Hey all, I'm Olcas. Been around a fair few years in the Hypno-internet community, but rarely speak up beyond 1-1 interactions and hypnosis sessions since I'm not the best artistically. :P

Anyhoo, I've been thinking about making a Hypnosis themed D&D system on and off for a while. I created 2 versions over the years, and was wondering if I could get feedback on them from the Hub. You may have seen them on other Hypno-sites in the past.

Who knows? Enough people get interested, maybe we can run a campaign sometime.

Here's Version 1.0:

I'd have the following Statistic Categories;

Strength, obviously used for physical attacking and moving things etc,
Dexterity, which is agility, evasion, climbing etc,
Constitution, which would be endurance, stamina, health,
Intelligence, which would be for researching, knowledge checks, etc,
Willpower, which would be hypnotic power, mental attacks, resistance etc,
and Charisma, which would be seduction, diplomacy, lying etc...

For stats, I'd have a set amount of 64 points between the 6 different categories, with 6 being the minimum and 14 being the maximum for the starting amounts for each. Pretty standard. I'd obviously give another amount of points if we weren't starting at level 1.

As for what to use those stat points towards; I've thought up a few classes to aim for. Personally, I'd limit the amount of classes a player can have, probably 3 being the maximum, so a player can be a jack-of-three-trades-master-of-none, or a half-and-half, or a focused class, to ensure no player becomes too powerful at everything, or useless at everything. Although this is something I'd like feedback on in particular.

Anyway classes, which some are obviously tailored towards the more dominant, or towards the more submissive player... And are a work in progress :P ;

Hypnotist - The Player devotes his/herself to being the best hypnotist they possibly can, enthralling other people for their purposes, good, evil or just plain sexy.
Abilities; Deep Eyes, that a player could roll to trap someone in their gaze,
Swinging Induction, where a player could roll to catch someone's attention with a swinging item etc...

Mystic - The Player uses magical and secretive powers to control people's minds, spells and incantations the realm of this player's knowledge.
Abilities; Sleeping Spell, the player can cast a spell to throw a great deal of fatigue onto a target,
Divination, The player can use a crystal ball, or pool of water to view one thing about a current target, such as location, people they care about etc...

Possessor - The Player is an adept at slipping into a hapless target's body, and taking control of their actions for whatever they'd like. They have trained to abandon their body temporarily to control the actions of others completely...
Abilities; Possession; The player can roll to attempt to control a target person for a set amount of time. Their own body is unconscious and vulnerable within this time. Should the possessed body die while the possessor is within, they shall die as well.
Talent Scout; The player, if they have possessed a body over a set amount of time, can choose to take one skill the target knows back to their own body for the duration of one day, whereupon it is forgotten.

Channeler - The player can easily subvert those nearby to do whatever they wish, the mind simply shutting down under their supreme suggestions, and implanting commands is a snap for this class...
Abilities; Channel; The player can roll to channel into the mind of a nearby target. They become an empty doll to the whims of the channeler, allowing the channeler to have knowledge of the target's abilities and class, as well as any events that happened to the target in the past hour. Should anything attack or disturb the target, they instantly awake from the channelling.
Implant Command; The channeler can implant a set amount of commands into the channeled target, which they must fulfill with or without their knowledge. However, an especially repugnant command to the target may be resisted.

Psychic - The player has trained his/her mind to be able to accomplish the almost supernatural, telekinetic and telepathy just the start of what this player is capable of... Of course, outside of jobs, the literal mental undressing of a hypnotized slave is also capable for a relaxing Psychic...
Abilities; Telekinesis; The player can roll to see whether their mind can handle the weight of an object, and how far and how fast they may move it merely with the power of their mind.
Telepathy; The player can roll to read the surface thoughts of a nearby target for a certain time, secrets needing a higher concentration/roll.

