Psionic Mastery Ideas

[Beechgnome]

Yes, many discipline powers are overpowered (cough shadows).

But more to help me wrap my head around what's possible, I'm hoping to brainstorm some Psionic Mastery powers, the Mystic's version of 6th to 9th level spells. Basically it lets you combine action/bonus action powers, including ones that both have concentration.

Here's one off the top of my head:

Giant distraction

'We need a distraction, something big'
'I've got something big'

Giant Form (7 psi, C, 1 min) + Center of Attention (2 psi, C, 1 min). Suitable for casting at 11th level.

You get 30 hp, extra 2d6 damage with each strike, the Huge size (and accompanying increase in lift capacity) and now a reach of 15 feet. Three of your allies get to be invisible to an opponent if it fails a Charisma saving throw. Both are concentration and last a minute. Situational, to be sure, but Center of Attention ends if the creature can no longer see or hear you or if it takes damage.
There's a good chance it will still see and hear you.

[KorvinStarmast]

Giant Form (7 psi, C, 1 min) + Center of Attention (2 psi, C, 1 min). Suitable for casting at 11th level.

You get 30 hp, extra 2d6 damage with each strike, the Huge size (and accompanying increase in lift capacity) and now a reach of 15 feet. Three of your allies get to be invisible to an opponent if it fails a Charisma saving throw. Both are concentration and last a minute. Situational, to be sure, but Center of Attention ends if the creature can no longer see or hear you or if it takes damage.
There's a good chance it will still see and hear you. Combine the 15 foot reach of Giant Form with

Distracting Haze (1–7 psi; conc., 1 min.).

As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 1d10 psychic damage per psi point spent and can’t see anything more than 10 feet from it until your concentration ends. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage. On a failed save, you have a minute of hitting from 15 feet, move back (it can't see you, so no AoO) then rinse and repeat for nine more combat rounds ... the psychic damage is gravy. Your party who have ranged attacks sit back and take potshots. Nice against a big monster without a high int score. He never sees what hits him?

Even better if you pile a third discipline on which gives you a boost in movement ... so long as you don't burn out all of your Mastery points. That's why you don't need to burn all seven of your points on this: you can stack another discip on top of this, for example ...
Distracting Figment (1–7 psi).
As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 1d10 psychic damage per psi point spent and thinks it perceives a threatening creature just out of its sight; until the end of your next turn, it can’t use reactions, and melee attack rolls against it have advantage. On unsuccessful saves, it takes half as much damage.

[Beechgnome]

Some others that occur to me:

King Kong, available at 15th level

Giant growth (7 psi) + Bestial Transformation (Climbing 2 psi)+ Tough hide 2 psi)

Self explanatory.

Bloody nightmare, available at 15th level

World of Horror (7 psi, C, 1 min) + Aura of Bloodletting (3 psi, C, 1 min), plus maybe 1 psi spent on Eye of Horror.

Massive psychic damage to enemies within 60 feet, plus reduce their movement to 0, just in time for your allies to have advantage on their attacks. Oh yeah, one baddie gets an extra d6 psychic and may lose their reaction.

[dejarnjc]

King Kong, available at 15th level

Giant growth (7 psi) + Bestial Transformation (Climbing 2 psi)+ Tough hide 2 psi)

Self explanatory.


I like the idea but you can do this at level 7. Bestial Transformation is not concentration and has a duration of an hour.

[Beechgnome]

I like the idea but you can do this at level 7. Bestial Transformation is not concentration and has a duration of an hour.

Ah yes, you are right about already being able to stack this. Though it is level 9 for 7 psi abilities.

[Beechgnome]

Combine the 15 foot reach of Giant Form with
On a failed save, you have a minute of hitting from 15 feet, move back (it can't see you, so no AoO) then rinse and repeat for nine more combat rounds ... the psychic damage is gravy. Your party who have ranged attacks sit back and take potshots. Nice against a big monster without a high int score. He never sees what hits him?

Even better if you pile a third discipline on which gives you a boost in movement ... so long as you don't burn out all of your Mastery points. That's why you don't need to burn all seven of your points on this: you can stack another discip on top of this, for example ...
Distracting Figment (1–7 psi).

