So, I'm going to ask a question that the other enthusiasts have danced around and is critical to the discussion at hand Lia_black: with your proposed class, is psionics magic?
This is a question that you all have weirdly fixated on, and it's entirely irrelevant to any evaluation of the draft. (Or, indeed, any psi class idea.)
You can flip the answer between "yes" and "no" and it will have zero effect of the design, and relatively little on how it balances into the rest of the game. (I will not be arguing this point, because it is entirely too minor a question to have taken up as much of the discussion as it has.)
And it is that difficult to come up with something that covers psi instead?
Yes, it's that difficult. No-one is going back, searching through every book, and adding errata for all of them. Particularly since it's entirely pointless because it will just be things like "Beholder: antimagic cone also blocks psionics".
If you really want to have psi be different, just say "Psi is not arcane magic". That will cover the cases it's actually useful to distinguish.
I'll try that again, since it was apparently unclear:
And it is that difficult to come up with something new that covers psi instead? I already explained a lack of a need to change Beholders and the concept of being unable to add anything new that in any way made any given specific monster weaker somehow breaking the game has already been proven false with things like Dragonlances (weaker in 5e than in earlier editions but still very effective, especially in intended context) or various other new (optional) additions to the game.
Seems weird to me that it isn't comparing the Psionic Energy Dice to the Official Psionic Energy Dice as published by WotC
That's because ChatGPT is entirely incapable of doing the task set before it. It is a probabilistic text generator. That's all it is. It's strikingly good at generating text that looks like answers, but it has no ability to understand concepts, and doesn't know anything. Using it here is a waste of everyone's time.
My quick evaluation (I only skimmed it):
Looks conceptually sound, particularly for the level of development it doesn't have.
It's going to have resource starvation issues, particularly at mid-high levels.
The extra attack should probably only be on psi attacks -- there's no real connection between stabbing somebody and psi powers. It should perhaps scale on level like cantrips do.
Not sure the class has enough to do, though that's going to be partly dependent on subclasses.
I'll try that again, since it was apparently unclear:
And it is that difficult to come up with something new that covers psi instead?
It's that difficult to add that thing that covers psi to previously published creatures and adventures. And it's completely pointless because it will just amount to "everything that blocks magic also blocks psi", because when anti-magic effects show up in adventures, they're really intended as anti-superpower effects and they're only listed as anti-magic because that's the only type of superpower that exists in the setting.
So, I'm going to ask a question that the other enthusiasts have danced around and is critical to the discussion at hand Lia_black: with your proposed class, is psionics magic?
As far as I'm concerned, it should be as much magic as divine power or natural druidic spells are also magic. If arcane power can interact with divine or natural power sources, I don't see why psionics needs to be different in that regard.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I'll try that again, since it was apparently unclear:
And it is that difficult to come up with something new that covers psi instead?
It's that difficult to add that thing that covers psi to previously published creatures and adventures. And it's completely pointless because it will just amount to "everything that blocks magic also blocks psi", because when anti-magic effects show up in adventures, they're really intended as anti-superpower effects and they're only listed as anti-magic because that's the only type of superpower that exists in the setting.
The bolded does not follow. And if the 'There intended as anti-superpower' was true, then beholders or equivalent would be everywhere high level. Different superpowers being useful in different places is a deeper version of the same trope.
Starjammer did not require reworking every existing creature to describe what other pre-existing creatures do in Astral Space. The various books set in very cold or very hot climates did not require re-writing existing creatures for there to be appropriate creatures. Appropriate creatures were added to cover such concerns.
Seems weird to me that it isn't comparing the Psionic Energy Dice to the Official Psionic Energy Dice as published by WotC
That's because ChatGPT is entirely incapable of doing the task set before it. It is a probabilistic text generator. That's all it is. It's strikingly good at generating text that looks like answers, but it has no ability to understand concepts, and doesn't know anything. Using it here is a waste of everyone's time.
My quick evaluation (I only skimmed it):
Looks conceptually sound, particularly for the level of development it doesn't have.
It's going to have resource starvation issues, particularly at mid-high levels.
The extra attack should probably only be on psi attacks -- there's no real connection between stabbing somebody and psi powers. It should perhaps scale on level like cantrips do.
Not sure the class has enough to do, though that's going to be partly dependent on subclasses.
Probably underpowered.
Oh, I totally disagree with this.
