I really like the new Unearthed Arcana: Three Subclasses, but I think they need a few changes. Here is my take on the Inventor. What do you think?
I really like playing the Lore Master, and I don't think it is overpowered, but I recognize that some people think otherwise. The Inventor is very similar, and so this version is a combination of the two, trying to make the Inventor more invent-y and bring in some of the good things of the Lore Master.
I also added a homebrew feat into the subclass, for cantrips.
I will add some of my own thoughts in with the text.
First, for all spellcasters:
Spellcasting
Instant Concentration
You may cast any Concentration spell without concentration. Its duration is shortened to 1 round and it does not interrupt other concentration.
Concentration spells with a duration of 1 round or a casting time of greater than 1 action are not eligible for this feature.
Arcane Tradition
School of Invention
School of Invention Features
Wizard Level Feature
2nd Arcanomechanical Armor, Experimental Casting, Inventive Spellcasting
6th Cantrip Master, Swap Spell Parts
10th Prodigious Inspiration
14th Expoert Experimentation
Arcanomechanical Armor
Innovation is a dangerous practice, at least as far as members of this school practice it. As a shield against this risk, you have learned to act quickly and use armor to defend yourself from spells gone awry.
Starting at 2nd level, you add your Intelligence score rather than Dexterity to initiative rolls and you gain proficiency with medium armor and shields, and while wielding a shield you can use your reaction to add its AC bonus to saving throws you make against magic.
Comments: I removed the attunement tax and the weird force damage protection and replaced it with medium and and shields, with a Shield Master-like defense against magic. I feel like this is less annoying and more unique, and still gets at the idea of protection without that "I'm-a-Mech" feeling. Likewise, I added the Lore Master's initiative change, which I think fits the theme of acting quickly to avoid damage.
Experimental Casting
As an inventor, you learn spells differently from other wizards.
Spell Pages
When you join the School of Invention at 2nd level, you add to your spellbook a page of experimental spells for each level of spells you can cast, including one for cantrips. On each page, you inscribe summaries of 9 wizard spells of your choice which are not in your spellbook, according to the level of the page. Number each page's spells 1 to 9.
Whenever you gain the ability to learn wizard spells of a higher level, you add another page with a list for that spell level.
Unpredictable Casting
As an action you may attempt to cast spells from one of these pages.
Expend a spell slot matching the page level. Roll 2d10, casting the spells matching the numbers rolled. If you roll a 10, you cast the prestidigitation cantrip.
After rolling in this way you may use your reaction to abort your spell casting, casting no spells, losing your spell slot, and losing your action.
If you cast two Concentration spells with this action, you may concentrate on both.
Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher
Unlike other wizards, you do not add two new wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook when you gain a level in this class.
When you gain a wizard level, you replace two of your experimental spells with new wizard spells of the same level and write the old ones into your spellbook to be prepared like normal.
Any other time you would learn a spell, such as by copying another spellbook, you likewise replace a same-level experimental spell with the new spell and write the old spell into your spellbook for preparation.
Comments: I like the casting tables idea a lot, but to make it less like Wild Magic and more like careful wizard preparation, I allow the player to choose the spells on the lists, and they go all the way to 9th level. I removed the "waste your action to usually get one random spell" idea and instead you get an 80% chance of casting two random spells, with a puff-of-smoke cantrip the other 20%.
I also changed the way spells are learned. This is a major change. Note that the Inventor now learns new spells a level later than other wizards, as if he had multiclassed. However, he does get access to new spells through random rolling. I think this limitation helps to keep the feature, and the rest of the subclass, balanced.
Inventive Spellcasting
At 2nd level, you learn to invent new varieties of your spells.
When you gain this feature at 2nd level, choose one 2nd-level damage type according to the Damage Type table. When you cast a spell, you can use your bonus action or reaction to change its damage to this type.
When you reach 6th, 10th, and 14th level, you may choose an additional damage type, of that level or lower.
Damage Type
At Level X, Choose one of Y
2nd poison, fire, cold
6th lightning, acid
10th necrotic, thunder
14th psychic, radiant, force
Comments: This is like the Lore Master, changing damage types for free, but limited by level. The damage types are sorted by resistance and immunity frequency. No more changing everything to force damage. And you have to choose what types you want to use in advance: a prepared wizard.
Swap Spell Parts
At 6th level, you learn to transform your spells to produce new effects. When you cast a spell, you can expend one additional spell slot to alter the spell. The effect depends on the spell slot you expend:
Cantrip Master
Also at 6th level you have learned to improve your cantrips.
Prodigious Inspiration
At 10th level, you have attained a greater mastery of spell preparation. As a bonus action, you can replace one spell you have prepared with another spell from your spellbook. You can’t use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.
Comments: Unchanged.
Expert Experimentation
Starting at 14th level, you may add any class's spells to your experimental spell pages. These spells are wizard spell for you.
Comments: Adjusted to get the feel of the limited-wish idea of the Lore Master with the experimental feel of the Inventor, without the weird boost effect of the Inventor.
I really like playing the Lore Master, and I don't think it is overpowered, but I recognize that some people think otherwise. The Inventor is very similar, and so this version is a combination of the two, trying to make the Inventor more invent-y and bring in some of the good things of the Lore Master.
I also added a homebrew feat into the subclass, for cantrips.
I will add some of my own thoughts in with the text.
First, for all spellcasters:
Spellcasting
Instant Concentration
You may cast any Concentration spell without concentration. Its duration is shortened to 1 round and it does not interrupt other concentration.
