Kulturfog comes from R. Emmitt Tyrell of The American Spectator who took it from the Germanic 'kulturkamp' which is basically 'culture war'. He talked about how even smart, correct people find themselves blunted and weakened in a fog of resistance.
So, a Psi Skill: Kulturfog.
1. Its Always Active, and people who use it are not generally aware they have it up.
2. It imposes mental costs on leaving certain accepted lines of thought. Perhaps it means that to be truly creative or logical or original one has to make a Difficult Willpower Challenge.
3. The field covers a large society and is generated by most in that society. Each contributes a very small part, but the result is completely pervasive (or nearly so...maybe thats why some artists go to cabins in the woods) and subtle and strong. It shapes minds without the minds being aware of their shaping.
4. Certain people with 2@ mental traits are more easily able to resist the Kulturfog. If you have multiple 2@ mental traits like Willpower and Intuition or Willpower and Intelligence you find yourself in an odd situation. Most everyone around you is dull, banal, and not very logical, but you're able to push past this to clarity. You're the One-Eyed Man in the Land of the Blind (or Really Near-sighted).
I'm not sure what psi level this would have to be. And I bounce it over to the system designer chaps for their consideration.
I'm wondering why this would be considered a skill, as opposed to something more like natural psionic static--a condition existing in a universe as part of its design that makes original ideas difficult. We already have established that imagination relies on the mag bias area, and that given negative bias the indigs have none. We also know that in the psi bias area it is possible to have a high bias and also have a relatively high level of psionic static that opposes it--one design for the Star Wars universe takes this tack, giving a 15@10 bias to the world, strongly penalizing all skills by virtue of this static, and then devising a telepathy variant that enables the skilled user to draw on the psionic "force" in all living creatures to overcome that static. I would think that the same could be the case with this kulturfog, that it creates penalties against the ability to see beyond what is, but that some develop a skill (a M1@0 religion variant) to see beyond the limitations of the universe.
Just as with psionic static, it could also be a skill--probably a mag skill (and I am immediately brought to think of the queen in Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, telling the prince's rescuers that the world they remember does not exist). What I don't see is why this which sounds like a world condition would necessarily be a skill--unless you were trying to create a race of people who unwittingly deadened the imaginations of others wherever they went. Even if you wanted to limit the effect to specific areas, you could do so by imposing sub-universe boundaries.
Those are my initial thoughts.
--M. J. Young
Well, I could see natural psi static as a skill. In one story, you could develop psi after you get away from the enormous number of minds on Earth.
Its a 'as above, so below' or fractal patterns all the way down phenomenon. Remember my Seals of Creation. That was a mimic of the bias limits for magic. Bias limits are set by the reigning deity, and seals of creation are instituted by the archmage (generally). One notch down in the power scale.
Basically, a lot of what I've done over the years is embroidering and embellishing on the pattern you've created. This is more of the same.
Its an interesting conception of kulturfog as a banality-low imagination field. Thats a cool variant of the idea I'm talking about, and it could be used in another universe.
The trying to create a race of people is more what Tyrell was getting at. He was talking about how the continual pressure of the surrounding liberal ideas erodes and weakens and blunts even strong conservative minds. Its an active force.
OTOH, a banality field inherent in the universe might be the best artistic metaphor. Sometimes you want to be obvious about what you're saying, and sometimes you want to bury it a bit deeper. Pre-baptize the imagination as some guy said.
Of course, this doesn't have to be a conservative-liberal thing. One way to look at it is 'amped up peer pressure'. That could be a good design for a younger player...drop him into a world where you have to actively fight to be different...where if all your friends jump off the bridge its a difficult willpower challenge to avoid following them over...thats slightly different than a kulturfog or a banality field inherent, but it could be fun too.
I've sometimes wondered why my psychosis did not inhibit my ability to learn psionics. I realize that MJ, having little to no experience with it, couldn't understand. However, I could easily imagine myself losing complete control of the psionic powers completely at random. I used to have minor psychotic episodes all day long. I called them "Flashes" This is where the synapses in my brain would misfire momentarily, and I would get a headache that lasted usually not more than a few seconds. Sometimes, usually when I was alone, I would have minor episodes that came completely at random, especially under stress. I could imagine myself, in this state, losing complete control of the psionics. Not "Botching" but just using simple TK more or less without control. That I would walk into a store and psionically pull half of the items off of the shelf, just because my brain misfired.
