Perceptive Conversation

Perceptive conversation involves the mind, both the conscious and subconscious; it is used to manipulate perceptions, alter thoughts and memories, and affect the senses in various ways. Perceptive conversation is technically a subset of living conversation, but focused entirely on the brain and its complex workings. It is the most difficult conversational discipline.

Perceptive conversation is used mainly in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, philosophy and neuroscience. Its practical applications outside these fields, however, are practically endless. This is due in large part to the fact that most targets of "reading" perceptive spells are not aware of the spell. Someone skilled in perceptive conversation could become a diplomat or a negotiator or a politician. Teachers are often perceptive conversation users, as they can read their students easily.

Perceptive conversation is closely related to the secular philosophy of the mind, and many of the same terms are used interchangeably. Many monic theorists argue that perceptive conversation actually bridges sense and state class conversation due to its focus on the mind as a separate entity from the brain, and reading spells are indeed syntactically similar to many sense class spells.

Citizens of Bastia tend to favor Perceptive conversation for its ability to make the country even more appearing to tourists.

How It Works

Perceptive conversation is not the mere physical manipulation of the brain. Current scientific theory holds that the mind exists independently from the physical form, and it is this independent substance that is the core subject of perceptive conversation. There is an element of brainwave manipulation in perceptive conversation, but the most advanced perceptive spells alter the conscious and subconscious mind.

The conscious and subconscious mind can be altered best by spells which are especially descriptive of the individual target; the closer the relationship with someone, the easier it is to manipulate their mind. This conversation has the closest relationship with the concept of a "true name" - a word of Monite that completely describes an individual's unique existence in the cosmos. Although knowing another's true name is unlikely, a skilled perceptive sorcerer knows how to adapt spells for individual targets using apt words to describe them. Knowing someone translates directly into having power over them.

Limitations

There are no obvious, immediate physical side effects to any perceptive conversation spells, though perceptive sorcerers often find themselves suffering from headaches and impaired vision. There is an internal risk of brain damage permanently altered consciousness if the conversation is not used responsibly.

Perceptive conversation's strength is directly proportional to how well the target is known to the caster. However, in the case of two casters who know each other well, facing off against one another, they could easily cancel each other out by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each other's spells. As such, this is not considered ideal conversation for combat.

As perceptive conversation is such a difficult discipline and so closely linked to the physical development of the mind, masters tend to be older than masters of other conversations of conversation; the more developed the field and the ley lines in the caster's own mind, the better to tap into the mind of another person.

Branches of Perceptive Conversation

Coming Soon.

Types of Spells

There are two main types of perceptive spells: reading or interpretation spells (colloquially, "reader spells") and manipulation spells (colloquially, "meddler spells").

Allegory - reading what significance something has to the target, or if there is no significance
Analogy spells can alter the significance of an object or event to the target by conversationally comparing it to something significant in their life, like a memory. This can force the target to attach emotional or psychological meanings to objects or events that they would not normally consider relevant. They can also cause the target to remember certain past events, if the caster has knowledge of those events.
Control spells harness the brain's control over the body. This type of spell has a wide variety of uses and applications, both positive and negative. For example, one can make one's target duller or more alert by changing the flow of chemicals in the brain.
Definition spells alter incoming information that a target is receiving. For example, a target sees a red ball; the caster forces them to define the red ball as a blue ball, altering their perception of it.
Emotion - reading what the target is feeling. This is often useful in discerning lies or truths.
Instinct spells affect the target's basic instincts. These spells are normally divided into conscious and unconscious. With a conscious instinct spell, one can compell the target to take or delay action, consider a set of variables they might not have considered, or hesitate on a decision they would normally make easily. With unconscious instinct spells the target can be made to have an arbitrary fight-or-flight reaction ("survival mode"), even be rendered unconscious as an evolutionary reaction to that fright; other instinct spells can create artificial desire for sustenance, sex, or shelter among other things. Temporary phobias can be simulated in some.
Intention - reading minute cues that indicate a decision being made or a near-future action
Learning spells impart information and temporarily alter the memory. These spells are highly specialized for the information necessary, and generally leave a temporary imprint of information: an image, a noise, a message, and so on. It is up to the target, if they are benefiting from the information, to commit it to memory after the spell has worn off. The more complex the information, the longer and more difficult the spell will be.
Maintenance spells affect the ability of the target to maintain mental stability when faced with changing conditions. This can be used to augment this natural ability or hinder it. Generally, it is used positively; a maintenance spell will allow the target to process exciting or traumatic information or parse rapidly changing inner or outer conditions. It is used to calm targets down - or, sometimes, to agitate them to the point of mental breakdown.
Manipulation Spells- Manipulation spells control the mind and consciousness of another person or people. This is not complete control by any means, but it is significant enough to be used for harm, and most institutions frown on the use of these spells without the knowledge and consent of the target.
Memory - accessing specific memories and interpreting the brain waves into images and sound
Metacognitive spells primarily affect the way the target thinks or feels about themself; they affect the subconscious mind, implanting thoughts or ideas that the target will only later become aware of on a conscious level. This type of spell is significantly advanced and often has no effect if cast by an inexperienced sorcerer. As effects are slow to surface and often subtle, there is a good risk of spell wear-off in the interim. But metacognitive spells are deceptively powerful, and over a long term can cause madness or deprive the target of free will. There are some advanced metacognitive spells that can cause a waking version of night terrors in the short-term.
Priority spells distract the target; they make the target change focus when taking in information. For example, if the target were to walk into a room and see a man standing in the corner and a table in the center of the room, the man in the corner could force the target to perceive the table on a conscious level and the man only on a subconscious level. This is a different approach from the definition spell, which changes how the target defines information, priority spells can make the target ignore information entirely. Obviously, the more compelling and obvious a thing or event is, the harder it is to get the target to ignore it.
Reaction - reading a target's internal reaction to stimuli, especially in situations when the target is intentionally obscuring their physical reactions
Reading Spells - Reading spells form the bulk of perceptive conversation, and allow the caster to understand more about their target. There are dozens of subsets of reading spells. Most perceptive sorcerers focus on a single type and become very good at it.
Sensory - reads the sensory signals being picked up by the brain; can be used to experience whatever the target is experiencing
Sensory spells augment or impair the brain's awareness of sensory information. Sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch, balance, temperature, pain, direction, seance, and caprision can all be hijacked to impart false information. It is difficult to meddle with seance and caprision in arcane beings, as these senses are much stronger with field development.
Subconscious - reading subconscious cues that the target is not aware of; for example, you might be able to tell that the target is reminded of childhood abuse by external stimuli, while the target remains unaware of the connection but reacts accordingly

