D&D 5E What's wrong with this psion?

[Minigiant]

In which case, WotC would have no interest in such a product. That group too tiny to cover production costs. And also so divided that whatever approach WotC took at lease half of those people would hate it anyway

Exactly.

A good psionics system would not tell well enough for WOTC in a standalone product or a primary feature. There are too many choices and the community is too divided.

Only a simple, watered down, and nonlore version could.

That's why if they were gonna hide Psionics in TCOE, they should have bit the bullet and remade the 1e, 2e, 3e, or 4e Psionics because lt wouldn't have hurt sales anyway.

No one would say "I'm not buying TCOE because it has 2e Psionics".

Dark Sun psionics will look exactly like this. Dark Sun is the whole reason WotC are bothering with psionics at all.

5e Dark Sun will use Psionic spells.

My point is Tasha is debuting Psionics not Dark Sun. Psionics could drag down a Dark Sun book. Debuting it in Tasha softens the blow.


The Dark Sun book can now focus on lore, Defilers, Preservers, elemental clerics, and DS races.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Only a simple, watered down, and nonlore version could.

The Psionic Soul Sorcerer fits the lore as well as anything else does. OD&D, AD&D 1, AD&D 2, D&D 3.X, and D&D 4e all interpret and portray psionics differently. The only line of consistency is inborn mind powers, which the psionic sorcerer captures: many sorcerers have inborn magical powers; the spell list contains mind powers. I don't detect any greater conflict in the lore than the transition from OD&D to AD&D 2 and AD&D 2 to D&D 3.5.

 

[Minigiant]

The Psionic Soul Sorcerer fits the lore as well as anything else does. OD&D, AD&D 1, AD&D 2, D&D 3.X, and D&D 4e all interpret and portray psionics differently. The only line of consistency is inborn mind powers, which the psionic sorcerer does just fine: many sorcerers have inborn magical powers; the spell list contains mind powers. I don't see any greater conflict in the lore than the transition from OD&D to AD&D 2 and AD&D 2 to D&D 3.5.

Psionic users never used spells in any edition period.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Psionic users never used spells in any edition period.

And every member of the samurai subclass was born in medieval Japan.
And every eldritch knight has been dubbed by a liege lord.
And every alchemist is devoted to spiritual hermeticism.
And every bard and druid is a Celtic religious figure.
And every paladin is a member of Charlemagne's court.
And every assassin kills for money.

Of course.

I think you might be getting a little too hung up on the nomenclature.

 

[Minigiant]

And every member of the samurai subclass was born in medieval Japan.
And every eldritch knight has been dubbed by a liege lord.
And every alchemist is devoted to spiritual hermeticism.
And every bard and druid is a Celtic religious figure.
And every paladin is a member of Charlemagne's court.
And every assassin kills for money.

Of course.

I think you might be getting a little too hung up on the nomenclature.

not really.

It's a fundamental way I see spells in D&D based on how the mechanics and lore from the game.

Spells have always been magic formulas. X+ Y + Z = fireball.
Either you do X, Y, and Z or a god does part of it for you.

And I don't see psionics using formulas. You can't do psioincs by doing certain gestures, saying certain words, and having certain items.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

not really.

It's a fundamental way I see spells in D&D based on how the mechanics and lore from the game.

Spells have always been magic formulas. X+ Y + Z = fireball.
Either you do X, Y, and Z or a god does part of it for you.

And I don't see psionics using formulas. You can't do psioincs by doing certain gestures, saying certain words, and having certain items.

Your first example seems like a wizard or artificer. I don't see other classes making use of formulas at all. In fact, the reason wizards and artificers use formulas is because they have no innate magic of their own. Bards are similar, but store their formulas in music. Clerics, druids, and warlocks tap into the innate magic of other creatures (deities, nature spirits, patrons). Sorcerers possess innate magic of their own, which they control by sheer force of will without formulas or mediators.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Spells have always been magic formulas. X+ Y + Z = fireball.

No.

Wizard spells are that.
Bard spells are play a tune that has a magical effect.
Sorcerer spells are tapping into your innate power to achieve an effect.
Artificers build a gadget or brew a concoction that has the effect.
Priests say a prayer that has an effect.

 

[Minigiant]

Your first example seems like a wizard or artificer. I don't see other classes making use of formulas at all. In fact, the reason wizards and artificers use formulas is because they have no innate magic of their own. Bards are similar, but store their formulas in music. Clerics, druids, and warlocks tap into the innate magic of other creatures (deities, nature spirits, patrons). Sorcerers possess innate magic of their own, which they control by sheer force of will without formulas or mediators.

Clerics, druids, and warlocks use formulas. Their patrons do the work. Thor does X Y and Z and gives lightning bolts to his clerics.

Sorcerers use formula to. The Words are written int their blood or genes. Their birthmarks are magic symbols or runes are on their blood cells. Sorcerers still have to do somatic, verbal, and material components of their spells.

Magic in D&D is science and math.

 

[Minigiant]

No.

Wizard spells are that.
Bard spells are play a tune that has a magical effect.
Sorcerer spells are tapping into your innate power to achieve an effect.
Artificers build a gadget or brew a concoction that has the effect.
Priests say a prayer that has an effect.

No.

The Bard's magic tune is a formula.
The Sorcerer's blood has runes and their fingerprints have the arcane word for magic hidden in it.
Ra does the formula and gives it to his light clerics.

D&D's magic system is not a soft magic system. It has rules, science, and logic.


EDIT:
The Fireball Spell is a VSM spell.
It has a verbal component
It has a somatic component
It has a material component

The sorcerer, wizard, fiend warlock, efreeti genie warlock, artilierist artificer and light domain cleric all must do a verbal component, a somatic component, a material component to cast fireball.

The wizard does the hand symbol for fire and says "Furdonix Flamba"
The sorcerer points 3 fingers and says "Fireball"
The light cleric holds up his amulet and says "By the strength of Ra"
The fiend warlock draws an X with his finger in the air and says "'I summon the Fires of Phlegthos"

Them's formulas.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

The Fireball Spell is a VSM spell.
It has a verbal component
It has a somatic component
It has a material component

The sorcerer, wizard, fiend warlock, efreeti genie warlock, artilierist artificer and light domain cleric all must do a verbal component, a somatic component, a material component to cast fireball.

The wizard does the hand symbol for fire and says "Furdonix Flamba"
The sorcerer points 3 fingers and says "Fireball"
The light cleric holds up his amulet and says "By the strength of Ra"
The fiend warlock draws an X with his finger in the air and says "'I summon the Fires of Phlegthos"

Them's formulas.

Remember, the PHB is Mikie's List of Gameplay Suggestions, not Dr. Mearls's Dissertation on Fantasy World Physics.