I need some opinions on this...

[Queerious Toast]

So I thought of this story for a comic some time ago. It's the basic group of mercenaries that go on crazy adventures type of story, so I won't bother with the details, but I have a bit of a problem with their "special" abilities.

The ability that they have is um... well, they can mess with your minds. Like, for example, Girl A has the ability to make people extremely paranoid, or Boy A can make people lose hope. They can use this abilities to get to their targets or kill them. The duration of the effect depends on the user and the affected person. There are also abilities that are for support, such as making someone really optimistic about their missions (though I see this as a double-edged sword) or give someone hope.

Now my problem is this, how are they going to use their abilities to affect a person? Here are the things I thought of:

Guns with special bullets.
- I have 2 problems with this. 1.) If they're going to shoot their enemies, they can just shoot them in the head or something so there will be no need for their abilities and 2.) Making your ally optimistic by shooting them is kind of a bad idea.

By touch
- This solves the 2nd dilemma up there but my problem with this is I find it quite inconvenient if you have to touch an armed person just to make him insane for a set time.

Opinions?

[blankd]

You can do a combination of both, they "imbue" a certain item with whatever emotion they're aiming for, when someone else touches it, the effect is released. This allows for more traplike planning but can also open up its own set of problems which you can decide at your discretion.

Effective trade-offs:
-The item must have a certain importance to the person. ie: Something personal will have an easier time affecting the person.
-There are time limits to how long the effect lasts.
-Suggestion requires a certain level of discretion, it is most effective when it is subliminal.
-The mercenaries are not the best physical fighters, they are not immune to the law and security, discretion is their most valuable asset.
-There is a kinetic effect, items of certain consistency can "transfer", ie: wire to metal, water can "channel" this, etc.
-The farther an object can be "laced' with this emotive effect, the less potent it is.
-Certain "contact" points are more effective. Lacing food is more effective than throwing something at the person (someone is more likely to have emotive guards up when getting hit then when they're just eating food).
*In this same vein, high concentrations of emotion can dispel this effects.

[Queerious Toast]

You can do a combination of both

I feel like a fucking idiot for not thinking of that.

I was thinking that their blood should have something to do with the weapons. Like, for example, Boy A rubs blood on a certain object and the victim touches the said object, the victim will then experience the emotion Boy A was aiming for.

-The item must have a certain importance to the person. ie: Something personal will have an easier time affecting the person.

Can you expound on this? I'm not sure if I understood this correctly. But, from what I understand, I think this is a pretty good idea.

Thanks for the ideas! They really are interesting.

[trenton_dawn]

So their abilities all play on feelings and emotion? One interesting thing to consider is that the power or availability of these powers might fluctuate depending on the emotional state of the victim and the ability user. For example, if the ability user feeling confident, they would be able to transmit that emotion more readily. And targets which are in an emotionally vulnerable state or who are already tending towards an emotion would be susceptible to having those feelings transmitted to them. And I really like blankd's idea about subliminality, and how emotionally guarded people could resist.

As for the method of transmission, I would posit that some kind of personal connection (eye contact, for example, or voice, in some circumstances) could also serve as a medium for these abilities. Or if the attacker were able to synchronize his/her mental state with that of the victim.

[blankd]

You can do a combination of both

I feel like a fucking idiot for not thinking of that.

I was thinking that their blood should have something to do with the weapons. Like, for example, Boy A rubs blood on a certain object and the victim touches the said object, the victim will then experience the emotion Boy A was aiming for.

-The item must have a certain importance to the person. ie: Something personal will have an easier time affecting the person.

Can you expound on this? I'm not sure if I understood this correctly. But, from what I understand, I think this is a pretty good idea.

Thanks for the ideas! They really are interesting.

No problem. And to clarify, "item importance" has an effect. For example a 20$ bill laced with an emotion. A person who has no money would be more affected by the 20$ than a person who is fairly well off. Something along those lines. You're free to refine it as you see fit since it is your idea.

Blood as the medium is up to you. I don't think you should use it because blood is a bit obvious on an object and may turn people away from picking up that item.

[Queerious Toast]

Well, I guess blood is a little bit too obvious.

Ok, so here's what I've got so far:

- Duration of the effect depends on the ability of the user and the target (I'm thinking a max of 1-2 hours)
- The mood or emotional state can affect the efficacy of the ability.
- Spiked items of importance can affect the efficacy of the ability.
- Items that have an emotion on them have a time limit before the effect wears off.
- Experienced users can affect the target from afar, like through voice. They can also lace items for a longer period of time.
- Beginners and intermediate users can affect the target via touch and eye contact. Their laced items can't have the emotion for a long time.
- I really want to use blood so I thought that it has the most potent effect, regardless of of ability. However, this requires a lot of blood.
- Certain contact points are more effective.
- There is a limit on how much powers the users can use, but it depends on the ability of the user. The side-effect is fatigue and that they will experience the effects of their own powers.

[The_Hankerchief]

Well, I guess blood is a little bit too obvious.

Ok, so here's what I've got so far:

- Duration of the effect depends on the ability of the user and the target (I'm thinking a max of 1-2 hours)
- The mood or emotional state can affect the efficacy of the ability.
- Spiked items of importance can affect the efficacy of the ability.
- Items that have an emotion on them have a time limit before the effect wears off.
- Experienced users can affect the target from afar, like through voice. They can also lace items for a longer period of time.
- Beginners and intermediate users can affect the target via touch and eye contact. Their laced items can't have the emotion for a long time.
- I really want to use blood so I thought that it has the most potent effect, regardless of of ability. However, this requires a lot of blood.
- Certain contact points are more effective.
- There is a limit on how much powers the users can use, but it depends on the ability of the user. The side-effect is fatigue and that they will experience the effects of their own powers.

Does it have to be a form of bodily fluid? Couldn't it be something as subtle as a fingerprint? (Well, put a little concentration into it, you don't wanna influence everything you touch, do you?). Perhaps a certain finger pattern can trigger it (Sort of like how Spiderman shoots his web, except more subtle), like middle and ring finger out, and the rest of the fingers not touching? I'm just shooting crap off the top of my head, spouting ideas).

Also, should there be a size limit on items? I mean, sure, you can rig an apple up fairly easy, but what about a car? Or a house?

That's just my input so far, do what you will with it. Good luck!