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.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Anyone using Bastions? That was 5E24's "experimental" rule system that WotC had never done before.

If anyone says they need WotC to be experimental but doesn't actually use the one thing that could satisfy their needs for experiment is a pretty good indication why one's demand for "experimental" design can be ignored. Because odds-are that any other "experimental" thing WotC makes will be another one you'd not use either. Wanting something "experimental" for the sake of it being "experimental" is a pointless request.

What any of you actually want is just a ruleset that you yourself want to use (experimental or no). But WotC cannot design for that because they have no idea whatsoever of whatever sort of whackadoo thing every single individual would find useable. I mean take a look over in the non-spellcaster psion thread (in addition to every other psion, warlord, and arcane half-caster thread ever made over these last 11 years)... all kinds of people just throwing random ideas they think they might like but none of which has a definitive design concept. And if someone ever did come up with a definitive design concept, no one would use it. You know how I know? Because we have countless Psions, Warlords, and Arcane Half-Casters up and down DMs Guild and across the internet fully designed by all of you kinds of folks who are throwing out your ideas of what you might want... these designs fully-made, fully-written, ready to be put on the table and played... and none of you are using them.

So if you can't even like these 3rd Party designs that go in the types of experimental directions you want... what makes any of you think that WotC could somehow by the grace of god come up with another Psion design in addition to the multiples times they've done them for 5E and you would actually LIKE the result? Most likely what will happen is exactly what has happened with everyone who kept yelling and crying "We need Planesape!" We need Dragonlance!" "We need Spelljammer!" WotC'll eventually give it to you, and you'll come back with "Well, yeah we wanted it... but not like THAT!"

And I bet that'd be your precise reactions even if WotC somehow ever created a non-spellcasting Psion too. So why should WotC bother?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

We'll only get the really good stuff when they start ramping for 6e

My frank view is: they just won't publish anything at all at that point, or they entirely fob it off on third parties who have to play it safe because risky means too few sales. They were content to let 4e die on the vine for something like a year before the new-edition playtests began. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did exactly the same thing with 5e, especially because of the glacially slow release schedule.

I also believe that the glacial schedule contributed...but that it did not need to be glacially slow in order to reap that benefit. I'm pretty confident, in fact, that they could have doubled the rate at which they released content, and it would have still lasted about as long. That's probably one of the nicest, no-caveats things you'll ever hear me say about 5th Edition, actually.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

WotC can allow some space to experiment and no book needs to be printed, only showing a new UA article and allow the players to playtest it and rewrite it like homebrew content. The school of the White Raven from ToB:Bo9S could be the ultimate warlord class. But the warlord class like a area-buffer could alter the power balance if the game is only four adventurers in a dungeong-crawnling, or 12 of a skirmish warband or +50 in a mass battle.

The truenamer was an interesting idea but to use always only a limited-numer of at-will powers it wasn't so interesting.

An update of the shadowcaster class should arrive after the martial adepts.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Anyone using Bastions? That was 5E24's "experimental" rule system that WotC had never done before.

If anyone says they need WotC to be experimental but doesn't actually use the one thing that could satisfy their needs for experiment is a pretty good indication why one's demand for "experimental" design can be ignored. Because odds-are that any other "experimental" thing WotC makes will be another one you'd not use either. Wanting something "experimental" for the sake of it being "experimental" is a pointless request.

Bastions are for a specific type of campaign and not one I'm running right now. And to be blunt they look about the quality of a random PF1e subsystem that was included for a specific module.

What any of you actually want is just a ruleset that you yourself want to use (experimental or no).

No. I want additions to a ruleset that expand my table whether or not they are for me personally. My go-to example here is the 4e Slayer which I would personally have found utterly boring but was glad it was there because it was the simple fighter that some people actually wanted to play. It meaningfully added to my games but only under the condition I wasn't the one playing it. But given that there were another couple of dozen classes including another take on the fighter I vastly preferred I was never going to have to.

