BZPRPG News and Discussion

[Nato G]

I don't recall hearing anything about Takua dying. He just, sort of... vanished somewhere along the line.

 

What I do remember is reading a crazy theory somewhere that Takua was actually Makuta all along...

[Timageness]

Oh, don't get me wrong; Verulas uses wood in his bag of elemental tricks, it's just that I don't consider him having power over it anymore if it isn't connected to a plant. I've had an instance in both Ko-Koro and Ta-Koro where I created the pieces for both a sled and a wooden replacement wheel for a fruit cart, but, after putting them together manually, I didn't realistically see how he could still have control over those two objects as they were no longer alive; this is why he also didn't manipulate the cut piece of vine to slither across the snow after Dayeth during their fight.

Moving on, does anyone know if a Bo-Toa could create wood/bark armor?

Edited October 12, 2014 by timageness411

[Nato G]

I don't see why the couldn't. I also don't see why it would be a practical armour choice...

[Keeper of Kraata]

It's what Aelied does. It's light and ultra-dense, and it's easily replaceable.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Keeper of Kraata

[Nato G]

My main concern would be anyone who uses fire. Fighting someone like that while wearing dead wood doesn't seem very sensible. 

 

On the plus side (sort of), it isn't a decision you'd live to regret...

Edited October 12, 2014 by NatoGreavesy

[Keeper of Kraata]

Someone with authority with ruling for stuff please answer me this: How would Vakua's Suletu interact with some of the Dasaka disciplines? Vakua, with the Suletu, basically has access to Ideatalk, and has honed his in particular to link together teammates by transferring thoughts at the speed of, well, thought. Although I always thought of it more as beaming thoughts directly back and forth, opening his mind to more people if necessary. He also has access to a bit of Willhammer, being able to project thoughts into other minds offensively (concentrating on a barrage of thoughts being the only offensive application I can think of), but this is blocked by anyone with enough mental fortitude to tune them out (or training to do so).

 

So, would the Dasaka Menti be able to detect him right off the bat, and vice-versa? How would they view this?

I never actually did get an answer for this.

[Nato G]

Well, if I recall correctly, the Suletu is one of those always-on masks, so I guess the Dasaka would be able to detect it, but my knowledge on them is next to none, so I'll leave it to someone more staffy or knowledgeable to give a definite answer. 

Edited October 12, 2014 by NatoGreavesy

[Timageness]

Yeah, but it wouldn't be considered dead as it would be still feeding off of its users elemental energy (I don't think a Bo-Toa would envelope themselves in an armor that they couldn't remove), and living wood is a lot tougher to burn. Also, in addition to Keeper's reasoning, only wedged weapons (such as hatchets), bullets (depending on the distance), or acids would really be able to put a dent in it, thus using it as an extra layer between blows and their biomechanical armor/"skin" wouldn't be entirely impractical.

And while we were discussing the plant control thing, I forgot to mention that it would be a bit unfair for an archer to manipulate their arrows into trees before they hit their targets.

[Friar Tuck]

Ok... that was three pages of me trying to keep up while you guys went 'round and 'round and 'round...

 

If someone would be kind enough to compile the list of questions that HAVEN'T been answered I would be more than happy to lend my weight to it.

[Not Quite Dead]

Ok... that was three pages of me trying to keep up while you guys went 'round and 'round and 'round...

 

If someone would be kind enough to compile the list of questions that HAVEN'T been answered I would be more than happy to lend my weight to it.

 

Does the metal element cover our world metal elements or just MU ones.

[otter]

If someone would be kind enough to compile the list of questions that HAVEN'T been answered I would be more than happy to lend my weight to it.

When is Xa-Kuta coming back?

 

[Friar Tuck]

 

Does the metal element cover our world metal elements or just MU ones.

 

MU metals. So that means there are less overall metals to choose from, but you also gain access to metallic protodermis (and therefore Protosteel) which isn't from our world. It balances out that way.

 

When is Xa-Kuta coming back?

 

 

 

I can't say. It HAS been discussed by staff on occasion, so the request hasn't been forgotten. At this point though there hasn't been enough reason or a good opening to re-introduce it, so for now it just remains a memory of the past.

 

The possibility IS there however, so I won't rule out that one day it might come back

[Keeper of Kraata]

Ok... that was three pages of me trying to keep up while you guys went 'round and 'round and 'round...

