The various fields of Telepathy

[Alpha]

Many people have commented that the X-men line has too many telepaths do the same things. They say telepaths should have fields of specialty.

So let's make a guide for the specialities in Telepathy and maybe suggest which characters should specialize in each area.

For this first page let's try to avoid abilities that we can't totally define as merely telepathy (such as Clairvoyance).

[Alpha]

The Voice: using telepathy to access the inner voice of a person. No images or memories, just their inner voice, and project voices in their head. This can be your own voice into someone else, another person's voice into someone else, or just creating a fake voice to manipulate someone else.

Memory hacker: being to access someone's catalog of memories. These memories only come in the form of actual information, like a word document. You can learn what they know and transfer it to someone else, or change that database. You can't acces how they felt about this information, just that they do or don't know it.

Sensory adjustement: the basic form of it is just adjusting our sense of smell, touch, earring, vision and taste. Ike a filter. The more advanced forms include creating actual illusions that can just affect vision and earring, or even all senses. You can make someone see feel like they were just ran over by a truck, and act thusly. You aren't manipulating their nerves, just the sense of touch. So you can't make someone feel the pain of being ran over by a truck, just the physical pressure and texture. A cross field specialist would also be able to combine this field of telepathy with another field of telepathy and make someone see through another person's eyes, ears, hands, etc.

Cerebral activity intensifier: This is what I imagine Psylocke's blades do. You can make someone feel localized pain in their harm, or just give them a giant migraine or vertigo. You can also do the opposite, by relieving their stress (like Mantis from GotG). Maybe these people could also adjust their cerebral intensity in ther ways, by creating an enthusiastic stimulation, leading to pleasure, or cancelling the flow of activity, leading to depression. Perhaps they could also accelarate your activity, making your brain become so fast that it overloads, or desacelerate, freezing you like Professor X oftens does in the movies.

[Mutant101]

How about total control of the mind? As in what Karma is doing?

[JB]

Perhaps we can add psychic repair, like when Jean and Emma helped Storm in Giant-Size, Betsy sorting out Mystique's psyche to make her less chaotic, and what Birdy does. There may even be sub categories in psychic repair.

[Jackraow21]

I rather liked it when Cable’s telepathy was on the fritz or just nerfed to the point where he basically could only pick up on amplified thoughts right before conflict, and thus had kind of a low-level “Immediate Precognition” during Spurrier’s X-Force run, meaning he could sense what enemy combatants were going to do a couple of seconds ahead of time and react accordingly. It actually gave him a huge edge and some of the fight scenes of him using his power this way were awesome IMO.

[danielsan52]

Tobias Messenger was born deaf. His telepathic communication is extremely "LOUD" to those that perceive it.

The reborn S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division have varying degrees of telepathy.

Alexander Flynn had low level telepathy, that is if he existed.

Gracie Smith could use her telepathy to create illusions to disguise herself as someone else.

Lucy Robinson had the ability to make others susceptible to her suggestions. If they were aware of her power, however, it became easier for them to resist.

[Exodus]

what about getting rid of some of them.....Do Exodus really need telepathy? Do we need Quentin Quire? Maybe Psylocke should only create telekinetic weapons? M is really a mediocre telepath and is overstuffed with abilities...

I think a new "Psy War" event would be nice where many telepaths are getting expelled from the astral plane.

[Daedra]

what about getting rid of some of them.....Do Exodus really need telepathy? Do we need Quentin Quire? Maybe Psylocke should only create telekinetic weapons? M is really a mediocre telepath and is overstuffed with abilities...

I think a new "Psy War" event would be nice where many telepaths are getting expelled from the astral plane.

Ding ding ding …..we have a winner!

[Jackraow21]

what about getting rid of some of them.....Do Exodus really need telepathy? Do we need Quentin Quire? Maybe Psylocke should only create telekinetic weapons? M is really a mediocre telepath and is overstuffed with abilities...

I think a new "Psy War" event would be nice where many telepaths are getting expelled from the astral plane.

Ding ding ding …..we have a winner!

Dude… I f@€&ing love this idea! Hell yes. Let’s do it!

[Phoenixx9]

Here are just a few additional things that some Telepaths are capable of, although most of them do not have all of these powers :

-Connect to mind(s)
-Mental Switchboard
-Sense Mutants
-See auras of humans/mutants
-Communicate with animals
-Mental Bolts!
-Shut down minds
-Ease Pain
-Cause pain

[PyroFN]

As an avid reader of mostly all telepaths I can get my hands on in the X-verse, I will say this:

Psychic Constructs- Also done with telekinesis, it’s a signature power of Captain Britain, Dani Moonstar, and Psylocke. Still, we have seen Jean Grey, Charles Xavier, Nate Grey, Sage, and Quentin Quire use them quite a bit throughout their histories. And for something more niche, Beatiful Dreamer made use of “telepathic smoke” to perform her telepathic actions. We have even had a number of psychic ghosts creating a psychic body from their psychic might.

