Subliminal Control

These rules introduce a new skill for Fate Core, called "Subliminal Control". This is the ability to subtly influence people's unconscious mind in order to achieve effects that can be called, for all practical purposes, magical.

# SUBLIMINAL CONTROL

Most of the intelligent brain's activity is not used for conscious thought processes, but rather for the processing of information and events that, despite being captured by our senses, are too subtle to come to our attention. Knowing how to control these signs and symbols opens the door to mental manipulations so subtle, and at the same time so effective, that few are able to defend themselves from.

This is the field of the "Subliminal Control" skill. Each level in this skill allows the character to choose a "Subliminal Specialization". Subliminal specializations indicate branches of study of subliminal control that act on one or another unconscious aspect of people's minds. Many specializations have, as a prerequisite, the knowledge of others, such that they form a "ladder" of specializations reaching more and more impressive effects of subliminal control.

The subliminal specializations are:

## SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE

There is a meaning in each symbol that comes from an incontestable logic, based on the pure knowledge of intelligent reasoning. By this knowledge, for example, a horizontal line can mean passivity, the number 5 can mean energy, and so on.

Anyone who studies the language of symbols starting from a basis of truth will always arrive at the same conclusion, and are capable of interpreting symbolic messages in the same way, adapting them to their contextual reality.

With this specialization, a person can pass on a message through images or symbols, and this message may only be read by other people who also have this knowledge. To all others, the message will be hidden.

A user can encode a message and associate that encoding with a level of "subliminal control" that is less than or equal to their own. Other people reading the message need a minimum "subliminal control" level greater than or equal to the encoded one in order to read the message. If their skill level is lower, no test is possible. If it is greater than or equal, no test is required.

Any message can be encoded into symbols.

With –1 to the skill level, one can encode a message into alphabetic symbols, thus writing a sentence that, read simply carries one meaning, and when seen in the light of symbolic language, has an entirely different meaning, thus saving the need to draw images representing the encoded message.

This specialization does not need to be used only on text or inscribed images. Two people with symbolic language can communicate through gestures without anyone else being able to decipher their conversation. They could even hide this communication in the normal gestures a person makes while talking in order to pass secret information to each other in the middle of a social gathering, for a –1 to their skill level.

All people use symbolic language without knowing it, and the fundamental meaning of symbols exists unconsciously in everyone. With symbolic language at a high enough level, one can analyze another's personality in detail.

This specialization has effects depending on the level in "subliminal control":

 2
 3
 4
 5

## HALO EFFECT

When we meet someone, there is an unconscious tendency to classify the whole person into a pattern of behavior characterized by a single prominent element of their personality or appearance. Thus, for example, a strong person might be considered dumb, and an ugly person might be considered evil. This is called "Halo Effect".

This specialization allows manipulation of the one's conduct in order to pass a desired image to one or more people. With it, the user can make others believe that they are extremely intelligent, capable, shy, or any other characteristic they desire. You can also combine elements to form clearer impressions. For example, a user could make a person believe that they are a noble, simply by the way they behave, or make a very powerful wizard believe that they are even stronger than them.

This specialization allows the user to create the subconscious illusion for others that they are whatever they wish to appear to be.

A user who knows this specialization can use their "subliminal control" to create an advantage in social checks of "Deceive", "Provoke" or "Rapport".

This specialization can also be used to trick people into thinking the user is someone else entirely. Even seeing the user's face and hearing the user's voice, the subconscious impression that will be left in the mind of the listeners is that of another person, such that they will not think that it was the user who spoke or did what they did.

Oppositions of this specialization:

 3
 4
 5
 7

Uses of specializations like "ITH" or "behavior prediction" on the user will work, but will not show that the target is using "Halo Effect". For example: "ITH" used on a person with "Halo Effect" who is impersonating a wealthy merchant will actually reveal what this person is thinking and wanting, but will not reveal that they are using this specialization.

## INDIRECT THOUGHT HYPERESTHESIA (ITH)

When a person thinks, that thought is not confined exclusively to their brain. Their whole body is affected in subtle ways by the thought, with slight muscle twitches, subtle eye shifts, a crossing of the legs, etc.

This is the specialization of reading all the subtle signals that a body emits and deducing from them what the person is thinking.

A person can try to hide their thoughts from ITH with "Deceive", but if they don't know that their interlocutor is "probing" them, they are completely helpless.

On a successful "subliminal control" roll, the user has a good idea of what current thought is running through the target's mind. They cannot pick up names or numbers, but they can pick up facts and feelings. If the target is thinking of a phone number, for example, a person using this specialization will not discover the number, but will know *THAT* the target is thinking of a phone number. With a good enough success, it might even tell who the number belongs to, when the target intends to call, how important the phone is to them, etc.

For this specialization to work, you need to be actually observing the target. You can't use ITH in the dark or in a voice recording, for example. The storyteller may impose check penalties if the target is in dim light, wearing heavy armor, etc.