Even ChatGPT3 was useful and gave helpful answer. ChstGPT4o is a significant improvement. Is it at the level of human intelligence? No. But, even a spreadsheet can provide.helpful insight to a problem and ChstGPG4o is far beyond a spreadsheet.
Its critics tend to harp on the fact that it isn’t at the level of human intelligence and overlook how it surpasses tools we’ve had in the past. That’s like complaining that an electric screwdriver can’t design and build a house for you and overlooking the advantages it has over a manual screwdriver.
In terms of narrative metaphysics, it's probably fine to be "yet another way of manipulating the weave" in FR, at least.
I agree, psi would/should/is just another flavor of magic in the game of D&D. Not to say other do not agree with this or that they have to.
So is monk Ki magical, then? And therefore does not work in an anti-magic field?
I think the answer to that is "no" but it's been ages since I read the monk class and that spell description side-by-side. But that's not what any of what you quoting is talking about.
The bolded does not follow. And if the 'There intended as anti-superpower' was true, then beholders or equivalent would be everywhere high level. Different superpowers being useful in different places is a deeper version of the same trope.
Most adventures do not have a lot of anti-magical defenses, and in those situations whether psi is a type of magic is irrelevant. Where specific defenses against magic do exist, they're usually either "prevent adventure-breaking actions" or "add a unique challenge to a situation", and in both cases you don't want psi working either.
As for "different superpowers being useful in different places", that's not a D&D trope, because D&D adventures aren't written with a specific party composition in mind.
Seems weird to me that it isn't comparing the Psionic Energy Dice to the Official Psionic Energy Dice as published by WotC
That's because ChatGPT is entirely incapable of doing the task set before it. It is a probabilistic text generator. That's all it is. It's strikingly good at generating text that looks like answers, but it has no ability to understand concepts, and doesn't know anything. Using it here is a waste of everyone's time.
Oh, I totally disagree with this.
Even ChatGPT3 was useful and gave helpful answer. ChstGPT4o is a significant improvement. Is it at the level of human intelligence? No. But, even a spreadsheet can provide.helpful insight to a problem and ChstGPG4o is far beyond a spreadsheet.
Its critics tend to harp on the fact that it isn’t at the level of human intelligence and overlook how it surpasses tools we’ve had in the past. That’s like complaining that an electric screwdriver can’t design and build a house for you and overlooking the advantages it has over a manual screwdriver.
I'm not going to go into the merits and limitations of ChatGPT, as it's off topic for this thread, and arguably this entire forum.
But... look at the fruits of its labor.
ChatGPT's "analysis" is trash.
Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.
It's all written in ChatGPT's usual "freshman doing the assignment at the last minute without having done the reading" style. It never explains its suggestions.
It makes comparisons that make no sense -- how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras? Or even shield? Meanwhile, there are a number of similar abilities that go unmentioned.
The class comparisons are almost all:
Sort of a summary of the class's thing (sometimes wrong: "Magic" is not a fighter specialty)
"Make sure the psion doesn't compete with the thing"
Druid may be most egregious, where it suggests making sure the class with no shapechanging doesn't overlap with the druid's shapechanging.
Its final suggestions would unilaterally nerf what's already probably underpowered. Its "fix" for psionic burst is perhaps the worst. At once per long rest, it basically gives the base class no high-powered damage abilities. If you reduce the dice, this 14th-level ability doesn't even compete with fireball.
(TLDR) Ki is, itself, not a magical power. HOWEVER, it creates magical effects and those magical effects (including fast movement, unarmed attacks counting as magic, etc.) are blocked by an Anti-Magic Field.
50
+100
"Magical Effects" and "multiverse" are keywords / themes to resolve this
Short Answer: Ki creates magical effects that are subject to Antimagic Field's effects.
Discussion
In the boxed section covering the Weave (PHB p. 205) ki is left out. Since that PHB chapter is about "spells and spell casting" that makes organizational sense.
There is a clue in the shaded box about the Weave that should bridge the gap between the monk and the spell casters. Three points stand out:
The worlds within the D&D multiverse are magical places
All magic depends on the Weave, though different kinds of magic access it in a variety of ways.
The caster plucks directly at the strands of the Weave to create the desired effect.
Magical Effects (PHB p. 201)
A spell is a discrete magical effect.
Putting two points together all magic depends upon the Weave in order to create magical effects. You can conclude that to create a magical effect you must access the Weave.
