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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Wu Jen subclasses up!

    Now for feedback... <cracks knuckles>

    Quote Originally Posted by Theoboldi View Post
    Both classes are mechanically very busy. You have both talents and disciplines, the psi points that you track to cast your disciplines, a psionic focus for each discipline that you know, and the psi die that gets used for several abilities. This is not necessarily bad, just figured it's worth pointing out.
    A little bit, yeah. <Shrug> I've been looking mostly at the Warlock as a baseline, and they also have three things (spell slots, cantrips, and invocations, vs disciplines, focuses, and talents).

    - The tables look kind of messed up. I assume the Psychic Warrior is not supposed to have twice as many psi points as the Psion, and that the Psychic Warrior's psi limit isn't supposed to shrink at 17th level.
    Right now that's an artifact of the PsyWar being long-rest and the Psion being short. Initially they were both short rest classes, but a playtest of the PsyWar at level 5 found that they didn't feel like they had enough points to do anything interesting. Then again, the short rest was initially part of a balancing mechanic to keep you from throwing all your points at one encounter, but between the rebalanced powers and the rewritten psi limit, maybe that's not necessary? I'm still going back and forth on this one, though with psi dice in the mix the PsyWar can probably stick to the short rest model.

    - I'm very happy to see that you decided to make the psi die unlimited, since it's functionally that way already and this way you avoid players getting screwed out of their class features by RNG. Very good. Also really like that the psion can spend psi points to deliberately enlarge it, giving them some control over the mechanic.
    Yeah.

    - The flavor text of the Empath is oddly setting-specific compared to the other, more generic subclasses.
    I don't usually enjoy writing flavor text; apparently I was motivated enough to do something that day...

    - The new Kineticist subclass is cool! It really does capture that mind over matter archetype that you get with a lot of psionic characters. Very well done. That said....
    Thanks!

    - Telekinetic Routine: Why roll the psi die for the duration? Nobody tracks time closely enough for it to become relevant whether you need to use another action to restart the routine every 10 minutes or every 20 minutes. It's not like it'll run out in the middle of combat if it lasts 10 minutes at the least. This is a problem I have with a few of the Talents, where it feels like they roll the psi die for the sake of including the psi die, with no actual reason for doing so.
    They all needed a psi die roll for resource tracking purposes, because that is how you track it-- you roll and see if it gets bigger and smaller. Though... now that you mention it, I guess I could use the "reduce your die size one step" mechanic from the UA instead-- would that be better, do you think?

    Also, the wording on what to do about ability checks is very unclear. Do you use the result of the psi die in place of the d20 ability check? Do you use it to determine a virtual ability score which then rolls the ability check? Not sure how that is supposed to function.
    The latter; I'll work on the wording.

    - Bullish Mind: This is very strong battlefield control for what is essentially a cantrip. Even at first level, it's gonna push an enemy 40 or 30 feet on average. Sure, it's single target and allows for a save, but even so it has the potential to completely change an encounter all on it's own! I'd at least half the distance that it moves people.
    Talents are meant to be a little stronger than cantrips, since the Psion isn't quite a full caster, but fair-- distance reduced.

    - Crushing Mind: This is too much. It's essentially permanent Quickened Spell. Give it limited uses per rest or give it a point cost, at least.
    Done.

    - Predictive Combat: This is an actually really neat version of True Strike. Still not sure if I'd ever use it, but the flavor is on point and I can actually see it being useful.

    - Retroactive Preparation: Abilities like these are the coolest. Always love them.
    Thanks!

    Psychic Warrior

    - Meditation: What is the reasoning behind giving a class that has traditionally been combat-focused, already is good in combat while also having many useful psychic powers, and can get plenty of bonuses to skill checks from its focuses a free-floating version of Expertise? I'm all for martials having stuff to do out of combat, but this seems gratuitous.
    I put Meditation in with the previous draft so that they'd have something going on at first level-- the half caster pattern is a ribbon at first and the real class feature at second. Psychic Talent is probably enough on its own, though.

    - Mind and Body: This ability seems deceptively strong, combining both the Monk's Diamond Soul and the Paladin's Aura, at least on the Psychic Warrior himself. I wouldn't say it's overpowered, though. Might need some playtesting.
    Mmm... maybe if it's just using your Wisdom score, but only getting proficiency if you were already proficient in that type of save? Or specifically rolling a Wisdom check?

