Beechgnome
2017-03-31, 07:47 AM
I've been trying to wrap my ahead around the Mystic and so have been picking away at a spreadsheet of the discipline abilities and just thought I'd share what I've learned so far.
UPDATE: Here is the link to the first crack at the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WwoqCYI8QJXUQVqdcOvIjNwByQZl7fBihLityphtbZg/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true). I haven't added the columns for damage, targets, expected damage yet.
Some of this will be pretty obvious to anyone who has read through it, but sometimes it's nice to see it in raw numbers. Apologies if someone has posted similar and I just missed it
Spells by ability save
Ability
Mystic
Wizard
Strength
10
8 (+4 checks)
Dexterity
10
35
Constitution
9
26
Intelligence
19*
1 (+10 checks)
Wisdom
11
26
Charisma
8
7
*(Mystics have one ability, Hammer of Inquisition, that is Int save or have disadvantage on next Wisdom save, which is a nice cruel exploit. No more Intelligence dump stat for me).
I wasn't counting talents or cantrips, and there's a good chance I mucked up the Wizard numbers because it was late at night, but you get the idea: Wizards tend to target the 'common' saves of Dex, Con and Wis, while Mystics lean heavy to Intelligence saves, with an otherwise even distribution throughout.
Break it down by Order, however, and it is even more clear: on the mental side, Avatar targets Wisdom (8) and Charisma (7), Awakened targets Intelligence (19) with a little bit of Wisdom (2) and Charisma (1) and Nomad's one attack (Baleful Transposition) targets Wisdom. On the physical side, both Wu Jen (8 Str, 8 Dex, 6 Con) and Immortal (2 Str, 2 DEx, 3 Con) have an even distribution.
So pretty much the entire thing that makes mystic different comes down to the Awakened Order, which figures, since they are what most of us think about when we think of a psionic using class.
Here's the breakdown by damage type:
Damage Type
Mystic
Wizard
Acid
3
5
Bludgeoning
8
13
Cold
3
11
Fire
4
18
Force
2
4
Lightning
2
7
Necrotic
1
6
Piercing
0
2
Poison
2
2
Psychic
20
6
Radiant
1
2
Slashing
1
1
Thunder
2
2
Spells like Chromatic Orb and the Prismatics bump some of the elemental numbers for wizards, but you get the idea. (Again, no cantrips or talents here). Wizards get more fire and cold, mystics get more psychic, but otherwise, the distribution is pretty even.
The catch of course for mystics is that they need to have the right disciplines to get all of these damage types, and you can only have so many disciplines at any given level. But if you are going Wu Jen, that's where all the versatility is: take away Fire, Ice, Air, Water, Weather, Wood, Light and Shadow and Force then the only disciplines that do damage other than psychic are the Immortal disciplines Bestial, Giant Growth and Corrosive.
There are other differences between the classes and damage and saving throws are only part of the story. (Never mind that Wu Jens get wizard spells). Mystics tend to have abilities that only target single foes, for example, though I need to crunch those numbers. And I'm still mapping out Conditions Imposed by spells/discipline powers.
But thought I'd just share this to give people an idea of how things are weighted.
UPDATE: Here is the link to the first crack at the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WwoqCYI8QJXUQVqdcOvIjNwByQZl7fBihLityphtbZg/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true). I haven't added the columns for damage, targets, expected damage yet.
Some of this will be pretty obvious to anyone who has read through it, but sometimes it's nice to see it in raw numbers. Apologies if someone has posted similar and I just missed it
Spells by ability save
Ability
Mystic
Wizard
Strength
10
8 (+4 checks)
Dexterity
10
35
Constitution
9
26
Intelligence
19*
1 (+10 checks)
Wisdom
11
26
Charisma
8
7
*(Mystics have one ability, Hammer of Inquisition, that is Int save or have disadvantage on next Wisdom save, which is a nice cruel exploit. No more Intelligence dump stat for me).
I wasn't counting talents or cantrips, and there's a good chance I mucked up the Wizard numbers because it was late at night, but you get the idea: Wizards tend to target the 'common' saves of Dex, Con and Wis, while Mystics lean heavy to Intelligence saves, with an otherwise even distribution throughout.
Break it down by Order, however, and it is even more clear: on the mental side, Avatar targets Wisdom (8) and Charisma (7), Awakened targets Intelligence (19) with a little bit of Wisdom (2) and Charisma (1) and Nomad's one attack (Baleful Transposition) targets Wisdom. On the physical side, both Wu Jen (8 Str, 8 Dex, 6 Con) and Immortal (2 Str, 2 DEx, 3 Con) have an even distribution.
So pretty much the entire thing that makes mystic different comes down to the Awakened Order, which figures, since they are what most of us think about when we think of a psionic using class.
Here's the breakdown by damage type:
Damage Type
Mystic
Wizard
Acid
3
5
Bludgeoning
8
13
Cold
3
11
Fire
4
18
Force
2
4
Lightning
2
7
Necrotic
1
6
Piercing
0
2
Poison
2
2
Psychic
20
6
Radiant
1
2
Slashing
1
1
Thunder
2
2
Spells like Chromatic Orb and the Prismatics bump some of the elemental numbers for wizards, but you get the idea. (Again, no cantrips or talents here). Wizards get more fire and cold, mystics get more psychic, but otherwise, the distribution is pretty even.
The catch of course for mystics is that they need to have the right disciplines to get all of these damage types, and you can only have so many disciplines at any given level. But if you are going Wu Jen, that's where all the versatility is: take away Fire, Ice, Air, Water, Weather, Wood, Light and Shadow and Force then the only disciplines that do damage other than psychic are the Immortal disciplines Bestial, Giant Growth and Corrosive.
There are other differences between the classes and damage and saving throws are only part of the story. (Never mind that Wu Jens get wizard spells). Mystics tend to have abilities that only target single foes, for example, though I need to crunch those numbers. And I'm still mapping out Conditions Imposed by spells/discipline powers.
But thought I'd just share this to give people an idea of how things are weighted.