plane, such as the Spiritual and Voidal realms. It is through the Voidal realm, however, that Mental Mages work, and thus the magic requires a Voidal connection in order to be learned and used.

 

Minds created entirely by the Mental Mage, however, are just as peculiar with how they work. Formed entirely in the void, they are made by imprinting a design of the Mental Mage’s making. Due to the immensity of the Void and its incredible capacity to store any form of information (as proven by voidal translocation), these minds are capable of remaining in the Void until called upon again. This is only doable by the Mental Mage that had created it - just as objects thrown into the Void may only be recalled by the translocationist that put them there - and doing so allows them to access the mind as they would another’s, though this mind may be utterly manipulated by its creator. In days past, the ability to create and alter a mind within the void was called ‘Cognatism’.

 

It is through the use of these minds that a Mental Mage is able to perform their magic, and every ability stemming from it may be explained by either referring to the manipulation of an already present mind or the creation and alteration of a new one.


~+ The Manipulation of Real Minds +~

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Said to be the most prominent ability of Mental Mages, the manipulation of Real Minds is one that has been coveted by scholars and spies alike for its versatility. No single person may be certain of its true origins, though there is one such tale that people have come to believe; an old tale of a tree and the fight to defend its forest. There is a single, written recording of the tale, penned by the man said to have begun the practice of modern mental magic; Jon Evaglno.


“In Asulon, there is a place that all living creatures avoid at all costs: the Wretched Grove. This forest of snow and ice has existed in Asulon for many centuries, and its corruption has led many to fear it. However, this forest is not truly what it seems. It was once home to a people known as the children of the forest. These people were unlike the other races that existed in Asulon, in that they kept no place to live. They did not need one, as they were born of trees, and could survive without a roof over their heads. The children of the forest were connected to the trees, for the trees were their ancestors who guided the race in everything they did. The children of the forest had a power over minds of trees and animals alike. The people loved peace, and hated anything that threatened it. The council of trees soon decreed that all the children of the forest should not reveal themselves to anything in their true forms, be it an animal or another Asulonian race. Many came through the grove, and none learned of the children of the forest, so they soon passed out of memory and into legend.

 

There was a terrible nation in Asulon that had just dawned. It developed beasts of fire that needed wood to survive. Before long, the nation had destroyed many forests, leaving harsh deserts where lush forest once was. The nation came across what would be later known as the wretched grove. They brought their lumberjacks with fire and axes to clear the forest and burn its wood to feed their beasts of fire. The eldest tree, known as the Tree of Minds, saw the urge to destroy in the people's mind, and entered every being's mind that it could, and drove many away. It could not get all the minds, so it called upon the children of the forest to defend their home. As soon as the children tried to attack, the men brought their beasts of fire to end this squabble. The beast roared, and shot smoke, and threatened to destroy the peaceful grove the children had worked so hard to protect.

 

After a long and arduous battle, every child of the forest had been killed, and only the Tree of Minds still stood. Even then, the tree was wounded, and continued to fight. However, the losses were not of the children's alone. Almost every person who attacked was either driven away or killed, leaving only a small band among them. The tree changed what they saw, and turned brother on brother. After all had been slaughtered except one, the tree allowed the final one standing to see what he had wrought. In seeing what his fit of madness had caused, he fled, and nothing came to the tree for a long time.

After this event, the Tree of Minds was filled with anger. It cast out everything that came near with violent hallucinations. Eventually, the wound it took healed, and its rage subsided. The tree now appeared to be dead, but was the center of the now almost lifeless forest. It continued to force out almost all creatures. Some creatures, however, were allowed into the tree's inner grove to learn the ancient art of the children of the forest. They were chosen for their curiosity, knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence, and were granted the power to see into other's minds and change their senses. The very few who were granted this power were then cast out to keep the vicious peoples of the axe away from the only source of Mental Magic still existing.

Then, a calamity ensued, destroying the Asulonians slowly. Many of the masters of the tree's art died out and were lost to history. The visitors to the tree became far and in between. Eventually, it could find no intelligent beings, and was alone in Asulon for some time. Then, the descendant races arrived from Aegis. After having been alone for such a long time, the tree quickly repelled all that came near the woods, now using more frightening images than it had during the time of the Original Asulonians. It only saw a squat and war-like people, and people who were fixated on destroying whatever they could to make themselves larger.

