Psychosis
Psychosis Damage is a form of mental damage that attacks the mind's ability to distinguish truth from imagination, reality from fantasy, and sometimes even friend from foe. The victim may perceive things that are not present, interpret real things incorrectly, or construct an entirely different explanation for what is happening around them. The more severe the damage becomes, the less reliable the victim's own perceptions become.
Psychosis can make ordinary actions dangerous. A victim who believes a cliff is a doorway may walk through it. Someone who believes lava is harmless water may step into it. A trusted companion may appear to be an enemy, while an obvious threat may appear perfectly safe. The mind continues to provide answers; it simply no longer has a reliable way to determine whether those answers are true.
Psychosis Sources
Psychosis Damage can result from magical or supernatural attacks, substances that alter perception, physical damage to the brain, or diseases that interfere with the mind. Some effects deliberately create false perceptions, while others damage the victim's ability to distinguish their own thoughts and perceptions from reality.
Examples include:
- Magical spells
- Curses
- Mind-controlling artefacts
- Hallucinogenic drugs
- Brain diseases
- Head trauma
- Psychic attacks
- Supernatural entities or effects
Psychosis Saving Throws
Memory is the best defense against Psychosis Damage. Memory gives the victim an existing record of what is real, who they know, where they are, and what they were doing before their perceptions became unreliable. I remember this person. I remember this place. I remember what really happened.
Intelligence provides the next line of defense by allowing the victim to test perceptions against reason. Deductive and inductive reasoning can expose contradictions and help separate what appears to be true from what actually makes sense.
Charisma can help preserve a stable sense of self when the victim's perceptions and identity are under attack. A strong internal identity gives the mind something familiar to hold onto when everything else becomes questionable.
Will provides the final defense against a mind that is beginning to reject reality altogether. A strong Will allows the victim to resist false perceptions long enough to question them rather than accepting them as truth.
Psychosis Mitigation
Psychosis Damage can be actively mitigated by interrupting whatever is causing the mind to lose its grip on reality. Counter-magic, protective wards, and Remove Curse spells can suppress magical or supernatural causes. Rest can help when the effect is temporary, while curative potions and other restorative magic may repair or stabilize damage to the mind.
Other forms of mitigation include:
- Counter-magic
- Protective wards
- Remove Curse spells
- Rest and recovery
- Curative potions
- Restorative magic
- Removing the victim from the source of the effect
- Destroying or disabling a mind-controlling artefact
- Treating the underlying disease or physical injury
Psychosis Related Conditions
Deluded is the primary condition associated with Psychosis Damage. A Deluded victim is unable to reliably discern fantasy from reality or friend from foe. They may act upon perceptions that exist only in their mind, with potentially disastrous consequences for themselves and everyone around them.
In its most extreme form, Psychosis Damage can result in Death by Brain Damage, in which the victim's distorted perception of reality leads directly to fatal actions. A victim who believes they can fly may step from a cliff. One who believes lava is harmless may walk into it. The body remains capable of functioning; it is the mind that has stopped providing useful instructions.
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