Ki
This energy is an element of the magic that suffuses the multiverse -- specifically the element that flows through living bodies. Monks harness this power within themselves to create magical effects ... using this energy**, monks channel uncanny speed and strength into their unarmed strikes. (PHB p. 76)
An Antimagic Field's influence
Any active spell or other magical effect on a creature or an object in the sphere is suppressed while the creature or object is in it. (p. 214 PHB)
Conclusion
Use Ki to access the magic in the multiverse and create a magical effect is thus subject to the general rules on magic arriving via the Weave. That would make a use of Ki magical energy unavailable in an anti-magic field.
Caveat
There are some nuances based on this sage advice article where whether or not a dragon's breath is magical was addressed (the answer was no).
Determining whether a game feature is magical is straightforward. Ask yourself these questions about the feature: • Is it a magic item? • Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description? • Is it a spell attack? • Does its description say it’s magical?
This tweet uses the same reasoning.
Q: ki is described as magical, but nothing in stunning strike says that it's magical. Can you confirm that it is not please?
Jeremy Crawford: Neither the ki feature nor the Stunning Strike feature (PH, 78 & 79) is defined as magical for game purposes. #DnD
As mentioned in this answer, Mike Mearls talks in a D&D podcast about monkish Ki energy being the same "kind" of energy that is often accessed by the Weave: the energy native to the multiverse. (Credit to @nitsua60 for this dev side support to the answer).
On 12 Sept 2017, Jeremy Crawford made this tweet supporting the same viewpoint.
Q: Do the monk's ki empowered strikes function when inside an antimagic field?
Jeremy Crawford: The Ki-Empowered Strikes feature says a monk's unarmed strikes count as magical. That magic is suppressed in an antimagic field.
Is it fluff? No.
Antimagic Field (Spell Description)
PHB p. 213: *This area is divorced from the magical energy that suffuses the multiverse.*
Based upon how the book describes Ki, the negation of magical energy and magical effects includes Ki based magical effects. Even re-fluffing, or interpreting, Ki as a different way to get at magical energy than using the Weave will run into the specifics of the spell description.
Ki independent of the Weave doesn't get around Antimagic Field's features: Ki would be one way to access that energy to create magical effects, the Weave would be another. Antimagic Field suppresses both kinds of magical effects.
Notes regarding Ki empowered strikes at level 6:
When you make an unarmed strike that has no Ki points spent, you still channel Ki to overcome resistance or immunity to non magical attacks and damage. (P. 79 PHB) This would be suppressed in an Antimagic Field based on the above reasoning. (Likewise the use of Ki to channel elemental energy (p. 80-81 PHB).)
Antimagic Field is seriously strong magic: 8th level spell. Only artifacts and deities get a pass. A monk is neither of those.
In terms of narrative metaphysics, it's probably fine to be "yet another way of manipulating the weave" in FR, at least.
I agree, psi would/should/is just another flavor of magic in the game of D&D. Not to say other do not agree with this or that they have to.
So is monk Ki magical, then? And therefore does not work in an anti-magic field?
To me yes, especially in the abstract, when you take into consideration how it works with the weave. I also feel that psi would be similar too. The anti-magic field component, I feel, is to help balance it with the 5e rules/design.
“Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.”
I remember when I was taking Chemistry in college. I weighed a substance three times and each time I got a different weight. That surprised me. Fortunately, the professor had warned us ahead of time that this would happen. We were to take the average. I came to understand two things that day. The first one was chaos theory - small changes in input can cause drastic changes in output. The second one was that every output needs to be checked. As carpenters say, “measure twice, cut once.”
“how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras?”
They are both effects which reduce damage taken by allies near thePsion/Paladin. In fact, protecting allies near themselves is kind of one of the core features of the Paladin. Noting that a proposed class is moving into that territory should be done as a sort of “heads up.”
“sometimes wrong: "Magic" is not a fighter specialty”
Actually, what it says is
Eldritch Knight, Battle Master: High combat versatility and magic.”
Are you asserting that Eldritch Knights have no magic?
“
Druid may be most egregious, where it suggests making sure the class with no shapechanging doesn't overlap with the druid's shapechanging.”
