Fun Uses for Telepathy

[Chrono22]

The description of the telepathy special quality states

A creature with this ability can communicate telepathically with any other creature within a certain range (specified in the creature’s entry, usually 100 feet) that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time.

Telepathy works so long as a creature has a language. Should we infer that telepathy is the communication of ideas? Does a creature being telepathically spoken to interpret the communication as being in his native language? Is it always obvious that the communication is "in your head"?

Depending on how a DM rules it, telepathy could have some pretty interesting uses in play.
Such as, cruel pranks.
Or you could create a large amount of noise in enemys' heads, so that they have a hard time discerning other noises.
If you could do it subtly, you could use telepathy as a means of creating diversions or fooling enemies.

Do you have any other fun uses for telepathy, GitP?

[Melamoto]

One basic idea I have is that it simply conveys meaning, regardless of how it is put, such as with the Babelfish from the HGtG.

[ghashxx]

If a telepathic non-english-speaking spaniard tries to mind talk with me I don't think it's going to work very well. Spoken and written communication is not universal. Now putting into someone's mind various urges would be universal, but that's something completely different than telepathy.

So I would say no, you have to speak the language to be able to communicate in any kind of "word" fashion. I might, as a DM, allow the passage of ideas/emotions etc, but this would be limited. So the idea to attack in unison would be okay but trying to get someone to delay their action, then flank and disarm their wand would be way too complex.

[Fishy]

So I would say no, you have to speak the language to be able to communicate in any kind of "word" fashion. I might, as a DM, allow the passage of ideas/emotions etc, but this would be limited. So the idea to attack in unison would be okay but trying to get someone to delay their action, then flank and disarm their wand would be way too complex.

On the contrary,

A creature with this ability can communicate telepathically with any other creature within a certain range (specified in the creature’s entry, usually 100 feet) that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time.

'Conversation' would seem to imply fairly high-level communication, and it explicitly works on creatures that don't speak your language. Both you and the telepathic spaniard have a mental concept of 'delay your action, flank and disarm his wand', even though you don't use the same words for it, and Telepathy is the ability to communicate those.

Now, what happens when a plane-hopping Telepath goes to Limbo, comes back, and tries to tell you about it?

[erikun]

So Telepathy + Schism = general confusion? For that matter, start telepathically jabbering into someone's head while they're trying to give a report to the king. Let's see how well that turns out.

Or, you could just make paranoid people even more paranoid. Start saying stuff like "The others, they're all plotting against you." or "Can't you hear it? The voices!" then start muttering stuff into their head. Also works with spells like Ghost Sound.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

In a comedy campaign, I used bluff and repeated castings of Sending to make an NPC think he had feelings for our male Bard. And I've seen Message used to communicate secretly during combat, in order to attempt to turn enemies to our side.

[Catch]

In a current campaign, the lord of the land employs an aide with the Detect Thoughts ability. I failed my Will save, but the character knew her mind was being read, so she pictured in graphic detail a scene where she brutally murdered the psychic's daughter.

Because you can't get in trouble for imagining something.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

In a current campaign, the lord of the land employs an aide with the Detect Thoughts ability. I failed my Will save, but the character knew her mind was being read, so she pictured in graphic detail a scene where she brutally murdered the psychic's daughter.

Because you can't get in trouble for imagining something.

Did she start it out with "I'm not being forced to tell you my thoughts, you're being forced to listen to them"?

[Milskidasith]

Did she start it out with "I'm not being forced to tell you my thoughts, you're being forced to listen to them"?

I'm sure that's a reference to something, but my best guess is that it's from Watchmen, when Rorschach says that he's not locked up in prison with the criminals, they are locked up with him.

[Dragonmuncher]

One basic idea I have is that it simply conveys meaning, regardless of how it is put, such as with the Babelfish from the HGtG.

I've always followed this interpretation, as well. Or even moreso.


I mean, words are our attempt to translate thoughts to other people. Depending on the words, the attempt may vary in success, but one can never communicate their ideas <i>exactly</i> through language (or any other way, I suppose).

So, I feel there could be a few ways telepathy would "logically" work.

1)The receiver completely understands your language.

2)The receiver completely understands your language, and, more precisely, your thoughts. Emotions, context, subtext is all intuitively understood.

3)The receiver completely understands your message, in the vein of #2, but influenced through their own perspective. Even if it is your thought, it's still their brain.

So, if a Frenchman establishes a mindlink with me and thinks "J'aime jouer le foot. C'est tres bien!"

With 1) I simply "hear" the words "I like to play football. It is very good!"

With 2) I hear "I love playing football(imagery of him playing with his friends in his backyard, the smell of the grass, the thrill of a goal). It's great!"

With 3) I hear "I love playing soccer, it's great! (Imagery referencing my experiences with soccer, or how I understand the concept of "soccer")

Maybe this wasn't the best example; it's better with stuff like alien languages and concepts that the receiver has no experience with. With 1, they hear the word without understanding the meaning, with 2 they understand exactly
what is meant, with 3 they mostly understand what is meant, but analogous to things they know. (1. What's that? 2. It's an amazing food harvested on the third moon that one eats with special claws. 3. It's a food from another planet, kinda like lobster.)


For a game, I'd guess either 2 or 3 would be best. For a book, I'd say 1 or 3.

[ghashxx]

A really fun use to torment someone good would be using bluff and sending the thought "She would still be alive if it wasn't for you". Credit to XKCD

[Catch]

Did she start it out with "I'm not being forced to tell you my thoughts, you're being forced to listen to them"?

Since Detect Thoughts only picks up surface thoughts, if a character is aware their mind is being probed, they can screw with the results.

In that instance, it was more like "I can't keep you out of my head but I can control what you see. Enjoy the show."

Of course had the character been male, he would have just grinned at the psychic and pictured her naked. And all the implications.