Sidestep's Abilities Listing Revamped
Nov. 28th, 2037 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
telepathicignoranceSince I first started playing Sidestep the creator of their canon has released ...quite a bit of lore and also answered a lot of clarifying questions on how telepathy and Sidestep specifically work, so I figure it's time to update this.
Chris' Powers can be split into three groups: Generalized, Telepathy, and Posession/Eldritch.
Generalized – Sidestep is a Re-Gene. Specifically, they're a Cuckoo, a class of Re-Gene that looks similar to humans and is taught human social and cultural norms so they can be used for infiltration purposes. This comes with a number of powers and modifications to their body, listed below. (CW: Non consenting body modification including sterilization, Drugs, Medical stuff.)
Pain-Gate: Broken, mostly removed, though there might still be parts attached to their spine. Before Heartbreak, Sidestep had an implant that, when they experienced sufficient pain to incapacitate them or knock them out, would shut off their ability to feel it, enabling them to push themself far beyond ordinary human limits. It was destroyed when they fell, and they now feel pain normally.
Identifier Markings: Not actually a power, but they're mildly supernatural in nature, so I'm listing them here anyway. Sidestep is marked with bright orange "tattoos" that identify them as a Re-Gene. These tattoos were placed there by the Special Directive and appear to be the result of fundamentally altering the pigment expression of the skin. They are nigh impossible to remove, with the only effective method being the complete destruction or removal of the underlying skin down to the flesh. As a cuckoo, these markings are only on parts of their body that can be easily covered by clothes, but keeping them hidden is still a major deal.
Standard Boost/Re-Gene Traits: Also not really a power, but bizarre and supernatural enough to be worth noting. The boosting drug causes DNA damage that in a more scientifically rigorous work would probably be considered catastrophic and inevitably fatal, but in Fallen Hero's cyberpunk superhero dystopian universe there's a chance that the people who take it will develop superpowers instead of dying. Boosts have an increased risk of developing cancer, they also cannot be cloned and are unlikely to produce viable children as a result of this DNA damage. Perhaps paradoxically, boosts also seem to experience lower levels of senescence: their bodies remain healthier longer and some even experience increased lifespan. Re-Genes are microdosed on boost drugs throughout development and share all these traits. They are also sterilized to prevent complications related to boost fertility issues. (Sidestep does not seem to experience any of the potential health problems sterilization can bring in canon, whether this is because of advanced medical treatment unique to their setting or some other reason is never made clear.)
AI Chip Traits: The official line is that Re-Genes do not have functional human brains and are just meat puppets piloted by AI. The actual truth is that the AI chip is more of an augmentation to than a replacement for the human part of the mind, but it does change things a little. Mostly, it was used to download information into their brain for easier training: notable skills likely obtained this way are the ability to speak the languages English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Farsi and Russian (they also speak Re-Gene code language, but that was learned manually), along with the ability to play the piano. Technopaths will likely be able to sense this AI chip, though attempts to intereact with or manipulate it will be met with resistance and hostility.
Telepathy – This covers a wide range of mind reading, manipulation and control powers. (CW: Mind control and manipulation stuff.) (Note: None of Sidestep's telepathic abilities will ever work on epileptics.)
Mind Reading (passive): Chris' mind reading isn't just a power so much as a constantly active extra sense. They can pick up stray thoughts and emotions from humans and humanlike beings as well as sometimes mammals, birds, and other creatures with advanced enough minds including machines that have organic or psychically reactive components, though the further from humanlike the thinking gets the fuzzier things are. Again, this isn't a deliberate thing; what they actually manage to get is generally murky unless they focus, and it can even be painful and overwhelming if there are enough strongly emotive or agitated people around. They can struggle to block out thoughts and even end up influenced by the emotions of others. Usually they try to tune it out but extremely focused or highly agitated minds can break through this and sometimes they'll listen in idly to a particular mind without trying to actually dig for anything deeper. For player characters this is basically just snippets of things mentioned in brackets. If players don't want to have this affect their character there's a permissions post here.
Machine Interfacing: Sidestep isn't a technopath, so most machines are completely inaccessible to their powers. However, if a device has an organic or otherwise potentially psychically reactive component it is possible for them to connect with and potentially control it. Said control would be very limited, basically things like start, stop, move here, stay here, etc. In canon they use this ability to control a cloud of specially programmed nanovores, but they don't have access to those in games. As mentioned before, this would potentially enable them to read the minds of sapient machines with the right construction, but while it might be theoretically possible for them to mind control such beings there is no direct evidence of this in canon and I'm electing to say that they cannot until canon proves otherwise, in which case it'll probably still be nerfed.