Pathokinesis- People usually separate it as a different psionic ability from telepathy, but in my opinion, it is basically just a sub-category of telepathy. It may work with a different part of the mind, but emotions still originate in the mind to begin with. The Grey-Summers family psychics are most well-known for this, though pure empathic psi would be someone like Manuel de La Rocha.

The Glow- Birdy has been getting recognition as of late and she did make an impact in the 90’s era of the X-Men inadvertently when Creed was a prisoner briefly of the X-Men. Basically easing the psychological pain of others using a telepathic ability called” the Glow”, which is more than simply controlling the emotions, but rather helps them process their inner pain and doubts. Charles Xavier and Jean Grey were stand-ins for Birdy when died in the 90’s, though Jean seemed to have the capability of weaponizing “the Glow” by overwhelming Sabertooth with it. Perhaps Jean was peeling away too many layers to Sabertooths actions or she overloaded him with information about the consequences of his actions? However she did so, it is plain to see “the Glow” can be used for more than just healing.

Psychometric Telepathy- For those who don’t know, Psychometry is the power to read psychic information through objects associated with the person. This could range from personal things to places where the person was recently. Jean Grey, believe it or not, has used it before, though more well-known characters would be Adrienne Frost, who gained info on Generation X after touching something Emma had touched. So what would Psychometric Telepathy be? Through objects associated with an individual, the psychometric will have the ability to reach their subjects minds.

Possessors- Very common power among telepaths, though there are those who specialize in it, like Karma, Shadow King, and, most recently, Cerebella/ No-Girl.

Illusionists- In the same vain, telepaths are commonly able to create illusions, though specialists in these areas include the Mastermind family and Dani Moonstar.

Mental Storage- Something I kind of made up based on an ongoing thing psychics have been doing in more recent times. It’s the ability for a telepath to store a mind into compartment in a telepaths head to contain that mind until they can be transferred back. This doesn’t have to always be a full mind, but it can simply include containing memories. This is not the same as possession, but it is similar in some respects. Captain Britain was seen containing the memories of thousands in the Age of X-Man and more recently, Charles Xavier had stored the make-up of Xandra’s mind in his head after she reached out to him. And Jean fans would never let me live it down if I didn’t mention Jean containing Charles Xavier in her head while she was sick and dying.

Psychic Vampirism/Draining- Not technically a pure telepathic ability and not all psychic vampires are telepaths, but telepaths have been known to siphon psychic energy with their telepathic abilities to boost their powers. Selene and Emplate are the most well-known examples of psychic vampires, but Exodus, Jean Grey, Nate Grey, Onslaught, and Shadow King all have engaged in some form of psionic vampirism with their telepathic abilities.

Psychic Death Energy- Again, not technically a pure telepathic ability. In fact, it was a non-telepath, Threnody, that made me think of this concept. However, much in line with the idea of telepaths absorbing life-forces, telepaths are capable of also absorbing the potential energies expelled from when people die. Onslaught was seen doing this as a result of Resurrection being incapable of capturing the total essence of a person that died before being downloaded into its storage system.

That will be it for now.

[JB]

Great read, PyroFN. I liked how you explained the differences and pointed out characters that have a specialty in each area.

[Phoenixx9]

Psychic Image A head or entire body image of the telepath appearing to others usually as a one-hugh color (perhaps the color signature of their power),in a different location to communicate with them, warn them, etc

Astral/Psychic Plane: ability to send one's essence or spirit to this Plane where the laws of reality are vastly different. Emotions can create things, such as feeling isolated would show up as a brick wall or prison cell around the person. TPs are especially powerful here. If a TP dies here, their body also dies. If the body dies, their spirit usually does as well.

Psychic Signature: A special appearance of TP when used. Jean as Phoenix had her Raptor Effect, Betsy/Psylocke has had a large Butterfly, Fixx has lots of little fairies.

Psychic Power Color: A color shown as the TP power of the individual. Jean has mostly had pink, Psylocke purple, Emma white/green/blue.

[Exodus]

As an avid reader of mostly all telepaths I can get my hands on in the X-verse, I will say this:

Psychic Constructs- Also done with telekinesis, it’s a signature power of Captain Britain, Dani Moonstar, and Psylocke. Still, we have seen Jean Grey, Charles Xavier, Nate Grey, Sage, and Quentin Quire use them quite a bit throughout their histories. And for something more niche, Beatiful Dreamer made use of “telepathic smoke” to perform her telepathic actions. We have even had a number of psychic ghosts creating a psychic body from their psychic might.

Pathokinesis- People usually separate it as a different psionic ability from telepathy, but in my opinion, it is basically just a sub-category of telepathy. It may work with a different part of the mind, but emotions still originate in the mind to begin with. The Grey-Summers family psychics are most well-known for this, though pure empathic psi would be someone like Manuel de La Rocha.

