TEXT: MIND
  CONTROL
  MIND
  CONTROL
  By Kenneth
  hIte 
  
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  MIND CONTROL
  G UMSHOE ZOO M
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  Publisher: Cathriona tobin
  Author: Kenneth hite
  Layout: Cathriona tobin     
  Artwork: Jérôme huguenin
  © 2014 Pelgrane Press Ltd. All rights reserved. 
  GUMSHOE ZOOM: 
  IntrOdUctIOn
  Not everything can support a game of its 
  own, or even a big sourcebook. For those 
  things, we present the GUMSHOE Zoom, a 
  sort of supplement focused on a key game 
  mechanic and its possible applications. In 
  general, Zooms are interesting potential 
  hacks, or intriguing adaptations of the main 
  rules. Some apply to one specific topic or 
  sub-sub-genre. Others cross all manner 
  of GUMSHOE turf; you can slot them in 
  and adapt them to tales of Cthulhuoid 
  investigation, mean superpowered streets, 
  or alien colonies alike.
  Zooms 
  are 
  experimental. 
  That 
  does 
  mean that they haven’t been playtested, 
  necessarily. (If something in here is really 
  really broken – and it’s not, as this ain’t our 
  first rodeo – we’ll fix it in post.) But that also 
  means we encourage you to experiment with 
  them. Changing the cost, or prerequisites, or 
  point effect, or other mechanical parameters 
  of a given Zoom changes how often it shows 
  up and how much drama it drives. The dials 
  are in your hands.
  Zooms will change the focus of your play 
  if you use them. Putting a mechanic on 
  the table puts it into your game. Adding a 
  Zoom means more actions, possibly even 
  more scenes, using those rules. Since the 
  Zoom mechanics are intended to encourage 
  specific actions or flavors, to force a card 
  in your storytelling hand, they aren’t 
  “balanced” against “normal” actions or rules. 
  In general, if you don’t want to see more of it, 
  don’t Zoom in on it.
  Zooms are optional rules. You can and 
  should ignore them if you don’t want them, 
  or change them at will. After all, if a given 
  Zoom turns out to be crucial to an upcoming 
  GUMSHOE game, we’ll change it to fit that 
  specific genre or form of storytelling.
  table of Contents
  You Are Growing Very Interested ......................... 3
  Mind Control Abilities ...........................................................3
  Gaining Mind Control Abilities ........................................4
  Potential Psi ...................................................................4
  Mind Control Tests and Contests .........................................4
  Player-Facing Mind Control .............................................4
  Player-Facing Resistance ..............................................5
  Noticing Mind Control ..............................................5
  Parameters and Modifiers ........................................6
  Mental Battlefield Contests ..................................................7
  Geography of the Mind .....................................................8
  The Superego ..................................................................8
  The Ego ...........................................................................8
  The Id ..............................................................................9
  Shadow Plays .....................................................................9
  Quick And Dirty Mental Battle Damage ..........................9
  Cthulhu On My Mind ................................................9
  Customizing Mind Control .................................................10
  Dials ..................................................................................10
  Dialing It Up ..................................................................11
  Dialing It Down ............................................................11
  Pre-Existing GUMSHOE Mind Control ............................11
  Mutant City Blues ........................................................... 12
  Night’s Black Agents........................................................ 12
  Trail of Cthulhu .............................................................. 12
  
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  GrOwinG vEry 
  intErEStEd
  The GUMSHOE Mind Control Zoom 
  is intended to model the sorts of 
  stories in which mind control – and 
  especially the contest in and over 
  human minds – takes center stage. 
  This might be a single novel such as 
  George du Maurier’s Trilby or Dan 
  Simmons’ Carrion Comfort, or a 
  film like Scanners, Push, Inception, 
  Videodrome, or Invaders from Mars. 
  Mind control is a powerful, core 
  trope in science fiction, fantasy, and 
  horror; specific aliens, wizards, or 
  monsters might use these rules even 
  if the player characters aren’t psionic. 
  Individual mind-controllers might be 
  malevolent, like Dracula or Rasputin, 
  or heroic, like Dr. Xavier or Obi-Wan 
  Kenobi.
  If you plan to introduce mind control 
  as a major plot element or theme 
  in your GUMSHOE game, this Zoom 
  will provide you a backstop and a 
  guide, along with numerous possible 
  applications of the subject.
  To reiterate, you don’t have to be 
  running 
  a 
  full-tilt 
  psiberpunk 
  campaign to use this Zoom. You can put 
  these rules into any GUMSHOE setting, 
  whether published or original to your 
  campaign. The only requirement is a 
  GM and players who want to move the 
  action inside the characters’ minds.
  For example:
  • Mind control – both as unnatural 
  seduction 
  and 
  as 
  perceptual 
  manipulation -- is a natural 
  component of the Esoterrorists’ 
  blurring 
  of 
  the 
  boundaries 
  between our world and the Outer 
  Dark
  • Vampires are mind-controllers 
  par excellence, making this a 
  natural core power for the fiends 
  in a Night’s Black Agents game 
  • Nyarlathotep, the Shan, and the 
  Mi-Go are only a few of the mighty 
  mind-controlling 
  monstrosities 
  potentially lurking along the 
  Trail of Cthulhu – adding another 
  entirely psionic race to the alien 
  lineup seems inevitable
  • Given the number of telepathic and 
  otherwise psionic heavyweights 
  in serial SF, mind control slots 
  perfectly into an Ashen Stars or 
  Gaean Reach campaign
  • Although Mutant City Blues has 
  its own set of balanced mind 
  control powers (see p. 12) you may 
  want to escalate a Possession-
  using criminal into a major 
  opponent, or send the cops after 
  a psteroid ring building Emotion 
  Controlled burnouts
  • Present a single mind as the 
  battlespace, using the Mental 
  Battlefield 
  system; 
  this 
  can 
  be a one-off adventure or the 
  campaign arc “dungeon” in a 
  game based on Inception
  • Eroding the minds of all the 
  protagonists in Fear Itself could 
  go some way to replicating the 
  feel of Eli Roth flicks like Hostel, 
  Cabin Fever, and their imitators
  From enchantresses in the Odyssey 
  to mesmeric Svengalis in steampunk 
  drawing 
  rooms, 
  to 
  brain-bug 
  parasites in Orion, you can add mind 
  control to any story, any game, any 
  where or when. If, you know, you do 
  it of your own free will.
