My "Next" Wizard

So there has been a lot of talk about how 5th Edition wizards are going to go back to the pseudo-Vancian magic system. Personally I have never liked guessing which spells are going to be useful (which goes for preparing, selecting, and casting), or basing the adventure schedule around remaining spells. Hell only a handful of games or literary works even include it, and even then it is often only one facet of how magic works. I guess the silver lining here is that only wizards get saddled with it, though they can crib the Reserve feat mechanic from 3rd Edition, or that it is only one proposed magic system.

Personally I would like to see wizards being required to focus on a few schools of magic as opposed to potentially equally good at everything. This models real life in the sense that no one is good at everything, and I remember something like this being played out in The Name of the Wind, the Dresden Files novels and RPG, Mage: The Ascension, and more shit that I am not thinking of. With this model you can get the wizard that is really good at evocations, but not so much at illusions due to a lack of patience or artistic talent or whatever, or something who prefers using ice or fire magic. Note that specialists might only be good at one school and might know a thing or two from something else (or not, depends on what is available), and would get some other benefit like the mage from Essentials.

From these schools they would choose a few rotes, which are spells that are so simple and/or have been practiced so often that they have become almost reflexive. Encounter spells would go away entirely, and daily spells would be the sort of complex magic that they have to cast ahead of time and retained. Rituals would be the utility stuff that keeps spell prep from turning into guesswork, and I would allow the expenditure of healing surges or something to help power them, or charge surges anyway. Actually for the grognards that do not like how many of the spells are combat-focused (I guess ignoring rituals), why not turn daily spells into the number of rituals that a character can store at any given time? This way something like knock could be used as a ritual, but a wizard could also pre-cast and store it for an impromptu use.

I would also allow wizards to draw in will, mana, energy, or whatever, allowing them to charge up their at-will spells. This would take a turn, extra action, or cause some kind of stress (like psychic damage or whatnot, though burning healing surges from exhaustion is still a possibility), and potentially leave the wizard vulnerable to attack, adding a level of tactical complexity and drama to a wizard that decides to turn her magic missile from a single bolt into a salvo; enemies might decide to directly target her in order to disrupt the spell. Some spells could also require multiple actions or rounds to cast.

Finally I really dig implements, and would like to see them stick around. Instead of a specialization bonus like the wizard gets, or having them largely not matter at all, you might penalize a wizard for not using one when casting. I would like to see implements of special materials granting a benefit without demanding a feat. The spellbook would mostly be used for rituals instead of spell prep.

Ultimately depending on what martial classes can do, I see these changes giving a wizard a lower average baseline, some good spike opportunities, and flexibility on how to handle things. Ideally martial classes would have a more “middle-ground” approach, with scaling damage and exploits to give them some tricks up their sleeves.

Too-Long, Didn’t Read Highlights

• Wizards pick from a handful of schools that they can cast. Feats could add in others.
• Wizards know a smattering of rotes (at-will) spells. These do minor things.
• Rotes can be charged up through time, penalty, and/or resource.
• Daily spells would still be in and be quite badass, but fewer in number (like, maybe 1 at 1st-level).
• Rituals are still in, but drain healing surges and/or require specific components.
• Implements are still in, and are more required.
• Wizards would be able to create new spells, more easily learn new spells, and potentially modify them.

Character Themes: Heroes of Tome and Temple

This trio of themes focuses on arcane and divine characters, giving us the ordained priest, scholar, and seer. As with the first four, they function similar to Dark Sun themes, except you also get bonus features at levels 5 and 10.

Ordained priest is a bit different from the norm, in that you get to pick from two encounter prayers; one is for weapons, and the other is for implements, which is good because it works for both “styles” of divine characters–as well as for characters that don’t use implements. Smiting symbol lets you make a melee attack, and giving an ally a defense bonus along with some temp hps. Shining symbol is a friendly-fire close blast that deals radiant damage and imposes a defense penalty. Not to shabby for a freebie encounter. At level 5 you get a Religion bonus, and at level 10 you grant adjacent allies a constant untyped bonus to saving throws.

The level 2 daily utility affects a close burst, and lets each ally make a free save and regain some hit points (more if they are bloodied at the time). The level 6 daily is a slightly larger close burst that grants a hefty defense bonus that you can sustain as a standard action (bleh), though if anyone attacks it goes away for everyone. Finally, the level 10 daily (again) utility creates a small zone that gives a small defense bonus, boosts everyone’s surge value, and deals automatic damage to undead. The best part is that you can sustain it as a minor action.

Scholar gives you a free language from a small assortment and use vulnerability–which you can use for free after you make a Hard DC knowledge check against a monster–giving you a nice defense bonus and damage based off of your Intelligence modifier for a turn, so long as the monster isn’t resistant to it. The bad part is that if you didn’t beat the Hard DC, then you instead deal half damage to it for a turn. So, it is kind of a gamble, but I gather that players fighting the same type of monster for awhile will quickly pick up on what DC is sufficient (as well as take items and feats to boost their “knowledge” skill). At level 5 you get free skill training (or a +2 untyped if you already have the skill) and another language, and at level 10 you just gain every language in the Rules Compendium or Player’s Handbook. You can also make Arcana checks to try and decipher messages written in code or disguised magically.

At level 2 you can pick up a daily that gives you a power bonus to one skill for an entire encounter. Level 6 is an encounter power that lets you change untyped damage to a specific type for a turn, affect you and any adjacent allies at the time. The level 10 daily creates a sustainable zone that imposes an attack and defense penalty to all creatures of a specific type.

