Identity
Mind-Renders are what most Halcyion clergy mean when they say the word Psion in lowered voice. The Path is offensive, blunt, and inarguably effective: induced agony at thirty paces, stunned operators dropping mid-sprint, interrogations that end with the subject quietly weeping at the question. Federation Inquisitor regiments include a Mind-Render in every field-team; Aurelion duelists consider it dishonorable but train against it anyway; Black Meridian fronts pay double scale because the only thing scarier than a Mind-Render on retainer is one that has gone rogue. Mind-Renders learn early that the Path leaves marks on the operator, not only the target.
Features
- L3 Psychic Lance
You learn a focused offensive cantrip-equivalent that does not count against your channels-known and does not cost Psionic Points. As an action, you direct a Psychic Lance at a single creature within 60 ft. The target makes an Intelligence saving throw against your channel save DC; on a failure, it takes 1d10 psychic damage and cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn. On a success, the target takes half damage and suffers no other effect. The damage scales with your Psion level: 2d10 at 5th, 3d10 at 11th, and 4d10 at 17th. Additionally, when you cast a Psion channel that deals psychic damage on a creature, you may, once per turn, add 1d6 psychic damage to one damage roll of the channel.
- L7 Disrupted Cognition
When a creature takes psychic damage from a channel or feature of yours, you may force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against your channel save DC. On a failure, the creature suffers one of the following effects of your choice until the end of its next turn: • **Mind-Slowed.** The creature's speed is halved and it cannot take bonus actions. • **Mind-Garbled.** The creature has disadvantage on its next attack roll and cannot cast channels that require verbal components. • **Mind-Blanked.** The creature loses access to one feature or channel of its choice; if it has no chosen features available, instead it has disadvantage on its next saving throw. You may impose Disrupted Cognition a number of times equal to your channeling ability modifier (minimum 1) per long rest. After those uses, each additional use costs 2 Psionic Points.
- L11 Render the Will
As an action and a cost of 3 Psionic Points, you target one creature you can see within 60 ft with a precision attack on its cognition. The target makes a Wisdom saving throw against your channel save DC with disadvantage. On a failure, the target takes 6d8 psychic damage and is afflicted with one of the following conditions for 1 minute (your choice, declared with the casting): • **Stunned.** The target is stunned. It may repeat the save at the end of each of its turns. • **Frightened.** The target is frightened of you. It may repeat the save at the end of each of its turns. • **Charmed.** The target is charmed by you. It may repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, or whenever you or your allies cause it damage. On a success, the target takes half damage and suffers no other effect. Constructs, undead, and creatures with active mental wards (e.g., Halcyion neural lattices, certain Tier IV+ command-grade cybernetics) save with advantage.
- L15 Ego Carve
Your channels strip away mental defenses on contact. Channels you cast that target a creature's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw count for the target's first failed save against them as having a save DC of 10 + your channeling ability modifier + your proficiency bonus + 2 (overriding the normal calculation). This represents a precise application of pressure to the exact contour of the target's mind. Additionally, when a creature fails a saving throw against one of your Psion channels and takes psychic damage from it, it has disadvantage on its next saving throw against any channel of yours made before the end of its next turn — the previous attack left it raw.
- L18 Cognitive Shatter
Once per long rest, as an action, you focus the full violence of your discipline on a single mind. Target one creature you can see within 60 ft. The target makes an Intelligence saving throw against your channel save DC with disadvantage. On a failure: • The target takes 12d10 psychic damage. • The target is stunned for 1 minute and incapacitated; it may repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending only the stun on a success (not the other effects). • The target's Intelligence and Wisdom scores are reduced by 1d4 each for 24 hours, or until the target receives appropriate magical or technological cognitive restoration. A target reduced to 0 in either score is incapacitated until restored. • If the damage from Cognitive Shatter reduces the target to 0 HP, the target is rendered comatose rather than dying, with no internal sense of time, until restored by appropriate intervention. The target stabilizes automatically. On a success, the target takes half damage and suffers no other effect. Mind-Renders who use Cognitive Shatter against a target who survives often acquire a long-term shadow there. The setting treats this as serious. After casting, you gain one level of exhaustion that cannot be removed except by a long rest.