Psychic emanator

The psychic emanator is a special building only received as a quest reward that provides a mood bonus to all human pawns around it when powered.

Acquisition[edit]

Psychic emanators cannot be constructed nor bought from traders. Instead they can only be acquired as a reward for performing quests. Note that quest rewards are selected with a weighted random generator, so there is no way to guarantee access to an emanator in a given play-through. Anecdotally, it is often reported that the increased number of reward options added by the DLC dilute the reward pool with more options.

Summary[edit]

When provided with 200W of power, a psychic emanator projects an aura in a 14.9-tile radius around itself. This radius is not blocked by any structure, including walls. All human pawns within the radius experience a +5 Psychic emanator soothe mood bonus, directly scaled to the psychic sensitivity of the pawn. That is, a psychically hypersensitive pawn, with the resulting 180% sensitivity, will experience a +9 mood bonus, while a psychically deaf pawn with 0% sensitivity will have no change to their mood at all. All humans in range experience the thought - colonist, raider, and guest, adult, child and baby alike.

The mood bonus only lasts for as long as a pawn remains within its area of effect.

The effects of multiple emanators do not stack.

Analysis[edit]

The mood bonus from the emanator immediately ends once the pawn moves out of its somewhat short range, however Mood moves gradually in response to changes. Having the mood stabilize at the higher level obviously helps while inside the radius, but the mood will also take time to tick down to baseline after leaving the area. The higher the mood bonus, the longer it will be in effect - a psychically hypersensitive pawn will have over an hour of time before their mood stabilizes. As such, it is advisable to place the emanator in places where pawns stay for long periods of time, or frequently spend time in.

Suggestions include:

Hospitals to help negate some of the negative effects of being bedridden with an illness. Note that pawns that are immobile or unconscious cannot break and are therefore a low priority for mood management.
Near prison cells to reduce mental breaks.
Near work spaces to provide a mood bonuses throughout the day - a pawn that spends all of its time in the field and then goes out of it to eat and sleep effectively has it 24/7. Ideal places include workshops, kitchens, meditation locations, and any worksite that does not require the pawn to range over a large area.
In shared spaces such as dining and rec rooms - this is less efficient on a per pawn basis but will increase the happiness of the colony as a whole more effectively.
In Nurseries, due to children causing either a −2 Sad youngsters mood or +2 Happy youngsters mood to colonists without the Psychopath trait, babies do not have many mood offsets and frequently have their moods decrease due to their play need not being satisfied or just not going to sleep.
In areas frequented by particularly break-prone pawns, such as those with the Depressive trait or that have recently lost family members.

As mood does not change while sleeping, it should not be placed near bedrooms

Because of the rarity and high value of the emanator, you can wall to prevent angry pawns from destroying it during a tantrum, or raiders from damaging or stealing it.

If targeted at improving the mood of a specific pawn or pawns, consider enhancing their psychic sensitivity to maximize the effect on their mood. Eltex clothing is ideal, especially if the mood boost is not intended to be permanent, but a variety of methods exist. For a full list of potential enhancers, see the Psychic Sensitivity page.