Also, I would find it hard to believe if a person could read my mind clearly. Before I started doing the therapy, I had the equivalent of a radio tuned to a static station playing inside my head constantly. I'm used to it, and I often had trouble sorting through it. I'd really like to see someone else who is not accustomed to that sorting through it. My character is no longer psychotic, but I could imagine him deliberately going back to that, to thwart mind reading attempts. This is kind of along the same lines as what you're talking about.
On a different note, does anyone know the difference between being mentally ill and being insane? A mentally ill person realizes, accepts and acknowledges that they have a problem. An insane person either doesn't realize it, doesn't accept it, or doesn't acknowledge it. A few months ago, a lady that I know was telling me that I needed to be locked in a straight-jacket, and she was screaming and banging her fist on the wall whilst she was saying it...... Who is the insane person?
By definition, I'm probably the single most sane person who visits this board. At least I realize I have a problem. Do you?
I've sometimes wondered why my psychosis did not inhibit my ability to learn psionics.
I have heard the reverse argument, that psychosis makes learning psionics simpler. I choose as game designer to negate both views, since they balance.
That's actually a good idea for a botch--and I know that you've said "not botching", but this would be more of a random effects/wrong effect botch. You walked into the store and attempted to read something that was in another language. Botching on your language skill, you abruptly trigger some random psionic ability you have.However, I could easily imagine myself losing complete control of the psionic powers completely at random. I used to have minor psychotic episodes all day long....Not "Botching" but just using simple TK more or less without control. That I would walk into a store and psionically pull half of the items off of the shelf, just because my brain misfired.
This actually would be a skilled psionic mental defense under P2@ skills; I'm not looking it up, but it might be a thought concealment variant. (Psionic Static as listed there is an area defense, blocking transmissions of skills through the area to or from anyone within it.) As to whether this internal static you experience would interfere with mind reading--well, that would also be a skill if translated to Multiverser terms, it doesn't really matter whether it works in reality because there's no evidence that anyone actually can psionically read minds (if there were, James Randi's group would have parted with its million dollar prize by now) and we don't play in this universe anyway.I would find it hard to believe if a person could read my mind clearly. Before I started doing the therapy, I had the equivalent of a radio tuned to a static station playing inside my head constantly....My character is no longer psychotic, but I could imagine him deliberately going back to that, to thwart mind reading attempts.
By definition, I'm probably the single most sane person who visits this board. At least I realize I have a problem. Do you?
Perhaps it helps you to makes such arrogant statements. In point of fact, yes, I am quite aware of my own psychiatric problems, and I deal with them generally without discussing it publicly. Only one of the problems I might have has been formally diagnosed, and that diagnosis is in doubt (some think it something else). The details are not for public discussion.
*****
Eric: Perhaps I'm not entirely clear what kulturfog does; or perhaps the problem is that it fails to make a distinction that I make. Logic and language are classed as psionic in Multiverser terms, but creativity and imagination are classed as magical. If you're trying to deaden the ability to think clearly, describe and discuss thoughts, reason to conclusions, then you're looking at a psionic suppression of some sort; if you're talking about stifling creativity or imagination, that's got to be magical.
I agree that such suppressive skills could be innate and uncontrolled; that, though, would be the exception. The trick, to my mind, is to figure out what it is that the skill is and does when it is controlled, whether this is related to some natural state, whether the skill impacts the natural state or creates a replica of it, and then finally what happens if it functions from people independently of their wills.
It appears that what the skill does is deaded creativity. That makes it some sort of magic skill, as mentioned above. It might well be connected to something like psionic bias only as a supernatural (or anti-supernatural) element. As to whether the skill impacts the natural state or replicates it, there might be two distinct skills--one by which the skilled user manipulates/concentrates/dissipates the field immediately around himself or his target area, the other in which he creates the energies himself.
--M. J. Young
By definition, I'm probably the single most sane person who visits this board. At least I realize I have a problem. Do you?
Perhaps it helps you to makes such arrogant statements. In point of fact, yes, I am quite aware of my own psychiatric problems, and I deal with them generally without discussing it publicly. Only one of the problems I might have has been formally diagnosed, and that diagnosis is in doubt (some think it something else). The details are not for public discussion.