Finally, the seer only gives you an encounter power at the start, cast fortune. It lets you roll three d20s, the results of which are used, in order, in place of the target’s next d20 rolls. You can only use it once per day on a given creature, meaning that it is good for one combat or skill challenge per other party member. At level 5 you get a Bluff and Insight bonus, and at level 10 you can roll twice on Perception checks and take either result.

The level 2 daily is a sustain standard that grants you darkvision, choose to see things from both your position and a space within 20 squares, and make Perception checks to “notice small details”. Level 6 is an encounter that grants you a defense bonus as an immediate interrupt, shifting after the attack is resolved. The level 10 daily is a sustain minor that lets you see invisible critters and objects, and grants you a bonus to Insight and Perception.

I like all of the themes, but my favorite out of the bunch is the scholar (because wizard is my favored class); a well-executed concept that uses knowledge to point out monster weaknesses, though they can make mistakes. This could give a player a lot of social role-playing possibilities. I also like that all the extra languages and ability to eventually be able to just make skill rolls to decipher script.

Heroes of Nature and Lore

Despite a fairly sparse offering of only four themes, this is a nice article. For heathens who do not play Dark Sun, themes are a way to provide mechanical support for your character’s background. To take a quote from the article, a theme can readily answer what you were immediately before you started adventuring. More so than simply taking a rank or two in a Craft or Profession, themes could be used to provide a way for your history to meaningfully affect your character. Mind you, none of them involve bookbinding, basketweaving, or farming, but you never know what future articles or third-party support will bring.

Alchemist

This theme grants you the Alchemist feat (including a complete description of what the feat does), one free formula, and lets you create an item after each short rest for free. The only recipe featured is alchemist’s fire, but then if you’re reading the article then you should have access to the Compendium anyway. The level 5 and 10 features let you learn more recipes for free, as well as granting you an attack bonus with alchemy items that you made.

All of the powers are utilities which can grant an ally a bonus to damage objects, create a zone of smoke while legging it, and creating a zone of difficult terrain that burns creatures knocked prone in it.

I like this because it lets you make an arcanist that also knows alchemy without having to spend a feat on it. The free recipes and free items will also likely encourage their use at the table. 

Animal Master

This nifty theme gives you an animal minion that you can boss around. You get to choose from a cat, dog, hawk, monkey, raven, or a close-enough approximation to your liking. Regardless of which you choose, they act more like familiars than animal companions, having no attacks, a unique trait, and some skills to help you out. You do start with distracting attack, which requires your minion to be within 5 squares and lets you gain combat advantage against a target within 5 squares.

As the name implies these guys are minions, and while most monsters will “normally” ignore them they can be killed, and you don’t have Raise Beast Companion or the ability to reform them out of arcane runoff. If they did, they stay dead, and it takes either a month or an adventure wrap-up to get it back, except at level 5 when you can get a new one every extended rest at the DM’s discretion. 

The theme powers let you command your animal to do various tricks that it wouldn’t otherwise do, grant you a defense bonus and let you ignore flanking, and eventually share senses with it. 

The other two themes are the order adept and wizard’s apprentice. I won’t got into detail here, as I’ve already spoiled half the article. Suffice to say, this is some pretty cool stuff and I look forward to cooking up my own and seeing what other people come up with. Yeah, it adds some more power creep, but not a whole lot (certainly not enough to make me reconsider how I balance my XP budgets).

Edit: Apparently there’s a list of all the themes that will come out this month.

• Chevalier
• Explorer
• Guardian
• Guttersnipe
• Hospitaler
• Mercenary
• Noble
• Ordained priest
• Outlaw
• Seer
• Scholar

Power Play: Arcane’s Gloaming Path

Two backgrounds, six spells, and four familiars. The spell distribution favors the wizard and warlock with two, doling out only one for swordmages and sorcerers. I would have figured that the bard would have gotten on there somehow, but better luck next time. Anywho I dont give a shit about the backgrounds, so I’ll start with new spells.

• Moonstride is a level 2 wizard encounter that changes you into moonlight if an enemy gets too close, by which I mean you become insubstantial and shift. Good contender for shield.
• Charm of hearts is a level 2 warlock daily that prevents a creature from making opportunity attacks against you, in addition to boosting your defenses. It can be sustained, to boot.
• Fate’s frayed threads is a level 6 warlock encounter that does quite a bit if an enemy botches an attack roll against you: they get cursed, take a -2 to attacks against you, and grant combat advantage to you.
• Stride of the gallant is a level 6 swordmage encounter stance that gives you teleport, but only if said teleportation would drop you next to a baddie.
• Witch’s reversal is a level 10 wizard daily that lets you reroll missed attacks if you fuck up at least two rolls.
• Maiden’s waking is a level 10 sorcerer daily that lets you act normally even if you are hit with a condition that reduces your actions (such as unconscious). Obviously, it requires no action to activate.

And then we wrap things up with a quartet of familiars.

• The muse sprite gives you a Diplomacy bonus, radiates dim-light, deliver mail, and let you make two checks for a few skills. Kinda like Tinkerbell and owls from Harry Potter rolled into one.
• White-eyed crows prevent you from being surprised and lets you reroll a missed attack if the creature is next to the crow.
• Gallant hawks grant a Perception bonus, increases the attack penalty from marks, and it has a very limited ability to save-ends mark all creatures next to it. Very cool.
• Moon wisps give an Arcana and Nature bonus, radiate light (with a built in dimmer option), and has a limited ability to negate concealment against creatures that are close to it.

All in all good stuff. I think it does a good job of adding primal flavor to arcane classes, meaning that it should get some use in Songs of Erui. :-3