Mind Magic
Mind Magic
Classification: Specialization
Parent School: Illusionism Class
Mind Magic is the direct manipulation of a living mind — thoughts, emotions, memories, and motor control. It is the most heavily restricted and surveilled branch of magic in the Academy.
You must possess the Empath trait to learn this school. Unlicensed use is a criminal offense.
Specialization Rules
This is an advanced Specialization. To learn Spells (Powers) in this field, a mage must use their dot-purchase selections from the Illusionism Class skill track. Furthermore, specific spells within Mind Magic will explicitly require a secondary prerequisite (such as 1 or 2 dots in collateral Schools) to simulate the mixed-matrix required to cast them.
Progression
Acquiring dots and Powers here requires deep dedication. The spells are extremely potent but narrowly focused.
Example Powers
| Tier | Example Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Surface Peek | Catch the dominant surface thought and emotional tone of one target in range. |
| Tier 2 | Sleep Whispers | Induce a deep dreamless sleep in a target for up to one hour. |
| Tier 3 | Mental Command | Plant a single, simple direct imperative ("Run," "Drop it," "Open the door"). |
| Tier 4 | Memory Rewrite | Precisely alter a target's memory of a specific event (up to ~30 minutes). |
| Tier 5 | Puppeteer | Complete override of a target's motor and cognitive functions for up to a day. |
Mechanical Focus
Mind Magic contests Mind Defense directly. It is the primary — and arguably only — school by which the Soul Sigil can be intentionally exposed. Its use is tracked by the Academy registry.
Lore Deep Dive
Mind Magic is fundamentally divided into two distinct disciplines: Surface Manipulations and Deep Manipulations, alongside the brutal reality of telepathic combat.
Mind Sense and The Mindless: A practitioner's first tool is "Mind Sense" — the ability to detect thinking beings. Crucially, entities without a true mind (such as oozes, golems, and minor undead like zombies or skeletons) are completely invisible to Mind Sense and entirely immune to Mind Magic. They register as dead space.
Mental Combat and Pure Offense: Contrary to popular belief, it is incredibly difficult to kill someone with pure telepathic force. When a target's mental shell is broken, an unshielded mind assaulted with raw psychic power will mostly suffer incapacitation — agonizing pain, unconsciousness, severe headaches, confusion, and temporary amnesia. Unrefined psychic attacks are instruments of torture and suppression, not lethal weapons.
Sensory Tapping: A highly advanced but disorienting skill is tapping into a target's senses. While possible on humans, attempting to tap into the sensory feed of an alien species (like the Aranea, who process vibrations and taste the ground with their legs) can cause near-immediate collapse from sensory overload.
The Four Pillars of Surface Manipulation
Surface manipulations are temporary and often subtle. They are taught theoretically at the Academy using the "Mind Control Rectangle", divided by method (Forceful vs. Subtle) and resistance type (Will/Situation vs. Magic Resistance).
- Domination (Forceful / Will-Based): Outright ordering a target to do something against their will. The target is aware of the compulsion. They can resist based on their personality and circumstances (e.g., refusing an order to kill a loved one).
- Suggestion (Subtle / Will-Based): Presenting an order as something the target wants to do on their own. The target remains unaware of the manipulation, though it can still fail if the suggestion wildly contradicts their current situation.
- Puppeteering (Forceful / Bypass Personality): Usurping direct control of the target's motor functions. It bypasses the target's personality entirely but must overcome their raw magic resistance. The target is a trapped passenger in their own body.
- Illusion (Subtle / Bypass Personality): Manipulating the target's sensory input (sight, sound, pain). It cannot be "resisted" through force of will, only detected and dispelled.
Deep Manipulations (The Dark Arts)
Deep manipulations are permanent alterations. They include modifying memories, blanking out entire sections of a life, instilling lasting compulsions, or creating sleeper agents.
Because they require the attacker to dive deep into a victim's mind and spend hours meticulously tweaking delicate cognitive structures, Deep Manipulations cannot be used in combat. They are exclusively performed on defeated, defenseless, or willing targets. Even among monstrous psychic species, deep manipulation is considered a dark art.
Mana Efficiency and Reputation:
Mind magic is not terribly difficult to cast and, like divinations, it puts far greater emphasis on shaping skills than mana reserves. Mind magic is very mana efficient. However, except for the spells that target the minds of animals, mind magic is heavily restricted and has a very poor reputation among mages and civilians alike. Thus, mind magic specialists are very rare.