Path of the Psi Tyrant

Psionics can be wielded in all sorts of different ways. Soulknives use it to improve their already existing talents, Psi Warriors use it to manipulate the world without touching it, Occult Seers use it to create brand new minds, and Mystics use it to achieve inner peace. There are others, however, for whom no matter their intention, their way of harnessing psionics is bound to be viewed as evil and tyrannical.

These are informally known as psi tyrants, barbarians that walk a path of psychic malice, devouring minds or manipulating them to their benefit, attacking directly at their foes’ psyche or outright controlling it. It doesn’t mean that all that walk this path are evil, it simply means that they are less focused in how they use their psionics, they don’t specialize or take as much care as others do, they are a lot more pragmatic in their usage of it. 

Most of the time, they let it run rampant in them with wild abandon, waiting to be unleashed and surging in untamed aberrant destruction, no use in keeping their power controlled. When the time is right, however, they wield it with terrifying precision to tamper with the minds of others, influencing everyone in their path of psionic potential.

Psionic Power

Beginning when you choose this path at 3rd level, you harbor a wellspring of psionic energy within yourself. This energy is represented by your Psionic Energy dice, which are each a d6. You have a number of these dice equal to twice your proficiency bonus, and they fuel various psionic powers you have, which are detailed below.

Some of your powers expend the Psionic Energy die they use, as specified in a power’s description, and you can’t use a power if it requires you to use a die when your dice are all expended. You regain all your expended Psionic Energy dice when you finish a long rest. In addition, as a bonus action, you can regain one expended Psionic Energy die, but you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

When you reach certain levels in this class, the size of your Psionic Energy dice increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12). The powers below use your Psionic Energy dice.

Psychic Cleave. Your psychic might lets you harness its power to best hurt your foes and strike their minds. Whenever you hit with an attack, you may roll a Psionic Energy die. The attack deals additional damage equal to the result, and you may have all of the attack’s damage become psychic damage rather than its original type. In addition, the hit creature can’t take a reaction until the end of its next turn, and on its next turn, it must choose whether it gets one attack, one action that isn’t the Attack action, or a bonus action; it gets only one of the three. 

Tyrant’s Influence. Your refined control over psionics lets you command and influence others. As an action, choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC= 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) or become affected by your abilities. For 10 minutes, you have advantage on Charisma ability checks and Wisdom(Insight) checks against the creature, and the creature views you as a friendly acquaintance. Whether the creature succeeds on the saving throw or after the effect has ended, the creature has no idea you influenced its actioning. Once you successfully use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a Psionic Energy dice to use it again. 

Psychic Surge

Also at 3rd level, you rage with sinister psionic power. As long as you are raging, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain resistance to psychic damage.
• Whenever you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you may choose to devour their intellect. The creature dies, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level, and if the creature is brought back to life, their Charisma and Intelligence scores permanently become 1. 
• The first time you hit with an attack each turn, the creature takes additional psychic damage equal to one roll of your Psionic Energy die, without expending a use.

Psionic Herald

Starting at 6th level, you have mastered new ways to use your psychic abilities, detailed below:

Protective Severing. You have learnt to transform physical harm into mental harm, cutting its connection from the physical world. As a reaction to a creature being damaged within 30 feet of you, you may use your reaction to roll a Psionic Energy die. The damage type of the effect or attack becomes psychic instead of its original type, and the damage is reduced by an amount equal to the result + your Constitution modifier (your choice). 

Psionic Bolstering. Your ability to harness psionics lets you redefine failure for yourself and others. Whenever a creature within 30 feet of you fails a Wisdom saving throw,  or a Charisma or Intelligence ability check, you may use your reaction to roll a Psionic Energy die. The creature adds the result to the roll. The first time after each long rest that you use this feature and the roll fails, you don't expend the die.

Tyrannic Compulsion

At 10th level, you can temporarily tap into the overflowing potential of your mind. Whenever you first enter your rage, you score a critical hit on an attack roll, or you roll a 20 on the d20, you can use this feature, choosing one from the following two effects (no action required):

• Choose a creature you can see within 15 feet of you to make a Charisma saving throw (DC= 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, you issue it a telepathic one word command, which it must follow on its next turn. If the creature succeeds on the saving throw, it has no idea you influenced it.
• You regain one expended use of your Psionic Energy dice.

Controlling Storm

By the time you’ve reached 14th level, you can unleash a psionic storm upon your enemies. As an Attack, you can emit a burst of raw psionic power, on a 60-foot cone originating from you. Creatures within it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC= 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) or take an amount of psychic damage equal to ten times a roll of your Psionic Energy die + your Constitution modifier (without expending a use), taking half as much on a successful save. 

In addition, any creatures within that were dealt damage become affected by your abilities: you have advantage on Charisma ability checks and Wisdom(Insight) checks against them, and if the creature failed the saving throw, they also view you as a friendly acquaintance and cannot do anything harmful to you. These effects last until the end of your next turn or until you deal damage to them again. You can use this feature once, regaining the ability to use it again when you finish a long rest, or by expending three of your Psionic Energy dice to use it again.