Clairsentient - This player is able to discern a great amount of information about a person, an item, or the local area, by reading the mental images that have been set in world...
Abilities; Hour's Past; The player can try and divine information about a target that has occurred within the last hour. However, the images may be jumbled, unclear, or in the wrong chronological order...
Ghostly Trail; The player can follow a ghostly afterimage of a target that has touched or come into contact with a specific item. Only the player can see this afterimage, and can only follow for a mile or set time before it fades...

Empath - The player is able to instinctively sense a targets emotions or feelings, allowing them to know just the right spots to soothe, or the right way to slip into their minds...
Abilities; Deep Down; The player can sense a deep desire/need/goal of a certain target.
There Now...; The player can instantly soothe and calm a target, even to the point of trance, depending on the results of a roll or the emotional state of a target...

Technopath - The player is adept at using technological means to control a target, mind control chips or spirals the fun tools of this hacking class, using their hands and their intelligence rather than their minds...
Abilities; Spiral Screen; The player can implant a code into any electrical system that will make any connected screen show a hypnotic spiral depending on a roll.
Remote Control; The player can implant a control chip onto a subdued or unaware target that can be used to control their actions within a set area for a set time.

Chemist - Hubble Bumber, Sleep and Slumber...This player is great at creating potions and salves that can be used to control a target through various means. Always ask this player to eat something at the table first before you do...
Abilities; Love Potion; This player can create a potion from various ingredients that will temporarily make the target that has ingested said potion into their devoted love slave...
Herbalist; The player can roll to know general facts about any herb, plant, ingredient or other concoctive item.

Harem Leader - Oh Please Master/Mistress, command us! We must all follow your commands! This player loves being a slave, and strives to be the best possible slave he/she can be. And for a hypnotist, having a large harem can have it's advantages...
Abilities; Slave Prime; The player can act in conjunction with their Master/Mistress, or Slave Prime, obeying their every command and enhancing the effect of their Dominant's abilities.
Join Us; The player can tempt and convince a target to join their ranks and serve the Master/Mistress through various hypnotic/erotic or just plain diplomatic means by the command of the Dominant.

Swordsman - 'Ho! Aha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin!' This player is a swordsman extraordinaire, able to handle a blade and then some, chopping any opposition down to size.
Abilities; Swordplay; The player can flash steel with any opponent, and depending on their roll, can intimidate the opponent into not crossing their skills.
Thrust!; The player can, once per battle, use a particularly damaging attack with their sword, inflicting a critical hit, while leaving themselves open on the next turn.

Masseuse - Sometimes Master/Mistress can just get so stressed from their concerns, they could use a soothing massage to get back into their groove. And maybe Slave will be rewarded for their efforts! And for a hypnotist, a massage is a fine way to entrance some sleepy slave-to-be...
Abilities; So Tense!; The player can sense just where to touch and caress a person to ensure the most relaxation/arousal/pleasure.
Pressure Points; The player can roll to find the target's pressure points, temporarily immobilizing them for 1d4 turns/hours.

Rider - This player is an adept at training/riding animals, primarily horses. But maybe that was in their previous life, and now they train slaves for themselves, or Master/Mistress. And riding skills and tools can still come in handy...
Abilities; Carrot on a Stick; The player can train a slave to be even more obedient, or train them for a specific purpose.
Ya! Ya!; The player can make an unruly or resistant subject-to-be/slave alot more compliant. A whip or riding crop is needed for this ability.

Mage - This player has devoted his/her training to the physical applications of magic, a fire spell here, a water spell there, a force spell to that enemy....
Abilities; Blow Back; The player can use, once per battle, a forceful push back to any target within a nearby area, knocking them back a set distance.
Abra Kedabra; The player can periodically use a known spell to a higher degree, pushing past their limits to make the spell have a much greater effect depending on the spell's target/effect.

Dancer - This player has devoted his/herself to the physical applications of beauty in movement, every muscle toned to allow them to move with the grace and poise of a god.
Abilities; Wolf Whistler; The player can do a dance, that will attract those of the opposite sex/interested sexuality towards the player, making them more helpful and compliant.
Bellydance; The player can perform a dance that can entrance the watcher(s), the more private the audience, the more effective the dance.

