According to the rules, Sensates can't turn down opprotunities to have new experiences, right? It seems like it would be easy to exploit a Sensate, then... (Man walks up to a teenage Sensate girl. "Are you a virgin?", he asks. "Yes", replies Sensate. "Then you've never had the experience of sex, right? Well, come on, then..."!) Tasteless example, but...
What Sensates will and will not do
Thu, 2007-11-15 12:35
#1
What Sensates will and will not do
Thu, 2007-11-15 14:14
#3
What Sensates will and will not do
I imagine that most Sensates temper their desire for new experiences with their alignment. A more chaotic sensate lass might just take the man up on the offer, but odds are that most would realize that they could be putting their lives at risk, thus jeopardizing future experiences.
Thu, 2007-11-15 14:48
#4
What Sensates will and will not do
Besides, they are zealous, not crazy (well, some of them are, but that's another matter). They believe that new experiences are the most important thing in life, but that doesn't mean they want to see their life ended (particularly not when there is an infinite number of non-lethal experiences out there). Plus a lot of sensates are really just hedonists who don't really want to experience negative sensations anyway. Maybe they aren't "true" sensates, but they are members of the Faction.
Thu, 2007-11-15 15:18
#5
What Sensates will and will not do
The Sensate out to experience absolutely everything would probably want to say no, at least till all other routes were exhausted. It would appeal to the more jaded type of Sensate though. (I could see the average life-arc of the dedicated Sensates being rather short, because as the more jaded they get, the more the death option would appeal, though I'm sure some would end up drawing it out in the search for a death that would be a unique experience.)
Certainly I agree with the argument that it depends partly on alignment, (and the strength of that alignment) and also on personal experiences. Few Sensates would turn down a new experience that wouldn't hurt them terribly, but the more risky and dangerous, the more it would cross the boundary line of the average member. Rock climbing Mt. Celestia? Dangerous, but since it's the Upper Planes, probably not so dangerous as to be untenable. Given a reasonable chance, the average Sensate might do it. Death by beheading then and there? Doubtful. It's almost assuring they'll die, and thus cut off the flow of experiences. They'll have no problem whatsoever turning you down.
Thu, 2007-11-15 19:49
#6
What Sensates will and will not do
The 2e guidelines for Sensates flat-out aren't written well. There's some example in the sourcebook (might be the Factol's Manifesto, but I'm not sure) where a high-up Sensate would (indirectly) punish a PC for turning down new experiences too often.
According to a strict interpretation of the faction policy, it would be ludicrously easy for all kinds of bad guys to manipulate Sensate PCs into doing this or that. "You've never fought in the Blood War, have you?" Or as a better example, "Have you ever seen a [name of really weird monster] before? Or spoken to one? I have this job, you see, and it would be a new experience for you..."
Basically, if an NPC were to suggest that a PC should try something (perhaps in the form of a job offer) that would be a new experience for that PC, and it's not obviously extremely dangerous, the PC has very little option to refuse.
Thu, 2007-11-15 20:10
#7
What Sensates will and will not do
(I could see the average life-arc of the dedicated Sensates being rather short, because as the more jaded they get, the more the death option would appeal, though I'm sure some would end up drawing it out in the search for a death that would be a unique experience.)
"Brain extraction is like totally rad, man. I know a guy who knows a guy. Just make sure you have a good priest around when you do it."
Thu, 2007-11-15 20:16
#8
What Sensates will and will not do
"Have you ever shot yourself in the face with a wand of fireballs?" :mrgreen:
Thu, 2007-11-15 21:10
#9
What Sensates will and will not do
"Have you ever shot yourself in the face with a wand of fireballs?" :mrgreen:
No, but I have shot somebody else in the face with a Roman Candle once.
Thu, 2007-11-15 21:13
#10
What Sensates will and will not do
I'm quite sure that many Sensates have died just for the experience of it. After all there's spells like Raise Dead and Resurrection as this is a D&D world.
Fri, 2007-11-16 12:17
#11
Risky experiences...
Well, yeah, death ends fun, but having sex per se isn't inherently risky (not in a world with birth control herbs and clerics with cure disease spells). I was thinking more along the lines of simple exploitation of a Sensate, not outright killing him or her... "You've never been cheated before, you say?", said the merchant... Say, this brings up another question I had. If a Good-aligned Sensate uses a recorder stone to experience something evil another Sensate did (say, torturing someone), and he enjoys the recorded experience, isn't he risking an alignment shift? I can see some poor sod trying it one, becoming addicted and switching alignments because of it (either way; a evil Sensate might become addicted to good!)
Fri, 2007-11-16 20:59
#12
What Sensates will and will not do
I can see some poor sod trying it one, becoming addicted and switching alignments because of it (either way; a evil Sensate might become addicted to good!)
That sounds like quite the interesting idea.
Sat, 2007-11-17 09:37
#13
What Sensates will and will not do
That reminds me when we ran Armoury99s Desire and the Dead...
Party marched into the festhall, four armoured up battle zombies behind them. A gnomish sensate approached them:
"Mind if I borrow one of these zombies for a minute? I always wanted to swap my mind with that of a mindless undead..."
Sat, 2007-11-17 12:07
#14
What Sensates will and will not do
I always thought that a faction of shapeshifting Sensates would be fascinating; even the same sensation is completely different under new circumstances. A Rakshasa does not experience the same sensations from a fireball as a halfling does.
A mini-faction of Sensates that spend their time shapeshifting into different forms and re-experiencing everything in those new forms, and do it so much they even completely lose their original shape (as in, they don't remember, and there's no way to really 'revert' them back) strikes me as really an interesting way to take it.
Sat, 2007-11-17 16:24
#15
What Sensates will and will not do
I imagine that most hard-core sensate would inevitably become liches or vampires. If not for that experience, than to prolong the chance of new ones.
Sat, 2007-11-17 16:29
#16
What Sensates will and will not do
As Strahd indicates in I, Strahd....Liches have no sensations.
They're beings of pure intellect.
Sun, 2007-11-18 04:03
#17
What Sensates will and will not do
Here is idea of experience what Sensate would not easily accept: It is called Sensory Depravation Unit. Basicly you are put in box in wich you are compleatly restrained, unable to see, hear, smell, touch and move and the next thing you know you start to hallucinate.
That would be the closest thing of the Sensate Hell, but paradox is that this compleate lack of sensations is also experience by Senseate standards so I guess they would try it (and rememer it with dread).
Also what would truly wise Sensate tell to those that offer him expeience of death: "You will allways have time for dying, yet we have so little time for living."
That was not wery good but what I'm saying is that death is experience that sooner or later comes to us all, and only fanatical members of Senseates would seek it just for experiance sake.
Then again every faction has members that have unique abilities that enable them to do extreme stuff: for example Troll Sensate can freely experience various forms of torture and diferent ways of death becaouse of his high regeneration rate, other seansates will think twice brfore they do such things. Ater all that why sensoriums exist, to enable extreme experiences to those who dont want to die by fall or be bitten to death by Rattatosk.
I guess that troll sensete would be something of celebrity in faction and his sensoriums would be quite popular.
What rule is that? If that were true, the Sensates could be destroyed by someone asking all of them "You don't know what dying feels like, do you?" Most Sensates aren't stupid. That's why there are recorder stones.