  MInD COntROL 
  ABILItIeS
  In games focusing on psionic powers, 
  it’s most likely that each psychic 
  ability becomes its own separate 
  skill: Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Dream 
  Entry, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, etc. 
  Mind Control becomes only one 
  possible ability among many. By 
  contrast, a setting in which all of 
  the major characters are mind-
  controllers 
  might 
  break 
  Mind 
  Control into sub-abilities: Charm, 
  Dominate, Puppet, Sleep, Trance, 
  Memory Wipe, Sway Emotions, etc., 
  much as GUMSHOE traditionally 
  breaks Fighting up into Scuffling and 
  Shooting and sometimes Weapons.
  For this reason, this Zoom uses the 
  single term “Mind Control” for any 
  player ability used for mind control 
  or any aspect thereof. Consider these 
  rules to apply to broad Psi abilities or 
  narrow Trance tests alike. Similarly, 
  don’t take terms like “psychic,” 
  “mentalist,” and so forth too literally: 
  these rules work for mind-controlling 
  sorcerers, wetware programmers, 
  and so forth.
  Even with multiple abilities on the 
  character sheet, NPCs will likely 
  have a single Psi pool for simplicity 
  of bookkeeping and convenience 
  in contests, although flavor can 
  supersede this concern. 
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  For 
  example, 
  super-criminals 
  in Mutant City Blues or enemy 
  magnetizers in a game of mesmeric 
  Musketeering should have dramatically 
  satisfying specific abilities: “Jimmy 
  Sandman can put you to sleep and 
  somehow mess with your dreams” or 
  “We face the Comte du Vergille, whose 
  seductions are as legendary as his 
  mesmeric armonica is entrancing.”
  Like other GUMSHOE abilities, the “how” 
  or “flavor” of a mind control ability is 
  usually secondary. Whether it comes 
  from honest-to-gosh telepathy, a magic 
  gem, or demonic curses doesn’t affect 
  the ability, although it might increase 
  Difficulties to control minds across a 
  Faraday cage, thaumaturgical ward, or 
  baptismal font full of holy water.
  GAininG Mind COntrOL 
  ABiLitiES
  The GUMSHOE default for special 
  abilities such as Mesmerism or Mind 
  Control is as follows: you buy such 
  abilities out of your pool of General 
  ability build points. Buying the first 
  rating point in a special ability costs a 
  premium: usually 4 or 5 build points 
  for the first rating point. After that, 
  build points for that ability become 
  rating points as normal. If you’re using 
  Potential Psi, buy the actual powers 
  straight, with no premium.
  Jack 
  wants 
  to 
  get 
  Memory 
  Alteration. He spends 7 build points, 
  and gets Memory Alteration with 
  a rating of 3. The first rating point 
  costs a premium of 5 build points; 
  the next two each cost 1 build point.
  In some games, such as Mutant City 
  Blues, every character has a pool of 
  build points for special abilities such 
  as psionics. In those games, assign 
  points to the various special abilities as 
  normal. In MCB specifically, the cost of 
  each special ability depends on whether 
  it’s General or Investigative, and on 
  its position on the Quade Diagram of 
  superpowers. Larger point being: if 
  you’ve already got special ability rules 
  in your game, you don’t need these.
  POtEntIAL PSI
  Psionic abilities, especially in games 
  like Trail of Cthulhu that don’t 
  primarily focus on them, work quite 
  well with potential points, a rules 
  system initially introduced in Rough 
  Magicks.
  Some abilities are more abstruse, 
  difficult, or complex than others, 
  enough so that they can’t simply 
  be bought “from scratch” during 
  character improvement. They require 
  a prerequisite: teaching by a master, 
  learning from an ancient text, or some 
  other specific in-game experience. 
  That prerequisite experience conveys 
  “potential points” in the ability; when 
  the character spends build points from 
  experience on that ability, she can only 
  do so up to her “potential.”
  In a near-future psiberpunk game, 
  for example, downloading a specific 
  neuroactive virus, being injected with 
  experimental special-warfare drugs, 
  or being caught in the backwash of 
  an alien ultradimension rip conveys 
  Psi potential; to actually use a psionic 
  ability, a character must then buy 
  Mind Control (or Telekinesis, or etc.) 
  points with experience. The character 
  can only raise her Mind Control rating 
  to the level of her current Psi potential.
  Awakened by conspiracy narratives 
  in the Deep Web, Priya decides to 
  pursue psionic research. She talks 
  a street chemist into priming 
  her with psteroids (1 Psi potential 
  point), and sneaks into the psywar 
  proving ground at HAARP to sleep 
  there overnight (2 Psi potential 
  points) for a total of Psi 3. Priya 
  gets 2 build points per adventure; 
  after two adventures, she can raise 
  her Mind Control ability rating to 2 
  and her Technopathy ability rating 
  to 1. She can’t spend that last build 
  point on any psionic ability until 
  she figures out another way to 
  increase her Psi potential – maybe 
  Tibetan meditation is the secret?