    - The Lurk gets two more expertises? Just because it's a stealth subclass doesn't mean you have to step on the rogue's toes that hard!

    Really though, at most I would give Stealth for free as a normal proficiency since it is so central to the subclass and it's not on the Psychic Warrior's regular skill list. They already can take plenty of disciplines that give them advantages at stealth that a mundane character could never have.
    Yeah, they probably don't need those anymore.

    - Change Appearance: So, unless my character has seen a lizardfolk at some point in his life, they can't give themselves a natural weapon and the natural armor? I'd rephrase it to let the player add those freely onto any form, to be honest. Most of them time this will only be used for the cool factor of being a badass shapeshifter anyways.
    It's the language from the Changeling. <Shrug> I agree with your interpretation, though.

    - Mental Chain: I'd add a line indicating that other characters who share your focus also use your psi die. Just for clarity's sake.
    There shouldn't be any reason for them to need a psi die? Focuses are all passive.

    - I find it kind of funny how two of the Psychic Warrior's subclasses let you hold multiple focuses, yet the psion is unable to do that ever. It gives him something unique, though, which is neat.
    Back to the previous draft again-- with Focuses as the only at-will option, they needed a bit extra there.

    Disciplines

    - Hooray for a return of the displays! Do Talents have them too, though?
    ...they should, yes.

    - Mental Catapult: How far away can the object that you're throwing be? If you toss a magic weapon at someone, can you toss it again from where it lies on the next round?
    You've got to be holding it-- fixed.

    - Delusion: If you end up rolling a lower number of creatures than you'd like to affect, can you decide not to affect anyone and just roll again until you roll a sufficient number? This also kinda ties in with the above question of whether Talents have displays that would prevent something like this.

    Despite the questions though, I quite like this as a flavorful psionic alternative to Minor Image.
    Mmm... that's probably an argument for using "drop one die size" for powers like this. Good questions though-- language added clarifying

    - Mute Display: If Talents have displays, does this work on them too? Is it automatic in that case?
    Yes, yes, and no respectively, I think. Language added.

    - Feed the Mind: Why make this so fiddly by rolling the psi die? Who cares whether you can last five hours or six without food and water when you can just reactivate this at will, and you only have to eat daily anyways? There's absolutely no need to roll on this. Honestly, I'd just make it a passive, permanent ability if you want to keep it as a talent.
    Talents have to be active, to distinguish them from Focuses. But... another point in favor or auto-die-size-drops.

    - Brute Force: Why does this focus increase Insight rather than Athletics?
    Typo.

    - Very happy you brought back all the corrosive metabolism stuff. One of the best parts of playing a psychic warrior in 3.5 was turning into a horrible eldritch abomination at high levels that would make the artists on Akira blush. All that's missing is an equivalent to Form of Doom. But hey, that's what reflavoring is for.
    Heh.

    - Currently, none of the disciplines are marked as exclusive to any one subclass. As such, if I want to take a discipline I first have to check the relevant subclasses on the Psion and the Psychic Warrior.
    Yeah... I'll go back and add this soon.

    - Nomadic Mind: The talent is a bit weird. In play, what would stop me from just using that talent time and time again to try for additional knowledge checks until I have exhausted the minds of everyone around me? I know that the GM could simply decide that another roll is not possible on a given topic, but that seems like a very meta resolution to something a player might feel he could reasonably do in character.
    Normal rules about rerolling ability checks?

    Speaking of which, some notes on the Wu Jen! Who I am still not sure why he is a psionic class now, but WotC made that decision for some reason!
    Indeed!

    - The Discipline List for Wu Jen lists their talents, while their Talent List lists the Talents of the Psion.
    Whoops.

    - Good decision to give all the elemental cantrips for free. They are way too niche to just give one.
    I'd argue that Shape Water and maybe Move Earth are worth it, but yeah.

    - Mastery of Elements: I'm not too broken up that you have to give up one element, but it does mean that I can never become the Avatar.
    Heh. It's only one of the two themed Disciplines, though!

    - Elemental Perfection and Elemental Immunity synergize nicely with the exclusive disciplines of the Wu Jen, though they make some racial options far more attractive than normally. The more resistances the race has now, the better.
    <shrug> I figure that there are enough options in-class alone to make it worth it.

