Unearthed Arcana 5E Psionics Alert! The Mystic Is Back In Unearthed Arcana

It's back! The long-awaited new version of the mystic - 5th Edition's psionic class - is here. "The mystic class, a master of psionics, has arrived in its entirety for you to try in your D&D games. Thanks to your playtest feedback on the class’s previous two versions, the class now goes to level 20, has six subclasses, and can choose from many new psionic disciplines and talents. Explore the material here—there’s a lot of it—and let us know what you think in the survey we release in the next installment of Unearthed Arcana." Click the image below for the full 28-page PDF!

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[cbwjm]

Yeah I think I am "voting" for the Wu Jen to be moved to the Wizard (or maybe Sorcerer - that class needs more interesting subclasses) and the Soul Knife to Rogue (the Rogue may not need it but the Soul Knife does.)

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I'm hoping they keep the wu jen in the mystic class, I like it since it gives a completely different feel and showcases the different nature of the wu jen from a standard wizard that I don't think you would get if it was just another wizard subclass.

 

[TheWriterFantastic™]

I'm digging the ideas behind v3, but not necessarily the execution - but I'll leave my final opinions to after playtesting. Quirks are inspired. The different archetypes are definitely a callback to some of the disciplines specialists and other psionic classes in 3.5/4e, though it feels like we're being brought back to Multiple Ability Dependency - with Intelligence being the general Mystic manifesting ability, for lack of better term at this point, yet the Immortal Order and related disciplines rely on Strength for unarmed/natural weapon attacks, Strength/Dexterity for wielded weapon attacks, Constitution & Dexterity for Immortal Durability, and back to Intelligence for disciplines requiring saving throws. Soulknife requires Dexterity for weapon attacks, Intelligence to a lesser extent. Other subclasses are less MAD, more tied to Intelligence for arbitrary reasons - Order of the Awakened makes some sense (explicit mind powers), while Charisma would seem more apt for Order of the Avatar, and Nomad stands alone in it's own sector. I'm still on the fence about Psionic Investigation - instead of being solely the forte of telepath/telekinetic experts, why isn't it its own, or part of another, discipline? Maybe grant a bonus discipline for Awakened instead, since they're the psychic wunderkind? Critiques/questions aside, I'm really excited to playtest this version - I've already whipped up Svirfneblin Mystic (Order of the Immortal), that's survived being trapped in a broom closet for 150 years, because having Psionic Focus with the Adaptive Body seems to allow that... And what happened to the Immortal's Martial Weapons?

 

[shamurai7]

I find the lack of Extra Attack for at least one of the combat-oriented orders (Soul Knife and Immortal...the latter being more just tankish than actual martial combatant) seems...off. Sure, if you pick the Celerity discipline, there you go....but making it a "discipline tax" feels off. Sure, other useful stuff attached to Celerity, but geez, even a valor Bard gets extra attack at 6th and they can be just as versatile with their spells.

Plus Surge of Action also feels "off" under Celerity...all the other aspects of that discipline deal with movement, something about getting from here to there. The extra attack doesn't feel like it fits to me, though the Dash option definitely does.

Other impressions:

-I like the Wu Jen here, though I'll be renaming it to something else. Wu Jen to me is a strictly arcane spell wielding class (play a LOT of Oriental Adventures 1e-3e, so calling this a Wu Jen would be too odd at our table). Started using Heroes of the Orient from DM's Guild as well, and the Wu Jen in that product is more how we view the Wu Jen. So...nifty and like the psionic wu jen, but renaming it

-Reading more, I'm not digging any of the disciplines that offer extra attacks (just the extra attack if it does more than one thing). Not that I find it a balance issue or anything, it just doesn't feel quite right. I prefer extra attacks being intrinsically linked to a class-granted ability (or subclass). Extra actions or bonus actions perhaps. I dunno...disciplines giving extra attacks just feels wrong.

-Soul Knife....nope. I'll be completely changing that in house rules, name et al.

well.....seems your whiny pre-defined ideas will stop you from enjoying anything eh? complaining about a mystic WuJen? lolz "must be strictly arcane wha wha wha"

I do agree though that something as vital to a path as an extra attack shouldn't be a tax. It makes an illusion of options when the truth is you only have 1. They should skim the disciplines over so none of them are 'essential'. Also of important note. the mystic gets 8 disciplines known and one path only has 5 total. WTF is that krap?

 

[Lanliss]

well.....seems your whiny pre-defined ideas will stop you from enjoying anything eh? complaining about a mystic WuJen? lolz "must be strictly arcane wha wha wha"

I do agree though that something as vital to a path as an extra attack shouldn't be a tax. It makes an illusion of options when the truth is you only have 1. They should skim the disciplines over so none of them are 'essential'. Also of important note. the mystic gets 8 disciplines known and one path only has 5 total. WTF is that krap?

You only have to pick from disciplines for your order for the Bonus disciplines, otherwise you are free to pick any, if I am not mistaken. Although it is a little off that you cannot build a "straight" mystic of each subclass.

 

[Leatherhead]

Mind Meld isn't redundant, they can respond now

That's what natural language does for you. I interpreted "speak" in the common two-way sense due to having my brain being numb from reading everything else.

