D&D General What’s The Big Deal About Psionics?

[jayoungr]

Psionics, in my setting, are not bound by the rules of common magic. Dispel Magic, Detect Magic, Counterspell, Antimagic Shell ... these spells do not interact with psionics because those spells interact with and attack the spell weave - and psionics have nothing to do with the spell weave.

So ... is there any equivalent thing that will negate psionics?

 

[Ancalagon]

I mean divine magic is 'just spells'. But we have a separate cleric class. Nature magic is 'just spells' but we have a separate druid class.

Psionics has an even bigger excuse to be different as it's not historically used the vancian casting spell slot system, but for some reason it's now just shoved into subclasses.

Even the sorcerer gets its own class, and it's a discount wizard with a feat glued to it.

If it's all 'just spells' why not axe the warlock, sorcerer, druid, bard, and cleric. And make a single 'magic user' class. It's all just the same magic right?

I would go further: ladle

your race is ladle. Your class is ladle. You fight ladle monsters with your bludgeoning ladle to gain ladle coins. You have one stat: ladle.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I would go further: ladle

your race is ladle. Your class is ladle. You fight ladle monsters with your bludgeoning ladle to gain ladle coins. You have one stat: ladle.

View attachment 154242

is that a dino ladle?

 

[Jer]

I would go further: ladle

your race is ladle. Your class is ladle. You fight ladle monsters with your bludgeoning ladle to gain ladle coins. You have one stat: ladle.

View attachment 154242

Can't fool me - that's not a ladle that's a brontosaurus!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Can't fool me - that's not a ladle that's a brontosaurus!

I have a tea strainer that looks like this.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

But there is also a group that actively wants psionics to work like magic, because it results in a simpler system with a shallower learning curve. You can just roll up a psion and apply your wizard-playing skills, and it'll mostly work.

That group already has their way. Refluff the wizard or any of the other glut of classes that use spells. Just slap psi on any spell and call it a day. Why does the man who's already eaten get to belly up for seconds before the rest of us get a single serving?

My hope is that Wizards finds a way to please both groups, introducing a system that achieves that qualitative difference while also being easy to learn. The fact that they have spent years hacking on the psionics rules suggests they are reluctant to just take the easy path and slap a coat of psi-paint on the "full caster" template, so I think that hope is not a doomed one.

Why should they split the difference and make something watered down to appeal to people who already have the exact thing they want?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I've been watching Critical Role campaign III, and Imogen, who's an aberrant mind sorcerer definitely comes across as a psion. She has some feats and little homebrewing to support the theme, but it works just fine.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I've been watching Critical Role campaign III, and Imogen, who's an aberrant mind sorcerer definitely comes across as a psion. She has some feats and little homebrewing to support the theme, but it works just fine.

She certainly does. However, I would argue that the fact that she does have feats and homebrewing indicates that the concept is not adequately supported.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

She certainly does. However, I would argue that the fact that she does have feats and homebrewing indicates that the concept is not adequately supported.

Sure. But at least to me it demonstrates that the required amount of extra crunch is far, far below 'entirely separate alternate magic system.'

 

[Micah Sweet]

Sure. But at least to me it demonstrates that the required amount of extra crunch is far, far below 'entirely separate alternate magic system.'

Required? Perhaps. But I'd still feel more comfortable with a full class. The Level Up psion works for me.