Only those who are psychically aware, such as those with the monk archetype, may engage in or be engaged in psychic conflict.
Attacks are made as normal on a d20, with charisma as a minor contributor. For defense, monks may use intelligence as a major contributor. Each combatant in psychic combat has two actions in each round of combat.
Initiating psychic conflict costs two verve and gives a penalty of two during the first round. During the first round of psychic conflict, each combatant has one action (engaging in conflict took the first action). If a target does not wish to engage in psychic conflict, the two sides can engage in a willpower contest, with charisma as a minor contributor.
If a combatant chooses to attempt to use a psychic power or to exit the conflict, this choice must be made at the beginning of a round, and no other actions may be performed that round.
Engaging in psychic conflict uses verve. On any action, the character may use up to their monk level points of verve for defense or attack. If a combatant chooses to defend on their first action in a round, they may leave this defense in place on their next action at no extra cost.
| Action | Verve Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 1+ | d4 damage, with charisma as a major contributor, plus one per extra verve |
| Defend | 1+ | +2 psychic defense per verve |
| Use a Power | Special | Special |
| Exit Conflict | Make a reason roll, with charisma as a minor contributor, to successfully disengage from conflict | |
| Enter Conflict | 2 | Target allowed willpower roll, with charisma as a minor contributor to avoid engagement |
Psychic combatants are somewhat aware of their surroundings; defense and perception rolls for things going on in the real world are at a penalty of 4 while in psychic conflict. Movement is one quarter normal. Combatants may speak simply or move at half movement, but this will incur a penalty of 3 to psychic defense and attack.
Psychic damage normally comes from verve, but if verve is gone, it comes from survival points. The defender may also choose to take psychic damage from survival instead of from verve. However, any psychic damage that goes to survival also stuns the victim. They gain the damage done as a penalty to the next round’s actions.
Taking injuries automatically removes a character from psychic conflict.
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