Stormonu
NeoGrognard
No system is perfect, but the 2E system worked overall. I’d would have also included the 3E system as one “that works”, but it got on a bit of a power trip (excuse the pun) - but not really any worse than the 3E magic system. It would be mostly problematic if you used the “psionics are different than magic” option that left psionics unchecked and unresistable.Where in D&D has it been done "right," though? Every incarnation of psionics I've seen for D&D has been a mess and IMO failed in one or more of the ways I listed.
As for magic, well, they're about as far from Vancian as they're going to get. Yes, you have to prepare the spells (unless you're a class that Knows them), but you know longer forget them after casting or have to prepare them multiple times.
Calculations for power points are time consuming at best, leads to psionicists going nova and then being useless, and are bothersome for people who aren't good at math. (Same thing with using spell points for magic.) Plus, they'd have to either come back on a short or long rest--and people would complain about that--because having them come back over any other period of time would lead to waaay too much timekeeping for probably most tables.
Personally, I like the psionic archetypes and wouldn't mind more of those, but I honestly can't stand the idea of a psionic class.
They do have the Telekinetic and Telepathic feats now, so it's a good start.
If folks can keep track of spell slots and hit point totals, tracking power points isn’t an issue. If someone’s not willing/able to track points, then they should run something else - no one tolerates a wizard/cleric/sorcerer/etc. player who won’t track their sorcery points, ki or used spell slots, after all. The class/system could also be hybrid on recovery - full point recovery on a long rest, a small point recovery on a short rest (like the Wizard). Coupled with psionic cantrips, the psion should retain at least minimal ability throughout the adventure to keep up with the rest of the party. At the same time, if someone wants to Nova and then complain how they’re then useless for the rest of the day - well, that’s on them.
This whole discussion has me investigating putting together a psion class/system that uses power points for powers 1st-4th level, and a system similar to the Warlock’s invocations for powers of 5th+.