Powerpsychosis

Powerpsychosis is a Symptom that often occurs in extremely powerful creatures, but can theoretically occur in anyone. It is not a traditional Symptom in that it isn't caused by genetics nor a trauma response, but instead a distinct form of very dangerous narcissism that results from the genuine belief in the inferiority of other people.

## Traits and Diagnosing

Someone with Powerpsychosis will have a significant majority, if not all, of these traits, though some of these treats may be related to other Symptoms or may just be personality flaws.

* A lack of any emotional reaction to seeing another person die, suffer, or experience a tragedy.
* A feeling of near-complete invincibility, with exceptions for a select few other beings considered "equals".
* Arguing in favor of or committing actions to benefit oneself, even to the detriment of many other people.
* A complete and utter lack of care when the patient inflicts violence on another person, thinking of it as a chore and a normal aspect of life.
* A belief not just in ones superiority, but in the completely and utter inferiority of anyone who the patient does not consider useful, treating them like ragdolls instead of people.
* A penchant for immoral and illegal behavior, committed for little or no reason at all, with patients often responding "he annoyed me" or simply admitting they didn't care about the person's well being.

## History

The term "Powerpsychosis" was coined by the very famous Hermetic historian Patrik Li, specifically in the context of other very high powered Wastehunters he came across during his life. "They do not rescue, they do not protect, they do not offer a service, nor are they simply 'selfish'. They steal, they slaughter, and they conspire to ruin nations for the own benefit; this they call their 'trade', and where they make a river of blood, tears, and dead souls, they call it 'just another contract'. It is not all who wander the Wastelands, but it is a deeply troubling number who count themselves amongst their ranks. Utterly psychopathic, inhumane, and lacking an ounce of empathy for the world they callously destroy. Perhaps this, then, is not a symptom of solely person, nor power, but of a sufficiently weak willed person with too much power; one might even call it a state of power-psychosis." (The Lawless Judiciary)

## Criticism

Some psychological scholars have contended that Powerpsychosis is not a genuine diagnosis, and that the term itself is not helpful, usually using one of two prevailing counterarguments:

* Those who alter reality enough to become so cataclysmically dangerous are obviously going to develop, or have simply been born with, a lot of dangerous and antisocial traits that allows them to justify their wrongdoings.
* Powerpsychosis is not a true diagnosis, and it would be more appropriate to simply diagnose the patients as narcissists with a particularly violent streak.

Additionally, Powerpsychosis has been argued to be a classist diagnosis, primarily targeting people forced into criminal lifestyles by circumstances surrounding their lives, going against the spirit of the concept itself, which is supposed to occur from significant increases in power, not merely from becoming numb to human suffering, something that is a completely normal trauma response.

## In the WASTEHUNTER RPG

Powerpsychosis has an IRL name you, as a player, might know of, called "Murderhobos". While this is sometimes the result of the players just not really understanding how the game works, more often it's a desire for every element of the power fantasy, including the power to be utterly invincible, even to the point where you do no wrong.

Unlike PTSD, or a phobia, or depression, you do not give Powerpsychosis to players, nor is it caused by low Essence or low Spirit or anything of that nature, but instead the players give it to themselves, slowly but surely.