D&D 5E Codex of the Mind - Psionics for 5e

[dave2008]

I just notice the egg highlighted a new kickstart in his weekly Crowdfunding News column that I thought would interest everyone who is clamoring for 5e psionic content. If so, you might be interested in this book from Paradigm Concepts:

Codex of the Mind - A Complete Psionics System for 5E​

The book is to include:

Codex of the Mind will contain:

• Three new Base Classes: The Psion, the Psi-Warrior, and the Wilder
• New Psionic Class Options
• 50 sub-classes, such as the empathic healer, kineticist, and psi-blade, as well as more exotic ones such as the crystalmancer, necropsych, echokineticist, and many more.
• New Backgrounds and Feats
• New Equipment and Magic Items
• Psionic runes to enhance your Hero’s gear
• Expanded Madness rules
• A “madness” warlock patron
• Optional Psionic Dueling Rules
• The Silence – a psionically empowered threat!
• A new val family – the val’Cessari
• And of course, a full suite of psionic disciplines, powers, and spells

Anyway, I just thought some people might be interested who may or may not checkout the crowdfunding article so I thought I would share it here.

Edit: There is also a free PDF preview if you go to the KS.

 

[Retreater]

Unfortunately, it just misses the mark in what I want in psionics. It really needs roll to manifest and power points. Otherwise, this is just spellcasting done slightly differently.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Unfortunately, it just misses the mark in what I want in psionics. It really needs roll to manifest and power points. Otherwise, this is just spellcasting done slightly differently.

Agreed.

But this approach absolutely fits in the extraordinarily constricting 5e ethos of "reuse and rebadge, don't add anything new," which is becoming a bigger and bigger issue as time goes on. The fact that Fantasy Grounds explicitly isn't able to incorporate anything that isn't just a rehash of existing mechanics just drives the nail deeper.

I guess it's not just a 5e thing; the entire WotC era of D&D has shield hard away from new mechanics or systems. But still.

It makes me sad, but clearly the products are not designed for me. Oh well.

 

[Scribe]

The fact that Fantasy Grounds explicitly isn't able to incorporate anything that isn't just a rehash of existing mechanics just drives the nail deeper.

Is this to say that if someone did build out an entire Psionics system, it couldnt be put up on the Guild or something?

 

[dave2008]

Is this to say that if someone did build out an entire Psionics system, it couldnt be put up on the Guild or something?

No, of courses it could. That has nothing to do with Fantasy Grounds. I would be surprised if there isn't already something like this on DMsGuild

EDIT: Yep, there is at least 10 already on the Guild:
The Complete Psionics Handbook (5e)
Improved Arcana: Psionics and the Mystic
School of Psionics 5e
Psionics Handbook
Psionics: A Supplement for 5E
Hooked on Psionics
Secrets of the Psiumarkh: A Psionics Handbook for 5th Edition
Return of Psionics
The Korranberg Chronicle: Psion's Primer - A Complete Psionics System
Psionic Powers, Practitioners, & Perils (5e)

@Retreater, have you tried any of these?

 

[Scribe]

EDIT: Yep, there is at least 10 already on the Guild:

OK, I was thinking 'have I missed some stipulation for upload' but nope. Thanks!

 

[Ath-kethin]

Is this to say that if someone did build out an entire Psionics system, it couldnt be put up on the Guild or something?

You absolutely can. And a couple have. There's a pretty good one based on the 2e rules that's available, though I think it's on DTRPG.

But Fantasy Grounds only allows variations on the existing themes, so if you come up with a new - or new-to-5e - mechanical system, it's pretty tricky to implement in that system. We ran into this with the Fantasy Grounds conversion of our Zakhara/Al-Qadim campaign guide, for example, since we included a mechanical system that has not appeared in official WotC publications.

 

[Retreater]

@Retreater, have you tried any of these?

No, I haven't. Like a fool I have been re-inventing the wheel by going back to the 2e Complete book because I didn't know those existed. Maybe I should look at some of those.

 

[Aldarc]

Unfortunately, it just misses the mark in what I want in psionics. It really needs roll to manifest and power points. Otherwise, this is just spellcasting done slightly differently.

Considering the names of the classes it's designing, I think that it's clearly trying to pick up 3e psionics in the same manner that Dreamscarred Press did.

Edit: Nevermind. The preview in the Kickstarter takes a very different approach than 3e psionics.

 

[Yaarel]

Can someone describe the gaming design approaches of the various psionic products mentioned so far?