 

After finding so many of these people, it found a tall, twig-like person. This person had neither intelligence, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in a great enough degree, but it had an ample amount of curiosity to be taken to the inner grove where the tree was. Here, the twiggy mind was taught the art of mental magic, and sent off, never to find the place again.

It is unknown whether the tree has had visitors since this twiggy mind, but this is a place for them to come forward, and reveal their places of hiding.”

 

The abilities that arise from interacting with a Real Mind are vast, and all of them involve the manipulation of the target mind. These skills and abilities are as follows:

 

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Reaching

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This skill is the most basic of the abilities, and the foundation for manipulating Real Minds. To perform it, the Mental Mage must first connect to the void, allowing their mind to slip into its depthless grasp. If simply seeking minds for the first time with no aid, they would be flooded with a plethora of thoughts, feelings and instincts from every thinking creature around them, unable to detect the exact location or thoughts of these minds. With visual aid, however, the Mage may seek their target’s Mind, aiming to find thoughts, feelings or ways of thinking that are likely to belong to the individual. By using sight to hone down the distance, direction and mental state of their target, the Mental Mage is able to identify the mind amongst the host of other mental presences they would otherwise detect.

 

Red Lines:

One cannot reach their mind out to detect a specific person’s mental presence without some form of knowing where they are. Visual aid is required for the most part, though a Mental Mage may be able to remain connected for a moment if they look away or lose visual contact. Illusions do not provide a proper example of where the mind is, and thus one cannot use an illusion of someone to connect to their mind.

 

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Mind Melding

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Then, with another effort, they are able to connect to the mind, reaching out with their own to view and sense all the complex processes that run through it at any given moment. Their mind, too, would let slip a small amount of thoughts through - the drawback of reaching out - though this can be greatly limited by practice and by perfectly distancing one’s mind from that of their target’s. It is from the act of connecting to a mind that a Mental Mage may perform the remainder of their abilities. Once freely connected to a mind, one may view the current thoughts, emotions, feelings and more of the individual. Though they are unable to view any more than this, this technique in itself is one of the most useful in a Mental Mage’s repertoire. With verbal or illusionary coercion (the latter of which will be explored below), the Mental Mage may cause a person to think upon or recall certain memories. For example, a Mental Mage may mention an event, causing the target to recall the events of that event in the form of a memory. If their minds are melded, the Mage in question would be able to view the brought up memory as the target remembers it, and may choose to ask more questions regarding it.

Another quirk of Mind Melding would be what individuals call ‘Telepathy’. By allowing their own thoughts and emotions through, a Mental Mage may communicate with their target, choosing to either converse or relay information in a silent, reliable manner. Doing so, however, puts the Mental Mage at risk of intrusion from their target, should this target have such an intent and the ability to do so.

 

Red Lines:

A Mental Mage may not read through someone’s memories like a book; they must make the person think or bring them up themselves, else they will be unable to view them. In other words, a Mental Mage cannot force someone to think about something and then view that thing.

Connecting to the void requires one tell, whilst connecting to a mind requires another, separate tell.

Whilst one target may have more than one Mental Mage connected to them, a Mental Mage may not connect to more than one Real Mind.

It is extremely difficult to fully avoid thinking of something if it is brought up in conversation or caused by Mental Illusion, and utterly avoiding this without a Mental Barrier is powergaming.

A Mental Mage will always let a small sliver of their own thoughts or emotions slip through, usually when first connecting to a mind. This can be reduced by practice, but it must be present. Most individuals would rarely consciously detect the tiny slip-up of a master Mental Mage, however.

When Mind Melding, a Mental Mage exposes themselves to retaliation of their target’s own mind, should the target have the capability to do so (e.g. they are a Mental Mage themselves).

 

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Mental Barriers

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Mental Barriers are less a solid, defined thing and more a plethora of techniques all grouped under a single name and goal, with the goal being the prevention of a mental invasion of privacy. They come in many shapes and forms, though the most common are repeated mantras that prevent the Mental Mage from directing the individual’s thoughts. Other examples include scenarios created in one’s mind, false thoughts and memories, chaotic barriers of random thoughts or even being in a fully vegetative state. In effect, any train of thoughts that prevent a Mental Mage from gleaning specific memories can be considered a Mental Barrier.

