Unearthed Arcana New Psion update, Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana

WotC updates the psion in new playtest document.
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A new Unearthed Arcana is up, featuring a revised version of the Psion class. Per a D&D Beyond article, the Psion has seen considerable changes. Feedback for the class focused into three main areas - Psionic Energy Dice, Psionic Modes, and Spellcasting. Psionic Energy Dice are now more flexible and easier to obtain - a new feature called Psionic Reserves allows players to regain uses of Psionic Energy Dice and Telepathic Propel and Telepathic Connection allow players to use those abilities one time each without expending energy dice. Meanwhile, Psionic Modes has been cut from the class, with various aspects of the ability being incorporated into various subclasses as new features. Finally, the Psion now has an updated and expanded spelllist. The UA also contains seven brand new spells and updated versions of existing spells as well.

Additionally, the Metamorph, Psykinetic, and Telepath have all received updates. The Metamorph's abilities now often feature a roll of the Psionic Energy Die while they're being expended. The Psykinetic gains a Stronger Telekinesis feature with an improved Mage Hand spell use. Also, players can now use Telekinetic Propel without expending a Psionic Energy Dice. Finally, the Telepath has a new Telepathic Distraction feature that lets you interfere with another creature's attack roll if it's within range of your telepathy. Scramble Minds was redesigned to reduce the number of dice rolls needed to keep combat from getting bogged down.
 

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Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer

That is not why they stopped working on the Mystic. They stopped working on the Mystic cause the feedback was overwhelmingly negative. Players don’t want “spell like features” when they can just use spells.
Unfortunately due to their focus testing metrics, a vocal few apparently can deny any innovation. Here's another bland 9 level spellcaster slop class that will offend no one and delight no one.

The fact that its psionics alone means you have about a 20% disapproval rating no matter WHAT it is. The people who will never use the class shouldn't really get a say in how it is designed.
 

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Unfortunately due to their focus testing metrics, a vocal few apparently can deny any innovation. Here's another bland 9 level spellcaster slop class that will offend no one and delight no one.

The fact that its psionics alone means you have about a 20% disapproval rating no matter WHAT it is. The people who will never use the class shouldn't really get a say in how it is designed.

Calling survey results the “Vocal Few” is a reach. We don’t know the number of survey responses they get, and we also don’t know how or if they differ from the actual preferences of the fan base.

I’ve never once run into a player in person that said “I wish the Mystic made it.” Everyone I’ve played with (including when my group playtested the Mystic) hated the class. Now that isn’t representative of any majority of players, but we know over half of the player base started with 5e and we’ve constantly seen from survey results that players often prefer less complex options over the latter.

Frankly there is just no reliable dataset out there to say the majority wants Psionics to be anything other than Spellcasting, but the stuff we have data on suggests they didn’t like the non-caster versions and have preferred the caster, even if just slightly.
 

It's a corner case insurance. If, for whatever reason, you want to have the Organic Weapon out but aren't actually in combat and taking the Attack action, now you can. Intimidation, breaking down a door, opening a can, showing off to impress your date, whatever.
organic weapon with doppelgangers/changelings, psionic shapeshifters!
 


Perhaps its intentional to emulate the aspects of "mind" magic they feel are important?
That could be a valid reason, but in that case why bother making all four pairs of Disciplines? If they wanted Psions to focus or lean towards Enchantment and Illusion as they are the most "psion-y"... then just make a single Discipline that worries about those types of spells. But don't create another one that is essentially a trap option because you want the "symmetry" of a Discipline for all eight schools, when that one is only applicable on 3 total spells of 1st to 3rd level.

I mean at the very least... swap around the pairings so that the pairs were like Enchantment / Evocation and Conjuration / Illusion (or the other way around) so that the two pairings got at least a little more balanced in terms of spell count. If we count up the number of spells from each of the eight schools (besides Cantrips) the Psion currently has... the totals are as follows:

Enchantment: 36
Divination: 22
Transmutation: 21
Illusion: 20
Abjuration: 12
Conjuration: 9
Evocation: 7
Necromancy: 5

So pretty much the same way there are three "primary" saving throws (Dex / Con / Wis) and three "secondary" saving throws (Str / Int / Cha)... this has four "primary" spell schools for Psionic abilities (Enchantment / Divination / Transmutation / Illusion) and four "secondary" spell schools (Abjuration / Conjuration / Evocation / Necromancy). Thus at the barest minimum the schools should be paired up with one primary and one secondary. Which we do already have with Transmutation / Necromancy (26 spells) and Divination / Abjuration (34 spells)... but that means we should just do the other two pairings like I mention above. Because having Enchantment / Illusion (56 spells) and Conjuration / Evocation (16 spells) paired for their Disciplines is just STUPID and makes one of them a "must have" and the other a trap.