  As this example shows, it’s cleaner if 
  a single Psi potential pool opens up all 
  available psionic powers for purchase, 
  just as a single Magic pool lets Trail of 
  Cthulhu Investigators cast all manner 
  of spells.
  MInD COntROL teStS 
  AnD COnteStS
  Mind control contests work just like 
  other GUMSHOE contests: with the 
  amount of detail the GM thinks the 
  scene requires.
  When in doubt, apply the generic 
  GUMSHOE test rule to mind control tests: 
  for example, to re-roll a failed test, the 
  psychic must spend more points on the 
  re-roll than she spent on the previous 
  test and give an in-game explanation 
  of how this new attempt differs from 
  the previous failure. It’s up to the GM 
  whether such GUMSHOE standards 
  as Piggybacking, Cooperating, and 
  Continuing Tests apply to mind control: 
  the last two seem reasonable under 
  most circumstances, but the first 
  might only apply to mind control tests 
  inside dreams or mindscapes.
  PLAyEr-FACinG Mind 
  COntrOL
  In player-facing mind control contests, 
  the player is the mentalist using Mind 
  Control on a target. The standard 
  Difficulty of a mind control test, like 
  any other, is 4, modified by the target’s 
  Resistance modifier.
  
  MIND CONTROL
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  Remember, most NPCs don’t have 
  Stability scores. (In some GUMSHOE 
  games, no NPCs have Stability scores, 
  or their scores exist solely to collapse 
  for 
  dramatic 
  purposes.) 
  An 
  NPC 
  (or monster, or other target) has a 
  Resistance modifier, which functions 
  like the Alertness and Stealth modifiers: 
  it alters the player’s Difficulty in a test 
  of the PC’s Mind Control ability.
  PLAYEr FAcInG rESIStAncE
  Sometimes the player character is the 
  target of a mind control attack, but the 
  attack is not the dramatic centerpiece 
  of the story or even of the combat – 
  a quick Jedi mind trick or “psenior 
  moment” amnesia attack. She makes a 
  one-and-done Stability test to resist the 
  attack. The Difficulty for that Stability 
  test is the total of the mind controller’s 
  die roll plus her spend, if any.
  Candace is on the other side of the 
  door from Kurt Dollmacher. For 
  now, the door is locked. The GM 
  spends 2 points from Kurt’s Puppet 
  pool and rolls a 4 on the die, for a 
  total of 6. He says, “You find your 
  hand moving toward the lock, 
  seemingly of its own free will.” The 
  Difficulty for Candace’s Stability test 
  to resist Kurt’s creepy power is 6.
  If this is the first time the character 
  has ever encountered mind control, 
  she may just have to spend blind and 
  hope for the best.
  If mind control is going to be a 
  common 
  occurrence, 
  however, 
  players will want to have some idea 
  of the Difficulty they have to beat. 
  Thus, the GM should allow a spend 
  to figure out the relative intensity 
  of the mental attack. In the absence 
  of a specific Investigative ability 
  covering Psi Lore, a “psi-aware” if 
  not necessarily psionic character 
  can spend 1 point of Sense Trouble to 
  get an estimated Difficulty: within 1 
  point either way, perhaps. Spending 
  2 points of Sense Trouble (or Psi Lore, 
  or what-have-you) should garner the 
  exact Difficulty to beat.
  Note that the Stability test in this 
  Player-Facing 
  Resistance 
  system 
  differs from the familiar “Stability 
  check” in other GUMSHOE games – it 
  doesn’t have a fixed Difficulty, and 
  doesn’t result in extra Stability loss on 
  a failure – but more closely resembles 
  a normal ability test. Of course, in 
  some games, the realization that 
  you’ve been (or are being) mind-
  controlled 
  may 
  trigger 
  another 
  Stability test of the “fear check” type.
  Keep in mind that for major Mind 
  Control tests which might have 
  longer lasting effects than one round 
  of combat – Dracula’s subversion of 
  Lucy Westenra, for instance – players 
  will almost always want to fight 
  them out as full contests.
  FULL COntEStS OF Mind 
  COntrOL
  This type of contest matches a 
  normal full contest in GUMSHOE: two 
  characters roll against a Difficulty, 
  and the first one to fail a roll loses. The 
  character with the lower Mind Control 
  rating always goes first. As with other 
  full contests, the GM should only stage 
  a full contest of mind control when 
  such a showdown is dramatically 
  interesting: introducing a major foe 
  or “level boss,” or if victory or failure 
  in this contest could potentially alter 
  or set up a main throughline or story 
  element (such as an NPC or a secret 
  conspiracy) of the scenario.
  As with other full contests, the GM 
  and player should provide narration 
  to match their rolls: “My veins are 
  standing out on my forehead and the 
  blood pounds in my temples” or “He’s 
  absolutely drenched with sweat, but he 
  somehow remains awake” or the like.
  nOtIcInG MInd cOntrOL
  To spot someone under the influence of mind control almost always defaults 
  to a Sense Trouble test, whether it’s a friend acting strangely or a guard who 
  seems “zombified at his post.” This is especially true if the puppet is ordered to 
  attack or otherwise impede the PCs.
  That said, a 1-point spend of Bullshit Detector or Pharmacy, or a 2-point spend 
  of any other Interpersonal ability or Medicine (or Diagnosis, etc.), while talking 
  to a mind-controlled subject reveals their true state.
