Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Psionics and Mystics Take Two

February's Unearthed Arcana article from WotC's Mike Mearls has been posted. This time around, the topic is psionics again "This month, Unearthed Arcana returns to the mystic character class and the rules for psionics. Based on the playtest feedback you sent us, there are a number of changes you can expect." The article expands the Mystic class to 10th level, and adds a variety of new options.

Find the article right here.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

I still think that the name sucks. Mystic sounds like the name of a spontaneous casting Druid. The old names for psionic classes work better.

 

[Tectuktitlay]

I still think that the name sucks. Mystic sounds like the name of a spontaneous casting Druid. The old names for psionic classes work better.

I still don't see why they can't just call it Psychic instead of Mystic. Psychic covers the entire suite of abilities, without the sci-fi connotations psionic seems to have in the minds of many people. Some Psychics will be telepathic, some telekinetic, some clairsentient, or a mixture thereof. The word "psychic" also immediately conjures up classic psychic abilities. You tell someone you're playing a psychic, they're immediately going to have a pretty good idea of the kind of character it is, just like the terms "wizard", "paladin", "fighter", and so on immediately conjure a specific set of characters. "Mystic" sounds like yet another arcane or divine caster subclass.

 

[CapnZapp]

They have similar effects, yes, but the point of access, and the usage, differ. When a caster is gaining access to 3rd level spells, a paladin is only then gaining access to 2nd level spells. When a cleric is gaining access to 5th level spells, a paladin is merely gaining access to 3rd level spells. When a cleric is hitting their cap of 9th level spells, a paladin is merely gaining access to 5th level spells. So while, yes, a 5th level spell is pretty much a 5th level spell, you have one group of classes casting 5th level spells when they reach ninth level, and another group of classes casting 5th level spells when they reach seventeenth level. That's quite a dramatic spread of when they're flinging these respective spells about, and that is an important mechanical interaction to take in to account. So, rather than making one spell X level on the cleric list, and Y level on the paladin list, they simply limit when paladins gain access to spells of X level across the board. Same basic idea, much simpler implementation.

Not sure what your point is. I could misread you, but just to be sure:

A 8d6 Fireball is very impressive at party level 5. It is much less impressive, relatively speaking, at party level 17. The paladin is, more or less, getting Fireball at level 17.

(I know Fireball isn't a Paladin spell)

What they do not do in 5th edition is give Paladins special-edition Fireballs that are stronger than their level would indicate. Example: A "Holy Fireball" spell which remains spell level 3 but now does 16d8 damage. That's not what they do. Paladins get spells later than, say, Wizards. The spells are not stronger.

This is the point you replied to. The "important mechanical interaction" is that the strongest spell available to a Paladin is always a weak to average spell for a full spellcaster of the same level. This is taken into account.

 

[CapnZapp]

I still don't see why they can't just call it Psychic instead of Mystic.

Probably because "psychic" means "fraudulent huckster" to many: Madam Dagny and her crystal ball. Carnival freak shows. Telling people what they desperately want to hear.

Not saying it must have this meaning. Saying it might be too many at WotC HQ thinking of this meaning.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

I still don't see why they can't just call it Psychic instead of Mystic. Psychic covers the entire suite of abilities, without the sci-fi connotations psionic seems to have in the minds of many people. Some Psychics will be telepathic, some telekinetic, some clairsentient, or a mixture thereof. The word "psychic" also immediately conjures up classic psychic abilities. You tell someone you're playing a psychic, they're immediately going to have a pretty good idea of the kind of character it is, just like the terms "wizard", "paladin", "fighter", and so on immediately conjure a specific set of characters. "Mystic" sounds like yet another arcane or divine caster subclass.

Exactly. You make the base class Psychic, and then use the old names for the subclasses instead of this Order nonsense.

Order of the Awakened = Erudite
Order of the Immortal = Psychic Warrior
Order of the Soul* = Wilder

*hypothetical third subclass because they usually come up with at least 3 per class

 

[Staffan]

What they do not do in 5th edition is give Paladins special-edition Fireballs that are stronger than their level would indicate. Example: A "Holy Fireball" spell which remains spell level 3 but now does 16d8 damage. That's not what they do. Paladins get spells later than, say, Wizards. The spells are not stronger.

