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These forums often feature people inaccurately saying that psychic casters have their spellcasting "shut down" when they are subject to a harmful emotion effect like the common Shaken condition. But that's not true, they are only prevented from providing Emotion(Somatic) components, any spell that is Thought(Verbal) only is just as usable as always.
So I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of spells on the Psychic list (the most often cited problem child; Mesmerist, which is second, shares many of the following useful combat spells) that only require Thought components. Smart players will ensure they have at least a couple of these of different levels to ensure they still have options when they get intimidated or otherwise handicapped.
The major take away here is that when Shaken you still have access to lots of useful mind affecting attack spells, escape (Dimension Door), and your Psychic-only undercastable defensive spells. You don't have a lot of use against those immune to mind-affecting (but see some sonic attacks like Piercing Shriek and Shout), but that's true to a lesser extent even when you have access to your full list. You could actually build a pretty solid combat list of spells with Verbal/Thought only spells if you had to.
On the flip side, I would also note that the Psychic only attack spells (Mind Thrust, Psychic Crush, Id Insinuation, and Ego Whip) are Somatic/Emotion component only, so they are designed to let you use at melee range when you need your move action for something other than centering, so you need to use combat casting but can't afford a +10 concentration penalty.
Psychic Verbal (Thought) Only Component Spells
(Spells with combat applications (not counting pre-buffs like Blur) are in italics. Particularly good/noteworthy ones at that level are marked with an asterisk(*))
LEVEL 0
LEVEL 1
Command*
Decrepit Disguise
Deja Vu*
Feather Fall
Flare Burst
Forbid Action*
Hold Portal
Invigorate
Liberating Command
Mindlink
Murderous Command*
Psychic Reading
Sundering Shards
Thought Echo
True Strike*
Ventriloquism
LEVEL 2
Anticipate Thoughts
Apport Object
Blindness/Deafness*
Blur
Buoyancy
Hypercognition
Knock
Mental Barrier I
Mental Block
Piercing Shriek*
Placebo Affect* - This suppresses almost all status effects, including fear!
Silent Table
Steal Voice
Suggestion*
Thought Shield I
LEVEL 3
Apport Animal
Borrow Fortune*
Burst of Speed
Cognitive Block
Displacement
Mental Barrier II*
Node of Blasting
Synaptic Pulse*
Thought Shield II
Tongues
Vision of Hell
LEVEL 4
Dimension Door*
Geas, Lesser
Intellect Fortress I*
Invigorate, Mass
Mental Barrier III
Mindwipe
Planar Adaptation
Shout*
Thought Shield III
Thought Sense
Tongues, Communal
Triggered Suggestion
LEVEL 5
Command, Greater*
Contact Other Plane
Denounce
Echolocation
Forbid Action, Greater*
Intellect Fortress II
Mental Barrier IV
Suggestion, Mass*
Synapse Overload
Synaptic Pulse, Greater
Telepathy
Teleport
Thought Shield IV
Tower of Iron Will I
Truespeak
LEVEL 6
Geas
Intellect Fortress III
Mental Barrier V*
Planar Adaptation, Mass
Psychic Surgery
Subjective Reality
Thought Shield V
Tower of Iron Will II
LEVEL 7
Phase Door
Power Word, Blind*
Resonating Word*
Teleport Object
Teleport, Greater
Tower of Iron Will III
Word of Recall
LEVEL 8
Bilocation
Brilliant Inspiration
Irresistible Dance*
Power Word, Stun*
Shout, Greater*
Tower of Iron Will IV
LEVEL 9
Divide Mind
Interplanetary Teleport
Mage's Disjunction*
Power Word, Kill*
Psychic Image
Teleportation Circle
Time Stop*
Tower of Iron Will V
Wail of the Banshee*
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I haven't vetted the list, but this is a fantastic idea and piece of work.
Well done!
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I haven't vetted the list, but this is a fantastic idea and piece of work.
Well done!
I second this!
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Good analysis. A lot of those are from OA itself, and we intentionally made those spells T only as good choices for psychic casters who couldn't provide emotion components (in addition to placebo effect, which you've called out, intellect fortress is an immediate action that actually suppresses the emotion effect for you so you can cast your E spell that round).
Thanks! This doesn't capture spells from the last few months that Archives of Nethys hasn't updated. I may dump it in a Google Doc at some point to expand into a guide to avoid/manage emotion effects that can be periodically updated.
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I've added a few spells: Rumormonger, Fool's Teleport, and Treacherous Teleport (linked to d20pfsrd). I've also added source information and a few comments (including Mark's).