Shapechanging is not the Druid’s contribution to the party. It is how the Druid makes its contribution to the party. It is a subtle, but important, distinction.One of the signature contributions of the Druid is utility. It can get into places even the Rogue can’t. It can swim, fly, etc. better than even spells permit. It is important that.the Psion, who has quite a bit of utility themself, doesn’t steal the Druid’s thunder.
(TLDR) Ki is, itself, not a magical power. HOWEVER, it creates magical effects and those magical effects (including fast movement, unarmed attacks counting as magic, etc.) are blocked by an Anti-Magic Field.
50
+100
"Magical Effects" and "multiverse" are keywords / themes to resolve this
Short Answer: Ki creates magical effects that are subject to Antimagic Field's effects.
Discussion
In the boxed section covering the Weave (PHB p. 205) ki is left out. Since that PHB chapter is about "spells and spell casting" that makes organizational sense.
There is a clue in the shaded box about the Weave that should bridge the gap between the monk and the spell casters. Three points stand out:
The worlds within the D&D multiverse are magical places
All magic depends on the Weave, though different kinds of magic access it in a variety of ways.
The caster plucks directly at the strands of the Weave to create the desired effect.
Magical Effects (PHB p. 201)
A spell is a discrete magical effect.
Putting two points together all magic depends upon the Weave in order to create magical effects. You can conclude that to create a magical effect you must access the Weave.
Ki
This energy is an element of the magic that suffuses the multiverse -- specifically the element that flows through living bodies. Monks harness this power within themselves to create magical effects ... using this energy**, monks channel uncanny speed and strength into their unarmed strikes. (PHB p. 76)
An Antimagic Field's influence
Any active spell or other magical effect on a creature or an object in the sphere is suppressed while the creature or object is in it. (p. 214 PHB)
Conclusion
Use Ki to access the magic in the multiverse and create a magical effect is thus subject to the general rules on magic arriving via the Weave. That would make a use of Ki magical energy unavailable in an anti-magic field.
Caveat
There are some nuances based on this sage advice article where whether or not a dragon's breath is magical was addressed (the answer was no).
Determining whether a game feature is magical is straightforward. Ask yourself these questions about the feature: • Is it a magic item? • Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description? • Is it a spell attack? • Does its description say it’s magical?
This tweet uses the same reasoning.
Q: ki is described as magical, but nothing in stunning strike says that it's magical. Can you confirm that it is not please?
Jeremy Crawford: Neither the ki feature nor the Stunning Strike feature (PH, 78 & 79) is defined as magical for game purposes. #DnD
As mentioned in this answer, Mike Mearls talks in a D&D podcast about monkish Ki energy being the same "kind" of energy that is often accessed by the Weave: the energy native to the multiverse. (Credit to @nitsua60 for this dev side support to the answer).
On 12 Sept 2017, Jeremy Crawford made this tweet supporting the same viewpoint.
Q: Do the monk's ki empowered strikes function when inside an antimagic field?
Jeremy Crawford: The Ki-Empowered Strikes feature says a monk's unarmed strikes count as magical. That magic is suppressed in an antimagic field.
Is it fluff? No.
Antimagic Field (Spell Description)
PHB p. 213: *This area is divorced from the magical energy that suffuses the multiverse.*
Based upon how the book describes Ki, the negation of magical energy and magical effects includes Ki based magical effects. Even re-fluffing, or interpreting, Ki as a different way to get at magical energy than using the Weave will run into the specifics of the spell description.
Ki independent of the Weave doesn't get around Antimagic Field's features: Ki would be one way to access that energy to create magical effects, the Weave would be another. Antimagic Field suppresses both kinds of magical effects.
Notes regarding Ki empowered strikes at level 6:
When you make an unarmed strike that has no Ki points spent, you still channel Ki to overcome resistance or immunity to non magical attacks and damage. (P. 79 PHB) This would be suppressed in an Antimagic Field based on the above reasoning. (Likewise the use of Ki to channel elemental energy (p. 80-81 PHB).)
Antimagic Field is seriously strong magic: 8th level spell. Only artifacts and deities get a pass. A monk is neither of those.
Yes, when a monk uses their ki to create a magical effect, the effect they create is magical and that effect would be suppressed by an anti-magic field. I was speaking not merely of those edge cases but of any use of Ki within said field.
A flurry of blows is not described as magical, patient defense, step of the wind, deflect missiles, even stunning strike, not described as magical.
ki-infused strike does not even burn ki, by the way.
“Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.”