The Glow- Birdy has been getting recognition as of late and she did make an impact in the 90’s era of the X-Men inadvertently when Creed was a prisoner briefly of the X-Men. Basically easing the psychological pain of others using a telepathic ability called” the Glow”, which is more than simply controlling the emotions, but rather helps them process their inner pain and doubts. Charles Xavier and Jean Grey were stand-ins for Birdy when died in the 90’s, though Jean seemed to have the capability of weaponizing “the Glow” by overwhelming Sabertooth with it. Perhaps Jean was peeling away too many layers to Sabertooths actions or she overloaded him with information about the consequences of his actions? However she did so, it is plain to see “the Glow” can be used for more than just healing.

Psychometric Telepathy- For those who don’t know, Psychometry is the power to read psychic information through objects associated with the person. This could range from personal things to places where the person was recently. Jean Grey, believe it or not, has used it before, though more well-known characters would be Adrienne Frost, who gained info on Generation X after touching something Emma had touched. So what would Psychometric Telepathy be? Through objects associated with an individual, the psychometric will have the ability to reach their subjects minds.

Possessors- Very common power among telepaths, though there are those who specialize in it, like Karma, Shadow King, and, most recently, Cerebella/ No-Girl.

Illusionists- In the same vain, telepaths are commonly able to create illusions, though specialists in these areas include the Mastermind family and Dani Moonstar.

Mental Storage- Something I kind of made up based on an ongoing thing psychics have been doing in more recent times. It’s the ability for a telepath to store a mind into compartment in a telepaths head to contain that mind until they can be transferred back. This doesn’t have to always be a full mind, but it can simply include containing memories. This is not the same as possession, but it is similar in some respects. Captain Britain was seen containing the memories of thousands in the Age of X-Man and more recently, Charles Xavier had stored the make-up of Xandra’s mind in his head after she reached out to him. And Jean fans would never let me live it down if I didn’t mention Jean containing Charles Xavier in her head while she was sick and dying.

Psychic Vampirism/Draining- Not technically a pure telepathic ability and not all psychic vampires are telepaths, but telepaths have been known to siphon psychic energy with their telepathic abilities to boost their powers. Selene and Emplate are the most well-known examples of psychic vampires, but Exodus, Jean Grey, Nate Grey, Onslaught, and Shadow King all have engaged in some form of psionic vampirism with their telepathic abilities.

Psychic Death Energy- Again, not technically a pure telepathic ability. In fact, it was a non-telepath, Threnody, that made me think of this concept. However, much in line with the idea of telepaths absorbing life-forces, telepaths are capable of also absorbing the potential energies expelled from when people die. Onslaught was seen doing this as a result of Resurrection being incapable of capturing the total essence of a person that died before being downloaded into its storage system.

That will be it for now.

wow! Great and super interesting read. Thank you!

It also gives a better idea why Jean is indeed an omega level telepaths. She can do it all! ;-)

I wished authors would be so much more creative in how they are writing and describing telepaths and their uses of power. So many great possibilities!!! And what do we get? Mental telephone conversations lol

[Jackraow21]

I really like the idea above of "thinning the herd" so to speak with regards to all the psychics that are out there with some sort of event ("Psychic War" is a cool name for it) wherein the end result is that the Astral Plane becomes harder to tap into, and thus almost all mutants with psychic abilities are impacted. Only your super powerful omegas remain super powerful as a result, while others lose some abilities or see them weakened.

For example, Psylocke (the Kwannon version)... suddenly her telekinesis is inaccessible for her and her telepathy limited to focused "psy-blades" and near-field reading and mental manipulation. In other words, she has to be close to use her TP, but it allows her to be stealthy and sneaky like a ninja. Lean into that aspect of the character.

Another example would be Cable. I've actually always found him more interesting as a badass cyborg soldier, so he doesn't need his powers at all to be cool IMO. Having said that, let's give him a little something, since he is supposed to be an incredibly powerful alpha mutant (without his T-O virus nerfing his abilities). Establish that now all of his TK is focused on keeping his virus in check, so he can't really spare any to use offensively. But he's still got techno-organics running through his body, so he's plenty strong and durable. And he could embed a force field generator in his forearm on this left arm too, kind of like the one he had in Deadpool 2; thereby using technology to offset his loss of TK. As for his TP? Let's go back to the Spurrier run on X-Force, and weaken this ability to point where he's just able to sense things right before they happen... akin to Rachel's "chrono-skimming" but rather than being able to view what happened in reverse, he can see a few seconds ahead and know what's about to happen, thus giving him a huge edge in hand-to-hand combat.

A third example might be someone like Quentin Quire, who is suddenly completely cutoff from the Astral Plane and thus cannot access his powers at all... and is very despondent over that. So it impacts different characters in different ways, but basically other than the most powerful omega level psychics (Jean Grey, Xavier, maybe Exodus) everyone else is impacted somehow. And even those top-level psychics will remark on the interference and how much harder it is for them now to fully access their powers. Stuff like that.

I think it could be cool if done right honestly.