  Detecting mind control after it has worn off (or if the GM feels the initial 
  control was more subtle than immediately threatening) takes a Shrink or 
  Psychoanalysis test or the equivalent, at a Difficulty of 4. A psychic who wishes 
  to cover his tracks can spend Mind Control points to increase this Difficulty at 
  the initial entrancement, or retroactively for 2 extra Mind Control points per 
  increased point of Difficulty.
  All of the above assume the PCs know mind control exists and are on the 
  lookout for it. Otherwise, the above tests and spends only show that the target 
  is acting strangely or seems drugged or otherwise out of character.
  
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  PArAMEtErS And MOdIFIErS
  How far and how long your power extends depends on your Mind Control ability rating. (Note: In Mutant City Blues, power range 
  at ability ratings of 1-3 is 25m.) The second duration, if available, is outside combat. In games with separate mind control abilities, 
  more dramatic and “complete” powers (Dominate, Puppet, etc.) last half the normal duration (round down, minimum 1 round).
  MInd control rating
  Range
  Duration
  1
  2m (Point Blank)
  1 round; 5 minutes
  2-3
  10m (Close)
  3 rounds; one scene
  4-7
  50m (Near)
  5 rounds; one day
  8
  100m (Long)
  8 rounds; one adventure
  Each additional +6
  +500m
  +4 rounds; one fortnight
  There is a virtually limitless number of possible modifiers to any given mind control test or contest. Consider these examples not 
  the last word on the subject, but as sources for interpolation and extrapolation of your own numbers for your own campaign.
  Regardless of how many modifiers you pile onto a Mind Control test or contest, the Difficulty can never go lower than 3.
  Condition
  Difficulty 
  Modifier
  Target is willing
  -4
  Overt contact (e.g., gripping both sides of the head and full eye contact)
  Theatrical staging of attempt (spend of Performance, Occult Studies, Art, or similar ability)
  -2
  Flesh-to-flesh contact
  Target is drugged, drunk, etc.
  Target has been mind-controlled by you before
  Mentalist spends 2 Interpersonal ability points that reinforce the mind control command (max. 2)
  -1
  Target’s eyes are not clearly visible (sunglasses, back of head, darkness, etc.)
  Mentalist simultaneously using a non-combat, non-Interpersonal ability
  +1
  One range increment more than normal
  Target ordered to oppose her “core nature” (e.g., have sex with a stranger in a Victorian setting; 
  kill family)
  +2
  For each additional mind to be controlled
  Mentalist engaged in combat
  +3
  Target is not clearly visible or audible (successful Stealth or similar test), assuming no “psychic 
  location” or the like
  Target ordered to kill self or commit obviously suicidal action
  +4
  Flesh Contact: May require a successful Hand-to-Hand, Scuffling, etc. test.
  Multiple Minds: A group of minds always resists using the highest Stability, Resistance modifier, etc. among them.
  These Difficulties can, of course, be applied in reverse to Stability or other resistance tests: e.g., a Stability test to resist mind control 
  is at +1 Difficulty if the PC has been drugged.
  All that said, we urgently recommend keeping possible modifiers to a minimum, or better yet simply assigning a contest advantage 
  of +1 or +2 to the obviously superior party and rolling away in anything but a full-scale mental battlefield contest.
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  The specific contest ability varies 
  depending on circumstances:
  • Two psychics trying to control 
  each other’s mind: Mind Control 
  vs. Mind Control
  • Two psychics battling for control 
  of a third party’s mind: Mind 
  Control vs. Mind Control
  By dramatic fiat, once the battle 
  is over, the third party is simply 
  controlled. If the third party is 
  a PC, she gets a Stability roll to 
  resist against a Difficulty of 4 plus 
  whatever 
  the 
  winning 
  psychic 
  spends to modify this test.
  • NPC psychic trying to control 
  non-psychic PC: Mind Control 
  vs. Stability
  • PC psychic trying to control 
  non-psychic NPC: Mind Control 
  vs. Target Ability
  This last type of contest should 
  be restricted to major NPCs with 
  proven forceful characters, not just 
  for thug-of-the-week types. The 
  Target Ability is the ability most 
  tied up with what the psychic is 
  attempting to control:  Shooting for 
  an assassin the mentalist wants 
  to redirect, or Surveillance if the 
  psychic is trying to cloud the target’s 
  mind. The Target Ability should be 
  a General ability – if nothing seems 
  right, and the GM doesn’t wish to 
  provide a quick-and-dirty Stability 
  rating, the Target Ability is Health. 
  Spent Health points in this contest 
  equal mental fatigue, not wounds, 
  and heal completely by the next 
  scene.
  MentAL BAttLeFIeLD 
  COnteStS
  This type of contest treats a single 
  character’s mind (the “host” or “host 
  mind”) as a layered battlespace, 
  to be controlled piece by piece – 
  possibly by more than one mind 
  controller at a time! Because they 
  use up so much spotlight time and 
  so many ability points, and because 
  they’re not quite compatible with 
  the more unitary mind control 
  contest rules, treat these contests 
  as central, singular, even climactic 
  events. A mental battlefield contest 
  is more likely to be a story arc than 
  a single adventure, or even the 
  focus of a whole campaign.
  Such contests play out only for 
  the highest stakes: almost always 
  only for a major NPC or PC’s free 
  will. Even if the target mind is an 
  NPC, the GM should create a full 
  character sheet for her – the players 
  will be spending a lot of time in her 
  mind, and they should have plenty 
  of scenery.
