The spell gives the caster to detect all uncloaked/unmasked entities (self-aware creatures) within range. The effect on individual entities depends on the entity's mental protection:
- Mind Cloak - Cannot be sensed. Entity with Mind Cloak can attempt a special roll equal to WP + PER to detect telepathy attempt. With critical success of this roll, they get direction. With grievous success, they get direction and distance.
- Mind Mask - Cannot be sensed if Mind Mask is successful (c.f., Martial Artist ability).
- Protection from Detection - Cannot be sensed.
- Mental Save (normal success) - If mental save is successful, entity can be sensed, but cannot be pinpointed, mentally attacked or have their thoughts read.
- Mental Save (critical success) - Cannot be sensed.
- Mental Save (grievous success) - As Mind Cloak.
- Mental Save (failure) - Can be sensed, pinpointed and have their thoughts read.
Except for the special WP/PER roll allowed for someone protected by a Mind Cloak, or someone who makes a grievous mental save, telepathy attempts cannot normally be perceived. Note that this does not apply to creatures with psionic abilities.
Example: An SOTM mage casts this spell when there are 10 entities within range. One entity is protected by a Mind Cloak. Two more are in a Circle of Protection from Detection. A fourth entity makes a grievous mental save. Two more make normal mental saves. The remaining four fail their saves. The GM tells the SOTM mage that he has found six people of which he knows the precise distance and direction to four of them and only knows that the other two (those who made normal mental saves) are somewhere in range. The entity protected by a Mind Cloak spell, and the entity who made a grievous success with their mental save are both allowed a WP + PER roll to see if they were able to detect the telepathy attempt.
The mage can attack targets that he can pinpoint with Telepathy. In such cases, the range of the attack uses the range of the Telepathy spell instead of the normal range for the spell. For example, if the mage is rank 8 with Telepathy (range 280 feet) and rank 6 with Control Person (range 30 feet), he could attack a target that he senses with Telepathy using a Control Person spell.
Initially the mage can only read surface thoughts - those thoughts that are going through the target's mind as the mage concentrates on them with this spell. As the mage's rank increases, he can read deeper into the target's mind. Note that this ability transcends language.
Rank | Level of Telepathy |
1-8 | Surface Thoughts - These are thoughts that the target is thinking at the moment. |
9-17 | Recent Thoughts - These are recent thoughts that the target had within the last (rank x 10) minutes. |
18-21 | Memory - Everything that the target is consciously aware of. It takes time to search a target's memory. |
22 | Subconscious - Things that the target is not consciously aware of. For example, the target may have seen someone on the street a few months ago that did not consciously register because the person was unknown to him but the image is still recorded in his subconscious. It takes a lot of time and patience to search a target's subconscious thoughts. |
If the mage rolls critical success with this spell, he may choose to read a deeper level of thoughts (1 level) on a single target. He does this in lieu of extending the duration or taking any other bonus for critical success. The mage may choose his target for the deeper reading. For example, if he is rank 7, he can normally only read surface thoughts. He can use his critical success to read recent thoughts on a single target.
If the mage rolls grievous success, he may choose to read a much deeper level of thoughts (2 levels) on a single target, or a deeper level of thoughts (1 level) on three targets. For example, if he is rank 7, he can normally only read surface thoughts. He can use his grievous success to read recent thoughts on up to three targets, or he can choose to read into the memories of a single target. |