Mystic

A human clad in simple robes walks along a forest path. A gang of goblins emerges from the brush, arrows trained on him, their smiles wide at their good fortune of finding such easy prey for the legion's slave pens. Their smiles turn to shrieks of terror as the traveler grows to giant size and leaps at them, his staff now a deadly cudgel.

The militia forms in ranks to prepare for the orcs' charge. The growling brutes howl their battle cries and surge forward. To their surprise, the human rabble holds its ground and fights with surprising ferocity. Suddenly, mindless fear clings to the orcs' minds and they, despite facing a far inferior foe, turn and run, never noticing the calm half-elf standing amid the militia and directing its efforts.

Baron von Ludwig was always proud of his grand library. Little did he know that each evening, a gnome laden with blank scrolls slipped past his guards each night and dutifully copied his most heavily guarded archives. When the duke’s men arrived to arrest him for dealing with demons, he never guessed that the gnome scribe traveling with them had spent more time in his keep than he had over the past year.

These heroes are all mystics, followers of a strange and mysterious form of power. Mystics shun the world to turn their eyes inward, mastering the full potential of their minds and exploring their psyches before turning to face the world. Mystics are incredibly rare, and most prefer to keep the nature of their abilities secret. Using their inner, psychic strength, they can read minds, fade into invisibility, transform their bodies into living iron, and seize control of the physical world and bend it to their will.

Class Features

As a mystic, you gain the following class features.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the mystic spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Mystic table shows when you learn more mystic spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level equal to or lower than your psi limit. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the mystic spells you know and replace it with another spell from the mystic spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your mystic spells, since your magic comes from the power of your mind. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a mystic spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Psionic Mastery

Beginning at 11th level, your mastery of psionic energy allows you to push your mind beyond its normal limits. Choose one 6th-level spell from the mystic spell list as a mastery spell.

You can cast your mastery spell once without expending a spell slot or psi points. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

At higher levels, you gain more mystic spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th-level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Psionic Mastery when you finish a long rest.

Psionic Body

At 20th level, your mastery of psionic power causes your mind to transcend the body. Your physical form is infused with psionic energy. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• You no longer age.
• You are immune to disease, poison damage, and the poisoned condition.
• If you die, roll a d20. On a 10 or higher, you discorporate with 0 hit points, instead of dying, and you fall unconscious. You and your gear disappear. You appear at a spot of your choice 1d4 days later on the plane of existence where you died, having gained the benefits of one long rest.

Mystic Orders

Psionics is a mysterious form of power within most D&D worlds. Secretive orders study its origins and applications, while pushing the boundaries of what psionic power can achieve.

Each of these orders pursues a specific goal for psionic power. That goal shapes how the members of an order understand psionics.

Awakened Talent

At 1st level, you gain the mage hand cantrip if you do not already know it. Whenever you cast this spell, the conjured hand is invisible.

Psionic Investigation

Also at 1st level, you can focus your mind to read the psionic imprint left on an object. If you hold an object and concentrate on it for 10 minutes (as if concentrating on a psionic discipline), you learn a few basic facts about it. You gain a mental image from the object’s point of view, showing the last creature to hold the object within the past 24 hours.

You also learn of any events that have occurred within 20 feet of the object within the past hour. The events you perceive unfold from the object's perspective. You see and hear such events as if you were there, but can't use other senses.

Additionally, you can embed an intangible psionic sensor within the object. For the next 24 hours, you can use an action to learn the object's location relative to you (its distance and direction) and to look at the object's surroundings from its point of view as if you were there. This perception lasts until the start of your next turn.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Psychic Focus: Awakened

Starting at 3rd level, you can focus on the Order of the Awakened as a psychic focus, gaining the following benefits:

You can maintain a barrier of psychic energy around your mind indefinitely. You gain resistance to psychic damage.

Psionic Surge

Starting at 6th level, you can overload your psychic focus to batter down an opponent’s defenses. You can impose disadvantage on a target's saving throw against a discipline or talent you use, but at the cost of using your psychic focus. Your psychic focus immediately ends if it's active, and you can't use it until you finish a short or long rest.

You can't use this feature if you can't use your psychic focus.

At 18th level, you only end one psychic focus of your choice, and cannot regain a second psychic focus until you finish a short or long rest. However, you still maintain your other psychic focus, and can change it as normal. If you use this feature again, you end that psychic focus as well, and cannot use your psychic focus until you finish a short or long rest.