 

If someone would be kind enough to compile the list of questions that HAVEN'T been answered I would be more than happy to lend my weight to it.

 

Someone with authority with ruling for stuff please answer me this: How would Vakua's Suletu interact with some of the Dasaka disciplines? Vakua, with the Suletu, basically has access to Ideatalk, and has honed his in particular to link together teammates by transferring thoughts at the speed of, well, thought. Although I always thought of it more as beaming thoughts directly back and forth, opening his mind to more people if necessary. He also has access to a bit of Willhammer, being able to project thoughts into other minds offensively (concentrating on a barrage of thoughts being the only offensive application I can think of), but this is blocked by anyone with enough mental fortitude to tune them out (or training to do so).

 

So, would the Dasaka Menti be able to detect him right off the bat, and vice-versa? How would they view this?

Can I get a ruling?

[otter]

that was not the expected response

 

but I guess not having meteors dropped on my head is always a good thing

[Snelly]

When are Joske and Dorian gonna kiss? :3

Edited October 12, 2014 by Skitty

[AuRon the champion]

Will there ever be more custom species?

[Friar Tuck]

 

Someone with authority with ruling for stuff please answer me this: How would Vakua's Suletu interact with some of the Dasaka disciplines? Vakua, with the Suletu, basically has access to Ideatalk, and has honed his in particular to link together teammates by transferring thoughts at the speed of, well, thought. Although I always thought of it more as beaming thoughts directly back and forth, opening his mind to more people if necessary. He also has access to a bit of Willhammer, being able to project thoughts into other minds offensively (concentrating on a barrage of thoughts being the only offensive application I can think of), but this is blocked by anyone with enough mental fortitude to tune them out (or training to do so).

 

So, would the Dasaka Menti be able to detect him right off the bat, and vice-versa? How would they view this?

Can I get a ruling?

 

 

That is not an approved mask, though after looking at your profile I see that it was approved by Nuju. Knowing Nuju he does not approve things like that without there being some type of limit, a give-and-take so to say. So I'll give you my opinion, but this is coming from someone who does not know what the conditions were for you to have that mask. So, on to your question(s):

 

First of all, I don't think you would have that much ability with that mask. If you've taken the time to hone the ability with your team-mates, I would argue that your ability to read OTHER people's thoughts, especially project into the heads of others than your team would be more difficult. You have specialized for optimal teamwork, but that has to come at the cost of the inability to often "Ideatalk" to others. That's my view, which leads to your question-

 

If you are projecting ANY thoughts, yes, they would be able to detect that smack-dab off the bat. You are doing it via mask, they do it naturally, so they have the one-up on you. You on the other hand would not be able to do it right away. Because your "Ideatalk" is artificial, you are in essence "hacking" into the mental plane and into their mental communications. It wouldn't be that difficult, it's not like there is a firewall on the whole Idealtalk network, but you're still doing it differently and will take at least a moment or more of effort. Once that link was established then yes it would be easy and vice-versa. Once you disconnect you will need to re-hack however. They can see you but you can't see them right away.

 

And honestly I don't think they would see this in a good light. Curious at first no doubt seeing that you're not one of them, but once it becomes apparent that you can "listen in"... yeah, I'd lay low

 

Of course this is player knowledge and NOT character knowledge.

 

Will there ever be more custom species?

 

Of course! The process is not easy, but is IS possible. It depends on the presentation and how well they are designed/developed.

 

I also know that Nuju is a prickler when it comes to approving things, so easier said than done Its up to the player(s) to create a compelling case and a well-thought-out species.

 

When are Joske and Dorian gonna kiss? :3

 

...

 

Next question?

[Razgriz]

Tuck

do you knock

[AuRon the champion]

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen Gukko?

[Keeper of Kraata]

The thing is, Vakua is completely unable to vocalize. At all. Ironic for a De-Toa, innit? Hence his mask, it facilitates communication. Those actions are his specialized uses of them. I was under the impression he can project thoughts into anyone just fine, and whether they pick up on it is purely a matter of them resisting or not. He has focused it enough so that he only picks up latent thoughts involving himself (since it is always on), and that is as much a curse as a blessing, considering how easy it is to shield thoughts.

