D&D 5E 5e has everything it needs for Dark Sun

[Yaarel]

As shown with my Psychic, you can do both, or at least I think you can in a satisfying way. Psi Points on invocation-like features, which you can easily expand, and then spell slots to keep with the current system. Its a bit different, ya, but it achieves the goal IMO.

I havent seen your Psychic, so I cant comment on it.

But generally, I disfavor spell points. I dislike Sorcerer spell points which are a needless complexity. In 3e, I loved the psi points, because they were so much better than vancian casting.

But now in 5e, the now-normal spontaneous casting is better than both vancian and spell points. Its simplicity and effectiveness are ideal.

5e Warlock spellcasting is satisfying. The powerful at-wills are perfect. The normal slots refresh after an exertion. And the highest slot arcanums are like novas.

 

[Steampunkette]

Trying something a little different with my post formatting, here, just to break up ideas better... might use it going forward. Might not.

Things I liked from the 5e Mystic that I think should be carried over into a new modern psion class:

Disciplines: They're great. Honestly, the idea of grouping powers, spell-like abilities, or spells into manageable themed chunks and allowing a player to get all of them at once is great. When I first saw it in the UA I was kind of blown away by how solid it was as the basis of a class. In media, a Telekineticist generally has different ways they apply their telekinetic power. From brute force to fine control, from massive areas to single targets. Putting all of the TK powers into one place would also make it -super- easy to create some other class feature that modifies your Telekinetics Discipline into Pyrokinetics or Cryokinetics. Same powers, different damage typing and theme.

Power Points: Solid simple measure of what you've got left in the tank. Every point is fungible with every other point and you stack 'em up to hit threshholds of power. Sure it's just a modification of the Spell Point System, but who cares? They're -fun-.

Psychic Focus: Small, customizeable, benefits that you can expend and exchange on a whim based on what disciplines you have available. Really nice, really simple, really effective at communicating the low-level power of someone who uses their mental acumen in every task.

Strength of the Mind: The ability to change their "Good Save" makes the Mystic pretty flexible, though I personally would've gone for a slight benefit to all Saves rather than a single shifting one.

Problems that I think should be looked at and changed or left behind for a modern Psionic Class:

Disciplines: The problem was the sheer quantity of Disciplines because they tried to encapsulate entire classes into disciplines. Seriously. 7 different Wu Jen elemental/force disciplines? I get that you're not going to release an Oriental Adventures for 5e because the times they are a-changin', but just let it go, entirely, rather than trying to shoehorn it into Psionics. 39 disciplines each with anywhere from 2 to 7 powers is just weird. Especially the Giant Growth discipline... 2 different ways to grow big. Should've made "Size Control" and combined it with the Shrinking one. The whole thing needs some pruning and reformatting.

Subclasses: Specifically trying to stuff Soulknife and Psionic Warrior into 4 Order Levels. Seriously, those two either need to be subclasses of fighter-type classes so they get the full breadth of combat capability with some psionic ability related to that -or- to be subclasses of a Psychic Warrior class. Either that or some changes would need to be made to the Mystic to make it a bit gishier in general so those subclasses can really do good work.

Things I would add out of thin air:

Subconscious Concentration: The ability to concentrate on two different Powers at the same time. Probably some Power Point limits on this one, maybe require them to be from the same Discipline, but it would go a long way to making the Psion unique compared to other classes

Legendaryish Actions: After I put together my Psionicist based on the Mystic I turned around and made up a Psychic Warrior class and gave them Action Surge... sort of. Calling it Psionic Surge, I gave them the ability to make a single weapon attack with an equipped weapon, move half their speed, or manifest a power which only affects themself at the end of another creature's turn. Useable once per short rest and gained at level 11, they eventually gained up to 5 uses of it at 19th level.

 

[Yaarel]

I feel all of the D&D psionic disciplines can reduce to four archetypes.

• Telepathy, Charm, Illusion (≈ mind affecting)
• Divination and Teleportation (≈ clairsentinence/psychoportation)
• Shapeshift and Healing (≈ psychometabolism)
• Telekinesis (flight, force damage, force construct) (≈ psychokinesis/psychoportation)

Telepathy, Charm, and Illusion are very useful and powerful.

Passive Divination synergizes well with active Teleportation. Conceptually, the mind has remote presence and can bring the body there.

Healing is a form of Shapeshift, knitting the cells back together. This form of healing is flavorful and unlike other healers. This is also the shapeshifter class that we dont have yet.

Telekinesis includes flying objects, flying self, force attacks, and force shields and other things made out of force. Very powerful and versatile.

 

[Steampunkette]

I feel all of the D&D psionic disciplines can reduce to four archetypes.

• Telepathy, Charm, Illusion (≈ mind affecting)
• Divination and Teleportation (≈ clairsentinence/psychoportation)
• Shapeshift and Healing (≈ psychometabolism)
• Telekinesis (flight, force damage, force construct) (≈ psychokinesis/psychoportation)

Telepathy, Charm, and Illusion are very useful and powerful.

Passive Divination synergizes well with active Teleportation. Conceptually, the mind has remote presence and can bring the body there.

Healing is a form of Shapeshift, knitting the cells back together. This form of healing is flavorful and unlike other healers. This is also the shapeshifter class that we dont have yet.

Telekinesis includes flying objects, flying self, force attacks, and force shields and other things made out of force. Very powerful and versatile.

