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.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I think either the term “psionic energy die(dice)” will need a change or the community will invent a new shorthand.

7 syllables just to refer to a common class resource is going to be a mouthful every time.

I don’t like the abbreviation PED, but it might stick.

 

[dave2008]

Are they still doing the Weave thing in 5.5?

No, it has been completely removed from the 2024 books as I noted in later post.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Except Psionics is also Magic. They use the word magic over and over and over and over again.

The Weave is also required to cast Cleric and Druid Spells, Paladin Spells, Warlock Spells.

So "Defiling" can't have any kind of effect on the Weave for Arcane Spellcasters (Wizards, Warlocks, Bards, Sorcerers) that it doesn't also have on every -other- kind of spellcaster.

Definitely a better option. They could use Dark Sun to specifically excise the idea that every world in the Multiverse uses the Weave and have it be the example that breaks the rule, breaking the 2014 principle.

I'd be delighted with that, myself.

I'd be surprised if they added the Weave to Dark Sun and then specified that it only matters for Arcane Casters to half-way remove the previous stipulation that all magic of all kinds is reliant on the Weave... And then come up with a complex explanation of how Arcane Magic has decimated or abused the Weave, and somehow the Weave on -this- planet decided to start killing all the vegetation and stuff to provide power since day 1 of defiling...

But I think it'd be easier to explicitly throw out the Weave -if- they do Dark Sun.

Was Psionics referred to as magic back in the 2e Dark Sun days?

 

[Maxperson]

Not really.

With you it's been a continuing problem that has caused arguments through your dismissive attitude.

With him it's just not that kind of relationship, yet. He may get there. He might not. But everyone gets some chances before I put my foot down.

You've just already run through yours between various threads.

That doesn't really fly. Either those answers of his also amount to a "nuh uh," or you were out of line in mischaracterizing my response that way. The posts don't become different based on our past histories.

If you are having trouble reading my posts to the point where you can't tell what I'm saying and why, it would explain why I've been so puzzled at a lot of your responses to me over time.

When I read your posts, even though we have some history with disagreements, I read it fresh and with the intent to understand what you are saying. Often, I do agree with you on what you say, and I do think you are a first class game designer. You can count me in the group who thinks your version of the psion is better than the one in the current UA.

Perhaps try and see what I am saying with that in mind, because I don't post responses trying to be dismissive or just to be argumentative. If I disagree with someone, I have reasons and I put those out there as why I disagree.

 

[dave2008]

It's not. @Steampunkette is mistaken about what 5e said about the Weave. There no such magical dependance unless 5.5e added it in for some strange reason. Accessing magic through life energies is right in line with what the various "Weaves" can do.

It's mentioned in the 5e PHB on page 205. The idea is that magic suffuses everything and mortals can't access it directly, so they have to access it through something else and in varied ways. In the FR it's through the Goddess Mystra, but that's only in the FR.

You must be speaking of the 2014 PHB, because it is not in the 2024 one (pg 205 is a page of Feats in the 2024 PHB). As my post noted I was talking about the 5e24 rules.

 

[Corinnguard]

I think either the term “psionic energy die(dice)” will need a change or the community will invent a new shorthand.

7 syllables just to refer to a common class resource is going to be a mouthful every time.

I don’t like the abbreviation PED, but it might stick.

The term will probably be swapped out with another one during the next couple of surveys and playtests.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

never liked psionics in Dark Sun, so you have a light and a dark side of ‘the force’ in the preserver and defiler, and then you decide that it is for fools, because psionics are just magic without the downsides of either…

Yeah, I always felt that the point of psionics in Dark Sun was to serve as mutant powers (without actually copy/pasting from Gamma World) not to bypass the downsides of magic.

It has occurred to me that this UA has nothing like enough wild talents to do Dark Sun, since everyone should have one.

 

[Steampunkette]

Druids fell into the preserver niche for me, and clerics never really bothered me, maybe because they existed in other settings as well whereas psionics was something I only encountered in Dark Sun and maybe as a result it did feel like they were specifically added so we could have our cake and eat it too (magic without the downsides of defiling / preserving)

I can see that, sure.

It feeling like a workaround for Defiling and Preserving does make sense... but Defiling was meant to be the easy path to power in the setting. You got a shorter XP table if you were a defiler as a reward for embracing evil and would level up as a Wizard faster than if you were a Preserver.

So while it was certainly a way -to- sidestep... that wasn't the goal. Also everyone getting Wild Talents was a big deal. Previously you rolled for those.

Are they still doing the Weave thing in 5.5?

No, it has been completely removed from the 2024 books as I noted in later post.

It wasn't included in the 2024 PHB. However it also hasn't been addressed. And "This is the law of the Multiverse and how magic functions everywhere across all time and space" feels like it needs a specific response, to me.

YMMV, of course. But so long as it's "Still 5th Edition D&D" then it still has 5e's baggage 'til they drop it, IMO.

Was Psionics referred to as magic back in the 2e Dark Sun days?

"A Note About Psionics"

"Dark Sun is a world of powerful psionics. Every player character has at least one psionic talent, as do many of the non-player characters and monsters. A thorough understanding of The Complete Psionics Handbook is required for full enjoyment of any DARK SUN campaign"

So let's check the Psionics Handbook.

"Is Psionics Magical?"
Many people assume that psionics is just another type of magic. The AD&D* game already has two types of magic - one wielded by wizards and the other by clerics. So it is not unreasonable to ask, "Does the game need a third type of magic?"

The answer is no, the game probably does not need a third kind of magic.

But the question is misinformed because psionics is not magic. Magic is the ability to shape, control, harness, and utilize natural forces that infuse the game world and surround the characters. It is based on the principle that, through the use of words, gestures, and catalyzing materials of unique power, these external energies can be controlled.

The key element of that statement is external energy. Magical effects are produced externally by manipulating outside forces. The power does not come from inside the wizard or priest but from somewhere else.

Psionics is the complete opposite of this. The psionicist shapes, controls, harnesses, and utilizes natural forces that infuse his own being. His effort is focused inward rather than outward. He must be completely in touch with and aware of even the tiniest workings of his body and mind.

This type of knowledge comes from long and intense meditation coupled with physical extremes. The psionicist finds enlightenment in both complete exhaustion and complete relaxation, in both pain and pleasure. The mind and body are only parts of a much greater unity. Indeed, discussing one without the other, as so many people do, seems nonsensical to a psionicist; they cannot be separated. The body produces energy and vitality, the mind gives it shape and reality.

Neither does the psionicist study or pray for his powers. He carries them with him wherever he goes. As long as his mind and body are rested - i.e., as long as he has not depleted his psionic strength - his powers are available to him."

So no. Psionics in original Dark Sun are not magic.

 

[Maxperson]

You must be speaking of the 2014 PHB, because it is not in the 2024 one (pg 205 is a page of Feats in the 2024 PHB). As my post noted I was talking about the 5e24 rules.

I don't use the dates. I used 5e and 5.5e, because that's more accurate in my opinion. But yes, it's in the 5e PHB and I don't know about 5.5e as I said.

The 5e PHB is still relevant, because unless 5.5e changes something, the 5e version is assumed to still be in play. If 5.5e is silent on the weave, then the 5e version still applies.

In any case, the 5e version still works just fine with Dark Sun. Preservers and defilers access the "weave" through life energies, and psions through their own minds and bodies.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Are they still doing the Weave thing in 5.5?

It cropped up in BG3, so I would say it’s still current, even if the effects are downplayed. I would think that for none FR settings they might write it out if it created problems. As pointed out, new lore can always overwrite old.