Arcane Traditions

The study of wizardry is ancient, stretching back to the earliest mortal discoveries of magic. It is firmly established in fantasy gaming worlds, with various traditions dedicated to its complex study.

The most common arcane traditions in the multiverse revolve around the schools of magic. Wizards through the ages have cataloged thousands of spells, grouping them into eight categories called schools. In some places, these traditions are literally schools. In other institutions, the schools are more like academic departments, with rival faculties competing for students and funding. Even wizards who train apprentices in the solitude of their own towers use the division of magic into schools as a learning device, since the spells of each school require mastery of different techniques.

Abjurer

As Abjurers, Wizards focus on magic that manipulates mystical boundaries and barriers, even redefining the limits of reality. Wizards specializing in this school are often protectors and guardians, employed to safeguard important people or places. They can also serve as magical engineers, constructing fortifications and barriers in both physical and metaphysical realms.

Abjuration Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy an abjuration spell into your spellbook is halved.

Reality Warp

When you cast an abjuration spell that provides a protective barrier or area (like Shield or Mage Armor), you can alter its shape slightly, such as creating small windows or adding additional protrusions. This does not affect the spell’s mechanical properties, but it can give you strategic sightlines or other situational advantages.

Interposing Barrier

As a reaction when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you is targeted by an attack or harmful spell, you can expend a spell slot to create a barrier of magical energy in front of them, providing a bonus to their AC or a saving throw equal to the level of the spell slot expended until the start of your next turn.

Imposing Fortress

You can use your action to expend a spell slot and raise a formidable magical barrier around yourself. The barrier has hit points equal to twice the level of the spell slot expended x your Intelligence modifier. It lasts for 1 minute or until broken, and it grants total cover to anyone within it. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Reality Sunder

As an action, you can target a point you can see within 60 feet and temporarily tear the fabric of reality to dispel magical effects. This acts as the Dispel Magic spell, but it can dispel any level of magic and affects a 20-foot-radius sphere. After using this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Conjurer

As Conjurers, Wizards focus on the art of summoning and binding, transcending traditional boundaries to bring forth entities or items from other realms. They often act as gatekeepers between worlds, brokers of extraplanar contracts, or clever manipulators of space and time.

Conjuration Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy a conjuration spell into your spellbook is halved.

Dimensional Anchor

Whenever you cast a conjuration spell that summons a creature or object, you can choose to anchor it to its current location. The anchored entity cannot be forcibly moved by teleportation or planar travel effects against its will for the duration of the spell.

Planar Scholar

You gain proficiency in the Arcana skill if you don’t already have it, and you double your proficiency bonus for checks related to outer planes, extraplanar entities, or teleportation. Additionally, you learn the Identify spell if you haven’t already, which becomes a conjuration spell for you.

Intricate Summoning

When you cast a conjuration spell that summons a creature, you can weave additional instructions into the summoning. The creature gains a bonus to its attack rolls, saving throws, and AC equal to half your Intelligence modifier (rounded down).

Master of the Threshold

Once per long rest, you can perform a 1-minute ritual to open a stable portal to another plane of existence you are familiar with. The portal is large enough to allow Medium-sized creatures to pass through and remains open for 1 minute. You must concentrate to keep the portal open, as if concentrating on a spell, and you can close it as a bonus action. If a hostile entity attempts to pass through the portal, you can use your reaction to close it immediately.

Diviner

Diviners are wizards who tap into the interconnected web of fate, time, and probabilities. These wizards act as seers, fortune-tellers, and manipulators of destiny, with an uncanny ability to foresee events and steer them toward specific outcomes.

Divination Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy a divination spell into your spellbook is halved.

Echoes of Tomorrow

Whenever you cast a divination spell that reveals information about the future or unseen events, you gain a pool of “echo points” equal to the spell’s level. You can expend these points on a one-to-one basis to gain advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. These points last until your next long rest.

Guiding Hand

As a reaction, when a creature you can see within 30 feet makes an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you can expend a spell slot to guide its action. The creature gains a bonus to the roll equal to the level of the spell slot you expended.

Web of Possibilities

Once per short rest, you can enter a meditative state as an action to glimpse into the web of fate. For the next minute, you can’t be surprised, and attacks against you have disadvantage. During this time, you can also use your reaction to give a creature you can see advantage or disadvantage on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

Architect of Destiny

Once per long rest, you can cast a divination spell you know as a ritual, regardless of whether it normally has the ritual tag or not. The casting time remains the same, but the spell doesn’t expend a spell slot. After using this feature, you gain a level of exhaustion.

Enchanter

As Enchanters, Wizards focus on the subtle arts of mind manipulation, emotional influence, and aura manipulation. They are experts in bending wills and altering perceptions, often acting as diplomats, interrogators, or even puppet masters behind political scenes.

Enchantment Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy an enchantment spell into your spellbook is halved.

Mental Resilience

You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you are already proficient, you can add double your proficiency bonus to Wisdom saving throws against enchantment spells.

Aura of Suggestion

As an action, you can emit an aura of subtle suggestion in a 10-foot radius around you. Creatures in the area must make a Wisdom saving throw or be subtly influenced by you for the next minute. While under this effect, you have advantage on Charisma checks against those creatures. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain expended uses after a long rest.

