Mike Mearls on D&D Psionics: Should Psionic Flavor Be Altered?

There's plenty of reasons why psionics won't get used by DMs. A big factor would be if the mechanics are too different (and automatically assumed to be overpowered), most DMs aren't going to try to learn a vastly different new sub-system just because some player wants to feel special.

And then there's problems down the road such as future support, and integration with other things that come along. Psionics should be something that could dropped in a campaign without too much of a readjustment of game balance and rules.

I liked both 2e psionics and 3e psionics. (I never saw 1e or much of 4e psionics, so I can't comment on those.)

I'm indifferent as to the pseudo-science terms. Take them or leave them.

What is vital to me is that psionics is internal energy. Psychic powers. It can be ki, or Indian enlightenment, or new age, or pseudo-science, or something explained in an entirely new D&D-originated fantasy manner.

It should absolutely not have a single thing to do with Far Realms or "unsettling" (in that sense) junk. That whole flavor is already straining what D&D is for some people, and to make psionics connected to it is just to make them less appealing to a decent portion of the fan-base.

Make sure that you can mimic the feel of 2e *and* 3e *and* 4e, and if it is possible to give it a new twist, go for it! Just don't make that twist be Psionics: Cthulu Edition.

I liked how psionics was handled in 3rd edition... specifically, the Expanded Psionics Handbook was pretty awesome.

Of all the things for Mearls to be concerned about and working on right now, I would have guessed psionics to be dead last. Doing it wrong has the potential to really screw up the game and then you can say goodbye to whole "evergreen" idea for 5E. Seems like a big risk for little gain when WotC could more easily and safely set future APs in places that do not require psionics like Dragonlance, Eberron, Greyhawk, etc...

Kobold Avenger said:

A big factor would be if the mechanics are too different (and automatically assumed to be overpowered), most DMs aren't going to try to learn a vastly different new sub-system just because some player wants to feel special.

Click to expand...

I think that's the most important consideration.

Psionics shouldn't require a separate book packed with layers of new mechanics and subsystems. If making psionics feel more "fantasy" or "D&D" encourages simplification and synergy with the existing rule set, then I think that's great. I never cared much for the pseudoscience fluff, regardless.

Psionics not replicating any current spells is an ultimately senseless goal. I can admire the effort to be original, but the Monster Manual already has plenty of creatures with historically/thematically appropriate "psionic" abilities that mimic spell effects. There's no need to to start gutting their stat blocks for the sake of originality.

Well, no. The only reason to have psionics is to have something with a distinctive flavor to it. If it looks and/or feels like something more traditional in fantasy settings, such as magic, then what is the point of it at all?

I'm not even sure what fantasy-flavored psi ought to look like. It's not really a feature of classic fantasy stories. It's something that is more native to sci-fi, but has been successfully adopted into D&D.

So screw blending in. Psi powers should be weird. A better question might be, what attributes should psi have (or lack) to make it a worthwhile addition to a D&D campaign?

My unsolicited opinion:

* It should be mechanically and dramatically different from magic. Psi and magic have core similarities -- unseen powers invoked via extensive training and unusual talent and/or mental discipline -- so psi should be strongly distinct from that.

* Although they should be distinct from one another, there should be clear rules about how magic and psi interact with one another, and these should include some overlap in defensive/protective mechanics. An 18th-level psionic master should not be helpless before a tyro in magic and vice versa. And poor Muggles do not need the additional disadvantage of arranging both magical and psionic countermeasures.

* Psionic powers are typically "blunt" in the sense that they do not unfold a complex series of effects over time, are not typically flashy in the manner of arcane spells (except for psionic illusions, of course,) and emphasize body control and manipulation of basic forces (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, etc.) So these are likely elements of drawing a strong distinction between psionics and magic.

* Psionics are at their best when psis are folk who emphasize mastery of both mind and body. The Eberron monks, the Jedi, even the Psiblade or whatever it was called. So maybe we don't need a psionic-master wizard analogue. The idea of a physically awkward, frail wizard focused on magic first and last doesn't fit as well with psionics and having them makes it harder to maintain a strong magic/psionics distinction. I think D&D psionics should focus on classes with something else going on as well, with perhaps some feats for characters who would like a bit of a minor talent.

My 2 cents. Good luck!

"No psionic power duplicates a spell."

Seriously? Unless 'duplicates' is interpreted to mean 'does exactly the same thing but a different number of times per day' or something similar, you've already killed a huge number of things that a psion class could/should have with the PHB. Mind reading, mind control, clairvoyance - all out for psions, unless you decide to interpret 'duplicate' in an absolutely literal sense.

For me, I feel psionic is simply the complete version of "Ki". It's a mastery over your mind and body that you can also extend to modify your surrounding.
Multiple explanations are possible: Mutation from an hostile environment, too much exposure to the far realms or genetic. They are all good.

It could be a feat tree mechanic to get powers or a Difficulty class mechanic with each 6 psionic group link to an specific attribute each (Psychometabolism = Con, Clairsentience = Wisdom).

New age names needs to go to feel more like fantasy.

I would definitely pick up a 5th edition psionics book!

I can't wait to see why kind of interesting non-mage-like mechanics and powers they come up with.

It gives me ideas to make a campaign twist where magic is suddenly under siege from the god of magic being killed or maybe magic is just really rare, or outlawed by order of the Emperor. (with scrying and detect spells used extensively to ensure compliance).

Bluenose said:

"No psionic power duplicates a spell."

Seriously? Unless 'duplicates' is interpreted to mean 'does exactly the same thing but a different number of times per day' or something similar, you've already killed a huge number of things that a psion class could/should have with the PHB. Mind reading, mind control, clairvoyance - all out for psions, unless you decide to interpret 'duplicate' in an absolutely literal sense.

Click to expand...

This is exactly why we don't need psionics. At all. We've already got magic; (both arcane and divine) another set of "kewl powerz" would be altogether redundant.

Mearls said:

He asked yesterday "Agree/Disagree: The flavor around psionics needs to be altered to allow it to blend more smoothly into a traditional fantasy setting", and then followed up with some more comments today.

Click to expand...

I really don't understand the question laid out in this form... "Blend more smoothly" could be so easily interpreted as "feel and work a lot like regular spells" (which is the opposite of what he says in the next part) or something else entirely.

Mearls said:

"Thanks for all the replies! Theoretically, were I working on psionics, I'd try to set some high bars for the execution. Such as - no psionic power duplicates a spell, and vice versa. Psionics uses a distinct mechanic, so no spell slots. One thing that might be controversial - I really don't like the scientific terminology, like psychokinesis, etc. But I think a psionicist should be exotic and weird, and drawing on/tied to something unsettling on a cosmic scale.... [but]... I think the source of psi would be pretty far from the realm of making pacts. IMO, old one = vestige from 3e's Tome of Magic.

One final note - Dark Sun is, IMO, a pretty good example of what happens to a D&D setting when psionic energy reaches its peak. Not that the rules would require it, but I think it's an interesting idea to illustrate psi's relationship to magic on a cosmic level."

Click to expand...

All these I like a lot. I am not a huge fan of psionics in D&D traditional campaigns (in fact, I never used them in my own), but should psionics be in the game, I would totally prefer them to be separate from spells, both narratively and mechanically. It doesn't have to be a totally new mechanic on the other hand, a Psion class that somewhat resembles the mechanics of the Warlock or the Sorcerer (minus the normal slots) would be different enough.