D&D: MCDM Unleashes New 5E Psionic Class (Done the Way You Want) in ‘The Talent’
MCDM Productions’ The Talent is a massive 3rd party expansion to D&D 5E that adds psionics, and a new psionic class in a big way!
D&D and Psionics go back all the way to the beginning. Since the earliest days of D&D, characters have been able to roll to see if they’re psionically empowered. Old terms like Intellect Fortress and Ego Whip echo through the various editions and carry with them all sorts of D&D baggage.
Back in the 3rd Edition days, the Expanded Psionics Handbook added psionics to the game, and it’s been downhill ever since. To the point that people still pined for an Unearthed Arcana class, the Mystic, that never saw print. Psionics in 5E is kind of a wash. It exists briefly in the form of two classes (maybe a 3rd if you really stretch it) but without much in the way of rules that feel distinct.
That’s where MCDM comes in, with a whole new way to manage magical-type effects. Only this time it’s with the power of the mind. In The Talent you’ll find not just a new class, you’ll find a whole system underpinning everything. It’s a 100+ page splatbook that adds the rules for a “psionics system” including new powers as well as feats, special items, new creatures (including dragons), and NPC abilities. It’s just got all the bases covered. This is the sort of thing that players are hungry for right now. And all for $15.
The Talent – Psionics Done Right in 5E
There’s so much to talk about here. But for starters, you might notice the comic book cover that evokes superheroes—that’s intentional, according to Matt Colville, this is on purpose. Psionics’ presentation plays into the fantasy of, well, fantasy superheroes (not in a direct sense, but in terms of how it should feel).
And boy does it. This PDF doesn’t just add a whole new class, it adds a whole new system. Psionics isn’t just a way to cast the same spells but differently. There are more than 100 new powers in the book. And while you won’t use all of them at once, the possibilities are expansive because of this. Take a look at the table of contents:
There’s something for everyone here. It is 3rd Party, but MCDM have been responsible for books like Strongholds & Followers and Kingdoms & Warfare. There’s a lot of testing that goes into this. But it will be outside the usual WotC fare. So be aware.
Characters with extraordinary mental powers not derived from prayer or magic feature in many of our favorite stories—Eleven from Stranger Things, Professor X or Jean Grey from the X-Men. Many of Stephen King’s stories, like Dead Zone or Firestarter, feature pyrokinetics or telekinetics. The Talent and Psionics gives you rules to build these characters.
Talents don’t use spell slots. Instead, when you manifest a power, you might gain strain. At first, strain isn’t anything more than an annoyance, but as it accumulates, it becomes more debilitating. Accumulating a lot of strain can actually kill a talent! It’s up to them to decide. How desperate is the situation? How badly do you need to succeed? How much are you willing to sacrifice to save your friends — or the world? The power is in your hands.
Time to blare the X-Men ’97 theme song and hold your fingers to the side of your head!
