Roleplaying: The Society of Sensation

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*Bloodlines
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Posted by *Bloodlines »


A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, as they say. To a Sensate, it's worth four. See, the members of the Society of Sensation believe that there's nothing so important as experiencing things. You can never really be sure if something's true until you see it for yourself, they reckon. So it's hardly surprising then that the Sensates are some of the best planewalkers, most daring adventurers, and passionate cutters you'll find this side of Arborea. They're also frequently temperamental, rarely sober, and fiendishly difficult to surprise.

Better pity the basher who's married to a Sensate. It might be hard to by gifts for some folk, but try finding a veteran Sensate a gift they ain't already bored with is as hard as trying to persuade a yugoloth to give the sweets that he's not yet got round to poisoning to a bunch of children. Fickle? You don't know the half of it...


Roleplaying a Sensate

Many players might think a Sensate character can try all sorts of things, get into scrapes galore, and generally make a nuisance of himself - that playing a Sensate is just one big orgy of food, wine, and debauchery. Truth is, Sensates are much more than hedonists, though this is a lesson not learned by all members of the faction. Some Sensates remain pleasure-seekers for tbeir entire lives, while others eventually learn that there’s more to experience than simple physical gratification.

True Sensates want to learn, to experience, to sense all things, yes, but they’ve got brains, too. A real Sensate respects his comrades’ wishes; if they don’t want to try something, he won’t force the issue. Likewise, a real Sensate won’t try something that might cause him or another bodily ham. ’Course, there’s nothing wrong with offering to suffer damage in place of another - in other words, taking on a harsh experience not just for the sake of it, but to save a weaker sod from something he might not he able to handle. But a Sensate sure as Nessus won‘t swallow a draught of lethal poison “just to see what it tastes like.”

A Sensate desires new sensations. He shouldn't want to go into every local tavern, try every wine and pastry dish, and sleep with every barkeep. Granted, he may try this approach when entering a new plane, where everything’s different but back home it’s another story. As Sensates grow their ability and gain levels, most realize that whole realms of thought and emotion wait to be explored. One Sensate might set himself a goal of trying to feel all the different aspects of love or anger, for instance, while another might choose to experience all the nuances of verbal comedy in every language she can find. As Sensates age, too, they maturally grow in acceptance of others and of all things, having seen and felt so much in their lifetimes.

Sensates are found, in varying numbers, throughout the multiverse. Their desires for experiences lead them far and wide, from the Outer Planes to the Prime Material to the Inner Planes and beyond. However, the Gilded Hall of Arborea holds the largest congregation of Sensates outside of Sigil. In the immense, ever-changing palace, many faction members spend their lives in endless revelry. Factol Montgomery rarely visits more than twice a year, though when she does the celebrations reach fevered pitch. But the Hall is where she usually sends (banishes, some say) faction members who can’t seem to grasp what it means to be a true Sensate. It’s a judgment call, it course, but those who repeatedly shy away from a new experience - whether through ignorance, fear, or stupidity generally end up at the Gilded Hall. And few Sensates ever leave that shiny, delightful prison.

ALIGNMENT. A body's alignment seems to have a little impact on a Sensate. The overriding goal of experiencing and understanding all takes precedence. This doesn't mean that a lawful good Sensate'll kill an elderly sod just for the feel of it - after all, he could just request the sensation at the Civic Festhall's sensorium  (and almost certainly would). But he'll savor the taste of combat with the same zeal as would any evil faction member. Likewise, a chaotic evil Sensate dedicated to a god who advocates death before charity would use a sensorium to feel what it‘s like to give to the poor. Few Sensates are ever appalled by the acts of their fellows, often cooperating to hell grant the experiences another faction member seeks.

CLASS. Sensates, more than any other faction, tend not to specialize in classes, though they have a proportionately higher number limit a body’s range of possible experiences - a problem for Sensates. Fighters prefer to train in as many combat styles as possible, while wizards study as many schools of magic as they can, relying on Sensate mages for scrolls to spells they don’t have access to. (Illusionists are derided for “faking” experiences, though some Illusionist Sensates do exist. -DMs.)

FACTION ABILITIES
RP Abilities only: Requires consent of a DM/EM or all players involved/affected by its use if no DM/EM is present. (per Server Rules)

Sensates are innate readers of body language, even of species they’ve never met. They pick up on minute clues that other sods might never notice in a thousand years. This gives Sensates a +5 to see through lies or a +10 if the liar is the same race as the Sensate.
 
Sensate factotums and higher can perform a sensory touch, sacrificing their own health by “taking on” the sensation of the injury and effectively healing the target. The Sensate can only recover their lost health through natural rest and cannot be magically cured of it.
 
Sensate Factors have built up an extensive store of experiences that often give them unusual insights into a problem. This experience translates to giving them a bonus to their Lore equivalent to their level. This bonus stacks with all other magical effects.
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