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."

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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.

 

[gyor]

That's why I was wondering if it's leading up to a PHB2 style book. XGTE follows the save concept.

Possiblely, although it would be XGTE 2 only in the broadest of strokes, it would like have some very different sorts of chapters, as I don't think it will have anything like appendix A&B, or Chapter 2 (although something for the DM is likely). So a Player Options Chapter (Subclasses, Feats, Artificer, maybe Spells if they aren't in their own chapter, Class Feature Variants, possibly races and/or another class or two), some kind of DM focused chapter, like I think a monster Chapter for stuff like Gem Dragons and a Chapter exploring planes and worlds of D&D (this would require the book being bigger then XGTM, but they have written bigger books before, like ERftLW.)

 

[gyor]

XGtE was the PHB2, and the DMG2, and Volo's & Mordenkein's were the MM 2 and MM3. I'd go so far as to call Ravnica the PHB3/DMG3/MM4 and Rising from the Last War the PHB4/DMG4/MM5.

Partially right. XGTE was half of the PHB II, and as well as a DMG II, VGTM and MTOF are the other half of the PHB II, as well as MM II (not enough monsters to also be MMIII), and no GMGtR and ERftLW aren't PHB/MM III, but rather setting focused Campaign Setting Guide books and Player Guides to their settings, which means its likely a more general product will poach Player material from both. Most likely including the mysterious book we are discussing.

This upcoming book will likely be one part PHB III, one part MM III, and one part Manual of the Planes, but with more of a look at the material plane worlds.

And it might be called Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters.

 

[gyor]

That's not quite accurate: Rising from the Last War has 85 pages for character creation, more than twice the UA material we have at this point. If this is for, say, a Planescape Setting book following the same format, just add a handful of Races and content for Faction play and you are about at the same amount of material.

But we honestly don't have enough to go on at this point.

Why would a Planescape book have Artificer stuff and Psionics stuff, both are more linked to other settings?

 

[Parmandur]

Why would a Planescape book have Artificer stuff and Psionics stuff, both are more linked to other settings?

Planescape is linked to all the other Settings, literally nothing is off-limit. I'm just saying, given the new style of Setting books, this would be an appropriate amount of content.

 

[Parmandur]

Partially right. XGTE was half of the PHB II, and as well as a DMG II, VGTM and MTOF are the other half of the PHB II, as well as MM II (not enough monsters to also be MMIII), and no GMGtR and ERftLW aren't PHB/MM III, but rather setting focused Campaign Setting Guide books and Player Guides to their settings, which means its likely a more general product will poach Player material from both. Most likely including the mysterious book we are discussing.

This upcoming book will likely be one part PHB III, one part MM III, and one part Manual of the Planes, but with more of a look at the material plane worlds.

And it might be called Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters.

The new style of Setting book can be be boiled down to being a PHB supplement, plus a DMG supplement, plus a MM supplement.

 

[Ashrym]

Why would a Planescape book have Artificer stuff and Psionics stuff, both are more linked to other settings?

They have a place in other worlds. Planescape and Spelljammer campaigns tend to mix and match campaign worlds a lot. Artificers have traditionally been given the "in other worlds line".

ARTIFICERS IN OTHER WORLDS

Eberron is the world most associated with artificers, yet the class can be found throughout the D&D multiverse. In the Forgotten Realms, for example, the island of Lantan is home to many artificers, and in the world of Dragonlance, tinker gnomes are often members of this class. The strange technologies in the Barrier Peaks of the World of Greyhawk have inspired some folk to walk the path of the artificer, and in Mystara, various nations employ artificers to keep airships and other wondrous devices operational. In the City of Sigil, artificers share discoveries from throughout the cosmos, and one in particular — the gnome inventor Vi — has run a multiverse-spanning business from there since leaving the world of her birth, Eberron. In the world-city Ravnica, the Izzet League trains numerous artificers, the destructiveness of whom is unparalleled in other worlds — except, perhaps, by the tinker gnomes of Krynn.

 

[Parmandur]

They have a place in other worlds. Planescape and Spelljammer campaigns tend to mix and match campaign worlds a lot. Artificers have traditionally been given the "in other worlds line".

It's interesting that Vi gets a mention in the section about Planescape, considering that she was almost on the cover of the Eberron book...

 

[gyor]

They have a place in other worlds. Planescape and Spelljammer campaigns tend to mix and match campaign worlds a lot. Artificers have traditionally been given the "in other worlds line".

True, but to publish it in a specifically Planescape setting guide, when they aren't core to the setting isn't going to happen.

 

[Parmandur]

True, but to publish it in a specifically Planescape setting guide, when they aren't core to the setting isn't going to happen.

Why?

 

[gyor]

It's interesting that Vi gets a mention in the section about Planescape, considering that she was almost on the cover of the Eberron book...

Yeah, I hadn't noticed that. I think that is actually perhaps the most meaningful thing in that side bar.

I mean to call out a specific character who is an artificer who has not only rare knowledge of Eberron, but escaped there and now lives in Sigil the center of all the planes and has a multiversal network on multiple worlds.

So I see one of two reasons for this, or maybe even a mix.

A) The new Player Options heavy book is from her perpective, as the in character "Author" this would explain a lot. This also suggest it's going to be one of the bigger books for 5e D&D.

B) The Vi is in the new D&D movie coming and in fact she is played by Angelina Jolie, hence why she is a dead ringer for the actress and this would be the third setting with an element in this movie, which suggests it invovles multiple D&D Settings. Talk about going big or going home, damn. I guess FR was too small for the movie.

C) Both are true.

It would explain why she was almost on the cover, why we learn things about her, why she is in Sigil, how the heck Mordenikain knows anything about Eberron.

Also this might be a stretch, but one way she could have escaped Eberron's cosmic defences to explore the rest of the DnD universe is if she sparked, as in MtG Planeswalker. It would also explain hoe she build a business across multiple worlds. Which means we could also possibly see her in MtG as well.

Mind boggling discovery Parmandur.

It now is starting to make sense.