Welcome friend, to the dark and twisted world of psychic damage. As a GM, you know that combat isn't always about physical blows and brute strength. Sometimes, the most powerful attacks are the ones that go for the psyche.
In this post, we'll be creating some shall we say... disquieting descriptions of psychic damage that will leave your players shaken to their core. From mental scarring to psychological trauma, these descriptions will help you convey the true horror of psychic attacks and make your players think twice before facing (or using) them.
So buckle up, gather your party, and prepare to delve into the depths of the mind. Are you ready to face the darkness within? Let's find out.
Before you begin. A quick trigger warning. If you have dealt with or are currently battling anxiety, depression, grief, or another mental health concern or have a player who is dealing with their mental health, the below descriptions could be triggering. We all take psychic damage of one sort everyday and becoming resistant to it is a campaign in and of itself. You have got this.
If you are worried about them making you uncomfortable, you can find more descriptions that are less focused on mental anguish here.
Even if you only use Wizards of the Coast materials, there are A LOT of different spells in the game. I have tried to make things as generic as possible but if these just aren't working, consider asking your player to describe the effects of their spell on the target.
Roll | Description |
1 | The enemy collapses to their knees, writhing in agony as your psychic attack rips through their mind like a jagged blade, exposing every insecurity and doubt. |
2 | Your psychic assault overwhelms the enemy with a sense of suffocating dread, as if the very fabric of their life is unraveling around them. |
3 | The foe's eyes widen in terror as your psychic blow forces them to confront their deepest fears and regrets, their screams echo through the air with a haunting and dreadful melody. |
4 | Your enemy's mind is laid bare by your psychic attack, revealing a tangled web of secrets and lies that leave them gasping for air, their sanity hanging by a thread. |
5 | Your psychic assault twists the enemy's perception of reality, leaving them lost in a labyrinth of their own darkest thoughts and memories, unable to discern you from the twisted visions of enemies from their past. |
6 | Your foe's body convulses with each surge of psychic energy, their mind consumed by an endless void of darkness and despair, their very identity slipping away like water through their fingers. |
7 | The enemy's screams become shrill and desperate as your psychic attack reveals their most hidden and shameful desires, stripping away any veneer of civility or honor they once had. |
8 | Your psychic assault unleashes a flood of memories so traumatic and agonizing that the enemy's mind shuts down completely, leaving them little more than a quivering mass of flesh and bone. |
9 | The foe's face contorts in a grotesque mask of agony as your psychic damage forces them to relive every moment of their life in excruciating detail, their past sins and regrets laid bare for all to see. |
10 | Your psychic attack leaves the enemy a hollow shell of their former self, their mind shattered beyond repair, their body and soul forever trapped in a purgatory of their own making. |
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