When the poll comes out, I am definitely going to recommend that they remove the rolling aspect of psi-powered leap and I would urge everyone else to also do that. I think it's very bad for the game experience and thus bad game design. There are other ways to get the cool jedi jumping ability that doesn't detract from the game feel. Like, for example, a reskin of the Eagle Totem Barbarian ability.
It's fun to roll dice, but it also takes a certain amount of mental effort to calculate it and the reward for doing it should be commensurate, like doing a heck ton of damage. Having to roll just to get like 11 feet of movement is a mechanic that would make me want to never use the power and thus never use the subclass.
I will agree that their formula is too complicated, but a level 17 with 20 Int is gonna average a 24 ft. jump with this feature, and possibly as high as 34 ft. The whole point is to discourage overuse, but potentially give a bigger payout when it is used. And for a 1st-level character, that extra 10 feet of movement could be clutch on occasion. And the other uses of the die are juicy enough.
I like that they're trying to do Psionics again, and Psionic Soul is pretty cool sounding, but my Warlock on gets a single cantrip. This UA drop probably isn't meant to have to do with Warlocks, but just a single remade cantrip stings.
If you must roll something I say let that roll stand for at least an entire combat. Psi-roll x minutes of effect or psi-roll x effect for a minute, something like that.
I would think being able to activate this power for up to 12 minutes (remember, that die goes that high) might be a bit much. Just putting that out there.
If you must roll something I say let that roll stand for at least an entire combat. Psi-roll x minutes of effect or psi-roll x effect for a minute, something like that.
I would think being able to activate this power for up to 12 minutes (remember, that die goes that high) might be a bit much. Just putting that out there.
It would actually almost eliminate the die mechanics as most combats don't last very long. A single die roll per combat would not work as the current design intended.
I think Psi-powered Leap should go away. In its place create a new ability that adds you Int bonus to Athletics Checks or like suggested above, give a temporary fly speed based on the die roll.
Protective Field is good, but after a few levels it is not really doing much. It needs to scale better each level to keep it a viable reaction to compete with things like Sentinel.
Telekinetic Strike I think is fine as is.
I don't really have an issue with the Psi Talent die mechanic really. I would like it reversed in order to reflect the nature of the rest of the game, but I don't care enough to argue the idea.
I would think being able to activate this power for up to 12 minutes (remember, that die goes that high) might be a bit much. Just putting that out there.
I don't. The time periods that most DM's are going to be concerned about are combat (measured in six second periods and rarely lasting longer than 30 seconds), non combat action scenes which are probably measured in minutes, dialogue and roleplay scenes which are probably measured in hours, and days. Twelve minutes isn't really that out there considering we have other spells and such that last for hours.
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Wow, I didn't expect so much vitriol in this thread. I think the new UA is pretty cool in general.
I DO think it's super weird that you're punished for maxing out your die - if you have a d6, it means your best case becomes rolling a bunch of 5s in a row - but the core concept of having variable RNG bounds is a cool idea, and being able to apply that die to a wide range of abilities feels like a very Psionic thing to do. It's thematically appropriate - you have a pool of talent that you aren't entirely in control of, but you can apply it to a variety of situations.
That said, decreasing dice size should absolutely be a player choice. Rather than "hit the max number, lose future power," which punishes you for what should be a lucky success, maybe you should be able to exert yourself to double the dice? That means you can always rely on keeping a certain range of successes, unless you choose to sacrifice those upper bounds for a short-term effect (either by exerting, or through the variety of other abilities that shrink your dice - things like Metabolic Control giving you a one-minute short rest, or Soulknife's teleport-to-weapon effect).
Regrowing your dice on a bad roll is cool, though. It means you don't have a hard limit on psionic actions, only an expected "minimum" that you might get a higher number for. Some extra planning is needed to keep players from doing something dumb like attacking a chair out of combat to refill their psionic dice (maybe smaller dice in general, but you can reset the size with 1 minute of uninterrupted focus?) but the concept is sound.
Regarding psionic spells: it DOES feel super weird that they don't interact with Psionic Dice at all. If you're gonna have a subcategory of psionic spells, why not just... connect the damage die to your Psionic Die? It also makes it feel more unique to Psions. Like, any old Wizard could take Mind Thrust, but if you don't have any Psionic abilities, it's just... 3d0 plus the secondary effect. Useable, but not optimal.
The best part, to me, is that the Psionic Die system feels like a good baseline for a pure-Psion class. Give them more ways to regrow the dice, give them more ways to exert the dice, design subclasses that offer new ways to use or play around the dice... Tweak the mechanic a bit, and you could absolutely build a proper Mystic.