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  counting down from the highest 
  rating until you run out of zones. 
  (To compare Investigative to General 
  ratings, multiply the Investigative 
  rating by 3 for a “General-equivalent” 
  rating.) The GM may skip abilities on 
  the basis of tedium (Health) or point 
  inflation (Fleeing).
  The host mind may spend points from 
  the zone’s characteristic ability on 
  her resistance roll, adding +1 to the 
  roll for each 1 Investigative or psionic 
  ability point spent or 3 (non-Stability, 
  non-psionic) General points spent. 
  Note that her Investigative ratings 
  and pools are once again normal: the 
  multiplier is only for the purposes of 
  ranking the zones.
  Once an outside mind controller 
  controls any zone in the Superego, 
  resistance rolls to that psychic by the 
  host take a -1 modifier. That psychic 
  may now control the host’s use of that 
  ability by spending 1 Mind Control 
  point.
  Once a single mentalist controls a 
  majority of the zones in the Superego, 
  she may attempt to control zones in 
  the Ego. (In multiple-controller games, 
  the GM may want to change this 
  requirement to a plurality, instead.)
  If an outside mind controller loses 
  three contests in a row in the Superego, 
  he loses all zones controlled within 
  the Superego.
  tHE EGO
  This is the level of the core human 
  personality, 
  both 
  rational 
  and 
  emotional. Divide the host’s Stability 
  rating in half, rounded up: the Ego 
  comprises that many zones. Each 
  zone relates to some aspect of the 
  host’s personality or life, such as: 
  • Drive (Trail of Cthulhu, Night’s 
  Black Agents, Ashen Stars)
  • A Pillar of Sanity (Trail of Cthulhu)
  • A Source of Stability (Night’s Black 
  Agents, Fear Itself, Trail of Cthulhu)
  • Risk Factor (Fear Itself)
  • Personal Goal/Arc (Fear Itself, Ashen 
  Stars, Night’s Black Agents)
  • MOS (Night’s Black Agents)
  • What Quandos Vorn Did (Gaean 
  Reach)
  • Best superpower or other special 
  ability (Mutant City Blues)
  • Species History (Ashen Stars)
  • Etc.
  Each Ego zone also has abilities 
  associated with it; those abilities used 
  (or established in previous flashbacks) 
  by the character during the game to 
  advance that zone’s goals: if a soldier 
  had patriotism as a Pillar of Sanity, 
  that zone’s associated abilities might 
  include Shooting, Outdoorsman, and 
  so forth. Each Ego zone can have 
  only one General ability and one 
  Investigative ability, so the host player 
  should pick well.
  All resistance rolls by the host over a 
  zone in the Ego are made at +2. The 
  host mind may also spend points 
  on her Stability resistance roll from 
  any associated ability, with the same 
  result as a spend in the Superego. 
  Again, any psionic ability spend by 
  the host counts at full value on the 
  resistance roll.
  Once an outside mind controller 
  controls 
  any 
  zone 
  in 
  the 
  Ego, 
  resistance rolls to that psychic by the 
  host take a -2 modifier. (This cancels 
  out the host’s advantage within the 
  Ego.) That psychic may now control or 
  alter that zone’s corresponding aspect 
  of the host’s personality, decision-
  making, memories, etc. by spending 2 
  Mind Control points.
  GEOGrAPHy OF tHE Mind
  According to Freud, the human mind 
  has three levels: the superego, the 
  ego, and the id. While Freud is happily 
  passé, his structural model of mind is 
  hardly less evocative than vampires 
  or Cthulhu. Thus, this Zoom adopts 
  Freud’s 
  terminology 
  with 
  blithe 
  disregard for its inventor’s uses of it.
  The three levels of the host mind are 
  divided into zones. The host might 
  personify each zone as a mentor or 
  other positive figure in her life (parents 
  most often in the Ego), or perhaps 
  each zone holds a treasured core 
  memory of the ability or other concept 
  associated with it. The GM should 
  flavor the contest with such memories 
  or elements, as this is much of the fun 
  of such long-form mind control arcs.
  To take control of one zone requires 
  a contest of Mind Control, usually 
  against the host mind, who resists 
  with Stability. (Even if she’s a mind 
  controller too.) The host mind has 
  the “home field advantage,” so the 
  mind controller needs to be very 
  powerful, bring Cooperating fellow 
  mind controllers, attack while the 
  host is distracted fighting off other 
  mind controllers, or use some other 
  combination of special equipment 
  or modifiers to shift the pools in his 
  favor.
  tHE SUPErEGO
  This is the level of culture, rules, 
  models, and intellect. The superego 
  comprises one zone for each rating 
  point the host mind has in Stability. 
  For each zone, assign it one of the 
  host mind’s abilities. Start with 
  Investigative abilities in which she 
  has a rating of 3 or more, and with 
  General abilities in which she has a 
  rating of 8 or more. Each zone of the 
  superego corresponds to one ability, 
  
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  Once a single mentalist controls a 
  majority of the zones in the Ego, he 
  may attempt to control zones in the Id. 
  (In multiple-controller games, the GM 
  may want to change this requirement 
  to a plurality, instead.)
  If an outside mind controller loses two 
  contests in a row within the Ego, he 
  loses all zones controlled within the 
  Ego, and half the zones he controls 
  within the Superego. (Host player 
  picks.)
  tHE Id
  There are always three zones in the Id: 
  Survive, Trauma, and Mate.
  Survive is the sheer survival instinct, 
  Trauma is the worst thing that ever 
  happened to you (or, in Fear Itself, the 
  Worst Thing You Ever Did), and Mate 
  is the procreative urge. If the host is 
  married or has children, her spouse or 
  children embody this last zone.
