I'm going to break this up over two days, cause 28 pages is a lot.
Quirks
Some of these are going to be more annoying than others. But only a few of them have the potential to cause conflicts. That could be a good or a bad thing.
Class Features
HD: 1d8
So now, instead of being not-wizards, they are not-clerics. Or maybe not-warlocks is a more adapt description now.
Proficiencies:
The bottom of the barrel. Except for possibly the light armor.
Saves
Int/wiz
As expected.
Skills:
Perception is a bit out of left field, considering it's highly useful in a class full of marginal proficiencies.
Psionics:
I predict sorcerer fans are going to have a headache.
Psionic Talents:
The cantrip equivalent! More on these later.
Psionic Disciplines:
More than just a spell equivalent, they are a way of life for the Mystic. They are broken into groups for each Mystic Order. However, anyone can learn anything they want, making them more like a wizards school than a clerics domain.
Psi Points:
Some levels you get a small boost to points, while others get huge jumps. The Progression here is really borked. It seems as if they designed it with the intent to discourage the two-level dip. But there are obvious cut off points and huge span of levels where you don't really get better at manifesting stuff.
Psi Limit:
The cap to how many psi points you can spend on a discipline. You cap out at level 9. Putting a dampener on how much damage you can pump out at higher levels, though are are alternative ways to get more.
Psychic Focus:
This is an “I expend 0 points but still get a benefit” option for psionic disciplines. Note that it is not concentration, a will still let you concentrate on any other spell or discipline while maintaining a focus.
Mystical Recovery:
Every time you spend points on a discipline, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to the number of psi points you just spent.
This is going to be mostly useless unless you hit a sweet spot. Bonus actions are a premium, and Mystics have lots of abilities that trigger as a bonus action (including many disciplines). Additionally, they have a cap of 7 points max to work with. Making the healing they get out of this trivial at most levels. Considering they get a lot of different features, I have to wonder if this couldn't be reworked into just be a normal psi-points for hit-points exchange, allowing for better scaling and action economy use. I mean, it is technically free healing, but the conditions for triggering it are going to cause some silly gameplay, like randomly attacking objects in order to get hps back in a pinch.
Telepathy:
Effectively, you can speak any language, and hold a conversation with anyone within 120' of you without anyone else knowing. Useful, and flavorful.
Ability Score Improvement:
You get 5 of them. At standard levels.
Strength of Mind:
You can change your Wis saving throw into any other saving throw every rest. Really good if you know you are going to fight something with poison.
Potent Psionics:
A bit of damage scaling for your weapon attacks, that comes out of nowhere for the mystics that don't use weapon attacks. However, it does stack with some disciplines to the benefit of those Mystics who do.
Consumptive Power:
Once per long rest you can reduce your max and current hp by up to 7 for the purposes of paying psi points to manifest a discipline. It's a bit overly restrictive and has a bit too much math for an ability of this sort. It should just cost a HD to pay for a manifestation, even if you keep it limited to once a long rest.
Psionic Mastery
This one gives me a headache.
First and foremost: It's a way to bypass the concentration limit. And not just “you get an extra concentration slot, but as many powers as you pay for. That's bad, in any way, shape, or form. A zero tolerance non-starter if you will.
Secondly, it gives you a bunch of extra “special psi points“ that can only be used on select discipline powers, just actions and bonus actions. Requiring way more math and exceptions than it has a right to.
Thirdly, it takes an action to set up, meaning you are spending multiple turns setting up this muti-buff chain. Which is boring. Yes, technically you could use this to get one or two extra blasts per day, but that's just an artifact of the design, rather than the primary intent.
My verdict is just delete this ability, pretend it didn't happen, and try an entirely new direction.
Psionic Body:
This is a really intense capstone.
You get resistance to the physical damage types
Immunity to disease, poison, and age.
And a 50% chance to not die whenever you die. But it's a d20 roll, so it could be used with Portent, or Lucky. And perhaps some other modifiers I can't remember at the moment.
That's a lot of good stuff, but it is a capstone, and most people aren't going to see it in play. Is it better than what other classes can get a level 1 or 2? Yes, depending on what you want, but don't count on ever being able to see it.
Mystic Orders
Order of the Avatar
No, not the Nickelodeon cartoon. These are, well Warlords.
Bonus Disciplines:
They will be covered later, but 2 extra powers at level 1 is nice, even if they are from a restricted list. Of note, this means that you will eventually have to pick powers that are not part of your Order, which is a nice bit of design and customization options.
Armor Training
Medium armor and shields.
Avatar of Battle:
+2 bonus on group initiative rolls, snazzy. But a bit boring for a passive. Also doesn't scale with INT, like it should.
Avatar of Healing:
add your int mod to your healing disciplines, and the disciplines of any other mystic you happen to be with. Maybe it should just be all forms of healing instead, to make it stack with different groups better.
