The Technical Side of Things: (Vol 1. ) Telepathy

[Krillin]

A technique has been hidden in relative obscurity, until Dante?s Abyss. Now, twelve members of Chubbs possess the technique, though many have yet to use it. But what of the technique itself? How useful is Telepathy? Is speaking to another person mentally really all that effective? Read on, and discover the many ?bells-and-whistles? that accompany one of the RPG?s most neglected techniques.

At base value, Telepathy offers the ability to collaborate with another being, regardless of whether or not they possess the technique. This can be excellent for communication between Alliance members (if you?d rather not invest in the Scouter Upgrades), and a way to keep fighting parallel during team fights. Imagine: You have Solar Flare, but you don?t have a way to warn your teammate to shield his eyes. Solution? Telepathy. Simply send him the message, and the deed can be done quite easily. While this might sound frivolous, it can be a wonderful technique to employ in such situations.

Also, the technique can be the basis for IC reasons for actions. For example, say you're in Heaven (or Hell), and you need someone to call Baba to bring you back to life. With Telepathy, simply contact such a person, strike up a deal with them, and get them to do the job. Otherwise, you might be stuck in the Afterlife for a rather long time.

Also, the Technique List shows the ability to perform a ?Mind Spar?. Using this, you can have a spar with anyone else who has Telepathy. If you want to have a spar with a friend, but are somehow separated, then this is the simple solution. But, perhaps even more valuable, is that this allows you to spar with someone even if you are physically uncapable of doing so.

But is there really anything else to use this technique for? Goku thinks so. As he put it, ??telepathy is more of a stepping stone to greater plateaus of psychic power.? Viewed with this perspective, Telepathy can be seen as entry-level mental workmanship. Goku, as well as Reijin, both carry the moves ?Telekinesis.? Yet Reijin has taken this another step further, with his idea of ?Dream-walking?. In effect, through his psychic powers, he is able to physically walk upon a separate world that mirrors this world, yet exists only in dreams. At the moment, the value of such a technique hasn?t been displayed, but one can surmise that the effects could be monstrous.

There is the possibility for Mind Reading. Imagine how helpful it would be during a fight to know what you opponent will do next. This offers you ample time to create a defense, or counter-attack as you see fit.

I mentioned before the technique ?Telekinesis?. This is probably the most powerful move in existence pertaining to Telepathy. In battle, you can interact in the physical realm with your mental power. Anything from sending a distraction, to providing a last minute defense with a nearby boulder, this move is the one to have. This also provides plenty of roleplaying fodder, but more on that later.

From this, the difference between Telepathy and most other techniques becomes evident. Telepathy is the building block for all kinds of greater moves and Techniques that could never have been possible. In essence, Telepathy can allow you to create Moves that aren?t just rehashes of Ki attacks, but rather a whole new way to go about battling. Kai-o-ken doesn?t offer that. Ki Sense doesn?t offer that. But where to move from there?

The answer is simple: As far as your imagination can take you. When you first begin on this RPG, your Moves are practically restricted to the physical realm. But if you acquire Telepathy, you suddenly have an entire other realm to operate upon and utilize during combat. This is the psychic realm.

The requirements for Telepathy are notably high, but not enough to keep any mortal user of Chubbs from ever possessing it. Such is not the case. I roleplayed over the period of a few months in Heaven, amassing about 17,000 words about training for the technique. The old Super Buu wrote a little more than that on Earth, and also obtained the technique. A total of seven members acquired Telepathy after Dante?s Abyss, for mid to upper level roleplaying. It?s possible to acquire the technique, even if you?re new, but expect to work hard for it.

I will close with the final punch for the power of Telepathy. On this RPG, roleplaying is taken into account with more weight than stats. But if you?re anything like me, you?ve found yourself quite often simply staring at a computer screen, unable to think of something to put down. In fights, all too often it can simply be a long string of attacks, with feints and dodges here and there, and maybe even a ki blast. Eventually, that begins to wear out. With Telepathy, and especially Telekinesis, your options during battle skyrocket. Perhaps you want to do a comical scene, in which your character uses Telekinesis to pull down your opponent?s pant zipper as a distraction. Perhaps you?d rather keep it serious, and just want that extra oomph available from a new technique. All of this gives more to write about, and that?s a good thing.

Telepathy is a largely unexplored territory, with plenty more to discover. But the horizon looks promising, and its aptitude is begging to be displayed. With the looks of it, this technique might just come into mainstream use.

[Reijin]

Krillin - 1 Article