D&D 5E Mystic Powers: An Analysis

Hi everyone. I've been working on this for quite some time, plus additional work time in having to reformat it from Excel where I wrote it (why did I type it there first?). We're still on version 3 of the Mystic. Here is an in depth analysis of the Mystic's powers, and my opinions on their balance. For ease of reading, I'm using the following coding:

Weak Power: Powers in red are those that I consider to be weak, either compared to powers of the same cost or spells of the same or similar level. Considering the Mystic uses the SP system straight out of the DMG until 11th level, I think that's a sound place to start.
Balanced Power: Powers in black are those which I consider to be balanced. Much of this balance is internal, though I do compare spells whenever I can.
Unbalanced (too strong) Power: Powers in blue are those which I consider to be too strong.
Questionable Balance: Powers in this weird color are those which I either have a hard time determining balance, or powers which I feel need clarification.

Baselines
When looking at the balance of the Mystic's powers, it's important to establish the baselines right away.

Talents are balanced around cantrips. Discipline powers are balanced around spells; 1st: 2 pp; 2nd: 3 pp; 3rd: 5 pp; 4th: 6 pp; 5th: 7 pp. Focus abilities are balanced to be "less than a feat", with a large majority of them balanced around "advantage on a skill" or "resistance to 1 energy" to "+1 AC".

Discipline power damage seems to be balanced around 1d10/level, whether it is as a bonus action to be added to a weapon attack or an attack on its own with a saving throw for half damage. The DMG gives us some guidelines on spell balance that we can think about for here. A spell which has an attack roll and no miss effect is able to deal 125% the damage of a spell which has a save for half (these balance out rather well against a 65% hit or save failure chance). The DMG also provides typical damages for single and multitarget spells. So how do powers compare?


Basic Mystic Powers balance against spells rather well until 5th level. But real spells don't follow these guidelines too closely, but it's interesting to see. As for the smite-like discipline powers: These deal more damage than a paladin's smite (1d10 instead of 1d8), and even get a scaling bump at 3rd level spells and above (since 2nd level powers cost 3 pp and 3rd level cost 5 pp). At the high end, because of the "Potent Psionics" ability, a Mystic's weapon attacks with a smite attached, as a 5th level effect, balanced against a 5th level "smite spell", but the lower level ones do a bit more damage than a spell would. They do cost bonus actions, though, and there are a fair amount of powers that use bonus actions, so this could be the balancing point.

Now, onto the powers themselves:

MYSTIC POWER BALANCE ANALYSIS

Adaptive Body(Immortal)
Focus: Big benefit,but not combative, except that it protects you from suffocation; balance?
EnvironmentalAdaptation; PP: 2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Endure Elements” as a1st level spell (nonexistant in 5E, but it seems like it would bebalanced).
Adaptive Shield; PP:3; Level: 2; Weaker than Absorb elements and higher level. Should becomparable to absorb elements. Weak
Energy Adaptation;PP: 5; Level: 3; Balanced against protection from energy.
Energy Immunity; PP:7; Level: 5; Two levels higher, seems balanced.


Aura Sight(Awakened)
Focus; 1 skilladvantage, baseline talent.
Assess Foe; PP: 2;Level: 1; Unique, seems balanced.
Read Moods; PP: 2;Level: 1; Unique, seems balanced.
View Aura; PP: 3;Level: 2; Similar to detect thoughts in utility, but it is different.It’s also better than friends. Seems balanced.
Perceive the Unseen;PP: 5; Level: 3 ; Higher level, and concentration, than SeeInvisiblility, but more utility. Seems balanced.


Bestial Form(Immortal)
Focus; 1 skilladvantage, baseline talent.
Bestial Claws; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Weaker than lethal strike, but it is an actioninstead of a bonus+action, so it might be okay. It can be stackedwith lethal strike and the others, which may not be intentional; PPmay need a bonus action limitation like bonus spells have. Becausethere’s no damage on a miss, it is weaker than the baseline 1d10/ppdamage.; Weak
BestialTransformation; PP: 2-7; Level: 1-5 ; Balanced against Alter Self,though it has more utility. The lack of concentration balances theslower flight than fly.Advantage on all Wisdom(perception) checks might be overpriced at 2 pp. Other effects areslightly stronger than comparable spells, and without concentration,but they are self only, which balances them.


Brute Force(Immortal)
Focus; 1 skilladvantage, baseline talent.
Feat of Strength;PP: 2; Level: 1; Unique. Seems fine. There are spells at around thatlevel which function as 100% successes on skills, so a +5 bonusshould be fine.
Brute Strike; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Weaker than lethal strike; Weak
Knock Back; PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Works as a reaction, when other similar effects arebonus actions. Lower damage than lethal strike made up for withrider.; balance?
Mighty Leap; PP:1-7 ; Level: 1-5; Needs clarification; does the jump take upmovement, or does it add to movement? Likely it still costs movement;Clarification?