Emotional Manipulation

When you cast an enchantment spell that affects a creature’s emotional state (like Calm Emotions or Suggestion), you can choose an additional creature within range to be affected by the spell. Both creatures receive the spell’s effect but do not realize they are being influenced unless they succeed on a Wisdom saving throw.

Evoker

As Evokers, Wizards focus on magic that creates powerful elemental effects such as bitter cold, searing flame, rolling thunder, crackling lightning, and burning acid. Some evokers find employment in military forces, serving as artillery to blast enemy armies from afar. Others use their spectacular power to protect the weak, while some seek their own gain as bandits, adventurers, or aspiring tyrants.

Evocation Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy an evocation spell into your spellbook is halved.

Sculpt Spells

You can create pockets of relative safety within the effects of your evocation spells. When you cast an evocation spell that affects other creatures that you can see, you can choose a number of them equal to 1 + the spell’s level. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save.

Potent Cantrip

Your damaging cantrips affect even creatures that avoid the brunt of the effect. When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against your cantrip, the creature takes half the cantrip’s damage (if any) but suffers no additional effect from the cantrip.

Empowered Evocation

You can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of any wizard evocation spell you cast.

Overchannel

You can increase the power of your simpler spells. When you cast a wizard spell of 1st through 5th level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.

The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 necrotic damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the necrotic damage per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.

Illusionist

As Illusionists, wizards are masters of deception, creating intricate mirages and manipulating reality itself. These wizards are often artists, storytellers, or spies, weaving illusions so convincing that they can alter perceptions and even change the course of events.

Illusion Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy an illusion spell into your spellbook is halved.

Projected Reality

When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can create an additional minor illusory effect within the spell’s range. This effect lasts as long as the original spell and can be as complex as a small object or as simple as a sound. Creatures investigating the illusion must make separate Investigation checks to discern each component.

Refractionary Presence

As a bonus action, you can make yourself appear to be in two places at once. A spectral image of you appears within 30 feet, mimicking your actions and making no sound. You can switch your perception between yourself and the image as a bonus action. The illusion lasts for 1 minute or until you dismiss it. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, regaining all expended uses after a long rest.

Mirage Weaver

Once per short rest, you can weave a complex illusion around yourself or an object within range as an action. This illusion can make the target appear as something else entirely or alter its features in a detailed way. The illusion lasts for 10 minutes and withstands physical interaction, but a successful Investigation check against your spell save DC can reveal it.

Reality Breaker

Once per long rest, you can cast an illusion spell as though it were real. For the duration of the spell, it interacts with the world as if it were real substance and matter. If the illusion deals damage, it deals psychic damage instead. Once the duration ends, the illusion fades, leaving no trace of its physicality.

Necromancer

Necromancers focus on the broader aspects of life and death. They delve into the secrets of mortality, soul manipulation, and the boundaries between the living and the dead. While some may be healers who skirt the edge of life-saving magic, others might be seekers of immortality or cosmic balance.

Necromancy Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy a necromancy spell into your spellbook is halved.

Soul Gaze

As a bonus action, you can glimpse into the soul of a creature within 30 feet of you, gaining insight into its emotional state or intentions. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks against that creature for 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, regaining all expended uses after a long rest.

Death's Equilibrium

Whenever you cast a necromancy spell that either heals or damages, you can choose to balance it. If the spell heals, you can inflict necrotic damage equal to half the amount healed to a creature within range. If the spell damages, you can heal a creature within range for half the amount of necrotic damage dealt.

Soul Manipulation

You can attempt to manipulate the soul of a willing or incapacitated creature within touch range. Depending on your intention, you can either bolster or weaken their soul. If bolstered, the creature gains advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed for the next hour. If weakened, they gain disadvantage on these saving throws for the same duration.

Necromantic Fusion

Once per long rest, you can perform a ritual to fuse a fragment of your soul with another creature’s, living or undead, within 30 feet. The creature can submit to this, if conscious and willing, or must make a Charisma saving throw against your Wizard spell save DC. This forms a bond that lasts for 24 hours. During this time, as a bonus action, you can either transfer up to half of your current hit points to heal the creature or draw upon its life force to heal yourself for half of its current hit points, reducing their hit points by the same amount.

Transmuter

Transmuters are masters of alteration and transformation. Their magical talents stretch beyond the simplistic turning of lead into gold. They can morph the properties of elements, transform living creatures, and even alter time itself on a localized scale. These wizards see the world as a mutable canvas, where nothing is fixed and everything is open to reinterpretation.

Transmutation Savant

The gold and time you must spend to copy a transmutation spell into your spellbook is halved.

Elemental Mastery

When you cast a spell that deals damage of a particular type (fire, cold, acid, etc.), you can use a bonus action to change the damage type to another of your choosing for the spell’s duration.

Morphic Resilience

As an action, you can temporarily transmute your own body or that of a willing creature you touch, providing resistance to a damage type of your choice for 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, and you regain all expended uses after a long rest.

Shapechanger's Guise

Once per short rest, you can use your action to transform into a Small or Medium creature you’ve seen before. You retain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as your ability to speak, but your physical stats and abilities become those of the creature. The transformation lasts for 10 minutes or until you choose to end it.

Temporal Shift

Once per long rest, you can cast a spell that allows you to accelerate or decelerate time in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Within this sphere, all creatures and objects move at half or double speed, according to your choice. This effect lasts for 1 minute.