Psychic Verbal (Thought) Only Component Spells
(Spells with combat applications (not counting pre-buffs like Blur) are in italics. Particularly good/noteworthy ones at that level are marked with an asterisk(*))
LEVEL 1
Command* CRB
Decrepit Disguise OA
Deja Vu* OA
Feather Fall CRB
Flare Burst APG
Forbid Action* UM
Hold Portal CRB
Invigorate APG
Liberating Command UC
Mindlink OA
Murderous Command* UM
Psychic Reading OA
Sundering Shards ACG
Thought Echo OA
True Strike* CRB
Ventriloquism CRB
LEVEL 2
Anticipate Thoughts OA
Apport Object OA
Blindness/Deafness* CRB
Blur CRB
Buoyancy ACG
Hypercognition OA
Knock CRB
Mental Barrier I OA
Mental Block OA
Piercing Shriek* UM
Placebo Affect* OA - This suppresses almost all status effects, including fear!
Silent Table ACG
Steal Voice UM
Suggestion* CRB
Thought Shield I OA
LEVEL 3
Apport Animal OA
Borrow Fortune* APG
Burst of Speed UC
Cognitive Block OA
Displacement CRB
Mental Barrier II* OA
Node of Blasting OA
Rumormonger UI
Synaptic Pulse* OA
Thought Shield II OA
Tongues CRB
Vision of Hell UM
LEVEL 4
Dimension Door* CRB
Fool's Teleport Occult Origins
Geas, Lesser CRB
Intellect Fortress I* OA - Immediate action to suppress emotion effects!
Invigorate, Mass APG
Mental Barrier III OA
Mindwipe OA
Planar Adaptation APG
Shout* CRB
Thought Shield III OA
Thoughtsense OA
Tongues, Communal UC
Triggered Suggestion ACG
LEVEL 5
Command, Greater* CRB
Contact Other Plane CRB
Denounce APG
Echolocation UM
Forbid Action, Greater* UM
Intellect Fortress II OA - Immediate action to suppress emotion effects!
Mental Barrier IV OA
Suggestion, Mass* CRB
Synapse Overload OA
Synaptic Pulse, Greater OA
Telepathy OA
Teleport CRB
Thought Shield IV OA
Tower of Iron Will I OA
Truespeak ARG (Aasimar only)
LEVEL 6
Geas CRB
Intellect Fortress III OA - Immediate action to suppress emotion effects!
Mental Barrier V* OA
Planar Adaptation, Mass APG
Psychic Surgery OA
Subjective Reality Occult Origins
Thought Shield V OA
Tower of Iron Will II OA
Treacherous Teleport UI
LEVEL 7
Phase Door CRB
Power Word, Blind* CRB
Resonating Word* UM
Teleport Object CRB
Teleport, Greater CRB
Tower of Iron Will III OA
Word of Recall CRB
LEVEL 8
Bilocation OA
Brilliant Inspiration APG
Irresistible Dance* CRB
Power Word, Stun* CRB
Shout, Greater* CRB
Tower of Iron Will IV OA
LEVEL 9
Divide Mind OA
Interplanetary Teleport UM
Mage's Disjunction* CRB
Power Word, Kill* CRB
Psychic Image OA
Teleportation Circle CRB
Time Stop* CRB
Tower of Iron Will V OA
Wail of the Banshee* CRB
Why do people like Shout? I'd always thought it a terrible spell, requiring you to be up close with no friends between you and the enemy and doing insufficient damage to take most enemies out.
Some of the others marked as especially good are very specialised use in practice IMO, e.g True Strike or Synaptic Pulse. I think some higher level spells would be similar - Wail of the Banshee or Resonating Word for example.
For spells that I gave an asterisk my point isn't that they are great spells in general or even for a Psychic, but that they are the best spells to consider at that level in the specific context of choosing a V component only spell of every level to have a useful option if you're Shaken.
Shout for other classes is a pretty bad spell. But the Psychic doesn't have good damage options that affect things immune to mind-affecting, so Shout has two benefits for a Psychic: it lets it do that, and it avoids its weakness when under an emotion effect. Same for Resonating Word. I probably should have put an asterisk on Mindwipe, that's a pretty strong spell and definitely a better choice than Shout if you don't mind the mind-affecting weakness.
True Strike I almost didn't give an asterisk, but it was the only non-mind affecting 1st level spell that clearly has offensive combat utility and is V only.
Synaptic Pulse got one because it's literally the only quasi-useful offensive spell at level 3. That's why Mental Barrier is also only called out at that level. It has its defensive uses in a Psychic build, and there's not much else to recommend for this purpose at that level. I wouldn't blame someone for not picking a V only spell at level 3, level 2 has a wealth of options.
Your only V options to kill things at level 9 are Power Word Kill and Wail of the Banshee. Power Word Kill is mind-affecting and single target, so Wail of the Banshee has the benefits of being multitarget and not mindaffecting, although obviously it does have its own downsides.
@Plausible Pseudonym
I searched Horror Adventures and couldn't find any V-only Psychic Spells.
