Monday, November 25, 2019

New Unearthed Arcana Brings Psionic Subclasses to Fighters, Rogues, and WIzards

Man, Wizards of the Coast is really pumping out a lot of these UA subclasses, aren't they? Makes you wonder if they're planning something like a new Xanathar's-like book.

Which I will certainly purchase immediately if it's announced.

While we've just gotten a single subclass per class in the latest round of UAs, having hit all 12 (though with the Artificer we're at 13 now - they might want to wait for some feedback on the three subclasses for that one before adding more) this time we're getting three that are tightly themed together. To be fair, we've gotten a number of Psionic-themed subclasses in those earlier UAs - like for the Monk and the Sorcerer - but it looks as if they're really focusing in on it. Is a Dark Sun sourcebook in the works? Or just another PHB supplement?

The Psychic Warrior is a Fighter subclass. Given that the Fighter is a very physical class, this subclass is largely themed around the telekinetic aspects of Psionics. The features here are a mix of offense and defense, including a very powerful one at level 3 that, if you choose the defensive option, allows you to subtract a d10 (later a d12) from damage that you or an ally takes as a reaction. There's psychic damage to be had, knocking people back and down with psychic blasts, and you also learn Mage Hand, can make it invisible, and can even shove people around with it.

The Soulknife is a Rogue subclass. This one allows you to manifest psychic blades - not only giving you non-physical damage early on, but also letting you potentially assassinate people without leaving any visible wounds. While I think you can come up with a number of heroic versions of this subclass (Jeremy Crawford suggests a Psylocke-like superhero) I also think that an NPC assassin of this subclass could make for a really interesting and scary villain (or of course you could play as an antihero or reformed villain.) You can also go invisible, in a way that suggests that you're basically editing yourself out of peoples' perception. House Dimir absolutely uses this kind of rogue.

Finally, we have the Arcane Tradition of Psionics, a Wizard subclass. The real headliner here is the ability to take a "Thought Form" where you become a kind of incorporeal avatar of your own mind, which has various benefits, including, eventually, the ability to fly.

In addition, this UA comes with a list of spell suggestions for psionic characters - pointing to spells that fit thematically with the type of magic. This also includes a few new spells, as well as two feats - Telekinetic and Telepathic.

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