  All resistance rolls by the host over a 
  zone in the Id are made at +4.
  Pick the host’s highest General ability 
  rating or 9, whichever is higher: that is 
  the bonus pool the host can also spend 
  on resistance Stability tests in the Id. 
  Any psionic ability spend by the host 
  on a resistance test in the Id counts 
  double: e.g., spending 1 point of Mind 
  Control adds +2 to the Stability test 
  result.
  Once an outside mind controller 
  controls any zone in the Id, resistance 
  rolls to that psychic by the host take a 
  -4 modifier. (This cancels out the host’s 
  advantage within the Id.) That psychic 
  may now make the host do, feel, say, or 
  believe anything relating to that zone 
  by spending 2 Mind Control points.
  Once a single mentalist controls a 
  two out of three zones in the Id, he 
  may control anything the host mind 
  does, remembers, believes, and so 
  on, without spending any Mind 
  Control points. The host may have a 
  fragmentary personality left in the 
  remnants of her mind, or not, at the 
  GM’s discretion.
  If an outside mind controller loses any 
  contest within the Id, he loses all zones 
  controlled within the Id, and half the 
  zones he controls anywhere else in the 
  mind. (Host player picks.)
  SHAdOw PLAyS
  In some mind control media such 
  as Psychonauts or Inception, more 
  cinematic types of contests represent 
  the mind control struggle: gunplay, 
  fisticuffs, 
  magical 
  showdowns, 
  snowmobile races, and so forth. To 
  introduce such a sub-contest (usually 
  a combat or similar full contest in 
  its own right), take the total General 
  points of the host character (except 
  Stability) and use them to build the 
  zone’s defenders. An 80-point budget 
  might produce 10 mooks with Shooting 
  8 or 5 mooks with Shooting 8 and 
  Driving 8 for a chase-and-shoot or one 
  deadly assassin.
  The defenders’ Health budget equals 
  the host’s total Stability rating – lots 
  of 1-point foes are likely at first. Once 
  the last Health point is “killed off” the 
  zone falls. Multiply the Health budget 
  by 2 for zones in the Ego, and by 4 for 
  zones in the Id. Remember to add +2 
  to defenders’ rolls in the Ego (until an 
  Ego zone falls) and +4 to defenders’ 
  rolls in the Id (until an Id zone falls). 
  The GM may represent those bonuses 
  dramatically as heavy cover, superior 
  weaponry, etc.
  The mind controller uses his own 
  character abilities in these shadow 
  battles, but his psionic abilities become 
  a pool useable in any contest. This pool 
  refreshes after each “scene.”
  The GM may want to add special 
  bonuses for associated abilities in the 
  zone, or set totals slightly differently 
  to match a team of invading psionic 
  heroes.
  QUiCK And dirty MEntAL 
  BAttLE dAMAGE
  For games such as Fear Itself or 
  Trail of Cthulhu Purist mode “one-
  shots” modeling the slow (or rapid) 
  disintegration 
  of 
  the 
  characters’ 
  minds, you can use the mental 
  battlefield map to check off Stability 
  damage to much more lurid effect. 
  For every point of Stability lost to the 
  supernatural (or to the specific flavor 
  of terror characteristic of the scenario), 
  one zone shatters. 
  ctHULHU On MY MInd
  For each rating point of Cthulhu Mythos the character has, one zone 
  of his mind is infested with the horrid truth of the cosmos. Which 
  zone is up to the Keeper, who is encouraged to add suitably horrid – or 
  infectious -- side effects to attempts to control that zone. At the very 
  least, the mind controller must make a 5-point Stability test  (Difficulty 
  5) for grasping these horrible concepts.
  A truly cruel Keeper will add 1 rating point of Cthulhu Mythos to the 
  mind controller’s sheet for each 3 (or 2!) contaminated zones so entered.
  
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  The player to the victim’s left chooses 
  the zone; if players are coddling each 
  other, the GM chooses.
  In the superego, that ability is Shaken, 
  and using it requires a spend or a +1 
  Difficulty or both. Once over two-thirds 
  (rounded up) of the superego zones are 
  shattered, losses may be applied to the 
  ego. Restoring a shattered superego 
  zone requires a Difficulty 2 Shrink 
  or Psychoanalysis test by another 
  character; it cannot be done in combat.
  In the ego, losing any zone requires 
  the player to focus their attention on 
  another PC or a major NPC ally as the 
  cause of their problems. They cannot 
  help that character, will keep secrets 
  from her, lose her in the woods, and 
  generally work to sabotage them; at 
  the player’s discretion, they may try 
  to attack their fixation if left alone 
  together. Once over half of the ego 
  (rounded up) is shattered, losses 
  may be applied to the id. Restoring 
  a shattered ego zone requires a 
  Difficulty 4 Shrink or Psychoanalysis 
  test by another character; it can 
  only be done in a haven or during 8 
  hours of downtime or rest.
  Losses to the id drive involuntary, 
  extreme 
  responses. 
  Losing 
  the 
  Trauma zone means the character 
  responds to the next stressor by 
  attacking it in a berserk frenzy, 
  with no caution or thought of self-
  preservation. Losing the Mate zone 
  means the character responds to the 
  next stressor by fleeing at top speed. 
  Losing the Survive zone means the 
  character freezes in place, folding 
  catatonically into the fetal position 
  but 
  taking 
  no 
  other 
  defensive 
  measures. Restoring a shattered id 
  zone requires a Difficulty 8 Shrink 
  or Psychoanalysis test by another 
  character; even at cinematic speeds, 
  it takes three days of peace.
