AlchemicalSocial/BillGarrett

Personality Simulation Core</b>

 <b>Cost: 4 motes
 Installation Cost:  1 mote
 Duration: Indefinite
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Manipulation: 5
 Minimum Essence: 3
 Prerequisite Charms: Sustained Augmentation of Manipulation, Empathy Simulation Engine

This Charm consists of blue jade and starmetal filaments arranged in a highly complicated crystalline matrix and fitted to the side of the Alchemical's temples, and connected internally to the Alchemical's own brain by a jade-wire datapath.

To use the Charm, the character must choose a target: an individual or other singular entity with its own well-defined ego. The character must build up an intensely detailed database of knowledge about this being. Ordinarily, this requires a month's time of devoted study, during which the character may do nothing else. Cognitive Charms which accelerate the learning process, artificial specialties provided by the Implanted Data Cluster, or pre-existing knowledge gleaned from Socialize or Lore may all reduce this time requirement.

At the end of this time, the PC must roll Manipulation + Socialize. The difficulty is the highest of the following of the target's traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Intelligence, or Wits. Failure means another month (again modified by other factors) of study, with another roll at the end. A botch means that the Alchemical must wait three months before attempting to simulate the entity's personality.

Success means that the Alchemical has assimilated enough data to simulate the targeted entity with suitable verisimilitude. Thereafter, as long as the PC keeps Essence committed to this Charm, the he may submit questions to the simulation as though he were asking the entity itself. The simulation-entity may use its own native Social and Mental Attributes and retains its Nature, Virtues, and Clarity (if appropriate) but has no Willpower and may only use any Abilities the Alchemical himself possesses. The simulation will always provide the most accurate and complete answer it can, but cannot act on knowledge that the targeted entity possesses but which the Alchemical does not. The simulation's attributes may exceed the Alchemical's own.

Transcendent entities, such as Primordials, Malfeans, unshaped Raksha and similar beings may never be simulated using this Charm.

Clarity does not affect the difficulty to acquire or use a simulation; the human element of an Alchemical Exalt makes it easier to build simulations with a true emotional subtext, while machine-like Alchemicals are driven to exacting detail and precise performance in the simulation's parameters.

The character may install any or all of the following submodules, at the cost of 2 bonus points or 6 XP apiece.

Personality Portrayal Mode: When the character engages this submodule, his normal personality is suppressed, and the simulated entity becomes dominant. The entity will retain the Alchemical's goals, but possesses all the traits detailed above and may freely use them. The Alchemical may spend a point of Willpower at any time to regain control, and this may not be contested by the simulation. As a special feature of this submodule, the Charm's effects may be sustained through the use of the Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier or the Husk-Sculpting Apparatus to give the Alchemical his simulation's physical appearance.

Clarity-Mitigation Protocol: This submodule uses the simulated entity to add a more human element back into high-Clarity Alchemical psychologies. When interacting with human beings or other entities where Clarity imposes a Social penalty, the Alchemical may reduce his effective Clarity (temporarily) by the simulation's Charisma, at the cost of 1 Willpower point per scene. However, doing so removes the option to roll Compassion to lower temporary Clarity after the scene, as the Alchemical has relied on an aid instead of embracing humanity himself. This submodule's effects stack with those of the Empathy Simulation Engine, but if used together, the Alchemical gains an extra point of temporary Clarity after the scene.

Charm Synergy:

• The Mind-Ripping Probe allows the Alchemical to assimilate a target through his probe, reducing the time to build a personality emulation to a mere 30 seconds (10 combat turns).
• In conjunction with the Memory Implantation Surge, the Alchemical may overwrite a target's personality with the simulation stored in the Core.
• Two Alchemicals with Perfection of Assembly and this Charm may use their link to share access to one character's simulation. Alternately, one linked Alchemical may upload a copy of his simulation to another.

Advanced Uses:

• Alchemicals without Perfection of Assembly may upload or download simulations when inside a Vat Complex, allowing others access to them.

Comments

Cool charm. However, what if you use the brain spike charm to poke through somone's head? --BrilliantRain

You should be able to assimilate them a lot faster. I'll update the page as soon as I have my book in front of me again. -- BillGarrett