I remember when I was taking Chemistry in college. I weighed a substance three times and each time I got a different weight. That surprised me. Fortunately, the professor had warned us ahead of time that this would happen. We were to take the average. I came to understand two things that day. The first one was chaos theory - small changes in input can cause drastic changes in output. The second one was that every output needs to be checked. As carpenters say, “measure twice, cut once.”
“how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras?”
They are both effects which reduce damage taken by allies near thePsion/Paladin. In fact, protecting allies near themselves is kind of one of the core features of the Paladin. Noting that a proposed class is moving into that territory should be done as a sort of “heads up.”
“sometimes wrong: "Magic" is not a fighter specialty”
Actually, what it says is
Eldritch Knight, Battle Master: High combat versatility and magic.”
Are you asserting that Eldritch Knights have no magic?
“
Druid may be most egregious, where it suggests making sure the class with no shapechanging doesn't overlap with the druid's shapechanging.”
Shapechanging is not the Druid’s contribution to the party. It is how the Druid makes its contribution to the party. It is a subtle, but important, distinction.One of the signature contributions of the Druid is utility. It can get into places even the Rogue can’t. It can swim, fly, etc. better than even spells permit. It is important that.the Psion, who has quite a bit of utility themself, doesn’t steal the Druid’s thunder.
And if there is no druid in the party? "You can't play a Psion for that, it has to be a druid?"
“Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.”
I remember when I was taking Chemistry in college. I weighed a substance three times and each time I got a different weight. That surprised me. Fortunately, the professor had warned us ahead of time that this would happen. We were to take the average. I came to understand two things that day. The first one was chaos theory - small changes in input can cause drastic changes in output. The second one was that every output needs to be checked. As carpenters say, “measure twice, cut once.”
Useful advice.
Not sure how it pertains to the fact that, if ChatGPT doesn't know facts, any supposed analysis it makes based on those facts is suspect.
“how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras?”
They are both effects which reduce damage taken by allies near thePsion/Paladin.
No, Paladin auras literally don't do that. The standard auras are save bonus and fearproofing. The subclass auras are all over the place.
If you really, really, stretch it, save bonus does, sometimes, reduce damage, but it's a completely non-comparable ability.
In fact, protecting allies near themselves is kind of one of the core features of the Paladin. Noting that a proposed class is moving into that territory should be done as a sort of “heads up.”
Classes have broad territory. It is not sacrosanct. Better than class X in one regard is entirely reasonable, especially on such a vague level of overlap. It's only when you get into better than X in several, or you start beating multiple classes in various of their major aspects.
“sometimes wrong: "Magic" is not a fighter specialty”
Actually, what it says is
Eldritch Knight, Battle Master: High combat versatility and magic.”
Are you asserting that Eldritch Knights have no magic?
I mean, barely.
And emphasizing that particular subclass and implicitly making magic a major fighter thing really distorts the comparison.
I'm just going to reiterate: ChatGPT is incapable of doing what you're trying to make it to do. All it can do is churn out something that looks like an answer. It can't do analysis at even a surface level.
A flurry of blows is not described as magical, patient defense, step of the wind, deflect missiles, even stunning strike, not described as magical.
Ki is described as magical ("Monks make careful study of a magical energy that most monastic traditions call ki.") and therefore any use of it is also magical (this is another case of "JC is incapable of reading his own rules", which is unfortunately... not rare).
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This is a question that you all have weirdly fixated on, and it's entirely irrelevant to any evaluation of the draft. (Or, indeed, any psi class idea.)
You can flip the answer between "yes" and "no" and it will have zero effect of the design, and relatively little on how it balances into the rest of the game. (I will not be arguing this point, because it is entirely too minor a question to have taken up as much of the discussion as it has.)
I'll try that again, since it was apparently unclear:
And it is that difficult to come up with something new that covers psi instead? I already explained a lack of a need to change Beholders and the concept of being unable to add anything new that in any way made any given specific monster weaker somehow breaking the game has already been proven false with things like Dragonlances (weaker in 5e than in earlier editions but still very effective, especially in intended context) or various other new (optional) additions to the game.
That's because ChatGPT is entirely incapable of doing the task set before it. It is a probabilistic text generator. That's all it is. It's strikingly good at generating text that looks like answers, but it has no ability to understand concepts, and doesn't know anything. Using it here is a waste of everyone's time.