Celerity (Immortal)
Focus; Seemsbalanced.
Agile Defense; PP:2; Level: 1; bonus action for functionally +5 AC, comparable toshield except your foes see it coming and can choose to hold backthat round. This only costs 1 ki point for monks; balance?
Blur of Motion; PP:2; Level: 1; Lower level than invisibility, but lasts 1 round and islimited, seems balanced
Surge of Speed; PP:2; Level: 1; similar to monk’s disengage for 1 ki point, but with adifferent added feature; balance?
Rapid Step; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; similar to a monk’s dash, but it’s not dashuntil 4 pp (except that it stacks with dash instead of overlaps).
Surge of Action; PP:5; Level: 3; Compare to “haste”. Compare to monk dash and flurryof blows. Also compare “Expeditious Retreat”; Weak


Corrosive Metabolism(Immortal)
Focus; PP: 1 energyresistance, baseline focus, increased to 2 due to lower frequency ofacid and increased ease of gaining poison resistance.
Acid Spray; PP: 2;Level: 1; Comparable to “Hellish Rebuke”; less damage, butmultitarget.
Corrosive Touch; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Seems to be baseline power damage for half on save.
Venom Strike; PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Seems to be less than baseline power damage for half on save, but with a rider.
Breath of the BlackDragon; PP: 5-7; Level: 3-5; More damage than venom strike for thecost, but no poisoned rider, but also multi-target. It makes venomstrike seem weak; might be too strong
Breath of the GreenDragon; PP: 7; Level: 5; More damage than others, but no low levelversion. Too strong?


Crown of Despair(Avatar)
Focus; 1 skilladvantage, baseline talent.
Call to Inaction;PP: 2; Level: 1; Seems like a different take on charm person. It’smore of a social power due to the long casting time.
Crowned in Sorrow;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Baseline power damage, less damage with a rider.
Visions of Despair;PP: 3-7; Level: 2-5; Baseline power damage, less damage with a rider.
Dolorous Mind; PP:5; Level: 3; Higher level than hold person, lower level than holdmonster, cannot be upcast; balance?


Crown of DisgustAvatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Eye of Horror; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Baseline power damage.
Wall of Repulsion;PP: 3; Level: 2; Like an area sanctuary, higher level, can be movedaround.
Visions of Disgust;PP: 5; Level: 3; Baseline power damage to start, unique rider forsignificantly more damage; balance?
World of Horror; PP:7; Level: 5; Higher damage, multi-target, selective, with a rider;balance?


Crown of Rage(Avatar)
Focus; Better than“Defender” fighting style; might be too powerful
Fighting Words; PP:2; Level: 1; social, very unique
Mindless Courage;PP: 2; Level: 1; Unique, seems balanced.
Primal Fury; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; baseline power damage
Punishing Fury; PP:5 ; Level: 3; Unique, seems balanced.


Diminution(Immortal)
Focus; 1 skilladvantage, baseline talent.
Miniature Form; PP:2; Level: 1; A lack of an AC bonus seems unusual, as does no meleeweapon damage penalty; for what it gives, it seems balanced.
Toppling Shift; PP:2; Level: 1; Bonus action for trip, which is functionally bonusaction for a specified action, is balanced compared to the dodge anddisengage above, but is also half a feat and this is costing PP;balance?
Sudden Shift; PP: 5;Level: 3; 5 pp for reaction to auto-miss, this is better than shield,but is it two levels better? it also doesn't last the whole round; weak?
Microscopic Form;PP: 7; Level: 5; compare to miniature form, seems balanced


Giant Growth(Immortal)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Ogre Form; PP: 2;Level: 1; Better than divine favor, same level; similar to“enlarge/reduce”, but lower level; too strong?
Giant Form; PP: 7;Level: 5; I question if this is enough compared to how much damage abonus action could add to damage. For 7 PP, you could add 7d10 damagewith lethal strike. You would have to keep it up for more than 5rounds for the damage to be better, though you do get temp HP too;balance?


Intellect Fortress(Awakened)
Focus; 1 energyresistance, baseline focus
Psychic Backlash;PP: 2; Level: 1; Comparable to shield; it doesn’t last the entireround, but it also has a damage rider.
Psychic Parry; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Compared to shield, I would assume this would bebetter. There’s no spell like it to compare to, except bless gives+1d4 to saves to 3 creatures for 2 pp, but has concentration. Like“Iron Hide”, this needs to be better; weak
Psychic Redoubt; PP:5; Level: 3; This also shows that “Psychic Parry” is weak. Yes,it takes up a concentration slot, but for 5 PP you effectively get+4ish to saves against more common DCs, and it applies to all alliesnear you.


Iron Durability(Immortal)
Focus; Balancedagainst the Defensive Fighting Style
Steel Hide; PP: 2;Level: 1; Comparable to “Agile Defense”; resistance is halfdamage, disadvantage is roughly half chance to hit.
Iron Hide; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Compare to “Agile Defense”. Also compare to “toughhide” from “bestial transformation”, and “defensive step”from “nomadic step”; weak
Iron Resistance; PP:7 ; Level: 5; higher level than “stone skin”, but no materialcomponent cost and it protects against magical damage; same durationand concentration; too strong?


Mantle of Awe (Awakened)
Focus; Other focusesgive advantage on checks; this doesn’t, but it applies to allcharisma checks. Seems balanced.
Center of Attention;PP: 2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Charm Person”
Charming Presence;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Comparable to “Sleep”. Sleep starts at 5d8instead of 4d8. At 3rd level/5 pp, “Mantle of Awe” becomes betterby 1d8. It still seems a little weaker, because you can’t auto critcharmed targets.
Invoke Awe; PP: 7;Level: 5; Better than “Dominate Person”, but the targets get asave every round no matter what, not just if they take damage; toostrong?


