While not all thirteen of these powers are evil, all of them have a decidedly darker edge to them than the standard psionic powers. Some even include vile damage, a concept first introduced in the Book of Vile Darkness. Also included in this article are suggestions for vile displays that continue this month's theme. And we top it all off with the Dark Heart of Vollus, a psionic item that is sure to make psionic undead even deadlier.

Vile Damage

(From the Book of Vile Darkness, page 34.)

Vile damage, like regular damage, results in the loss of hit points or ability score points. Unlike regular damage, vile damage can be healed only by magic cast within the area of a consecrate or hallow spell. Vile damage represents such an evil violation to a character's body or soul that only in a holy place can healing magic repair the damage.

Vile Displays

Normal psionic powers create various "displays" when they are manifested. However, some of the slightly darker powers create horrifying displays that show off the dreadful nature of the manifester. Some examples of vile displays may include the following:

Auditory (Au): A dreadfully shrill death scream, rattling chains, or eerie howling winds that echo dissonantly.

Material (Ma): Instead of an area being briefly slicked in goo, the area is slicked in bubbling pools of thick black tar or even sickening pools of blood.

Mental (Me): Minds that notice the mental displays view a glimpse of absolute and personal fear taken form that sends shivers up their spine.

Olfactory (Ol): The scent of rotted, decaying, or burning flesh fills the area.

Visual (Vi): Instead of a rainbow or harmless light, a creeping mist or an eerie crimson light appear and the manifester's eyes burn may burn with crimson or an unwholesome green fire.

Powers

Bloodletting
Psychometabolism (Str) [Evil]
Level: Psion 4
Display: Vi (see text)
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Until discharged (instantaneous)
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (see text)
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 7

Your mere touch causes blood to erupt from every opening on your target's body, including any open wounds it may have. This attack causes extreme pain and may cause the victim to become dazed. Your successful melee touch attack causes 7d6 points of damage; it also causes the victim to become dazed for 1d3 rounds unless it makes a successful Fortitude save.

Burning Blood
Psychokinesis (Con) [Evil]
Level: Psion 5
Display: Vi (see text)
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 living creature at a time
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (see text)
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 9

Similar to matter agitation, you excite the blood of a living creature, heating it to the point of combustion over time. The subject of this power receives a Fortitude save to avoid the effect. If the save succeeds, it cannot be affected by this manifestation of the power, otherwise the subject's blood begins to heat up. If you shift your focus to another subject, the first subject's blood cools and the second subject begins to heat up. You automatically lose concentration if the subject leaves the power's range.

1st Round: The creature's blood heats up, causing 2d4 points of damage. The creature must also make an additional Fortitude save to avoid taking 1 point of temporary Strength damage.

2nd Round: The creature's blood boils, causing 3d4 points of damage. The creature must also make an additional Fortitude save to avoid taking 2 points of temporary Strength damage.

3rd Round: The creature's blood ignites, causing 4d4 points of damage and 1d4+1 points of temporary Strength damage. The creature must also make an additional Fortitude save or fall unconscious for as long as the power affects the creature.

4th+ Round: For every round of concentration beyond the 3rd, the subject takes 1d4 points of fire damage, since its blood continues to burn, and 1 point of temporary Strength damage. The creature must also make an additional Fortitude save each round to avoid falling unconscious for as long as the power affects the creature.

Caducity of Flesh
Psychometabolism (Str) [Evil]
Level: Psion 5
Display: Vi, Me
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Until discharged (instantaneous)
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 9

Once you manifest this power, sickly green liquid with a foul stench drips from your fingertips until you discharge the effect; your touch causes a victim's flesh to wither and rot away, dealing 4d6 points of vile damage, +1 per manifester level (maximum +20), +2 points of temporary (vile) Constitution damage. This damage is vile damage (see Book of Vile Darkness).

Claw of Abomination
Psychometabolism (Str) [Evil]
Level: Psion 5/Psychic Warrior 5
Display: Vi, Ma, Ol
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level
Power Points: 9

Your fingers grow into long, sooty talons that smoke with an oily fetor. The power grants you a natural attack (claw) with a base damage of 2d8. You can use this power in conjunction with feats, powers, or spells allowing additional attacks in 1 round. It also can be used with multiple attacks gained through level advancement. Wounds inflicted by claw of abomination fester and reopen, causing them to be twice as hard to heal as normal wounds. Reduce all healing applied to these wounds by half. For example, if a creature takes 6 points of damage from the claw, a cure light wounds spell that normally would heal 10 points of damage heals only 5 points instead. When a victim has any damage from this power, any healing he or she receives must be applied to that damage first. Damage done by this power to creatures that are under the effects of a bless spell may be healed normally.

Claw of the Fiend
Psychometabolism (Str) [Evil]
Level: Psion 4/Psychic Warrior 4
Display: Vi, Ma
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level
Power Points: 7

Your fingers grow into long, dark talons that drip with ichor. The power grants you a natural attack (claw) with a base damage of 2d6. You can use this power in conjunction with feats, powers, or spells allowing additional attacks in 1 round. It also can be used with multiple attacks gained through level advancement. Damage from claw of the fiend causes bleeding wounds. The injured creature loses 2 additional hit points each round until the wound is treated (Heal check DC 15) or receives psionic or magical healing.