## BEHAVIOR PREDICTION

***Requires: Indirect Thought Hyperesthesia***

When a person intends to do something, their whole body gives signs of its intent. When you know the movement of these signals, you can figure out what they are going to do even before they consciously thinks about doing it.

This is the specialization that explains not only how a person behaves, but what is the natural movement of behaviors and attitudes within a conscious mind.

This specialization cannot predict fatalities or events beyond a person's control. It may be that these predictions fail because something happens to the target that they did not expect, and thus completely change their course of action. However, under normal and controlled conditions of behavior, this specialization is very accurate.

If the target is warned of the prediction, they are free to change their behavior. The predictions of this specialization always take into account that the target does not know about them.

One cannot use this specialization to predict what the target "will do if..." these predictions rely on direct observations, not behavioral extrapolations.

The time in the future in which this specialization can predict the target's actions is equal to its success shifts, plus one, times 5, in minutes.

This specialization can be used in combat. If used to study an opponent, the user can create an advantage that gives them a bonus to their defense and attack rolls against that opponent. There is no defense against this skill unless the opponent is aware of the behavioral prediction, and uses "Deceive" to hide them.

This specialization, like ITH, relies on observation to work, and doesn't work in the dark or only with sounds.

Despite the limitation in time, this specialization can be used to predict things in the near future, if, for example, the user observes a person who, within the next few minutes, will plan something for the future, such as: assassinating the King, causing an economic collapse, etc.

## CONTEXTUAL FORECAST

***Requires: Behavior Prediction***

Considering that it is possible for a person to observe the subtle signals that another sends out, and, with these, predict what this person will do in the near future, based on human behavior pattern, then, with enough information, it is possible to observe the movement of an entire society, and, through the subtle signals that this society emits, predict what will happen to it.

This specialization allows you to predict what a group of people is about to do, or sometimes what is about to happen to them. The base opposition of this test, and its scope in time, depend on the size of the studied group.

 A group of hundreds of people (e.g. an army)
 A city of thousands of people.
 States, provinces
 Kingdoms
 The whole world

This specialization requires observation and prior study of the group being studied. The study time required is equal to the future time reached by each prediction success margin for that group. Once the necessary information is obtained, a "subliminal control" test can be performed.

Although this specialization reveals the future trends of a people, the very use of it can imply that these trends will change. However, as a rule, it is MUCH easier for an individual person to change their behavior when being warned of their future than an entire people...

## PHILOSOPHICAL FAST-TALK

***Requires: Deceive 3+, Academia 3+***

This specialization combines the audacity of fast-talk with the fundamental knowledge of philosophy, creating an invincible logical structure that can lead a person to literally do whatever the user wants.

Anyone who is a victim to a use of philosophical fast-talk can resist it at -2 Empathy. If the user is trying to convince them to do something totally contrary to what they would normally do, the resistance is simply with Empathy.

This specialization depends on the target following a philosophical logic during a conversation, and therefore it is more time consuming than simple fast-talk, not being able to be used in combat or tense situations, and not working on anyone who flat out refuses to talk to the user. The user needs the target's feedback in order to drive their logic.

This ability can be used on crowds, but with a base opposition of 4. Each person in the crowd will be affected individually. With this, you can create entire armies simply through fast-talk.

This ability can be used to answer any question in a way that is cryptic, yet mysterious and impressive enough, so that it appears that the answer was complete when in fact it contributed to nothing.

If the target of this specialization also knows philosophical fast-talk, they are unaffected by the user's fast-talk, unless the difference in levels is greater than or equal to 2 in the user's favor, in which case the target can resist with Empathy + Subliminal Control.

## ATTENTION CONTROL

***Requires: Symbolic Language***

When a person focuses their attention on something, they can become so focused on a single subject that the most unlikely things can pass them by without them noticing it. Likewise, a person who opens up their attention may notice elements that others would take a long time to notice.

People's attention is defined by their sphere of interest. A banker would almost certainly stop to listen to a conversation about financial markets, but could easily be distracted by a conversation about new medical techniques, something that would naturally engage a doctor's interest. A person's attention is directed by the implied meaning in words and images, and the relationship this meaning has to them.

When one knows the language of symbols, one can discover symbols that call one's attention not for any logical reason, but because they unconsciously refer the person to something that interests them. Likewise, other symbols may go unnoticed by the person, for the opposite reason.

This is the basis of attention control. With this ability, a user can create symbols that draw one or more people's attention to one thing while others slip past them. They could, for example, make a guard look away as they enter a restricted space, or capture an audience's attention at a speech about the reproduction of larvae.

The user must define what they want people to notice or ignore and perform a "Subliminal Control" test. Targets resist with their "Notice". On a success, the targets will ignore or notice whatever the user defines.

The user of this specialization must *do* something: gestures, words or show images that serve as a symbol for the targets. On a successful test, people will pay attention to what is wanted and will not pay attention to what isn't wanted. For an opposition 2 points higher, people don't even realize WHAT symbol was used.

