Video ID not provided: Please check your shortcode.{"id":468,"date":"2011-08-14T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2011-08-14T04:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/?p=468"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:49:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T02:49:11","slug":"gencon-findings-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/468\/gencon-findings-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"GenCon Findings \u2014 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past week\u00adend I attend\u00aded Gen\u00adCon<\/a>, the major gam\u00ading con\u00adven\u00adtion in the US. As usu\u00adal, I am look\u00ading for inter\u00adest\u00ading and unusu\u00adal role\u00adplay\u00ading games, espe\u00adcial\u00adly ones that have ele\u00adments of hyp\u00adno\u00adsis or mind con\u00adtrol as part of the char\u00adac\u00adter designs or in the oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion. This year, I found three such games.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Agents of S.W.I.N.G.<\/em><\/h2>\n

This was a very inter\u00adest\u00ading find. Agents of S.W.I.N.G.<\/em> is a \u201cSpy-Fi<\/a>\u201d RPG that draws upon the 60\u2019s spy craze and TV series like \u201cThe Man From U.N.C.L.E.\u201d<\/em><\/a> and \u201cThe Avengers\u201d<\/em><\/a>, not to men\u00adtion a num\u00adber of more obscure series like \u201cSap\u00adphire and Steel\u201d<\/em><\/a> and \u201cThe Cham\u00adpi\u00adons\u201d<\/em><\/a>. (It should not\u00aded that all of the series men\u00adtioned includ\u00aded sto\u00adries involv\u00ading some form of hyp\u00adnot\u00adic mind con\u00adtrol.) The game involves char\u00adac\u00adters work\u00ading for S.W.I.N.G., the S<\/span>upreme W<\/span>orld I<\/span>ntel\u00adli\u00adgence N<\/span>etwork G<\/span>roup, which was cre\u00adat\u00aded in 1967 (\u201cThe Sum\u00admer of Love\u201d) as a clear\u00ading house and cen\u00adter for espi\u00adonage actions against a vari\u00adety of inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal crim\u00adi\u00adnal and polit\u00adi\u00adcal orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtions that threat\u00aden world peace.<\/p>\n\n

Now, I am of an age that I watched these pro\u00adgrams when they first aired, and I have a fine appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion for the genre and era rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded. That alone prompt\u00aded my inter\u00adest, but I also dis\u00adcov\u00adered the game includes a num\u00adber of psy\u00adchic abil\u00adi\u00adties (the lead char\u00adac\u00adters in \u201cThe Cham\u00adpi\u00adons\u201d<\/em> had psy\u00adchic and para\u00adnor\u00admal abil\u00adi\u00adties, for one) and the char\u00adac\u00adter \u201cStunt\u201d labelled Mes\u00admerist. Of course I had to get the book, and since I was at the time finan\u00adcial\u00adly able, I did so. Then, as I was start\u00ading to write these descrip\u00adtions, I fig\u00adured the best way to rep\u00adre\u00adsent these would be to cre\u00adate a char\u00adac\u00adter. There\u00adfore, I present Jas\u00admine Jade, Agent of S.W.I.N.G.<\/p>\n

Jas\u00admine Jade is the Eurasian daugh\u00adter of Doc\u00adtor Jade, the infa\u00admous Tibetan mas\u00adter\u00admind, who used his advanced sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic and mys\u00adti\u00adcal knowl\u00adedge to attempt to con\u00adtrol the Earth. He raised his daugh\u00adter to be his hyp\u00adnot\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly seduc\u00adtive assis\u00adtant, and for many decades she did so, hav\u00ading access to her father\u2019s immor\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty serum, but she even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly adopt\u00aded the con\u00adcept of wom\u00aden\u2019s lib\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion in the mid-60\u2019s and has since fol\u00adlowed her own path, try\u00ading to find her own des\u00adtiny. She joined S.W.I.N.G. when her father was appar\u00adent\u00adly killed by British secu\u00adri\u00adty forces in 1966 and was assigned to Sec\u00adtion Eight : Uncan\u00adny Affairs, because of her knowl\u00adedge of eso\u00adteric Tibetan dis\u00adci\u00adplines. She now trav\u00adels the world as a wealthy jet-set\u00adter with a mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous past and a well-known inter\u00adest in the uncan\u00adny and unusu\u00adal. S.W.I.N.G., how\u00adev\u00ader, does not ful\u00adly trust her because of rumors that her father may still be alive.<\/p>\n

