[Converting from 2nd edition] Empathy

[BOZ]

i'm working on converting the t'uen-rin from 2E, and i came to this line:

"T'uen-rin speak the common language, and can also communicate using telepathy or empathy."

what was empathy, in game terms? i couldn't find a spell by that name... maybe it was meant to be a variant of animal empathy?

 

[Wolf72]

I thought it was more like knowing how the creature is feeling ... happy, sad, hungry, angry ... that sort of stuff.

and I would imagine it would be similiar to empathic link from the SRD

Empathic Link (Su): The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

 

[BOZ]

no, i don't think empathic link is quite right, since that applies to only two creatures... i have to assume this version of empathy was meant to apply to all creatures the t'uen-rin would encounter.

 

[der_kluge]

I could be mistaken, but isn't empathy covered under the rules for intelligent items? I think it's basically just being able to sense basic emotions and feelings.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

As Die_Kluge said.

Telepathy is mental communication using exact words - "You are considering going ahead? There is a trip wire 10 paces down the corridor."

Empathy is mental communication using emotions - "subtle warning of danger"

 

[Wolf72]

spidey sense with the feelings 1.3 upgrade

 

[Klaus]

Like others said, Empathy was the conveyance of emotion, rather than intelligible words. IIRC, Telepathy is Language-dependent (or works on any creature that has a language). Empathy is broader in scope, working on sentient creatures (Int 1+), even if they don't have a language (like animals); But it's more limited to what you can transmit.

 

[Lorthanoth]

From what I recall, in common with much of 2e, there was nothing concrete about the ability. The most definite thing written about it came under the section on intelligent items, where it was a step below telepathy, and was only able to convey feelings. So in the context of the tuen'rin, I would think that this was meant to reflect an ability to communicate with creatures that had no language. I think you could subsume it into telepathy. My two cents.

 

[BOZ]

thanks fellas.

 

[BOZ]

any other thoughts on 2E empathy?