Mantle of Command(Avatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Commander’s Sight;PP: 2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Guiding Bolt”. It doesn’trequire an attack roll or save, and it grants advantage to all yourallies, but it doesn’t deal damage and it requires concentration.Seems balanced.
CoordinatedMovement; PP: 2; Level: 1; seems balanced
Command to Strike;PP: 3; Level: 2; An action and a 2nd level spell for an action is a big trade comparedto what those 3 pp could do.; weak?
Strategic Mind; PP:5; Level: 3; This is “bless” with a few bonuses. In a standard 4person party, this is affecting as many people as Bless as a 1stlevel. But bonus action dash or disengage as a bonus action is aclass ability, so granting it to allies might be worth the +2 levelbump; balance?
OverwhelmingAttack; PP: 7; Level: 5; 7d10 is the standard damage for a power for7 pp. For a standard party (fighter, rogue, mystic, cleric lets say),this could easily be (2d6*+5)x2, plus 6d6+5, plus 2d8+5 (66.5 damage,with misses for none). 7d10 is 38.5. If you boost the damage sincethe attacks have no effect on miss, that’s still 48. This is verypowerful, and I don’t know if the reaction cost balances it; toostrong?


Mantle of Courage(Avatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Incite Courage; PP:2; Level: 1; seems balanced
Aura of Victory; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Seems balanced. As a bonus action, lets compare itto Healing Word. Healing word eventually heals 5+(2.5*spell level); 2pp 7.5, 3 pp 10, 5 pp 12.5, 6 pp 15, 7 pp 17.5. For 2 pp, this gives2 temp HP to your whole party when you drop something; 1 kill andit’s the same HP spread out. It gets better from there, but temp HPis worth less than standard hp.
Pillar ofConfidence; PP: 6; Level: 4; Comparable to “Haste”. It’s onelevel higher, and it only lasts for 1 round, but it almost works outto Haste for 3 rounds, minus the defensive bonuses. Compared to“Overwhelming Attack”, this seems weaker, but it doesn’t costreactions and you still get an action.


Mantle of Fear(Avatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Incite Fear; PP: 2;Level: 1; Comparable to “Cause Fear” from the “Starter Spells”UA.
Unsettling Aura; PP:3; Level: 2; seems balanced
Incite Panic; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “Fear”. The targets could attack eachother, or they could attack your allies. The randomness may balancethe additional utility. It is also on a shorter timer in openterrain, and on a longer timer in terrain with hallways and objectsto block sight.


Mantle of Fury(Avatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Incite Fury; PP: 2;Level: 1; Comparable to “Divine Favor”, but it effects multipleallies. It should likely start with one target and have an augment toadd additional targets; too strong?
Mindless Charge; PP:2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Coordinated Movement”. The allies canmove farther, but they have to move to an enemy and it effects lessallies.
Aura ofBloodletting; PP: 3; Level: 2; Comparable to “Bless”. Advantageis better than +1d4, but it doesn’t stack with advantage. It alsoeffects enemies, giving another trade off.
Overwhelming Fury;PP: 5; Level: 3 ; Compare to “Hold Person”. Hold Person is muchworse against a humanoid. It also does nothing against many monsters;weak


Mantle of Joy(Avatar)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Comforting Aura; PP:2; Level: 1; Balanced against “Bless”.
Soothing Presence;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Compare to “False Life”. False Life gives6.5 for 2 pp, 11.5 for 3, 16.5 for 5, 21.5 for 6, and 26.5 for 7.This gives 6 for 2, 9 for 3, 15 for 5, 18 for 6, and 21 for 7. Falselife is an action. This seems more powerful than “false life”;too strong?
Aura of Jubilation;PP: 3; Level: 2; seems balanced
Beacon of Recovery;PP: 5; Level: 3 ; seems balanced


Mastery of Air (WuJen)
Focus; Better than“Feather Fall” for self, but it doesn’t benefit others.
Wind Step; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; seems balanced
Wind Stream; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; This seems stronger than “Push” from Mastery ofForce, as it does the same damage and has a similar effect (prone vspush), but it’s an AoE. Maybe it should have its damage dropped to1d6/pp; too strong?
Cloak of Air; PP: 3;Level: 2 ; Comparable to “Blur”, but better; too strong?
Wind Form; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “Fly”, but it’s bonus action andself-only.
Misty Form; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Gaseous Form”. It’s higher level, buthas better resistances.
Animate Air; PP: 7;Level: 5; Better than “Conjure Elemental”, because it doesn’tgo berserk; too strong?


Mastery of Fire (WuJen)
Focus; better thanthe other resistance focuses, but maybe that’s because of the knowncommonality of fire resistance, so the +2 fire damage is morenecessary?; too strong?
Combustion; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Better than other damage powers, but it requiresconcentration; too strong?
Rolling Flame; PP:3; Level: 2; Comparable to “Flaming Sphere”. It deals lessdamage, but has no save, but it also can’t be moved. Lacking anaugment seems odd too.
Detonation; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “Fireball”. It deals 1d6 less damage, buthas a prone effect. I feel like it should have been 5d6 damage andbeen augmentable, as prone is a powerful effect; too strong?
Fire Form; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “Fire Shield”. Functionally the samedamage (10.5 vs 9), but has no energy resistance tied to it. Thisshould note how bright the flames are; clarification and weak
Animate Fire; PP: 7;Level: 5 ; Better than “Conjure Elemental”, because it doesn’tgo berserk; too strong?