Avatar of Speed
Your group can use dash as a bonus action.
A bit of a dubious benefit at this level, but at least you can lead a tactical retreat or charge if nothing else.
Order of the Awakened
They want to turn into ideas. There is a semi-political star wars joke here, but I got other things to do.
Bonus Disciplines
The same but different. It's a theme, but a customization one, so it's ok.
Awakened Talent
Two bonus skills, of the kind that relate to interacting with other beings. Also a second chance to pick up perception for reasons.
Psionic Investigation
You are Big Brother, anything can be a spy drone for you. Some DM's will have problems with this, others will note it's relatively easy to foil with standard cloak-and-dagger procedures, and use it as an additional avenue for drip-feeding plot points.
Psionic Surge
When you really need it, you can expend your focus (and lose the ability to get a new one till you rest) in order to impose disadvantage on a saving throw. It could be handy, but it is a tad bit complicated.
Spectral Form
Once per day you become like a ghost. Resistance to damage, pass through objects and people, but you move at half speed and cant fly. However you can still use your focus and concentration, so there are a few other options you can use to augment this.
Order of the Immortal
This time they aren't actually Immortal!
Bonus Disciplines.
Good, again.
Immortal Durability
An additional hit point per level, ok.
Also you get a weaker variant of the barbarians unarmored defense feature. Which makes this Order way to MAD. Seriously, give them a passive boost or let their INT mod handle the heavy lifting here.
Psionic Resilience
You get up to 5 temp HP per turn, based on int mod. It's a poor substitute for damage resistance, but it's free
Surge of Health
A secondary theme of burning the focus: This time you get to half the damage that an attack deals against you. Mind you, this is explicitly not resistance, allowing them to stack. However, unless you are going to die, it's still a bum deal.
Immortal Will
If you are at 0 hps, you can spend 5 psi-points to heal yourself at the end of your turn. This can save you from having to make multiple death saving throws. However, it should be clarified that this is meant to happen while you are unconscious, so people can actually use the ability.
Order of the Nomad
I had to look up what a noosphere was. I'm still not sure.
Bonus Disciplines
Do I have to tell you at this point?
Breadth of Knowledge
Two floating skill or tool proficiencies. Handy!
Memory of One Thousand Steps
A bit of bookkeeping, but you get a limited teleport and negate an attack as a reaction once per rest. Very good.
Superior Teleportation
You can teleport farther when you use your Disciplines. Which is basically one Discipline, but there are a few options there.
Effortless Journey
At-will teleportation, but no more than 30 ft. A bit later than other such options, but it isn't as restricted.
Order of the Soul Knife
A deviation from the mold.
Martial Training
Instead of more disciplines, you get access to better weapons and medium armor. Not really all that worth it, considering you will be using one type of weapon primarily, and that weapon has finesse.
Soul Knife
The weapon in question. It lets you summon two 1d8 light finesse martial weapons, which are like the best one-handed weapons possible. Also you can parry as a bonus action for +2 AC until the start of your next turn.
Here are the problems with it:
They are Wolverine's claws, not Psylocks blades. You can't hold anything in your hands while you use them, they physically protrude from your fists, meaning you can't drop or throw them. In order to dismiss or summon them you need a bonus action. Also they are psychic damage, which is both good and bad. Let them be knives, not claws, so people can throw or drop them. Also let them be dismissed with a free action, or summoned as part of an attack action. They are already locked into an exclusive weapon, no need to make that weapon be bad to use.
Hone the Blade
At first this looks like the standard magic weapon power, but it goes up to +4, that's a bit crazy. Nothing goes that high, unless you are stacking magic bows and magic arrows, which is something I don't allow to begin with. Also doesn't require focus or concentration.
Consumptive Knife
2 additional psi points when you kill something with your knife. I don't even know what this will look like in play, I have no basis for comparison. Like some kind of perpetual killing machine I would imagine.
Phantom Knife
Make an attack against a target, their ac is 10. This is an at will ability. This does stack with a few disciplines, for gobs of highly reliable damage on demand. Fortunately, this is a Soul Knife, and they don't have many disciplines to start with.
Order of the Wu Jen
The witch-mystic.
Bonus Disciplines
Wu Jen get some of the most complex disciplines, so this is perhaps more potent for them than most.
Hermit’s Study
Bonus skills, this time lore stuff, but also perception is in there, again, for no real reason.
Elemental Attunement
Sorcerers eat your heart out. HOWEVER, it still counts against your point spending cap, meaning you aren't getting the max level discipline manifestation.
Arcane Dabbler
You learn three spells, of levels 1-3. You can spend points to make spell slots in order to cast these spells. There are probably ways to abuse this, considering that spells and discipline bonuses stack.
Elemental Mastery
2 psi points to gain immunity to a damage type as a reaction to being hit by it, but only if you have resistance first. A bit restricted, but perhaps for the best.
