New Spells: Psionics
PDF Link | D&D Beyond Links: Kinetic Slingshot, Mass Telekinesis, Psychometry
Art Credits: https://gatherer.wizards.com/ORI/en-us/72/separatist-voidmage
Though we haven’t shown much of it yet, there are some psionic options in our upcoming and final compendium, Legends of Prestige & Prowess, including a “psion” wizard subclass, two psionic humanoid NPCs (made to accompany the inquisitor NPCs from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft), and several psionic-themed spells. Today we’re previewing three of those new spells: kinetic slingshot, mass telekinesis, and psychometry.
Kinetic slingshot is modeled after the “Fling”-type abilities of monsters such as the Kraken or the Air Elemental. This is a simple and straight-forward combat spell, used to forcefully move, knock prone, and damage a single enemy, sometimes damaging and knocking prone a second enemy in the process. This spell bridges the gap between lower-level telekinetic spells such as catapult or levitate and higher-level ones such as telekinesis or animate objects. This spell also has a fairly long range for its level, especially since you can throw a creature within range at a target that is just outside the normal range of the spell.
Mass telekinesis serves as a 9th-level multiple-target version of the 5th-level spell telekinesis. We tried many different designs for this concept before settling on this model. This spell is inspired by great acts of telekinesis in fiction, such as those done by Yoda and others in the Star Wars prequels. To accomplish that feeling, the spell needed to be able to push back waves of enemies or objects at once, to pull them closer, to hold them in the air, and to force them to the ground. It needed to be able to crush many enemies at once and be able to control them without dealing any damage at all. The caster’s main limitation is that targets must be within a similar area — either within the same 60-foot cone, or within 30 feet of the caster.
The last spell, psychometry, is based on the concept with the same name promoted by some people throughout history. This psychic ability often appears in fantasy and science-fiction, and the psychometry spell allows 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons characters to exercise that same power by expending a 5th-level spell slot; higher-level spell slots allow the caster to feel psychic imprints from further and further in the past. This spell serves a similar role to spells such as legend lore or commune, granting the Dungeon Master an opportunity to give the players specific information to further plot points that they desire while also allowing the players to feel the agency of investigative powers that reward their intuition.
PDF Link | D&D Beyond Links: Kinetic Slingshot, Mass Telekinesis, Psychometry
