D&D General [Poll] How do you prefer psionics to work?

[Charlaquin]

A combination of 3 and 5. Relatively minor at-will powers that you can boost to produce more powerful effects by taking some kind of backlash. 5e’s exhaustion mechanic is probably too harsh, but it’s in the right conceptual space.

 

[Inchoroi]

I've got ideas for how Psionics would work, but I just don't have time to work on it. Work sucks.

 

[Maxperson]

I used to be a psionics advocate - but these days I only want psionics if it baked into the setting and mostly replaces magic as it currently exists - so Dark Sun, or a variation on D&D set in a Gamma World setting, and the like.

This equals general psionics since you can just plug it into literally any setting you want. I'd be good with this. I don't care where I get it, so long as it comes.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I would run psionics on ki, and each psionic class would have it's own ki abilities baked in, and there would be feats that just give you ki and some ki features, as well as subclasses boosting base ki features or giving you new ones. Most ki classes wouldn't have spell level type stuff, but instead be level gated like most monk features. You get access at a given level, it has a certain cost, it does a specific thing, that's it.

A Mind Mage or Psion or whatever would have telepathy, some telekenetic abilities like an invisible mage hand and the ability to throw stuff, etc, and those abilities would get more powerful as you level, eg "starting at X level, when you use the Move Object ki feature, you can move an object of up to huge size, and your telekenetic damage die increases to 1d8." Such abilities would be fairly open ended, playing more like a Jedi than like a wizard.

 

[Maxperson]

I would run psionics on ki, and each psionic class would have it's own ki abilities baked in, and there would be feats that just give you ki and some ki features, as well as subclasses boosting base ki features or giving you new ones. Most ki classes wouldn't have spell level type stuff, but instead be level gated like most monk features. You get access at a given level, it has a certain cost, it does a specific thing, that's it.

A Mind Mage or Psion or whatever would have telepathy, some telekenetic abilities like an invisible mage hand and the ability to throw stuff, etc, and those abilities would get more powerful as you level, eg "starting at X level, when you use the Move Object ki feature, you can move an object of up to huge size, and your telekenetic damage die increases to 1d8." Such abilities would be fairly open ended, playing more like a Jedi than like a wizard.

I wouldn't buy that. If there's not a full caster version, they aren't getting money from me for it.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I wouldn't buy that. If there's not a full caster version, they aren't getting money from me for it.

okay

 

[Redwizard007]

The biggest thing, I think, is to change the core mechanics. For one thing, that means they cannot use spell slots, because that's how spellcasting works.

Beyond that: psionics is usually portrayed in fiction as a matter of concentrating - you focus, and the thing happens. Anything you do beyond concentration (hand gestures, furrowed brows) is just an aid to doing so (ie it's easier to focus on a point in space if you look at it and/or point at it) but these would never be required.

It's also usually portrayed as draining or even damaging to the brain: within the context of 5e rules exhaustion is the closest existing mechanic for that, although power points or something all new could work instead. I do like the idea of being able to hurt yourself by trying too hard, though.

I first voted for specialization, but I wouldn't want all characters locked in to one specialization with no way to expand beyond: ie if I choose to specialize in telekinesis, I should still be able to learn telepathy. I'm just not as good at it. Also I'm apparently one of about three people who liked to concept of different key abilities for different disciplines in the 3.0e Psionics Handbook, but in the simpler context of 5e I think it could work.

I like this.

Ultimately I'd like to see broad categories of psionic disciplines to chose from. Probably 2 to start, then another at each tier of play. Each discipline would grant 2 spamable cantrips as well as access to a number of powers that required "psi-points" to use. Using more psi-points per round than your proficiency bonus could result in exhaustion and another brief status like stunned. Then tack on a mechanic to remove levels of exhaustion during a short rest as a class feature. I'd probably look for powers to be easily scalable in damage and effects.

 

[Sacrosanct]

OK, first off, sorry for the large size. These are just examples of the Mental discipline (object manipulation are on another tab, but you can get the idea).

In a nutshell, as you level, you gain more abilities and unlock greater tiers. You have a pool of points (TBD) to fuel your powers, and you can overcharge an ability 1 tier up that you haven't unlocked yet, if you're willing to take the hit for it (TBD, probably exhaustion). I.e., a 4th level psionist who has unlocked level 2 tier can spend 3 points to upcharge a power to tier 3, but then suffer exhaustion.

You also get some passive or at will abilities depending on your specialization (the upper right of the image)

 

[Inchoroi]

What is magic? If it arcane formulae and ritual, then what are divine miracles, like like a cleric's healing powers? Magic is not limited to those blessed by the Gods or those who painstakingly memorize arcane sigils. There are those who wield magic that defies the normal rules that others follow. It is these individuals that are called mystics.

If one were to question a mystic, however, that mystic is just as likely to reveal that there is no secret. They perform magic with solely the power of the mind, creating magic from nothing at all save thought. A mystic is an odd one among other magic users. They memorize no spells; instead, each mystic develops a series of thought exercises which, when held perfectly within their mind, create magical effects. If a mystic cannot hold these multiple streams of thought together simultaneously, the magic collapses.

Here's some fluff I had previously worked out. Never did anything with it.

 

[jgsugden]

I used to be a psionics advocate - but these days I only want psionics if it baked into the setting and mostly replaces magic as it currently exists - so Dark Sun, or a variation on D&D set in a Gamma World setting, and the like...

There are those of us with a persistent Homebrew campaign world that have, for decades, used psionics. While there has been a period in every edition where we had to wing it, the 5E lack of psionics has been a huge pain for me as a DM. I have my own psionic rules that I am using, but I will want to use the official psionic rules if they are released, and we've seemed to be 6 to 10 months away from that for the past 4 years. Releasing a psionics rule set is not just fir Dark Sun or Gamma World - it is a way to service long time members of the D&D community.