[Friar Tuck]

The thing is, Vakua is completely unable to vocalize. At all. Ironic for a De-Toa, innit? Hence his mask, it facilitates communication. Those actions are his specialized uses of them. I was under the impression he can project thoughts into anyone just fine, and whether they pick up on it is purely a matter of them resisting or not. He has focused it enough so that he only picks up latent thoughts involving himself (since it is always on), and that is as much a curse as a blessing, considering how easy it is to shield thoughts.

 

Alright then, I stand corrected; I did not know that you have a built-in balancing act and if that was part of the reason for the approval process then good. Again, I wasn't sure what exactly was going on so unless Nuju tells me otherwise what you just told me will override what I hypothesized how the mask worked.

 

What I said about the Dasaka and your relationship with them is still the same. They do it naturally, you're artificial and "hacking" in thus my description. Make sense?

 

Tuck

 

do you knock

 

No idea what that means.

 

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen Gukko?

 

Is it Mata-Nuian or Kentokuian?

[Krayzikk]

@Vakua: He is undoubtedly less capable than a Menti, just as a person using a Garai is less able than a Ba-Toa. The actual mental plane would be a very alien place to him, given that he's used to only himself being able to interfere with it.

 

@Metal As An Element; On this one, it's quite common to see real world metals used. Not anything that a society like this one would be unable to know about, but real world metals are present.

[Silvan Haven]

 

MU metals. So that means there are less overall metals to choose from, but you also gain access to metallic protodermis (and therefore Protosteel) which isn't from our world. It balances out that way.

 

Wait wait wait wait when did this happen and wh-

 

 

@Metal As An Element; On this one, it's quite common to see real world metals used. Not anything that a society like this one would be unable to know about, but real world metals are present.

 

Oh good, because Tuck's ruling made no sense.

[Constructelf]

Continuing the metal question, would a Fe-Toa be able to intentionally create poisonous metals such as lead? Or are Bo-Toa the only ones that can intentionally create poison?

[Tea-rex]

I have a feeling it's the latter.

On a not-so-unrelated note though, is there anywhere currently in the RPG where a Fe-Toa would be appreciated/needed/wanted?

I so want him to be up and running right now. ;_;

[Razgriz]

Take a look at what's happening and find something that looks fun to jump into

[Silvan Haven]

Continuing the metal question, would a Fe-Toa be able to intentionally create poisonous metals such as lead? Or are Bo-Toa the only ones that can intentionally create poison?

 

I don't see why they would not be able to make lead. The poison is a property of the metal, not the other way around.

[otter]

They would, of course, have to have specific knowledge of that metal and experience in using it. You can't just create lead right off the bat, you kinda have to know exactly what you're going for.

[The Lorax]

Just to add into the suletu discussion, Dasaka can detect anyone on the mental plane, suletu or not. Every sapient being, Menti or not, is present on the mental plane, has their own unique feel and is detectable. Messing around on the mental plane with a suletu would obviously draw attention, but it isn't necessary for detection.

[Silvan Haven]

They would, of course, have to have specific knowledge of that metal and experience in using it. You can't just create lead right off the bat, you kinda have to know exactly what you're going for.

 

Of course.

 

It would be possible though, seeing as lead has been around for quite some time. People on Mata Nui would know what it was if they had some sort of knowledge in metallurgy.

[shadow pridak money gang]

When are Joske and Dorian gonna kiss? :3

 

 

: )

 

-Tyler

[Friar Tuck]

 

 

MU metals. So that means there are less overall metals to choose from, but you also gain access to metallic protodermis (and therefore Protosteel) which isn't from our world. It balances out that way.

 

Wait wait wait wait when did this happen and wh-

 

 

@Metal As An Element; On this one, it's quite common to see real world metals used. Not anything that a society like this one would be unable to know about, but real world metals are present.

 

Oh good, because Tuck's ruling made no sense.

 

 

Let me clarify: I was also including knowledge of metals along with what was actually present. I mean we know iron, steel, copper, etc is in Mata-Nui land, so a Fe-Toa can create/manipulate those. Now more modern/exotic metals, say titanium, would be iffy. Sure, I suppose there is every chance it exists, but that is a fairly rarer and more modern metal so I don't think a Toa from Mata-Nui would know of its existence or how to manipulate it; this goes for more modern alloys as well. Science today has created a slew of interesting metals and alloys, but seeing as we are still mostly a pre-industrial society a Fe-Toa would not have knowledge and therefore use of those items, thus the term "MU metals". I am referring to the most basic and commonly-used metals.