Well, I wasn't aiming that directly at you, MJ, but just a generalized statement to the reader. When that lady was saying that I needed to be locked in a straight-jacket, and she's screaming and banging her fist on the wall..... I'd say that's someone who doesn't realize their own mental problems. By definition, that would make them insane. Of the people on this board, I've evidence of several mental illnesses. Do those people know they have the problem? I'm not going to say who, out of respect for these people, but I'm curious if they even realize it. Since I do realize my problems, by definition, that makes me more sane. (Hey, take it up with my doctor, she's the one that said it)
I like supressing logic and creativity. Now what do I do? Genuine creativity is often part of thinking clearly, of being able to follow a string of logic to a new place. I'm thinking psionic is more the thing, but I could be wrong.
The unusual person is the one that has learned control, and hence doesn't broadcast anymore, unless they want to. This is a skill people pick up from their parents as young children, and they're not even aware they're doing it. Someone would have to be unusually self-aware and honest to realize they were doing this, and then work on learning how to stop it.
I'd say the skill when operating impacts the natural state. You're thinking normally about various stuff, and then you decide to focus deeply and clearly on something the Kulturfog producers don't like, and suddenly you're having a hard time keeping your train of thought going, even keeping on thinking on that issue.
The typical skilled user broadcasts 24/7 (although less so when asleep) (which would explain why some artists write late at night). I imagine that such a person could learn to turn it off, and then learn to recognize its effect on himself, and then learn how to project a psi bubble that keeps his immediate surroundings clear of damping thoughts.
For me, its hard to make the distinction between logic and creativity for in my own life they are greatly intertwined. But I think perhaps in game terms, creativity damping, might have the edge.
However, I still want those with exceptionally strong minds to have an advantage.
One of the effects of this is that the advantage a strong mind has is multiplied. The ordinary man who gets flashes of genius doesn't get those flashes, or he ignores them more often. Thus there are two very distinct levels of mental power.
Yeah, but Eric, it just occurred to me. If this was the way the world worked, technology would be very, very low. How many advancements in technology are created as a side-effect of these moments of genius that people have?
I mean think about it. There's a huge river that separates two regions. On the other side of the region, there is an ample supply of food that could sustain them for a very long time. How do they get to it? "Well, I could build something to float across the water.... What was I saying? Or maybe I could try to build something so that I could cross over top of the water without going into it.... Oh look, a squirrel" Everyone would have Attention Deficit Disorder. Technology would be incredibly low in a world like this.
Good point, John. I guess I'd say that this skill developed later. Perhaps there is a menu of choices for skills.
You can choose 1. Faith and Progress which encourages individual thinking, and logic,and faith in a logical universe.
2. Or Kulturfog.
3. Or Fatalism.
And until recently, most cultures that are dominant chose 1. Perhaps thats the sign of loss of dominance...you chose 2, and suddenly tech growth and problem solving grinds to a halt.
Its a way of showcasing cultural effects with magic power/psi power to back it up and make it more visible. Arrive in a world where everyone's fatalistic, and have a hard time jumping out of the way of a car.
Never mind. I got a little political in this post here.
Or perhaps they made it to a decent level of technology, and the Kulturefog is a side-effect of someone's psionic botch. Technology would then be stunted at say a 1950s level.
How could they repair technology though? "The car doesn't run. I need to fix it.... No wait, I think I'll go watch the baseball game on TV instead. (Goes inside) Dammit, I forgot the TV was broken. Gotta fix it.... No, wait, I think I'll go make dinner. The stove's broken..... Nah, Larry's stove works, I'll go over there for dinner." see what I mean? Then what happens when Larry's stove breaks?
Or maybe the technology advanced, and as a result of the Kulturefog, it's slowly devolving? The tech bias could have been a nice 13@, but as the technology breaks and no one ever gets around to fixing it, it's slowly dropping.
Just two points, that has nothing to do with culture shock.
1) You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't have a symptom of mental illness since the definition is so broad.
2) Unless you've received your Doctorate in Psychology, and having interned with one, being a patient of one, does not a Psychologist make.
This is not to insult you John, just fair points to bring up.
Fair points. However, it doesn't take a degree in psychology to see patterns in people's behavior. They say that 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of mental illness. Look at your 4 best friends. If they are all OK, then it must be you.