 

Red Lines:

Mental Barriers do not prevent someone from the effects of Mental Illusions or Diversion of Consciousness, it merely prevents one from divulging information to a Mental Mage. 

Making a Mental Barrier requires conscious effort and knowledge that a Mental Mage is intruding or about to intrude. One cannot typically have a constant Mental Barrier.

All Mental Barriers must have a way to be broken, else they are impossible to create. At any time, a Mental Mage may call upon a member of the MT to make sure there is a way to access a mind.

One must be taught how to make an efficient Mental Barrier by a Mental Mage (who must be able to vouch for it). If taught by a non-Mental Mage, the individual will not have someone to scrutinise their technique and thus will have an inferior barrier. Either way, training to put up an effective Mental Barrier takes many years.

 

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Mental Illusions

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Only possible upon connecting and Melding with a mind, the Mental Mage is able to create feelings, emotions and thoughts and press them upon their target’s consciousness. This ability is vast and extremely powerful, capable of creating illusions that are almost impossible to pass off as false, as it is the very mind of the target that is perceiving them, not simply their senses. Whilst it helps to have personally experienced the events that are being illusioned, a Mental Mage with enough creativity may create any sort of illusion that obeys the laws of logical understanding. Should something be too unbelievable, however - such as the target suddenly teleporting into an alternate dimension - the Mental Illusion would fail. With Mental Illusions, senses may be dulled, altered, increased or even removed entirely, though these must once again adhere to a reasonable amount of believability. By using Mental Illusions, one may even find a way to break a Mental Barrier. Again, the means of doing so vary greatly, and are often specific to the Mental Barrier the Mage is faced with.

 

Red Lines:

Mental Illusions must fall within the spectrum of believability, though this may be bent a good deal due to the mind being directly targeted. Utterly unbelievable illusions cannot be pressed by simple Mental Illusions.


It is difficult to make someone feel something they would not otherwise feel in a situation (such as making an individual feel joy as they see their beloved wife die before their eyes) without breaking the believability of the Mental Illusion, and doing so is often the cause for the breaking of a Mental Illusion.

One cannot control an individual with Mental Illusion or Mental Magic, merely coerce or affect how they perceive things (and thus indirectly altering how they might react).

 

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Diversion of Consciousness

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Named ‘Catalepsy’ in the days of old, this technique can be described by its very name; it involves diverting a Real Mind’s consciousness away from its body and into a dreamlike state. Doing so causes the person’s physical body to fall unconscious, though it may still be awakened by any typical means that wake a person from very deep sleep. Whilst in this state of diverged consciousness, an individual is entirely open to any form of Mental Illusion, as they are - by all technicalities - dreaming. From this, a Mental Mage may access deeper memories or direct the person’s consciousness towards far more specific areas of their mind, and they may even view the more basic structure of a person’s mind. Inversely, a Mental Mage may choose to let the person believe they are still awake, never letting them realise their body has fallen asleep, apart from a small lapse in their thoughts.

 

Red Lines:
This is the only exception to the ‘Mental Illusions’ red lines, where some form of believability is required.
The body may still be awakened if certain actions cause such a thing, though one must be aware that it is in a state of profound sleep.
At the very least, a lapse in thoughts and a brief loss of senses must be used as an indication for the target when they slip into this state (similar to when one walks into a room and forgets what they were doing).
Bringing an individual into this state requires great concentration, and it cannot be done in scenarios where the Mental Mage is focusing on something else (such as in direct combat against an opponent).
The target is still capable of resisting the Mental Mage’s attempts to bring them into this state, especially if they are aware of the Mage’s mental presence. They may also provide a far more powerful barrier if they are aware that their consciousness has been redirected to a dream-like state. Again, this barrier must follow the red lines of Mental Barriers.

 

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Removal of Memories

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Requiring the target to be in a state of diverged consciousness, a Mental Mage may remove certain memories of an individual. These range from fresh memories - the easiest to remove - to old, well-kept memories - the most difficult to remove. The process of memory removal includes the location of the desired memories and then the throwing of these memories into the greedy expanse of the Void. For an Elven week after this, these memories linger, though they fade and become less clear until they are - typically - entirely gone by the end. Doing so is incredibly difficult for long-term memories, and in either case the target experiences a burning pain within their mind, with the Mental Mage sharing a similar discomfort along with magical exhaustion. This is one of the most powerful of the Mental Magic spells, and a master of the art may typically only perform it up to twice or thrice at any given time, though this varies depending on the amount of memories removed.

