I'm on a bit of a comic book character kick and enjoying the psychic class, so I built somebody who may be the most prominent psychic in Marvel comics if not comics in general. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Jean Grey from Marvel comics!
PHOENIX
CHARACTER Jean Grey
SOURCE Marvel Comics
BUILD GOALS
o Jean Grey is an omega level mutant who wields incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers and has been described as having limitless potential
o She initially only displayed telekinetic powers, but is one of the most powerful telepaths in existence
o Even without her Phoenix Force, Jean has been known to psychokinetically control flames composed of psychic energy
o Her telepathy was originally repressed by Charles Xavier but he later released these blocks when she matured
o Using her telepathy, she has projected her thoughts, read and manipulated the minds and memories of others, cloaked herself, and inflicted mental agony on her enemies
o Somewhat disturbingly, she has used this power to permanently alter the personality of others but has also been able to perform 'psychic surgery' and heal trauma
o She has also demonstrated the ability to siphon psychic energy from other telepaths and psionics
o One of the original members of the X-Men, Jean Grey was known as Marvel Girl
o She eventually became the conduit for an immensely powerful cosmic entity known as the Phoenix
o Made even more powerful by this power, she was corrupted and wreaked terrible havoc before dying only to resurrect, starting a cycle of death and rebirth fueled by the Phoenix
o More recently, she has rejected the Phoenix to live a more normal existence
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Versatile Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Intelligence, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Astrology
o General Feat: Diehard
Background: Student of Magic
o Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Wisdom
o Skill Increase: Arcana (trained), Academia Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Recognize Spell
Class & Subclass: Silent Whisper Psychic (Gathered Lore)
o Class Ability Boost: +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Skill (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – daze, forbidden thought, guidance, mage hand, message, phase bolt; 1st – mindlink, phantom pain
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12)
In building Jean Grey, the psychic class was the obvious choice but between a focus on telepathy with the silent whisper conscious mind or telekinesis with the distant grasp conscious mind, I chose to build for the former. Jean Grey may have started with telekinetic powers as her telepathy was repressed by Xavier, but it feels as though she is better known as a telepath these days. As a versatile human, she uses her general feat to gain Diehard for reasons fairly obvious to the character. Student of Magic along with her Gathered Lore subconscious mind fits nicely with her origins as one of the first students at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, and the training this afforded her. Treating mutant powers as magic led to using Arcana for the skill though she’ll be focusing on Occultism for the sake of her Recall the Teachings action. Astrology is a subtle nod to the cosmic power of the phoenix. When it comes to spells, Jean Grey mostly picks up mental manipulation, mind reading, and telekinetic spells since while her subclass will focus on mind matters, she does still wield telekinesis.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Psi Burst
o Skill Feat: Read Psychometric Resonance
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – command
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – phantom pain*; 2nd – blistering invective*, touch of idiocy
o Gear: +1 staff, psychopomp mask, everburning torch
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Mental Balm
o Skill Feat: Aura Sight
o Spell Repertoire: 2nd – telekinetic maneuver
o Gear: polished demon horn, +1 staff, brooch of shielding, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition – Counter Thought
o Skill Increase: Arcana (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – heroism, paralyze*
o Gear: mentalist’s staff, pendant of the occult, polished demon horn, brooch of shielding, psychopomp mask, everburning torch
Psi Burst is a fantastic feat to throw out some extra damage without expending a spell slot and the mindshift trait means that she can make it deal mental damage and target the mind, or keep it as is and have it being her summoning telekinetic force. However, using the mindshift effect of it is useful after Jean has unleashed an amped daze, which leaves the target with an admittedly minor weakness to mental damage. But if she can land this weakness with daze and then inflict a mindshifted Psi Burst for a single action, she can inflict some solid damage. Mental Balm gives her some ability to bolster the minds of others, somewhat akin to the psychic surgery she has performed. As a human, she can use Natural Ambition to expand her mind and pick up Counter Thought, allowing her to counter and shut down other psychics. Her skills focus on Occultism and Arcana as originally mentioned with Read Psychometric Resonance and Aura Sight being skill feats that fit in nicely with her psychic capabilities. There aren’t a lot of options for fire spells on the occult spell list, but blistering invective offers at least one option in reference to the psychic fire she sometimes wields.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Parallel Breakthrough – Distant Grasp
