D&D 5E Psionic Thoughts

IMO, if I was going to run a psionics-heavy campaign (like Dark Sun, or a Sarlona-based Eberron campaign), I would want at least a proper Psion class with a few subclasses (probably called Disciplines for tradition's sake) representing Telepaths, Kineticists, Seers, and such. There should also be a few psionic options for other classes - perhaps psionic subclasses for fighters, rogues, and monks.

But if I'm doing a psionics-light campaign (like a Khorvaire- or Xen'drik-based Eberron campaign), I don't need that level of detail regarding psionics. I'd be happy with a psionic power source for Sorcerers and maybe give them a different class spell list (I haven't examined their list to see how psi-appropriate it is). But the class "chassis" would work fine, with sorcery points providing a way to manipulate their powers.

I'm starting to think what I want out of psionics is a Background that gives telepathy as it's background feature and call it good at that.

dream66_ said:

I'm starting to think what I want out of psionics is a Background that gives telepathy as it's background feature and call it good at that.

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Well, that's the idea of the "psionics as Feat" position. Backgrounds in 5e don't really give powers, like that. It wouldn't really mesh with the existing structure of Backgrounds. As a Feat, "Telepath" gives you telepathy. It totally works...the problem there is, it's not available until 4th level...Well, other than for "variant human", though that does rather work flavor wise. A psychic individual would be a "variant human" .

Then you'd have a "Wild Talent" feat, "Telekinetic", "Seer", etc. feats to cover whichever psychic power bases you want.

Now I'm curious how that could be done...to follow (or imitate, not exact) the "Innate Magic (Psionics)" as presented in the MM...a telepath feat might look a bit like this:

Telepath
- The telepath has advantage on all Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom saves versus magic.
- The telepath has resistance to psychic damage.
- Surreptitious "casting": the telepath's mental powers can be accompanied by some ionization/light display, often perceived as some kind of soft glow or radiating waves of mental force, about some or all of the PC's head or may be invisible to normal sight entirely, at the telepath's option.
- The telepath has the following innate psionic powers: At will: Telepathic Message (as Message but invisible, silent and with a range of 120' per level), Friends, Psychic Bolt (as Ray of Frost refluffed to psychic damage instead of cold, the "slowed" effect fluffed as a dazed stun); 3/short rest: Detect Thoughts, Phantasmal Force, See Invisible; 1/long rest: Psychic Spray (as Color Spray, as a 2nd level spell, refluffed to Stun instead of Blind on a failed save), Sending.

Seems to have all of the "iconic" telepathy tricks.

At will Message lets you do all "Telepathic communicating" you want at short range. At will Friends let's you basically shmooze your way through encounters (minor telepathic tampering/mood alteration). Psychic Bolt is your nice little damage cantrip like everyone else has (and damage scales with level).

Detect Thoughts (obvious) for those necessary "mind probes", Phan Force for "implanting images" in other's minds, and See Invisible (by "seeing" where their mind/psychic aura is) are all limited by short rest due to being 2nd level spell effects. And that's 3 total, not 3 times each.

I made Psychic Spray a long rest, even though it is figured as a 2nd level spell for numbers of HP effected (8d10, taking out the least HP first and working up), because it is your "area/hit a lot of minds at once" effect. Sending is long rest for its "unlimited" range (*He-Man, Castle Greyskull is under attack!*).

Yeah...I think I could work with that...telekinetics might not be as simple...clairvoyance might be tough, I think.

EDIT: Actually, to keep Psychic Spray relevant, I might add: "...this ability increases to effect 10d10 HP of creature at 5th level, 12d10 HP at 7th level, and 14d10 at 9th."

Ok. Now I really should be getting to bed./EDIT