D&D (2024) Psionics: What Do You Want?

I'm only half-kidding here, but: I want Wizards of the Coast to contact @Steampunkette and buy Paranormal Power from her for whatever price she agrees on.

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The Esper class, the powers and spells, the talents, the lore, the art...seriously, check it out if you're a fan of psionics in your TTRPGs. Anything that Wizards of the Coast presents is going to be a very hard sell for me now.
 

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I can't say what I want, but I can say what I don't want.
  • I don't want 'magic' by another name. Don't use spells slots and other spellcasting traits should not stack.
  • I'm not sure I want it as a class, but a feat chain probably isn't good enough so yea, I guess a class.
  • Psionic abilities should NOT mimic spells or spellcasting affects. They need to be distinct and unique.
  • Non-psionics should not be particularly susceptible to psionic abilities. Vulnerable sure, defenseless no.
There are a few things I do want:
  • Over use or over extending one's power is possible, and paying a heavy price for it, maybe even permanent.
  • sub-classes that are distinct from the sub-classes of other classes. Sure their can, and should, be some sort of melee sub-class (or two), but not just a psionic fighter. Mentalism needs to be careful with any type of charm ability, and it shouldn't be charm either.
 

A Fighter, a Rogue, a Monk, and a Barbarian are all Martial characters.

They move and they hit things. That's their baseline mechanic. But HOW they move and hit things tells a story that gets you invested into a specific character fantasy. Rogues do a lot more moving and ranged attacking because the damage dropoff for increased survivability is made up for with Sneak Attack damage. Barbarians wear light or no armor and wade into melee with big hit dice while raging to take half damage to offset the risks while landing a few BIG HITS. Fighters and monks both attack many times in a round, though the monk does it while also enjoying high movement and suffering a lower amount of HP and Armor options.

A Psion, a Sorcerer, and a Wizard all cast spells. And the vast majority of the spells they cast are exactly the same spells. (Especially since all things being equal some spells are more effective than others)

So how do they do it differently?

Wizards get the ability to recover spell slots at level 1! They also learn to Memorize a spell at level 5 to swap out one prepared spell every short rest. Other than that they just cast the spells.

Sorcerers can 'unleash their magic' for 1 minute to increase their spell save DC by 1 and gain advantage on spell attack rolls twice per long rest. Then at level 2 they can recover spell slots for Sorcery Points. And then they get Metamagic options. At level 5 they get to recover half their sorcerer level in sorcery points.

Psions do it more Subtly. And they get a wholly separate ability to use Energy Dice to do variable-range telepathy for a minute or fling an enemy a variable distance. This is not spellcasting, per-se, but it's something. And twice per long rest they can enter a 1 minute long state where they ignore psychic resistance (or gain it) and reroll dice by expending energy dice.

Sorcerers and Psions both get "Rage" for spellcasting, but much weaker and less built into the class than a Barbarian's Rage is. And then the ability to spend their sorcery points or energy dice on something that changes what their spells do... in practically the same ways.

All three have d6 hit dice, light or no armor, minimal weapon proficiencies, the same movement, the same positioning requirements... They're all so incredibly similar that there's very little that distinguishes them from one another in actual gameplay.

A Sorcerer, a Wizard, and a Psion in the same situation are probably going to move the same way and cast the same spell, or very similar spells, and end their turn. MAYBE they'll use an archetype ability or something as a bonus action for zest... but it's pretty much going to be the same.

There's not a lot of granularity between them because of how much focus is put onto the spells, themselves. Like if Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, and Monk were all defined not by class ability, but by which weapons they carried, and they all pretty much carried the same weapon options.
So while I completely agree with you for sorceress vs wizards I think that with what subclasses we are seeing with this version of a psion they feel very different than wizards or sorcerers.

Metabolic are kinda gushes but to me feel very different from Blade dancers.

Warpers have the most in common with arch fey warlock but with the ability to cast a cantrip as part of the misty step and the unique way they can cast shatter I don't see them casting the same spells that you see from a sorcerer or wizard.

Tks are the most like wizards or sorcerers but once again I feel like their small spell selection and their sub lass focuses on specific spells will make them feel quite different.

Even the telepath feels like it has a unique niche when I am looking at aberrant mind or various wizards.

With this play test they are being very thematically stringent with spell selections and doubling down in the subclasses to focus on specific spells. This, to me feels like a half way point between just spell casting and how lots of people feel psions should work with a very small discipline selection that you can modify.
 