 

Red Lines:
OOC consent is required when removing long-term memories. To clarify, this OOC consent must be given before the memories are removed, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal.
OOC consent is not required when removing recent memories. Recent memories are defined by any memories that would be lost if someone were to die and be revived at that very moment (i.e. events leading up to the death OR events 30 minutes before the death).
Removed memories leave a large, blank gap in one’s recollection that can be found by a Mental Mage that both knows what to look for and is using Mind Melding or Diversion of Consciousness. Whilst the target can attempt to make thoughts or memories that explain the gap in memories, this rationale is often easily seen through.
Entirely removing an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

 

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Memory Manipulation

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Once again, this ability requires the diversion of the target’s consciousness into a dreamlike state. The Mental Mage may then choose to target an already existing memory (by first discovering it) and explore it with the target’s conscious recollection of it. They may then force the target to relive the memory, using Mental Illusion to edit certain parts of it. Though the entire memory may not be entirely changed, aspects of it can be altered, such as the presence of certain details or the sudden appearance of previously non-existent details. For the memory to be anchored and accepted as true by the target’s mind, one must ensure it is as believable as the original, unaltered version. Anything straying from this would be impossible to do. If all parameters pass, the target’s mind is made to accept the manipulated memory as real. The process is uncomfortable, and a sense of panic is often felt in the target when their memory is manipulated, whilst the Mental Mage experiences greater exhaustion.

Mental Mages are also capable of manipulating Memories so that they are not blocked by the shroud of confusion, stress-related amnesia or more. This type of therapy is heavily dependant on the condition that represses these memories, but the fact of the matter is that they must still be present and existing to be able to be manipulated into being accessed again. Grave consequences can be had from this, however, as a mind oft causes forgetfulness to relieve itself of the stress said memories cause.

 

Red Lines:
One cannot make entirely new memories, merely edit and manipulate current memories to one’s satisfaction. These edited memories must be as believable as the original, unaltered memories, and the changes made cannot be too great. Working with the target is essential, here.
The process takes almost as much effort as removing memories, and the same rule of OOC consent applies when manipulating long-term memories (i.e. any memory that goes beyond the death-rule). 
To clarify, this OOC consent must be given before the memories are manipulated, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal.
OOC consent is not required when manipulating recent memories (i.e. memories that would be lost if the person died).

Manipulating certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though the exact memory must be targeted for this.
Entirely manipulating an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

 

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Memory Restoration

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When faced with blank memories, a Mental Mage is able to put their target into the same state of deep sleep as mentioned before. They may then seek out the memories that have been tossed into the Void, provided they are still somewhat linked to the person who had lost them. These memories are then dragged back and returned to the Real Mind that originally hosted them, though they may be slightly faded and distorted due to their time in the Void. When faced with manipulated memories, a Mental Mage is forced to find any subtle inconsistencies in said memories and alter them - in much the same way there memories were first manipulated - to return as they were.

 

Red Lines:
Restoring memories needs OOC consent, and must be done within a week of the memories being removed (if done by the Removal of Memories). Any memories that have been magically removed by Mental Magic require the Mental Mage’s OOC, express permission to be restored if the removal occurred more than a week ago. (IRL times are used in this red line example).
The Mental Mage that removed the memories of an individual must be contacted if the memories are restored, as it is for them to discuss and debate how many memories can be regained and how clear they are.
Restoring manipulated memories is extremely difficult, as the target has been made to relive them in an entirely different way. The Mental Mage that manipulated the memories must be contacted if an individual wishes to have them restored.
Restoring certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though the exact memory must be targeted for this.

Entirely restoring an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

 

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Mental Magic and Warding

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When interacting with a ward that halts Mental Magic, the Mage would find that they can see the individual but are unable to detect their mind, as it is defended by the ward. With persistence, however, one may continuously attempt to reach out towards where the mind should be, weakening the ward over time. More forceful attempts to reach out and connect would cause a faster draining of the ward, too, though it has the added effect of draining the Mental Mage of their own mana.

 

Red Lines:
No Mental Magic Ward is infinite or unbreakable, though they can be too powerful for a single Mental Mage to break through (in such a case, they cannot be powered by a small or even medium mana gem).
Effort is required to break Mental Magic Wards. One cannot effortlessly drain the ward of its supplying mana. The more powerful the Mental Mage, the less effort required to break such a ward.

