Comments from the Finger: This was a really obvious one and I'm surprised that we didn't get to it earlier. Wizards that don't specialize should be represented in some way, as they are in Pathfinder, but are really difficult to represent mechanically. If we make this wizard good at dealing damage, it would seem that a lack of specialization is similar to evocation. If we made this wizard good at surviving combat, it would seem like it's similar to abjuration. So the goal here was to make the most wizard-y wizard possible; one that's just good at being a wizard.
School of Universalism
Though most wizards specialize in a single school of magic, the rare and exceptionally gifted can advance their studies without losing focus on any arcane school. These wizards are known as Universalists, and can wield the forces of any arcane school with equal measure.
Arcane Savant
Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, the amount of gold required to copy a spell into your spellbook is halved.
Arcane Memorization
At 2nd level, choose 1 spell that you know to memorize. This spell is always prepared and does not count against your total number of spells known. You can select an additional spell to memorize at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.
Arcane Condensation
By 6th level, you can expend two spell slots of the same level to cast a spell of 1 level higher.
Arcane Recitation
At 10th level, the time required to cast a spell as a ritual is reduced to 1 minute, unless casting time of the spell is longer.
Arcane Concentration
By 14th level, your focus is legendary. Whenever you would lose your concentration on a spell, you can instead choose to maintain your focus by expending a spell slot of a level greater level or equal to the spell you are concentrating on.
Changelog: 1/22/16: Arcane Conservation: renamed Arcane Condensation
Arcane Integration: renamed Arcane Concentration
4/2/16: Arcane Concentration: Spells must be 4th level or lower
8/30/16: Arcane Concentration: Nerfed
Looks really good, except for one issue. Arcane Conservation is a really good feature in the normal game, but it might run into some trouble if the DM decided to use the spell point option for spellcasting. At that point, it ceases to function, because it's kind of already built into the system.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you could do to replace it, though. I get what you were going for - sacrificing lower spells to get more powerful effects. Hn.
That's a fascinating point, and one I haven't thought about. Generally, we don't design out classes with variant rules in mind, since it's really impossible to know which variant rules to account for (the DMG is full of them!) I'll think about a spell-points solution to this problem but you're right - there's no translation for that feature into the variant rule.
DeletePerhaps:
Arcane Conservation
You can cast a spell for half the number of spell points. After using this feature, you must complete a short or long rest before using it again.
That'd be a really good fix I think. It offers utility in that it can apply to any spell, but it's limited in usage. Getting it back on a short rest also helps because then its not just a once per day deal.
DeleteThe only other option I might offer is something of an alternate to the feature itself - maybe the ability to cast a spell as a bonus action a certain number of times per day, owing to the increased expertise. I like your solution though, especially because the problem will ever come up in the Spell Point instance.
(Btw, I'm the original poster, just had a bit of a time figuring out the account bit xp)
Delete(That explains why your name was absolute crazypants.)
DeleteOut of curiosity, does your gaming group use the spell points variant? If so, how does it change the feel of play?
(I swear, navigating this is comment system is embarrassing me)
DeleteWe have, aye. From the DM side of things (I rarely play, since I'm the most experienced at the DM'ing chair) I've actually seen players use it for more lower level spells, as opposed to blowing through chunks of their points for a few higher level effects. Players aren't afraid of being more liberal and taking chances with their lower level spells, since the spell points system lets them use them more. In short, I really think it lets my players play in a way that they want to more often.
One of my ideas when I was trying to homebrew a Universalist (this idea has been something I've been trying to come up with for my own game. I've been porting a lot of your material over for my players xp) was the idea of extra spell slots to reflect it getting more out of magic as a whole, as opposed to one particular branch.
I always considered having more spell slots to be the realm of sorcerers, as it was in 3.5. Even now, if a sorcerer converts his sorcery points into spell slots, he can play that way in 5th edition. Because of that I used Arcane Memorization rather than something that granted more spell slots; it combats not being able to prepare all the spells that you know and give the player more options. I'm really proud of a few design choices in this class, and I think it might be one of my favorites, as it stands.
DeleteI like it. Honestly, you did this way better than I xp It's being ported over as an option to my players as is, likely with the solution you mentioned for the spell point system. Thanks for putting all of these out. For those of us who like having more options, especially for stuff from an old edition, it's certainly a godsend. You sir get two of Vecna's hands clapping. xp
ReplyDeleteMultiple concentration on spells? No. No. No. Too much powergaming potential.
ReplyDeleteIt's 5 rounds a day, at most. If the problem is with concentrating on 2 different high level spells, I was thinking about limiting this effect to 5th level or lower.
DeleteI think picking up Hex with a feat, then applying any 'save or suck' spell would be pretty broken. 5 turns of hold or dominate can wreck almost anything.
DeleteHold or dominate do that alone though, a second concentration spell for 5 turns doesn't contribute much more. Either way, you're throwing away a spell slot that could be used for more than 5 turns in order to get a mini-nova.
DeleteThe second concentration gives them disadvantage on every save. Most enemies don't get any big bonuses to saves. With a level 14 save DC of 18, an Adult Red Dragon has a 20% shot of escaping Hold Monster each round. With this combo, he has a 4% shot. And you still get to hold the Hex all day.