And, as you said, not to insult, but Adam, you're one of the people in whom I noticed behavior patterns associated with mental illness. Seriously, not insulting, just making an observation of behavior patterns.
Grins, this place is like therapy, without paying some schmuck 200 an hour WOO HOO :P
Well, after reading some of your Myspace blogs (you might want to check that, BTW) and observing your behavior here, I'd have to say that you suffer from Megalomania and Delusions of Grandeur. Both traits common to third-world dictators. But I bet you already knew that about yourself.
Seriously, I'm not trying to be insulting, I just thought you would really want to know.
I had a whole lot written here, but I will sum it up with this. There is a difference between playing a game on a RPG board, a rant about being angry about a job 3 years back, and real life. MJ has interacted with me, I'm sure if I had those problems, he would have taken me aside and let me know, being someone who is used to comforting others.
On a side note, I speak my mind and don't sugar coat things, which is why we get into fights. Others beat around the bush, or lessen the blow of their words, but there is too much PC in the world for me to have to do that on a board I relax on. So here goes.
Why is it 9 out of every 10 threads you create go back to how this is how X part of my mental illness affects the game in Y manner? MJ encourages me to ignore you, but when you make a thread on a game board about a game I care about that might have an actual relevant question, and an answer, yes I do look at it. I don't want to come out and say it, but I guess it does need to be said. Caring about the well being of a human being is one thing, but to be constantly bombarded with your mental illness on almost every thread is getting old. To be blunt, you've told us your problems, we aren't getting paid 200 an hour to listen to them and comfort you. Please stop using game threads here as an outlet, if you have a valid game question, keep it about the game.
In this particular case, Eric was commenting on psionic ability. That's a mental power. Is it not relevant to the game to ask how a person's mental illness would affect their ability to use a mental power?
From the description given, Brain Burn sounds a great deal like what I experience in a psychotic state. That means that I am probably the only person here, MJ included, who actually knows what Brain Burn really feels like. How is that not relevant? Maybe someone else wants to know.
My character is based on me. He spent the better part of his existence living with it. Is it irrelevant to the game to ask how such things are handled? Perhaps I do take it a bit too far sometimes, I won't lie about that. However, I really do believe it to be relevant to my character.
First, let me nip this in the bud.
They say that 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of mental illness. Look at your 4 best friends. If they are all OK, then it must be you.That's a good joke; but as a syllogism it fails--that is, even granted arguendo that the premise is correct (that one in five people suffer from mental illness), the conclusion does not follow from it.
The easiest way to demonstrate it is to visit the day room of a psyche ward--or just watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. There will be a score of people together there, but the ratio of the mentally ill in that room is not one in five. Selection is at work there, in this case kicking the ratio closer to nineteen in twenty, maybe twenty in twenty.
In the same way, selection is at work in any group of friends. While it is not necessarily so, it is entirely possible that any particular network of friends contains no mentally ill people. More obviously, there will be many networks of friends in which it is the very disfunctionality which draws them together, in which none of them escapes the touch of mental illness of some sort. We say Birds of a Feather Flock Together, and by that we mean that people who have the same views of life, the same social and intellectual standing, the same interests, even the same levels of mental and social health, are attracted to each other.
To look at it another way, let us suppose that the people most active on this board are our five friends. Those would be me, Adam, John 2, Harry, and probably Eric, on a rough guess. (Post count, even if available, won't tell us, because we have not all been here as long, and our levels of involvement have changed over time.) We know that John is pyschotic. The fact that he knows it makes him, according to his information, sane; but it still means he is mentally ill. That makes him the one in five who is, and gives the rest of us a clean bill of health. By that standard, Adam can rest easy; he is perfectly fine.
Of course, it also means that my psychiatrist must be wrong, because I am not without problems myself. So the idea collapses under the weight of example. It is thus more likely that you are fine if your friends all are, and more likely that you are not fine if your friends are not.
Now, getting back to Kulturfog, we can certainly suggest that the generation of this field is an innate skill that works subconsciously and which can be interrupted consciously--like breathing versus holding your breath. The connection between logic/intellect and creative intelligence is problematic, but I think not insurmountable. The creative and imaginative leaps are not at all logical (in my experience). It is the development and application that requires intellect. Further, the desire to tie kulturfog to "strong minds" would kick it toward the magical--depending on what we mean by "strong minds", but intellect is a relevant attribute for magic and not for psionics, although one might argue that persuasion, intuition, and/or will power (the attributes relevant to psionics) are what is meant by a "strong mind".
