Meme

Meme (Major) by Mr. Twist

This strange power is very similar to Control Others and various hypnotic suggestion powers because it changes the behavior of those who sense it. The person with this power is able to encode a viral idea into others' minds, causing them to be affected in specific ways. These memes are propagated through various means involving the five senses, depending on the being with the power. This power takes time to work because time must be spent creating the meme in the first place. When all the materials are gathered, then the meme creation can be done with a successful roll.

Meme Creation: 55% + 3% per level of experience. This skill is only affected by I.Q. bonuses, and not increased by education bonuses or even bonuses from other powers. If a 'quick' meme is attempted, the roll is at -30%.

Roll Randomly On The Following Table, or choose one, to determine vector;

1-20% - Sound. You can encode memes into sounds, weaving together tones and beats into orders. This kind of meme is versatile because a person can encode multiple memes within a single song, changing people multiple times.

21-43% - Smell. This kind of meme is encoded into odors, weaving together scents into one scent that influences a person. Some creative uses are weaving together the right flowers to create a relaxing scent, or cooking with the right spices to make a meal give off a scent that causes people to be angry.

44-60% - Sight. This sense can be affected in various ways in meme creation. Some use sculpture, some write symbols on things, and some arrange things in the room to evoke a certain response. Some people tattoo themselves with sight memes for certain purposes.

61-75% - Taste. Generally used to encode memes into food, creating love recipes and food that tastes perfect only because you are told it tastes perfect.

75-99% - Touch. Very subtle, these memes are encoded into surfaces so that the command in them is only activated when touched. Some creative uses are creating specific vibrations that are felt and propagate the command.

100% - Choose Any Two

Duration: Created memes are no more permanent than the materials used to make them. A visual meme etched into steel will generally last longer than one printed on paper, but rust and other factors can make it useless. An auditory meme will last only as long as the sound is present. Olfactory memes will only last as long as the scent is detectable. Those with heightened olfactory senses will be affected by an olfactory meme long after a normal person is no longer affected. It must be noted that when you can no longer sense a specific meme, it's effects no longer apply. If you are in a room with a scent meme of intense calm, you will feel completely normal when you are no longer exposed to the meme.

Area of Effect: All who have the correct sense(s) to receive a meme are affected.

Saving Throws: Any who receive a meme designed to fool the same sense(a scent meme used to fool smell) or for emotion must roll a 16 or higher to not be affected. M.E. bonuses do not apply, but any bonuses to save vs. mind control/hypnotic possession do. If the meme is used to fool a different sense(a taste meme that causes you to see little goblins), then the roll must be a 14 or better. If someone who is not affected by the meme specifically calls others' attention to the fact the meme is not real("What do you mean he's Chinese?? Look at him!!"), then everyone else gets to attempt another save at 14 or higher(12 or higher if a different sense).

Notes: A 'quick' meme is done on the fly using present materials, so it is not of the same quality because extra time is not taken to perfect it. A 'quick' meme can be completed in as fast as it takes to arrange the materials, but no less than five minutes.

The complexity of a meme is wholly up to the user, but the hypnotic suggestions produced can not be all that complex. Generally, any can be used to influence the emotions of those who receive it, from mild to extreme(You are all VERY content).

For a meme to have any effect, the person with the power has to be the one physically crafting it. Reproductions of their created memes, of any sort, are useless. This means video, photos, or tape recordings of a meme have no affect on others.

Ok. I gave it my best shot. Hopefully the idea got through. Just popped into my head, inspired from a source. Someone else has probably done it before, but I didn't feel like searching through all these posts and various websites. If I was beat to it, let me know. If it doesn't exactly make sense, let me know. When I first thought of the power, I visualized a weird looking alien walking through crowds with a strange tattoo on it's face. Everyone seemed to treat the alien as normal, because when they saw the tattoo it told them he was a 'average human being'. Then I thought of the possibilities of expanding it into other senses to the point a diplomat with the power could spend time cooking for an important treaty negotiation, cooking food that would cause everyone to be submissive to his suggestions. Basically the power imparts hypnotic suggestions in non-psionic ways by encoding it into things the five senses can receive.