DeleteHow do you get to hold Hex all day? I don't understand your logic on that.
DeleteAnd I'll grant you that a second concentration gives monsters disadvantage on saves, but it comes at a really hefty cost: it takes two rounds and two separate spell costs to pull that off, and that also eats up your limited economy.
Also, an adult red dragon has a +7 on wisdom saving throws, and will escape if he rolls an 11 on a d20 roll, giving him a 45% chance of escape, unless I'm missing something.
With disadvantage, he has a roughly 20% chance of escape.
The text says you can hold dual concentration for up to 5 rounds, It doesn't say anything about how you set that up.
DeleteSo cast Hex at lvl 4 or 5 and you keep it all day. You only use the rounds when you cast the second spell. So you bonus action to transfer Hex, then cast the Save o Suck - all in one round. When the enemy is dead or 5 rounds are up, you drop the one, but keep the Hex. Unless I am misreading? Is it intended that both spells must end at the end?
You are right about the Red Dragon, however. Me being dumb there. The saves are 45% before and 20.25% after.
You're right about not needing to drop a spell you're concentrating on when you pull another concentration spell out. Still, I don't think this is totally game-breaking. After all, you describe casting a 5th level spell (which you need a feat to get) at a target earlier in the day and not losing concentration on that spell until significantly later (which means no taking significant damage of any kind) to force disadvantage on the save for a different spell for 5 rounds. And that only works if you cast Hex with the correct ability score in mind. It's powerful, sure, but we'll need to do some playtesting here to see how powerful.
DeleteHex doesn't give disadvantage on saves.
DeleteAlthough you don't need to cast it at the same target--the target of Hex can change.
(the petrified eye of a newt) You place a curse on a creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack. Also, choose one ability when yo ucast the spell. The target has disadvantage on ability checks made with the chosen ability. If the target drops to 0 hit points before this spel ends, you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to curse a new creature. A remove curse cast on the target ends this spell early. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd or 4th level, you can maintain your concentration on the spell for up to 8 hours. When you use a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you can maintain your concentration on the spell for up to 24 hours.
DeleteLate to the party but it gives disadvantage on ability checks, not saves.
DeleteI'm just thinking how potent it could be with some ridiculous stuff, like (for example) prismatic wall and delayed blast fireball. The 5 rounds thing is better than nothing, I suppose, but even Hunters Mark and Bane in combination could be deadly.
ReplyDeletePrismatic wall isn't concentration...
DeleteHunter's mark and bane aren't on the wizard's spell list...
Bestow curse could be somewhat overpowered if stacked, but then again, cast with a 5th level or higher spell slot it doesn't need concentration anyway.
Haste could combine badly with other spells, as could enlarge/reduce, but I don't see any particular game breakers.
I rather like your take on the universalist, however I feel that the 2nd lvl ability, the one that should provide emphasis on how the archetype functions, leaves a lot to be desired compared to ones the other wizard schools receive. Being able to prepare an additional spell is useful, but you don't get to prepare enough to provide a decent theme like other classes archetypes that provide an expanded spell list do (a total of 10 additional always prepared spells). Without an option to exchange them upon leveling (like many other useful abilities are for other class archetypes - elemental affinity ones for monk, warlock invocations) , you are heavily bound to earlier choices, even ones that may not suit your character or your character evolves away from using. As the Wizard is about appropriate meta-preparation for spells, I don't feel the theme from this. Perhaps if the wizard was able to cast their free prepared spell once per day without using a spell slot, as their 18th/20th lvl abilities do, or even providing an improvement on their Arcane Recovery, would give a better mechanical benefit to actually selecting this archetype, as it provides next to nothing for you until 6th level. It has no -actual- game effect, which a 1st instance ability for an archetype should.
ReplyDeleteAnd considering there is no limit to the spells you can know as a wizard (aside from spellbooks and your spell list), only what you can prepare, the last part would be better worded "does not count toward the number of spells you can prepare" Otherwise that part still applies, for those that enjoy rules lawyering.
Arcane Conservation I think only has a real use for low level spells, using it for 6th lvl spells and above is most likely worth nothing, and in actuality probably more detrimental to the caster than as a benefit except in extreme circumstances.
Considering you only get 3 spell slots per lvl for 2nd - 5th, using 2 to cast 1 higher is a tremendous cost, and actually costs more equivalently than the Sorcerers spell slot conversion rate does to transfer 2 slots into 1. Granted, that takes a set up period of multiple bonus actions to achieve, but perhaps allowing one to simply cast a number of spells at their equivalent 1 lvl higher power bonus for free, equal to int per long rest, would give more choice in what's available to the caster? Univeralist should be about options, which I feel this does not provide a particularly viable one.
Arcane Recitation is beautiful. I love it.
I love the Arcane Integration double concentration mechanic, this was one I was going to use when building my own universalist for my LGG. Very happy to see someone else has the same idea :)
Arcane Savant is strictly better--by quite a bit--than any school's school savant. So the other 2nd level feature *should* be weaker.
DeleteHi, I used your subclass to make what is essentially a personalized form of the same thing. Can I post it on reddit if I give you credit?
ReplyDeleteSure thing, dude. Links back are appreciated.
DeleteHappy brewing!
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/53jgae/school_of_the_weave_wizard_subclass/
DeleteDone and done