Dungeons & Dragons Not Moving Forward With Onomancy or Psionics Wizards

Dungeons & Dragons has confirmed it will not be continuing the development of two recently playtested subclasses of wizards. Earlier today, Dungeons & Dragons released a new Unearthed Arcana playtest containing three revised subclasses seen in earlier playtest materials. While the Revived Rogue, Noble Genie Warlock patron, and Archivist Artificer got new life as the Phantom Rogue, Genie Warlock patron, and the Order of Scribes Wizard, Dungeons & Dragons noted that they would not be moving forward with two other recently tested subclasses. "We can share that neither of the wizard subclasses we've presented in Unearthed Arcana recently—Onomancy and Psionics— will be moving forward in our development process," the D&D development noted. "Since they didn't appeal to enough people and we can explore those subclasses' themes in other ways."

The Onomancy subclass involved the use of true names, extracting them from enemies and allies and using those names to enhance the effects of certain spells or otherwise impact those creatures. The Psionics wizard was a subclass that (as its name suggested) used various psionic abilities to enhance spells or increase other skills. Notably, the Psionics wizard did not receive an update earlier this year when Dungeons & Dragons tested out a new Psionic Die feature to provide a unique new mechanic to Psionic subclasses.

While it's a bit disappointing that Dungeons & Dragons is choosing not to move forward with either of these subclasses, it does show the importance of providing playtest feedback to fans. If more fans had responded positively to these subclasses, the development team may have tried to revisit them like they did with other recently tested subclasses. At the same time, it's fantastic that the development team is keeping players and fans in the loop about various playtest subclasses, even if it's not the news that players are looking for. After all, players still talk about the Revised Ranger as if it were being worked on, even though it's been nearly four years since Dungeons & Dragons first suggested the changes.

You can check out the most recent playtest material on D&D's website.