    - I see that the name of the capstone is different on the table as opposed to the text, so I assume you'll change that around still. Didn't see that initially, so I was about to suggest a Paladin-like approach where each subclass has a specific capstone because copying the Psion's would be a bit boring, but it seems you already have a better idea.
    ... butts. That was not intended; I typed "Elemental Apocalypse" into the table, then forgot to actually write an ability before I copied stuff to Homebrewery. I like your idea of subclass-specific capstones better, though.

    - Light Step: It's niche, but too awesome not to like.

    - Elemental Burst: This seems to be strictly better than Elemental Strike, since it is an AOE with the same damage and probably better chance to hit in most situations. Sure, it comes with the risk of hitting your allies, but it's such a small radius that you can easily work around that.
    Upped Smite to a d10 and downgraded Burst to a d6. They def should not have been the same, my bad.

    - Iron Heart: This seems way too good for a talent. You get twice as many chances to save against any effect, plus further saving throw against effects that would not otherwise offer one. Why would any Psychic Warrior take anything else? The action cost is big, but at almost any occasion where you'd want to use this talent, your only options will be to do so or waste your turn.

    - Cleansing Touch: This also seems strong for a talent, but not quite as strong as Iron Heart. Though it's less egregious since this requires you to use up your turn to help someone else.
    Clarified that you can only use them against stuff like Hold Person with a "new save at the end of each round" clause.
    Last edited by Grod_The_Giant; 2020-05-02 at 03:02 PM.
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  2. - Top - End - #62
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
    A little bit, yeah. <Shrug> I've been looking mostly at the Warlock as a baseline, and they also have three things (spell slots, cantrips, and invocations, vs disciplines, focuses, and talents).
    Yeah, it's not too bad for now, especially since warlock is one of the more popular classes from what I've seen. Just something to keep in mind.

    Right now that's an artifact of the PsyWar being long-rest and the Psion being short. Initially they were both short rest classes, but a playtest of the PsyWar at level 5 found that they didn't feel like they had enough points to do anything interesting. Then again, the short rest was initially part of a balancing mechanic to keep you from throwing all your points at one encounter, but between the rebalanced powers and the rewritten psi limit, maybe that's not necessary? I'm still going back and forth on this one, though with psi dice in the mix the PsyWar can probably stick to the short rest model.
    Oh right, completely forgot that the psion is short rest based. Makes sense, really, what with it being balanced like the warlock.

    They all needed a psi die roll for resource tracking purposes, because that is how you track it-- you roll and see if it gets bigger and smaller. Though... now that you mention it, I guess I could use the "reduce your die size one step" mechanic from the UA instead-- would that be better, do you think?
    Hrm. I dunno if it's quite worth an automatic die reduction, though, since this is the kind of ability that will be used mainly for flavor. And rolling the die for the sake of it being rolled leaves open the possibility of just using this Talent again and again until you get lucky and get a die of a size you like.

    That said, you already have a use for the Psi Die in this, in the cases where you require an ability check. Why not stick with just that?

    Talents are meant to be a little stronger than cantrips, since the Psion isn't quite a full caster, but fair-- distance reduced.
    Thanks for pointing that out, actually. It's good to know the design intent behind any given feature. That said, this looks far more reasonable.

    I put Meditation in with the previous draft so that they'd have something going on at first level-- the half caster pattern is a ribbon at first and the real class feature at second. Psychic Talent is probably enough on its own, though.
    Hrm, I do see the issue there. How about adding a lesser version of Psionic Resilience? Maybe some level of temporary hit points that recharge after each short rest through your meditating?


    Mmm... maybe if it's just using your Wisdom score, but only getting proficiency if you were already proficient in that type of save? Or specifically rolling a Wisdom check?
    The thing is, I am actually really not sure if it needs to be nerfed. Your first suggestion is probably best in case you have to nerf it, but I'd get feedback on it from others first. Being really good at saves seems to be this Psychic Warrior's thing, and I don't want to throw that out the window necessarily.


    It's the language from the Changeling. <Shrug> I agree with your interpretation, though.
    Heh. Write that down as me not having read their racial stuff cause I'm not all that interested in changelings of the D&D variety.

    There shouldn't be any reason for them to need a psi die? Focuses are all passive.
    You're quite right there, I misread some of the Discipline descriptions.

