Sunder Mind

Sunder Mind is a mental mutation that can be used on a creature to deal mental damage every round for ten rounds.

This mutation grants the "Sunder Mind" activated ability, which when used, will prompt the player to select a tile somewhere within the current zone. Any tile can be selected regardless of distance, so long as the tile is visible. Sunder Mind will only succeed if it is used on a creature with a mind.

Selecting a tile containing a creature will cause both the user and the target to become "locked in psychic battle". This status condition causes the target to take damage determined by mutation level every round, allows the attacker and target to see each other even if they are in darkness, behind occluding objects, or invisible, and prevents any other creatures from using Sunder Mind on the attacker or target. The psychic battle will continue for ten rounds or until interrupted.

When there are only five rounds remaining, both the attacker and the target will suffer a nosebleed. This effect is distinct from the bleeding status effect, and deals a flat 1 damage every round until Sunder Mind is interrupted for any reason. If a creature lacks a face, they will instead "hemorrhage", which is identical in nature to a nosebleed and a purely cosmetic difference.

On the tenth round, the target will suffer additional damage equal to the total damage done during the previous 9 rounds; if this damage instance kills them, their head will explode.

As it deals mental damage, Sunder Mind must penetrate a creatures Mental Armor in order to deal damage. Normal penetration rolls take place each round damage is dealt, with the user's PV value equal to their Ego modifier or mutation level - 2 (whichever is higher), rolled against the target's MA.

Interrupting Sunder Mind
A psychic battle will be interrupted if:
 * The attacker takes any other action besides passing their turn
 * The attacker becomes confused
 * The attacker becomes terrified
 * The attacker or target is killed
 * Either the attacker or target moves to a new zone (this includes climbing up or down stairs)
 * Sunder Mind is successfully reflected by Mental Mirror
 * The attacker is hurt by damage reflection effects

A sunder mind attack will not be interrupted if:
 * The attacker and target move out of visual range of one another
 * The attacker becomes frozen
 * The attacker and victim become out of phase

Death Messages
Sunder Mind and its related effects can cause the player to receive several unique death messages.

The player will receive the following death message if they die due to a nosebleed or hemorrhaging, respectively:

If the player dies due to their head exploding, they will receive the following popup message:

Followed by:

Then finally, this death message:

Formulas
The following formulas are used to determine damage increment based on mutation level, rounded down. Note that different formulas are used to determine damage based on whether the mutation level is an odd or even number.

Advantages

 * Can be used to deal damage to any targets within sight no matter the distance, including enemies revealed via Clairvoyance
 * Deals very high damage if the tenth round is reached
 * Deals damage against Mental Armor rather than Armor Value
 * Synergizes well with high AV equipment and abilities. For example, you can tighten your Carapace before sundering an enemy's mind.

Disadvantages

 * High cost on character creation
 * The user must remain totally still and cannot act in any way without breaking the connection, making usage dangerous in close quarters
 * High base cooldown
 * Does not work against creatures that do not possess a mind, such as oozes and plants

Trivia

 * Sunder Mind was one of the mutations revamped in the Tomb of the Eaters patch. Before, Sunder Mind was a single large attack against a creature. This was less damage overall compared to the new version, but had the benefit (or point of suffering for players on the receiving end) of being instant. This old version still exists in game code under the mutation.