Telepathy and Mind Scanning?

[Dragonfly]

Hey guys,

I posted on another thread about how to create a Mind Scan power, but BASHMAN's reply makes me suspect that I'm overthinking things.

Let me explain what I'm trying to do. I want to emulate a Telepath's ability to scan an area (a crowd, a building, a city) and be able to detect the presence of minds. Having identified the presence of these minds, the Telepath should then be able to scan those minds telepathically, although not all at once.

I'm an old Champions player (a fact that sometimes gets in my way in BASH), but in THAT system this would be accomplished through the powers Mind Scan and Telepathy.

How would I do this in BASH?

1) Option 1:

Scan 2 (Limited: Only to Scan for Minds), 2 pts.
Telepath, 3 pts.

2) Option 2:

Sense Minds, 1 pt.
Telepath, 3 pts.

3) Option 3:

Telepath, 3 pts.

Right now I'm leaning towards Option 2, but I wonder if just Telepath would work. What do you guys think? Does Telepath include the ability to project your telepathic sensibilities over an area to search for minds in this way, or do I need another power to emulate this?

Best,

Dragonfly

[Dustland]

I'd say Option 1 works best, it gives you the ability to detect direction, distance, and general amount of X in the area that you scan which seems to fit your description.

Sense X seems to work in a similar fashion, but it seems to imply it is more limited in that you don't really pick out an area to check out (it's just some vague area near you) and it implies that it only works on one thing at a time. The two powers kind of overlap, I just think scan sounds closer to what you want to do.

As to Telepathy, keep in mind it requires line of sight if you stick to the rules (though I'd figure that could be bought off with a point via house rule).

While you could look at a target and see if they have thoughts, you really couldn't scan for them with the power, ie detect if there's a thinking something hidden in the closet across the room, much less scan a building for thoughts without walking room to room.

I'd vote #1.

[Dragonfly]

Thanks again, Dustland.

Option 1 is the most Championsesque appraoch, so it's the one I'm most comfortable with (even though I was starting to veer towards Option 2).

Getting feedback from folks like you is invaluable to me, though, precisely because I have "bad habits" from other games, and sometimes need help thinking in new terms. Also, no one in my local gaming group knows the rules better than I do, so I need a community of fellow enthusiasts to bounce ideas off of. I greatly appreciate the help!

Best,

Dragonfly

[BASHMAN]

Telepath would work to find minds that are nearby- like in the same building. The further you are away, the more general the information would be.

So if you're looking for Joe Smith, you can look at a building and say "he's in here". Then you have to look for him. Essentially you get "warmer" or "colder" depending where in the building you go till you find him. You'd be "red hot" once you got into an adjacent room- you'd know which room he was in, if he's hiding under a desk, etc.

If you want to find Joe Smith from somewhere else in the country, you need Scan I think.

[Dragonfly]

Telepath would work to find minds that are nearby- like in the same building. The further you are away, the more general the information would be.

So if you're looking for Joe Smith, you can look at a building and say "he's in here". Then you have to look for him. Essentially you get "warmer" or "colder" depending where in the building you go till you find him. You'd be "red hot" once you got into an adjacent room- you'd know which room he was in, if he's hiding under a desk, etc.

If you want to find Joe Smith from somewhere else in the country, you need Scan I think.

That's good to know. In essence, Telepath used in this way would be kind of like Sense X in terms of game mechanics, whereas using the Scan option allows more of a pin-point effect (with more range).