    Mmm... that's probably an argument for using "drop one die size" for powers like this. Good questions though-- language added clarifying
    That does look better now. Honestly, with it being noticeable, I think you can keep the psi die rolling. Even if the "drop one die size" thing gives extra control over a mechanic that I do criticize for lacking player control, I also am of the opinion that if you have a unifying mechanic, it should actually work the same across the board. For the powers, at least.

    That said.....
    Talents have to be active, to distinguish them from Focuses. But... another point in favor or auto-die-size-drops.
    Yeah, I cannot justify anything but an auto-die-drop for Feed the Mind in exchange for making it last the whole day. It's really the only one where I think it needs to be that way.

    Sorry to be a bit wishy-washy on this, it's a bit of a conflict of interests for me.

    Normal rules about rerolling ability checks?
    My worry was that a player might have very reasonably asked why he can't try and delve through somebody else's mind to gather more information so he can try the check again. Maybe it's just a wording thing?

    Like, from what I gather the intent is that you can make a check to remember things as though you had the memories of [p] people within reach, but only if they fail their Intelligence save? It does read like it's a very focused, lesser version of Detect Thoughts, though.

    For example, let's say a player has captured an enemy commander who was present for an important tactical discussion, which the players were not there for. Can he make an intelligence check to try and remember that event, in the hopes that the enemy commander will fail his save and give access to his memories? What DC should that intelligence check even have? What if he has another enemy commander in the other room to try it on next? How do you see this Talent being used in practice?

    <shrug> I figure that there are enough options in-class alone to make it worth it.
    That's fair enough. I don't recall any races that give more than one Resistance off the top of my head, anyways.

    ... butts. That was not intended; I typed "Elemental Apocalypse" into the table, then forgot to actually write an ability before I copied stuff to Homebrewery. I like your idea of subclass-specific capstones better, though.
    Kinda curious to see that initial idea now, though.

    Clarified that you can only use them against stuff like Hold Person with a "new save at the end of each round" clause.
    That's better, albeit still strong. Certainly I would argue it's still the Psychic Warrior's strongest Talent, though probably within acceptable bounds now. Especially since talents are supposed to be stronger overall than cantrips.
    Last edited by Theoboldi; 2020-05-02 at 06:01 PM.
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  3. - Top - End - #63
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Theoboldi View Post
    Yeah, it's not too bad for now, especially since warlock is one of the more popular classes from what I've seen. Just something to keep in mind.
    Definitely. 5e has a much lower tolerance for that sort of thing than 3.5 where I cut my homebrewer's teeth.

    Oh right, completely forgot that the psion is short rest based. Makes sense, really, what with it being balanced like the warlock.
    Actually, though, now that I look at it... I'm wondering it it wouldn't be better to go back to a long rest across the board. The original idea was to cut down their ability to go nova, but with psi limit as it currently is that may not be necessary, and I've found heavily short rest dependent classes to be much more twitchy balance-wise. Cut the spell points down 20-33% or something to compensate for the more powerful at-will abilities... I dunno, thoughts?

    Hrm. I dunno if it's quite worth an automatic die reduction, though, since this is the kind of ability that will be used mainly for flavor. And rolling the die for the sake of it being rolled leaves open the possibility of just using this Talent again and again until you get lucky and get a die of a size you like.

    That said, you already have a use for the Psi Die in this, in the cases where you require an ability check. Why not stick with just that?
    That's probably better, yeah.

    Hrm, I do see the issue there. How about adding a lesser version of Psionic Resilience? Maybe some level of temporary hit points that recharge after each short rest through your meditating?
    Now that I think about it, with Talents coming in at first level I don't think they need very much. I should be able to drop the skill part and leave it as a pure ribbon.

    The thing is, I am actually really not sure if it needs to be nerfed. Your first suggestion is probably best in case you have to nerf it, but I'd get feedback on it from others first. Being really good at saves seems to be this Psychic Warrior's thing, and I don't want to throw that out the window necessarily.
    That's true...I'll keep it for now.


    That does look better now. Honestly, with it being noticeable, I think you can keep the psi die rolling. Even if the "drop one die size" thing gives extra control over a mechanic that I do criticize for lacking player control, I also am of the opinion that if you have a unifying mechanic, it should actually work the same across the board. For the powers, at least.
    Fair.

