Unearthed Arcana Why UA Psionics are never going to work in 5e.

[Maxperson]

That doesn't follow. You wouldn't expect a remote village to have a spellcaster, for the same reason you wouldn't expect them to have a lawyer.

Wizards, like lawyers, travel. While you wouldn't expect one to LIVE there, you would expect at least one to wander in over the course of a few hundred years.

Learning an academic skill requires a teacher, money and time. People who live in villages are too busy producing the food they need to live to spend time studying the law or magic.

Why do you think wizards hate their families so much that they don't teach their wives and kids how to do magic? Personally, I think they would love and teach their families. And those kids would teach their wives/husbands and kids. It wouldn't take long for most of the world to know at least some magic.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Wizards, like lawyers, travel. While you wouldn't expect one to LIVE there, you would expect at least one to wander in over the course of a few hundred years.

I think lawyers have better things to do with their time than wander through remote villages.

They live in the city, they work in the city, and their business comes to them.

Why do you think wizards hate their families so much that they don't teach their wives and kids how to do magic? Personally, I think they would love and teach their families. And those kids would teach their wives/husbands and kids. It wouldn't take long for most of the world to know at least some magic.

Traditionally, dons are celibate.

And just because something can be learned, it doesn't make it easy to learn. I'm an Astrophysicist, but my children and grandchildren are not astrophysicists.

 

[Maxperson]

I think lawyers have better things to do with their time than wander through remote villages.

They live in the city, they work in the city, and their business comes to them.

And they vacation. They like to climb mountains and hike in remote areas. They have money man. They like to use it to do unusual things so that they can brag about it. I've worked in the law field for 13 years and have heard some interesting stories.

Traditionally, dons are celibate.

Okay, but I'm not talking about the Mafia. I'm talking about wizards which we know from official products, have wives and children.

 

[Aldarc]

I'm not sure where the hostility is coming from; I'm genuinely trying to have a constructive discussion. But, if you're not interested, cool. I suppose it's perfectly fine to engage by sharing your thoughts but not want to discuss compromise in design. I think, though, that's a recipe for disappointment -- having strong feelings but not discussing how they might look in design is a very likely way to end up with a design that doesn't meet your wants. You might get lucky, though. I'll root for you.

Not hostility. Frustration. What you don't understand is that right now I'm not trying to have a conversation about design like you are, which is why your end comes across as tone deaf to me.

 

[Guest 6801328]

You guys are arguing about this ("wizards per 100,000 people"?) as if it were fact. These are fantasy worlds, and no two are alike. You can each have it your own way.

Aren't RPGs great?

 

[Ovinomancer]

Not hostility. Frustration. What you don't understand is that right now I'm not trying to have a conversation about design like you are, which is why your end comes across as tone deaf to me.

I'm sorry you feel that way. To me, though, it's a bit frustrating as well. If you're discussing qualities that psionics must have, or that you feel it has, that's a design discussion. Otherwise, if it has nothing to do with design, then you cannot expect those things to be part of the design. At which point, what's the point?

If, on the other hand, you just want to say your piece and not discuss it further, that's cool. Consider it heard.

EDIT: sorry, it's been a scattered day, and I appear to have repeated myself from last post. Sorry, didn't mean to harp on it. It's cool if you just want to share your thinking but not discuss it.

 

[Chaosmancer]

And they vacation. They like to climb mountains and hike in remote areas. They have money man. They like to use it to do unusual things so that they can brag about it. I've worked in the law field for 13 years and have heard some interesting stories.

You are thinking in a modern context though, if their were monsters in those remote areas and you were literally risking your lives, fewer people would go there. Also, modern travel is far faster than it used to be, traveling across the country takes hours instead of months. And most wizards don't use Teleportation circles to go to places like that, they go to cities, places they need to visit quite a few times.

And, people want to go to important places. Like you said, hike mountains visit sites of historical importance. I doubt many rich people bother going to places like Clarksville, Missouri. It is just a tiny town with nothing really remarkable about it Nothing to brag about.

Okay, but I'm not talking about the Mafia. I'm talking about wizards which we know from official products, have wives and children.

Yeah, the mafia thing was a silly example, but you are also being a little unreasonable here Max.

You said you have worked in law for years? I'll assume even if you don't have a wife or any kids you have some family. How many people in your family have you personally educated to the level that they have law degrees? Not just "know a little about law" (That'd be arcana skill prof in comparison) but that actually have Law degrees and passed the BAR to get licensed?

How many of your co-workers have done it?

My guess is zero. Because you are using your time to work, not to educate your family, and they have their own things to do. Just being related doesn't immediately mean you all have the same skills after all.

 

[Maxperson]

You are thinking in a modern context though, if their were monsters in those remote areas and you were literally risking your lives, fewer people would go there. Also, modern travel is far faster than it used to be, traveling across the country takes hours instead of months. And most wizards don't use Teleportation circles to go to places like that, they go to cities, places they need to visit quite a few times.

Wizards need to harvest monsters for ingredients, spells, get fabled magic items and such. They're literally the ones that are most likely to go out into the boonies looking for stuff.

You said you have worked in law for years? I'll assume even if you don't have a wife or any kids you have some family. How many people in your family have you personally educated to the level that they have law degrees? Not just "know a little about law" (That'd be arcana skill prof in comparison) but that actually have Law degrees and passed the BAR to get licensed?

Wizardry is not law. It's far more powerful and useful.

How many of your co-workers have done it?

Off the top of my head, four of the attorneys that I have worked with have been the sons of other attorneys all four of those worked with their fathers. One of those also had an uncle who was an attorney in the firm. Those are just the ones I know about. Families going into law happens a whole lot. Why? because it's lucrative and gives power. Much like wizardry, only wizardry gives more.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Off the top of my head, four of the attorneys that I have worked with have been the sons of other attorneys all four of those worked with their fathers. One of those also had an uncle who was an attorney in the firm. Those are just the ones I know about. Families going into law happens a whole lot. Why? because it's lucrative and gives power. Much like wizardry, only wizardry gives more.

But how many of those attorneys trained their own kids?

They sent them all to law school, right?

 

[Maxperson]

But how many of those attorneys trained their own kids?

They sent them all to law school, right?

Sure. Why go through the effort when you can pay others to do it. If there weren't schools, they'd have done it themselves.

Translate that to D&D and wizards will teach their kids unless there are wizard colleges to do it for them. Either way the D&D world would be flooded with wizards and it isn't.