Regarding psionic spells: it DOES feel super weird that they don't interact with Psionic Dice at all. If you're gonna have a subcategory of psionic spells, why not just... connect the damage die to your Psionic Die? It also makes it feel more unique to Psions. Like, any old Wizard could take Mind Thrust, but if you don't have any Psionic abilities, it's just... 3d0 plus the secondary effect. Useable, but not optimal.
The best part, to me, is that the Psionic Die system feels like a good baseline for a pure-Psion class. Give them more ways to regrow the dice, give them more ways to exert the dice, design subclasses that offer new ways to use or play around the dice... Tweak the mechanic a bit, and you could absolutely build a proper Mystic.
Regarding psionic spells: it DOES feel super weird that they don't interact with Psionic Dice at all. If you're gonna have a subcategory of psionic spells, why not just... connect the damage die to your Psionic Die? It also makes it feel more unique to Psions. Like, any old Wizard could take Mind Thrust, but if you don't have any Psionic abilities, it's just... 3d0 plus the secondary effect. Useable, but not optimal.
The best part, to me, is that the Psionic Die system feels like a good baseline for a pure-Psion class. Give them more ways to regrow the dice, give them more ways to exert the dice, design subclasses that offer new ways to use or play around the dice... Tweak the mechanic a bit, and you could absolutely build a proper Mystic.
I really like this! WotC, do this!
Yas!!! If they did this I would stop complaining about spells as Psionics. If all of their spells worked off of that mechanic in some way I would be down. They wouldn’t need spell slots anymore if the casting limit is tied to the die, their spells would work in a completely unique way, even if a Wizard could learn it and cast it with a slot, they would be copying the Psion instead of the other way around. Brilliant!
I think Psi-powered Leap should go away. In its place create a new ability that adds you Int bonus to Athletics Checks or like suggested above, give a temporary fly speed based on the die roll.
I'd rather see it replaced with an ability similar to the 3.5 psi-feat Up-the-walls where part of your move can take place on a wall so long as you begin and end your move on a horizontal surface.
I'd rather see it replaced with an ability similar to the 3.5 psi-feat Up-the-walls where part of your move can take place on a wall so long as you begin and end your move on a horizontal surface.
You could do it that way, I suppose, but I think force enhance leaping is a little more seen in psionic media than wall walking.
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How about just adding the number rolled on the Talent Die to acrobatic and athletics checks?
This feels very underwhelming and also possibly a different emphasis. Those skill checks aren't as useful for jumping and getting around in the system as they are for grappling.
You could do it that way, I suppose, but I think force enhance leaping is a little more seen in psionic media than wall walking.
Force leaping feels more jedi than psionic. Levitation or Matrix like wall movement strikes me as being more psionic.
They both feel Psionic to me. One you may by carry yourself telekinetically like Jean Grey, or maybe make yourself lighter. The other you cause a tactilekinetic bond with the wall as you run.
How about just adding the number rolled on the Talent Die to acrobatic and athletics checks?
This feels very underwhelming and also possibly a different emphasis. Those skill checks aren't as useful for jumping and getting around in the system as they are for grappling.
I get that, I just don't like the idea of spamming die rolls for random jump distances.
No, I get that. I hate it, too. I suggested something along the lines of "Roll your psi-die. Now you have a flight speed equal to your walking speed for that many minutes. You fall if you end your turn in midair." Basically a reskin of the Eagle Totem Barbarian ability.
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I will agree that their formula is too complicated, but a level 17 with 20 Int is gonna average a 24 ft. jump with this feature, and possibly as high as 34 ft. The whole point is to discourage overuse, but potentially give a bigger payout when it is used. And for a 1st-level character, that extra 10 feet of movement could be clutch on occasion. And the other uses of the die are juicy enough.
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No, I meant as a way to simplify the calculation for Psi-Powered Leap. But looking back on it, that would make the guaranteed minimum too high.
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I like that they're trying to do Psionics again, and Psionic Soul is pretty cool sounding, but my Warlock on gets a single cantrip. This UA drop probably isn't meant to have to do with Warlocks, but just a single remade cantrip stings.
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Here, have some homebrew classes! Subclasses to? Why not races. Feats, feats as well. I have a lot of magic items. Lastly I got monsters, fun, fun times.
I would think being able to activate this power for up to 12 minutes (remember, that die goes that high) might be a bit much. Just putting that out there.
