Automaton

Automaton [-85] is found under Basic's Set's Mentality Meta-Traits.

It is a mind lacking self awareness and creativity:

• Hidebound [-5]; Incurious (6) [-10]; Low Empathy [-20]; No Sense of Humor [-10]; Slave Mentality [-40]

Can be combined with AI meta-trait.

Mind Control Magic

Basic MC

B250 mentions:

These spells have no effect on subjects that lack intelligence (IQ 0)

or free will (in general, this means the Automaton meta-trait; see p. 263).

Having the entire Automaton trait is likely not necessary to "lack free will".

Automatons "lack self awareness and creativity".

Creativity probably refers to Hidebound primarily (like animals) but perhaps to some degree Incurious / Low Empathy / No Sense of Humor.

"Free will" pretty clearly refers to having "Slave Mentality" which influences both the effective IQ and effective WILL of the subject, unlike the other traits. There's a penalized IQ roll to ACT and NO will rolls to RESIST.

AI doesn't lack free will merely due to being Reprogrammable. If combined, AI's "Digital Mind" would protect it from MC spells due to not being a true mind.

Magic MC

M133 altered the parameters from B240. "Lack intelligence (IQ 0)" they now "work only on subjects with sapience (racial IQ 6+)"

M133 mentions that free will is "hard to define" but reiterates that Automatons lack it. Here it still fails to zero in on Slave Mentality.

SM being key is indicated byMinion pricing: B38 makes the enhancement free in 2 cases:

• Slave Mentality
• Nonsentient (IQ 0)

"Total loyalty" is interesting as there is no explicitly "Loyal" trait, but the closest is probably Sense of Duty which neither of these would have. The final "will not leave" is a little more of an accurate representation.

• obviously enhancement should be mutually exclusive with Unwilling limitation for allies, and that sort of limitation should probably not be possible for Allies who have Slave Mentality: Minion should be MANDATORY.
  • unless: perhaps buying a Mental Slave char as a Minion means they're ONLY mental slave to the master, and not to anyone who comes along?
    • that could maybe be Not Slave Mentality with a limitation where it applies to everyone but the master, but that's probably a -0% limitation... meaning it wouldn't even be worth a quirk.

Puppet requirements on B78 interestingly has 3 possible ways to be unable to resist possession (allow someone to purchase Puppet)

• Involuntary Duty social disadvantage (FOA matching Ally/Dependent prereq for Puppet)
• Reprogrammable
• Nonsentient (IQ 0)