There is a little bit of that, but certainly not to that degree. Aura of vitality is the big one, I think, and possibly swift quiver.

 

[Tectuktitlay]

Exactly. You make the base class Psychic, and then use the old names for the subclasses instead of this Order nonsense.

Order of the Awakened = Erudite
Order of the Immortal = Psychic Warrior
Order of the Soul* = Wilder

*hypothetical third subclass because they usually come up with at least 3 per class

I don't even mind the Orders as a concept. It fits with psionic orders as presented in Dark Sun and other psi-heavy settings. I also think erudite is silly for a subclass name. The word, "erudite", is...absolutely PERFECT a name for a feat pertaining to a particularly adept scholarly type. But for a class? What makes a psion who has access to switching abilities about in a manner akin to a wizard's spellbook more erudite than a scholarly bard trained in almost every knowledge-based skill, or more erudite than a wizard with an enormous body of spells in their book, etc? Erudite is a delightful word, but one of my least favorite names for a class, since it is a trait that applies to many different types of highly knowledgeable individuals.

 

[Tectuktitlay]

Not sure what your point is. I could misread you, but just to be sure:

A 8d6 Fireball is very impressive at party level 5. It is much less impressive, relatively speaking, at party level 17. The paladin is, more or less, getting Fireball at level 17.

(I know Fireball isn't a Paladin spell)

What they do not do in 5th edition is give Paladins special-edition Fireballs that are stronger than their level would indicate. Example: A "Holy Fireball" spell which remains spell level 3 but now does 16d8 damage. That's not what they do. Paladins get spells later than, say, Wizards. The spells are not stronger.

This is the point you replied to. The "important mechanical interaction" is that the strongest spell available to a Paladin is always a weak to average spell for a full spellcaster of the same level. This is taken into account.

Right, and the casters we do have that sacrifice the number of spells known ALREADY gain either raw mechanical power (sorcerers) or more usage (warlocks), as a mechanical precedent. Right now. With the existing classes. Everyone but a sorcerer that is casting that fireball is getting the same effect for that fireball. But a sorcerer? They can actually have a fireball that is flat out more powerful than a standard fireball, and can certainly have that fireball be equivalent to a spell higher than third level. For other spells, it's even more explicitly so. A sorcerer using twinned spell is often using that spell at one spell level higher than normal (for any of the single-target spells that give you an extra target for each spell level above its base you use it at). This means, on a raw mechanical level, that a fifth level sorcerer casting a 3rd level spell can actually cast it as the equivalent of a 4th level spell, using a 3rd level slot, when everyone else in the game can only cast it as a 3rd level spell. The precedent is there, and it doesn't break the game.

So giving an entire group of classes/subclasses, that are using a mechanical subsystem that inherently takes into account that its practitioners will have access to less numbers of abilities than spell-users of equivalent level, can have those powers push the envelope a little in terms of raw power, or usage, or both. I am certainly not saying they can or should push the envelope too much. But having those abilities usable at-will when no other class/subclass can? Not unreasonable. Having a limited resource that pushes those abilities to a power level above that of other classes? Already has a strong precedent with the sorcerer. Doing both at once seems a solid way to build this subsystem from the ground up.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

I don't even mind the Orders as a concept. It fits with psionic orders as presented in Dark Sun and other psi-heavy settings. I also think erudite is silly for a subclass name. The word, "erudite", is...absolutely PERFECT a name for a feat pertaining to a particularly adept scholarly type. But for a class? What makes a psion who has access to switching abilities about in a manner akin to a wizard's spellbook more erudite than a scholarly bard trained in almost every knowledge-based skill, or more erudite than a wizard with an enormous body of spells in their book, etc? Erudite is a delightful word, but one of my least favorite names for a class, since it is a trait that applies to many different types of highly knowledgeable individuals.

I only chose Erudite as it was previously used as the name for a psionic class that was about unlocking the power of the mind.

 

[SkidAce]

Erudite is a delightful word, but one of my least favorite names for a class, since it is a trait that applies to many different types of highly knowledgeable individuals.

You should have played original Everquest...Erudite was a race!