Mastery of Force (WuJen)
Focus; Seemsbalanced. Other skill ones only apply to a single skill, butAthletics is the only Strength skill, so applying to miscellaneousStr checks should be fine.
Inertial Armor; PP:2; Level: 1; Better than “Mage Armor”, but self only.
Push; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Seems balanced. Baseline damage is 1d10 per pp, so thisis a little less to add the push.
Move; PP: 2-7;Level: 1-7; Seems balanced.
Grasp; PP: 3; Level:2; seems balanced
Telekinetic Barrier;PP: 3; Level: 2; seems balanced


Mastery of Ice (WuJen)
Focus; seemsbalanced
Ice Sheet; PP: 2;Level: 1; Compare to “Grease”. It’s a larger area, but lessguarantee of knocking someone prone.
Ice Spike; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Seems balanced. Baseline damage is 1d10 per pp, so thisis a little less to add the slow. Slow seems less beneficial thanpush 5/pp; compare to Mastery of Force’s “Push”.
Frozen Sanctuary;PP: 3; Level: 2; Compare to “False Life”. False Life gives 11.5for 3 pp. This gives 20. False life is an action. This is morepowerful than “false life”. It compares better to “Armor ofAgathys”, which has half the HP but deals damage. too strong?
Frozen Rain; PP:5-7; Level: 3-5; Compare to “Fireball”. It deals 5d6 instead of8d6, but it freeze in place.
Ice Barrier; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Wall of Ice”. It is lower level, ashorter wall, can’t be used as an initial attack, and doesn’tdeal damage to things that pass through holes in the wall. But, itdoes damage people who attack the wall.


Mastery of Light andDarkness (Wu Jen)
Focus; Comparable to“Devil’s Sight”. As invocations don’t seem to be worth a fullclass ability, this might be fine, but it seems too strong.
Light; PP: 2; Level:1; Comparable to “Faerie Fire”. Faerie Fire affects an area, soit seems weaker. The light effect is also cantrip-level; weak
Darkness; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Comparable to the “Darkness” spell. As a 3 pp effect,it is double the size of Darkness. But the Darkness spell can be caston an object. The spell is also concentration up to 10 minutes, sothis needs a duration; a shorter duration would help balance it; toostrong?
Shadow Beasts; PP:3; Level: 2; Compare to “Conjure Minor Elementals”. Conjure MinorElementals can summon 2 CR 1s or 4 CR 1/2s, this is 2 CR 1/2s. Thisfits the +2 levels for double the creatures; too strong?
Radiant Beam; PP:5-7; Level: 3; Baseline power damage is 1d10/pp. This is 1d6/pp, buthas a blindness rider; This seems balanced to me.


Mastery of Water (WuJen)
Focus; “AlterSelf” can do this, but it also does other things. This might be toogood; too strong?
Desiccate; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Baseline power damage.
Watery Grasp; PP:2-7; Level: 1-5; Comparable to “Thunderwave”. It deals lessdamage, but it is larger and has a stronger effect (Prone and pullinstead of push).
Water Whip; PP: 3-7;Level: 2-5; Comparable to “Lightning Bolt”. Less damage (5d6 vs8d6), but it can move creatures pretty far, and it starts as a 2ndlevel effect.
Water Breathing; PP: 5; Level: 3; Comparable to “Water Breathing”.
Water Sphere; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere”. Acreature can save to get out of the water sphere, but can’t to getout of the resilient sphere. A creature in the water sphere isvulnerable to damage, but is immune in the resilient sphere. Acreature is likely suffocating in the water sphere, but can save toget out.
Animate Water; PP:7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Conjure Elemental”, but it doesn’tgo berserk; too strong?


Mastery of Weather(Wu Jen)
Focus; seemsbalanced; it gives 2 resistances, but these are less common damagetypes.
Wall of Clouds; PP:2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Fog Cloud”.
Whirlwind; PP: 2;Level: 1; Compared to other area attack powers, it seems weak. Itdeals 1d6 for 2 pp, and has no damage on a miss. It has a limited“move up to 40 ft” effect, but it’s going to be more like 20 fton average. This should deal 2d6, deal half damage on a save, and bescalable.
Cloud Steps; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Seems balanced. It’s different, but more of autility thing that could be handled by a rope and mage hand.
Hungry Lightning;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Standard damage is 1d10/pp. This is 1d8/pp, butheavily armored creatures suffer disadvantage on the save, so it hasit’s value.
Lightning Leap; PP:5-7; Level: 3-5; Comparable to “Lightning Bolt”.; Less damage(6d6 vs 8d6), but it has a teleport.
Wall of Thunder; PP:6; Level: 4; Seems balanced. The “every foot moved through the wallcosts 1 extra foot of movement” is redundant, as it’s only a footthick so it’s going to cost 2 feet of movement to move through it;movement isn’t that fine-grain. If it costs 5 feet of movement topass through it, that would function better; Clarification?
Thunder Clap; PP: 7;Level: 5; Comparable to “Fireball”. It does 8d6 instead of 10d6,but it has a stun effect.


