D&D 5E People didn't like the Psionic Talent Die

[Undrave]

I liked the mechanic quite a bit, but... it's not going to be in the final Soul Knife, or anything else. The November Soul Knife didn't have it, and that is more like what we can expect if it ever sees print.

Augh... the November Soul Knife was terrible though. Aside from the Psionic Blade being compatible with Sneak Attack and maaaaybe the ability to talk telepathically, nothing in that subclass said 'Rogue'. It was just some psionic effect thrown on there.

 

[Minigiant]

Sure you can. Full stop.

Addendum: you can't be a psionic character a large percentage of people want to play without tracking your psionics.

This isn't about abstract complexity, it's about popular reception.

The Psionic Die fell flat. I appreciate Crawford letting us know it isn't going anywhere. It's not coming back.

That's not what Crawford said. He said:

"new mechanics something to track and all of that. that's not their jam. And what they want to get...they want to get to the table they wanna join their friends in telling a cool story. They want to use their character's abilities and do so in a straight forward manner."

The rogue doesn't have a resource. Rogues have Sneak Attack and Skills. They will have to add a resource to balance psionic abilites that match the tiers of play OR give the soulknife weak features that can be balanced being done at will.

1. A special dice mechanic
2. "Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest" four times
3. Spells
4. Ki
5. Sorcery points
6. Invocations

Choose one

 

[Parmandur]

Addendum: you can't be a psionic character a large percentage of people want to play without tracking your psionics.



That's not what Crawford said. He said:



The rogue doesn't have a resource. Rogues have Sneak Attack and Skills. They will have to add a resource to balance psionic abilites that match the tiers of play OR give the soulknife weak features that can be balanced being done at will.

1. A special dice mechanic
2. "Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest" four times
3. Spells
4. Ki
5. Sorcery points
6. Invocations

Choose one

It'll probably end up as 2 or 3.

 

[Minigiant]

It'll probably end up as 2 or 3.

I hope they are ready if they attempt a soul knife that is an arcane trickster with soul bades.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Addendum: you can't be a psionic character a large percentage of people want to play without tracking your psionics.

Again, sure you can.

 

[Minigiant]

Again, sure you can.

well the proof is in the pudding.
Hasn't be done yet.

The 3.5 soul knife and both UA soul knives has resources to track.

 

[Parmandur]

well the proof is in the pudding.
Hasn't be done yet.

The 3.5 soul knife and both UA soul knives has resources to track.

They put out an option in November, that apparently got better feedback. No reason to think we won't see something like that.

 

[grimslade]

Shame. I liked the latest iteration of the Psi Knight and Soul Knife. I liked the PTD with the caveat that it should flop to roll high good, roll low bad like every other die mechanics in the game. The psionic sorcerer was a waste of time. It was fiddly and didn't differentiate itself from any other sorcerer.

 

[Blue]

Maybe read the rest of my post that you quoted.

I’m literally telling the other poster that not wanting Psionics to have a unifying mechanics across all psionic options that is separate from anything else in the game is a mechanical preference that is perfectly valid. That’s it.

I really didn't get that - I got you putting it as just a mechanical preference, how you wouldn't have wanted a new mechanic (the superiority die) to be standard for fighters. Or that folks view it as bad design to have a separate to have a "whole, new, unnecessary subsystem". (Bolding mine.)

But rereading it, there's some doubt which way you were advocating. And I'm not foolish enough to think I'm more an expert on your intent than you, so I'll take it at face value. In that case I have egg on my face.

 

[Minigiant]

They put out an option in November, that apparently got better feedback. No reason to think we won't see something like that.

Sure

But it has all the fiddly resource stuff Crawford says the playtest fedback hates.

This is what I am sensing is the issue. The design team doesn't have a resource mechanic for psionics.

• The majority of the fans don't want a new mechanic for a resource.
• The majority of fans want cool stuff for psionics
• Cool stuff need a resource to limit them (cantrips are weak)
• They are afraid to plop a spell table and spell list on psionic warriors and soul knives.