Published March 12, 2022, last modified June 1, 2022
Who doesn't want to have the ability to move things with their mind? It's one of the coolest superpowers out there, and has appeared as a psyker in various Dungeons & Dragons supplements over the years.
Ryan Alexander Lee - Wizards of the Coast - Snapcaster-Magier
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What is Telekinetic 5e?
Along with the launch ofTasha's cauldron of everything, we finally have the official versions of the psionics-based subclasses and together with them an incredibly tasty achievement:telekinetic.
How does telekinetics work?
Once you acquire this talent, you will receive three benefits:
- You can increase your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma by one (this is still capped at 20).
- you learn the trickthe magician's hand, and you can cast it without the verbal or somatic components. You can also make the hand invisible.
- If your character already knows this Knack, its range increases by 30 feet.
- Anything involving that hand as a spell uses the stat you gained from that talent for your spell ability.
- You can use your bonus action to push a creature within 30' of you with your telekinesis. When you do so, the target must succeed at a STR saving throw (DC is 8 + your competence bonus + the ability modifier for the stat you increased with this feat) or be pushed/pulled 5 feet.
- A creature can intentionally fail this saving throw, allowing you to push allies back.
As you'd expect from the feat's title, this allows you to have pseudo-telekinesis within the D&D rules system and replace your mid-chlorian count with onethe magician's handTrick.
Is telekinesis good?
In our5e list of talent levels, Telekinetic received a B-level rating, making it a niche talent that can boost some builds in D&D 5e.
This feat can offer some serious benefit. Never underestimate an invisible manthe magician's handwho can move 60 feet and push as a bonus action. An INT, WIS or CHA boost never hurts either.
Which 5e classes take full advantage of telekinetics?
The color coding below has been implemented so you can quickly see how good the Telekinetic 5e talent is for a specific class/subclass.
- Rotdoes not contribute to the effectiveness of your character building
- OrangeGood situationally, but otherwise a below-average option
- Greenit is a good option
- Azulis a great option, you should definitely consider this option for your character
- Blue skyIt's an amazing option. If you don't choose this option, your character will not be optimized.
Telekinetics is best suited to builds that:
- I still do not understandthe magician's handor have learned limited tricks. This provides an added benefit becausethe magician's handit's a pretty solid utility spell.
- Are spell casters or interested in pumping CHA, WIS or INT. There are two reasons. First, and most obviously, Telekinetic offers an ASI for these ability values. Second, the Knockback DC is based on the attribute score you increased. So builds that won't pump your CHA, WIS or INT will find theirsthe magician's handurges to be underpowered.
- It still doesn't have much use for its bonus action. Classes like rogues and bards wouldn't mind bumping a creature with athe magician's handbut his bardic inspiration and cunning actions definitely take precedence.
Architect: This talent is very valuable for artisans. You can learn that nowthe magician's handtricks, but are on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to the number of tricks they can do. ASI for INT is always something that crafters are interested in. Constructors typically have no use for the bonus action, so Telekinetics can provide some action savings as well as control of the battlefield.
Barbar: Barbarians will not find use for this talent as they can push enemies back much more effectively with brute force than with their CHA, WIS or INT. You will have no use for the ASI either.
Bardo: Bards can accumulate decent kilometers through telekinetics, but usually already have itthe magician's handDespite it. This gives them a little more breathing room and control over the crowd in tight spots. Remember that knockback requires a bonus action that bards already use in their bard inspiration.
cleric: This talent can give clerics a small added value since they are usually not able to learnthe magician's hand. This, combined with the ASI, makes this feat worthwhile. Unfortunately, the main downside is that Telekinetic uses their bonus promotion, which you will likely useghost weapon. Still, it pays to be useful outside of combat and can help control the battlefield.
Druid: Druids do not normally have access tothe magician's handso plus the WIS ASI is a solid value. Druids don't have a particularly important use for their bonus action, so this provides good action savings and battlefield control.
fighter: Fighters have little to no use for this talent as the shove bonus action will be weak due to lack of CHA, WIS or INT. Also, Shove cannot knock down enemies, only moving them 5 feet. These caveats make Shieldmaster a much more valuable talent for fighters to learn.spooky knightscan use this with her INT focus and is especially tasty (but not powerful) forPsi-Krieger.
Monge: The monks don't have much of this power. Neither subclass really benefitsthe magician's hand, and the monks already have a use for their bonus actions. WIS ASI is decent, but there are better resources that offer the same.
Paladin: In general, Telekinetics provides a decent utility for Paladins.the magician's handIt's not a spell they normally have access to, the bonus on CHA is always welcome, the only problem comes with the Shove bonus action. Paladins who normally stick to Divine Smites will prefer this feat as there really isn't any other use for his bonus action. Paladins who like to mix and match Smite-based spells may hold back on their bonus action. However, paladins don't have many spell slots, so the push bonus action can still come in handy in this case when spells are running low.
Förster: Rangers do not have access tothe magician's handand normally have no use for this bonus promotion. Combined with ASI for WIS and Telekinetic it offers decent value.
On its own: Rogues could use this for some invisible pickpocketing, butArkane Tricksterwill want more. Because it strengthens yourthe magician's handAt 60 feet, they can do a lot more from that distance. The only problem rogues will run into is when they want to use their sly moves or an impromptu attack. However, the value this offers scammers is undeniable, even if ASIs don't adapt.
wizard: Wizards might like this as it gives them a bit more work in turns without using a spell slot. However, it's still not a big update. However, it allows them to drive enemies into AoE spells.
magician: Warlocks are on the low end when it comes to the number of tricks they learn.the magician's handis always useful, as is ASI for CHA. When it comes to fightinghexadecimalwill be much more important than the bonus shove action, but once you have yourshexadecimalOn target, the shove can provide good control of the battlefield.
Dry: Some INT bonuses, an additional/improved can trip and good use of your bonus action. Pushing a creature can save an ally or endanger an enemy.
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Mike Bernier
Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a bestselling mithral author.Strixhaven: A magic programin the DMs guild and is a contributing author onD&D beyond.Keep following MikeTwitter.