Unearthed Arcana New Psion update, Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana

A new Unearthed Arcana is up, featuring a revised version of the Psion class. Per a D&D Beyond article, the Psion has seen considerable changes. Feedback for the class focused into three main areas - Psionic Energy Dice, Psionic Modes, and Spellcasting. Psionic Energy Dice are now more flexible and easier to obtain - a new feature called Psionic Reserves allows players to regain uses of Psionic Energy Dice and Telepathic Propel and Telepathic Connection allow players to use those abilities one time each without expending energy dice. Meanwhile, Psionic Modes has been cut from the class, with various aspects of the ability being incorporated into various subclasses as new features. Finally, the Psion now has an updated and expanded spelllist. The UA also contains seven brand new spells and updated versions of existing spells as well.

Additionally, the Metamorph, Psykinetic, and Telepath have all received updates. The Metamorph's abilities now often feature a roll of the Psionic Energy Die while they're being expended. The Psykinetic gains a Stronger Telekinesis feature with an improved Mage Hand spell use. Also, players can now use Telekinetic Propel without expending a Psionic Energy Dice. Finally, the Telepath has a new Telepathic Distraction feature that lets you interfere with another creature's attack roll if it's within range of your telepathy. Scramble Minds was redesigned to reduce the number of dice rolls needed to keep combat from getting bogged down.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Telepaths in fiction are generally shown as magnetic and having a compelling presence, not being overly studious or learned. You don't ask Jean Grey to make History checks, you ask Beast. Telepathic abilities are almost innately going to make an individual better at social interactions, which is much better represented by a high Charisma score, rather than a host of subclass exceptions that let the character use Intelligence for their Charisma skill checks and Insight checks.

The Mule from Foundation? The titular Akira from Akira? The Master from Fallout? There's often an association with psychic powers, mutation, ugliness and cosmic wrongness.

 

[TwoSix]

The Mule from Foundation? The titular Akira from Akira? The Master from Fallout? There's often an association with psychic powers, mutation, ugliness and cosmic wrongness.

Repulsion isn't inherently negative Charisma; blandness and lack of authority/presence is.

 

[Neonchameleon]

The Mule from Foundation? The titular Akira from Akira? The Master from Fallout? There's often an association with psychic powers, mutation, ugliness and cosmic wrongness.

Charisma isn't the same as Comeliness. The Mule is 100% charismatic and compelling even if ugly. And beholders are Charisma 17.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Telepaths in fiction are generally shown as magnetic and having a compelling presence, not being overly studious or learned. You don't ask Jean Grey to make History checks, you ask Beast. Telepathic abilities are almost innately going to make an individual better at social interactions, which is much better represented by a high Charisma score, rather than a host of subclass exceptions that let the character use Intelligence for their Charisma skill checks and Insight checks.

You could make the same argument about why Enchanter Wizards should use Charisma instead. Some of it comes down to the base class and them wanting to have the class just use one ability score for powers, as it's down to D&D being a class-based instead of skill point-based system.

And to use the X-Men for example, Charles Xavier definitely has a higher intelligence score than his charisma. He has some sort of PHD in something like genetics. He's a genius that built many things like Cerebro, many of the X-Men's devices and a mutant nation.

Emma Frost has a high Charisma but she's quite intelligent too, with her it's also probably down to having a lot of skills as well. She's like a well educated and shrewd business woman who happens to have Telepathy as a power.

Quentin Quire is definitely all Intelligence, he probably lacks in Wisdom and was only charismatic enough to form a gang of delinquent students at Xavier's School once. He's the embodiment of a smart rebellious kid.

 

[TwoSix]

You could make the same argument about why Enchanter Wizards should use Charisma instead. Some of it comes down to the base class and them wanting to have the class just use one ability score for powers, as it's down to D&D being a class-based instead of skill point-based system.

I think the Enchanter Wizard is a little trickier. Wizardly arcane magic has an inherent narrative to it of being dependent on studious learning. An Enchanter Wizard narrative can easily be built around "using my studied magic to learn tricks to make people like me", which has a strong argument to be presented as high Intelligence, less Charisma.

But of course, it would be easy to build a concept for an Enchanter Wizard where is the reverse is true. Which is why I'm generally against the concept of class being wedded to a certain stat in general.

 

[Gradine]

True strike required a weapon with a cost. Unless you can argue "my body costs 500 gp because that's how much it takes to resurrect me", your organic weapons have no cost. Otherwise you could true strike with an unarmed strike.

https://www.trustedchoice.com/insurance-articles/covering-your-assets/

 

[Faolyn]

It kind of feels like you are poo-poohing the idea when you keep saying things like 'just make it an archetype of sorcerer.'

It's the same thing where people say that Warlord or Ranger should just be an archetype of Fighter... I mean sure you can do that, but that feels needlessly limiting to me. Especially when we're talking about what will be only the second new class from WOTC since the game's inception.

OK, so my first psionicist was, of course, 2e's, which was very different from any other class. And not just mechanically--the powers were very different as well. Many of them were kinda dumb, but they were different.

This version has cool and unique class/archetype abilities; the fact that it uses spells that it shares with every other caster is not.

(Also, I didn't say "Just make it an archetype of sorcerer. I'm saying that if the only thing keeping you from doing Dark Sun is defiling, that's easy enough to handle without a new class.)

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I suspect we are chatting like how to cook certain recipe and we can't agree what ingredients to be added because we may want different things. Somebody imagine psions like the D&D version of X-Men, or a "cofrater" (member of a brotherhood) like the jedis from Star Wars, and others are more influenced by current xuanhuan fiction about cultivators. We could bet somebody would want to create a psion PC inspired in Momo Ayase from Dandadan manganime.

It is not only about magic to counterspell but psionic powers but also if psions could spend power points or spirit-spell slots to counterspell enemy spells.

Other point is WotC wants "spirit spells" could be used by other spellcasters. And they would rather to use only one stats block for monsters with psionic powers, to avoid two stats-blocks like in 3.5 ed.

What if a player wanted a new subclass about a medium who uses psionic/spirit magic to controll souls and spirits?

 

[Chaltab]

OK, so my first psionicist was, of course, 2e's, which was very different from any other class. And not just mechanically--the powers were very different as well. Many of them were kinda dumb, but they were different.

This version has cool and unique class/archetype abilities; the fact that it uses spells that it shares with every other caster is not.

(Also, I didn't say "Just make it an archetype of sorcerer. I'm saying that if the only thing keeping you from doing Dark Sun is defiling, that's easy enough to handle without a new class.)

Okay but why? A new class is not a bad thing! You keep acting like designing a new class for Dark Sun is some kind of failure state.

 

[Remathilis]

easy fix is to change primary attribute from Cha to Int.
Sure some spells might be lacking, but I agree, primary Int goes a lot better on psionics.

Easy enough to houserule but for an official D&D product like Dark Sun, Wizards has to be explicit.