Danger Sense: Technically just a specialized branch of their passive mind reading. Sidestep's thought reading is especially tuned toward picking up other's intent to attack, touch, or grab them so that they can dodge out of the way. The effectiveness of this varies: with actual ill intent in an actual battle where Sidestep is focused they are almost impossibly difficult to hit, but an exhausted or distracted Sidestep who has their guard down could possibly be picked right up off the ground. If the regular telepathy doesn't work on your character, this probably doesn't either, though if you want I can figure out an explanation for why one would work and not the other.
Mind Reading (Active): Chris can also probe minds more deeply, trying to get specific information, though this comes with a risk of being noticed or caught. Typically this manifests as attempts to pull the relevant thoughts to the front of their ...victim's mind, resulting in people struggling to focus on anything other than the topic of interest, accompanied by feelings of being watched. They don't often do this, and when they do there's a much higher risk of being caught, in addition to the targeted mind potentially being able to throw them off. Again, if you don't want this, there's a permissions post here.
Broadcasting: In addition to the standard mindreading, Chris can also broadcast concepts and messages to other minds. Typically, they're only willing to do this with animals, but it is technically possible for them to communicate with humans and humanlikes this way, though unlikely to ever happen. If your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Emotional Manipulation: Chris' telepathic abilities don't stop there. They have several abilities related to mind control (some of the more extreme of which seem to come from a different source/follow different rules from their other powers and are thus listed in the final section) with the most notable being a form of emotional manipulation in which they strengthen or weaken things the person in question is already feeling. Quashing doubts, increasing trust, making that building need to go to the bathroom rapidly become overpowering… that sort of thing. So far it mostly seems to work on human and humanlike minds, though there are canon scenes in which they can telepathically curb a dog's urge to bite its playmates. That said, I think this ability will likely be ineffective on player characters/nerfed entirely in any game I play them in, and I prefer it this way. Telepathy powers get weird enough without throwing mind control into the mix.
Puppeting: Sidestep can exercise limited control over another person's movement in the right circumstances. This is, according to what I understand of canon, different from their posession capabilities, which are apparently not even a part of their normal telepathic powers and is thus getting its own listing. For the most part, it's limited to small movments. Making people trip or stumble, forcing a finger to pull a trigger, but with effort and concentration (and a little help from some form of amplification, typically the Rat-King) they can do more. Not that that particularly matters, as this is definitely an ability that I'd prefer to be nerfed/kept from play in games.
Illusions: A particularly interesting manifestation of Sidestep's powers is the ability to alter perceptions. Typically, this is small things. A brief feeling of something crawling up your leg. A bridge seeming wider than it actually is. They can get more involved/specific, but that requires extensive concentration as advanced illusions have to be tailored to the target mind. Regardless of complexity these illusions do not hold up to scrutiny and typically only fool people for a few seconds to a minute, but they can be great for tricking someone into trying to grab onto a handle that isn't there, or running into a wall because they saw an open door. Typically, they're focused on a single person, maybe two. As usual, if your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Aura of invisibility/Do not percieve me: This is another specifically trained aspect of Sidestep's power. They've learned to project an aura that unconsciously influences the minds of people around them to not recognize them, register their presence, or remember they were even there. It's normally only a partial effect, with people finding it hard to focus on them or remember their face, but with concentration they can disappear from other people's perceptions entirely. This ability becomes less effective the more of a relationship someone has with Sidestep, and people who are resistant or immune to telepathy are unlikely to be affected at all. Given the restrictions, this ability is unlikely to come up much with player characters, who will likely come to know Sidestep well enough to see through it--it's really more of a convenient way to sneak past unimportant NPCs and try (and probably fail) to keep people from bothering them. If your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Mind Blast: Sidestep can also just throw the entire weight of their mind at someone, hitting their senses like a flashbang and causing pain and disorientation or possibly even making them faint. This can happen by accident if they use too much force when using other powers (a rare occurrence) but they can do it on purpose too. Again though, if regular telepathy doesn't work, this definitely won't.
Mind Diving: Whether willingly allowed or with great concentration, Sidestep can enter a person's mindscape. This is a difficult process and results in loss of control or ability to sense what is happening to their physical body, leaving them completely vulnerable in the physical world. Additionally, a strong will or powerful psychic can toss them right back out, potentially with bleeding or even seizures as a result. Again, they can't affect people who are immune to their telepathy with this.
