Unearthed Arcana Psionics Hits Unearthed Arcana

If you've been waiting anxiously for psionics to arrive in the D&D Unearthed Arcana column, your wait is over! The Awakened Mystic is a psionic class by Mike Mearls which - currently - has access to three psionic disciplines, with more to come later. Following on from Mike Mearls' question, Should Psionic Flavour Be Altered? (a discussion which promoted 750+ comments here on EN World, and is still ongoing), it sounds like he has answered the question with a resounding "yes". Rather than pseudo-scientific sounding terms like telepathy, clairovoyance, and the like, we have the disciplines Conquering Mind, Intellect Fortress (a callback to earlier editions), and Third Eye.

UPDATE - IMPORTANT NOTE FROM MIKE MEARLS: "For folks looking at the psionics material in today's UA, looks like there was a minor error. Not all the material is there." Keep an eye on it; I expect it'll be fixed soon.

UPDATE 2 - fixed! Updated document includes another three disciplines (Celerity, Iron Durability, and Psionic Weapon) and the basic rules to the class.

Find it here!

 

[Psikerlord#]

When hasn't psionics been broken out the gate?

Yeah the nature of power points and being able to nova your more powerful abilities in a couple of rounds made them a problem in 2e (ime - I was the player, taking full advantage!)

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

This month in UA: half-baked over-powered munchkin-bait!

In other words, typical D&D psionics rules; a tradition going all the way back to 1st edition AD&D.

 

[EvanNave55]

* Barbarian rage is incompatible with spellcasting but not with psionics.

* Action surged Lethal Strike novas are nasty. I'm not really a nova guy but 47 points of damage per hit with up to six attacks is impressive. And unlike paladin smites it works at range. So does Sharpshooter Ethereal Weapon, I think.

cool.

I just want to point out, since it seems everyone else is missing this:

1) Rage and psionics are not compatable, as it says you are unable to concentrate while raging, and all psionics are completely dependent on concentration at this point.

2) I'm not sure if people where catching this or not but lethal strike adds damage to a single hit not all hits that round, so if you could hit multiple times you can theoretically do major damage but you have to spend essentialy every resource you have for this single round.

 

[CapnZapp]

I like how they try non standard things for psionics. Our fears for "spells under another name" can go away.

It remains to be seen if this bold "Intelligence as AC" mechanic survives.

I think it can, provided it deals damage only, and cantrip levels of damage at that. Absolutely no rider effects (conditions and statuses that shut you down)

As a big dumb fighter I don't mind the mystic "cheating" past my metal can if that means I can hit back after taking a couple of d8 damage.

If, on the other hand, you can apply riders that shut down your foe, such Int shenanigans become utterly broken. Likewise if the attack method allows serious nova damage.

With "plink" damage, the ability to "hit Int" becomes a harmless novelty, and as such, it can stay.

 

[CapnZapp]

I too find the DMG spell points, and thus Mystic power points, too generous on low level "slots".

If the conversion rate were as expensive as sorcery points, and the class disciplines balanced with this in mind, I think it would be better.

 

[CapnZapp]

I too would like Int to be the static save, and the Mystic having too choose each time between Con, Dex, and Wis.

Besides there's already precedent for Concentration powers to give out more saves.

 

[CapnZapp]

As for individual disciplines I find it far too early to delve into specific feedback since I don't see myself playtesting this soon.

I am cautiously optimistic and pleasantly surprised they went the unique powers and not psi as spells.

 

[Yaarel]

My kneejerk reaction is... broken.

Being able to spend your points all in one round etc is a major, major advantage - and they ought to get less "slots" per day because of it. In older editions, like 2e, the ability to nova burst was outright busted, and I suspect repeats itself here.

The Mystic cannot spend all of the psi points in one round.

The Mystic has a ‘psi maximum’ that is exactly equal to casting a highest level spell slot.

As mentioned earlier, the existence of a maximum is too frequently misunderstood.

 

[fuindordm]

The Mystic cannot spend all of the psi points in one round.

The Mystic has a ‘psi maximum’ that is exactly equal to casting a highest level spell slot.

As mentioned earlier, the existence of a maximum is too frequently misunderstood.

Yes, that's not a problem. I'm sure the total points available at each level is well scaled to give a number of high-level effects equivalent to other casters.

What I don't like about the points system is that in order to scale the high-level slots you end up with hundreds of points at high level, and the low-level slots become trivial. A high-level wizard gets only ~20-30 spells per day, period--they don't have the option of casting 100 first-level spells. If mystics are going to be more versatile than wizards (able to change their discipline from one round to the next!) then I'd rather see the PPs scaling so that they get to activate 20-30 powers per day total, even at high levels. So if a high-level mystic has 100 PP then maybe the "first-level" powers should cost 4 and the "9th-level powers" cost 25.

BUT, maybe it won't be an issue in play because the low-level powers are not worth spamming in high-level play. Or maybe it will work because the mystic (I have to get used to that name) has lots of things to spend their points on off-turn, so a long combat depletes a mystic's resources more rapidly than a wizard's spell slots.

In any case, I'm willing to playtest this class and see how it works out.

 

[fuindordm]

By the way, I think WotC has succeeded in designing a psionics class that caters to a different sort of player and supports a different dynamic. I can see this class appealing to the players who want flexible characters, the sort of person who makes a superhero with a variable power pool (in Champions) rather than a strongly themed set of powers. Another example would be the Akashic from Monte Cook's Diamond Throne setting--a roguish sort of class that can temporarily use feats and skills not in the initial build.

So congrats on that, I think the overall architecture is very good.

The details of power costs and damage scaling and which disciplines do what are easier to adjust after playtesting.