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It would actually almost eliminate the die mechanics as most combats don't last very long. A single die roll per combat would not work as the current design intended.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I think Psi-powered Leap should go away. In its place create a new ability that adds you Int bonus to Athletics Checks or like suggested above, give a temporary fly speed based on the die roll.
Protective Field is good, but after a few levels it is not really doing much. It needs to scale better each level to keep it a viable reaction to compete with things like Sentinel.
Telekinetic Strike I think is fine as is.
I don't really have an issue with the Psi Talent die mechanic really. I would like it reversed in order to reflect the nature of the rest of the game, but I don't care enough to argue the idea.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I don't. The time periods that most DM's are going to be concerned about are combat (measured in six second periods and rarely lasting longer than 30 seconds), non combat action scenes which are probably measured in minutes, dialogue and roleplay scenes which are probably measured in hours, and days. Twelve minutes isn't really that out there considering we have other spells and such that last for hours.
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ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I suppose.
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Wow, I didn't expect so much vitriol in this thread. I think the new UA is pretty cool in general.
I DO think it's super weird that you're punished for maxing out your die - if you have a d6, it means your best case becomes rolling a bunch of 5s in a row - but the core concept of having variable RNG bounds is a cool idea, and being able to apply that die to a wide range of abilities feels like a very Psionic thing to do. It's thematically appropriate - you have a pool of talent that you aren't entirely in control of, but you can apply it to a variety of situations.
That said, decreasing dice size should absolutely be a player choice. Rather than "hit the max number, lose future power," which punishes you for what should be a lucky success, maybe you should be able to exert yourself to double the dice? That means you can always rely on keeping a certain range of successes, unless you choose to sacrifice those upper bounds for a short-term effect (either by exerting, or through the variety of other abilities that shrink your dice - things like Metabolic Control giving you a one-minute short rest, or Soulknife's teleport-to-weapon effect).
Regrowing your dice on a bad roll is cool, though. It means you don't have a hard limit on psionic actions, only an expected "minimum" that you might get a higher number for. Some extra planning is needed to keep players from doing something dumb like attacking a chair out of combat to refill their psionic dice (maybe smaller dice in general, but you can reset the size with 1 minute of uninterrupted focus?) but the concept is sound.
Regarding psionic spells: it DOES feel super weird that they don't interact with Psionic Dice at all. If you're gonna have a subcategory of psionic spells, why not just... connect the damage die to your Psionic Die? It also makes it feel more unique to Psions. Like, any old Wizard could take Mind Thrust, but if you don't have any Psionic abilities, it's just... 3d0 plus the secondary effect. Useable, but not optimal.
The best part, to me, is that the Psionic Die system feels like a good baseline for a pure-Psion class. Give them more ways to regrow the dice, give them more ways to exert the dice, design subclasses that offer new ways to use or play around the dice... Tweak the mechanic a bit, and you could absolutely build a proper Mystic.
I really like this! WotC, do this!
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Yas!!! If they did this I would stop complaining about spells as Psionics. If all of their spells worked off of that mechanic in some way I would be down. They wouldn’t need spell slots anymore if the casting limit is tied to the die, their spells would work in a completely unique way, even if a Wizard could learn it and cast it with a slot, they would be copying the Psion instead of the other way around. Brilliant!
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I'd rather see it replaced with an ability similar to the 3.5 psi-feat Up-the-walls where part of your move can take place on a wall so long as you begin and end your move on a horizontal surface.
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I like that idea too, I just don't want something that has variable distances.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
You could do it that way, I suppose, but I think force enhance leaping is a little more seen in psionic media than wall walking.
Canto alla vita
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ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
How about just adding the number rolled on the Talent Die to acrobatic and athletics checks?
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Force leaping feels more jedi than psionic. Levitation or Matrix like wall movement strikes me as being more psionic.
Some of my 5e homebrews on GM Binder for Dark Sun, Dark Sun Sub-classes. Feel free to message me with any questions, suggestions, or critiques.
This feels very underwhelming and also possibly a different emphasis. Those skill checks aren't as useful for jumping and getting around in the system as they are for grappling.
The Jedi are basically the preeminent psions in popular culture, at least in terms of telekinetics.
Canto alla vita
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I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
They both feel Psionic to me. One you may by carry yourself telekinetically like Jean Grey, or maybe make yourself lighter. The other you cause a tactilekinetic bond with the wall as you run.
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I get that, I just don't like the idea of spamming die rolls for random jump distances.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
No, I get that. I hate it, too. I suggested something along the lines of "Roll your psi-die. Now you have a flight speed equal to your walking speed for that many minutes. You fall if you end your turn in midair." Basically a reskin of the Eagle Totem Barbarian ability.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!