D&D Debuts Playtest for Psion Class

Wizards of the Coast is playtesting the Psion class for Dungeons & Dragons. Today, Wizards of the Coast provided a new Unearthed Arcana for the Psion, a new class for the current revised 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. The playtest includes base class rules plus four subclasses - the body-shifting Metamorph, the reality warping Psi Warper, the offensive-minded Psykinetic, and the Telepath.

The core mechanic of the Psion involves use of Psion Energy die. Players have a pool of energy dice that replenishes after a Long Rest, with the number and size of the dice determined by the Psion's level. These psion energy dice can either be rolled to increase results of various checks/saving throws or spent to fuel various Psion abilities.

While the Psion and psionics have a long tradition in D&D, they've only received a handful of subclasses in 5th Edition. If the Psion survives playtesting, it would mark the first time that Wizards of the Coast has added a new character class to D&D since the Artificer. Notably, the Psion and psionics are also heavily associated with Dark Sun, a post-apocalyptic campaign setting that many considered to be off the table for Fifth Edition due to the need to update parts of the setting to bring it current with modern sensibilities. However, the introduction of Wild talent feats (which replaces some Origin feats tied to backgrounds with psion-themed Feats) in the UA seems to suggest that Dark Sun is back on the table.

 

[TravDoc42]

The updated Dark Sun campaign setting should be: "John Brown gets isekai'd to Athas after Harper's Ferry, chaos ensues"

I would buy that in a heartbeat

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Call me crazy, but running around killing slavers while you level up so you can kill the evil wizard who's going to turn the region into a wasteland so that he can become a dragon feels like the ideal Dark Sun campaign and the opposite of problematic.

A low-key aspect is the roving stateless corporate giants out monopolizing and exploiting that need a good pounding.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The updated Dark Sun campaign setting should be: "John Brown gets isekai'd to Athas after Harper's Ferry, chaos ensues"

YES!!!!

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Dark Sun is relatively mature but not really problematic. The challengue is DS limited a lot of options for PC species and classes. We could say certain PCs were created thanks mutations or relatively failed reincarnation spells, but for example living constructs don't need food and this in DS would be breaking the power balance. And we may need an answer about species with a lot of magic could be causing some defiler effect in the near area.

* Tari (ratfolk) could be a new PC specie.

The time travel is canon in DS. This means a reboot of the setting may be possible.

The region of Tyr is relatively small and linked to the metaplot for the 5e standars.

The crunch part can be updated, and the fluff space could be only a chapter in a sourcebook. The fans only would need the setting to be unlocked in DMGuild.

We can't forget Kalidnay, the dark domain from Ravenloft setting. My opinion is this detail may be important because some "exotic" elements that aren't from the region of Tyr in Athas really are from the neighbour regions of the demiplane of dread.

If players start to create biopunk life-shaper crunch, this could change radically the game.

We know nothing about other worlds within the Athaspace. And the Athaspace could be affected by Vecna or Tharizdum (elemental elder eye)'s machinations.

* Now there isn't slavery in the region of Tyr, this has been replaced with convicts sentenced to forced labors because they couldn't pay the high taxes.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

And speaking more broadly, Dark Sun is game about climate change and powerful ruthless individuals destroying the world for personal gain. That's a heck of a compelling idea for a setting for 2026.

Dark Sun has literally never been more relevant, and it seems to get more relevant literally every single day! Doesn't seem like that's going to stop any time soon, either! And yes I say this in every thread Dark Sun gets mentioned it, but it keeps getting more true!

Ironically I suspect this might be a bigger bar to WotC having the cojones to make it than any number of "problematic" elements.

 

[Remathilis]

Call me crazy, but running around killing slavers while you level up so you can kill the evil wizard who's going to turn the region into a wasteland so that he can become a dragon feels like the ideal Dark Sun campaign and the opposite of problematic.

It's a little more nuanced then that and I don't want to get into it here (that is new thread territory) but the issue isn't that slavery is bad, it's that it's tolerated in everywhere but Tyr. That creates a lot of systemic issues.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's a little more nuanced then that and I don't want to get into it here (that is new thread territory) but the issue isn't that slavery is bad, it's that it's tolerated in everywhere but Tyr. That creates a lot of systemic issues.

Moving the scene of the action to another part of the planet or forward 100 years would address both of those. (Or, you know, just retconning the level of acceptance.)

 

[Henadic Theologian]

And it makes a bunch of call outs to 2e/3e material. Its likely as good as you are going to get from WotC.

Yep, I think this is peak Psion for 5e/5.5e and if this gets voted down, that's it for the Psion, although there may be tweeks based on feedback. Like I think Summon Astral Entity should be either Construct or Celestial/Fiend instead of Aberration. This spell is connected to the Astral Plane, not the Far Realms. Minor tweak.

I think it's awesome and I hope folks vote in favour of the Psion, I don't want the Psion to die again.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

It's a little more nuanced then that and I don't want to get into it here (that is new thread territory) but the issue isn't that slavery is bad, it's that it's tolerated in everywhere but Tyr. That creates a lot of systemic issues.

That it's tolerated everywhere but Tyr sounds like a plot hook to me.

"Oh, the dragon is flying around and eating all the virgins of the land!" Well yeah buddy you're a hero, slay that naughty word dragon.

"Slavery is an intrinsic part of the culture of the Tablelands, it's very nuanced!" "Wow, that's a lot of words to say 'please mr. paladin don't smite my face off for being a slavemaster'."

 

[mamba]

LEARN FROM THIS!!!

the lesson is give 1s and 5s only, everything else leaves too much up for interpretation… the ‘nuance’ has to come from the fact that you are not the only one filling out the survey