What is awkward is it appears that our innate skill would be a M4@8 manipulate magic; it might be a really strange M1@9 Protection against Magic or a M1@4 Penalize Checks, but this still requires a rather higher than expected bias to make the effect possible.
On the other side, there's no particular reason why some of our geniuses cannot counter it with a M1@9 protection or M4@8 manipulate magic, and others with a P2@3 Barred Mind or P2@7 Psychological Barrier or a P7@1 Dissipate Energy--each of these having different benefits and disadvantages. Just because the source of the problem is magical does not mean the answer must also be so.
--M. J. Young
They say that 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of mental illness. Look at your 4 best friends. If they are all OK, then it must be you.
That's a good joke; but as a syllogism it fails
Well MJ, it is a good joke, and that's all it was meant to be. I've seen it written that 1 in 4 eggs is infected with salmonella bacteria, and for that reason, you should never make an Omelet with more than 3 eggs. Then someone asked "Well, why not just throw away 3 eggs from the carton of 12 and avoid the whole thing to start with?"
It was meant as a joke, and that's all.
I'll go with M 1@4 innate skill, and a variety of psi defenses for our strong minded geniuses (Willpower, Intuition, and Intellect).
So...
Kulturfog M 1@4 Penalize Intuition, Willpower, or Intellect checks for out of the mainstream thoughts and planning. The field is generated for a hundred yards around each person utilizing it (which is most of the planet).
It is possible to evade the field by going deep into the woods or the dessert to get away from people.
It is the result of a magical botch which was contagious. One person became a 'damper' and then another two, and then each spread it further....
The tech level is 1980's, about 11@. Moore's Law has just been broken, and the computer age is stalling in place. There have been an increasingly large number of kludges and minor breakdowns turning into major problems. The infrastructure of society and technology is growing increasingly accident prone. Eventually, its going to fall apart in some large disaster, most likely. It may just crumble of its own accord, but such a peaceful collapse is rather unlikely.
There are a few geniuses who are trying to push things forward, but they are finding the problem is that a Chief without Indians isn't worth that much. There is some concern among the geniuses, and a couple are groping toward figuring out what happened.
One genius has decided that 'If people won't invest in the future, I'll make them do so.' He plans on instituting a dictatorship with himself in charge, and he has a good chance of succeeding because he can literally think rings around his opponents.
One genius has decided that 'If people won't invest in the future, I'll make them do so.' He plans on instituting a dictatorship with himself in charge, and he has a good chance of succeeding because he can literally think rings around his opponents.
Did you ever see the movie Idiocracy? It's kind of the same concept as what you've got going here. Society has devolved to the point where intelligence no longer exists. One man and one woman (both of average intelligence) had been frozen in cryogenic suspension. When they wake up, their average intellect makes them the most intelligent people on earth.
However, being intelligent and knowing the answers doesn't help much when people are too stupid to listen to you. The indigs were pouring Gatorade on plants because the Gatorade companies said "It's what plants crave." The Gatorade was killing the plants. Luke Wilson (The average guy who was frozen) tells them that if they want the plants to live, they need to give them WATER!!! So the people do water the plants. This causes a huge drop in the price of Gatorade stock, so people are losing money. Losing money is bad. So, they decide to execute Luke Wilson. In a world where the president of the United States is chose in a Wrestlemania competition, you can see how that went. Luke's intellect is an ineffective weapon against a muscle-bound oaf with a baseball bat.
Check that movie out, it's hilarious. Something that I learned in high school is it doesn't matter if you're right. It doesn't matter if you can prove that you're right. If the other person can beat you up, you're wrong. Period.
Humanity is devolving, I'll agree.
Idiocracy, I might check it out. The problem is that I heard it was basically a "Red States out breed the smarter Blue States, and so in the end the dumb Red Staters win." Since I'm a red stater, I might have a teeny tiny bit of issue with a movie designed to make fun of me.
Its a current commonplace in political arguement nowadays for the more liberal side to deride the other side as 'anti-intellectual' or 'dumb'. It gets a bit wearing having to do deal with idiots who think that fourth grade level arguements are all that and a banana nut fudge sundae to boot.
Since I'm a red stater, I might have a teeny tiny bit of issue with a movie designed to make fun of me.