 

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Credits:
Jon Evaglno - Writing the original Mental Magic lore and the ‘Tree Story’ in this lore.
Mephistophelian - Writing this lore. 

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So in order to gain a little bit more insight to some of the changes I'm seeing, I have a few questions.

 

So from the start I notice the mental illusions saying you can force emotions onto someone. So you're adding in the concept of phantasms which were previously (at least as far as I knew) only a sensory illusion ability?

 

As far as memory removal was concerned in the past, one could only remove as far back as one IRL hour ago, or just short-term memories. This rewrite proposes the ability to remove long-term memories so long as one has OOC consent to the victim? On top of that, you are proposing being able to restore memories beyond an IRL week ago, so long as the mental mage that removed them gives their OOC consent?

 

The artificial mind is basically just a differently described spectator mind? You are able to create several of them now? It's described as being similar to the amount of things one can reliably remember via the Void like translocation? So does that stack with the things you have to remember object-wise or is it a separate list to keep track of?

 

So basically now there's the concept that memories/artificial minds exist within the Void as potential rather than directly a split off portion of the person's head? In the case of the spectator mind and removing/blocking-off memories, that is. Previously I believed it was just vaguely described as 'erecting a wall' within the person's head to cordon off parts of it for different purposes (like the spectator mind or removing memories)

 

And finally, because I'm a derp, feedback loops are basically just causing oneself to become braindead, yes? If such occurred, how does one recover from it? Do they just die, and are revived normally by the monks? What happens?

 

And finally, I think this is really really necessary. I know that some people might get butthurt because they believe in bias that 'two minds can't work in ones' or something, but let's be honest, it's magic and the original explanations of a spectator mind were highly ambiguous and vague. As far as what's best for magic, I think merging is best. It avoids hoarded, unused magics, gives a broadened scope to how magics work (which I believe is important), gives availability, and is the best way to give a playerbase to a dying medium. I support the concept of this merger in the spirit of what it can bring to a rather inactive type of RP. +1

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I do have concern with this. Mental magic and cognition seem, in my opinion, to do two very different things. Further, the abilities listed of this new magic seem to have a lot of spells. For me, it feels like you are combining two magics to make one, overpowered one. The magics are closely related, though very different. It's like you're combining void translocation and telekinesis to make one subtype with every spell.

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2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

So from the start I notice the mental illusions saying you can force emotions onto someone. So you're adding in the concept of phantasms which were previously (at least as far as I knew) only a sensory illusion ability?

 

Mental Magic has been able to do this before, though it is weaker than Sensory Illusion in this regard since it can only affect one person. This is from what I was taught, however; we must bear in mind the old lore did NOT allow that, but it also did not allow the removal of memories, which happened regardless before it was officially written down. In other words, this is my interpretation of what is canon, though others may differ and I encourage everyone to note down their own interpretations!

 

2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

 

As far as memory removal was concerned in the past, one could only remove as far back as one IRL hour ago, or just short-term memories. This rewrite proposes the ability to remove long-term memories so long as one has OOC consent to the victim?On top of that, you are proposing being able to restore memories beyond an IRL week ago, so long as the mental mage that removed them gives their OOC consent?

 

Yes, it does allow for long-term memory removal with OOC permission. I have seen people who don't mind that, and I think it can only add to RP if both parties consent. And yes, again; this is all sticking to the fact that people may want to RP things slightly outside of what is typically RPed without the need of OOC consent. In other words, no one is forced to RP this or ever mention this. It is simply present for the people who would like to use it.

 

2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

The artificial mind is basically just a differently described spectator mind? You are able to create several of them now? It's described as being similar to the amount of things one can reliably remember via the Void like translocation? So does that stack with the things you have to remember object-wise or is it a separate list to keep track of?

 

Yes, it is basically a different spectator mind, though it is far less powerful at first. You can make several, though one must remember them just as they remember things via void translocation. Since it is the art of remembering, I doubt it counts as a separate list. We remember things quite equally, and it rarely matters if they are different. For explanation purposes, however, one can consider it to be a similar list with different things listed. Think of a grocery shopping list and a car-part shopping list.