    That said.....

    Yeah, I cannot justify anything but an auto-die-drop for Feed the Mind in exchange for making it last the whole day. It's really the only one where I think it needs to be that way.

    Sorry to be a bit wishy-washy on this, it's a bit of a conflict of interests for me.
    Hmm. Easiest solution is probably just to jettison it. No great loss.

    My worry was that a player might have very reasonably asked why he can't try and delve through somebody else's mind to gather more information so he can try the check again. Maybe it's just a wording thing?

    Like, from what I gather the intent is that you can make a check to remember things as though you had the memories of [p] people within reach, but only if they fail their Intelligence save? It does read like it's a very focused, lesser version of Detect Thoughts, though.

    For example, let's say a player has captured an enemy commander who was present for an important tactical discussion, which the players were not there for. Can he make an intelligence check to try and remember that event, in the hopes that the enemy commander will fail his save and give access to his memories? What DC should that intelligence check even have? What if he has another enemy commander in the other room to try it on next? How do you see this Talent being used in practice?
    Hmm... yeah, you have a good point. I don't see why you couldn't go find someone else to see if they remember an event. I'll add a clause saying that if you make your save you're immune for 24 hours; that'll cut down on abuse.

    Kinda curious to see that initial idea now, though.
    According to my notes here... "something with exploding dice?"

    I'm also thinking about alternatives to High Psionics for Wu Jen-- there aren't that many great options from existing spells, and I'd like to be able to differentiate them from Psions a little more. Any thoughts?
    Last edited by Grod_The_Giant; 2020-05-04 at 05:20 PM.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Update: Wu Jen complete, all material compiled into one big honking homebrewery page.

    No, I'm not starting to collect homebrew to publish another book, no...
    Last edited by Grod_The_Giant; 2020-05-06 at 05:54 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    I don't get what is meant by "special training" in Shifter's Change Body. I assume it disallows transforming into creatures with features such as non-innate Spellcasting or Sneak Attack, but would you care for a deeper explanation? Maybe some extra examples of what is and isn't allowed?

    Also, it seems like the Psy Warrior's Consumptive Will feature and the Adaptive Body (Restore Body) discipline allow for an infinite loop of using hit points instead of psi points, and then resetting your hit points with Restore Body, also powered by hit points. I assume this is not intended, but a specific disclaimer would be nice.
    Last edited by marqss; 2021-05-14 at 11:04 AM.

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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Otisons View Post
    When I drop the Psychic Warrior, there will be much better options - they will be a half-spellcaster version of the Mystic, having received disciplines that involve enchanting themselves and their weapons.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Otisons View Post
    When I drop the Psychic Warrior, there will be much better options - they will be a half-spellcaster version of the Mystic, having received disciplines that involve enchanting themselves and their weapons.
    Bully for you! My PsyWar is also a half-caster--did you write new disciplines for yours, or did you do a similar dividing-up-the-existing-list?

    Looking back at this brew...my main thought is about the psi die--namely, "is this actually a fun mechanic?" I remember being excited about it when the UA dropped, but now it feels a little... tangential? I dunno; I have an irrational affection for mechanics best represented by having a pile of physical dice sitting in front of you, and the uncertainty is sort of nice as a counterpoint to spellcasters, but I feel like if I'm going to keep it I need to integrate it more with the levelled casting. Opinions?
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    As in integrating further into powers and limits rather than talents and foci, or more in the direction of class/racial/feat features?
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Kane0 View Post
    As in integrating further into powers and limits rather than talents and foci, or more in the direction of class/racial/feat features?
    More into the powers, so you'd have things like "for [p] minutes" or "4d6+[p] psychic damage."
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Damage is a natural place to insert die rolls, damage is almost always a bunch of die rolls already. x d[p] damage could be pretty standard, burning your focus or PP for additional d[p] the same way upcasting works for casters.

    Duration of an effect maybe not so straightforward. I could see it being a plausible substitute for Concentration if the duration was kept short as in [p] rounds instead of minutes, especially for powers that you would be using in combat (specifically to avoid the problems you see in Tenser's Transformation, Stoneskin and the like).