Known and Published Spell Examples

Note: Perceptive Conversation is designed to work on humanoid targets. It is largely untested on animal or other non-humanoid targets. If you wish to use these spells on animals, you must modify the spell for the target.

Auditory Assault: Causes the target's sense of hearing to become very sharp. When used in crowded or noisy places, can cause intense pain, and possibly even bleeding from the ears.
Calm: Create an overwhelming sense of calm and peace in your target. They forget their worries and fears, and accept the world as it is. Limited duration, can be resisted.
Depth Perception: Interferes with a target's depth perception, making them think that objects are either closer to them than they believe them to be, or further away.
Dullness: Slows the brain synapses, and makes the target react a little slower, making their thoughts feel fuzzy.
Horrors: Makes the target see nightmarish images of their worst fear. Notoriously difficult to actually cast, unless the caster knows a distinct fear that the target has. Also has a risk of backlash.
Hunger: Makes a person feel ravenously hungry. At lower levels it merely makes the target's stomach grumble, but at a higher level of skill this spell can cripple someone. A benefit to this spell is that it has very few side effects.
Instability: Completely upsets the mental functions in a target. Short duration. Possibility of backlash.
Invade: Gives the caster temporary control over the target's physical functions. This spell is short term, and with enough force of will, can be broken.
Minor Infatuation: Your spell causes your target to become momentarily infatuated with you. Duration lasts until you, or the target, falls asleep. Can be counteracted and can break at random.
Olfactory Assault: Causes the target's sense of smell to become incredibly sharp. However, when used in foul smelling areas, can cause a range of effects from severe headache to nausea.
Persuasion: Lowers the mind's defenses to trickery and lies.
Postcognition: Makes the target remember past events. Notoriously difficult to cast, unless the caster has some inkling about the events which are in question.
Psionics: Cause your target's mind to go haywire for a short period of time, resulting in a loss of brain and will control. May cause your target to be temporarily capable of doing magic. Random paranormal occurrences may be the side effect.
Quiet: Creates a small circle of silence around you, allowing you to converse without being overheard. Lasts a short while.
Read: Gives the caster some insight into the target's mental functions. The target can feel something probing through their mind, and generally have an idea of what is going on.
Satiety: Makes the target feel neither hungry or thirsty. Handy for long stretches of traveling. Limited duration, however.
See: Even if you are blinded, this spell will allow you to see beyond whatever is limiting your vision. A few minute's duration, but the visions can be slightly inaccurate, as the caster's own perception of the truth can alter what he or she sees.
Sleep: Induces unconsciousness in a living target, but usually is short-lived.
Suggestion: Puts thoughts into the mind of a target. Must be within close proximity to target. Spell is weakened or strengthened depending on the willpower of the target to resist it.
Terror: Causes artificial terror in the target. Chances of misfire or backlash are possible. Also, a rather difficult spell to learn.
Truth: You can tell if someone is lying. This works on even the most skilled liars. The spell is short-lived and can be countered at Level 3. In some variations, this spell can prompt the target to speak the truth, but this is not always reliable, and this effect can be resisted with the proper mental conditioning.