This week Wizards of the Coast released their first complete preview class from the forthcoming PHB3 through DDI and the Character Builder – The Psion. This is the first of many new classes relying on the new psionic power source, a useless and altogether unnecessary addition to 4e D&D. To put it bluntly: psionics suck.
I’ve been playing D&D for 25 years and I’ve never played a psionic character, I’ve never played at a gaming table where anyone else has played a psionic character and I’ve never had a DM use monsters with psionic powers against me. Dungeons & Dragons is all about swords and sorcery. A Wizard who can create a fireball or summon a demon is an acceptable and expected part of the game. A Fighter in shining plate armor, brandishing a glowing magic sword is another typical character you’d expect to find in D&D. But an opponent who can read my mind and move objects with the slightest thought falls way outside of the parameters I expect to find in a fantasy role playing game.
In all my years of playing D&D I’ve never felt that the absence of psionics has hurt the game or my gaming experiences. Monsters like the Illithid, Githyanki and Githzerai are certainly less powerful without their psionic enhancements, but on the few occasions when my DM has used them he’s either swapped their psionics for something magical or he’s just made them weaker. Previous versions of the Monster Manual and Fiend Folio have even presented these monsters with both psionic and non-psionic stat blocks. Wizards isn’t dumb, they know that psionics really have no useful place in D&D.
I’m not saying that playing characters with psionics is all-together a bad thing, but if you want to experience psionics then you should play a superhero role playing game and not D&D. I grew up playing both D&D and Marvel Super Heroes. When I wanted to play a psionic character I played Professor X, Psylocke, Phoenix or any one of the other mind-bending characters from the Marvel Universe. When I wanted to play a Wizard or a Paladin I returned to D&D. I never felt that either game was missing the elements the other game offered.
One game can’t possibly meet everybody’s needs. The addition of psionics to D&D is Wizard of the Coast’s feeble attempt to appease those vocal few who love D&D and won’t switch to a different RPG to satisfy their need for a psionic fix. I for one won’t play the Psion class.
Where do you stand on the topic of psionics? Do you think they have a place in D&D or should they be reserved for different RPGs?
View Comments (30)
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1 2 3 4 Next »For me, I think what psionics fulfill in the D&D game is a weird, other-worldly power. In most settings, the intelligent races have mastered magic--it has almost become the technology of many campaign settings. Psionics offers a strange, rare, non-magical power source.
In a home-brew 2ed game, after I purchased the Complete Psionicist, I had a spaceship crash on the planet. I described it as a "massive metal mountain that fell from the sky." From this ship Illithids launched an invasion on the good kingdoms of the world. I also introduced an NPC who was an escaped slave that had psionic powers. It was a refreshing twist to that campaign.
And let us not forget Dark Sun! Psionics is what made that world such an strange and interesting place to game.
.-= Nick´s last blog ..A Fresh Take on 4ed Skill Challenges =-.
Psionics appear so often in fantasy literature that I come to expect it in a fantasy RPG. The "magics" of the Farseer trilogy (both the Wit and the Skill) by Robin Hobbs are perfect examples of psionics in fantasy, not in a superhero or sci-fi setting.
.-= Dyson Logos´s last blog ..[Friday Map] Fortress on the Ironflow – A 1 Page Dungeon =-.
what about monks? they don't uses swords, or sorcery? i put psions in the same boat as monks and find it perfectly acceptable to be used in D&D, specifically in 4e were the rules seem solid. in all other previous editions psionics were something else i had to learn, now its a simple rule that makes sense.
If you don't like psions then that's fine don't use em, but your don't exactly say why it sucks.
An interesting story arc, is if you dislike them so much, then have them outlawed in your campaign. Anyone caught using them, is captured, sent to a jail, or killed if to powerful. put the players in a position where a psion is asking for their help not to get caught, what do the lawful players do?
.-= Mike´s last blog ..How to use party initiative =-.
I always end up going back to the origins of psionics: they were created to allow "magic" in science fiction by having pseudoscientific psychic powers. We are playing a fantasy game! We do not need ersatz magic, we have the real thing!
That being said, I have used the 3.5 psionic mechanics for the occasional variant spell weilder, since that is what it is, a variant magic system dressed up in "mental powers" dress.
.-= Sean Holland´s last blog ..Dark Star Dominion – the Evil Empire =-.
