D&D 5E Psionics in Tasha

[Flamestrike]

Arcane and Divine are the same damn thing in 5e, and I think that's a flaw.

What's added by including this distinction?

It just adds complexity and makes the game less accessible for little (if any) gain.

Those distinctions were present in 3.5 and (mechanically) did nothing (mechanically) other than create confusion and require constant explanation if a spell was arcane or divine (when it appeared on both lists).

I get it for 'flavor' purposes, but really, if all you want is flavor, you can simply add that flavor in yourself without the mechanical needlessness of such a distinction.

 

[Maxperson]

No one understands what psionics are because psionics don't exist.

Neither does magic, but we understand that. If we didn't, we could not play wizards and such in the game.

 

[Maxperson]

That is your opinion. I think psionic powers have as much to do with spells as a cleric's prayers, but I don't see a lot of complaints about how cleric have spells and the same spell casting system as wizards (I actually think it would be cool to give clerics a completely different magic mechanic).

We may not be as far apart on this as it seems. I don't care if a 4th level Psion has 4 1st and 3 2nd level powers that he can use, or if those powers an be countered and dispelled. Go ahead and use the wizard system for Psions.

My issue is whether they are spells or powers. Spells use components, Psion powers don't. That doesn't mean that you can't make it so that powers can't be used secretly like spells. Give them audible, visual or scent effects that make it apparent that the Psion is using his abilities.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Arcane and Divine are the same damn thing in 5e, and I think that's a flaw. Sadly, I think it's actually too late in the design to introduce a new branch of magical effects. There definitely should have been a proper different between Arcane and Divine (especially in regard to dispel and counter spell) to begin with, then adding a third branch would have been child's play. Same with making Primal its own thing as well.

But they didn't, and now we just have 'Spells with a different' names. You get what you want, but that doesn't mean we have to be happy about it.

I mean that's valid. If arcane and divine had been more distinct, then it wouldn't be awkward to make psionics more distinct too. But they aren't, so it would.

And with such mechanical differentiation one must always ask what is actually achieved by it. It needs to actually emulate something that is happening in the fiction and it needs to evoke right thematic feeling. So I'm not quite sure what that would even mean in this context.

 

[Charlaquin]

To all of you saying “they never presented psionics-as-spells as an option, it would have been shot down”:

https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-PsychicSoulPsionics.pdf

 

[jayoungr]

I'm not convinced this is the last word on psionics. It may be just a way of adding them to a "generic" D&D world, and if/when Dark Sun happens there may be a different system.

 

[dave2008]

We may not be as far apart on this as it seems. I don't care if a 4th level Psion has 4 1st and 3 2nd level powers that he can use, or if those powers an be countered and dispelled. Go ahead and use the wizard system for Psions.

My issue is whether they are spells or powers. Spells use components, Psion powers don't. That doesn't mean that you can't make it so that powers can't be used secretly like spells. Give them audible, visual or scent effects that make it apparent that the Psion is using his abilities.

That would work well, but it doesn't look like that is what they are doing. However, I guess it could be a level thing, as you go up in level you no longer need to use material, then verbal, then somatic components as you master your psionic abilities. We will have to wait and see.

 

[dave2008]

I'm not convinced this is the last word on psionics. It may be just a way of adding them to a "generic" D&D world, and if/when Dark Sun happens there may be a different system.

I've been thinking the same thing too lately.

 

[Cadence]

My issue is whether they are spells or powers. Spells use components, Psion powers don't. That doesn't mean that you can't make it so that powers can't be used secretly like spells. Give them audible, visual or scent effects that make it apparent that the Psion is using his abilities.

I didn't realize all spells in 5e had components. Psychic spells in PF don't have verbal or somatic components (and the material ones are expensive ones that only fit certain uses).

 

[Cadence]

To all of you saying “they never presented psionics-as-spells as an option, it would have been shot down”:

https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-PsychicSoulPsionics.pdf

Do you know if they reported the feedback on that?