Con\u00adcept:<\/strong> Mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous \/ Mys\u00adti\u00adcal Femme Fatale<\/em>
\nSec\u00adtion:<\/strong> Sec\u00adtion Eight (Uncan\u00adny Affairs)<\/p>\n

Sec\u00adtion:<\/strong> I\u2019d Tell You But Then I\u2019d Have to Make You For\u00adget It<\/em>
\nPast:<\/strong> My Father Taught Me Every\u00adthing I Know<\/em>
\nCov\u00ader:<\/strong> Things Men Were Not Meant To Know Means Women Should Know Them<\/em> <\/em>
\nOth\u00ader:<\/strong> The Eyes See All and Tell All<\/em>, I\u2019m Old\u00ader Than I Look<\/em>, Aura of Mys\u00adtery Like a Scent of Fine Per\u00adfume<\/em>, Mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous and Pos\u00adsi\u00adbly Ille\u00adgal Source of Income<\/em><\/p>\n

Skills:<\/strong> Groovy +5:<\/em> Empa\u00adthy, Mys\u00adter\u00adies. Neat +4<\/em>: Con\u00adtacts. Sol\u00adid +3:<\/em> Deceit, Rapport.<\/p>\n

Stunts:<\/strong>
\nPsy\u00adchic Telepa\u00adthy:<\/em> May read minds and com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcate telepathically
\nMes\u00admerist:<\/em> Able to hyp\u00adno\u00adtize a subject.
\nShak\u00aden, Not Stirred:<\/em> May regen\u00ader\u00adate a sin\u00adgle point of stress through an eso\u00adteric tantric ritual. 
\nBlack Wid\u00adow:<\/em> Bonus to seduc\u00adtion attempts<\/p>\n

Gad\u00adgets:<\/strong> Hyp\u00adno-Disk<\/em><\/p>\n

Rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> I rec\u00adom\u00admend the game, because of its unique set\u00adting and flavour. I espe\u00adcial\u00adly like the skill rank\u00ading sys\u00adtem, start\u00ading from Bum\u00admer<\/em> on the neg\u00ada\u00adtive end, up through Cool<\/em>, Hip<\/em> and Sol\u00adid<\/em> and beyond to Groovy<\/em>, Fab<\/em> and Far Out<\/em> at the pos\u00adi\u00adtive end. Its also amus\u00ading to read the col\u00adlec\u00adtion of sam\u00adple char\u00adac\u00adters and fig\u00adure out who they are sup\u00adposed to be: the major play\u00aders from British (but not Amer\u00adi\u00adcan) tele\u00advi\u00adsion are all there, like Jack Cheva\u00adlier (Simon Tem\u00adplar of \u201cThe Saint\u201d)<\/em> or James Ride (John Steed of \u201cThe Avengers\u201d<\/em>).<\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, I do have a few quib\u00adbles about the occa\u00adsion\u00adal and some\u00adtimes incon\u00adsis\u00adtent pro\u00adduc\u00adtion val\u00adues, such as font use (Couri\u00ader font?<\/span> Yeesh!<\/em>) and dif\u00adfer\u00adences, non-jus\u00adti\u00adfied para\u00adgraphs and uneven white\u00adspace on pages, all of which gives the book an unde\u00adsir\u00adable semi-pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal appear\u00adance. Also, the char\u00adac\u00adter vignette art\u00adwork is just a lit\u00adtle<\/em> out of pro\u00adpor\u00adtion (and a few are just ugly) and there\u00adfore a lit\u00adtle jar\u00adring to look at. This, how\u00adev\u00ader, may be the first edi\u00adtion and such things may have been cor\u00adrect\u00aded in the new\u00ader editions.<\/p>\n

