D&D 5E Two New D&D Books Revealed: Feywild & Strixhaven Mage School

Amazon has revealed the next two D&D hardcovers! The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is a feywild adventure due in September, and Curriculum of Chaos is a Magic: the Gathering setting of Strixhaven, which looks like a Harry Potter-esque mage school, set for November.

Amazon.com: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons Book) (9780786967278): Wizards RPG Team: Books

Amazon.com: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons Book) (9780786967278): Wizards RPG Team: Books

www.amazon.com

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is D&D's next big adventure storyline that brings the wicked whimsy of the Feywild to fifth edition for the first time.

The recent Unearthed Arcana, Folk of the Feywild, contained the fairy, hobgoblin of the Feywild, owlfolk, and rabbitfolk. UA is usually a good preview of what's in upcoming D&D books.

Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons): Wizards RPG Team: 9780786967445: Books

Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons) [Wizards RPG Team] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos (D&D/MTG Adventure Book) (Dungeons & Dragons)

www.amazon.com

Curriculum of Chaos is an upcoming D&D release set in the Magic: The Gathering world of Strixhaven -- a brand new MtG set only just launched.

Strixhaven is a school of mages on the plane of Arcavios, an elite university with five rival colleges founded by dragons: Silverquill (eloquence), Prismari (elemental arts), Witherbloom (life and death), Lorehold (archaeomancy), and Quandrix (numeromancy). You can read more about the M:tG set here.

You will be able to tune into WotC's streamed event D&D Live on July 16 and 17 for details on both, including new character options, monsters, mechanics, story hooks, and more!

D&D 5E - Here Is The Full & Alternate Cover Art Of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Here is the cover art for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, the hardcover D&D product revealed this weekend. Cover art by Tyler Jacobson Alternate cover by Hydro74 https://www.enworld.org/threads/two-new-d-d-books-revealed-feywild-strixhaven-mage-school.680500/

www.enworld.org

D&D 5E - And Here Is Strixhaven's Cover Art!

It's not just The Wild Beyond The Witchlight's cover art being revealed today! We also have Magali Villeneuve's cover art for Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos! Strixhaven is an upcoming D&D setting based on the recently released Magic: the Gathering world, and features a mage school -- as Theros...

www.enworld.org

 

[Hatmatter]

I don't think that Mystic can or should be divorced from Psionics. Rather, I thought it was pretty profound of WotC to realise that western ideas of Psionics are deeply rooted in the cultural appropriation of mystic traditions they had come into contact with. They kinda realised this in 4e too when they decided to axe the Ki Power Source and move Monk into the Psionic Power Source alongside the Psion, Ardent, and Battlemind (though using an entirely different mechanic than those three Psionic classes, so really the only thing that the Monk benefited from there was being able to access features that required the Psionic keyword). I think the Psion or Mystic is essentially the Yoda to the Monk's Mace Windu. Now, Psionics have been distributed in part to other classes' subclasses, and I'm not sure there's much of a need for a Psionics core class in 5e. I don't think Psionics have to work significantly differently (especially when they've been defined all edition as basically just being magic cast without material components). I also think that subclasses like the College of Spirits Bard are occupying space that the Psion/Mystic would have. But if they DID make a Psion/Mystic, I would hope they would follow that trajectory a bit more fully to explore the occult themes of early psychic power stories.

Well said, Marandahir. I think this is well thought out. My desire for a psionicist or mystic is that I would like the game to allow me to create a Professor X-type character. I think the closest I could get now would be with an aberrant mind sorcerer with subtle spell as meta magic. Honestly, that is better than I could do in 1st edition AD&D, truthfully. But, part of me would still like to see a mystic/psionicist.

 

[Weiley31]

I still found it weird that the Wu Jen was made a Mystic subclass.

 

[Marandahir]

I still found it weird that the Wu Jen was made a Mystic subclass.