Mastery of Wood andEarth (Wu Jen)
Focus; Comparable toFighting Style (Defensive); Seems Balanced, as that’s not a fullclass ability.
Warp Weapon; PP: 2;Level: 1; Seems balanced. This is a limited incapacitation, but onlyon the offensive side of things.
Animate Weapon; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Potentially balanced. This deals more damage thanthe baseline 1d10/pp, but it also does the weapon’s damage. As itdeals no damage on a miss, it should deal +25% more damage than1d10/pp. That’s about 1d12/pp, and this power does more damage thanthat at first, but evens out later.
Wall of Wood; PP: 3;Level: 2; This is a really solid wall, but it has no additionaleffects. I feel like this might be too low level. “Wall of Stone”is 5th level, and this has about half the HP of the thickest wall, orabout the same HP but it’s 60 ft instead of 120 feet. There’salso no rules on trapping creatures; Too strong? Clarification?
Warp Armor; PP: 3;Level: 2; “Commander’s Sight” seems better generally speaking.At best, this could be -8 to AC (more if it had a negative Dex Isuppose), but that’s for full plate. Commander’s Sight givesadvantage, which is going to be roughly +4 to hit. It also has asave, when Commander’s Sight doesnt; Weak
Armored Form; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Stone Skin”. This lacks a costlymaterial component, and it’s a bonus action, but it cannot be usedon anyone else.
Animate Earth; PP:7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Conjure Elemental”, but it doesn’tgo berserk; too strong?


Nomadic Arrow(Nomad)
Focus; Comparable tohalf of “Sharp Shooter”, so this should be balanced. It is alsoseemingly comparable to the Archery fighting style.
Seeking Missile; PP:2; Level: 1; seems balanced
Speed Dart; PP: 1-7;Level: 1-5; Comparable to “Lethal Strike”. These smites might betoo powerful, as they do more than 125% the basepsionic power damage. But they do cost a bonus action, so that mightbalance them; too strong?
Faithful Archer; PP:5; Level: 3; Comparable to “Haste”. It is a bonus action and onlyworks on you, but it lacks the defensive properties. Might be alittle weak; weak


Nomadic Chameleon(Nomad)
Focus; baselinefocus benefit
Chameleon; PP: 2;Level: 1; Similar to Celerity’s “Blur of Motion”. I feel likethis is weaker. I think it should be a bonus action, which would makeit a powered up version of the Rogue’s Cunning Action (and itshould be better, since it costs PP); weak?
Step from Sight; PP:3-7; Level: 2-5; Comparable to “Invisibility”.
EnduringInvisibility; PP: 7; Level: 5; Comparable to “GreaterInvisibility”, but it’s a bonus action and 1 level higher. Thisseems fine.


Nomadic Mind (Nomad)
Focus; This ispotent, but it’s worth less than a feat minus the ability to switchit. As it is, it might be worth a feat, so it might be too powerful.The skill advantages have the benefit of allowing you to break skillcaps effectively, while this still relies upon it; too strong?
Find Creature; PP:2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Locate Object”, but better and lowerlevel, and a much longer casting time; This seems odd. balance?
Wandering Mind; PP:2-6; Level: 1-4; This seems balanced to me. Mage Armor establishes a1st level spell for a feat baseline (it’s a little better thanlight armor proficiency).
Item Lore; PP: 3;Level: 2; Comparable to “Identify”. Higher level, not a ritual,but no material cost. Seems balanced.
Psychic Speech; PP:5; Level: 3; Comparable to “Comprehend Languages”. 2 levelshigher, but your words are understood in return. Seems balanced.
Wandering Eye; PP:6; Level: 4; Comparable to “Arcane Eye”. Seemingly identical.
Phasing Eye; PP: 7;Level: 5; Comparable to “Arcane Eye”. One level higher, but thesensor can move through walls. Not as good as “Scrying”, but alsodoesn’t have a material cost.


Nomadic Step (Nomad)
Focus; Weaker thanCelerity’s focus. There’s no advantage here. I suggest having thefocus increase your teleport distance by 10 feet; at least that wouldadd extra value. Unless you can teleport without spending PP, this isworse than Celerity; weak
Defensive Step; PP:2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Shield”. It only applies to a singleattack, but you can also teleport afterwards, potentially foilingother attacks. Seemingly balanced.
Nomadic Anchor; PP:1; Level: 1; Seems fine. It doesn’t truly do much until level 7when you can cast “phantom caravan”.
There and BackAgain; PP: 2; Level: 1; Seems balanced.
Step of a DozenPaces; PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Comparable to “Rapid Step”. It grantsmore speed than rapid step, but it also prevents additional movement,balancing it. With a base movement of 30, they are equal in distanceat 3 PP; after, this is better, before rapid step is better. RapidStep does allow movement before and after an action, and stacks withdashing, so it is likely balanced.
Transposition; PP:3; Level: 2; Seems balanced
BalefulTransposition; PP: 5; Level: 3; Seems balanced
Phantom Caravan; PP:6; Level: 4; Comparable to “Teleportation Circle”. This is lowerlevel, and doesn’t have to go to a teleportation circle, but it islimited by sight. Seems balanced.
Nomad’s Gate; PP:7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Phantom Caravan” and “NomadicAnchor” rolled together.