o Skill Feat: Automatic Writing
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – mind reading
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, mentalist’s staff, wand of mental purification (1st-level), polished demon horn, brooch of shielding, +1 staff
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Numb to Death
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – phantasmal killer, telepathy
o Gear: phantasmal doorknob, +1 explorer’s clothing, diplomat’s badge, mentalist’s staff, pendant of the occult, polished demon horn
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Dark Persona’s Presence
o Skill Feat: Disturbing Knowledge
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – confusion
o Gear: ethersight ring, crown of the companion, phantasmal doorknob, +1 explorer’s clothing, mentalist’s staff, +1 striking staff
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Heir of the Astrologers
o Skill Increase: Arcana (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – mind probe, synaptic pulse*
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, ethersight ring, greater hat of disguise, phantasmal doorknob, diplomat’s badge, +1 striking staff
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 18, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Brain Drain
o Skill Feat: Quick Recognition
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – synesthesia
o Gear: greater pendant of the occult, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater mentalist’s staff, ethersight ring, phantasmal doorknob, +1 striking staff
I wish Parallel Breakthrough was one of those feats you could take multiple times because I’d love to add the Oscillating Wave for some more fire to her kit, but Distant Grasp is slightly more appropriate with the telekinetic power it adds to her arsenal. In reference to her time as time as Dark Phoenix, she picks up Dark Persona’s Presence (starting to feel like I have this on every psychic build). Brain Drain is a fun feat that allows Jean to siphon psychic energy, leaving enemy psychics struggling to summon their powers while refueling her own. Automatic Writing is another skill feat that fits nicely with her telepath theme, like her reaching out to other minds around her to. Similarly, it is fun to imagine that Disturbing Knowledge is actually her tapping into the heads of others and spilling their secrets. Numb to Death will require some permissions from the GM, but it is a good reference to the death and resurrections that she has underwent. Heir of the Astrologers/Saoc further connects her to forces from beyond the stars (possibly the Phoenix Force).
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Cooperative Nature
o Skill Increase: Society (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – dominate, sending
o Gear: wand of tormented slumber, greater pendant of the occult, messenger’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, ethersight ring, greater hat of disguise
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Mental Static
o Skill Feat: Cognitive Crossover – Occultism and Arcana
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – modify memory
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater phantasmal doorknob, wand of tormented slumber, greater pendant of the occult, brooch of inspiration, greater mentalist’s staff
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Soul
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – visions of danger, warp mind*
o Gear: major mentalist’s staff, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, mind’s light circlet, wand of tormented slumber, messenger’s ring, dreamstone
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Scour the Library
o Skill Feat: Group Impression
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – telekinetic bombardment
o Gear: boots of speed, wand of traitorous thoughts, major mentalist’s staff, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater phantasmal doorknob, wand of tormented slumber
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 21, Wis 19, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Occultism (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – hypnopompic terrors*, uncontrollable dance
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram, major mentalist’s staff, greater brooch of inspiration, mind’s light circlet
Jean Grey wields considerable psychic defenses, which manifest in the form of the Mental Static feat. A fun interaction with this feat is, again, the mental weakness inflicted by Jean’s amped daze, potentially allowing her to proc it thrice before the weakness vanishes. Scour the Library allows her to dig into the minds of other creatures, or possibly a creature itself, and help her predict its next moves, aiding defensively and offensively. Cooperative Nature and Cooperative Soul allow her to make better use of her Recall the Teachings ability. As a teacher and often a mediator between her teammates, Jean Grey begins to invest in Diplomacy with this block.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Constant Levitation
o Skill Feat: Arcane Sense
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – mind blank