My quick evaluation (I only skimmed it):
It's that difficult to add that thing that covers psi to previously published creatures and adventures. And it's completely pointless because it will just amount to "everything that blocks magic also blocks psi", because when anti-magic effects show up in adventures, they're really intended as anti-superpower effects and they're only listed as anti-magic because that's the only type of superpower that exists in the setting.
As far as I'm concerned, it should be as much magic as divine power or natural druidic spells are also magic. If arcane power can interact with divine or natural power sources, I don't see why psionics needs to be different in that regard.
In terms of narrative metaphysics, it's probably fine to be "yet another way of manipulating the weave" in FR, at least.
The bolded does not follow. And if the 'There intended as anti-superpower' was true, then beholders or equivalent would be everywhere high level. Different superpowers being useful in different places is a deeper version of the same trope.
Starjammer did not require reworking every existing creature to describe what other pre-existing creatures do in Astral Space. The various books set in very cold or very hot climates did not require re-writing existing creatures for there to be appropriate creatures. Appropriate creatures were added to cover such concerns.
Why the reaction like nothing new ever happens?
Oh, I totally disagree with this.
Even ChatGPT3 was useful and gave helpful answer. ChstGPT4o is a significant improvement. Is it at the level of human intelligence? No. But, even a spreadsheet can provide.helpful insight to a problem and ChstGPG4o is far beyond a spreadsheet.
Its critics tend to harp on the fact that it isn’t at the level of human intelligence and overlook how it surpasses tools we’ve had in the past. That’s like complaining that an electric screwdriver can’t design and build a house for you and overlooking the advantages it has over a manual screwdriver.
I agree, psi would/should/is just another flavor of magic in the game of D&D. Not to say other do not agree with this or that they have to.
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
So is monk Ki magical, then? And therefore does not work in an anti-magic field?
I think the answer to that is "no" but it's been ages since I read the monk class and that spell description side-by-side. But that's not what any of what you quoting is talking about.
Most adventures do not have a lot of anti-magical defenses, and in those situations whether psi is a type of magic is irrelevant. Where specific defenses against magic do exist, they're usually either "prevent adventure-breaking actions" or "add a unique challenge to a situation", and in both cases you don't want psi working either.
As for "different superpowers being useful in different places", that's not a D&D trope, because D&D adventures aren't written with a specific party composition in mind.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/11-monk#TheMagicofKi
I'm not going to go into the merits and limitations of ChatGPT, as it's off topic for this thread, and arguably this entire forum.
But... look at the fruits of its labor.
ChatGPT's "analysis" is trash.
Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.
It's all written in ChatGPT's usual "freshman doing the assignment at the last minute without having done the reading" style. It never explains its suggestions.
It makes comparisons that make no sense -- how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras? Or even shield? Meanwhile, there are a number of similar abilities that go unmentioned.
The class comparisons are almost all:
Druid may be most egregious, where it suggests making sure the class with no shapechanging doesn't overlap with the druid's shapechanging.
Its final suggestions would unilaterally nerf what's already probably underpowered. Its "fix" for psionic burst is perhaps the worst. At once per long rest, it basically gives the base class no high-powered damage abilities. If you reduce the dice, this 14th-level ability doesn't even compete with fireball.
I wish I could take credit for this, but
(TLDR) Ki is, itself, not a magical power. HOWEVER, it creates magical effects and those magical effects (including fast movement, unarmed attacks counting as magic, etc.) are blocked by an Anti-Magic Field.
"Magical Effects" and "multiverse" are keywords / themes to resolve this
Short Answer: Ki creates magical effects that are subject to Antimagic Field's effects.
Discussion
In the boxed section covering the Weave (PHB p. 205) ki is left out. Since that PHB chapter is about "spells and spell casting" that makes organizational sense.
There is a clue in the shaded box about the Weave that should bridge the gap between the monk and the spell casters. Three points stand out:
Magical Effects (PHB p. 201)
Putting two points together all magic depends upon the Weave in order to create magical effects. You can conclude that to create a magical effect you must access the Weave.
Ki
An Antimagic Field's influence
Conclusion
Use Ki to access the magic in the multiverse and create a magical effect is thus subject to the general rules on magic arriving via the Weave. That would make a use of Ki magical energy unavailable in an anti-magic field.
Caveat
There are some nuances based on this sage advice article where whether or not a dragon's breath is magical was addressed (the answer was no).