Martial Artist - This player is lightning quick with his/her hands, devastatingly powerful with his/her feet, and not so bad in other areas either! Still, best not to cross this black belt, or you'll end up with a black eye...
Abilities; Judo Chop; The player can use his martial art skills to destroy a targeted object, be it a door, block of bricks, or a car on a pier. The more sturdy the object, the higher the roll needed.
Mental Discipline; The player can easily focus their mind and help themselves to throw off any unwanted mental control.

LadyKiller/ManEater - Fweeet Fwooo! Hubba Hubba! This player is on fire in any social situation, able to wrap others around their little finger and drag them off the dance floor to some quiet corner...
Abilities; Hey Sailor; The player can easily charm the target into letting slip any desired information with a little persuasion...
Shaken, Not Stirred; The player can take the full attention of any people in the nearby area, and hold that attention for a set time depending on their roll.

Trader - That slave just not exciting you any more? I can take it off your hands, for a brand new one! This player is great at wheeling and dealing, especially when slaves are concerned, even if he/she is one they can advise Master/Mistress who's the best to have...
Abilities; Gender Trading; Depending on the roll, the player can find a target who has a slave that is the same gender as the intended slave for trading of comparable level.
Class Trading; Depending on the roll, the player can find a target who has a slave that is the same class as the intended slave for trading of comparable level.

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Version 2.0 focused a bit more on stats:

The stats would be, with a starting total of 20 points to use;

STR - Strength, your physical strength, ability to move and lift things etc. 7 Would be a normal fit person, 10 an athelete, 20 an olympic candidate, 20+ into the more fantasy levels....
DEX - Dexterity, your agility and speed, how fast you run, dodge etc. 7 normality, 10 a track runner, 20 olympic, 20+ fantasy levels....
CON - Constitution, your stamina. How long you can keep going, taking punishment etc. 7 Normality, 10 a bouncer, 20 olympic, 20+ fantasy....
INT - Intelligence, your knowledge on certain subjects, how fast you figure things out or make things work.
RES - Resistance, your ability to attempt to resist outside control or changes.
CHA - Charisma, your ability to charm or talk your way out or into things.

Specializations;

Upon leveling up, if you wish, you can choose to specialize your character instead of receiving a stat point. The Specializations I have thought of so far are;

Pendulum Master - 13 INT, 10 RES, 5 STR - Crystals on a chain, pocketwatches, coins, anything that can be dangled in front of someone's eyes, you can turn into an extremely effective hypnosis tool. Hardly anyone could resist a prolonged induction from something swaying back and forth from your hands....

Puppet Master - 15 INT, 8 CON, 5 CHA - Voodoo Dolls, bodily manipulation, control spells, you focus on controlling the body rather than the mind. Access to memories and skills of your subject is easy, but the person themself simply becomes a passenger in the weak flesh you play with....

Technotist - 15 INT, 8 STR, 5 DEX - Control Microchips, Roboticization, nanotechnology. Who needs to know how the mind works, or all that mystic mumbo jumbo? With enough time and enough material, you can make people do your bidding through science and technology instead.

Sonambulist - 10 CHA, 10 INT, 5 CON - Sleepwalkers, catalepsy, dream reading. As long as someone is asleep, that someone is yours to control. When their guard is down and their mind is wandering in dreamland, they'll happily do whatever you say, with the odd snore thrown in....

Slave Trader - 15 CHA, Bought or Traded at least 3 Slaves - Smooth talkers, able to take their well trained normal guy, nothing special, but can easily find the person who's looking for just that, and is willing to trade for the volumptuous blonde in no time. Some people call them con artists, but just look at the trance that's holding this bank manager! That's easily worth a weakly entranced super model!

Magician - 15 INT, 12 DEX, 8 RES - AbraKadabra! Spells to ensnare the senses and potions to bottle their devotion. Not all stage hypnotists are fakes. Some really can make the girl levitate off her chair, or with a quick snap of the fingers, have them spewing their inner most desires....