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I've put together a similar list for Occultists. I've included spells with no Emotion Components, and so are not prevented by non-harmless emotion and fear effects, as well as those with no Thought Components, which do not suffer from the +10 increase to DC's for concentration checks. The spells are sorted by level and then Implement School.
Sources Checked: Advanced Class Guide (ACG), Advanced Player's Guide (APG), Advanced Race Guide (ARG), Arcane Anthology, Armor Master's Handbook, Blood of Shadows, Core Rulebook (CRB), Distant Shores, Horror Adventures, Inner Sea Intrigue, Inner Sea Races, Legacy of Dragons, Magic Tactics Toolbox, Occult Adventures (OA), Occult Bestiary, Occult Origins, Occult Realms, Ultimate Combat (UC), Ultimate Intrigue (UI), Ultimate Magic (UM).
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0th
Flare (CRB: Evocation)
Light (CRB: Evocation)
Spark (APG: Evocation, optionally verbal only or somatic only)
1st
Hold Portal (CRB: Abjuration)
Desperate Weapon (UI: Conjuration)
Heightened Awareness (ACG: Divination)
Mindlink (OA: Divination)
Psychic Reading (OA: Divination)
Command (CRB: Enchantment)
Forbid Action (UM: Enchantment)
Murderous Command (UM: Enchantment)
Decrepit Disguise (OA: Illusion)
Feather Fall (CRB: Transmutation)
Keen Senses (APG: Transmutation)
Liberating Command (UC: Transmutation)
Sundering Shards (ACG: Transmutation)
2nd
Conditional Favor (UI: Abjuration)
Node of Blasting (OA: Abjuration)
Apport Object (OA: Conjuration)
Darkness (CRB: Evocation)
Blur (CRB: Illusion)
Bowstaff (UC: Transmutation)
Knock (CRB: Transmutation)
3rd
Scales of Deflection (Legacy of Dragons: Abjuration)
Suggestion (CRB: Enchantment)
Deeper Darkness (CRB: Evocation)
Talismanic Implement (OA: Evocation)
Displacement (CRB: Illusion)
Vision of Hell (UM: Illusion)
4th
Dimension Door (CRB: Conjuration)
Contact Other Plane (CRB: Divination)
Mindwipe (OA: Enchantment)
Shout (CRB: Evocation)
Echolocation (UM: Transmutation)
Planar Adaptation (APG: Transmutation)
5th
Teleport (CRB: Conjuration)
Command, Greater (CRB: Enchantment)
Forbid Action, Greater (UM: Enchantment)
Suggestion, Mass (CRB: Enchantment)
Dream Reality (Inner Sea Intrigue: Illusion)
Mislead (CRB: Illusion)
6th
Treacherous Teleport (UI: Conjuration)
Charm Monster, Mass (CRB: Enchantment)
Planar Adaptation, Mass (APG: Transmutation)
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0th
Grave Words (OA: Necromancy)
Spark (APG: Evocation, optionally verbal only or somatic only)
1st
Peacebond (UC: Abjuration)
Auditory Hallucination (UI: Illusion)
2nd
Pilfering Hand (UC: Evocation)
3rd
Audiovisual Hallucination (UI: Illusion)
Gaseous Form (CRB: Transmutation)
4th
Conjuration Foil (UI: Abjuration)
Peacebond, Greater (UI: Abjuration)
Etheric Shards (OA: Evocation)
Spirit-Bound Blade (OA: Evocation)
Complex Hallucination (UI: Illusion)
Illusion of Treachery (UI: Illusion)
Quieting Weapons (UI: Illusion)
Parchment Swarm (OA: Transmutation)
5th
Illusion of Treachery, Greater (UI: Illusion)
Scripted Hallucination (UI: Illusion)
^The last group should be labeled "Unencumbered by the Thought Process". :-)
Below are some additional splatbook spells for Psychics that are V only. Ironically, there are lots of S only spells for Psychics published recently, but not as many of these.
From Black Markets:
Night Blindness
Codespeak (the version in Black Markets isn't online anymore but doesn't have a S component; the very similar version in UI does)
Fleeting Memory (and Mass version)
Inner Sea Intrigue (not on pfsrd yet):
Dream Reality
Inveigle Monster
Inveigle Person
Ultimate Intrigue:
Rumormonger
Treacherous Teleport
Great job on the list but for me the list I need is for my psychic bloodline sorcerer, so it's really just the sorcerer/wizard list of V only. I just checked my current spell list and of his spell's known he's got few choices in the V only category: Liberating command, Dimension door, and Intellect Fortress I :(
Intellect Fortress is good, though, it's (an expensive) way to give you immediate access to a V, S component spell if you need it right then and there.
Edit: And Codespeak shouldn't be italicized above, it's obviously not a combat spell...
Psychic Anthology has a decent offensive V only spell, Burst of Force. 20' force damage burst centered on you. Dice cap at 15d6, Fort save for half, Reflex not to get knocked prone if they fail the first save.