Spelljammer Dark Sun confirmed? Or, the mysterious case of the dissappearing Spelljammer article...

[Parmandur]

Specifically, 2e was trying for a New Age-y type of psychic powers. I don't think the actually succeeded on it, but they were trying. I didn't get the New Age feel from the 3x or 5e psion/mystic/whatever at all.

Mechanically, I hear they were quite the mess. Steve Winter's apparently aimed to be as authentic as.possivle in the fluff, which may or may not be to taste I reckon...the perpetual Paionics issue.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If they can create a psion that everyone is willing to accept, first. And at this point, I doubt they're going to.

Me too. They should have playtested in house and released what they liked. Some people would have complained, but they would have gotten over it or made adjustments of their own, just with every other game element WotC releases.

 

[Shardstone]

Rest of my post stands!

 

[Micah Sweet]

You are being unnecessarily pedantic here.


I don't know what national leadership has to do with game mechanics.


Bards have a niche of their own. Some of their spells may overlap, but the bard's niche is unique: they get their magic from music.

Psions are, in terms of flavor, mostly identical to sorcerers, since both of them get their magic from their own bodies.


I find it highly unlikely that there will never be a 6e, unless humanity dies out first.


That's on your DM, then, not on the game.


Also unlikely, since people are less likely to buy something if the mechanics are bad--especially if the mechanics are the core element. It's not like a setting that you could use with a different system. If the psion has pretty themes but doesn't play well, it's useless.


In a fantasy game, it's not irrelevant. A lot of people don't want science fiction elements in a fantasy game. I don't. So if the Voidrunner psion feels too sci fi-ish, I wouldn't allow it in my generally lower-fantasy games.


I don't recall there being multiple versions of the artificer being touted. Also, the artificer was built primarily for a specific setting.

And ported it over virtually unchanged into a book for all settings.

You're right that they didn't throw the full artificer class to the public for judgement. They really shouldn't have for psionics.

 

[Parmandur]

And ported it over virtually unchanged into a book for all settings.

You're right that they didn't throw the full artificer class to the public for judgement. They really shouldn't have for psionics.

Sure they did for the Artificer, multiple times, and in the same format as the Mystic. It's just that people.responded positively.

 

[Charlaquin]

The designers have always been super clear on how they intended refluffing to be fun and breezy.

I don’t know about always. Or if it was, they didn’t always communicate that intent well. Early on there was a lot of anti-refluffing sentiment among the playerbase, and if you compare early 5e releases to newer ones (and by “newer” I mean like… maybe from Xanathar’s on?) they used to be a lot more matter-of-fact with fluff descriptions, and didn’t go out of their way to say stuff like “you decide how [whatever] looks” like they do now.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Mechanically, I hear they were quite the mess. Steve Winter's apparently aimed to be as authentic as.possivle in the fluff, which may or may not be to taste I reckon...the perpetual Paionics issue.

It is 100% to my taste though. Authentic as possible is my jam.

This is why I miss 2nd ed.

 

[Parmandur]

I don’t know about always. Or if it was, they didn’t always communicate that intent well. Early on there was a lot of anti-refluffing sentiment among the playerbase, and if you compare early 5e releases to news ones (and by “newer” I mean like… maybe from Xanathar’s on?) they used to be a lot more matter-of-fact with fluff descriptions, and didn’t go out of their way to say stuff like “you decide how [whatever] looks” like they do now.

I heard them talk about it pre-Xanathar. Anyone who is violently anti-refluffing is importing their own preferences into the game, and I would consider that toxic behavior at my table.

 

[bedir than]

Well, none of those non-Eberron settings you mention are D&D settings (with the possible exception of Pinocchio, if you count Odiare in Ravenloft).

All of the fiction that inspires our game, from Appendix N to the modern era, should be evaluated when considering adding game content. Because our games tell communal stories, sifting through tropes to have unique tales.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Sure they did for the Artificer, multiple times, and in the same format as the Mystic. It's just that people.responded positively.

The Potion Wizard version of the Artificer bombed pretty hard. It wasn't until it became its' own class that it started getting positive feedback.