3PP Release (3rd Party Book Release) Paranormal Power: A Psionics Option for 5e and A5e, written by Steampunkette!

[Steampunkette]

It's a fun thing I've seen done in video games, but I get the feeling that it might be hard to set them up in a TTRPG; plus, they'd have to be dramatically powerful, due to the 2:1 action economy. Which I don't mind, but some GM's might find intimidating.

See... that's the big thing: I wouldn't trade action economy. Just time-economy. Both people would still get their 'attacks' off as if they spent their action. But delaying and working together could give them a secondary benefit. Like turning a lightning bolt around a corner, or ignoring damage resistance.

SOMEONE has to delay, SOMEONE has to be in position, etc.

 

[Pedantic]

See... that's the big thing: I wouldn't trade action economy. Just time-economy. Both people would still get their 'attacks' off as if they spent their action. But delaying and working together could give them a secondary benefit. Like turning a lightning bolt around a corner, or ignoring damage resistance.

SOMEONE has to delay, SOMEONE has to be in position, etc.

Kind of reminds me of the Teamwork Benefits from the 3.5 PHB II. They were so small and fiddly as to be pointless, but the idea of a "tactic" as a specific, deployable resource is an interesting one.

I like it a lot, but I don't think there's really a good slot on the existing character chassis to hold them, you're probably looking at just straight adding a new player resource instead of a new way to spend existing resources. I don't think that's necessarily a problem, given that kind of thing is by its very nature situational. Maybe just use proficiency to determine how many a given character can have prepared, and then set up a system to either treat "tactics" as treasure, like magic items or rare spells, or just make it an optional subsystem altogether.

 

[GuyBoy]

Quick poll: Combo Techniques/Dual Techniques. Yay or nay?

Say, for example, a combo where a fighter and a wizard act on the same initiative. The fighter shoots a nonmagical arrow and the wizard casts Fire Bolt. The target is a Red Dragon who takes half damage from fire and half damage from nonmagical weapons. If the arrow hits and the firebolt misses, the firebolt deals half damage (reduced to 1/4) while the arrow is treated as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance. If the firebolt hits but the arrow misses both deal half damage (and the arrow is reduced to 1/4). If both hit, they ignore the dragon's resistance to either attack by combining them and maybe add some cool effect.

Or, say, putting a paladin with a magic shield in the line of a Lightning Bolt spell (or other line effect) to bounce it off the shield and let it do a sharp turn from the Paladin's square instead of going in a straight line.

Or using the Shove maneuver to give someone disadvantage on the dex save for a Fireball spell when you push them into the area of effect.

(I know I'm going hard on the martial+magic at the moment it's just where my hubby and my brains are at)

Would that hold interest?

Or a brave warrior/paladin pushing someone out(ish) from a fireball, giving them advantage on their save at the cost of disadvantage on the warrior/paladin’s save?

 

[James Gasik]

Kind of reminds me of the Teamwork Benefits from the 3.5 PHB II. They were so small and fiddly as to be pointless, but the idea of a "tactic" as a specific, deployable resource is an interesting one.

I like it a lot, but I don't think there's really a good slot on the existing character chassis to hold them, you're probably looking at just straight adding a new player resource instead of a new way to spend existing resources. I don't think that's necessarily a problem, given that kind of thing is by its very nature situational. Maybe just use proficiency to determine how many a given character can have prepared, and then set up a system to either treat "tactics" as treasure, like magic items or rare spells, or just make it an optional subsystem altogether.

Yeah, it was hard to take Teamwork Feats, even the good ones, because they did nothing without an ally (barring the few options to use them without, like the Inquisitor, or ways to hand them out to the party). Though to be fair, there was one Pathfinder 1e game where my friend played a Tengu (I think it was) Rogue with several natural weapons, and I decided the best thing to do was make a Fighter loaded up on Teamwork Feats to give him maximized accuracy for flanking and the GM very quickly started complaining that we never missed, lol.

 

[Selganor]

Not to police your own threads but shouldn't these discussions be in their own threads? This way there is a chance to find them later and people who aren't interested in psionics may also find them.

As for the Fighter using a flame bolt to "magify" his normal missile... This would be a great idea for a ready action.

5e doesn't have a delay action anymore

 

[Corinnguard]

Kind of reminds me of the Teamwork Benefits from the 3.5 PHB II. They were so small and fiddly as to be pointless, but the idea of a "tactic" as a specific, deployable resource is an interesting one.

I like it a lot, but I don't think there's really a good slot on the existing character chassis to hold them, you're probably looking at just straight adding a new player resource instead of a new way to spend existing resources. I don't think that's necessarily a problem, given that kind of thing is by its very nature situational. Maybe just use proficiency to determine how many a given character can have prepared, and then set up a system to either treat "tactics" as treasure, like magic items or rare spells, or just make it an optional subsystem altogether.

I was reminded of the Teamwork Feats in PF1. The problem with the Teamwork Feats is that for them to work, the characters pulling off the tactic had to share the same feat. It's better that any character working toward the same goal simply gains Advantage until it is achieved.

 

[lichmaster]

See... that's the big thing: I wouldn't trade action economy. Just time-economy. Both people would still get their 'attacks' off as if they spent their action. But delaying and working together could give them a secondary benefit. Like turning a lightning bolt around a corner, or ignoring damage resistance.

SOMEONE has to delay, SOMEONE has to be in position, etc.

I really like the idea, but designing a system around this seems complex.
IMO a possible implementation might involve using reactions on someone else's action (either the fighter shooting the arrow as a reaction to the firebolt, or the other way around), more than delaying the action itself?

But the suggestions you made (arrow+firebolt, shield+lightning bolt, shove+dex save) are really great!

 

[noodohs]

Since delaying isn't a thing in 5e, that would just fall under readying an action, which is something you can already do. The only difference here is that the thing you do would specifically apply TO their thing as opposed to just happening when they do their thing. Which is an idea I like.

 

[Steampunkette]

 

[Corinnguard]

Dreamscape or the Spirit Realm? curious