Resonance
Contents |
Overview
The ability to call a Persona to battle is not the only benefit of being a Persona-user. Persona-users are also able to discover a wide spread of secondary psychic powers stemming from their ability. The most basic explanation for all of them is that Personae call out to each other, and for this reason, experienced Persona-users and Persona-studying scientists alike refer to the phenomenon as "resonance." The most basic of these abilities is easy for even a freshly-awakened Persona-user to discover; the most advanced often only become apparent over years of living the life of the awakened. That said, resonance is a subtle thing; even the easiest manifestations often need to be pointed out to a neophyte Persona-user.
Reading
The simplest form of resonance, and the easiest for even the most novice Persona-user to discover, is that Persona-users can sense each other. A Persona-user can usually detect their fellows, even in a crowded room; Persona calls to Persona, and each tells their master who among them wields the power. But detecting even this simple resonance requires an eye for spiritual subtlety; even attentive new Persona-users often fail to notice the phenomenon until someone more experienced points it out. Even dormant Persona-users can be detected in this way.
With some practice, reading resonance can also identify the presence of specific individuals, even from a distance. For more advanced resonance-users, it becomes more and more like mind reading; with practice, it becomes possible to guess at someone's Persona's abilities with resonance. The most skillful readers of resonance can tell what sort of person another is through the feeling of their resonance, and some true prodigies can even tell who one knows by detecting the familiar presence of others in one's resonance.
Affecting
Resonance can be used for more than simply detecting others. As time passes, one's Persona resonance begins to have an effect even on the ordinary people around them. This is an extremely subtle, very long-term effect in most cases, but because of it, a Persona-user who learns how to roll with what their Persona guides them to can find success even in ordinary life falling easily into their laps. Of course, it cuts both ways; having a Persona of a wise judge of the dead might do one well in a career as a judge, a police officer, or other careers where good judgement of others is useful, but it will probably lead to total failure if one's career is gardening. Furthermore, one must be cautious; using one's Persona for purely social functions can often lead to its combat abilities decaying, sometimes to the point of becoming completely useless for combat. People with certain types of evolved Personae who spend a long period of time relying on its social powers can even find their Persona reverting to its original state!
Restrictions
Not all resonances are created equal. Some Persona-users are simply naturally not very perceptive of the resonance. In particular, Persona-users who require an Evoker to rouse their Persona from its slumber often have very weak resonance, and sometimes require spotters to tell them even when they're staring a dangerous Persona-user right in the face. To others, they often read as though their Persona were still dormant. By the same token, some Persona-users are naturally gifted at resonance-reading, and can detect things early in their careers that normally require life-long practice to pick up on.
The natural extreme of this is spotter-type Personae, which can use their resonance to detect things that normally can't even be resonated, like ordinary people or completely nonliving objects, and often have much higher scanning precision besides. There are those who wield the opposite power, as well; some Persona-users are able to completely mask their resonance from others, even the eyes of powerful spotter Personae.
Of course, OOC courtesy applies even to something like this; while resonance provides IC RP avenues that would otherwise remain closed, using it to detect the Persona or true personality of someone who would prefer to remain undetected is impolite. Please respect others' OOC wishes with regard to resonance reading. Similarly, most Persona-users have or can learn at least basic levels of resonance-reading. People wanting more advanced abilities should note this in their application.
