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.

 

[dave2008]

Hanging on to nonfunctional or dysfunctional rules is unhealthy for any gaming system.

If most gamers ignore spell components, then it is time to delete them from the game, for the same reason D&D dropped Encumbrance from the game.

Definitely dont bake bad rules into future D&D products, especially not into a psionic option where they dont belong.

My point is I don't care what WotC does, make the game fit your style - not the other way around.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Definitely dont bake bad rules into future D&D products, especially not into a psionic option where they dont belong.

Why not? It hasn't hurt 5th edition up to this point. Having a Psion class with somatic components and costly material components next year is not going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back on this issue.

Just because you can't handle it doesn't mean it has to be done.

 

[Yaarel]

I can ignore the material spell components, but just ‘thinking’ with no gestures is a ‘no’ from me. It should be obvious who is ‘casting the spell’ and being restrained should have the same preventative effect as for spellcasters

There are better ways to know if someone is manifesting. There are 'mental waves' emanating from the caster. Conscious creatures can sense that. If the manifester is trying to conceal it, it is something like an Insight versus Insight check.

In 5e, the target of any spell always knows what is happening, the spell and what it is doing. There is no ambiguity.

 

[Mournblade94]

This would definitely be my guess over Darksun. It would give the Psion a place to fit in rather being jammed into a bigger source book. Although I do think a shorter book updating Kalashtar would be a good step in the right direction by updating smaller portions of settings rather than trying to update them whole cloth. 64-96 pages would be ideal. Or the smaller boxed sets from 2E Al-Qadim would also be a good format. IMO the Spelljammer and Planescape adaptations for 5E we're pretty terrible, I'd rather them leave Darksun alone. I'm sure curiosity will get the best of me, and I'll pick up the FR books in Nov, but I'm not very optimistic.

The 5e realms book is being done by Ed Greenwood. The writing of it and the lore should be good.

Generally though after WOTC attempts at DL, and spell jammer being skeptical is warranted.

I'm ok with letting things be shelved. I'd rather Wheel of Time and Witcher series never manifested rather than give them to show runners that wanted to tell their own stories rather than adapt them properly.

 

[Yaarel]

My point is I don't care what WotC does, make the game fit your style - not the other way around.

They used to call it the 'Oberoni Fallacy', when saying that if Rule Zero can fix a bad rule, then the bad rule doesnt need fixing.

 

[Dire Bare]

In short: Marketability and ease of Design.

In Long:

1) Climate Change is a charged political issue rather than something even children understand is a continuous problem.

2) The aggregation of global power into the hands of a few magocratic elite who lie and manipulate the populace to try and force their compliance rings too true to the modern day.

3) Psionics. They've yet to make a decent psionics class. This is as close as they've gotten in over 10 years.

4) They painted themselves into a corner making the "Weave" a universal source of magic for designing a world where that makes no sense.

5) "Brutality". Dark Sun was originally a scaled up "More Difficult" version of D&D with higher stat values and bigger scarier monsters that kill you and make you grab a new character. And the current urge to balance everything in the blandest way possible makes that original design intent a non-option, stripping away more of the setting's identity.

6) A buncha classes aren't the current shiny happy version. Some are specifically not typically present at all, resulting in a desire to either alter the setting, or the classes.

7) Most of the massive kitchen sink of gonzo heritages don't exist on Athas, which might make it hard for some players who refuse to play anything other than the one heritage they like.

8) Cannibal Elves and Halflings instead of lofty fae creatures and chubby adorable cooks breaks the current narrative schema of trying to make everything homogeneous across as many settings as possible. The core races would need to be redesigned.

9) Mul. A half-breed which cannot produce offspring plays into some ugly historical stereotypes and racist ideologies.

10) Dark Sun is an untested property on the current primary market. The 4e market was mostly people who had played 3e hanging with the people who played 2e. 5e's market is way younger and doesn't have that experience, making it a shot in the dark on whether or not it'll actually be something people will like outside of nostalgia purchases for the older players. And without widespread adoption it's practically doomed.

11) Dark Sun is a drastically different setting to traditional fantasy. At least Ravenloft's Gothic Horror typically has a place -in- high fantasy settings. But apocalyptic fantasy is wholly different and less likely to be widely adopted. The sheer divergence of identity from -everything- that has sold well in the past decade may be too far a gulf for Hasbro's board of directors who are just trying to keep WotC and D&D in a place of profitability.

We'll have to disagree. I can't see anything you've listed as a reason for WotC to avoid publishing Dark Sun. Avoiding climate change?

 

[TwoSix]

They used to call it the 'Oberoni Fallacy', when saying that if Rule Zero can fix a bad rule, then the bad rule doesnt need fixing.

Heh. "Rule Zero" for bad rules is akin to saying you shouldn't arrest burglars because you can always just lock your doors and windows.

Yes, bad rules will always exist. Yes, they will always need to be ruled around if they impact the flow of the game. But the bad rules should also be identified and stamped out whenever possible.

 

[GarrettKP]

In 5e, the target of any spell always knows what is happening, the spell and what it is doing. There is no ambiguity.

This also isn’t correct, as there’s even rules in Xanathar’s about how to identify a spell being cast. The target does not inherently know anything about the spell unless the spell says they know. The way characters know a spell is being cast is because of the verbal, somatic, and material components. That’s why they are in the rules.

 

[mamba]

In 5e, the target of any spell always knows what is happening, the spell and what it is doing. There is no ambiguity.

what about third parties observing the caster? I want it as clear to them as to the target. It also doesn’t address the restraint part…

 

[Maxperson]

"Nuh huh."

'Kay.

What?