  CUStOMIZInG MInD 
  COntROL
  The Zoom mechanics above are 
  designed to fit conceptually into the 
  “standard game space” of GUMSHOE: 
  capable characters, with action 
  modeled on common storytelling 
  conventions. 
  But 
  an 
  individual 
  GM may want to blow up or 
  (comparatively) de-emphasize the 
  role of mind control in her game. 
  This section helps her customize the 
  rules to fit exactly the kind of story 
  she wants to tell.
  diALS
  These options change the Zoom 
  mechanics. The GM may want to 
  tinker with these dials until the 
  flavor fits the table as a whole, as 
  well as her notions of genre and 
  drama. Use as many or as few of 
  these dials as you wish for your 
  preferred, specific flavor.
  
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  dIALInG It UP
  The following changes make mind 
  control more powerful, prevalent, 
  or prominent in the game. A full-
  fledged covert psi wars game might 
  wind up using all of them! In some 
  games, the GM might restrict these 
  dials to psis with ratings of 8+ in a 
  psionic ability. Each additional 6 (or 
  4) points in the ability activates one 
  more dial.
  • Each Interpersonal point the 
  psychic spends to reinforce his 
  mental command lowers the 
  Mind Control Difficulty by 1. To 
  really amp up this effect, remove 
  the 2-point maximum spend 
  limit.
  • Lower the premium for psionic 
  abilities (or just mind control) 
  from 4 or 5 to 2 or 3. This becomes 
  especially powerful in games 
  with more than one psionic or 
  special ability, or where mind 
  control is broken into several 
  sub-disciplinary abilities.
  • Normally, every potential pool 
  point can only be “filled” by one 
  specific ability point. But for a 
  game with more powerful psis, 
  a character can buy a number of 
  abilities equal to her Psi potential. 
  Example: Priya has Psi 3: she could 
  buy three separate psionic abilities 
  as high as her experience points or 
  saved build points can take her: 
  after four adventures gain her 8 
  experience points, she could have 
  Mind Control 4, Technopathy 3, 
  and Astral Projection 1.
  • The minimum Difficulty for a 
  Mind Control attempt is 2 instead 
  of 3, making automatic success 
  possible without a spend.
  • Lower the modifier for multiple 
  minds controlled to +2 per mind.
  • Move all durations up one row; 
  for example, Mind Control 3 now 
  lasts for 5 rounds or one day.
  • At Mind Control 14+, you can 
  control a mind permanently.
  • By spending 6 points of Mind 
  Control after a successful test, 
  your control of that mind (or part 
  thereof) 
  becomes 
  permanent, 
  unless broken by another mind 
  controller of equal or higher 
  rating.
  • Mind Control abilities can refresh 
  after 24 hours, or after 8 hours of 
  rest, or after an hour in a haven.
  • Mind Control includes perception, 
  memories, and beliefs.
  • In the Mental Battlefield System, 
  losing two battles in a row 
  (instead of just one) in the Id 
  ejects the mind-controller from 
  the Id (with the consequences 
  noted on p.9).
  dIALInG It dOWn
  These changes, by contrast, make 
  mind control less powerful, or less 
  useful for players. They don’t make 
  it worthless – if you don’t want 
  mind control in the game, don’t use 
  this Zoom at all! – but they do raise 
  the cost of mental meddling. 
  Once you’ve chosen which dials to 
  use, the GM might remove one of 
  them for a psi with a rating of 8+ in 
  a psionic ability. Each additional 6 
  (or 4) points in the ability removes 
  one more dial.
  • Every 
  use 
  of 
  mind 
  control 
  requires a 3-point Stability test.
  • After using a paranormal ability, 
  you must make a Difficulty 5 
  Health test or immediately lose 
  2 Health and become Hurt for 
  the rest of the scene. (If you 
  are already Hurt, you become 
  Seriously 
  Wounded.) 
  This 
  represents a profound, bone-
  deep 
  exhaustion 
  approaching 
  shock, not an actual injury.
  • Ranges and durations are halved.
  • To use mind control, you must 
  spend at least 2 points from 
  your ability pool if you can. If 
  you have insufficient points in 
  that pool, you must spend points 
  from your Stability pool instead. 
  Points spent from your Stability 
  pool do not add to the die roll, 
  however.
  • While using mind control, you 
  cannot use any other ability, 
  except 
  possibly 
  Interpersonal 
  abilities. You cannot use mind 
  control while in combat or in 
  immediate physical peril.
  • Mind control can only work on 
  a sleeping subject, or a helpless 
  subject, or a subject with a heart 
  rate under 70 beats per minute, 
  or a subject with a specific 
  cocktail of drugs in his system. 
  This makes it less a tactical 
  skill to use in fights, and more a 
  subtle ability to introduce as part 
  of a larger stratagem – or as in 
  Inception, the really important 
  fight that happens after the 
  kidnapping-heist.
  • Mind control only includes short-
  term actions and memories.
  PrE-EXiStinG GUMSHOE Mind 
  COntrOL
  As a general rule, where an existing 
  GUMSHOE rules set introduces mind 
  control or something similar, that 
  game’s rules take precedence over 
  this Zoom unless the GM explicitly 
  rules otherwise. All page numbers 
  in this section refer to the corebook 
  referenced in the subheader.