Spectral Form

At 14th level, you gain the ability to become a ghostly figure of psionic energy. As an action, you can transform into a transparent, ghostly version of yourself. While in this form, you have resistance to all damage, move at half speed, and can pass through objects and creatures while moving but can't willingly end your movement in their spaces. The form lasts for 10 minutes or until you use an action to end it.

 Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Order of the Immortal

The Order of the Immortal uses psionic energy to augment and modify the physical form. Followers of this order are known as Immortals. They use psionic energy to modify their bodies, strengthening them against attack and turning themselves into living weapons.

Their mastery of the physical form grants them their name, for Immortals are notoriously difficult to kill.

Order of the Nomad

Mystics of the Order of the Nomad keep their minds in a strange, rarified state. They seek to accumulate as much knowledge as possible, as they quest to unravel the mysteries of the multiverse and seek the underlying structure of all things. At the same time, they perceive a bizarre, living web of knowledge they call the noosphere.

Nomads, as their name indicates, delight in travel, exploration, and discovery. They desire to accumulate as much knowledge as possible, and the pursuit of secrets and hidden lore can become an obsession for them.

Order of the Wu Jen

The Order of the Wu Jen features some of the most devoted mystics. These mystics seek to lock themselves away from the world, denying the limits of the physical world and replacing it with a reality that they create for themselves. Known as wu jens, these mystics cast their minds into the world, seize control of its fundamental principles, and rebuild it.

In practical terms, wu jens excel at controlling the forces of the natural world. They can hurl objects with their minds, control the four elements, and alter reality to fit their desires.

Elemental Mastery

Starting at 14th level, if you have resistance to a type of damage, you can spend 2 psi points as a reaction when you take damage of that type to ignore that damage; you gain immunity to that damage type until the end of your next turn.

Psychic Focus

Each psychic focus option presented here is tied to a mystic cantrip, and you cannot gain the psychic focus benefit of a cantrip you do not know.

Mystic Spells

Ego Whip

4th-level enchantment

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: V
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You lash the mind of one creature you can see within range, filling it with despair. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or suffer disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws, and it can't cast spells. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Intelligence saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target.

Energy Beam

Evocation cantrip

• Classes: Mystic
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

You launch a beam of elemental energy at a creature you can see within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the creature takes 1d8 cold, fire, or lightning damage (your choice when you cast the spell).

The spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Enhance Pain

Enchantment cantrip

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 15 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 1 round

You momentarily heighten a creature's sense of pain. The target makes an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 1d8 psychic damage the next time it takes damage before the spell ends. If the triggering damage is psychic damage, it instead takes 1d12 psychic damage.

The spell's damage increases by one die when you reach 5th level (2d8 or 2d12), 11th level (3d8 or 3d12), and 17th level (4d8 or 4d12).

Id Insinuation

1st-level enchantment

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You unleash a torrent of conflicting desires in the mind of one creature you can see within range, impairing its ability to make decisions. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated. At the end of each of its turns, it takes 1d12 psychic damage, and it can then make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target.

Intellect Fortress

5th-level abjuration

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You create a faintly shimmering barrier of protective psychic power around you. For the duration, you have advantage on all saving throws.

When another creature that you can see within 30 feet of you fails a saving throw, you can use your reaction to allow them to reroll the save. They must use the new roll.

Mental Barrier

2nd-level abjuration

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you are forced to make an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw
• Range: Self
• Components: V
• Duration: 1 round

You protect your mind with a wall of looping, repetitive thought. Until the start of your next turn, you have advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws, and you have resistance to psychic damage.

Mind Sliver

Enchantment cantrip

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V
• Duration: 1 round

You drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. Unless the saving throw is successful, the target takes 1d6 psychic damage, and the first time it makes a saving throw before the end of your next turn, it must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the save.

This spell's damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels: 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

Mind Thrust

2nd-level enchantment

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 bonus action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 1 round

You propel a lance of psionic disruption into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 3d6 psychic damage, and it can use its action only to Dash or Disengage on its next turn. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage, and this spell doesn't limit its action options.

Psionic Blast

3rd-level evocation

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self (30-foot cone)
• Components: V
• Duration: Instantaneous

You unleash a destructive wave of mental power in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a target takes 5d8 force damage, is pushed 20 feet directly away from you, and is knocked prone. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage and isn't pushed or knocked prone.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd.

Psychic Crush

6th-level enchantment

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 1 minute

You overload the mind of one creature you can see within range, filling its psyche with discordant emotions. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 12d6 psychic damage and is stunned for 1 minute. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and isn’t stunned.

The stunned target can make an Intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful save, the spell ends on the target.