Concentration spells with a duration of 1 round or a casting time of greater than 1 action are not eligible for this feature.
Arcane Tradition
School of Invention
School of Invention Features
Wizard Level Feature
2nd Arcanomechanical Armor, Experimental Casting, Inventive Spellcasting
6th Cantrip Master, Swap Spell Parts
10th Prodigious Inspiration
14th Expoert Experimentation
Arcanomechanical Armor
Innovation is a dangerous practice, at least as far as members of this school practice it. As a shield against this risk, you have learned to act quickly and use armor to defend yourself from spells gone awry.
Starting at 2nd level, you add your Intelligence score rather than Dexterity to initiative rolls and you gain proficiency with medium armor and shields, and while wielding a shield you can use your reaction to add its AC bonus to saving throws you make against magic.
Comments: I removed the attunement tax and the weird force damage protection and replaced it with medium and and shields, with a Shield Master-like defense against magic. I feel like this is less annoying and more unique, and still gets at the idea of protection without that "I'm-a-Mech" feeling. Likewise, I added the Lore Master's initiative change, which I think fits the theme of acting quickly to avoid damage.
Experimental Casting
As an inventor, you learn spells differently from other wizards.
Spell Pages
When you join the School of Invention at 2nd level, you add to your spellbook a page of experimental spells for each level of spells you can cast, including one for cantrips. On each page, you inscribe summaries of 9 wizard spells of your choice which are not in your spellbook, according to the level of the page. Number each page's spells 1 to 9.
Whenever you gain the ability to learn wizard spells of a higher level, you add another page with a list for that spell level.
Unpredictable Casting
As an action you may attempt to cast spells from one of these pages.
Expend a spell slot matching the page level. Roll 2d10, casting the spells matching the numbers rolled. If you roll a 10, you cast the prestidigitation cantrip.
After rolling in this way you may use your reaction to abort your spell casting, casting no spells, losing your spell slot, and losing your action.
If you cast two Concentration spells with this action, you may concentrate on both.
Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher
Unlike other wizards, you do not add two new wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook when you gain a level in this class.
When you gain a wizard level, you replace two of your experimental spells with new wizard spells of the same level and write the old ones into your spellbook to be prepared like normal.
Any other time you would learn a spell, such as by copying another spellbook, you likewise replace a same-level experimental spell with the new spell and write the old spell into your spellbook for preparation.
Comments: I like the casting tables idea a lot, but to make it less like Wild Magic and more like careful wizard preparation, I allow the player to choose the spells on the lists, and they go all the way to 9th level. I removed the "waste your action to usually get one random spell" idea and instead you get an 80% chance of casting two random spells, with a puff-of-smoke cantrip the other 20%.
I also changed the way spells are learned. This is a major change. Note that the Inventor now learns new spells a level later than other wizards, as if he had multiclassed. However, he does get access to new spells through random rolling. I think this limitation helps to keep the feature, and the rest of the subclass, balanced.
Inventive Spellcasting
At 2nd level, you learn to invent new varieties of your spells.
When you gain this feature at 2nd level, choose one 2nd-level damage type according to the Damage Type table. When you cast a spell, you can use your bonus action or reaction to change its damage to this type.
When you reach 6th, 10th, and 14th level, you may choose an additional damage type, of that level or lower.
Damage Type
At Level X, Choose one of Y
2nd poison, fire, cold
6th lightning, acid
10th necrotic, thunder
14th psychic, radiant, force
Comments: This is like the Lore Master, changing damage types for free, but limited by level. The damage types are sorted by resistance and immunity frequency. No more changing everything to force damage. And you have to choose what types you want to use in advance: a prepared wizard.
Swap Spell Parts
At 6th level, you learn to transform your spells to produce new effects. When you cast a spell, you can expend one additional spell slot to alter the spell. The effect depends on the spell slot you expend:
- Accuracy. Expend a spell slot. Your spell attack bonus and spell save DC increase by the level of the spell slot you expend.
- Range. Expend a spell slot. The range of your spell increases to the spell's range * the level of the spell slot you expend. A touch spell increases to a range of 5 * the spell slot level.
- You may extend a range of Self to Touch by expending spell slots with total level equal to the spell's level. For a Concentration spell, either you or your target can concentration on it, your choice.
- Ability. You change the saving throw ability of your spell.
- A 1st-level slot changes it to Constitution.
- A 2nd-level slot changes it to Charisma, Dexterity, Strength, or Wisdom.
- A 3rd-level slot changes it to Intelligence or allows you to make a spell attack roll instead.
Cantrip Master
Also at 6th level you have learned to improve your cantrips.
- When you cast a scaling cantrip with one damage roll, you may add your proficiency bonus to that damage roll.
- When you cast a non-scaling damage cantrip, the damage increases by 1dX at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels if its benefit is not used during the same action as Extra Attack.
- For any cantrip that does not deal damage, impose conditions, or give (dis)advantage or resistance:
- You may ignore the Concentration requirements of one such active cantrip.
- You may cast it as a bonus action or reaction.
- Starting at 11th level, you may double cast it, also doubling limits on simultaneous effects.
Prodigious Inspiration
At 10th level, you have attained a greater mastery of spell preparation. As a bonus action, you can replace one spell you have prepared with another spell from your spellbook. You can’t use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.
Comments: Unchanged.
Expert Experimentation
Starting at 14th level, you may add any class's spells to your experimental spell pages. These spells are wizard spell for you.
Comments: Adjusted to get the feel of the limited-wish idea of the Lore Master with the experimental feel of the Inventor, without the weird boost effect of the Inventor.