Bestial Claws isn't like smite, don't add damage he is the damage. Important part, don't consume action or bonus action (this is probably a mistake), if not, is just to good

It's like smite in that you can poor points into it. Which was probably a bad choice of words because its the normal attack power much like Corrosive Touch. This makes it worse than other comparable powers due to limited range, using INT for a melee character, and having the slashing damage type.

Brute Strike let you use after hit and before damage, unlike all other disciplines, none chance to miss and you can use after see a crit

No, you have to spend the bonus action before you attack. Which adds a rider to your attacks, but only for the current turn. If you miss with all of your attacks on that turn, you lose the extra damage and the points spent. You cannot hit and then use a bonus action before you apply damage. Abilities that let you activate them after you hit but before you damage things say "when you hit".

Darkness is even more broken with no concentration, must have for ranged builds that can use just 1 psi point and stay there or melee with There and Back Again

I meant it was literally broken, not simply overpowered.

Whirlwind is great, the low damage let you use in yourself and allies too

It's good, because of the STR save, which many creatures are good at.

Thunder Clap

Is a con save, one of the hardest to crack.

Chameleon use your action, so you can hide only in that turn and don't have action to use, not that great at all

Hiding normally takes your action, this is improved hide, without any restrictions on trying to start it.

Wandering Eye and Phasing Eye are way better than Scrying, you don't need to know anyone, you can explore the entire dungeon and expand the "you can see" disciplines and spells, with Nomadic Step you can break the entire dungeon, check all, teleport to BBEG room, surprise attack, get tresure and go home. Is the DM's nightmare.

They aren't that great, with vision limited to 60', a duration of one hour, and it takes an action to move them 30'. You will be spending a very long time scouting, time enough for entire patrols to move around, or being ambushed at the gates. And those problems are multiplied by two when you have to send out the eye again so you can teleport back out of the dungeon.

 

[Morrus]

well.....seems your whiny pre-defined ideas will stop you from enjoying anything eh? complaining about a mystic WuJen? lolz "must be strictly arcane wha wha wha"

Utterly inappropriate. Please do not post in this thread again. Playground namecalling does not belong on this site.

 

[mellored]

So how do you build an Immortal? The other sub-classes seem to lend themselves to a particular function/style (wu jen=elementalist, avatar=psychic warlord, nomad=psychic ranger, soul knife=melee dual wield) but I am not seeing what you are supposed to do with the immortal. There are tanky powers that direct enemies to you indirectly/indirectly that you could use to build a melee sentinel IF you take fighter at first level for shield and heavy armor proficiency but it seems like you should be able to do something with the class without multiclassing. Right now they don't have even medium armor or melee weapons so are they just casters that get a lot of HP and THP?

You can get 20 AC (10+5dex+5con), +1 from iron hide, +2 with bestial hide, +dodge as a bonus action from celerity, and upto +7 as a reaction.
= 30AC, with disadvantage to be hit. Not to mention regenerating THP, and possible resistance.
That's better tanking than the barbarian. Just don't expect damage.


Or you can boost Int, protect yourself with microscopic form, and play as a tougher caster. That works too.

Hmm... microscopic form + warcaster... need to snag a spell from somewhere though...

 

[mellored]

I meant it was literally broken, not simply overpowered.

I think it's safe to assume 1 or 10 minute concentration on the darkness spell.
And on the flip side, you can't cast it on objects. So it's not strictly superior.

 

[bganon]

Are you looking at the same soulknife as me? Because it had Hide and Move Silently in its skill list making it kinda sneaky, and got a decent 4+Int skill ranks per level.

I'll grant that Hide and Move Silently are on their skill list, but jeez, Barbarians had 4+Int skill ranks and I don't recall them being considered skill monkeys. Rangers and bards got 6, and Rogues had 8. But it's not the "sneaky" bit that strikes me as most off-character for the Soulknife so much as the "trapfinding skill monkey". Anyway, I'm not trying to claim that the Rogue class doesn't mesh well with the Soulknife - it does - but that I don't think it's the only option for meshing well with the Soulknife, and I'd hate to see them limited to it.

Sounds like you're not qualified to judge the significance of that difference, then, especially to those who do care.

The Ardent has been it's own class in not one but two past editions. It's bad enough getting demoted to a sub-class, and having your name changed to something that makes no sense ('the Avatar?' Of which deity?), without /also/ being mistaken for some other class!

Fair enough, actually, point taken. I'll just settle for being happy that I can play a glaive-wielding master tactician again (with some in-combat mechanics to back up the tactician part).

 

[ppaladin123]

You can get 20 AC (10+5dex+5con), +1 from iron hide, +2 with bestial hide, +dodge as a bonus action from celerity, and upto +7 as a reaction.
= 30AC, with disadvantage to be hit. Not to mention regenerating THP, and possible resistance.
That's better tanking than the barbarian. Just don't expect damage.


Or you can boost Int, protect yourself with microscopic form, and play as a tougher caster. That works too.

Hmm... microscopic form + warcaster... need to snag a spell from somewhere though...

Wujen rather than Immortal?