Agents of S.W.I.N.G.<\/em> is by Post\u00admortem Stu\u00addios<\/a>. Hard copies of the game are avail\u00adable at Lulu<\/a>. A dig\u00adi\u00adtal copy can be pur\u00adchased through Steve Jack\u00adson Games here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cosmic Patrol<\/h2>\n

Cos\u00admic Patrol<\/em> is based on the \u201cspace opera<\/a>\u201d sto\u00adries from the SF pulp era of the 30\u2019s and 40\u2019s as described by such writ\u00aders as E. E. \u201cDoc\u201d Smith<\/a> and Edmond Hamil\u00adton<\/a>. The Cos\u00admic Patrol is the Solar Sys\u00adtem\u2019s pro\u00adtec\u00adtor in space, unit\u00ading the inhab\u00adi\u00adtants of the Earth, Mars and Venus against such ene\u00admies as the rapa\u00adcious Uth lizard\u00admen, the enig\u00admat\u00adic Moon Men, the mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous Cometar\u00adi\u00adans and the dread\u00aded Eiger Empire.<\/p>\n

Here, the game sys\u00adtem is pret\u00adty open-end\u00aded, as the char\u00adac\u00adter gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion sys\u00adtem is based around ele\u00adments called \u201cTags\u201d, \u201cCues\u201d and \u201cDis\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion\u201d with some dice rolling added for con\u00adtest res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion. That means char\u00adac\u00adters can be cre\u00adat\u00aded with psy\u00adchic pow\u00aders (like the \u201cLens\u00admen\u201d<\/em> series) but there are no fixed rules allow\u00ading or pro\u00adhibit\u00ading them: as this is pre-release ver\u00adsion of the game, I expect this may change in the future, pos\u00adsi\u00adbly with supplements.<\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, there is Keal, a sam\u00adple char\u00adac\u00adter with super-psy\u00adchic pow\u00aders, a mem\u00adber of the enig\u00admat\u00adic Moon Men who \u201cobserves\u201d the Cos\u00admic Patrol but does not inter\u00adfere with the Patrol\u2019s affairs (at least, as far as they know.) He has \u201cCues\u201d such as \u2018I\u2019m not the being you\u2019re look\u00ading for.\u2019<\/em> and \u2018You don\u2019t remem\u00adber how that works.\u2019<\/em> (Think an obnox\u00adious, smug\u00adly supe\u00adri\u00ador Jedi.) He is pre\u00adsent\u00aded as a pos\u00adsi\u00adble play\u00ader char\u00adac\u00adter (or char\u00adac\u00adter pat\u00adtern) although the back\u00adsto\u00adry of the Moon Men don\u2019t seem to allow for them to be used as char\u00adac\u00adters. (It would be like hav\u00ading a (tele\u00adpath\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly enslav\u00ading) Nep\u00adtun\u00adian Mind Plant as a play\u00ader character.)<\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, to fol\u00adlow the above pat\u00adtern, I present Vira, a Moon Men sci\u00aden\u00adtist and physi\u00adcian \/ geneticist<\/p>\n

Dice: Brawn: D4 Brains: D12 Charis\u00adma: D6 Com\u00adbat: D4 Mind Manip\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion: D12 (spe\u00adcial)<\/p>\n

Tags: Moon Men > Mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous > Mind Pow\u00aders > Curi\u00adous > Dis\u00adpas\u00adsion\u00adate > Sanc\u00adti\u00admo\u00adnious > Obsessed<\/p>\n

Cues:<\/p>\n