And this is where the WotC 70% approval rating for Unearthed Arcana is just plain stupid because it asks the wrong questions to promote innovation. The only real attempt WotC has made at an innovative class for 5e was the Mystic and it got voted down for two reasons, both deserved because WotC asked the wrong questions:

1. It needed at least two more iterations before it was ready for public playtesting. WotC's internal testing seems awful
2. A good 25% of people down voted it because they don't want to play even a good version but would be happy for someone else to play one. But we're asked what they thought

The two together are pretty fatal.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Based on the fact that Intellect Fortress is also an Artificer Spell, means that they will at least consider if every new spell they make could be on the Artificer or Psion spell list. It's a positive sign that they'll support those 2 classes with new spells beyond whatever initial release this ends up in.

Though we don't know if or where the Reanimator subclass could end up, because I haven't seen a subclass for the Artificer beyond the book where the full class was presented, so I wouldn't know if they'd do the same for the Psion.

 

[Weiley31]

That's certainly a character concept I've been playing around with. It's a little less spot-on now that Changelings are Fey instead of Doppelganger derived, but it still fits. And you can pile the social modifiers together to make a pretty strong face character without being Cha primary.

Changelings get a couple of extra social Skill proficiencies. The one preview of the updated Changeling we got before Forge of the Artificer was delayed said that they'll be getting Advantage on Cha checks while shapeshifted. The Psi Trickster wild talent feat lets you add your Int modifier to a Deception or Persuasion check. The Devilish Tongue psionic discipline lets you roll and add a Psionic Energy Die to an Influence action.

All in all, maybe not as effortless as a Bard with Expertise, but pretty good as long as you've got resources to spend. And all on a natural shapeshifter who can cast semi-subtle spells and manifest natural weapons. That's pretty cool, especially if you're in a more intrigue campaign than a dungeon crawling one.

Add in the Doppleganger secret from Rime if the Frostmaiden and you are GOLDEN flavour wise.

 

[Weiley31]

When do we get to be in the interesting experimental phase of 5E design rather than Malibu wizard with a new hat?

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

The Mystic got canned because Mearls was trying to make a single class capable of doing everything but with psionics.

Yeah, the system was a little different, but mostly it was because it was just -too- big. Too much. And everything it did stepped on EVERYONE'S toes.

At this point? I think the best option for a "Noncaster" Psion might be to just give them a d8 hit dice and a bunch of class features that support a psionic narrative without being a specific spell. Then have them use Skill Checks instead of making attack rolls or forcing saving throws. With different skills being tied to different powers.

Mindreading and telepathic stuff? Insight.
Manipulating someone's mind? Deception.
Forcing someone to do something? Persuasion.
Telekinetic attack? Intimidation.
Psychic Surgery? Medicine.

Etc etc etc.

All against the target's 10+Skill DC. So if you're doing Telekinesis then it's opposed by Athletics. If you're doing Persuasion or Deception it's Insight.

Give the different class features scaling dice of damage/healing or durations of control/whatever, and go from there.

Super simple. Super streamlined. And also -wildly- different from any other class while using extant game mechanics.

I am against using skill-enhanced ability checks for combat accuracy, whether for flat DCs, or opposed checks. Ability checks can reach the DC 30s and 40s, which is wildly outside the scope of bounded accuracy for combat accuracy.

 

[Steampunkette]

I am against using skill-enhanced ability checks for combat accuracy, whether for flat DCs, or opposed checks. Ability checks can reach the DC 30s and 40s, which is wildly outside the scope of bounded accuracy for combat accuracy.

It's a thing. I don't actually care about that, though for a few simple reasons:

1) Bounded accuracy is pretty much a joke.
2) It would make the Psion hilariously inept at some stuff and really good at a few other things.
3) The skills you can do that with are pretty limited, and by gating "powers" behind Psion class features means you can't do a quickie Rogue Multiclass to break things.

There are very few skills in the game you can get up into the ridiculous levels. Stealth is one of them, through Pass Without Trace. But I can't imagine a Stealth-Based Psionic Power-Skill Check that does anything more egregious than make you invisible or something. Sure you'll be able to beat the 10+Perception of an Ancient Red Dragon to pull it off, but so can a level 3 Wizard so who cares?

 

[Faolyn]

OK, so people are saying that psionics isn't different enough, or shouldn't be different, and so on. But my question is, what should psionics actually be, in terms of flavor and utility? What makes it different from regular magic? From wizard magic, bard magic, sorcerer magic, cleric magic, and so on?