​Adventuring Aids: Mental Combat

(Mind Combat/Astral Combat)

Mental Combat is pretty much the same as physical combat. The character’s Learning replaces Agility, and the appropriate Charisma (usually Active for Special characters, Normal (for Normals) replaces Strength.

Damage Points: The character has Newoen Damage Points. Injuries occur as normal, although there is no hit location chart for Mental Damage. It’s all considered Mind DP, and is treated as Body DP.

Injury Damage, Permanent Damage, and Death Points are applied to both Mind and Head DP for Mind Combat. They apply only to Mind DP for Astral Combat.

Endurance Points: Endurance Points are the same. EP lost Mentally are lost Physically as well.

Mental Action Roll: The Mental Action Roll is used for Mental Combat and most other Mental Actions. Look up twice Learning on the Sphere Chart for the Combat Roll. There are no sight or size modifiers to the Combat Pool. Add true Agility divided by 10, round down, to the Combat Pool. Range does not modify Mental Combat. If something’s mentally in sight, it can be attacked. The Combat Roll costs 1 EP (it starts at row 5). The Combat Roll has a Performance Time of 12.

The mind’s owner and controller each have a bonus of 1 to the Pool. If the owner and controller are the same, the bonus is 2.

Combat Q can be used for:

• Attack: One point of Q adds 1 point to Attack.

• Reduce Opponent’s Q: Two points of Q reduce the opponent’s Q by 1. If the opponent has used Q for more than one thing, the character can choose which aspect this applies to. Characters who don’t know what their opponent has applied Q to, cannot reduce that Q.

• Damage: Add 1 point to damage done per Q point applied (Doubles Chart).

• Powers: The character can gain a PR in any power equal to the Q applied.

• Increase Strength or Agility: Increase Mental Strength or Mental Agility by the Q applied.

Control Terrain: In Mind Combat (and in certain Astral Planes, such as Dream Planes) the Terrain can be controlled. If more than one character tries to control the terrain, the terrain will include all the features. Characters can use Reduce Opponent’s Q to block their control.

Mental Damage: Look up Mass divided by 10 on the Doubles Chart, and add Charisma divided by 4 (round down). Mental Damage starts at row 7 on the EP use chart.

Skin Temper: Base Mental Skin Temper is row 0 (1). If the character has a Newoen of greater than 20, add Newoen minus 20 to the character’s Skin Temper Row. If the character’s Charisma is greater than 20, subtract 20 from Charisma, divide by 10, and round up for the number of rows to move up.

Virtual Damage Points: VP are Learning plus Charisma plus 1/3 Newoen plus 1/3 Constitution. VP Lost remains the same whether Mental or Physical. A character with 30 Physical VP and 45 Mental VP, who loses 41 VP, has 4 VP left Mentally and is at -11 VP Physically. This is the only case where VP can go below zero. VP below zero is treated as zero.

Death: A character who dies in Mind Combat dies physically as well. A character who dies in Astral Combat becomes a vegetable—the body and mind are still in perfect condition, but there is no ruling sentience.