Image property of Sergio B.
We generally try not to impose our opinions overtly on all of our readers, so when it came to a topic like psionics in D&D we really wanted to see how many people like it and how many people can’t stand stupid sciences in their freaking fantasy games! So last week Dave, or I guess we’re referring to each other as “colleagues” now though I prefer to call him Davey-gravy-pants, asked the question about preferences with regards to psionics in a fantasy setting. Not quite half of those who voted (48%) really do like psionics in D&D, tough some may have been swayed by Dave’s reference to psionics as random special abilities in 1st Edition which I was very surprised to read about. The rest of you are actually split right down the middle with 26% who don’t like psionics in D&D and 26% of you who might like psionics, but you’re not sure, maybe if it buys you some flowers first and takes things nice and slow…
Just before the Player’s Handbook 2 was released back in March I wrote an inquisition asking which power source people most wanted to see in the PHB3, the source that won the poll was psionics so it seems the PHB3 is shaping up to meet a lot of expectations already but unfortunately shortly afterward we discovered that WotC has abandoned the Ki power source concept which came in second in the poll. I’m surprised that I haven’t seen or heard more backlash from the elimination of the Ki source, something which I personally feel was a mistake but I can fully understand why it was done and though I don’t have any mechanical issues with the Monk being a psionic class it just feels wrong to me.
Lamentations of old power sources aside, now we’d really like to know which of the released power sources is the most popular! Unfortunately I am not including any home-made power sources, because some of them are totally sweet and would break the poll.
[poll id=”133″]
Martial Classes: Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlord
Arcane Classes: Wizard, Warlock, Swordmage, Sorcerer, Bard, Artificer
Divine Classes: Cleric, Paladin, Avenger, Invoker
Primal Classes: Barbarian, Druid, Shaman, Warden
Psionic Classes: Monk, Psion
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All Primal, all the time. The Warden and the Shaman are 2 characters that I like a lot. I’ll also get to try a Barbarian in a few weeks, can’t wait.
.-= The Chatty DM´s last blog ..Robin Laws’ Revisited, Part 8: Improvising =-.
That is a tough one! Which child is my favorite? 😉
Well, going with the classes the I prefer, it’s divine (avenger, invoker), and arcane (pretty much all but wizard). If it’s which power source I like as a concept regardless of the actual class implementations? Psionics (all the way!!) and arcane.
So, since arcane has both cool classes and the concept of the power source really jives for me, I had to vote for that.
I’m still holding out hope for the other psionic classes and the rest of the psion’s build (plus maybe trying to make my own “aberration summoning” build). But when sitting down to make an actual PC, the other classes just looked more interesting and more fun to me than the psion and monk. But we’ll see. Besides, I figure I still have two PHB’s to explore before 3 comes out, so might as well give them my attention for now. 🙂
I don’t have a favorite power source. I think the Fighter might be my favorite class so far, but I’m not that into the other Martial classes atm (and the idea of “exploits” don’t really do anything special for me). I also find myself designing a lot of Arcane characters, but that might just be because of the specific characters I’m working on. Again, the essence of arcane magic doesn’t do much for me.
I’m not personally a fan of playing religious-style characters, so I’m not into Divine (but I like the idea as a power source)–though I am trying to figure out if one Wizard concept will work better as an Invoker :p I also am not into the flavor for primal stuff–I don’t dislike it, it just doesn’t spark anything creatively for me atm. Psionics is not well enough developed to say much about it.
I think up through Primal all the power sources are pretty much the same. It’s hard to pick a favorite, since it really depends on what kinds of abilities you want a character to have. Looking to do weapon-based stuff? Go martial. Looking for elemental and teleportation effects? Arcane.
With psionics (and my guess, with other upcoming sources) it looks like WotC might be breaking the mold, setting it more so each power source (more than each class) plays differently. Then the choice can be a bit of flavor and mechanics. This is interesting because there was wondering on how Elemental might survive as a power source. If it has a significantly different set of mechanics, it could easily fit side by side with Arcane.
So yeah, I have no favorite, because each source is good for some characters and not for others. So I’m not voting. You should have a “none of the above”/”I like all of them”/”I like none of them” option or something :p
I’m always surprised when I go to answer my own polls and cannot easily select an answer. I ended up choosing Arcane because the classes and powers for it interest me just a little bit more than others at the moment but really I’d have to say I’m pretty evenly split across the choices for preference.
Highbulp: Ask, and you shall recieve! 🙂 It makes me a bit sad because now the poll is not so daunting when you cannot make a choice at first because there’s an “out” answer.
I love the Martial Classes because I feel as though they were a concept of character that often got short shrift in D&D, but now they’re all pretty good. It’s also awesome to think that people can use pure skill to keep up with the other guys…
…which didn’t ever really happen until 4E.
I like the original three power sources best because they’ve been what’s always encompassed power and influence in the worlds I’ve played D&D in. You’ve always had arcane magic that came from inherited power, or covenants, or the study of magic, divine magic from the gods or from powerful forces, and the inner strength of fighters and scoundrels which let them pull off amazing feats. I love all three of them best.
.-= Wyatt´s last blog ..Paradiso: Behind the Wyatt I =-.
Voted Martial for the rogue. I haven’t played more than four sessions as a PC, and all of those where divine classes (cleric and paladin), but the rogue is my favorite class and I WILL play one some day.
As much as I love me some Psionics, I completely agree with The Main Event that Martial is just too badass to ignore, and it’s awesome that they can finally stand toe to toe against spellcasters at higher levels.
Yeah, I had to go with martial, too. Fighter has been a long time favorite class and the martial-caster divide of 3e was painful. The means to fix that turned out to be simple and elegant – give melee classes some moves. ToB was the experiment that has been fully realized in 4e and it’s great.
Personally, I think all the sources are fantastic, but if forced to choose, I would have to say Arcane is my favorite right now, just for the sheer diversity of options within the source.
.-= Teppesh´s last blog ..Protected: Thoughts =-.
I go with Martial because all 4 classes are solid.
Primal is really mixed — I LOVE the Barbarian, kind of like the Warden, and shriek vehemently that WotC butchered the Druid and Shaman.
Arcane is good overall, but Warlocks are a mess, and Wizards are still just *slightly* bland.
Divine is fine (!), especially with Invoker and Avenger to spice things up, and Divine Power gave a lot more interesting options to Clerics and Paladins.
I think Adventurers’ Vault 2 will put a lot of new options into play. Items can make a huge difference — e.g., Feral Armor (Dragon 369) is awesome for a Barbarian looking for some added punch a bit of style.