 

2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

So basically now there's the concept that memories/artificial minds exist within the Void as potential rather than directly a split off portion of the person's head? In the case of the spectator mind and removing/blocking-off memories, that is. Previously I believed it was just vaguely described as 'erecting a wall' within the person's head to cordon off parts of it for different purposes (like the spectator mind or removing memories)

 

Yes, they exist in the void instead of somehow in someone's head.

 

2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

And finally, because I'm a derp, feedback loops are basically just causing oneself to become braindead, yes? If such occurred, how does one recover from it? Do they just die, and are revived normally by the monks? What happens?

 

Feedback loops vary depending severity. If you have a simple artificial mind you've connected to, it might just be a feedback loop impaired by visual stimulation, which can be dealt with by closing one's eyes and easing their real and artificial minds away from one another. If it is a more intense feedback loop, they mat not recover. As for the after effects; I'll leave that up to the player. I don't like forcing PKs or making people not recover at the monks.

 

2 hours ago, Gladuos said:

And finally, I think this is really really necessary. I know that some people might get butthurt because they believe in bias that 'two minds can't work in ones' or something, but let's be honest, it's magic and the original explanations of a spectator mind were highly ambiguous and vague. As far as what's best for magic, I think merging is best. It avoids hoarded, unused magics, gives a broadened scope to how magics work (which I believe is important), gives availability, and is the best way to give a playerbase to a dying medium. I support the concept of this merger in the spirit of what it can bring to a rather inactive type of RP. +1

 

Thank you :)

 

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1 hour ago, Kowaman said:

I do have concern with this. Mental magic and cognition seem, in my opinion, to do two very different things. Further, the abilities listed of this new magic seem to have a lot of spells. For me, it feels like you are combining two magics to make one, overpowered one. The magics are closely related, though very different. It's like you're combining void translocation and telekinesis to make one subtype with every spell.

 

I agree that it does seem like a lot of spells, but that is just because I have tried to be as thorough as possible. I could have merged many things into one category (removing, manipulating and recovering memories could have just been 'Control of Memories') but I decided agains that for the sake of clarifying everything. Besides, Cognatism's potential uses are not so great that one can consider the abilities as 'adding power'. At most, they are a neat RP gimmick with a bit of foretelling/revelations and enchanting explanations thrown in.

 

As for the overpowered nature; how is it overpowered? How do you believe I could fix this, without changing the fundamentals of the lore?

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Although I guess it's important to note that enchanting has been capable of imbuing limited artificial intelligence without the need of any cognate or anything.

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I'm glad to see someone approach the issue that mental magic isn't feasible anymore by producing this new lore. I also believe it's great to combine aspects of both magics to where the dwindling art, cognatism, isn't lost. However, I do have a few questions about the enchanting element:


-Since these artificial minds are connected to the soul, would the enchantments made with the artificial mind be able to be somehow connected to the soulbound golems in order to provide them with the memory they loss? Same thing with other creations such as homoculi, etc.?

- Could these artificial minds if enchanted and very detailed provide enough information for people to learn magics themselves? Could they possibly be used for lore/events pertaining to earlier history?

 

-When mind melding as well, does the mental mage still have ability to interact with the real world at all? For example, being able to talk minimally in a normal conversation while connected in order to spark the recognition of memories?

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I really like the rewrite of this magic, great job +1

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4 hours ago, _mkkk_ said:

-Since these artificial minds are connected to the soul, would the enchantments made with the artificial mind be able to be somehow connected to the soulbound golems in order to provide them with the memory they loss? Same thing with other creations such as homoculi, etc.?

 

((It may be able to provide them with some of the memories they lose, but they'd first have to have enchanted a specific memory-storing and displaying artificial mind before their death. This mind wouldn't be able to hold enough memories for it to be capable of making them remember who they are, though. In fact, it might cause them even more confusion.))


Could these artificial minds if enchanted and very detailed provide enough information for people to learn magics themselves? Could they possibly be used for lore/events pertaining to earlier history?

 

((By any normal player, no, since you need to be able to practice the magic with a teacher to guide you and the amount of information required would be staggering.... but I would encourage ETs or magic-revivers to consider this as an option, since it's pretty cool and has the added effect of being the 'lost records' of someone.))
 

-When mind melding as well, does the mental mage still have ability to interact with the real world at all? For example, being able to talk minimally in a normal conversation while connected in order to spark the recognition of memories?