Personality ReWriter - 12 INT, 10 CHA, Changed something permanently within 5 different slaves - This person can take that meek little bookworm and have her take her hair down and just KNOW she should be poledancing within 1 session. The 50-a-day man and make him go cold turkey in 10 minutes flat.

Trigger Man - 12 INT, 10 CHA, Have 5 triggers in at least 2 slaves - After talking with someone for a little while, you'll soon be able to suss out any trigger words they have. What they do....is another question. As for your own triggers, they'll be near impossible to reject by any subject and will last a very long time....

*** SUBMISSIVE CLASSES ***

Head of the Harem - 15 CHA, Been hypnotized into a 'collection' 5 times - As an old hat at having your mind focused purely on a Master/Mistress' desires, you're perfect to be the number 2 to your owner of any number of slaves. After all, you are the favourite...

Total Obedience - Done 5 things against your alignment when under hypnosis - It doesn't matter what your beliefs are, or what you think. After so many times of having your will broken, once you're under you'll do ANYTHING your hypnotist says, no matter what....

Sleeper Slave - 15 CHA, Been Hypnotized 3 times by the same hypnotist - Are you awake? Or are you entranced? It's doubtful that even you know. But at the drop of a hat, you'll be able to slip right back under for that special hypnotist that just knows the perfect place to tickle your obedience into high gear...

BodyGuard - 12 STR, 12 CON - Pain? Limits? Those don't exist in the service of your Master/Mistress. No obstacle is too heavy, no opponent too strong. Much like the little old lady who can lift a fallen tree from her children, you'll do anything to make sure that the goals of your hypnotist are ensured...

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So, what do you think? The hardest thing I've been trying to wrap my head around is how does someone continue to play a roleplaying game when they want to be controlled by someone else, so been trying to think of ways around that.

Thoughts, criticism, feedback, all appreciated.

Just one small thing to make this easier to read maybe break it with spoiler tags. Cause it gets a little tough to parse some of that out.

A good bit of feedback already.

I just skimmed it very lightly and it sounds interesting. I'll give it a more trough reading later.

I don't have a lot of experience with systems like this but I'll give what thought I can.

So quick question for clarity, is this it's own system or homebrew for an existing edition of D&D?

Wall of text incoming

Read through all of it and I must say, both systems seem fairly good. Still, I think a mixture of the 2 systems would be the best. Otherwise, you risk rendering either class or stats irrelevant. As far as having to choose one of them though I think it depends on the campaign. The first system seems to me like it be easier to manage however since stats are less relevant than abilities and would be best to run as an rp similar to the ones they run over at the hypnopics collective. That is assuming I understood the system correctly what with each class having those 2 abilities and those being the only way you can hypnotize someone. The second system on the other hand seems better for a tabletop game. That is, depending on how you choose to expand it. Personally, I think it would be best handled if hypnosis was not a status effect but was, in fact, a state induced by low points of some sort, like will points or something, and as they would go lower, the hypnotist would have the ability to perform a greater range of commands. Something like that anyway. Now, for advice for both, both of them need a greater range of abilities and perks however I've no doubt those will come in due time. Also, if you're really willing to take that last suggestion to the next level, you could create a cloud online where people could post their ideas for abilities on there and you and maybe a moderator (if that's an option) could arrange them between folders for official and unofficial abilities where the gamemaster can choose which ones to use. That last one's just a personal preference, take it with a grain of salt :).

I would probably just use the d20 system to keep it simple myself, but that's something I'd like feedback on too.

I'd prefer the latter myself, a tabletop D&D style than a post by post RP style.

Regarding whether hypnosis should be a state that occurs with low points, I have considered that as an option, but it leads into figuring out if the points should slowly recover, if there should be a way to recover alot at once or what if the player wants to stay hypnotized etc. It also needs to take into account the various hypnosis methods that can be used/played with.

