Dungeons and Dragons has taken a second stab at designing a new class, the Psion. Released on October 2, the new Unearthed Arcana does a lot to address the core class' power issues. However, the three subclasses that Wizards of the Coast kept tweaking still have plenty of problems - and they highlight a wider issue still at play.
In case you haven't kept up with the latest news about DnD classes, the Psion is an Intelligence-based full caster. Their unique gimmick is Psionic Energy Dice, which can be spent to bolster various additional abilities. It's a very mind-over-matter class that largely focuses on Control spells, but its subclasses attempt to vary the possible playstyles, offering options for Gish and Blaster builds.
The base Psion is now stronger, simpler, and better defended than before. Psionic Power now gives you ways to use it without spending precious Psionic Energy Dice, and Psionic Restoration is far more generous with how many Dice it replenishes.
The fiddly Psionic Modes have been axed, and Psionic Reserves has been introduced to give you even more ways to restore Psionic Energy Dice. Plus, the Psion spell list has been significantly expanded - and it finally includes the essential defense spell, Shield.
In my mind, all of these are solid improvements. Now, onto the subclasses, the most disappointing part of the original Psion playtest. One seemed wildly more powerful than the others, who were a mix of good ideas executed poorly and dull ideas executed well.
To my surprise, one of those dull ideas has been given the green light. "The Psi Warper subclass scored exceptionally well and doesn't need to go through another playtest". I guess what the world really needed was more subclasses whose main power is teleporting.
The remaining three subclasses, however, have seen heavy reworks. The Psykinetic is now slightly more effective at dealing damage, but it loses a lot of mobility. Instead of 60ft of fly speed for one minute at level six, you get 20ft for 10 minutes. I understand that this was probably done to counteract the increase in damage power, but I can't imagine many scenarios where you'd rather fly slower for longer. Still, this was one of my favorite subclasses the first time around, and most of its changes seem generous rather than restrictive.
I still have major beef with the Metamorph. Conceptually, it's one of the most interesting subclasses D&D has suggested in a long time. Horrible flesh-morphing powers that I can hit enemies and heal friends with? Sign me the hell up. However, in practice, it's a below-average Gish whose defenses and action economy leave it trailing behind other builds of this kind.
The Metamorph has its fingers in too many pies, and it's not incredible at any of the roles it's trying to play. Its healing powers are OK. Its melee capability is OK. Its spellcasting buffs are OK. Everything is fine, but nothing excites me.
The Telepath is another tricky one. Mechanically, it seems to function far better than before. Its puny telepathy range is extended (though the wording makes it unclear when you actually get the power of telepathy). It's more well-defended against magic that would interfere with its Control strategy, and it's more generous about the resources it spends to activate its abilities.
What's not to like? The concept itself. It still seems bizarre for a subclass dedicated to telepathy to only get 60 feet of range, when other classes' subclasses can give telepathy of up to a mile. It's logical from a mechanical point of view, given how many of the Telepath's powers target a creature within range of your telepathy. But while it may be practical, it doesn't make much sense in the universe that DnD has built with its classes.
That one flaw points to a larger issue at hand with the Psion. Wizards of the Coast still doesn't quite seem sure where it slots into the wider class list. For a new spellcaster on the block, it's tough to carve a niche when the Wizard 5e can do almost anything (and your spell lists overlap a significant amount).
An extra resource to spend on general abilities does not make a caster feel particularly unique. The actual act of spellcasting needs to feel different, like it does for a Warlock 5e or Sorcerer 5e.
The one solution that makes sense - and that fans online have been calling for - is to abandon spell slots. Distinguish Psionics in the way D&D did in previous editions. But that's the one move Wizards of the Coast is unlikely to take. It's just spent years rebalancing its entire system, and such a bold departure from its usual approach to magic could introduce a mountain of balance issues.
I'm not sure there is an easy solution to the Psion's teething problems. I do, however, predict two possible paths forward. Either Wizards will abandon the project entirely a la the Mystic, or it will decide that it's sunk too many resources into the design to go back. There will either be an imperfect Psion published in the future DnD release schedule, or we won't have one at all.
What do you think of the Psion so far? Share your thoughts in the Wargamer Discord. Or, if you'd like to take the class for a test spin, here are the DnD races and DnD backgrounds you'll need to get started.