D&D released a new Psion class through Unearthed Arcana, emphasizing the mental magic dotted throughout subclasses in the Player's Handbook in a more concentrated form.
I've seen a lot of positive buzz around the Psion so far, but it's not an addition that everyone will love. Some D&D campaigns are best played with classes that fall into classic fantasy tropes, and the weirder the abilities get, the more potential for derailing a campaign they tend to have. It's not the first time that an interesting Unearthed Arcana subclass threatened to upset the peace, and the fate of its most direct predecessor paints a concerning picture for fans of the new Psion class.
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I've Seen This One Before
While the Psion label is new, taking a glance at the Psion's overall concept and abilities brings another Unearthed Arcana concept to mind: the Mystic. Introduced in 2017's Unearthed Arcana 32, Mystics also focused on magic that stemmed from the mind. While many of the specifics of the classes differ, the Psion is clearly an attempt to fill the same role that the Mystic would have.
Details of the Mystic are available in a PDF from Wizards of the Coast.
Of course, the Mystic never actually made it to the finish line. In the Psionic Options Revisited Unearthed Arcana, released in 2020, D&D clarified that the class ultimately didn't work out and that Psionic subclasses would be the focus for the time being. A complicated feature set with the potential to become overpowered might have been viable in the world of Pathfinder, but it didn't fit with D&D 5e's overall approach to balance.
Community Criticism Could Keep The Psion Out Of D&D
Unearthed Arcana Can Be Contentious
The Psion's design is clearly informed by the Mystic's problems. It's more fundamentally legible at a quick glance, and even in a rough draft form, it doesn't seem like it would pose as much potential to be overpowered. Even the smallest changes can be contentious in the D&D community, though, and the fundamentally bold ideas underpinning the class still aren't going to work for every table.
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Community criticism tends to be a good thing for D&D, and the negative response to many trialed changes in the Unearthed Arcanas that informed the 2024 rules revisions made the books that ended up releasing much stronger than the earliest proposals. At the same time, D&D sometimes pulls back on interesting ideas entirely when they prove to be divisive rather than reworking them in interesting ways. I'm hoping that the Psion is on the receiving end of the latter approach, but I'm also prepared for the worst, should it come to .
D&D DMs Can Choose What Works For Their Table
The Rules Are Just Guidelines
Even if the Psion doesn't make it, there wouldn't be anything stopping DMs who love the idea from allowing the Unearthed Arcana class at their table, so its introduction in Unearthed Arcana is already worth something. If it does make it through the vetting process, though, it will likely emerge as a more refined version that DMs could still choose to allow or disallow at will.
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While I still wouldn't want to see a Psion in every Dungeons & Dragons campaign I've run, I'd love for it to be a convenient option. It's too early to say how things will turn out, but my fingers are crossed for the Psion to have more luck than the Mystic did.
Source: Wizards of the Coast
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
- Player Count
- 2-7 Players
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