I do like the cloud suggestion, but also looking for people to suggest new classes/abilities overall here too.

Seems interesting, but why would you call this a "D&D system"? Outside of the 6 stats it does not seem to resemble any edition of Dungeons and Dragons at all. At this point I think you could call it an original RPG system.

Anyway, the first thing I've noticed is that you haven't detailed much of the core system. That is, the basic rules on what everyone can do, how they do it, which dice to use, and what to roll. Is each class/specialization rolling the same thing in order to use their abilities? How do resistance rolls work? Is it D20 based?

I'd also suggest thinking on what you want the system to be able to accomplish. There are several classes that focus on fighting rather than hypnotizing, so do you expect to be handling a lot of combat? If yes, there need to be some core rules for it, unless you want fighting classes to be the only ones able to fight. At the same time you also have a bunch of social classes and specializations, so having rules for talking to people would be necessary for them.

These need not be highly detailed, and can be simple abstract things. If, for example, you decide that combat is not going to be very common, you could trim the physical stats and have more sparse rules on what happens when people fight. That system could primarily be about dominating the minds of others, so mental struggles would be more detailed affairs while physical fights are reduced to a simple die roll to see who wins the whole fight. Just as an example, mind; I'm not suggesting you do this.

What you have right now is good, but it's very barebones on the mechanical front. Which can be fine, since rules-light games are very much a thing, but there's still needs to be a little more structure. I like the classes and specializations, but it's hard to tell exactly what they can do without the context of a system behind them.

So I run pathfinder one shots with a few nice folks from the hub and I've been doing a little bit of pathfinder/freeform rp over on hypnopics.

One of the things that jumped out to me as an anti-pattern was total obedience. It denies player agency to subs and it renders morality statistically. Here's an example of why that doesn't quite work.

I've hypnotized someone who is (1) submissive and (2) chaotic evil. Okay. So doing something against their alignment. That means I need them to do something that is lawful good.

GM, what is the minimal LG act I must make them commit before they live out their fantasies of being obedient to everyone? How many charities do they have to donate to? If I make them do something really good, like save peoples lives from a flood, do I get multiple points?

If so, what of the above applies to evil actions made by a lawful good character? Especially that question, "if I make the do something really..."

Also, what's the opposite alignment of true neutral? Does that mean if I make them commit to any aligned act five times, I get to control their character?

This sounds intriguing, however it would be nice to have a word doc or pdf of this.

Yeah I'm interested as well, but a word doc/pdf would be nice

As I understood it, the specializations work similarly to prestige classes in that they have prerequisites but can only be taken willingly. You can't inflict Total Obedience on someone else's character, since it's a Submissive Class. However, if your character has been hypnotized to do something against their alignment five times, you gain the option of taking the Total Obedience class the next time you level up. You don't get it automatically, but it becomes something you can choose.

As far as Alignment goes, it's a fairly poor system in and of itself so I can see the concerns there. Not even D&D was good at answering what counts as a single aligned act. I think that specialization just means the player has decided to make their own character unable to fight back even if they'd have an in-character reason to resist.

Hmm. In light of that what I said about player agency isn't correct.

On the other hand though, what I said about alignments is still true, even if the sub is choosing to do it. I agree that alignments pretty weak as a mechanic; but it solves problems that you'd otherwise incur a lot of overhead for (detecting enemies, detecting evil, anti/paladin limitations). A dom also has to asked to fulfill that request so... do you endorse what your sub is doing (cue dramatic music). Remember the C.E. to L.G. example: spending all of their money to help orphans. Helping old ladies across the street all the time. You thought you were getting a sexy evil rogue!

The use case for that class you pointed out: where a player decides there character can't fight back for whatever reason. You can accomplish that use case pretty simply by allowing players to deliberately waive or fail rolls (I call it throwing). I could have a nice discussion about that mechanic on it's own, it's a house rule that has saved me a lot of tears and grief.

why not just homebrew the classes into something one could use for dnd