They DO tell the future.
I heard people talking about a new trend of khaos magick. They said those guys can tell you what plans the future holds for you.
Actually I foud one. Poor little guy was so miserable when he told me what it was all about : “Liars. We are all basically very, very good liars. You know how people who read their horoscope in the morning make it happen somehow ? We tell the horoscope. good presdictions. Now look in my eyes and tell me if I’m lying. Tomorrow you’ll die in a fatal car crash, while going to Florida after you killed me.” I put him out of his misery, poor thing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna disapear for a while. I got a relative in Florida who’ll keep me at home for a few weeks…
Actually the Tellers suggest your future. It costs them one charge (no one knows exactly if they’re minor or significant, but they do have no major effects) to look someone in the eyes and tell them the prediction. Just like people make the predictions of the horoscope happen, the prediction of the Tellers do alomst always happen. In fact, the subject makes them happen himself.
The drawback is : The Tellers can look in the eyes ONLY for predictions than ALL are about other people. No use trying to predict “your wife will come back”. Not only this won’t do the “trick” but you’ll break taboo, too. Tellers of truth have very few friends, what with the socially unaccepeted eye-contact stuff and all…
They gain one Charge per day. Just remember ANY prediction with eye contact is worth one. Many of them do carry a lot of charges after spending a month or so alone at home, seeing nobody, just to be sure they won’t break taboo. Tricky one have the habit, when accidentally making eye contact, to predict something unimportant just not to loose it all. Most of them are reported to have no TV at home. They probably feel like if the people inside TV look to the camera, they’ll break taboo.
Now feel free to embarass that annoying player, not allowing him to make eye-contact around the table !
Mind-control, with no stated limitations, at a cost of one (minor?) charge, which comes every day for free, so long as you don’t break taboo? So, SO abusable.
On the other hand, having the character break taboo every time the player makes eye contact would definitely be good for some laughs. On the part of the other players, at least.
That was what was intended, indeed.
seeing it written, I think I should tweak the maths quite a bit before calling that idea into play…
more on that later, I guess.