As we all know by now, psychic powers are very common in Athas. Anyone might have some, even if that’s not their main specialty. For PCs, this is implemented as a couple of character themes (Noble Adept and Wilder).

For NPCs and monsters, we have the Psionic Adept theme presented here. You can add this to a non-psionic monster to make it more controller-ish.

Psionic Adepts gain a +2 to either either Diplomacy and Intimidate (force of personality!) or to Insight and Perception (sixth sense!).

Attack Powers

Following the usual design strategy of adding new abilities that work “around” established attacks, we get a collection of powers that hinder and debuff enemies. All of the ones that require attack rolls target Will.

  • Blind the Mind’s Eye (recharge 5+) is a ranged attack that makes the creature invisible to the target (save ends). This ends when the creature attacks the target. Lurkers can use this to enable their big attacks, while others can use it as a way to ease pressure on themselves.

  • Empathic Wall (recharge 6+) creates a 12-square wall that lasts a turn. It blocks line of sight. People can cross it, but its squares are difficult terrain, and anyone inside them is lightly obscured.

  • Mantle of the Mind (encounter) is a close burst 4 that attacks will and prevents affected targets from targeting the creature with their attacks (save ends).

  • Mental Marionette (encounter) is a sustainable domination power. It dominates for a turn on a hit, but can be sustained with standard actions to let the creature repeat the attack against the same target, potentially prolonging the domination. On a miss, it dazes for a turn. It’s a little weaker than a fire-and-forget (save ends) power, because it eats up standard actions.

  • Three variants of Psionic Augmentation that add a little extra something when the creature hits with a melee basic attack. One deals extra psychic damage, the other dazes for a turn, and the third one inflicts ongoing psychic damage.

Utility Powers

These are a lot more clearly “utilities” than the ones for elemental creatures. They’re all encounter powers.

  • Mental Bastion is an interrupt that gives a +4 to Will, potentially turning a hit into a miss.

  • Open the Mind’s Eye gives blindsight 5 and all-around vision for a turn. The latter means the creature cannot be flanked.

  • Oracular Empathy is a weird one. When an nearby ally of the creature is hit by an attack, the creature can use a reaction to switch its initiative order to be just after the attacker’s.

  • Psionic Flight automatically pushes each adjacent enemy 1 square and lets the creature fly its speed.

Final Impressions

Pretty cool! It seems more thematically tight to me than Elementally Infused. Adding these powers to someone like an ogre would be a nice/nasty surprise.