Doshii Jun said:
... and no one wants a lazy GM.
Ya sure know how to make a guy feel welcome. T_T
Props to Fred for asking a great question. The question, as I interpret it, is how should PCs deal with psionic attacks, both in the offense and on the defense. Also, what mechanisms are in place to prevent/discourage abuse.
If you ask me, on the offense side, any PC that was given the ability to launch psionic attacks has most probably shown enough responsibility to be trusted with not abusing said ability. Just like we don't just hand out car keys to any teenager who wants to drive in the real world, the Star Army will not just hand out NH-17T (or more advanced) bodies to any fresh recruit who wants to be in SAINT. That, I believe, constitute a reason not to worry too much about psionic attacks, both OOCly and ICly.
Defensively, wear a personal ADN card and you're fine, really. Some Star Army ships comes equipped with ADN devices, as has been noted. Although it should be noted that Neko soldiers communiate psionically during battle, and thus are still somewhat vulnerable.
Considering the fact that there are much more mundane and easier ways of killing someone, the person initiating a psionic attack is either arrogant, reckless or disarmed and desperate. (No offense to anyone personally.)
As for the effectiveness of the psionic attack, it would of course, depend on the relative psionic abilities, willpower, transient mental conditions (preparedness, panic, sleepiness, anger, ...), health, etc., of both the attacker and the defender. Thus, I would argue that it's best to let the GM handle it, rather than boil it down to some chart.
That's just my two cents.