 

Sorry Silvan if my explanation was a bit... lacking. I just didn't want someone to read up on modern metallurgy and periodic table and decide to have a heyday

[Silvan Haven]

Its ok. Its just that when you say MU metal the only thing that comes to mind is metalic protodermis and...metalic protodermis. Not exactly much variation in there.

[Not Quite Dead]

So mr.scientist turned Toa would be able to use fancier metals than mr.farmer turned toa?

 

edit : initially that is.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Tiragath

[Keeper of Kraata]

Right. Just making sure for when Vakua inievitably comes into telepathy range of some Menti:

 

Who the karz are you?

 

Who the karz are you?

 

Although given the nature of the Suletu's always on-ness, I would liken it as a bug attached to the system, rather than outright hacking every time it's used.

[The Lorax]

So mr.scientist turned Toa would be able to use fancier metals than mr.farmer turned toa?

 

 

Yes, but not much fancier. There is a limit to what even the most knowledgeable metallurgists on Mata Nui know about, and it isn't very high. Nobody is going to be blowing things up with Caesuim

[Nuju Metru]

Someone with authority with ruling for stuff please answer me this: How would Vakua's Suletu interact with some of the Dasaka disciplines? Vakua, with the Suletu, basically has access to Ideatalk, and has honed his in particular to link together teammates by transferring thoughts at the speed of, well, thought. Although I always thought of it more as beaming thoughts directly back and forth, opening his mind to more people if necessary. He also has access to a bit of Willhammer, being able to project thoughts into other minds offensively (concentrating on a barrage of thoughts being the only offensive application I can think of), but this is blocked by anyone with enough mental fortitude to tune them out (or training to do so).

 

So, would the Dasaka Menti be able to detect him right off the bat, and vice-versa? How would they view this?

 

That is not an approved mask, though after looking at your profile I see that it was approved by Nuju. Knowing Nuju he does not approve things like that without there being some type of limit, a give-and-take so to say. So I'll give you my opinion, but this is coming from someone who does not know what the conditions were for you to have that mask. So, on to your question(s):

 

First of all, I don't think you would have that much ability with that mask. If you've taken the time to hone the ability with your team-mates, I would argue that your ability to read OTHER people's thoughts, especially project into the heads of others than your team would be more difficult. You have specialized for optimal teamwork, but that has to come at the cost of the inability to often "Ideatalk" to others. That's my view, which leads to your question-

 

If you are projecting ANY thoughts, yes, they would be able to detect that smack-dab off the bat. You are doing it via mask, they do it naturally, so they have the one-up on you. You on the other hand would not be able to do it right away. Because your "Ideatalk" is artificial, you are in essence "hacking" into the mental plane and into their mental communications. It wouldn't be that difficult, it's not like there is a firewall on the whole Idealtalk network, but you're still doing it differently and will take at least a moment or more of effort. Once that link was established then yes it would be easy and vice-versa. Once you disconnect you will need to re-hack however. They can see you but you can't see them right away.

 

And honestly I don't think they would see this in a good light. Curious at first no doubt seeing that you're not one of them, but once it becomes apparent that you can "listen in"... yeah, I'd lay low

 

Of course this is player knowledge and NOT character knowledge.

 

The Kanohi Suletu is a tricky mask, which is why we've kept it out of the game in almost all cases... With the advent of the Dasaka, though, and the subsequent introduction by staff of clearly delineated mental powers into the BZPRPG, the Suletu becomes easier to handle, understand, and define within the context of the well-defined and well-understood Menti powers. This is why I'm gonna talk about the Suletu in Menti terms.

 

In some ways, the Suletu is a "Mask of Ideatalk;" it enables its user to send thoughts and feelings telepathically to other beings, and to do so in a purely communicative way (the "mental noise" assault referred to on BS01 is basically like blabbering really loudly in someone's ear; it's a distraction rather than an attack). But calling the Suletu a "Mask of Ideatalk" is also misleading, because while Dasaka Ideatalk happens in the space between minds on the mental plane (a respectful "no man's land;" projecting your thoughts directly into someone else's mind without their invitation is extraordinarily rude, even confrontational, in Dasaka culture), the communications projected by a Suletu happen within the mind(s) of the recipient(s).