So just put Conjuration and Illusion together because they both are about creating things (objects and pictures)... and Enchantment and Evocation together because they both are about attacking something on someone else (the mind and the body). Because at least that way we get four sets of pairs that are at least comparable in number of total spells:

Ench / Evo: 43
Div / Abj: 34
Ill / Conj: 29
Tran / Necro: 26

It's still not great, but it's much better than what we've been given these last two Psion UAs.
 
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Unfortunately due to their focus testing metrics, a vocal few apparently can deny any innovation. Here's another bland 9 level spellcaster slop class that will offend no one and delight no one.

The fact that its psionics alone means you have about a 20% disapproval rating no matter WHAT it is. The people who will never use the class shouldn't really get a say in how it is designed.
Or maybe just maybe the number of people such as yourself who actually want an entirely different system for psionic powers in Dungeons & Dragons isn't nearly as abundant as you might think it is? 🤷

But you have plenty of other non-WotC options to get what you want... so stop concerning yourself with what WotC makes and go use one of those other systems that succeeded in doing what you hoped they would when it comes to psionics. I think you'll be much, much happier.
 

The Mystic got canned because Mearls was trying to make a single class capable of doing everything but with psionics.

Yeah, the system was a little different, but mostly it was because it was just -too- big. Too much. And everything it did stepped on EVERYONE'S toes.

At this point? I think the best option for a "Noncaster" Psion might be to just give them a d8 hit dice and a bunch of class features that support a psionic narrative without being a specific spell. Then have them use Skill Checks instead of making attack rolls or forcing saving throws. With different skills being tied to different powers.

Mindreading and telepathic stuff? Insight.
Manipulating someone's mind? Deception.
Forcing someone to do something? Persuasion.
Telekinetic attack? Intimidation.
Psychic Surgery? Medicine.

Etc etc etc.

All against the target's 10+Skill DC. So if you're doing Telekinesis then it's opposed by Athletics. If you're doing Persuasion or Deception it's Insight.

Give the different class features scaling dice of damage/healing or durations of control/whatever, and go from there.

Super simple. Super streamlined. And also -wildly- different from any other class while using extant game mechanics.
 

organic weapon with doppelgangers/changelings, psionic shapeshifters!
That's certainly a character concept I've been playing around with. It's a little less spot-on now that Changelings are Fey instead of Doppelganger derived, but it still fits. And you can pile the social modifiers together to make a pretty strong face character without being Cha primary.

Changelings get a couple of extra social Skill proficiencies. The one preview of the updated Changeling we got before Forge of the Artificer was delayed said that they'll be getting Advantage on Cha checks while shapeshifted. The Psi Trickster wild talent feat lets you add your Int modifier to a Deception or Persuasion check. The Devilish Tongue psionic discipline lets you roll and add a Psionic Energy Die to an Influence action.

All in all, maybe not as effortless as a Bard with Expertise, but pretty good as long as you've got resources to spend. And all on a natural shapeshifter who can cast semi-subtle spells and manifest natural weapons. That's pretty cool, especially if you're in a more intrigue campaign than a dungeon crawling one.
 

Or maybe just maybe the number of people such as yourself who actually want an entirely different system for psionic powers in Dungeons & Dragons isn't nearly as abundant as you might think it is? 🤷

But you have plenty of other non-WotC options to get what you want... so stop concerning yourself with what WotC makes and go use one of those other systems that succeeded in doing what you hoped they would when it comes to psionics. I think you'll be much, much happier.
Seriously. While I do hope the official psion is fun to play, the biggest excitement about it for me is that it was the first indication they'd consider publishing Dark Sun.
 

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