So I've seen enough casual references to Cunning Caster for psychic casters to know that the general consensus of the Pathfinder community is that, because psychic magic doesn't have any verbal or somatic components, you automatically avoid two of the four negative penalties for the Cunning Caster feat. However, the GM for a game I'm in is insisting that no, you still suffer those penalties for thought and emotion components (reasoned as, you're concentration on those makes it more difficult for you to focus on the bluff). What I'm wondering is if there's some form of official ruling that would indicate that those components aren't substituted, whether specifically about Cunning Caster or about some related thing I can use to show precedent.
Thanks.
The rules for psychic magic are clear:
1 - Psychic spells can never have verbal or somatic components
2 - Verbal and somatic components are replaced (not altered) by emotion and thought components
As such, by RAW, you do not suffer any penalty for casting psychic spells and using Cunning Caster together, outside of the last two effects that the feat mentions, if applicable.
I doubt you will find any official ruling on this issue because a strict reading of the rules is enough to tell that the penalties for casting spells with verbal and somatic components with Cunning Caster do not apply to psychic spells.