Precognition(Awakened)
Focus; baselinefocus benefit. This is a partial feat.
Precognitive Hunch;PP: 2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Bless”. It only applies to you,but it applies to almost all d20 rolls. Seems balanced.
All-Around Sight;PP: 3; Level: 2; Compare to “Agile Defense”. Also compare to“tough hide” from “bestial transformation”, and “defensivestep” from “nomadic step”. Also compare to “Shield”; Thisseems weak.
Danger Sense; PP: 5;Level: 3; Considering its long duration, this seems balanced to me.
Victory BeforeBattle; PP: 7; Level: 5; I’m concerned this is a bit expensive.It’s hard to tell. Functionally, it’s likely to give your group,on average, 2 extra full rounds, assuming a reasonable chance to failinitiative. I feel like other 7 pp effects that grant actions maygrant more; balance?


Psionic Restoration(Immortal)
Focus; comparable to“spare the dying” cantrip. It is also part of the “Healer”feat. Seems to be baseline focus benefit.
Mend Wounds; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Comparable to “Cure Wounds”. It’s actuallybetter, getting a boost at 3rd level and starting at 1d8+4.5 at 2 ppinstead of 1d8+3 most likely, and only being slightly behind at 1stand 2nd level once a +5 stat modifier is reached.
Restore Health; PP:3; Level: 2; Comparable to “Lesser Restoration”.
Restore Life; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “Revivify”, but no material componentcost. This is definitely stronger; too strong?
Restore Vigor; PP:7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Greater Restoration”, except itcannot remove curses that don’t do the included effects, but it hasno material component cost. It seems stronger; too strong?


Psionic Weapon(Immortal)
Focus; The removalof ability score damage seems unneeded, but I suppose it is there tomake resistance to non-magical damage still meaningful at lowerlevels. The level 6 requirement matches up to when Monks and Druidsstrike as magic weapons, and is likely when the designers assumepossession of magic weapons. Still, the Warlock can ignore resistanceearlier; weak?
Ethereal Weapon; PP:1; Level: 1; Since this can’t be stacked with the smites, orpowered up for additional damage, it feels balanced but like it won’tbe used as much past the early levels. It also strongly benefitssingle attack characters, though the Mystic is one of them. Anability to augment it for more damage would be appreciated, perhaps1d8/pp?; Clarification?
Lethal Strike; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Compare to “speed dart”. See (Sheet 3). It seemsto deal more damage than the 1d10/pp baseline, and more than the 125%it should deal until higher PP expenditures.
Augmented Weapon;PP: 5; Level: 3; Compare to “Magic Weapon” as a 6th level spell.This lasts for only 10 minutes instead of an hour, though. A 6thlevel spell would cost 9 pp, and this could only be up for 30 minutesfor that cost. It still seems too powerful at lower levels; toostrong?


Psychic Assault(Awakened)
Focus; mastery offire’s focus benefit isn’t limited to talents. This shouldn’tbe either. The damage should scale as well. Int bonus?; weak
Psionic Blast; PP:1-7; Level: 1-5; Compare to “Magic Missile”. It cannot be splitamong targets. Psionic Blast/Magic Missile: 2 pp, 9/10.5; 3 pp,13.5/13; 5 pp, 22.5/16.5; 6 pp, 27/20; 7 pp, 31.5/23.5. It has atrade off. Seems balanced. Magic Missile might even be weak comparedto other single target spells. This is 82% the damage of the baseline1d10/pp. A 65% save failure rate and save for half on 5.5 damage is3.4, so 1d6 damage would be equal; too strong?
Ego Whip; PP: 3;Level: 2; Less damage than baseline, but it severely limits theenemy’s action. Comparable to “hold person”, except it dealsdamage and often imposes a defensive bonus instead of a defensivepenalty that boosts the damage of allies.
Id Insinuation; PP:5; Level: 3; Less damage than baseline. Compared to “ego whip”. Ido not see a time I’d use it over “ego whip”, unless I reallyneeded the damage; weak
Psychic Blast; PP:6-7; Level: 4-5; Compare to “cone of cold”. It deals more damageand scales better. 10D8 is also better than 7d10 (45 vs 38.5).Fireball does single target damage in return for affecting allies;This might be too strong.
Psychic Crush; PP:7; Level: 5; Slightly less damage than baseline (36 vs 38.5), and astun effect. Also multi-target; This might be too strong


Psychic Disruption(Awakened)
Focus; baselinefocus benefit
Distracting Haze;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Baseline damage, and a functional blindnessrider. No save to end it, which may be an oversight. Seems toostrong; too much damage, and too strong a rider for a 1st leveleffect; Too strong? Clarification?
Daze; PP: 3; Level:2; Compare to “Hold Person”. Incapacitated is less harmful thanstunned, and it only lasts 1 round, but it can affect any creature,not just humanoids.
Mind Storm; PP: 5;Level: 3; Baseline damage, area effect, and a solid rider. Possiblytoo strong. Lack of scaling is unfortunate; too strong?