Still the ability to flex between traditional caster and pact magic at will is powerful. It would need massive trade offs to be balanced.
actually it's not unbalanced, been in party with both kind, difference is minimal, Best difference is knowing that you are not tied to stupid spell slot mechanics
That's op. Psionics would be unstoppable. I'd rather NOT return to the era when psionics was banned in sight.
unstoppable as being 65ft away from potential counterspeller.
Augments sounds like meta magic and that's the sorcerer's thing.
again, after 4 cantrips, it's just filler that you will use once every 3 sessions
Again, a great level 1 dip. Keep them at two saves at level 1 and let them pick up the third around level 5-10.
you do not gain saves unless 1st level.
you will take a hit in HPs and possible armor proficiency(heavy) and possible Con saves if you start psion
Psion is getting four new ones already.
true.
but if the book comes with subclass for every class(possibility) then it would be nice that psion also starts with 5 subclasses as all other could be 4 PHB and +1 for Darksun.
 

Isn't that meta magic and sorcery points?
Kinda. But even more "build a spell".
And subclass let's you use one for free.

I.e.
Base 1d8+Int, spend up to 2 points.
Then make it a cone/line/burst/melee (melee is free to Biomancer)
Then make it shove (free as a Telekinetic)
Them make it fire and increase it 4d10 (free as a Pyrokinetic)

And at higher levels
4d8+Int, spend up to 6 points.
Then make it a cone/line/burst
Then make it shove (free as a Telekinetic)
Then make it fire and increase it 4d10 (free to Pyrokinetic)
Then make it difficult terrain (free as Telekinetic, Concentration)
Then make it blind (Con save, reduced cost for Pyrokinetic).
 

Different from yet another spell caster.

Specifically, some kind cantrip + augmen + Points. Closer to a ranged Monk than anything else.

Mind Blast
...

Isn't that meta magic and sorcery points?

I was thinking it sounded a lot like a Warlock.

It can be hard to make something different when you also have to stick within a rules framework that people have been playing with for 10+ years.

IMNSHO, a using a mana point system should be one obvious starting point. Tying casting to different ability scores is another.
 

So while I completely agree with you for sorceress vs wizards I think that with what subclasses we are seeing with this version of a psion they feel very different than wizards or sorcerers.

Metabolic are kinda gushes but to me feel very different from Blade dancers.

Warpers have the most in common with arch fey warlock but with the ability to cast a cantrip as part of the misty step and the unique way they can cast shatter I don't see them casting the same spells that you see from a sorcerer or wizard.

Tks are the most like wizards or sorcerers but once again I feel like their small spell selection and their sub lass focuses on specific spells will make them feel quite different.

Even the telepath feels like it has a unique niche when I am looking at aberrant mind or various wizards.

With this play test they are being very thematically stringent with spell selections and doubling down in the subclasses to focus on specific spells. This, to me feels like a half way point between just spell casting and how lots of people feel psions should work with a very small discipline selection that you can modify.
Oh, I don't doubt subclasses make a difference. They make a difference for the Fighter, too. Or the Barbarian. And provide distinctly different combat styles and goals for the Monk and Rogue, as well.

But on their face, the -baseline- Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue all fight differently from each other. And these spellcasters really don't.

I guess you can argue that the archetypes of the Psion, Sorcerer, or Wizard are where they shine and become different from each other... it just rings kinda hollow when so do all the Martial characters on top of the various major differences in their mechanically supported narrative and stylistic differences.

It's like ... the Martial characters have a box of 24 crayons to draw their world. The Spellcasters have six, and in a limited color range. They can certainly make gorgeous landscapes out of it, but there's so much more they COULD do if they had a full box of crayons.

(Not for their relative mechanical power, though. Especially at high end where the Wizards are using Photoshop and the fighters are using MS Paint...)
 



I'm referring to the class identities being unique and well represented in the system, not overall mechanical power.
Then I would argue the issue is overlap in spells and little more.

Barbarians, Fighters, Rogues, and Monks all use the same system--attacking, HP, AC, and movement.

Apart from spells:
Clerics have channel divinity
Druids have wildshape
Warlocks have invocations (although I never like the "spell" ones)

But sorcerers and wizards, without spells, have nothing.

So, casters already have different systems. Arguably monks have ki, which offers a lot besides basic attacking like the others, but that's it.
 

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