Unearthed Arcana New Unearthed Arcana: Psionics!

There’s a new Unearthed Arcana article out, and it’s all about psionics! "Their minds bristling with power, three new subclasses arrive in today’s Unearthed Arcana: the Psychic Warrior for the fighter, the Soulknife for the rogue, and the tradition of Psionics for the wizard."

​

News Archive | Dungeons and Dragons

Read the full archives of Dungeons & Dragons news, Sage Advice, Unearthed Arcana, and D&D Studio Blogs.

dnd.wizards.com

In this 9-page PDF, there are also some new psionics-themed spells (including versions of classic psionic powers like id insinuation and ego whip) and two new feats.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Okay I really want WotC to show us the results of that survey. How did Blood Hunter and Warlord and Psion do?

I basically ignored Happy Fun Hour. Was there an actual write-up for Mr. Mearls' psion? (And where can I find it?) Where was this survey on it? I didn't know about either of those.

 

[Zardnaar]

Rarely pay any attention to UA these days. Stuff never sees the light of day or gets revised that heavily it's hard to care.

 

[Horwath]

I see this as psionic touched classes, not a psionic class it self.

I would like to see full psionics class in addition to this.

I think that this is good way for some classes to have a touch of psionic abilities and 2 new feats give every character an option to invest into their latent psionic potential.

I see many high elves having one of not both of those feats if their class has any use of intelligence ability.

 

[Yaarel]

I think the feedback surveys are going to be very difficult to interpret on this unless they take a non-standard form.

For instance, I think we need a full psion class. If the survey never asks that question, how am I supposed to respond to the things they normally ask? I can go through and rate each feature of each class based on how I would feel about it if there is also a psion class in the game. But if these are intended to be a replacement for a psion class, my ratings would be very different.

If the survey doesn't ask, I strongly recommend everyone consider a "write-in" vote about whether or not you think there should be a full psion/mystic class, and how your feedback should be interpreted in that light.

Ie:

"I think we need a full Psion class, and I rated the subclasses as if they were being included in addition to that."

"I think we need a full Psion class, and I rated the subclasses as if they were being created as a replacement instead of a full Psion class."

"I don't think we need a full Psion class, and I rated the subclasses as if there will not be a Psion class."

Every feature − flavor and mechanics − must stand on its own. So assume there is no Mystic class.

If the Psionics Wizard is the only Psion you get, do you like what it has? How would you modify it if you could?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Every feature − flavor and mechanics − must stand on its own. So assume there is no Mystic class.

If the Psionics Wizard is the only Psion you get, do you like what it has? How would you modify it if you could?

Hypothetically, if it were the only Psion I was going to get, I would give very different feedback than if there were also going to be a Psion class. I would want to make sure it had more psionic stuff to it, such as totally eliminating V,S,M components full-time, and replacing the spellbook with the psionic focus. If it were a subclass and there was also going to be a Psionic class, I would want to make it have less psionicness to it. I'd want it be a mentalist that focused on mental magic and included some psionic features while still feeling much like any other wizard. I say that hypothetically, because there is no way it can work as a Psion for me since it starts as a regular old wizard with a spellbook at level 1. That doesn't work for basically any concept of a psion I'm familiar with, except for multiclassed characters. And I absolutely do want there to be a Mystic/Psion. So this is a real issue in what sort of feedback I'm going to give.

 

[Yaarel]

Hypothetically, if it were the only Psion I was going to get, I would give very different feedback than if there were also going to be a Psion class. I would want to make sure it had more psionic stuff to it, such as totally eliminating V,S,M components full-time, and replacing the spellbook with the psionic focus. If it were a subclass and there was also going to be a Psionic class, I would want to make it have less psionicness to it. I'd want it be a mentalist that focused on mental magic and included some psionic features while still feeling much like any other wizard. I say that hypothetically, because there is no way it can work as a Psion for me since it starts as a regular old wizard with a spellbook at level 1. That doesn't work for basically any concept of a psion I'm familiar with, except for multiclassed characters. And I absolutely do want there to be a Mystic/Psion. So this is a real issue in what sort of feedback I'm going to give.

For me, even if there is a separate Mystic class, I still want to use the Psionics Wizard to represent my 3e Psion characters.

So eliminating spell components is an extremely high priority, no matter what.

Imbuing a Psionic Focus instead of writing in a Spellbook. That works. If it had a benefit, it could even be a cantrip at level 1.



Also, Telekinesis needs to improve incrementally while advancing in levels, and refer to size rather than weight.

 

[Coroc]

Soulknife is a very bad choice for darksun. Darksun is all about you do not have your starting equipment but for a first weapon there lies an old bone in the corner, having an at will (magic) weapon does not do it for me.
I really liked the UA33 or so this ruleset without soulknife and Wu Jen really does it for classic feel 5e darksun. Having psionics integrated into a wizard class is the uber nono for a darksun context. Darksun PC wizards are preservers (hunted by all) How shall these rules cover the preserving / defiling effect?
Each time a char uses a wild psi talent nothing happens, but if the Psi specialist wizard does something spectacular he has to take care not to ruin the central park?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

There will be a psion/mystic class, and maybe even more psionic classes.

It is too soon to ask it, but I also would like a hybrid class mixing psionic powers and martial maneuvers. Maybe this should be the fate of the soulknife.

In the past I suggested the concept of psiloi (nude warrior) for a class as a monk with psionic powers. (I don't forget the psionic fist (of Zuoken), a prestige class for monks).

Psiloi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

* How would be the thrallherd as subclass? Somebody will imagine this like a guy with a "harem" of amazons (or monster girls) as his personal bodyguards.

* I miss the flayerspawn (prestige class) and the emberite, geodite, arctine and tempestland, psionic summoned elemental from the complete psionic.

* The blue goblin, a psionic subrace should be a playable race, because they are smart but "little ugly duckling", the D&D version of Steve Urkel. It is curious but I don't miss the other psionic races.

Shouldn't the fraals (little grayskin aliens) be "guest artists" in the psionic handbook? There were canon in AD&D 2nd Ed.

* Could a psionic catrip to create enough ectoplasm to block a firearm? and astral constructs to be used to explored zones without worrying about traps? Could a psionic power as astral construct to be used to wear anything like a powered armor or exosuit?

* Will be the gladiator a fighter subclass in DS?

 

[Coroc]

...

* Will be the gladiator a fighter subclass in DS?

What for? you got the battlemaster with all his tricks

 

[Ravenbrook]

There is often a close correlation between new modules in Neverwinter Online and new books for 5e. NWO recently had a new module that focused on the gith race and illithids, so any psionics that WotC does may have to do with those two races rather than with Dark Sun.