I like how the article actually distinguishes between magic and psionics. While I'm fine with having them be the same thing (and I wrote a long post about why distinctions are difficult on another thread), I actually think they managed to pull it off in a satisfying way.
In 5e D&D, this is how magic is described:
"The worlds within the D&D multiverse are magical places. All existence is suffused with magical power, and potential energy lies untapped in every rock, stream, and living creature, and even in the air itself. Raw magic is the stuff of creation, the mute and mindless will of existence, permeating every bit of matter and present in every manifestation of energy throughout the multiverse.
Mortals can’t directly shape this raw magic. Instead, they make use of a fabric of magic, a kind of interface between the will of a spellcaster and the stuff of raw magic...(Setting specific example)...
[W]ithout the [interface], raw magic is locked away and inaccessible; the most powerful archmage can’t light a candle with magic in an area where the [fabric] has been torn. But surrounded by the [interface], a spellcaster can shape lightning to blast foes, transport hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye, or even reverse death itself.
All magic depends on the [interface], though different kinds of magic access it in a variety of ways. The spells of wizards, warlocks, sorcerers, and bards are commonly called arcane magic. These spells rely on an understanding—learned or intuitive—of the workings of the [interface]. The caster plucks directly at the strands of the [fabric] to create the desired effect. Eldritch knights and arcane tricksters also use arcane magic. The spells of clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers are called divine magic. These spellcasters’ access to the [interface] is mediated by divine power—gods, the divine forces of nature, or the sacred weight of a paladin’s oath.
Whenever a magic effect is created, the threads of the [fabric] intertwine, twist, and fold to make the effect possible. When characters use divination spells such as detect magic or identify, they glimpse the [fabric]. A spell such as dispel magic smooths the [fabric]. Spells such as antimagic field rearrange the [fabric] so that magic flows around, rather than through, the area affected by the spell. And in places where the [fabric] is damaged or torn, magic works in unpredictable ways—or not at all."
We have a clear official description of 5e magic that includes 2 elements. Raw magic infuses everything in the multiverse, and (apparently) all access to it is mediated by an interface. Presumably this extends to a monk's ki, since it is explicitly connected to raw magic in the class description.
Now, here is how psionics is currently described.
"Psionics is a source of power that originates from within a creature’s mind, allowing it to augment its physical abilities and affect the minds of other creatures. Psionic abilities are called disciplines, since each one consists of a set of specific, rigid mental exercises needed to place a creature in the correct mindset to wield psionic power. A creature wielding psionic power focuses its concentration on a discipline, and in doing so, manifests a minor psionic effect. Once a creature has concentrated on a discipline, it can then tap into its reservoir of inner energy to create even greater effects. The basics of a discipline are always within a mystic’s grasp, but the energies needed to create more potent effects tap into a limited reservoir of power.
(Skip unnecessary Far Realms concept-pollution)
ndividual minds can be awakened to the cosmic underpinnings that dictate the form and nature of reality...(Far Realms concept-pollution)...Such awakened creatures look upon the world in the same way that creatures existing in three dimensions might look upon a two-dimensional realm. They see possibilities, options, and connections that are unfathomable to those with a more limited view of reality.
In worlds that are relatively stable and hew close to the archetypal D&D setting presented in the core rulebooks, psionics is rare—or might not exist at all. The cosmic bindings that define the multiverse are strong in such places, making it unlikely that an individual mind can perceive the possibilities offered by psionics. Mystics in such worlds might be so scarce that an active mystic never meets another living practitioner of the psionic arts. Characters might unlock their psionic potential by pure random chance, and ancient tomes, journals, and other accounts of mystics might serve as the only guide to mastering this form of power.
Psionics is more common in worlds where the bounds of reality have been twisted and warped to stray far from the baseline D&D setting. The realm of Athas in the Dark Sun campaign setting is the iconic example of a world where psionics is common. The gods are absent, magic has been twisted into an ecological scourge, and the common threads that bind many worlds of D&D have been sundered. By contrast, the world of Eberron is a setting where the bounds of reality have been tested but not fully broken. Psionics is not as pervasive in Eberron as in Athas, but the influence of the otherworldly realm of Xoriat makes it a known and studied art.
...
Psionics and magic are two distinct forces. In general, an effect that alters or affects a spell has no effect on a psionic effect. There is one important exception to this rule. A psionic effect that reproduces a spell is treated as magic. A psionic effect reproduces a spell when it allows a psionic creature or character to cast a spell. In this case, psionic energy taps into magic and manipulates it to cast the spell.
For example, the mind flayer as presented in the Monster Manual has the Innate Spellcasting
(Psionics) feature. This feature allows the mind flayer to cast a set of spells using psionic energy. These spells can be countered with dispel magic and similar effects."
So the current play test says that psionics means raising your consciousness above/outside the bounds of the multiverse and then altering the multiverse from that awakened state.
Since magic is explicitly a part of the multiverse, then by bypassing the multiverse and bending reality from outside, you aren't using magic (unless you bend reality in such a way as to specifically bend the magical interface to squeeze a spell out of it).
Personally, I like it. It provides a consistent explanation for both forces and how they differ, and creates a compelling argument for why psionics isn't magic in D&D other than, "because it isn't."
If they simply remove that necessary Far Realms nonsense, and leave it as a setting-specific option (which is exactly how the Weave is described, the Forgotten Realms specific manifestation of the universal magical interface), though I don't personally want it in any published settings, then I think it works very well as a standard D&D view of psionics for 5e.
