D&D 5E UA: What is a Mystic? (ability flavor discussion)

[Tony Vargas]

Most of the terms traditionally used in D&D Psioinics, including 'psionics' are fairly modern. Things like telekinesis, telepathy, psychic (referring to a person), medium, etc, are from the 19th century fad in spiritualism and theosophy (the influence of theosophy in the way people imagine the supernatural and the afterlife is really quite remarkable, given that the movement itself is all but forgotten). Teleportation and psionics are from the 20th century (supernatural beings appearing or disappearing at will is a hoary idea, but the teleportation label is relatively new), and both were coined in the context of science or science fiction.

If you feel like there's any kind of dividing line at all between sci-fi and fantasy (and many folks don't), psionics can seem jarringly out of place in a fantasy-genre RPG. But then, so can a lot of other traditional elements of D&D, like Vancian casting, mechanical lobster submarines, giant amoebas, etc, etc, etc...

Casting the new psion class the 'Mystic' and leaving some room for re-interpretation of the nature of its powers seems like a good idea for 5e, which wants to accommodate the full range of D&D fans, from those who have been irately banning psoinics since Eldritch Wizardry hit the shelves in 1976 to those who can't wait to reprise their stable of psionic PCs in 5e.

 

[Salamandyr]

Any dividing line between magical archetypes is ultimately arbitrary; because in the real world, "wizard" and "sorceror" and "mystic" are almost synonymous terms--"guy who does magic stuff" having those be discrete categories is very similar to a game labeling saber, scimitar, and tulwar as different things.

But since, I'm an inveterate world builder, here's how I plan to differentiate them. The Wizard is a scientist. He is outward focussed, he desires to "know" the world around him, from the principles of physics that hold the world together to the principles of magic that impinge upon it. Magic is dangerous, so he uses spells, formulae that allow him to manipulate magical energy in predictable ways. The material components, gestures, and magic words, are the equivalent of the labcoat, safety glasses, and rubber gloves used to handle dangerous chemicals.

The mystic instead desires to understand (if asked, the wizard would consider this assertion sophistry, a distinction without a difference), through the contemplation of his inner mind. This has the value of strengthening his will, and as the man said, you stare at your navel long enough, you come out the other side. This prolonged stare into the depths of his own mind has awoken something and that something allows him to actually project his will on the outside world, absent any kind of protection via spell formulae.

The wizard likely sees this as dangerous, much the way he looks at warlocks, since you're opening your inner self up to something that just might be impossible to understand. Sure, he'd love to study it, in controlled conditions, but do it? Not until he's got a much better grasp on what exactly the mystic is opening himself up to.