Nilandia
08-01-2008, 12:31 AM
I had this up on the officials, but I'll post it here as well to see what you guys make of it.
I was looking at the empath spell list recently, and the opening of the description for Sympathy caught my attention: "Empaths are the masters of emotion. This mastery is not only limited to their own feelings, but can extend to others too." That reminded me of an RP angle I was thinking of taking with one of my characters, but I haven't yet really brought it to bear.
Are empaths merely healers or hunters, or could more be possible? In some other mythologies or fantasy works, an empath is capable of reading another person's emotions, and sometimes is able to manipulate them or project their own emotions on another.
There is actually some grounds for claiming this in game as well. Our current spell Empathy forces a sense of panic upon the target, which is direct manipulation of the emotions, along with Sympathy. In addition, for a time there was discussion of a guild skill where an empath really could sense the emotions of another person, and send their own to another.
Other empathic abilities can be claimed as well, if we look at past and present spell lists. At one point, we had a spell known as Sensations (sitting in slot 1110). It used to be that casting Sensations would allow us to sense the presense of living creatures in adjacent rooms by sensing their minds. It could work regardless of whether the other person was visible, invisible or hiding. Being able to sense minds hints at a telepathic ability.
Indeed, no less than five of our profession circle spells are modified by telepathy lore. Cry for Help links an empath's mind with someone else's for a brief time, while telepathy lore allows the target a more lasting link. Looking at Empathic Link implies that, by its name and its effect, empathy is more than just healing, but shared experiences that can be so strong that one person experiences what another experiences. It is little wonder that telepathy factors into it. Lastly, a proposed spell on the old list, Sensory Overload, hints that empaths might also have the ability to manipulate another person's senses, though now it may be more in line with savants.
So how might that affect one's playing of an empath? It may not, of course. Someone is perfectly able to say that an empath is only a healer or a hunter, and leave it at that. But to me, it seems like it is not impossible to play a character that is a true empath, and perhaps beyond. The character I have in mind has very potent mental abilities that I would term "empathy to the nth degree." They are able to read and manipulate another's emotions, thoughts, knowledge and wisdom, or simply outright take any of them upon themselves. The other person must be willing for this to take place, however, else the attempt may outright fail, or it may be dangerous to the person making the attempt. Because of backstory, however, this character has hidden their ability, using only a fraction of it to make a living as a healer.
Given what we see of past and present spell lists, that is not too far out of the realm of possibility, right?
Gretchen
I was looking at the empath spell list recently, and the opening of the description for Sympathy caught my attention: "Empaths are the masters of emotion. This mastery is not only limited to their own feelings, but can extend to others too." That reminded me of an RP angle I was thinking of taking with one of my characters, but I haven't yet really brought it to bear.
Are empaths merely healers or hunters, or could more be possible? In some other mythologies or fantasy works, an empath is capable of reading another person's emotions, and sometimes is able to manipulate them or project their own emotions on another.
There is actually some grounds for claiming this in game as well. Our current spell Empathy forces a sense of panic upon the target, which is direct manipulation of the emotions, along with Sympathy. In addition, for a time there was discussion of a guild skill where an empath really could sense the emotions of another person, and send their own to another.
Other empathic abilities can be claimed as well, if we look at past and present spell lists. At one point, we had a spell known as Sensations (sitting in slot 1110). It used to be that casting Sensations would allow us to sense the presense of living creatures in adjacent rooms by sensing their minds. It could work regardless of whether the other person was visible, invisible or hiding. Being able to sense minds hints at a telepathic ability.
Indeed, no less than five of our profession circle spells are modified by telepathy lore. Cry for Help links an empath's mind with someone else's for a brief time, while telepathy lore allows the target a more lasting link. Looking at Empathic Link implies that, by its name and its effect, empathy is more than just healing, but shared experiences that can be so strong that one person experiences what another experiences. It is little wonder that telepathy factors into it. Lastly, a proposed spell on the old list, Sensory Overload, hints that empaths might also have the ability to manipulate another person's senses, though now it may be more in line with savants.
So how might that affect one's playing of an empath? It may not, of course. Someone is perfectly able to say that an empath is only a healer or a hunter, and leave it at that. But to me, it seems like it is not impossible to play a character that is a true empath, and perhaps beyond. The character I have in mind has very potent mental abilities that I would term "empathy to the nth degree." They are able to read and manipulate another's emotions, thoughts, knowledge and wisdom, or simply outright take any of them upon themselves. The other person must be willing for this to take place, however, else the attempt may outright fail, or it may be dangerous to the person making the attempt. Because of backstory, however, this character has hidden their ability, using only a fraction of it to make a living as a healer.
Given what we see of past and present spell lists, that is not too far out of the realm of possibility, right?
Gretchen