MET LARP SRD
(2013 BNS MET System)
Mesmerism
Dominate • Level 2
Through the use of this power, a vampire acquires a near spellbinding command of her mental facilities. A Mesmerism user can create a hypnotic suggestion within her target’s mind. Complex commands and subconscious desires can be implanted, controlling the victim in subtle but powerful ways.
This power implants a subliminal trigger in the target’s mind. This trigger will activate only under specified circumstances, and forces the target to perform certain pre-programmed actions when those conditions occur.
To implant a Mesmerism, you must gain your target’s focus and speak a simple set of instructions aloud. The Mesmerism user may dictate anything from simple directives (“hand me your car keys”) to complex ones (“take detailed notes at the Brujah clan meeting, and bring those notes to me afterwards”). You may indicate that the Mesmerism activity must occur immediately, or you may establish within the Mesmerism a specific stimulus that will trigger the target to perform these actions at a later point. Mesmerism directions must be spoken aloud, and the target must understand your instructions.
Unlike a Command, a Mesmerism does not need to be an immediate action. The instructions can reside in a target’s mind, untriggered, for some time. However, once the dictates are triggered and the target has performed the actions (or after one hour has passed while attempting to complete your orders), the Mesmerism is complete and any lingering compulsion ends. An untriggered Mesmerism will remain for up to one month. An individual can only have one active Mesmerism from a given Dominate user. If you attempt to implant a new suggestion in the mind of a victim currently under a previous Mesmerism from you, the new application of this power erases your earlier instruction. A victim may have multiple Mesmerisms lurking in her psyche at the same time, provided each Mesmerism was implanted by a different individual.
If two mesmerists implant conflicting orders in a target, the victim will follow the newer Mesmerism first. The victim will perform those tasks until completed (or for an hour). Once that Mesmerism has ended, the subject will attempt to fulfill the older Mesmerism. Note that the older Mesmerism’s duration begins at the point it was triggered, so the victim may have only a few minutes of duration left in such a situation.
Mesmerism cannot rob your target of the ability to defend herself. A character forced to count loudly to one million can still dodge, run away, or even attack, so long as she keeps counting. However, she probably could not effectively hide (or use her Obfuscate to vanish) while calling out numbers.
Focus
Intelligence
Your Mesmerisms may remain dormant in your target’s mind for up to three months instead of one month, and the effects, once triggered, will last for up to two hours rather than one.
System
To implant a Mesmerism, you must first gain your target’s focus. Then, you must expend a standard action, speak the instructions of your Mesmerism, and make an opposed challenge against your target. If you are successful, the Mesmerism – exactly as you stated it – has been implanted. Note that, like Command, a Mesmerism will always break if the subject realizes that performing these actions will lead to direct harm.
Once the Mesmerism has been triggered (whether immediate or delayed), the target will attempt to carry out her instructions until the activity is reasonably complete or for one hour, whichever comes first. This subliminal order may lay dormant in the target’s mind for up to one month, after which the compulsion fades and the Mesmerism ends.
Mesmerisms cannot string together multiple unrelated actions. You cannot use Mesmerism to force another character to, “Tell me where your ghoul lives, and give me your car keys, then go punch that Brujah, and finally, sit in the corner for the rest of the hour.” You may imply more than one action in a single command, such as, “Show me where your ghoul lives.” In this case, the recipient will likely lead you to the location (which could require leaving the building, getting into a car, and driving there).
Mesmerism cannot be used to prevent a character from using a discipline, although it can be used to prevent a victim from acting in certain ways. For example, you cannot use Dominate with the command “Stop using Celerity,” although you can Mesmerize a target by saying “Stop attacking me.” In all cases, your Storyteller is the final arbiter of what is or is not appropriate for a Mesmerism. Example: Tanya the Toreador has annoyed Vincent the Ventrue. He puts the following Mesmerism into her mind: “When you see a glass of red wine, pour it over the front of your dress.” Tanya later sees Mallory the Malkavian drinking a glass of wine. Immediately, Vincent’s Mesmerism kicks in. Tanya picks up Mallory’s wine and begins to tip it towards her dress. However, Mallory sees what’s happening. He turns to Tanya and uses Mesmerism on her, saying, “Give me back my wine.” Mallory’s newer Mesmerism interrupts Vincent’s older one, and Tanya is forced to return Mallory’s glass of wine. After fulfilling Mallory’s Mesmerism, Vincent’s older Mesmerism re-exerts itself within Tanya’s mind. Tanya lunges for Mallory, attempting to spill the very confused Malkavian’s wine on her dress.
Exceptional Success
When the target fulfills your Mesmerism (or when the duration of the power ends), your victim will not remember following your instructions. She will remember all actions she took of her own free will, but will not recall what she was forced to do by your Mesmerism. If the Mesmerism takes more than a few turns to ful ll, your target may notice strange holes in her memory.
Errata
Insert the following text above the last paragraph as follows: “Mesmerism cannot be used to prevent a character from using a discipline, although it can be used to prevent a victim from acting in certain ways. For example, you cannot use Dominate with the command ‘Stop using Celerity,’ although you can Mesmerize a target by saying ‘Stop attacking me.’”
Source: MET - VTM - Core Book