Rift Step

Conjuration cantrip

• Classes: Mystic
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self (10-foot line)
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

You warp space around yourself, teleporting up to 10 feet to an unoccupied space you can see and leaving a dimensional rift behind. Each creature in a 5 foot wide line between your positions immediately before and after you use this spell is caught in the rift, and must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d8 force damage on a failed save. The rift then closes.

The spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Thought Shield

2nd-level abjuration

• Classes: Bard, Mystic, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Touch
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 8 hours

You weave a clouding veil over the mind of one creature you touch. For the duration, the target's mind can't be read or detected, creatures can't telepathically communicate with the target unless the target allows it, and the target has advantage on saving throws against any effect that would determine whether it is telling the truth.

Multiclassing

In order to multiclass as a mystic, you must have an Intelligence of at least 13, in addition to the prerequisites of any other classes you have levels in.

When you gain your first mystic level while having levels in another class, you gain proficiency with light armor and simple weapons.

Your Psionics feature is considered separate from Spellcasting and Pact Magic. You can spend psi points to cast spells gained by those features, as well as spend spell slots from those features to cast your mystic spells.

Changelog

• Changed Psionics to a psi-point-based spellcasting feature.
• Removed Psychic Focus from the new Psionics feature, to account for the nonexistence of disciplines with this benefit. Psychic Focus is now a 3rd-level class feature with a specific focus for each mystic cantrip and order. Most Psychic Focus benefits are taken from previously existing ones in psionic disciplines, but not all of these are available to this mystic.
• Added a feature to most Psychic Focus benefits to allow enhancing cantrips. I liked the original mystic's low-level discipline effects which ranged from 1-7 psi, dealing a die of damage per psi point spent; this is my attempt at recreating those in a more traditional spellcasting framework.
  • Changed the psi point progression to use a 1:1 point:slot ratio, rather than spell points, in order to better fit with cantrip enhancement. At 1st level, a 1-point enhanced cantrip (worth 2 spell points) deals 2 dice of damage; at 9th level, a 5-point enhanced cantrip (worth 7 spell points) deals 7 dice of damage.
• Moved most 3rd-level Mystic Order features to 1st level to account for the subclass-specific Psychic Focus at 3rd level. Most 1st-level features consisted of extra disciplines (here, an expanded spell list) and bonus proficiencies, some of which I have made a bit less powerful, and most 3rd-level features could be added there without feeling like overloading the mystic's 1st level.
  • The Order of the Immortal is an exception; it had very powerful 1st- and 3rd-level features, which I have toned down somewhat. Dex + Con unarmored defense was replaced with an alternate 13 + Dex AC, similar to a Draconic Bloodline sorcerer. Temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier were replaced with a flat 3 per round.
• Did not significantly change Mystical Recovery, although it is slightly less powerful due to the reduced number of psi points.
• Strength of Mind moved to the previously-featureless 7th level, instead of stacking with an ability score improvement at 4th level.
• Removed Potent Psionics, as it filled two already-occupied levels and was not necessary for the class. Lesser versions of it are still available in the Psychic Focus benefits for enhance pain and mind sliver.
• Did not significantly change Consumptive Power, but similarly to Mystical Recovery, it is slightly more powerful due to the reduced psi point cost for spells.
• Changed Psionic Mastery to work like a warlock's Mystic Arcanum.
• Added an 18th-level feature allowing the use of two Psychic Focus options at a time, to account for the lack of a class feature at this level and the lack of an extra 6th or 7th level spell at later levels.
• Changed Psionic Body so the mystic reappears 1d4 days later rather than 1d3, since the difference doesn't matter much and d4s are simpler.
• Removed the Order of the Soul Knife, as it was the most unbalanced and abnormal Order and I prefer that archetype as a monk or rogue subclass.

• Changed Breadth of Knowledge to grant only one extra proficiency or language, which can be enhanced with the Nomad psychic focus.
• Awakened Talent now grants an extra cantrip instead of skill proficiencies, and Hermit's Study has been replaced with Elemental Talent, which does the same.
• Changed Psionic Surge and Surge of Health to specify what happens if the mystic can have two psychic focus benefits.
• Changed Immortal Will to no longer be a get-out-of-death-free ability, instead granting a bonus to death saves at the cost of psi points.
• Simplified Arcane Dabbler to not require creating spell slots, since mystics already cast spells with psi points.
• Replaced disciplines and talents with a mystic spell list, with spells taken mostly from the spell lists presented with the UA Psionics wizard and the psionic spell list from /u/SwordMeow's tweaked sorcerer.
• Added two new cantrips to stand in for psionic abilities with no previous cantrip equivalent: energy beam and rift step, which are unique to the mystic.