  
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  MUtAnt cItY BLUES
  Classic mind control in Mutant City 
  Blues falls under the Possession ability 
  (p. 59) and to a lesser extent Emotion 
  Control (p. 46). In some games and 
  with some rules sets, some GMs will 
  allow mind control to also function 
  as Endorphin Control (Others) (p. 47), 
  Induce Aggression (p. 53), Induce Fear 
  (p. 54), Memory Alteration (p. 57), or 
  Sexual Chemistry (p. 63).
  Less usually, mind control might 
  include a “cloud men’s minds” ability 
  or 
  ability 
  complex, 
  allowing 
  the 
  controller to override or rewrite the 
  subject’s current sensory input. This 
  power or power set might grant any or 
  all of Invisibility (p. 55), Illusion (p. 52), 
  Impersonate (p. 53), Light Blast (p. 54), 
  Nondescript (p. 57), or Alter Form (p. 39).
  Other less usual mind control abilities 
  include the various animal Command 
  powers (pp. 40-42); Detect Influence 
  (p. 44); Induce Mental Disorder (p. 54); 
  Psionic Blast (p. 60), In combat, a mind 
  controller might manifest Lightning 
  Decisions (p. 56) by suppressing the 
  attack impulse of your foe for that 
  critical second or Reflexes (p. 61) by 
  confusing the shooter, or generalize 
  both as Threat Calculus (p. 69).
  Even more of a stretch: a mind-
  controller might be able to get lots of 
  other minds working in parallel to 
  give him the equivalent of Cognition 
  (p. 40), or trigger biofeedback or other 
  mesmeric conditions for Healing (p. 51).
  Even if you’re not using Mutant City 
  Blues, consider all of the above the 
  spectrum of possible effects of mind 
  control in your game.
  nIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS
  Vampiric mind control counts as a 
  Mental Attack (pp. 131-132), usually 
  powered by Aberrance instead of by 
  a specific ability. Vampires and other 
  monsters resist mind control using 
  Aberrance. 
  (Mesmerism, 
  Terror, 
  and other possibly mind-controlling 
  Mental Attacks all use the same rules.) 
  Other vampiric powers that might 
  “actually” come from particularly 
  bloodthirsty mind-controllers include 
  Anaesthetic Venom (p. 138), Cloud 
  Men’s Minds (p. 130), Distortion (p. 
  135), Dominance (p. 129), Memory Haze 
  (p. 129), Mimic Form (p. 136), Mimicry 
  (p. 138), Possession (p. 134), Stealth 
  (p. 136), or a purely illusory Turn to 
  Creature or Turn to Monstrous Form 
  (both p. 136) 
  Less usually, the unnerving or panic-
  making results of Infrasound and 
  Howl (both p. 138), Necromancy (p. 
  134), or the Summoning and control 
  of animals and vermin (p. 138), might 
  be psionic effects.
  Damage from a bane might disrupt, 
  or at least add negative modifiers to, 
  vampiric mind control efforts.
  trAIL OF ctHULHU
  Mind control in Trail of Cthulhu 
  divides sharply between normal 
  human Hypnosis and the various 
  horrid techniques of the Mythos.
  Hypnosis 
  (p. 
  43) 
  includes 
  post-
  hypnotic 
  suggestion 
  and 
  false 
  memories, 
  both 
  fairly 
  classic 
  mind 
  control 
  powers. 
  In 
  some 
  cases, recovering memories might 
  incorporate mind control (forcing 
  the subject’s mind to confront what 
  happened, and his mouth to tell you), 
  as might the trance, easing of pain, 
  and even psychoanalytic rapport 
  also covered by the Hypnosis ability. 
  In very Pulp games, Hypnosis might 
  include various mesmeric effects 
  mentioned in this Zoom; points in 
  Hypnosis should at least count as 
  Mind Control for all purposes except 
  mind control, such as resisting 
  exterior commands. Deep One and 
  hybrid Hypnosis includes simple 
  commands; Serpent Folk likely have 
  the same potential with this ability.
  Strangely 
  enough, 
  there 
  are 
  few 
  explicit 
  mind-controllers 
  in 
  Lovecraft’s bestiary. The Colours out 
  of space drain human will (p. 128), 
  K’n-Yani use psychic illusions (p. 139), 
  Lemurians have a mental overload 
  ability (p. 140), lloigor send victims to 
  sleep before draining their Health (p. 
  141), and the shan simply erode their 
  victims’ Stability out of sheer sadistic 
  puppetry (p. 149). The Xothian spawn 
  of Cthulhu may share his telepathic 
  gifts; if so, they might be able to 
  blank and command weaker beings’ 
  minds. Less canonically, the buzzing 
  hypnosis and enforced lassitude 
  used by the mi-go appear in Hideous 
  Creatures: Mi-Go; the ghouls’ Daze 
  (and a possibly psionic Paralyzing 
  Grasp) appears in Hideous Creatures: 
  Ghouls.
  Yithians switch bodies without even 
  needing to roll, but that’s not mind 
  control precisely, as the human mind 
  has a new, conical and rugose body in 
  Pnakotus.
  In between humanity and horror are 
  the Mythos spells Mind Exchange (p. 
  123) and Dominate (Rough Magicks, 
  p. 19). 
  In general, the special psionic powers 
  in Trail of Cthulhu are customized 
  for Lovecraftian horror, not general 
  applicability, and should stay that 
  way. This Zoom might well power 
  a Yithian or Elder Thing psionicist, 
  a Xothian spawn, an NPC mentalist 
  driven mad by communion with 
  Nyarlathotep, or an entirely original 
  psychic race of aliens.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Ken Writes About Stuff/Ken Writes About Stuff Vol. 1/Gumshoe Zoom - Mind Control.pdf