I can more or less agree with this. Though some Psychic Healing is used on -others-, so it's not exactly Shapeshifting. Could it be interpreted as a hybrid of Telekinesis and Telepathy? Holding the wound shut and telling the other person's mind to heal faster?

I'd like to note there's a couple of others. Specifically things like Pyrokinesis. Though I feel like elemental effects would largely just be, like, flavor packs for other groupings?

 

[see]

Hell. The name Gish -came- from Psionic Githyanki Warriors combining their psionic skills with melee prowess.

No, it didn't. The modern psionic 'gish' is a retcon -- a sensible one, but it's not where the name comes from. The name 'gish' originally comes from the 1981 Fiend Folio, p.43, where they were defined as "fighter/magic-users of 4th/4th level".

(NB for the majority of D&D players, who have been born since the release of 2nd edition: The term "magic-user" was 1st edition talk for what everybody ever since has sensibly called a wizard.)

 

[Steampunkette]

No, it didn't. The modern psionic 'gish' is a retcon -- a sensible one, but it's not where the name comes from. The name 'gish' originally comes from the 1981 Fiend Folio, p.43, where they were defined as "fighter/magic-users of 4th/4th level".

(NB for the majority of D&D players, who have been born since the release of 2nd edition: The term "magic-user" was 1st edition talk for what everybody ever since has sensibly called a wizard.)

Hey, thanks for pointing me to the page needed to show you the relevant part of the Githyanki description:

The humans harboured deep resentment for centuries but could not summon up sufficient strength to free themselves from the mind flayer yoke. Gradually, in secret, they developed their powers and strength. Then under the leadership of the supreme leader Gith, they rebelled against their captors and, after a long and vicious struggle, succeeded in gaining their autonomy. From that moment, the race became known as the githyanki and they quickly gained a repuration as powerful psionicists and deadly fighters with an instinct for violence.

Yeah. They were 4th level magic users, mechanically. Because there was no Psionicist Class. But by the lore of the very book you're using they were Psionicists a decade before that class was ever written.

So thanks for that.

 

[Shardstone]

I havent seen your Psychic, so I cant comment on it.

But generally, I disfavor spell points. I dislike Sorcerer spell points which are a needless complexity. In 3e, I loved the psi points, because they were so much better than vancian casting.

But now in 5e, the now-normal spontaneous casting is better than both vancian and spell points. Its simplicity and effectiveness are ideal.

5e Warlock spellcasting is satisfying. The powerful at-wills are perfect. The normal slots refresh after an exertion. And the highest slot arcanums are like novas.

I don't wanna link again because that's ostentatious, but you can find the link on page 8 in my post.

It still uses spell slots ala Warlock, and it gets psi points, which are basically ki points or sorcery points, which it uses to fuel special invocation-esque abilities it picks up.

 

[Yaarel]

I can more or less agree with this. Though some Psychic Healing is used on -others-, so it's not exactly Shapeshifting. Could it be interpreted as a hybrid of Telekinesis and Telepathy? Holding the wound shut and telling the other person's mind to heal faster?

I'd like to note there's a couple of others. Specifically things like Pyrokinesis. Though I feel like elemental effects would largely just be, like, flavor packs for other groupings?

I consider shapeshift to include shapeshifting other people − there is no real difference between self and other except merely range. Compare "transmutation" spells that might be self or other. In reallife, there are people who believe they can psychically heal and alter the bodies of other people. All of this body sensing and body manipulation is part of Shapeshift (psychometabolism).



Regarding pyrokinesis=pyromancy, I consider elementalism to be its own kind of magic. Elementalism is about matter, where psionics is about mind. Despite the popculture trope of the "fire starter", I prefer the Psion to lack elemental powers. Elementalism feels more like alchemical wizards or primordial druids. Also, elemental magic tends to be "flashy" with fire, lightning, etcetera. I prefer Psion to be subtler while telekinesis is invisible.

That said. Maybe for players who do want their psionics to include elemental energy effects, there can be an option to ADD an other damage type to any psionic force damage effect. For example, a telekinetic blast might be both force (throwing people) and fire (burning them too in the blast). A ray might be both force and lightning. Also possible might combining force with radiant damage, psychic damage, poison damage, or so on. A sword construct might deal both force and piercing damage. For the sake of a specific theme, a character would only choose one additional damage type to add to force effects, maybe a choice of two at a higher level. Meanwhile, the presence of force within the fire effect, would help make the psionic effect feel different from an elemental effect of a pyromancer.

 

[Yaarel]

I don't wanna link again because that's ostentatious, but you can find the link on page 8 in my post.

It still uses spell slots ala Warlock, and it gets psi points, which are basically ki points or sorcery points, which it uses to fuel special invocation-esque abilities it picks up.

Why spend points and run out, when the Warlock spellcasting mechanics is balanced to have powerful at-wills as many times as one wants?

It seems like an unnecessary add-on that just adds complexity.

When it comes to design, I prefer as simple as possible, but not simpler.

 

[Shardstone]

Why spend points and run out, when the Warlock spellcasting mechanics is balanced to have powerful at-wills as many times as one wants?

You don't spend points on spells, only on your invocation-like abilities.

You still have spell slots ala Pact Castings mechanics. You should really check the class because I'm shorthanding it right now, so I know I'm not being as clear as I should be