This tweet uses the same reasoning.
While this appears to be a contradiction, using the template of analyzing why dragon breath isn't magical helps to understand where Crawford was coming from in that tweet regarding ki: it isn't 100% of the time magical as a general rule, but some ki effects either replicate or create magical effects and thus must be treated as magical effects.
More RAI/Dev Support
Is it fluff? No.
Antimagic Field (Spell Description)
Based upon how the book describes Ki, the negation of magical energy and magical effects includes Ki based magical effects. Even re-fluffing, or interpreting, Ki as a different way to get at magical energy than using the Weave will run into the specifics of the spell description.
Ki independent of the Weave doesn't get around Antimagic Field's features: Ki would be one way to access that energy to create magical effects, the Weave would be another. Antimagic Field suppresses both kinds of magical effects.
Notes regarding Ki empowered strikes at level 6:
When you make an unarmed strike that has no Ki points spent, you still channel Ki to overcome resistance or immunity to non magical attacks and damage. (P. 79 PHB) This would be suppressed in an Antimagic Field based on the above reasoning. (Likewise the use of Ki to channel elemental energy (p. 80-81 PHB).)
Antimagic Field is seriously strong magic: 8th level spell. Only artifacts and deities get a pass. A monk is neither of those.
To me yes, especially in the abstract, when you take into consideration how it works with the weave. I also feel that psi would be similar too. The anti-magic field component, I feel, is to help balance it with the 5e rules/design.
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
“Literally the first comparison it makes is false -- battlemaster's dice are not linked to proficiency bonus.”
I remember when I was taking Chemistry in college. I weighed a substance three times and each time I got a different weight. That surprised me. Fortunately, the professor had warned us ahead of time that this would happen. We were to take the average. I came to understand two things that day. The first one was chaos theory - small changes in input can cause drastic changes in output. The second one was that every output needs to be checked. As carpenters say, “measure twice, cut once.”
“how is protective field like the Paladin's protective auras?”
They are both effects which reduce damage taken by allies near thePsion/Paladin. In fact, protecting allies near themselves is kind of one of the core features of the Paladin. Noting that a proposed class is moving into that territory should be done as a sort of “heads up.”
“sometimes wrong: "Magic" is not a fighter specialty”
Actually, what it says is
Are you asserting that Eldritch Knights have no magic?
“
Druid may be most egregious, where it suggests making sure the class with no shapechanging doesn't overlap with the druid's shapechanging.”
Shapechanging is not the Druid’s contribution to the party. It is how the Druid makes its contribution to the party. It is a subtle, but important, distinction.One of the signature contributions of the Druid is utility. It can get into places even the Rogue can’t. It can swim, fly, etc. better than even spells permit. It is important that.the Psion, who has quite a bit of utility themself, doesn’t steal the Druid’s thunder.
Yes, when a monk uses their ki to create a magical effect, the effect they create is magical and that effect would be suppressed by an anti-magic field. I was speaking not merely of those edge cases but of any use of Ki within said field.
A flurry of blows is not described as magical, patient defense, step of the wind, deflect missiles, even stunning strike, not described as magical.
ki-infused strike does not even burn ki, by the way.
And if there is no druid in the party? "You can't play a Psion for that, it has to be a druid?"
Meanwhile, Alter Self is a non-druid spell.
Useful advice.
Not sure how it pertains to the fact that, if ChatGPT doesn't know facts, any supposed analysis it makes based on those facts is suspect.
No, Paladin auras literally don't do that. The standard auras are save bonus and fearproofing. The subclass auras are all over the place.
If you really, really, stretch it, save bonus does, sometimes, reduce damage, but it's a completely non-comparable ability.
Classes have broad territory. It is not sacrosanct. Better than class X in one regard is entirely reasonable, especially on such a vague level of overlap. It's only when you get into better than X in several, or you start beating multiple classes in various of their major aspects.
I mean, barely.
And emphasizing that particular subclass and implicitly making magic a major fighter thing really distorts the comparison.
I'm just going to reiterate: ChatGPT is incapable of doing what you're trying to make it to do. All it can do is churn out something that looks like an answer. It can't do analysis at even a surface level.
Ki is described as magical ("Monks make careful study of a magical energy that most monastic traditions call ki.") and therefore any use of it is also magical (this is another case of "JC is incapable of reading his own rules", which is unfortunately... not rare).