Psychic Duel Examples

Burning Empires Psychology
1

What sorts of psychic duel statements of purpose have you seen in your games?

Have you seen it used to create sleeper agents? “If I win, you’ll fire on your captain when I say the word banana.”

Have you seen it used to make someone kill themselves? “If I win, you’ll shoot yourself in the head.”

Have you seen it used to cause someone to make decisions they’d never make otherwise? “If I win, you’ll leave your wife and children behind.”

Psychology seems really scary (as it should) and I’m wondering how far people have pushed it and what the results were.

Regards,
Daniel

2

Pretty much every time the Psychic Duel was used it was for major-fucking stakes: “And you’ll be my slave and do what I tell you because you love me!”

Though it’s possible for the victim to win or at least exact a price.

It is powerful and scary. I recommend Instincts like: “When that Bright Mark flares, so does my SCrEW.”

Exterminate all Mules,
-Luke

3

Wow. Very cool. Good instinct, too. I can see running a simultaneous (in game-time) Close Combat with a Psychic Duel in cases like that.

Do you have any advice on setting good, strong counter-statements for Psychic Duels? Particularly in situations where it’s a skilled psychologist against a non-psychologist?

I understand the non-psychologist can leverage a connection or pervert the statement of purpose to some degree, but how would he really put the screws to the psychologist and make him sweat?

Say, in your example. I could say something like, “If I win, my love turns sour and my hatred for you knows no bounds, so I’ll change my belief to involve destroying everything you hold dear.” Correct?

But I couldn’t say something like, “If I win, YOU love ME.” 'Cause I’m not a psychologist.

Regards,
Daniel

4

might you say:

“If I win your attempt to fuck with my mind backfires and you love me instead.”

He would be failing and screwing himself up, you would just be the brick wall of a mind.

what about:

“If I win, I will recognize your Connection to a person if I assess them.”

as now you know “tells” that pyscologist might cause his minions to have when they are attached/connected to him.

5

No. Victims of psychological manipulation cannot use Psychology or anything that smacks of mind control. For the victim, it’s a standard DoW. Target Players may only offer stakes appropriate to a Duel of Wits – not to a Psychic Duel.

-L

6

That’s, “victims cannot… unless they have Psychology and the Bright Mark or Mule traits”, right? I mean, you duel another Psychologist, you’d better practice your adoring, yet mindless gaze in case you lose.

7

Yes. In this case, both sides may take full advantage of the psychic duel.