D&D 5E (2014) 5e Psionics

[Retreater]

Is anyone aware of a good 3PP resource that emulates 2nd edition psionics for 5e? I have a player whose character just underwent psychic surgery by an elder brain and is finding that the psionic options from Tasha's don't go nearly far enough.

 

[Steampunkette]

Is anyone aware of a good 3PP resource that emulates 2nd edition psionics for 5e? I have a player whose character just underwent psychic surgery by an elder brain and is finding that the psionic options from Tasha's don't go nearly far enough.

5e - Psion (KibblesTasty) by KibblesTasty is a good option for the pumping power feel of it.

As to Psionic Combat, I've yet to see a 5e designer -attempt- to model that. I think most people kind of gave up on the whole idea of it pretty much immediately.

 

[Samloyal23]

I miss tangents and harbingers... :-(

 

[Yaarel]

I have a player whose character just underwent psychic surgery by an elder brain and is finding that the psionic options from Tasha's don't go nearly far enough.

Maybe let your player do Persuasion and Intimidation skill checks, telepathically?

 

[Inchoroi]

This one seems pretty good. I've yet to playtest it, but I've also heard good things about KibblesTasty's Psion, too.

 

[TwoSix]

This one seems pretty good. I've yet to playtest it, but I've also heard good things about KibblesTasty's Psion, too.

Kibbles is the best one I've found, and also has a pretty large playtest base, which helps alleviate balance concerns. A lot of the rough edges have been sanded off getting it ready for publication.

 

[Mistwell]

I miss tangents and harbingers... :-(

I miss Psionic Blast, Mind Thrust, Ego Whip, Id Insinuation, and Psychic Crush.

 

[dave2008]

As someone

5e - Psion (KibblesTasty) by KibblesTasty is a good option for the pumping power feel of it.

As to Psionic Combat, I've yet to see a 5e designer -attempt- to model that. I think most people kind of gave up on the whole idea of it pretty much immediately.

As someone who has never played with psionics in D&D, can you expand on why you believe psionics would require a different combat system?

 

[Inchoroi]

One of the things that I've always been hesitant with when it comes to psionics in general is: how to balance it versus magic. Like, a DM can deal with things like Magic Resistance and such, but is it necessary for there to be what would essentially be an entire new spellcasting system that is separate from traditional spellcasting?

My preference would be that its straight-up magic, just doesn't require components like traditional spells. That way, all the stuff we as DMs have to torture our players with aren't out of luck.

 

[Steampunkette]

As someone who has never played with psionics in D&D, can you expand on why you believe psionics would require a different combat system?

2e Psionic Combat and Psionic Powers were two separate systems, though Psionic Powers sometimes interacted with, or triggered, Psionic Combat.

Psionic Powers essentially functioned like Spells except that they had Power Point costs and different aspects of the power that you could change by investing more points into it. This is back when D&D Spells didn't have a "When cast from a higher level slot" option but spells instead scaled with your level (A 6th level Wizard's Fireball did 6d6 while a 10th level Wizard's Fireball did 10d6, both for a 3rd level slot)

Psionic Combat was a whole different beast basically meant to mimic going into someone else's mind and fighting them there. Something like this:


Or this:


In reality you stood there, while brain-battling. It was pretty cool in -concept-, obviously. But in play? It meant the entire table ground to a halt as the Psionicist player spent 20 minutes rolling various attacks and defenses against the DM while other people twiddled their thumbs.

It also applied to stuff like two Psionicists trying to use Psychokinesis on the same object. They'd do roll-offs to see who could control it, sort of like brain-wrestling instead of arm-wrestling.

And, to be clear: I don't "Believe D&D needs" that. In fact I think it's better left as a relic of the past. As cool and thematic as it is, it doesn't translate well into game terms or playscape sharing. Which is the reason that I mentioned never seeing a designer try and model it into 5e D&D.

I've never heard of anyone who tried to have sex with an in-use Blender. Acknowledging that doesn't mean I think people -should-. Just means they haven't to my knowledge.