Possession/Eldritch – This section is the most speculative, as the exact nature of what the heck is going on with Sidestep, Heartbreak, Void, and the (possibly extra dimensional) forces influencing them have only been briefly touched on in the games so far and the creator is tight lipped about potential spoilers. (CW: Creepy horror movie stuff, possession)
Gates: Not precisely a power, and will likely have little effect on anything other than flavor text. At some point after escaping the lab Sidestep realized that the stuff in their head was leaking out everywhere without the dampeners and gated off ...memories? Part of their power? Some other entity that had taken up residence in their mind? Something else? A combination of these things? It's really not clear, at least not yet. The interesting part is that Sidestep doesn't seem fully aware of these gates, as though the understanding of them got locked away with everything else. They also tend to have clearer memories of their trauma the more of them get opened. Gates opening tends to happen in times of great pain or psychic distress, and are a sign that things are going badly for them. Because the effects of opening all the gates are mostly unknown, I will never have more than four open (there are nine in total) at any time in a game if I bother to consider this variable at all.
Bad Vibes/Dream Projection: I'm not sure how much of this is them just having regular night terrors that they project when asleep and how much is like, a result of experimentation/exposure to genuinely horrible supernatural stuff, but Sidestep feels ...bad. Like, even when mostly okay they should feel creepy and disconcerting to other psychics. When asleep (and possibly when sufficiently injured or agitated) this gets worse. Fear, gloom, flashes of terrifying nightmare scenes from both their memories and memories they've gleaned from ...others, a sense of another malevolent prescence, a fixation on the color red. It mostly seems to only affect humans and humanlike minds, and anyone who is immune to their normal telepathy will not be affected by this at all.
Posession: Sidestep has the ability to completely take over people. This isn't like just normal telepathic puppeting, Sidestep literally becomes the person in question, mind traveling through what is implied to be some sort of extradimensional medium to reside in the head of their target. Normally this requires being very close to them to initiate the posession and only works for a limited duration, though in canon they were able to turn a comatose and brain dead body into a "puppet" that they could slip into and control at will regardless of distance. Possessing people like this leaves their own body unconscious and vulnerable, so they need to prepare a safe spot to stash it in ahead of time--this isn't something they can do without planning. It would also be a complete pain to work out in an RP setting, so I'm happy to nerf this entirely.
Chris' Powers can be split into three groups: Generalized, Telepathy, and Posession/Eldritch.
Generalized – Sidestep is a Re-Gene. Specifically, they're a Cuckoo, a class of Re-Gene that looks similar to humans and is taught human social and cultural norms so they can be used for infiltration purposes. This comes with a number of powers and modifications to their body, listed below. (CW: Non consenting body modification including sterilization, Drugs, Medical stuff.)
Generalized powers inside
Pain-Gate: Broken, mostly removed, though there might still be parts attached to their spine. Before Heartbreak, Sidestep had an implant that, when they experienced sufficient pain to incapacitate them or knock them out, would shut off their ability to feel it, enabling them to push themself far beyond ordinary human limits. It was destroyed when they fell, and they now feel pain normally.
Identifier Markings: Not actually a power, but they're mildly supernatural in nature, so I'm listing them here anyway. Sidestep is marked with bright orange "tattoos" that identify them as a Re-Gene. These tattoos were placed there by the Special Directive and appear to be the result of fundamentally altering the pigment expression of the skin. They are nigh impossible to remove, with the only effective method being the complete destruction or removal of the underlying skin down to the flesh. As a cuckoo, these markings are only on parts of their body that can be easily covered by clothes, but keeping them hidden is still a major deal.
Standard Boost/Re-Gene Traits: Also not really a power, but bizarre and supernatural enough to be worth noting. The boosting drug causes DNA damage that in a more scientifically rigorous work would probably be considered catastrophic and inevitably fatal, but in Fallen Hero's cyberpunk superhero dystopian universe there's a chance that the people who take it will develop superpowers instead of dying. Boosts have an increased risk of developing cancer, they also cannot be cloned and are unlikely to produce viable children as a result of this DNA damage. Perhaps paradoxically, boosts also seem to experience lower levels of senescence: their bodies remain healthier longer and some even experience increased lifespan. Re-Genes are microdosed on boost drugs throughout development and share all these traits. They are also sterilized to prevent complications related to boost fertility issues. (Sidestep does not seem to experience any of the potential health problems sterilization can bring in canon, whether this is because of advanced medical treatment unique to their setting or some other reason is never made clear.)
