Brain Death: Death and Dismemberment table for Psychic damage.

This is a table that supplements Tenfootpolemics' Death and Dismemberment rules, which are themselves based off of these rules from Hack & Slash. The 'Madness Point' system is taken from Goblin Punch, and interacts with this table slightly, but if you want to ignore the madness points you probably can without 'unbalancing' the rolls. I personally like the madness rules a lot, but maybe you don't want to make things TOO complicated. I also use the 5E insanity tables to supplement the Goblin Punch 'Breakdowns' and 'Permanent Madness' results.

A additional thing for the 'balance' issue raised above: Remember, without this table, the character would basically already be dead or at least unconscious. It's ok to put them through the wringer at this point. It SHOULD feel somewhat arbitrary and capricious, while still having some predictable markers (my players know when they start pushing 12-15+, they're gonna get screwed)

Some of the entries, especially the later ones, are a bit weird & out there. There's one where you transcend to pseudo-godhood (but in an useless way that amounts to character death). Flavour to taste. If you wanted to change any of the entries, I'd recommend adding more nosebleeds.

Also, like the original table, some of the entries are kinda gross and horror-y. I like to pass the sheet to players and get them to read aloud what happens so we can find out together!

Psychic

1	The fear passes over and through you, leaving you unscathed
2	Stigmata. Develop a small mark, like a skull shaped scar or a white shock of hair, of the player’s choosing.
3	Your mind goes numb for a moment, and your limbs follow suit. Drop held objects.
4	The force of the attack sends you reeling. Prone
5	You develop one of those creepy nosebleeds. Bleed 1.
6	Your mind is enveloped in darkness and creeping things seem to writhe against your mind. Pain 1, Madness 1
7	A low hum rises through a whine and into a devastating shriek only you can hear. Pain 1, deafened this turn, and subsequent turns until you make a save.
8	Everything seems grey and far away. Is it even real? Slowed, Pain 1d4
9	The flesh-goblin, it’s skin sloughing off in ribbons, lashes at you with it’s knife-sharp fingerbones. Attack a random ally. Madness 1.
10	Your brain is an unlocked chest, and you cannot stop your psyche ransacking itself Your attacker learns one of your important secrets. You gain a permanent nervous twitch. Pain 2.
11	Your mind is barren. Nightmares alight like crows. One by one they take wing again, each carrying a piece of yourself. Bleed 1d4. Confused until you gain HP (1, Stand there quietly. 2, Scream at the top of your lungs. 3, Attack nearest target. 4, Hurt/attack self.)
12	Your eyes begin to bleed (tar, blood, milk, or another substance) Blinded. Bleed 2, Pain 1.
13	Nothing happens. Everything is still for a moment. You know with a moment of utmost certainty that you are going to die. Trauma 2, Madness 1.
14	Your jaw snaps wildly and you bite off your tongue. Can’t speak (affects spellcasting), Bleed 2, Pain 1, Trauma 1.
15	You are caught in the centre of the cold, and all the heat and energy drain from your body. You suffer serious burns on all exposed skin. Second Degree Burns. Bleed 1. Pain 1d4.
16	Your mind disconnects slightly from your body, before re-aligning somewhat imperfectly. Stunned 1 round. Arms or legs (50% of either) are useless until you gain HP. Pain 1.
17	Your brain begins to fold in on itself like wet tissue paper, and all kinds of black and scaly insects come pouring out. Prone. Short-Term madness. Shock - Save or Die. If you succeed, double Pain Tokens. Madness 1d3.
18	The shadows around you seem to stir- your companions notice it too. Your madness has given them life! Summon 1d4 hostile Shadows for every two allies, and 1d4 for yourself. Madness 1d4.
19	There is a searing pain in your mind and then nothing. You fall, the world spinning around you, mere shapes and noise. Prone. Permanently loose 1d6 Intelligence. Immobile until you gain HP. Bleed 1d4. Pain 1d4.
20	The nightmares dig into your mind, teasing apart it’s threads like a fraying tapestry. Short term and long term madness. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain Tokens. Pain 1d4.
21	The nightmares grip into your brain, tearing, unraveling, separating each colour into a different spool of thread. Short term and long term madness. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain tokens. Pain 1d4. Trauma 1.
22	The force upon your mind causes your skull to crack, blood trickling out the seams. Third and Fourth Degree Burns. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain tokens. Pain 2. Bleed 1d4. Trauma 1d4.
23	Nightmare insanity seeps into your very soul. Your life begins to be blotted out by the pressure, a memory and soon not even that. Permanently halve all stats. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double all Pain tokens. Pain 1d4. Trauma 4. Bleed 2.
24	The red fear causes your heart to stop, and you die 1 round later, leaving a terrified looking corpse.
25	The vacuum left within your body by your ravaged soul invites a host of other things to take up residence within you. You are permanently possessed by a demon, or perhaps several demons. Permanently become a CE NPC, unless exorcised with a potentially deadly ritual. Trauma 1.
26	You are shunted from your body, which dies instantly and crumples to the ground. You remain in the world for 1d6 rounds as a ghost, exploding to minutes on a 6 (roll again), then hours, then days, then permanent. You have no powers, but you can whisper to people who are sensitive to spirits, or are asleep.
27	You reach inside your skull and scoop out your brain. All living creatures who see are stunned for 1 round. You are dead, but your body keeps standing there for 1d6 rounds, smiling and gibbering.
28	You go stiff as a board, and a moment later, you fall over backwards as your soul separates from your body.
29	The attack doesn’t appear to hurt very much, but all your veins are ruptured A moment later your nose begins to bleed, and then your ears and mouth, and then your eyes, as you die over the next 1d6 rounds.
30	You become irreparably suicidal, throwing yourself off a cliff, on your sword (auto crits) etc, for 1d6 minutes unless forcibly restrained (even then you try to bite out your tongue and bleed to death).
31	Your head forcibly explodes, dealing 1d4 in skull-shrapnel damage within 10 ft killing you instantly.
32	In the moment your soul and mind are forcibly ejected from your body, you find enlightenment. Transcending the mortal plane to an astral realm of pure thought, you wonder what could ever have mattered to you about the petty struggles of mortals down there among the stars. You leave the material plane, never to return.
33	You die, but your soul refuses to leave your body. You are fully aware (but unable to communicate) as you are buried, burned, your body decomposes, etc.
34	You fade away, but continue to exist as a memory-ghost within the mind of an old friend (likely one who saw you die.) You retain your personality and knowledge, but find it hard to learn new things or retain information.
35	You disappear, and even the memory of you fades from the world. 1D4 of your closest friends might remember you.
36+	Your memory is scoured from creation. You are gone, and none but the most faithful of gods could ever remember you.

I'm going to add a note here, even though I'm sure most folks stopped reading after the table: I've been using these death and dismemberment rules in my 5E-based game, and they work quite well. I think this hodgepodge ruleset is one of the most flexible I've seen, in that it can be plonked down with basically zero additional considerations inside of basically any D&D-like game mechanics.