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm one of those weirdos that listens to music and watches movies because I like them, and not because the music and movies are "cool" or "popular". I could care less about what political agenda the movie makers had. If I like the movie, I watch it. If I don't like the movie, I don't watch it.
The Dixie Chicks lost a huge amount of fans just because of their political agenda. Why? It's the same music it was before they announced that. Don't watch the movie and think that it's making fun of you, watch the movie because it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen in my life.
I have been very politely chastized for something I said in this thread. The rebuke came by e-mail, but I am posting it here, and then explaining exactly what mistake I made and why I made it. Since the writer wrote to me instead of posting here, I am assuming he wishes to remain anonymous, and am respecting that as well as I am able.
Earlier this week, you wrote:
Perhaps I'm not entirely clear what kulturfog does; or perhaps the problem is that it fails to make a distinction that I make. Logic and language are classed as psionic in Multiverser terms, but creativity and imagination are classed as magical. If you're trying to deaden the ability to think clearly, describe and discuss thoughts, reason to conclusions, then you're looking at a psionic suppression of some sort; if you're talking about stifling creativity or imagination, that's got to be magical.It appears that what the skill does is deaden creativity. That makes it some sort of magic skill, as mentioned above.
I’m a bit confused about what you mean here, and the issue seems relevant to Multiverser skill design in general.
Hitherto, I’ve understood skill bias area to be entirely a function of how the skill operates, without reference to what it accomplishes. If someone heals another person’s wounds by cleaning and bandaging them, that’s technology; if he does so by concentrating his will on his patient’s body and mentally telling it to heal, that’s psionics; if he does so by praying for God to heal his patient, that’s holy magic; if he does so by reciting words which he believes will connect his patient to the timeless ideal human form, that’s arcane magic; if he does so by merging his own body with the patient’s in order to apply his own natural regenerative powers to what are now his own wounds, that’s body. (Okay, I can’t think of a clear arcane magic example; assume he believes the ideal human form to be a supernatural basis or template for mortal humans, but not a person.) In that case, there’s just no way to argue from the skill’s object to its method; some bias areas are more suited than others, but none are mandatory or forbidden.
However, you seem to be saying here that, because creativity and imagination are magical, a skill which stifles them must also be magical. Thus, if Eric’s imagined race instead created a fire-suppressing field without realizing it, then that skill would have to be technological, as it deals with elements and processes of the natural world (and indeed mimics one of the effects of a negative tech bias, just as the kulturfog mimics one of the effects of a negative mag bias).
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding, and you simply mean that magic is the most effective or most intuitive way to implement this. I’d be surprised by this; the description just sounds psionic (it’s all about thoughts influencing other thoughts, and there’s no apparent ritual other than being near the target), and making it magical would have an odd side-effect: atheists would never produce kulturfog and would be somewhat resistant to its effects. (Though perhaps one could argue that it’s very hard for these people to be atheists, at least in the sense of believing in no supernature at all, as they keep subconsciously expecting supernatural power to dull the imagination of people around them. That could also explain how an “unusually self-aware and honest” person might discover the truth; he’s being honest with himself about his own beliefs.)
Or perhaps I’m misunderstanding in a different way. I’ve been envisioning kulturfog as a direct mental influence: something like a psionic suggestion (“Think like everyone else does. New ideas are worthless, so give up on them.”) coupled with broadcast or remote telepathy to affect unknown targets, or maybe an interrupt concentration variant which only affects original thought, or even a read minds skill followed by interrupt thought on non-accepted ideas. (Note Eric’s description: “You're thinking normally about various stuff, and then you decide to focus deeply and clearly on something the Kulturfog producers don't like, and suddenly you're having a hard time keeping your train of thought going, even keeping on thinking on that issue.” Italics are mine.) If I’m reading you correctly, though, you first imagined a world which is always doing this just by being the world it is, and then you designed a skill which would make the surrounding area resemble that world. In that case, it does make sense to ask whether it is something magical or something psionic that is being removed from the background of people’s lives, although I still don’t see why that affects the sort of skill used to achieve this effect. (In this case, it’s easier to work in reverse. You say that a manipulate magic skill could suppress imagination. Suppose we instead wanted to suppress intellect; why couldn’t a magical manipulate psionics skill do this?)
Thanks for your time and attention.
