Psychic Contests

Sometimes two or more psionicists try to use a psionic power on the same target. For example, two psionicists might try to use telekinesis to move a stone in two different directions, or they might attempt to teleport the same character to different locations, or they might use any psionic powers in such a way as to be in direct conflict with each other. Which power use prevails? The struggle results in a psychic contest.

To resolve a psychic contest, compare the competing characters’ MTHAC0 rolls made to activate the powers. The character who has the lowest successful MTHAC0 roll wins the contest. If none of the competing characters roll successfully, none of the power uses succeed. If one character succeeds and the others fail the rolls, then that character wins the contest. If competing characters have the same MTHAC0 score and they roll the same numbers on the dice, then a psychic lock occurs.

In a psychic lock, neither competing character wins the psychic contest that round. Both are applying equal psionic pressure, thus creating a stalemate. To resolve the contest, both characters must pay the power’s PSP cost and engage in another round of psychic contest. If either character fails to pay the cost—effectively giving up—that character suffers a psychic backlash and loses 4d4 PSPs immediately.

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