This specialization can be used to hide something specific from others who are using ITH or Behavioral Prediction on the user. Treat this situation as simple resistance.

The skill can also be used in the long run, for example, to prevent your close friends from realizing that you are sick, or that you know some mysterious secret, etc. It can also be used in abstract things like: making two people realize that they love each other (in case they love each other and are denying it), or making an audience not notice what a speaker looks like.

This specialization cannot create new perceptions or make people think they have seen something else, it can only control the focus of an attention. For these other effects, see “Halo Effect”.

## SYMBOLIC PRISON

***Requires: Attention Control***

This specialization allows a user to create a series of symbols and patterns whose arrangement refer several intelligent beings to a specific unconscious behavior pattern, such that, with simple observation of the symbol, they will assume certain behavior.

The specialization needs a test specific to the type of beings affected (humans, canines, etc). It does not affect ALL living beings unless the proper opposition is applied. In its default usage, it only affects a specific species.

This specialization has an opposition that depends on the type of attitude you want observers to take:

The user states what they want to achieve with the symbol and performs a "subliminal control" test with the appropriate opposition. On a success, they know how to make the symbol. On a failure, they do not know how to make the symbol and cannot try again. Thus, only ONE test per different symbol the user tries to create is possible. Any other symbol they create for the same purpose will use this result as their test result.

Symbolic prisons are resisted with "Notice", but a person who knows this specialization can always resist these symbols it with their "Subliminal Control". When a person resists a symbol once, they resists that same symbol forever. If they fails to resist, they can try to resist again only if someone warns them about the symbol's effect, considering it is not obvious (symbols that prevent an individual from crossing a door, for example, are resisted on each attempt).

## STUDY OF DESTINY

***Requires: Symbolic Language***

Everything follows a pattern. There are patterns to all things, and with in-depth knowledge of a certain field of knowledge, one can know what is going to happen by looking at a few signs.

Thus, for example, when birds fly low, it means it will rain. After the storm comes the calm, and an abnormal silence always foreshadows the attack of enemies.

By observing the signs that life offers, patterns can be established through which we can predict what is about to happen. This is the study of destiny.

The study of destiny allows a user to observe a person, situation or object for a while and tell what is about to happen to them. Once the prediction is made, this future can be avoided. The simple knowledge of the prediction changes the predicted factors, and people thus informed can “try” to change what is to come.

The longer the observation time, the better the forecast. A user who observes a city for a day could predict that “a great disaster is about to happen”, but the same prediction with 3 months of study could say “there will be an earthquake on such and such a month, on such and such a day, that will destroy the castle and leave most citizens homeless”.

This specialization cannot predict what a person or group of people will do (for that, use "behavior prediction" and "contextual prediction"), but only what is about to happen to them. This ability cannot tell what the target's fate will be "if...", but it will tell what is about to happen **if** that thing is reasonably defined by the attitudes of everyone involved.

The specialization can be used before a fight to find out who is "destined" to win. The better the success shifts, the better the details about the outcome.

## PRECOGNITIVE CALCULUS

***Requires: Study of Destiny***

This specialization extends the symbolic observation of things gained from Study of Destiny. It allows a person, by observing all elements involving a specific context of a situation, to not only to predict what is likely to happen, but to establish the probability of occurrende by the different possibilities of action derived from the same situation.

The user could calculate results such as: This kingdom has a 25% chance of being attacked, a 10% chance of having a popular uprising, a 30% chance of being the victim of an earthquake, and a 35% chance of continuing as it is.

This is more information, and more specific, than imparted by the Study of Destiny, granting the user knowledge not only of the most likely future, but also of the main ramifications of a current situation, and their chances of occurrence.

The base opposition is 4. Time modifiers, and result detail are as in Study of Destiny.

## DESTINY CONTROL

***Requires: Precognitive Calculus***

This specialization is the total mastery of Destiny, the control of nations and kingdoms without them even knowing they are being controlled. It allows a user, when calculating the likely outcomes of a situation, to infer what needs to change in order to favor one of the probable futures they have predicted, thus effectively leading the situation to a desired outcome.

For example: A use of Precognitive Calculus might reveal: This person has a 25% chance of being in a car accident and going blind, 15% chance of having the same accident and dying, 35% chance of becoming quadriplegic, and 25% chance of escaping the accident with serious but recoverable injuries.

This prediction reveals that the person will have an accident, and this does not seem likely to change. The user decides to use Destiny Control to know "What needs to happen for the person to escape the accident with recoverable injuries?". They makes a "Subliminal Control" roll and receive the following information: "To change the destiny in this sense, the person must, tomorrow, take their car in a general maintenance".

The opposition to this test is one tenth of the difference between the chosen possibility and 100% (rounded down). For example: to carry out a destiny with 50% possibility, the opposition would be 5, and to carry out a destiny with 10% possibility, the opposition would be 9.

Often, the action required to alter a destiny seems totally disconnected from the factors that affect it, but those who know Destiny Control understand these factors and know how, transcendentally, they all connect.

* There is a **portuguese version** of this document.