My critic is right, and if indeed this is something that comes from within the person it ought to be a psionic skill.
My failure to see this stems from the fact that the field itself is attacking imagination, which is fundamentally part of the mag bias area. Thus a field which stifles imagination must in some way connect to magic. The simplest way to do that is also the most direct: magic is affected by magic. However, it is also true that you can accomplish similar (not always identical) effects using skills from any bias area, and in this case I overlooked the possibility that there might be a psionic way of achieving an essentially magical effect, or at least of simulating a similar effect.
I'm particularly embarrassed because at one point in reviewing the question I recalled the planet of the Vogons, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In at least one iteration of the story, any time anyone has an original idea on the planet Vogsphere, something (a lifeform?) springs from the ground and bats him in the head, to prevent him from having that idea and discouraging him from having another. This then, according to author Douglas Adams, leads to the development of the most bureaucratic society in the universe, since if you have no imagination you are perfectly suited to be a bureaucrat.
It is an example of a means of stifling creative thought, albeit a rather dymanically Pavlovian one. It demonstrates that creative thought can be stifled by means other than magic.
It could be achieved in a bod skill by means of some form of 3@ parasitism that consumes the creative aspect of the life energy of the host; this, though, would not extend beyond the infected individual.
It could be achieved in a tech bias area but some type of 13@ scanning mind/machine interface, but this, too, would be localized to the area within range of the machine. The machine would function by detecting creative thought and countering it with distraction or negative stimulation.
The problem with creating a psionic skill that accomplishes this lies exactly where my correspondent spots it: we have to manipulate what is inherently a magical field by means of psionics.
This is because the problem of kulturfog, as described, lies in the realm of magic, in the creativity of the spirit world. It's right on the end. Notice that the tech and bod simulations of the effect do not work by creating a field that stifles creative thought, but by attacking creative thought within individuals directly. That can easily be done psionically--link a 1@1 mind reading with an 8@1 interrupt thought, give it the status of "always on", and then whenever anyone has a creative thought everyone near him rolls his skill check. Each success means that someone has detected the presence of the creative thought and fired an interruption. Even if the target gets a defensive check against each such attack, the sheer accumulation of people would mean he would almost never overcome all the attacks--unless he withdrew to some isolated location where he need only deal with his own resistance to creative thought (built up over the years from having his thoughts interrupted). This skill would even work in a flatlined world, although it would have to be an 8@1 world for the indigs to have such a skill.
The point is that this simulates kulturfog; it does not create kulturfog. The power described, a dampening of creativity by a pervasive field, is inherently connected to magic, and that field itself must be magical. For a psionic skill to create magic, it would probably have to be a 15@2 Create Energy.
Now, it might be feasible to combine a bod with a psi ability, creating a B3@ parasite that consumes creative energies and uses these to generate by means of its P15@2 Create Energy skill a magical kulturfog. The parasite would be contagious by some means; the world area bias would be 15@2 at least; but the intelligent indigs infected would not have to have the high psi biases that such a skill grants.
I apologize for not giving this a more thorough treatment earlier. I was rather focused on the problem of the field itself, and my feeling that (like psionic static) it ought to be either a purposeful attack/defense used by someone or a natural state in a universe. Eric's notion of a field that surrounds individuals and affects other individuals was giving me some trouble.
I hope this helps.
--M. J. Young
Indeed. It helps greatly. I think we've covered this adequately.
I'd be quite happy with this...
link a 1@1 mind reading with an 8@1 interrupt thought, give it the status of "always on", and then whenever anyone has a creative thought everyone near him rolls his skill check. Each success means that someone has detected the presence of the creative thought and fired an interruption. Even if the target gets a defensive check against each such attack, the sheer accumulation of people would mean he would almost never overcome all the attacks--unless he withdrew to some isolated location where he need only deal with his own resistance to creative thought (built up over the years from having his thoughts interrupted).
...especially as I'm not really directly attacking creativity, but the use of creativitiy.
I will have to say thats parsing things tighter than I'm really good at. You're threatening to leave me behind.
Also, I think you gave it the time and effort, but its more of having blinders on which is something very difficult to overcome as we're not even aware of the problem. I,of course, don't have this problem as I see the Universe with perfect clarity (I wish.)
Thanks again, and thanks to your sharp-eyed correspondent.
Eric