I didn't, but I also think the name Wu Jen threw people off. Elemental psionics are a classic concept, and again, mystic tradition and psionics. But the term Wu Jen and it being a 5 chinese elements wizard that has to follow semi-arbitrary taboos was there because it's been in previous editions, and I don't think it NEEDED to be expressed that way. But I'd put it in the Mystic before I'd put it in the Wizard. Druid might be a better home, though.

 

[Marandahir]

Well said, Marandahir. I think this is well thought out. My desire for a psionicist or mystic is that I would like the game to allow me to create a Professor X-type character. I think the closest I could get now would be with an aberrant mind sorcerer with subtle spell as meta magic. Honestly, that is better than I could do in 1st edition AD&D, truthfully. But, part of me would still like to see a mystic/psionicist.

Would it be easier if you could cast with Intelligence as your Sorcerer?

What's the drawback to swapping out core ability scores? Does it fundamentally change the class' power?

Maybe it would if you swapped in Dexterity or Constitution (both are overpowered). But Intelligence for Charisma, I feel like is a very fair trade.

Heck, make the Sorcerer a Spell Points caster, merge the Sorcery Points pool with the Spell Points pool, and switch to Intelligence, and you've got a Psion ready to use.

 

[Yaarel]

The term psionics came from the idea of the "psion" as a unit of mental energy (in a story published in Astounding Science Fiction in '51), and quickly came to mean using psychic abilities with electronics.

Psionics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And the letter Psi in psion represents the Greek term Psukhe, meaning a "self".

 

[Hatmatter]

Would it be easier if you could cast with Intelligence as your Sorcerer?

What's the drawback to swapping out core ability scores? Does it fundamentally change the class' power?

Maybe it would if you swapped in Dexterity or Constitution (both are overpowered). But Intelligence for Charisma, I feel like is a very fair trade.

Heck, make the Sorcerer a Spell Points caster, merge the Sorcery Points pool with the Spell Points pool, and switch to Intelligence, and you've got a Psion ready to use.

All good points. You are illustrating the great flexibility of D&D.

For me, though, it has not been about swapping ability scores at all...it is simply the material component requirement for some spells, which really could also be hand waved away with out too much of a concern (to use the aberrant mind subclass feature of psionic sorcery and the subtle spell meta magic feature becomes onerous after a while...it eats up sorcery points quickly). But, honestly, these are all pretty easy to dismiss. Part of me would simply like to see the mystic/psionicist brought into the game like the artificer was...but, you are right.

 

[Marandahir]

All good points. You are illustrating the great flexibility of D&D.

For me, though, it has not been about swapping ability scores at all...it is simply the material component requirement for some spells, which really could also be hand waved away with out too much of a concern (to use the aberrant mind subclass feature of psionic sorcery and the subtle spell meta magic feature becomes onerous after a while...it eats up sorcery points quickly). But, honestly, these are all pretty easy to dismiss. I part of me would simply like to see the mystic/psionicist brought into the game like the artificer was...but, you are right.

Fair fair. I think that between the Aberrant Mind's (albeit limited) Psionic Spells & Psionic Sorcery features, and the Telekinetic and Telepathic feats which grant specific psionic spell-like abilities that lack components, I'm comfortable with it. I also think that if a player felt that uncomfortable with components for their spells as a Psion, I might rule that they can have an arcane spell focus that isn't used in one hand, but rather is worn on their head like Cerebro or an Ioun Stone.

 

[Faolyn]

And the letter Psi in psion represents the Greek term Psukhe, meaning a "self".

Yes, but psionics is twice removed from that. It is a very modern term and involves things, like electronics, that simply don't exist in a standard fantasy setting.

 

[darjr]

Can’t wait!

 

[Marandahir]

Yes, but psionics is twice removed from that. It is a very modern term and involves things, like electronics, that simply don't exist in a standard fantasy setting.

What is measure is standard fantasy? D&D has had Psionics and sci-fi in its standard fantasy settings from nigh the very beginning.