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Sidestep's Powers Listing (Escordvi)
May. 23rd, 2024 10:37 amA listing of all of Sidestep's supernatural abilities that were either apped in or purchased in game. Does not include nerfed abilities.
Telepathy: Yeah. Sidestep can read minds. This is most effective as a sort of "danger sense", in which they can pick up other's intent to act before they do so and thus dodge attacks and unwanted attempts to touch or grab them. 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. (Not that you'd necessarily want to do that--they bite.)
And of course, it's unlikely to work with people with resistance or immunity to telepathy at all.
While they can also read minds in the more traditional sense, this area is a bit murkier. Some minds are easier to read than others, and things like mood, willpower, awareness, and willingness all influence this in nebulous ways. Which is to say that Sidestep's mind reading ability, while a constant presence in their life (being influenced by crowd moods, overstimulated by the bombardment of thoughts and emotions, etc.) and something that they rely on, is only going to work on other player characters in ways agreed upon between players and that further thread/plotting/CR goals.
Dream Projection: When Sidestep is having particularly vivid nightmares, it's possible for them to unintentionally project them into the heads of people nearby. It's not really a power so much as an unfortunate result of combining powerful telepathy and trauma, but it's definitely worth noting here.
Aura of invisibility: Not actual invisibility, but they unconsciously influence 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 (note: according to Fallen Hero canon, this includes all epileptics) 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.
Terrifying Vibes: Only really a thing if you're another telepath, but word of god is that Sidestep gives off the most incredibly rancid vibes to other mind readers. It's not so much a power as it is an innate quality of their being (I don't think they're even aware of it) but being able to potentially drive away psychics/sensitives with just their presence does seem pretty notable.
AI chip: Not a power, but still notable in the way it affects them, their powers, and how they're effected by other people's powers. Their mind isn't entirely human and that seems to give them more flexibility in connecting with a variety of nonhuman minds. They readily read the minds of animals such as mammals and birds, and can even interact with some machines, such as the nanovores (all devouring nano machines, in this case neutered so that they can't consume flesh) in their villain suit. They're far from being a true technopath, being seemingly limited to machines that are partially organic or have some sort of innate telepathy or ability to interact with telepathy? But the ability is there. Actual technopaths would definitely be able to pick up on the fact that there's an AI chip in their brain, though attempts to interact or influence them are likely to be met with resistance and hostility.
Slightly Enhanced Durability: This is actually a fairly standard ability in their universe, as you have to be tough to survive the processes through which people gain superpowers. While they're as easy to injure as any regular human and entirely killable, they're far more likely to survive critical damage and have made a full recovery from all sorts of incredibly horrific injuries and experiments performed on them. They prefer to avoid hospitals at all costs and have performed minor surgery on themself numerous times in the past.
Illusions - Sidestep can create minor illusions via telepathically messing with someone's senses, such as making a bridge seem wider than it actually is or creating a mirror image of themself. 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.
Since they're telepathy based, these illusions can usually only affect one, maybe two, people at a time. People with strong wills or resistance to telepathy are much harder to effect, and people who are immune won't perceive anything at all.
Mind blast - Sidestep, if necessary, can throw the entire weight of their mind at someone, overwhelming all their senses and causing pain and disorientation and 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.
Like the rest of their abilities, people who know how to shield themselves or are otherwise resistant to telepathy are a lot harder to effect, and people with immunity to telepathy (including anyone with epilepsy) won't be affected at all.
Mind dive - 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.
Basically, it's a massive strain on their abilities and a huge pain in the ass. It does, however, allow for much greater access and power over another person's mind. Viewing of memories, implantation of mental suggestions, tampering with/undoing the work of other telepaths... Sidestep can do a lot, though only at great risk to themself.
Talk to Animals - So they already have the ability to read animal minds but Sidestep technically also has the capability to telepathically talk back. They could do this with people too if they wanted but they don't trust anyone enough to open a two way channel with them, so telepathic conversations are with beasts only. Depending on the intelligence and complexity of the mind in question Sidestep can do anything from sending simple emotions and impressions (like "safe" or "run") to having entire mind to mind conversations and even make deals or set up plans.