AI Chip Traits: The official line is that Re-Genes do not have functional human brains and are just meat puppets piloted by AI. The actual truth is that the AI chip is more of an augmentation to than a replacement for the human part of the mind, but it does change things a little. Mostly, it was used to download information into their brain for easier training: notable skills likely obtained this way are the ability to speak the languages English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Farsi and Russian (they also speak Re-Gene code language, but that was learned manually), along with the ability to play the piano. Technopaths will likely be able to sense this AI chip, though attempts to intereact with or manipulate it will be met with resistance and hostility.
Telepathy – This covers a wide range of mind reading, manipulation and control powers. (CW: Mind control and manipulation stuff.) (Note: None of Sidestep's telepathic abilities will ever work on epileptics.)
Telepathy Powers Inside
Mind Reading (passive): Chris' mind reading isn't just a power so much as a constantly active extra sense. They can pick up stray thoughts and emotions from humans and humanlike beings as well as sometimes mammals, birds, and other creatures with advanced enough minds including machines that have organic or psychically reactive components, though the further from humanlike the thinking gets the fuzzier things are. Again, this isn't a deliberate thing; what they actually manage to get is generally murky unless they focus, and it can even be painful and overwhelming if there are enough strongly emotive or agitated people around. They can struggle to block out thoughts and even end up influenced by the emotions of others. Usually they try to tune it out but extremely focused or highly agitated minds can break through this and sometimes they'll listen in idly to a particular mind without trying to actually dig for anything deeper. For player characters this is basically just snippets of things mentioned in brackets. If players don't want to have this affect their character there's a permissions post here.
Machine Interfacing: Sidestep isn't a technopath, so most machines are completely inaccessible to their powers. However, if a device has an organic or otherwise potentially psychically reactive component it is possible for them to connect with and potentially control it. Said control would be very limited, basically things like start, stop, move here, stay here, etc. In canon they use this ability to control a cloud of specially programmed nanovores, but they don't have access to those in games. As mentioned before, this would potentially enable them to read the minds of sapient machines with the right construction, but while it might be theoretically possible for them to mind control such beings there is no direct evidence of this in canon and I'm electing to say that they cannot until canon proves otherwise, in which case it'll probably still be nerfed.
Danger Sense: Technically just a specialized branch of their passive mind reading. Sidestep's thought reading is especially tuned toward picking up other's intent to attack, touch, or grab them so that they can dodge out of the way. The effectiveness of this varies: with actual ill intent in an actual battle where Sidestep is focused they are almost impossibly difficult to hit, but an exhausted or distracted Sidestep who has their guard down could possibly be picked right up off the ground. If the regular telepathy doesn't work on your character, this probably doesn't either, though if you want I can figure out an explanation for why one would work and not the other.
Mind Reading (Active): Chris can also probe minds more deeply, trying to get specific information, though this comes with a risk of being noticed or caught. Typically this manifests as attempts to pull the relevant thoughts to the front of their ...victim's mind, resulting in people struggling to focus on anything other than the topic of interest, accompanied by feelings of being watched. They don't often do this, and when they do there's a much higher risk of being caught, in addition to the targeted mind potentially being able to throw them off. Again, if you don't want this, there's a permissions post here.
Broadcasting: In addition to the standard mindreading, Chris can also broadcast concepts and messages to other minds. Typically, they're only willing to do this with animals, but it is technically possible for them to communicate with humans and humanlikes this way, though unlikely to ever happen. If your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Emotional Manipulation: Chris' telepathic abilities don't stop there. They have several abilities related to mind control (some of the more extreme of which seem to come from a different source/follow different rules from their other powers and are thus listed in the final section) with the most notable being a form of emotional manipulation in which they strengthen or weaken things the person in question is already feeling. Quashing doubts, increasing trust, making that building need to go to the bathroom rapidly become overpowering… that sort of thing. So far it mostly seems to work on human and humanlike minds, though there are canon scenes in which they can telepathically curb a dog's urge to bite its playmates. That said, I think this ability will likely be ineffective on player characters/nerfed entirely in any game I play them in, and I prefer it this way. Telepathy powers get weird enough without throwing mind control into the mix.
Puppeting: Sidestep can exercise limited control over another person's movement in the right circumstances. This is, according to what I understand of canon, different from their posession capabilities, which are apparently not even a part of their normal telepathic powers and is thus getting its own listing. For the most part, it's limited to small movments. Making people trip or stumble, forcing a finger to pull a trigger, but with effort and concentration (and a little help from some form of amplification, typically the Rat-King) they can do more. Not that that particularly matters, as this is definitely an ability that I'd prefer to be nerfed/kept from play in games.