Psychic Inquisition(Awakened)
Focus; similar to“skill advantage (insight)”, but far more limited and specific;Seems balanced.
Forceful Querry; PP:2; Level: 1; Compare to “Detect Thoughts”, but lower level andmore limited.
Hammer ofInquisition; PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Baseline damage and a limitedrider. Possibly too strong, but possibly not worth less damage as therider is very specific; too strong?
Ransack Mind; PP:5; Level: 3; Compare to “Detect Thoughts”. It has no surfacethoughts, but it can delve deeper.
Phantom Idea; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Geas”. The effect is different, but theutility seems similar.


Psychic Phantoms(Awakened)
Focus; baselinefocus benefit
Distracting Figment;PP: 1-7; Level: 1-5; Baseline damage and a rider. Compare to“Commander’s Sight”; this deals damage but doesn’t grantadvantage if the creature makes its save. Compare to “GuidingBolt”; guiding bolt deals more damage (14 vs 11 at 2 pp), but thisgrants advantage to all allies and negates reactions; Too strong.
Phantom Foe; PP: 3;Level: 2 ; Comparable to “Spiritual Weapon”. Spiritual weapondeals more damage and is a bonus action to cast, but costs a bonusaction each round and has an attack roll. “Phantom Foe” deniesreactions and scales damage better, but a save ends it, and it isconcentration.
Phantom Betrayal;PP: 5; Level: 3; Compare to “Hold Person”. This affects anyoneand it has no defensive penalty, but the target attacks its allies(less damage against the target, more damage against its allies). Itis higher level, but not limited to humanoids. Compared to “DominatePerson”, it’s lower level and without nuanced control, butsimilar in effect; possibly to strong
Phantom Riches; PP:7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Dominate Person”. This cannot makethe creature attack its allies, but it can largely shut a creaturedown. Compared to “Phantom Betrayal”, it is likely weaker becauseit doesn’t deal damage. If these were switched, they might be morebalanced; weak


Telepathic Contact(Awakened)
Focus; Seemsbalanced
Exacting Query; PP:2; Level: 1; Comparable to “Detect Thoughts”. Lower level, butmore limited.
Occluded Mind; PP:2; Level: 1; Super bluff. Seems balanced compared to other spellsthat mimic skills, like “charm person” vs persuasion.
Broken Will; PP: 5;Level: 3; Compare to “Dominate Person”. This is lower level andcan target any creature, but it only lasts for 1 round. Seemsbalanced.
Psychic Grip; PP: 6;Level: 4; Comparable to “Hold Person” and “Hold Monster”.Higher level than hold person, lower than hold monster. It’s betterthan hold monster; too strong?
Psychic Domination;PP: 7; Level: 5; Comparable to “Dominate Person”. Equal level,but it effects anything; too strong?


Third Eye (Nomad)
Focus; Weaker thanMastery of Light and Dark’s focus ability. But, this is equivalentto the “darkvision” spell, except it doesn’t target allies
Tremorsense; PP: 2;Level: 1; Comparable to “See invisibility”. This has a limitedradius, but is lower level.
Unwavering Eye;PP: 2; Level: 1; Seems balanced. Rather than auto-success as manyspells do, it’s a bonus on a fair number of skills.
Piercing Sight; PP:3; Level: 2; Seems balanced
Truesight; PP: 5;Level: 3; Comparable to “True Seeing”. It is lower level, doesn’teffect allies, and is lower range, but it is a bonus action. Seemsbalanced. It is also concentration and lasts 1 minute instead of 1hour.


Talents
Beacon: Comparableto “Light”, except it cannot be cast on an object, but it is abonus action.
Blade Meld: seemsbalanced if the DM uses disarming. Useless otherwise. It should grantanother benefit, as “Green Flame Blade” and “Booming Blade”benefit melee attacks. I suggest treating one-handed weapons as Lightand treating two-handed and heavy weapons as one-handed, or maybeusing casting stat for attack and damage like shillelagh
Blind Spot: Limited“stealth”; you’re still going to be detected (as you didn’tHide) unless you take the opportunity to hide next turn with theinvisibility. Also comparable to “blade ward” becausedisadvantage to attack rolls against you will be similar toresistance to damage, and also comparable to “true strike”because you can get advantage to attack on your attacks next round.Since it’s limited to one creature, all these benefits are likelybalanced.
Delusion: Comparableto “Minor Illusion”. Only one target sees or hears it, which maybe weaker or stronger, depending on the situation.
Energy Beam:Comparable to “Fire Bolt”. It deals less damage, but the damagetype can be changed. The ability to exploit vulnerabilities pushes itup.
Light Step: This is better than the 1 pp “rapid step” fromcelerity; too strong?
Mind Meld: Thisduplicates the “telepathy” ability of the Mystic class, but costsa bonus action. The memory share is nice, and maybe that it works oncreatures that lack a language, but I’m not sure this will get usedmuch; weak?
Mind Slam: lowerdamage than “energy beam”, but it has a rider. Prone is so good,though, that 1d8 > 1d6 might not be enough of a reduction. Thisshould deal 1d4 damage. “Viscious Mockery” deals 1d4 damage andhas a solid rider, but prone might be worth more because of itsoffensive capabilities with coordinated groups; too strong
Mind Thrust:Comparable to “fire bolt”; Seems balanced.
Mystic Charm: Superpersuasion, but limited.
Mystic Hand:Comparable to “Mage Hand”.
Psychic Hammer:Comparable to “mind slam”. Push seems to be worth less thanprone, so 1d6 damage feels appropriate.