 

((Yes, they to have the ability to do this! This is almost essential for finding memories and, as you said, 'spark recognition'. Just as mages may talk when performing magic, so may mental mages.))

 

I couldn't answer your questions very nicely, but they are in double brackets in the quote itself.

 

5 hours ago, Gladuos said:

Although I guess it's important to note that enchanting has been capable of imbuing limited artificial intelligence without the need of any cognate or anything.

 

Yes, it has been capable, though the explanation was never very good or almost entirely lacking. Now we have a good explanation.

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This Lore has been added to this week's Loremag and shall be reviewed by the LT.

Expect a response in about a week.

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         This is very cool, interesting lore, but I disagree with the merging of the two magics. This could just as easily be achieved by writing lore where mental mages are able to perform the Observer's Eye technique to achieve all of these uses minus the ones directly derived from Cognitism. This would allow people, such as myself, the ability to expand on Cognitism and make it a more viable magic and you, a mental mage, to benefit from the original technique as well.

 

         Cognitism is a very young magic in lore, only having existed for around two centuries. During this time, it has not enjoyed the proliferation of many other magics partly due to its initial exclusivity and afterwards its nature of being difficult to understand. Since then it has enjoyed bits of success, but it has still been held back by a lack of teachers and, most importantly, the fact that it could not be viewed by a third party when in use. This led to many, many potential students giving up the search simply because, unless a teacher proclaimed themselves such, it would never be known. Since then I have not only IC'ly published an indepth tome on Cognitism, but I have also much more publicly announced my character's existence and knowledge. Overall, I understand your reasoning and appreciate the quality of the lore, but I disagree that it requires the merging of the two magics to achieve the nature of this new mental magic lore.

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13 hours ago, oblivionsbane said:

         This is very cool, interesting lore, but I disagree with the merging of the two magics. This could just as easily be achieved by writing lore where mental mages are able to perform the Observer's Eye technique to achieve all of these uses minus the ones directly derived from Cognitism. This would allow people, such as myself, the ability to expand on Cognitism and make it a more viable magic and you, a mental mage, to benefit from the original technique as well.

 

         Cognitism is a very young magic in lore, only having existed for around two centuries. During this time, it has not enjoyed the proliferation of many other magics partly due to its initial exclusivity and afterwards its nature of being difficult to understand. Since then it has enjoyed bits of success, but it has still been held back by a lack of teachers and, most importantly, the fact that it could not be viewed by a third party when in use. This led to many, many potential students giving up the search simply because, unless a teacher proclaimed themselves such, it would never be known. Since then I have not only IC'ly published an indepth tome on Cognitism, but I have also much more publicly announced my character's existence and knowledge. Overall, I understand your reasoning and appreciate the quality of the lore, but I disagree that it requires the merging of the two magics to achieve the nature of this new mental magic lore.

 

This. I'll be posting a self-teach app soon(TM) for my character, but really the primary point is this isn't needed, and is unwanted by the four current users.

 

Lore-wise, it would make a lot more sense for it to merge with sensory illusion, given that it's literally performing sensory illusion on yourself, and holds no ties that are remotely similar to mental magic. Likewise, eliminating one of the few things that combat mental magic is pretty sketchy, given that it's already an exceptionally powerful magic.

 

Also, I don't think you should include memory wiping. While it's been "allowed" with OOC consent, once that happened, certain individuals would proceed to wipe memories or change them extensively over long periods of time without telling the players that it was purely a consent-required thing and not actually accepted lore. I fear you'll see a great deal more of this, and thusly, don't believe you should be having memory wipes be included. It adds nothing to RP and is highly abusable, more so than literally any other magic.

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This magic should be purely memetic, circumventing traditional voidiness entirely.

 

that said, it'll never happen because you guys are uncool, so this is a fine substitute

 

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Just now, Aesopian said:

This magic should be purely memetic, circumventing traditional voidiness entirely.

 

that said, it'll never happen because you guys are uncool, so this is a fine substitute

 

 

What is this and why is it burning my eyes?

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Just now, ski_king3 said:

 

What is this and why is it burning my eyes?

 

Memetic, so like exclusively transmitted by information. When you want to erase someone's mind, you just say a very precisely intoned phrase, or (more likely) punch them in a bunch of specific places. Obviously these are extreme examples, in reality it'd take hours to tear someone's mind down.

 

if you've read dune, it's just a fusion of being a bene gesserit and a mentat

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