I think Psionics absolutely belong in D&D. I would agree that they might not fit every setting, but one think I love about D&D is the ability to grab stuff from a huge amount of material and play just the game you want. Psionics might not fit certain settings, but they work great in my Spelljammer, Planescape, and Dark Sun. Illithids are by far my favorite monsters, and the struggle between Gith and Illithid is my favorite thing about D&D.
Just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that it sucks, and shouldn't exist. I find no enjoyment in Giant Robots/Mecha, but don't mind that there are games out there that use them, and I even don't mind that there are D&D games that use them.
@Nick
If you're interested in adding that element of the unexpected to your campaign I can see why psionics might be appealing. But I do find it interesting that in the novels where psionics are used the characters are often referred to as mind-mage. I guess that's how the inhabitants of the world come to grips with the strange and unexpected power source.
Having psionics stem from a crashed spaceship is a great way to introduce something as different as psionics. I never played in the world of Dark Sun.
@Dyson Logos
I'm sure there is cross-pollination of psionics in fantasy literature. However, the stuff I read and enjoy tends not to have psionics in it. It's just my personal preference. Thanks for the comment.
@Mike
I'm glad you brought up Monks. I don't think Monks were correctly categorized as a psionic class. They seem much more suited towards the martial power source. I think that Wizards of the Coast grouped Monks in the psionic category to give it (psionic powers) credibility. I'd even argue that Monks have closer ties to divine power than psychic.
My statement that psionics suck is targeted specifically at psionics in D&D. When it comes to psionics in other RPGs I'm all for it. Everything has its place and in my opinion psionics have no place in D&D. I like your suggestion of making psionics outlawed. That could certainly explain why they don't appear in my campaigns yet allow my players to play a Psion or any other psionic class if they want to. I'd never outlaw a class and limit character creation choices, but knowing my core group I don't think we'll see any of the psionic classes appear at the game table any time soon.
I know my stance on this topic is likely unpopular and I welcome the chance to discuss it with our readers. Thanks, Mike.
@Sean Holland
I like your take on this; why use something that's like magic when you actually have magic. Good call.
@Patriarch917
You make a valid point. Some settings were built with psionics as an integral part of them. So for those who enjoy those settings and feel that psionics work then this obviously will appeal to you.
You're right to call me out when I say that psionics suck. As I mentioned in my reply to Mike above I don't feel that psionics suck all together, just that I don't like them in D&D. If I played in the settings you've mentioned that rely on psionics I'd probably have a very different opinion on the subject.
I suppose my real beef is that psionics up until now have been a fringe part of D&D which I could easily ignore. By including them in the forthcoming PHB3 core book I feel like Wizards of the Coast is forcing them upon me. So I guess I'm left with a few choices. Do I buy the PHB3 and do I use psionics in my game? Since I'm a DDI subscriber I don't think I'm going to need a hard copy of the PHB3 and although I'm not interested in using psionics I won't hinder my friends from using them.
Thanks for the comment. Let the discussion continue.
"...an opponent who can read my mind and move objects with the slightest thought falls way outside of the parameters I expect to find in a fantasy role playing game."
You mean like with the spells detect thoughts or telekinesis (or mage hand for that matter)?
Just sayin...
@Spenser
Touché. I guess saying “way outside of the parameters” was a bit too strong. But your comment sort of supports my point that psionics are unnecessary if there are magic spells that can accomplish the same results.
@Ameron
Well, with my group (speaking strictly of 3.5 here), it was more about the means than the ends. Many people in my group preferred the power point system over the spellcasting system. So yeah, the effects are largely redundant (which always sort of annoyed me), but all my players loved it anyway.
(Plus, how else are you going to get all those awesome psionic feats? :-P)
I disagree that Monks should be Divine or Martial.
Monks do not necessarily follow gods. Sure, the catholic monks of Earth history did, but what about Buddhist monks? Buddhism is not based on a deity. It is a "level of understanding" which fits in *really* well with the Psionic concept. If I look at them from that perspective, it makes perfect sense why WotC classified them as Psionic.
Divine monks wouldn't be a very good class. Can you picture Friar Tuck with a longsword?
I don't think that a martial monk really works as a concept either. "Brawler" is more martial in my mind, where a monk is above just a down-and-dirty brawl. (Although you probably could reflavor your monk as Martial and call it a brawler instead?)