Mindwar: Astral Combat (GAP)

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: "Deinoth, you sodding little piker! If we weren't on the Astral, I'd be sorely stronger than you, and my claymore'd cleave you from helm to pelvis 'fore you ever even breathed the first word of a spell. Your big brain-box wouldn't make you so high and mighty on the Prime!" - Skoor, a mighty barbarian, unhappy that he's fighting on the Astral
: "We aren't on the Prime, are we? Clueless sod." - Deinoth, a wizard, happy that he is
There's no two ways about it - it's good to be a wizard on the Astral. This is a mental, magical realm. Intelligent bloods have all the advantages, and big hulking brutes have none. Brawn yields nothing in the Silver Void.
Combat on the Astral Plane is more a contest of mental prowess and willpower than anything else. Even when two fighters appear to be hacking at each other with swords, a body's got to remember that everything on the Astral is mental energy. What's really happening is that the two combatants are clashing mind to mind. This doesn't make the fight any less real or less deadly, but it does change some of the dynamics. Intelligence and Wisdom scores dictate the might of the warriors, not Strength or Dexterity. Although appearances do not change, mages, sages, and other graybeards are the strongest folks on this plane, and nimble thieves will see themselves outdone by wizened old clerics. Youth confers no benefits over age here — experience and genius are the tools of the mighty.
So is astral combat the same as psionics? When two bashers fight psionically on the Prime, do they project themselves as warriors on the Astral? Technically yes, though this isn't the tome to discuss it. It's interesting to note, however, that if a cutter uses psionics on the Silver Void, it becomes the astral equivalent to a physical attack or action. The effects remain the same, but the whole experience is more visual. An ego whip, for example, becomes an actual whip. A body'll find more on psionics in a book called PLAYER'S OPTION™: Skills and Powers, if he's interested.