Illusions: A particularly interesting manifestation of Sidestep's powers is the ability to alter perceptions. Typically, this is small things. A brief feeling of something crawling up your leg. A bridge seeming wider than it actually is. They can get more involved/specific, but that requires extensive concentration as advanced illusions have to be tailored to the target mind. Regardless of complexity these illusions do not hold up to scrutiny and typically only fool people for a few seconds to a minute, but they can be great for tricking someone into trying to grab onto a handle that isn't there, or running into a wall because they saw an open door. Typically, they're focused on a single person, maybe two. As usual, if your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Aura of invisibility/Do not percieve me: This is another specifically trained aspect of Sidestep's power. They've learned to project an aura that unconsciously influences the minds of people around them to not recognize them, register their presence, or remember they were even there. It's normally only a partial effect, with people finding it hard to focus on them or remember their face, but with concentration they can disappear from other people's perceptions entirely. This ability becomes less effective the more of a relationship someone has with Sidestep, and people who are resistant or immune to telepathy are unlikely to be affected at all. Given the restrictions, this ability is unlikely to come up much with player characters, who will likely come to know Sidestep well enough to see through it--it's really more of a convenient way to sneak past unimportant NPCs and try (and probably fail) to keep people from bothering them. If your charcter is immune to the telepathy (whether for a reason or at the player's request) this ability won't affect them.
Mind Blast: Sidestep can also just throw the entire weight of their mind at someone, hitting their senses like a flashbang and causing pain and disorientation or possibly even making them faint. This can happen by accident if they use too much force when using other powers (a rare occurrence) but they can do it on purpose too. Again though, if regular telepathy doesn't work, this definitely won't.
Mind Diving: Whether willingly allowed or with great concentration, Sidestep can enter a person's mindscape. This is a difficult process and results in loss of control or ability to sense what is happening to their physical body, leaving them completely vulnerable in the physical world. Additionally, a strong will or powerful psychic can toss them right back out, potentially with bleeding or even seizures as a result. Again, they can't affect people who are immune to their telepathy with this.
Possession/Eldritch – This section is the most speculative, as the exact nature of what the heck is going on with Sidestep, Heartbreak, Void, and the (possibly extra dimensional) forces influencing them have only been briefly touched on in the games so far and the creator is tight lipped about potential spoilers. (CW: Creepy horror movie stuff, possession)
Eldritch and Possession related powers inside
Gates: Not precisely a power, and will likely have little effect on anything other than flavor text. At some point after escaping the lab Sidestep realized that the stuff in their head was leaking out everywhere without the dampeners and gated off ...memories? Part of their power? Some other entity that had taken up residence in their mind? Something else? A combination of these things? It's really not clear, at least not yet. The interesting part is that Sidestep doesn't seem fully aware of these gates, as though the understanding of them got locked away with everything else. They also tend to have clearer memories of their trauma the more of them get opened. Gates opening tends to happen in times of great pain or psychic distress, and are a sign that things are going badly for them. Because the effects of opening all the gates are mostly unknown, I will never have more than four open (there are nine in total) at any time in a game if I bother to consider this variable at all.
Bad Vibes/Dream Projection: I'm not sure how much of this is them just having regular night terrors that they project when asleep and how much is like, a result of experimentation/exposure to genuinely horrible supernatural stuff, but Sidestep feels ...bad. Like, even when mostly okay they should feel creepy and disconcerting to other psychics. When asleep (and possibly when sufficiently injured or agitated) this gets worse. Fear, gloom, flashes of terrifying nightmare scenes from both their memories and memories they've gleaned from ...others, a sense of another malevolent prescence, a fixation on the color red. It mostly seems to only affect humans and humanlike minds, and anyone who is immune to their normal telepathy will not be affected by this at all.
Posession: Sidestep has the ability to completely take over people. This isn't like just normal telepathic puppeting, Sidestep literally becomes the person in question, mind traveling through what is implied to be some sort of extradimensional medium to reside in the head of their target. Normally this requires being very close to them to initiate the posession and only works for a limited duration, though in canon they were able to turn a comatose and brain dead body into a "puppet" that they could slip into and control at will regardless of distance. Possessing people like this leaves their own body unconscious and vulnerable, so they need to prepare a safe spot to stash it in ahead of time--this isn't something they can do without planning. It would also be a complete pain to work out in an RP setting, so I'm happy to nerf this entirely.
