A NUTSHELL Psionic Attack and

conjunction with psionic combat that are not specifically for use with psionic attack modes.

Making a Psionic Defense

A character defending against a psionic attack mode makes a Will save to determine the success or failure of the attack. Unless flat-footed or out of power points, psionic characters can respond to a psionic attack by putting up one of the five psionic defense modes. The defender is aware of the attack but not the specific attack mode. Following the attack, the defender knows which attack mode it was, regardless of the success or failure of the attack to deal temporary ability damage.

A psionic character must be conscious to raise a psionic defense mode. Regardless of initiative order, a defender may always attempt to put up a defense mode as a free action if he or she has sufficient power points to pay for it and is not flatfooted.

If caught flat-footed, or if the defender's power points are exhausted, the defender must make a “bare-brained” Will save, without the benefit of a psionic defense mode's bonus on the saving throw. The DC modifier of an unanswered psionic attack mode is +8.

A defender who successfully raises a psionic defense mode enjoys protection in the form of a bonus on the Will save against that psionic attack (and that attack only) and possibly mental hardness against temporary ability score damage, depending on the mode utilized (again, only for the specific attack). This Will save bonus is set out in Table 4–1: Psionic Combat DC Modifiers.

Special Considerations: If the defender raises a psionic defense mode but still fails the Will save, the mental hardness granted by the mode, if any, still reduces the total ability damage dealt by the attack (except in the special case of id insinuation). A defender who fails the Will save and does not have sufficient mental hardness to block out all the ability damage takes the balance as the appropriate amount and type of temporary ability damage.

The defender may choose to enhance the psionic defense through the use of specific feats, if possessed, such as Psychic Bastion and Mind Trap. A defender cannot use feats in conjunction with psionic combat that are not specially for use with psionic defense modes.

PSIONIC COMBAT IN A NUTSHELL

The attacker initiates a psionic attack by paying its cost, and the defender can put up a defense mode if not flat-footed or out of power points. Nonpsionic creatures always enjoy the nonpsionic buffer, whether or not they realize they are under attack, and even if they are flat-footed. (See Psionic Attacks against Nonpsionic Creatures, on the following page.)

The defender raises a defense mode without knowledge of the specific attack mode. Both attacker and defender then declare the selected modes, which are cross-referenced on Table 4-1: Psionic Combat DC Modifiers.

Psionic beings defend against psionic attacks by making Will An Example of Psionic Combat

Ialdabode somehow catches Shuluth the mind flayer flatfooted, and attacks with the attack mode ego whip as a partial action. Ialdabode has 23 power points remaining, easily more than the cost of ego whip (3). Now he sets shuluth's DC by rolling a 10 on 1d20. To this number he adds his Dexterity modifier, +1. Normally, he would wait to see what defense shuluth raised before computing the final saving throw DC; however, Shuluth is flat-footed, which means the DC modifier is automatically +8. Shuluth's save DC is 10 + 1 + 8 = 19.

If it weren't caught flat-footed, the mind flayer would be allowed to put up a defense mode as a free action. Instead, shuluth is caught off guard and must make a normal, unmodified Will save—it gets a 16. Shuluth needed a 19 or higher to save against Ialdabode's ego whip, so the mind flayer suffers all the temporary Dexterity damage dealt by that attack. Ialdabode rolls 1d4 for damage and gets a 2; Shuluth allocates the 2 points of temporary damage to its Dexterity score. Since its Dexterity drops 2 points, its AC drops by 1, as well as any modifiers for skills that rely on Dexterity.

With the partial action resolved, initiative is rolled. Luck is with Ialdabode, and he goes first. Pulling out the stops, he attacks Shuluth with a psychic crush, paying its cost of 5 power points. Ialdabode sets the save DC with a 1d20 roll (8) + his Wisdom modifier of + 1 (Wisdom is the key ability for psychic crush) +8 (Shuluth is still flat-footed) for a total of 17. The mind flayer makes yet another bare-brained Will save and rolls a 15—not good enough. Shuluth is really taking a pounding. Ialdabode rolls 2d4 for damage and gets a 4, so the mind flayer takes another 4 points of temporary ability damage, this time to Wisdom. Had the illithid not been caught flat-footed, it could have erected a defense automatically. In addition to bringing the DC modifier down to a reasonable level, the illithid might have benefited from the mental hardness provided by some defenses even if it had missed its saving throw.

After Ialdabode resolves his attack, it's Shuluth's turn. The mind flayer manifests its favorite psionic attack mode, mind blast, at no cost (many psionic creatures freely manifest specific powers). Shuluth sets Ialdabode's save DC with a d20 roll (13) + 3 for the illithid's Charisma (the key ability for mind blast) + a DC modifier determined by Ialdabode’s defense mode.

Even if laldabode had already taken a move-equivalent action as well as his attack action, he can put up a psionic

saves. The attacker sets the defender's Will save DC with a d20 roll + DC modifier (see Table 4–1) + the attacker's appropriate ability modifier (determined by the attack mode used).

A successful attack deals temporary ability damage against a specific ability score of the defender. Against nonpsionic creatures, a successful attack stuns the defender for a number of rounds equal to the points of ability damage it would otherwise deal.

Psionic attack and defense modes are summarized on Table 4–2: Psionic Attack Modes and Table 4–3: Psionic Defense Modes. Each mode is described in expanded format at the end of this chapter.