o Gear: major phantasmal doorknob, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of mental purification (6th-level), boots of speed, wand of traitorous thoughts, major mentalist’s staff
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Arcana (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – telepathic demand*, weird
o Gear: +3 greater striking staff, dragonscale amulet, major phantasmal doorknob, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Deepest Wellspring
o Skill Feat: Consult the Spirits – Occultism
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – overwhelming presence
o Gear: diadem of intellect, +3 greater striking staff, wand of mental purification (7th-level), major phantasmal doorknob, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of mental purification (6th-level)
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Breath Control
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 10th – alter reality, fabricated truth
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, diadem of intellect, greater messenger’s ring, +3 greater striking staff, dragonscale amulet, major phantasmal doorknob
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 22, Wis 20, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Become Thought
o Skill Feat: Shameless Request
o Gear: locket of sealed nightmares, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major staff of the dreamlands, diadem of intellect, wand of dumbfounding doom (7th-level), +3 greater striking staff
Especially when wielding the power of the Phoenix, Jean Grey doesn’t seem to touch the ground, making Constant Levitation an easy choice for her. Deepest Wellspring allows her to more freely wield her amped spells, especially when she also has Brain Drain on tap. Finally, for her capstone feat, Become Thought feels like a good fit for the raw power she wielded as the Phoenix especially with its ability to allow her to return to life. Flavoring Consult the Spirits as Jean Grey reaching out into the minds of others meshes well with the build. Similarly, having Shameless Request be based on some mental nudging feels appropriate. Bounce Back allows Jean Grey to keep coming back without much issue as she is wont to do. With a lack of other general feats standing out for the build, Breath Control is a small nod to the Phoenix allowing her to traverse space.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: For players looking for some good additional spells in their kit that they want to use offensively, they should look at the witch class, which is an Int-based class that can be used to gain occult spells to match the DC of her psychic spells. She could have Lockheed or a Bamf as a familiar, and the curse or fate patron makes the most sense with her. Basic Lesson for needle of vengeance isn’t a bad choice for her though she may understandably prefer spending focus points on amps for her psi cantrips. While a little bit funkier, the Sorcerer Dedication can be a flavorful choice if she takes the phoenix bloodline and Basic Bloodline Spell, giving her a little more fire. However, she’ll almost always want to use this spell mainly for its healing effect because these spells will scale off of her Charisma and never get above master proficiency, meaning that they’ll be lacking in offensive power. Finally, in campaigns where it will be relevant, Jean Grey could always dive into the Psychic Duelist Dedication but this is a choice that doesn’t provide much benefit outside of its specific circumstance.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Built as a silent whisper psychic, this Jean Grey wields her telepathic and telekinetic powers in concert but leans a bit more into the former. The gathered lore subconscious mind references her training at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and at the training of Xavier himself. Its activated ability of Recall the Teachings meshes nicely with her being one of the founding members of the X-Men. While much of her power is dedicated to mental manipulation, she has been known to wield psychic flames, referenced in her blistering invective spell and one of the few ways she can do so with her spell list. She can use options such as mindlink, telepathy, message, and sending to telepathically communicate and coordinate with her allies. For her ability to manipulate and read the minds of others, she has command, mind reading, mind probe, dominate, and similar spells. Given her ability to inflict mental agony, she also uses phantom pain, phantasmal killer, and hypnopompic terrors. Modify memory reflects her power to permanently alter the memory and personalities of others. From her class feats, she uses the likes of Brain Drain to reflect her ability to siphon the psychic energy of other telepaths. As the Phoenix, she has wielded the power to alter reality, return from death so frequently that she has become Numb to Death, and wield cosmic power such as Astrologer and its follow-up feat. This immense power has driven her to madness, leading to the change into the Dark Phoenix, reflected by her Dark Persona’s Presence feat.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see! If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog and are trying to get some milestones made up for. Next week's build explores a character with a very non-indicative title that suggests the alchemist class but is definitely not.
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