What do you think?

Most of the ratings are fine, I just don't agree with Precog's All-Around Sight being weak. Sure, it only works for one attack, making it look worse than Shield. But remember that straight up +AC does nothing against crits. I've had All-Around Sight save my butt that way a few times, most of them turning the crit into a miss.

Immoralkickass said:

Most of the ratings are fine, I just don't agree with Precog's All-Around Sight being weak. Sure, it only works for one attack, making it look worse than Shield. But remember that straight up +AC does nothing against crits. I've had All-Around Sight save my butt that way a few times, most of them turning the crit into a miss.

Click to expand...

Fair, I hadn't thought about crits and how +5 to hit wouldn't help you. I personally don't like the way shield works. I'd rather it force a reroll and then give disadvantage on future attacks against you, but only because I hate how shield makes me feel like I have to say "The orc attacks you ..." and then stare at the EK or Wizard player to see if they're going to use shield. If it came up with a crit, I'd probably slip and say "the orc hits you with a crit for ..." and then start rolling damage, so they'd know to not waste Shield.

I'm not sure that makes them equal, though. Then again, Shield might be too cheap for 2 pp; it's always as good as it is at first level; it maybe even gets better as multiple attacks become more common. it blocks more and more damage as you gain levels.

Thanks for the assessment - good analysis.

I'm playing a Mystic (Order of the Immortal) right now, and had the first session of Sunless Citadel Saturday. I took Psychic Hammer for Talent, and Bestial Form, Psionic Restoration, and Iron Durability as Disciplines. Used ID for Psychic Focus most of the time for the +1 AC, switching to Psionic Restoration once to stabilize a fallen comrade - having what's basically the Spare the Dying cantrip as a Bonus Action was super helpful. I did use the Bestial Claws once, spending 2 PP for 2d10 dam, and rolled enough damage (13) to kill the baddie. If I had rolled a 2 or 3, I would've felt robbed, so perhaps DEX or STR bonus would balance the cost? I dunno. At 1st level, I won't be using it again til after a long rest anyway, so there isn't enough playtest experience as of yet to really know. My plan with Iron Durability was to spend PP to activate Iron Hide if DM rolled a hit exactly matching my AC to force a miss. Never happened, but having that option appealed to me. Psychic Hammer with the up to 10' push came in handy a couple times - once to push a giant rat over a cliff (helping our group's rogue who was surrounded by 3 of them), and another to push a baddie out of melee so another character could move on his turn rather than take a disengage action. That additional effect is what convinced me to choose it over Mind Thrust - though now I might take Mind Slam when I turn 3rd and get a second talent.

After one session, I had fun with the mystic. What I think might be OP is Psionic Resilience at 3rd - gaining temp hp at the start of each turn equal to INT bonus. Without spending a bonus action or using points. At 4th level, if I take the ASI route and bump INT, it'll mean 5 temp hps at the start of each turn. That's better than Warlock's Fiendish Vigor invocation. I'm not complaining, but that definitely will make it tougher on the DM.

And I had mentioned to the DM that at 5th level, I'll have the Restore Life power - we both think that's pretty powerful. I'm hoping I won't have to use it, but he said he'll do what he can to give me the opportunity.

(delete, didn't realize it double posted)

It's an old thread but in case anyone reads this thinking Mystics are cool, somewhat balanced, and you should allow them in your campaign, the answer is no.

Some builds are probably fine, but the biggest issue I've had as a DM with a Mystic going from level 1 to currently 8 is Ego Whip and Dolorous Mind. Why those? Two things make them unbalanced:

1) They are hard CC with an INT and CHA save respectively - two things that many monsters lack and fewer still get added proficiency on. The game is not balanced around extensive INT and CHA saves.

2) They don't come with attached conditions*, which means nothing has condition immunity to it the same way many tough encounter monsters would have immunity to paralyze or stun. *Incapacitated is a condition but I believe the only thing with immunity is Warforged Colossus from ERLW and two of the construct summons from Tasha's, aka, effectively nothing is immune to these effects - they would work on Tiamat once you burned her legendary resistances by RAW.

After several severely unenjoyable fights for everyone involved, I patched it for the moment by HRing that incapacitated is included in paralyze or stun immunity and that Ego Whip is a charm effect.

However, I can't do much about Phantom Caravan, which I disagree that it's balanced, because it's like dimension door on crack in terms of completely avoiding environmental hazards (or fights if in open terrain or with nomadic anchor) for the whole party. Also I can't even threaten killing the mystic because between Defensive Step, Nomad inherent Memory of 1,000 Steps, and Mystical Recovery, he's effectively invincible unless I were to meta-play the baddies for the express purpose of getting rid of him.

The Mystic is a sinking ship full of so many holes that would need patching, that it's little wonder they decided to just abandon it. Don't make my mistake and allow any of your players to play one. It will be fine for awhile but by level 5+, they're capable of becoming the ruination of all your carefully planned encounters. I like when players overcome what I had planned and surprise me, but mystics have buttons that do that automatically at minimal cost.