 

In this way, the Suletu is also like a "Mask of Willhammer," because Suletu telepathic communications involve the mask bearer entering and interacting with the "local nexus" of someone else's mental self. Suletu-based mental communication involves the Suletu user projecting her/his thoughts straight into someone else's head, responding in thought-time to the thoughts and feelings that their conversation partner(s) has and thinks in the normal fashion. However, the Suletu doesn't afford its user the ability to employ Willhammer-esque mental entry for anything but the exchange of thoughts.

 

Confused? Think of the "local nexus" of mental self as the land around a walled city. The most adept Willhammer can sneak inside the city, infiltrate the inner citadel in broad daylight, and kill or coerce the king without being detected, just as easily as she can shatter the gates with one blow of a titanic fist, surge in with all the force of their will, and raze the city with a hurricane of fire (nifty, right?). A Suletu user, by contrast, is limited in his power to sending an envoy or ambassador to the city's territory. Even if the king has walls (mental defenses) high enough to stop the envoy from coming in, he can't stop the envoy from shouting (maybe extremely loudly!). The Suletu-envoy's presence will always be known to the king, whether or not he's allowed in, so the most devious thing the envoy could get away with is stealing state secrets when the king isn't watching carefully enough.

 

Although non-Psionic beings do not have the capacity to project mental communications (without a Suletu, that is), they have the capacity to receive them, because they're sentient; and, the more often they receive them, the better they get at doing so. When repeatedly exposed to mental communication (say, via a Suletu user), it becomes more facile for non-psionic beings to react to it, either by possessing more aware defenses or by being quicker at immediately opening their thoughts up to their communication partner. They'll never gain the ability to initiate a mental conversation, or to respond to anything but the Suletu-voice in their heads, of course; but, just like practicing your pliés or your baseball swing (Go Giants!), muscle memory - in this case, "mental muscle" memory - develops with repetition.

 

For this reason, Tuck is right to point out that Vakua should find it much harder to communicate with people other than the rest of his team, who are all accustomed to communicating with him and by now probably reflexively lower their defenses for his envoys. To answer your other question, since the Suletu is always on at a low level, Dasaka could definitely sense your presence as a mentally active being when you're wearing the mask, and do so before you discovered the same thing about them. Since you have to consciously extend yourself into peoples' minds, while Dasaka detect other minds around them with as much ease as a Toa of Water detect puddles, the Dasaka definitely have the mental upper hand, here.

 

And this clarification reply turned out much longer than I originally intended. This is part of the reason we don't let a lot of you have Suletus.

[Friar Tuck]

So mr.scientist turned Toa would be able to use fancier metals than mr.farmer turned toa?

 

edit : initially that is.

 

Not even.

 

*sigh*

 

Just because you have knowledge does not mean you have the skill. Being a "scientist" does not grant you the ability to USE the knowledge. Sure, Ghostie and myself could rattle off the molecular formula of any given metal or alloy, but if you at this very moment dropped us off seven hundred years ago in the dark ages there is no way we could re-produce 90% of what we know. We don't know the mining techniques, the metallurgy, refining, and smithing of these metals. Granted, a Fe-Toa can skip a bunch of that, but the core concept remains - you need to couple the knowledge with the skill and practice.

 

(not to mention we'd probably be burned at the stake for "black magic" )

 

What I would suggest instead is a "Smithy" or "Forger" instead of "Scientist" for this scenario of a Fe-Toa. Hands-on practice and discovery with one's element is what's needed, not working in some lab.

[Krayzikk]

No, the hacking metaphor is apt. Vakua shouldn't be able to access the mental plane at all; while everyone with a mind exists on it, access to it is solely the purview of those with innate psionic abilities. Masks like the Komau and the Suletu, to lesser extents, are emulators; hacks that allow the user to access and use something that they should not be able to.

 

I wouldn't think use of Idetalk would function quite right, either. The use of Idetalk is a broadcast on the mental plane, whereas the Suletu can only go from mind to mind. It's a bit like hijacking the mental plane to act as a carrier for specific messages only, and to pick up messages in that same fashion. 

 

...

 

Well, the boss beat me to the punch on handling that.

[Keeper of Kraata]

The Kanohi Suletu is a tricky mask, which is why we've kept it out of the game in almost all cases... With the advent of the Dasaka, though, and the subsequent introduction by staff of clearly delineated mental powers into the BZPRPG, the Suletu becomes easier to handle, understand, and define within the context of the well-defined and well-understood Menti powers. This is why I'm gonna talk about the Suletu in Menti terms.

