| Category | Winds |
| Location | any |
| Type | psychic |
A psychic storm emanates from the psychic deaths of numerous individuals in the same locale. The psychic energy released from these demises sometimes lingers, trapped, where it coalesces into a nimbus of psionic potential. The Githzerai, slaves of Penumbra, clandestinely studied this phenomenon at special events, observing as dozens, sometimes hundreds of mind flayers occupied themselves with the cranial cavity of fellow captives. Over the course of centuries, many perished unraveling this mystery, one the mind flayers were well aware of. They deemed it a forbidden lore best left undisturbed. Others, however, covertly acquired this knowledge, studying a nimbus with an abundance of psychic energy, and eventually discerned how to ensnare it.
The first time a psychic storm occurred was during the Incarsabec Rebellion ( 1531 HE - 1544 HE ) . In this civil war, the slaves unleashed psychic viruses with some success. Githzerai rebels created the inaugural psychic storm by harnessing the psychic energy of an elder brain named Igtat. When Igtat perished, the catastrophic event known as Igtat's Thoughts commenced.
A psychic storm is to be employed only as a last resort, when one is willing to perish for the cause. Such an onslaught would ravage the lands with horrific nightmares, eradicating all sentient life. The effects are swift, leading to disorientation, the depletion of psychic energy, and the draining of one's memories until the individual is reduced to a simpleton, having forgotten all that they have ever learned. Over the ensuing hours, one's intelligence would deteriorate, leaving them akin to a vegetable.
Invalak, Head Metapsionic Instructor of the Thought Trust - "Psychic Storms of Ghífthauk"
Orchestrating a psychic storm exceeds the capabilities of any solitary mentalist. Such a feat demands the coordinated efforts of dozens, even hundreds, acting in unison. Regrettably, it is an unwholesome undertaking, necessitating the demise of many under unsavory circumstances - through torture, or akin to the grand banquets of the Penumbra mind flayers, where dozens of brains are consumed simultaneously. The process now necessitates a containment measure to collect the psychic nimbus. Once amassed, it is enhanced and amplified through psionic powers. When unleashed, it becomes a psychic storm driven solely by the instinct for survival, with no higher cognition.