Of all the updated Psion subclasses, the newly updated Psykinetic might well be my favorite, and it all comes down to Telekinesis, Kyle.
In the latest Unearthed Arcana we can an updated look at the Psion and three of four subclasses. The fourth, the Psywarper, was so well-received, it’s been passed along to print. But the Psykinetic is one I’m super excited to see get reworked, because it feels like it has a lot of potential. That said, I think it probably still needs some polishing, but what a step in the right direction!
The Psykinetic, as the name implies, is all about moving things with your mind. Specifically, it’s about telekinesis, both the concept and the actual high-level D&D spell. And in the update, the new Psykinetic gets some boosts that synchronize well with their themes. Let’s take a look!
The Updated Psykinetic – What is the Secret of Your Power
First things first, the Psykinetic is all about movement, yes. But it’s also about dealing out damage. And that is a little more emphasized in the rework, and I think is a step in the right direction. Someone that can play (re)positional games while also dishing out damage is a cool niche for D&D, and one that not a lot of classes/subclasses can say they do.
And this is front and center in the updated Psykinetic’s 3rd-level features, starting with an improved Telekinetic Techniques. This feature gets a huge buff in that now you can use the Psion’s Telekinetic Propel (a Bonus action that lets you push or pull a target) and enhance it without having to spend a Psionic Energy Die. You can instead roll 1d4 and use whatever number you roll in place of Telekinetic Propel’s usual results. But on top of that, you can also apply one of three effects: Boosting your target’s speed by 10; Disorienting your target so they can’t make Opportunity Attacks; or dealing Force damage equal to whatever you roll. Mind bullets as a Bonus Action, in other words. You can always do 1d4.
You also get a new feature called Stronger Telekinesis, which lets you cast Mage Hand and increase its range by 30 feet and the hand’s carrying weight to 20 pounds. That’s enough to actually make a meaningful impact in the game. And of course, it’s also invisible. Telekinesis and all.
These are little touches. But they do make a difference. Even at 3rd level, you’re able to potentially deal out decent damage as an action while repositioning someone. It’s easy to picture casting a Cantrip or a Spell and then following up with a telekinetic push. Or even using your Bonus Action to reposition an ally (and boost their speed) while also taking your full action. It’s a fun, cooperative playstyle.
Psykinesis at Higher Levels – Enhance, Enhance, Enhance
All that’s just the 3rd-level playing around though. The updated Psykinetic really starts to come online at 6th level. To that end, both of the major 6th level features have been reworked. The old Empowered Attack Mode is gone, since the accompanying psychic modes have been removed. Instead you get Destructive Trance. And it is a doozy. At the start of any turn you can decide to enter a destructive state (mood), no action required.
You just spend a Psionic Energy Die and then for the next 10 minutes you gain a Fly Speed of 20 feet and whenever you cast a Psion spell with a spell slot, you can roll a Psionic Energy Die and add that to the spell’s damage without spending the die. All of that is great, though the comparable previous version gave you a fly speed of 60 for one minute. I feel like it should be at least a Fly Speed of 30, if not more.
You also get a reworked Rebounding Field. This is still a weird feature, but I like it in general. What’s weird is that it only works when you cast the Shield spell tand make someone miss. When you do, though, you can spend a power die to reflect the attack back on your attacker, and if they fail a Dexterity saving throw, they take however much you rolled, plus your Intelligence Modifier, as damage. If they save, they take half damage. Either way, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the damage you dealt. I love the way this feels—every Shield is now potentially a heal/barrier/buff – even if it is weird that it only works around a single spell.
Updated Psykinetic – How Much Can YOU Move With Your Mind?
The highest level features of the updated Psykinetic are also singularly focused. And while the 6th level one is ubiquitous enough—because who’s not gonna take Shield at this point?—the 10th and 14th level features might seem a little less obvious. At level 10, you gain Enhanced Telekinetic Crush. Whenever you cast the Telekinetic Crush spell, you can spend a Psionic Energy Die to change the spell,, making it so that you deal extra damage and halve your target’s speed whether they save or don’t. It’s potent because you can potentially take away someone’s movement. But tying your 10th level feature to a single 3rd level spell just doesn’t feel great.
For comparison, the 14th level feature feels great. Heightened Telekinesis lets you spend four Psionic Energy Dice to cast Telekinesis without a spell slot. And whenever you do, you can modify the spell so that it doesn’t take Concentration. When you do, the spell lasts only a minute, but it also lets you target Gargantuan Creatures and objects. Which is a massive improvement to the old feature, which both required you to spend the die AND a spell slot. It still feels a little limited overall, but much better, especially compared to the 10th level feature.
Of course, you should form your own opinions about the updated Psykinetic. And when you do, you should share them with WotC to help refine the shape of the subclass in the future! The survey opens October 9th, so keep your eyes peeled!
And rememer, you can’t spell telekinetic without entice!
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