    Range is another area that could be possible, if a bit weird. You probably don't want to do anything like straight [p] x5 feet as that would be too random, perhaps a base range plus [p] extra or make a little table that splits ranges into bands (eg 1-3=30', 4-6=60', 7-8=90', 9-10=120')

    What other factors would there be to fiddle with... number of targets affected? Could use [p] in the same way as Range is determined, base + roll or factor into a table. 'Casting' time? Probably better suited to resource expenditure and features. Perhaps using [p] to affect attacks/checks/saves, adding to allies or taking from enemies in a way similar to Bless/Bane? Probably better suited as a feature again but would tie in nicely.

    You could cheat and take a look at all the ways Monks and Battlemasters incorporate their MA and superiority die into things.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Kane0 View Post
    You could cheat and take a look at all the ways Monks and Battlemasters incorporate their MA and superiority die into things.
    All of the Talents use psi dice in some way-- deal d8+[p] psychic damage, make a check and add [p], create up to [p] dancing lights, that sort of thing. No Disciplines do, though. The only interaction there is the Mute Display Talent, which basically gives you subtle spell if your psi die roll is equal or higher than the number of psi points you're spending.

    It would be easy enough to add the psi die to some discipline powers. Changing xd6 to (x-1)d6+[p], or 1 minute to [p] minutes, won't really harm balance. I don't think I could apply it to every effect without serious pain, though.

    Looking at ways to plug it in systemically... the only idea I have is to relate it to psi limit. The psi-points-spent-in-a-given-action would remain constant, but at the beginning of each turn, you roll your psi die, and that's how many additional psi points you can spend before the beginning of your next turn. (And the number you use when you're rolling for Talents). That would give a sort of ebb-and-flow to your psychic power.

    ...but eh. The more I look at this, the more I think I should drop psi dice as a mechanic altogether. Or at the very least update them to match the published Psi Warrior and Soulknife. Which I guess would be something like:
    • Instead of spell psi points, you have an equal number of psi dice.
    • Talents mostly don't use psi dice at all; for stuff like Psychic Aptitude, it can just be "roll one of your psi dice," rather than expending them.
    • To use a Discipline power, you have to expend a couple psi dice (ie, the same number as you'd normally spend spell psi points)
    • When dealing damage with Discipline power (or Talent?) you can expend additional psi dice, up to your normal limit, and add them to the damage. If nothing else, that would save a lot of repetitions of "you can increase this ability's damage by 1d6 per additional psi point spent on it"...
    Last edited by Grod_The_Giant; 2021-05-24 at 08:01 PM.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
    ...but eh. The more I look at this, the more I think I should drop psi dice as a mechanic altogether. Or at the very least update them to match the published Psi Warrior and Soulknife. Which I guess would be something like:
    • Instead of spell psi points, you have an equal number of psi dice.
    • Talents mostly don't use psi dice at all; for stuff like Psychic Aptitude, it can just be "roll one of your psi dice," rather than expending them.
    • To use a Discipline power, you have to expend a couple psi dice (ie, the same number as you'd normally spend spell psi points)
    • When dealing damage with Discipline power (or Talent?) you can expend additional psi dice, up to your normal limit, and add them to the damage. If nothing else, that would save a lot of repetitions of "you can increase this ability's damage by 1d6 per additional psi point spent on it"...
    That's a fair call, keeping things working well with what is already published is a safe bet and I agree with that thought.

    Edit: That also reduces some of the complexity which could be a good thing. Your Psi Dice pool becomes your tracked resource and only have to compare it against Psi Limit (how many you can use in one turn).
    Last edited by Kane0; 2021-05-24 at 08:21 PM.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Kane0 View Post
    That's a fair call, keeping things working well with what is already published is a safe bet and I agree with that thought.

    Edit: That also reduces some of the complexity which could be a good thing. Your Psi Dice pool becomes your tracked resource and only have to compare it against Psi Limit (how many you can use in one turn).
    True enough.

    I guess I should finish prepping my Grimoire of the Grotesque for publication before I get wrapped up in this rewrite, though...
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    In all fairness what you have right now is plenty enough to be called 'complete'; chances are you're experiencing the effect that creators experience when they look at their earlier works (especially as circumstances change around it). I don't know the term but i'm sure it exists.

    Either way it would be far too hypocritical of me to accuse any 'brewer of not finishing what they started.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Kane0 View Post
    In all fairness what you have right now is plenty enough to be called 'complete'; chances are you're experiencing the effect that creators experience when they look at their earlier works (especially as circumstances change around it). I don't know the term but i'm sure it exists.