Claw of the Shadow Demon
Psychometabolism (Str) [Evil]
Level: Psion 6/Psychic Warrior 6
Display: Vi, Ma, Ol
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/2 levels (D)
Power Points: 7

The skin on your hand turns black, visible wounds appear in the skin from which blood slowly drips, and your fingers grow into long, dark talons. You can make a natural attack (claw) with these talons, which deal 1d6 points of vile damage, plus your Strength modifier. The talons are only semimaterial, and they bypass most forms of armor to sink into flesh. Your claw attack ignores armor bonuses, shield bonuses, and natural armor bonuses. Force effects provide effective armor or shield bonuses against your claw attack. You can grapple foes normally when using this power.

Ectoplasmic Mist
Metacreativity (Int)
Level: Psion 2
Display: Ma, Ol
Manifestation Time: 1 action round
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Cloud that spreads in 30-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 3

You call forth a deep purple mist of ectoplasm that billows out from the point you designate. The mist obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has one-half concealment (attacks suffer a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can't use sight to locate the target). A moderate wind (11+ mph) disperses the mist in 4 rounds; a strong wind (21+ mph) disperses the mist in 1 round. The power does not function underwater.

Hellish Mist
Metacreativity (Int) [Fire]
Level: Psion 4
Display: Ma, Ol
Manifestation Time: 1 action round
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Cloud that spreads in 30-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration: 3 rounds
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 7

As ectoplasmic mist with one exception: On the manifester's initiative of the 3rd round, the mist becomes unstable and ignites, enveloping anyone in the area of the mist in a hellish white hot flame similar to the whitefire power. The flame deals 4d4 points of fire damage +1 point per manifester level (maximum +20). The mist totally dissipates at the end of the 3rd round.

Scream of Death
Psychokinesis (Con) [Evil, Sonic]
Level: Psion 9
Display: Au
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One living creature/level and all undead creatures
within a 30-ft-radius spread, centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (see text)
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 17

You release a terrible scream of negatively charged sonic energy that kills living creatures (except for yourself). Creatures closest to the point of origin are affected first. Creatures who successfully make their initial Fortitude save to avoid death, as well as unattended inanimate objects, still suffer 3d6 points of vile damage, as unseen razor sharp claws rip and tear at them relentlessly, rending large swatches of flesh from living victims.

If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the sound may continue beyond the barrier if the power's range permits; otherwise, it stops there just as any other power effect does.

The negative energy of this power also rebukes undead creatures, causing them to cower in fear. Undead in the area may be rebuked. The manifester makes a turning check to rebuke them as a cleric of 2 levels lower than the level of manifester.

Spontaneous Combustion
Psychokinesis (Con)
Level: Psion 4
Display: Au, Vi
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature per 2 manifester levels, no two of which can be more than 15 ft. apart
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 7

The target's internal temperature rises rapidly; inflicting 3d6 points of fire damage plus 2 points of temporary Constitution damage. You must have line of sight to a creature for this power to affect them. A successful Fortitude save reduces damage by half.

Multiply Pain
Telepathy (Cha) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion 2
Display: Me
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 minute/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 3

This power causes the subject to believe that any wounds it suffers while this power is in effect are worse than they actually are. This belief so strong that the sheer mental stress causes the subject to suffer physically, taking an additional 1d6 points of subdual damage for each attack that causes damage. The maximum dice of subdual damage a subject may take in a round cannot exceed 1/2 your manifester level.

Synaptic Shock
Psychometabolism (Str)
Level: Psion 1, Psychic Warrior 1
Display: Vi, Me
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 round/level or until discharged (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (see text)
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 1

This power shrouds your hand in a shimmering violet radiance that can cause synaptic damage to an opponent. A successful melee touch attack overloads synapses in the target's body, causing 2 points of temporary Constitution damage. If the target succeeds at a Fortitude save, it takes no Constitution damage and instead takes 1d6 points of subdual damage.

Vile Mist
Metacreativity (Int) [Evil]
Level: Psion 3
Display: Ma, Ol
Manifestation Time: 1 action round
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Cloud that spreads in 30-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 5

As ectoplasmic mist, however the mist glows slightly with a sickly green aura. Anyone in the area takes 1d4 points of vile damage per round (see Book of Vile Darkness). The mist does not damage a creature that makes its save, but the creature's vision is still obscured.

Items

Dark Heart of Vollus: Originally created by Vollus, a grim psion obsessed with keeping his Psychometabolism powers as he embraced his death, the dark heart grants an undead creature a Constitution score of 18 for the purposes of manifesting powers and saving throws only. It does not grant bonus hit points.

A dark heart is a shiny black crystal about the size of a human heart weighing roughly 4 pounds. When inserted into the body cavity where the subject's heart used to be, it begins to pulse with an ominous red glow, and a faint sound similar to that of a heartbeat can be heard with each pulse. Over the course of a round, hundreds of shimmering black strands resembling a circulatory system stretch out from the heart, burrowing through skin and bone, and attaching themselves to all parts of the undead creature.

While the heart does not grant the undead a true metabolism, it does allow them to manifest any Psychometabolism powers that do not rely on the manifester having a metabolism. For example, an undead psion with this could manifest talons but could not manifest vigor. The heart also grants a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves. The heart functions only when placed in a corporeal psionic undead.

Manifester Level: 18th; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item, psionic reality alteration; Market Price: 225,000 gp; Weight: 4 lb.