How useful could Parallel Cognition be?

[SangoProduction]

I'm trying to come up with scenarios where this split of mental and physical actions would be particularly useful. Most of what I can think of are largely not roles found in D&D, such as a logistics carrier (aka, running back and forth to refuel arrows for archers), who happens to be able to cast spells. Why he'd be tasked with that, rather than a peasant, I don't know. Perhaps when you care about long-term travel, but also want to be casting, without impacting your speed? Why?


As a standard action you can divide your mental attention to gain two sets of actions each turn, one physical and one mental.

Your physical actions are limited to a simple, repetitive task (such as following a road, loading a cart, or digging a hole) or a task that exactly follows detailed instructions (such as playing from sheet music or cooking from a recipe). You cannot effectively engage in combat: you lose your Dexterity bonus to armor class and automatically miss against targets with an AC greater than 10. Your mental actions can be any purely mental actions, such as using magic without verbal or somatic components, attempting Perception, Knowledge, Sense Motive, or similar skill checks. As a standard mental action you can change what task your physical body is assigned to or end this effect.

Would maintaining something like bardic music be a repetitive action? What if your bardic music was in the Pop genre? I think they got rid of the action required to hold a bardic performance. Not sure. I need ideas for making this the least bit useful. I like the idea of it too much to just put to the way side.

[zlefin]

What's type of ability is this/who gets it? It seems like the ability is most useful for someone with psionics, since those are generally pure mental actions to do, so you could make full use of them readily.

If fleeing from a combat, and the terrain is suitable, you could give the body orders to run in a certain direction. Then you get to retreat at a full run every round while still taking the mental actions; being able to cast spells or psi abilities while still running would be somewhat helpful. Since running already loses your dodge AC, that part of the penalty won't really matter.

[SangoProduction]

Not bad uses. Not the most overly compelling ones.

So, let's just assume, on general, that they are going to be able to cast spells as their mental actions (unless someone has better ideas). What are the most useful of their repetitious physical actions they can be taking at this time?

[TheStranger]

I’m having trouble thinking of good uses as well. Being able to act twice in a round mostly only matters in combat, and your physical actions are so limited it’s hard to come up with a valuable use. Like you suggested, maybe some type of logistics support, but there aren’t many cases where that applies. Reloading a crossbow for a dedicated marksman, maybe?

The text doesn’t explicitly forbid using aid another to boost an ally’s attack roll, but that’s a pretty marginal benefit even if your GM allows it. Better than nothing, but not amazing.

Maybe if you polymorph into a mount for another PC you can move them into position for a full attack while you cast? Puts your squishy self on the front lines without your Dex bonus, though. And easily replaced by an actual mount.

I think there’s something in the idea of using your physical actions to do simple things for allies. Reloading, retrieving items, that sort of thing, so that they can take full round actions on something else.

[Psyren]

Your best bet, if you haven't already done so, is to reach out to the Spheres designer who wrote this ability and see what sorts of activity combinations they had in mind when they designed it.

[thethird]

This seems potentially useful for crafting, which is something that casters do. And I now have the question is sleeping a mental action?

[TheStranger]

This seems potentially useful for crafting, which is something that casters do. And I now have the question is sleeping a mental action?

I thought of that, but didn’t include it in my post for a few reasons. First, how many scenarios are there where you can be doing something useful mentally while physically sitting and crafting something? Second, I don’t know that crafting, other than basic mundane goods, is simple enough. Crafting magical items isn’t a purely physical process, IMO. Third, aren’t you limited to eight crafting hours a day regardless? I just can’t see where you’re gaining enough effective time for it to be a measurable benefit.

The idea of a psion calmly basket-weaving throughout a pitched battle is pretty cool, though.

[Batcathat]

And I now have the question is sleeping a mental action?

While sleeping is partly mental, I don't think it'd qualify as a "purely mental action" since it usually affects your body too. Then again, I suppose sleep walking people still count as sleeping... so maybe?

[SangoProduction]

While sleeping is partly mental, I don't think it'd qualify as a "purely mental action" since it usually affects your body too. Then again, I suppose sleep walking people still count as sleeping... so maybe?

That's a, uh... difficult subject. As we haven't even really figured out sleep in our own reality, and the rules in the game are very vague. So we really have very little to concretely base that conversation on, before even getting into the philosophical mind-body divide.

[Psyren]

It's a moot point in any event - in game terms, sleeping means you're unconscious and therefore you can't take any actions at all (purely mental or otherwise.)

[thethird]

Maybe telekinesis adds some value. Either aiding on crafting (double timing) or perhaps as an archer you can pull stuff with your hands and shoot it with your mind or something. In case telekinesis cannot take things out of a pouch or an extradimensional space that you need to reach to with your hands.

It also should let you take 20 on mental checks, if there is no failure for taking 20 on them, go walking with the team while nagging at something. If for some reason you can't just stop for a moment and think, and you need to think while walking... which for some reason you couldn't have done on the first place. Also there is no point in not using the run action physically with this. It increases your mobility while you keep being able to cast.

[ExLibrisMortis]

You should be able to maintain bardic music while manifesting, which is practical. You can also reload a crossbow while you're doing it. I imagine something like a psionic bard with a tower shield, reloading while inspiring while providing cover to a crossbow sniper while manifesting BFC powers. Or a tactician instead of a bard, perhaps. Is there a tactician with Inspire Courage?

(Granted, I don't see many people building this particular pair of characters, but it's still pretty cool.)

[SangoProduction]

Maybe telekinesis adds some value. Either aiding on crafting (double timing) or perhaps as an archer you can pull stuff with your hands and shoot it with your mind or something. In case telekinesis cannot take things out of a pouch or an extradimensional space that you need to reach to with your hands.

It also should let you take 20 on mental checks, if there is no failure for taking 20 on them, go walking with the team while nagging at something. If for some reason you can't just stop for a moment and think, and you need to think while walking... which for some reason you couldn't have done on the first place. Also there is no point in not using the run action physically with this. It increases your mobility while you keep being able to cast.

Now that's an idea.