    Either way it would be far too hypocritical of me to accuse any 'brewer of not finishing what they started.
    I'll echo both parts of this! :P

    While I wouldn't call your work here perfect, since nothing is, it's damn good. Damn good.
    I have a LOT of Homebrew!

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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Kane0 View Post
    In all fairness what you have right now is plenty enough to be called 'complete'; chances are you're experiencing the effect that creators experience when they look at their earlier works (especially as circumstances change around it). I don't know the term but i'm sure it exists.
    Quote Originally Posted by JNAProductions View Post
    I'll echo both parts of this! :P
    Yeah, well... tough, I'm changing it anyway!

    EDIT: Done!

    (Classes, general rules, and general Talents all updated; I'm about halfway through the full-on Disciplines. Pretty much like I said above, with the additional augmentation option of +10%*[p] duration, which seems pretty intuitive even if I can't figure out how to express it gracefully)
    Last edited by Grod_The_Giant; 2021-05-25 at 07:20 PM.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Homebrewery Psion Text
    At 1st level, you know four Talents of your choice from the Psionic Talent list, as well as the Talents associated with the Disciplines you know (see below).
    Two questions about this line of text from the Psion write-up.

    First off—the text says a 1st level Psion gets four Talents, but the Table says that a 1st level Psion gets two Talents (eventually learning a third and fourth as they level up). Which of these is the case? I'm used to text trumping table, but I suspect the opposite is the case here.

    Second—the phrase "as well as the Talents associated with the Disciplines you know" is confusing to my brain. Does this mean that a Psion automatically knows the Talents from their Disciplines (in addition to those they use their slots to select)? Or does it mean that when picking Talents, a Psion can pick from the general list or from any associated with their Disciplines?

    Looking forward to your answers regarding these questions! I absolutely adore your work on 5e psionics, and am excited to include it prominently in the next game I run.
    Last edited by Blueiji; 2021-06-08 at 09:59 PM.
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Blueiji View Post
    I absolutely adore your work on 5e psionics, and am excited to include it prominently in the next game I run.
    Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing it. One of these days I really need to add art and get it up on DMsGuild...

    Two questions about this line of text from the Psion write-up.
    You are correct in that the table is right here--you only get to pick two Talents from the Psion List at first level.

    You also know the Talent from each of your Disciplines, no questions asked.

    I'll edit the text to be more clear.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Precognition feels like it should have a talent that lets you Ready an action without specifying an explicit trigger, so whenever anything happens, you can declare that was your trigger the entire time. Would fit right in with both the talent and That Didn't Happen.

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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    That sounds pretty neat actually
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Hmm... 5e's Ready rules are wonky enough that I rarely want to engage with them, but that is a pretty neat idea. Better then Prescient Combat, certainly.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
    Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing it. [size=1]One of these days I really need to add art and get it up on DMsGuild...
    I’d buy it!

    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant
    You are correct in that the table is right here--you only get to pick two Talents from the Psion List at first level.

    You also know the Talent from each of your Disciplines, no questions asked.
    That makes sense! Thank you for the clarifications.

    And just to make sure I perfectly understand it:
    -> A 1st level Psion would have four talents (two automatically gained from their chosen Disciplines, and two selected from the general list).
    -> A 20th level Psion would have ten talents (six automatically gained from their chosen Disciplines, and four selected from the general list).

    Is this understanding correct?
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Quote Originally Posted by Blueiji View Post
    Is this understanding correct?
    Yup! Absolutely correct.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    Fun news-- I've got more!

    Specifically, I rewrote the Psi Warrior, Soulknife, and Way of the Four Elements, along with Telepathic, Telekinetic, Metabolic Control, and Wild Talent, to mesh with my new mechanics. Check it out and let me know what you think-- especially the Monk, who I decided gets to use their ki points as psi dice. It means they get almost as much casting potential as a full half-caster, but I think it should balance out because they have to compete with your normal uses for ki points?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant View Post
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    Default Re: Psionics Reloaded-the Psion and Psychic Warrior; ALL DISCIPLINES NOW COMPLETE (PE

    That is a lot of work. haven't read through all of it yet, but it is very interesting.

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