Telepathy: Yeah. Sidestep can read minds. This is most effective as a sort of "danger sense", in which they can pick up other's intent to act before they do so and thus dodge attacks and unwanted attempts to touch or grab them. 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. (Not that you'd necessarily want to do that--they bite.)
And of course, it's unlikely to work with people with resistance or immunity to telepathy at all.
While they can also read minds in the more traditional sense, this area is a bit murkier. Some minds are easier to read than others, and things like mood, willpower, awareness, and willingness all influence this in nebulous ways. Which is to say that Sidestep's mind reading ability, while a constant presence in their life (being influenced by crowd moods, overstimulated by the bombardment of thoughts and emotions, etc.) and something that they rely on, is only going to work on other player characters in ways agreed upon between players and that further thread/plotting/CR goals.
Dream Projection: When Sidestep is having particularly vivid nightmares, it's possible for them to unintentionally project them into the heads of people nearby. It's not really a power so much as an unfortunate result of combining powerful telepathy and trauma, but it's definitely worth noting here.
Aura of invisibility: Not actual invisibility, but they unconsciously influence 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 (note: according to Fallen Hero canon, this includes all epileptics) 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.
Terrifying Vibes: Only really a thing if you're another telepath, but word of god is that Sidestep gives off the most incredibly rancid vibes to other mind readers. It's not so much a power as it is an innate quality of their being (I don't think they're even aware of it) but being able to potentially drive away psychics/sensitives with just their presence does seem pretty notable.
AI chip: Not a power, but still notable in the way it affects them, their powers, and how they're effected by other people's powers. Their mind isn't entirely human and that seems to give them more flexibility in connecting with a variety of nonhuman minds. They readily read the minds of animals such as mammals and birds, and can even interact with some machines, such as the nanovores (all devouring nano machines, in this case neutered so that they can't consume flesh) in their villain suit. They're far from being a true technopath, being seemingly limited to machines that are partially organic or have some sort of innate telepathy or ability to interact with telepathy? But the ability is there. Actual technopaths would definitely be able to pick up on the fact that there's an AI chip in their brain, though attempts to interact or influence them are likely to be met with resistance and hostility.
Slightly Enhanced Durability: This is actually a fairly standard ability in their universe, as you have to be tough to survive the processes through which people gain superpowers. While they're as easy to injure as any regular human and entirely killable, they're far more likely to survive critical damage and have made a full recovery from all sorts of incredibly horrific injuries and experiments performed on them. They prefer to avoid hospitals at all costs and have performed minor surgery on themself numerous times in the past.
Illusions - Sidestep can create minor illusions via telepathically messing with someone's senses, such as making a bridge seem wider than it actually is or creating a mirror image of themself. 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.
Since they're telepathy based, these illusions can usually only affect one, maybe two, people at a time. People with strong wills or resistance to telepathy are much harder to effect, and people who are immune won't perceive anything at all.
Mind blast - Sidestep, if necessary, can throw the entire weight of their mind at someone, overwhelming all their senses and causing pain and disorientation and 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.
Like the rest of their abilities, people who know how to shield themselves or are otherwise resistant to telepathy are a lot harder to effect, and people with immunity to telepathy (including anyone with epilepsy) won't be affected at all.
Mind dive - 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.
Basically, it's a massive strain on their abilities and a huge pain in the ass. It does, however, allow for much greater access and power over another person's mind. Viewing of memories, implantation of mental suggestions, tampering with/undoing the work of other telepaths... Sidestep can do a lot, though only at great risk to themself.
Talk to Animals - So they already have the ability to read animal minds but Sidestep technically also has the capability to telepathically talk back. They could do this with people too if they wanted but they don't trust anyone enough to open a two way channel with them, so telepathic conversations are with beasts only. Depending on the intelligence and complexity of the mind in question Sidestep can do anything from sending simple emotions and impressions (like "safe" or "run") to having entire mind to mind conversations and even make deals or set up plans.
