Summary
The much-acclaimedBaldur’s Gate 3has boosted the popularity ofD&Dto new heights, something especially useful after the TTRPG title underwent a tough 2023. With how much potential the video game has to impact its pen-and-paper predecessor, one monster highlighted byBaldur’s Gate 3ought to inspire the revival of a forgottenD&Dclass.
Baldur’s Gate 3focuses on mind flayers, atentacle-bearded species of brain-eating alien. In addition to their diet, thralls, and sinister hive-mind society, these creatures are known for their powerfulpsionic abilities. Psionic powers inD&Daren’t quite magic but often take the form of magic-like abilities (such as telekinesis or telepathy) created by pure brainpower. A mind flayer’s psionic abilities include levitation, stunning blasts of psychic energy, and the power to dominate the mind of another creature.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Should Inspire A Revival Of D&D’s Mystic
Now thatBaldur’s Gate 3has shown off mind flayersand their abilities, as well as providing options for players to gain their ownillithid powers, it would be a great move for Wizards of the Coast to inject psionics back intoD&D. While there are some character options with psionic flavor (such as thewarlock’s Great Old One subclass, available inD&D 5eandBaldur’s Gate 3),D&D 5elacks a full psionic class.
The class that would have fulfilled this role, the Mystic, never left the playtest phase thanks to its convoluted design. However, with the 2024 rules update on the horizon, there’s no better time forD&Dto take the groundwork ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s psionics and run with them.
The Mystic And Its Origins
The Mystic has its origins inD&D’s Unearthed Arcana, a set of playtest material released by WOTC for community feedback. The 2017 class was one of the few additions to5e’s classes, with only the Artificer becoming an official new class after the 2014 set. Focusing on psionic abilities, theMystic is an incredibly complex classwith dozens of moving parts. Its Unearthed Arcana PDF has a whopping 28 pages, rife with choices within choices and a confusing ‘Psi Point’ system to track.
Mystic is an incredibly complex class with dozens of moving parts!
Though some continue to play the class, it never made its way into an official WOTC book. In fact, in a 2020 Unearthed Arcana release, it stated that it wouldofficially end development forD&D 5e’s Mystic. Despite this, the concept of a class based around psionic powers is incredibly popular, with the third-party market forD&Dproviding many options. MCDM, a major third-party publisher for5e, released the Talent class, which approaches the psionics concept from a pulp sci-fi standpoint (more akin to Jean Grey’s powers than cosmic horror).
Baldur’s Gate 3 Makes A Great Case For A Psionic Class
With popular subclasses like Great Old One and Aberrant Mind (a sorcerer subclass not featured inBaldur’s Gate 3), a full-on psionic class might be better served with a more eldritch flavor. Luckily,Baldur’s Gate 3provides a frameworkfor this through illithid powers. By consuming mind-flayer parasites, players cangain small psionic abilitiesencompassing both passive traits and full actions.
These powers function similarly to thewarlock’s Eldritch Invocations, albeit with more of a risk-reward factor (such as Psionic Overload forcing the player to take damage in exchange for more potent attacks). Given the warlock’s own popularity,Baldur’s Gate 3’s system of illithid powerscould serve as a great foundation for a psionic class. It would still need a dash of extra complexity, given howD&Dwants to draw a line between spellcasting and psionics, but with fewer major choices and a more streamlined system of powers, a new psionic class is more than possible.
Baldur’s Gate 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCEChoose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPICForged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian’s next-generation RPG engine.