 

In some ways, the Suletu is a "Mask of Ideatalk;" it enables its user to send thoughts and feelings telepathically to other beings, and to do so in a purely communicative way (the "mental noise" assault referred to on BS01 is basically like blabbering really loudly in someone's ear; it's a distraction rather than an attack). But calling the Suletu a "Mask of Ideatalk" is also misleading, because while Dasaka Ideatalk happens in the space between minds on the mental plane (a respectful "no man's land;" projecting your thoughts directly into someone else's mind without their invitation is extraordinarily rude, even confrontational, in Dasaka culture), the communications projected by a Suletu happen within the mind(s) of the recipient(s).

 

In this way, the Suletu is also like a "Mask of Willhammer," because Suletu telepathic communications involve the mask bearer entering and interacting with the "local nexus" of someone else's mental self. Suletu-based mental communication involves the Suletu user projecting her/his thoughts straight into someone else's head, responding in thought-time to the thoughts and feelings that their conversation partner(s) has and thinks in the normal fashion. However, the Suletu doesn't afford its user the ability to employ Willhammer-esque mental entry for anything but the exchange of thoughts.

 

Confused? Think of the "local nexus" of mental self as the land around a walled city. The most adept Willhammer can sneak inside the city, infiltrate the inner citadel in broad daylight, and kill or coerce the king without being detected, just as easily as she can shatter the gates with one blow of a titanic fist, surge in with all the force of their will, and raze the city with a hurricane of fire (nifty, right?). A Suletu user, by contrast, is limited in his power to sending an envoy or ambassador to the city's territory. Even if the king has walls (mental defenses) high enough to stop the envoy from coming in, he can't stop the envoy from shouting (maybe extremely loudly!). The Suletu-envoy's presence will always be known to the king, whether or not he's allowed in, so the most devious thing the envoy could get away with is stealing state secrets when the king isn't watching carefully enough.

 

Although non-Psionic beings do not have the capacity to project mental communications (without a Suletu, that is), they have the capacity to receive them, because they're sentient; and, the more often they receive them, the better they get at doing so. When repeatedly exposed to mental communication (say, via a Suletu user), it becomes more facile for non-psionic beings to react to it, either by possessing more aware defenses or by being quicker at immediately opening their thoughts up to their communication partner. They'll never gain the ability to initiate a mental conversation, or to respond to anything but the Suletu-voice in their heads, of course; but, just like practicing your pliés or your baseball swing (Go Giants!), muscle memory - in this case, "mental muscle" memory - develops with repetition.

 

For this reason, Tuck is right to point out that Vakua should find it much harder to communicate with people other than the rest of his team, who are all accustomed to communicating with him and by now probably reflexively lower their defenses for his envoys. To answer your other question, since the Suletu is always on at a low level, Dasaka could definitely sense your presence as a mentally active being when you're wearing the mask, and do so before you discovered the same thing about them. Since you have to consciously extend yourself into peoples' minds, while Dasaka detect other minds around them with as much ease as a Toa of Water detect puddles, the Dasaka definitely have the mental upper hand, here.

 

And this clarification reply turned out much longer than I originally intended. This is part of the reason we don't let a lot of you have Suletus.

 

 

No, the hacking metaphor is apt. Vakua shouldn't be able to access the mental plane at all; while everyone with a mind exists on it, access to it is solely the purview of those with innate psionic abilities. Masks like the Komau and the Suletu, to lesser extents, are emulators; hacks that allow the user to access and use something that they should not be able to.

 

I wouldn't think use of Idetalk would function quite right, either. The use of Idetalk is a broadcast on the mental plane, whereas the Suletu can only go from mind to mind. It's a bit like hijacking the mental plane to act as a carrier for specific messages only, and to pick up messages in that same fashion. 

 

...

 

Well, the boss beat me to the punch on handling that.

 

Thank you both. Would I be correct in that, while a Suletu-user could project thoughts to anyone easily enough, the difficulty communicating lies with the other party: those accustomed to mental communication know how to respond, others don't immediately know, have trouble comprehending, and outright recoil? Would his team-thought communications able to be picked up by any Menti in the vicinity? "I think our ace in the hole just turned out to be against a deck of aces."