Psychic Disciplines

Psionic disciplines are the heart of a mystic's craft. They are the mental exercises and psionic formulae used to forge will into tangible, magical effects.

Psionic disciplines were each discovered by different orders and tend to reflect their creators' specialties. However, a mystic can learn any discipline regardless of its associated order.

Using a Discipline

  • Each psionic discipline has several ways you can use it, all contained in its description. The discipline specifies the type of action and number of psi points it requires. It also details whether you must concentrate on its effects, how many targets it affects, what saving throws it requires, and so on.
  • The following sections go into more detail on using a discipline. Psionic disciplines are magical and function similarly to spells.

Psychic Focus

  • The Psychic Focus section of a discipline describes the benefit you gain when you choose that discipline for your psychic focus.

Effect Options and Psi Points

  • A discipline provides different options for how to use it with your psi points. Each effect option has a name, and the psi point cost of that option appears in parentheses after its name. You must spend that number of psi points to use that option, while abiding by your psi limit. If you don't have enough psi points left, or the cost is above your psi limit, you can't use the option.
  • Some options show a range of psi points, rather than a specific cost. To use that option, you must spend a number of points within that point range, still abiding by your psi limit. Some options let you spend additional psi points to increase a discipline's potency. Again, you must abide by your psi limit, and you must spend all the points when you first use the discipline; you can't decide to spend additional points once you see the discipline in action.
  • Each option notes specific information about its effect, including any action required to use it and its range.

Components

  • Disciplines don't require the components that many spells require. Using a discipline requires no spoken words, gestures, or materials. The power of psionics comes from the mind.

Duration

  • An effect option in a discipline specifies how long its effect lasts.
    • Instantaneous. If no duration is specified, the effect of the option is instantaneous.
    • Concentration. Some options require concentration to maintain their effects. This requirement is noted with "conc." after the option's psi point cost. The "conc." notation is followed by the maximum duration of the concentration. For example, if an option says "conc., 1 min.," you can concentrate on its effect for up to 1 minute.
    • Concentrating on a discipline follows the same rules as concentrating on a spell. This rule means you can't concentrate on a spell and a discipline at the same time, nor can you concentrate on two disciplines at the same time. See chapter 10, "Spellcasting," in the Player's Handbook for how concentration works.

Targets and Areas of Effect

  • Psionic disciplines use the same rules as spells for determining targets and areas of effect, as presented in chapter 10, "Spellcasting," of the Player's Handbook.

Saving Throws and Attack Rolls

  • If a discipline requires a saving throw, it specifies the type of save and the results of a successful or failed saving throw. The DC is determined by your psionic ability.
  • Some disciplines require you to make an attack roll to determine whether the discipline's effect hits its target. The attack roll uses your psionic ability.

Combining Psionic Effects

  • The effects of different psionic disciplines add together while the durations of the disciplines overlap. Likewise, different options from a psionic discipline combine if they are active at the same time. However, a specific option from a psionic discipline doesn't combine with itself if the option is used multiple times. Instead, the most potent effect—usually dependent on how many psi points were used to create the effect—applies while the durations of the effects overlap.
  • Psionics and spells are separate effects, and therefore their benefits and drawbacks overlap. A psionic effect that reproduces a spell is an exception to this rule.