This is awesome. I'm imagining these giant fists coming out of an impentrable fog and repeatedly punching you. Now that's a nightmare.

[Beechgnome]

Assassin's Assistant, available at 15th level

Psychic Crush (7 psi) + Distracting figment (1 psi) + Command to Strike (3 psi)

For when you really, really, want your rogue to kill a guy.

Psychic Crush stuns on a failed save, allowing your rogue to - using command to strike - use their reaction to make a free sneak attack. Distracting figment is like a failsafe: while it doesn't stun, it at least grants advantage on the next attack. Oh yeah, somewhere in there is a potential 9d8 psychic damage.

[Beechgnome]

Munchkin's Motionless Mindbender, suitable at 15th level

Hammer of Intellect (1 psi) + Visions of Disgust (5 psi) + Dolorous Mind (5 psi)

Hammer is Int save or disadvantage on next Wis save. Visions is (surprise) a Wisdom save or take psychic damage and continuous damage as long as you are near a particular enemy or enemies. And Dolorous Mind is a Charisma save or you don't move and are incapacitated. So you'll likely be taking that damage until you eventually make that Wisdom save.

All those min-maxers who dumped Int/Cha saving throws beware...

[joaber]

One thing that isn't clear to me, I will activate all those disciplines with only one action, or I use an action to get the psi points and than activate they separately
with actions/bonus actions?

[SharkForce]

One thing that isn't clear to me, I will activate all those disciplines with only one action, or I use an action to get the psi points and than activate they separately
with actions/bonus actions?

that isn't clear to you because it isn't clear to anybody. and last i heard, no clarifications have been made by the dev team yet (and yes, people have asked).

[joaber]

that isn't clear to you because it isn't clear to anybody. and last i heard, no clarifications have been made by the dev team yet (and yes, people have asked).

Thank God isn't only me, lol.

[Beechgnome]

It's not quite clear to me either, now that you mention it... but as I read it, you have to use an action to effectively concoct each of these combo powers, much like a wizard would choose which high level spells he or she memorizes.

Which is more limiting than making them up on the fly, but it's also why I was trying to brainstorm some ready-made cocktails so I wouldn't have to think about it too much.

So say I am a 15th level Mystic: that means I have three separate pools of 11 psi points I can use to make my mastery cocktails. So I could decide, when I wake up or during the first pause where actions are frivolous, to cook up a spell like:

Sunstruck Psychic Grip (6 psi, C, 1 min) + Radiant Beam (5 psi, C, 1 min), assuming I had both Telepathic Contact and Mastery of Light and Darkness.

Psychic grip is intelligence save or paralyzed, which means you fail Dex saving throws like radiant beam, which blinds and does radiant damage. A good one target take out spell.

If I had the other disciplines, I could add say the previously brewed Assassin's Assistant and Bloody Nightmare, too.

Now how the actions/bonus actions combine during the casting, I'm not so sure, but right now I assume that if they all cost one or the other, than that is all it costs, but if they use both, then the combo spells use both.

But as with everyone else right now, I'm just guessing.

[joaber]

Jeremy crawford confirmed on twitter that the action only gives you the psi points pool, you still need other action/bonus action to activate the disciplines. Looks prety "meh" to me if we compare with a 7 to 9 spell lvls.

[killaroo3]

You Shall Not Pass.

Take: Crown of disgust
Mastery of weather

cast wall of thunder (6 psi) and wall of repulsion (3 psi)
with wall of thunder facing the enemy, if they try to pass through they take a strength check. when they fail then take 6d6 thunder damage, and are knocked 30 ft away from the wall and prone. if they pass they need to make a wisdom saving throw, or they cant pass through. they must make this check when passing through the wall willingly or not. great way to split the enemy party apart if you have range superiority.
if you let one or two of the enemy through for your melee guys to beat up first then you also have the option of using psychic hammer to hit it into the wall. (useful for wall of thunder, less so with wall of disgust.

none of the walls block range attacks or magic