Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #11: Wizard

Welcome to the 11th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of the game’s wizard class.

Level Up Playtest Document #11: Wizard — Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

Welcome to the 11th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of the game’s wizard class.

www.levelup5e.com

What this is
This is a playtest document. We’d love you to try out the rules presented here, and then answer the follow-up survey in a few days.

What this is not
This is NOT the final game. It’s OK if you don’t like elements of these rules; that’s the purpose of a playtest document. Be sure to participate in the follow-up survey in a few days. All data, positive or negative is useful.

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[tetrasodium]

• Equipment lists: The Scholar's package includes "10 sheets of parchment" among other things as does the phb scholar's pack but given the lack of use for that parchment in o5e it's bewildering why. Hopefully in a5e it lets them scribe scrolls or something?
• Having the fluff prestidigitation cantrip known by default on top of the pick three makes a lot of sense. Those fluff cantrips are interesting & add neat flavor, but the opportunity cost is generally too great to justify so a lot of those kinds of cantrips should just pile on relevant classes like that.
• Signature spells: These are the first big change for wizards & it sounds pretty neat but how useful it is will depend on how the spells rework is I expect. Gaining an extra first level spell prep & slot is pretty useful even with the o5e spells since spells like shield & absorb elements are pretty much always prepped. This should really be worded in a way that makes it so your signature spell is explicitly counted as prepared without consuming a prep slot or explicitly not counted as prepared for purposes of casting it with spell slots to avoid arguments at the table if nothing else because as written both interpretations are supported .
• Spell study: Almost all of these are really awesome in ways that feel like two wizards will be a little different but arcane objects is iffy in a "I think there was an oversight" way Add identify to spellbook & cast it once without a spell slot & identify two objects instead of 1 when you cast it with a spell slot... seems neat at first glance, but wizards can ritually cast any spell in their spellbook without using a spell slot & identify is a ritual spell. Something is off about this trap option unless there is more to discover with identify in the spells themselves.
• Wizard's flair. Sorcerer had a bunch of +damage type things linked to damage types & it fit them well. I'm glad to see wizards going in a different but still cool direction with a bunch of short lived single target save or suck type effects that are choose a creature & the ability to swap them as needed on a long rest. I'm looking forward to seeing the new spells even more now
• Presto prestidigitation is really impressive with a lot of cool minor "that feels like a wizard thing" in it but I've gotta wonder the utility of being able to see through a pebble for 1 hour as long as it's within ten feet of you. That distance might as well say that you can see through doors with a big enough gap at the bottom as 10 feet is not really even enough to see down a well pit or similar. The other knack options feel closer to the druid knacks than sorcerer or any other class's knacks so maybe the spell rework makes up for it?

 

[Scribe]

Can I just say, love the art.

 

[stadi]

Might have been interested if not for the vancian magic and the spellbook (but still different from a sorcerer)

 

[tetrasodium]

Might have been interested if not for the vancian magic and the spellbook (but still different from a sorcerer)

That's not vancian, it's 5e default. Wizards especially actually lose a lot by going to it from vancian prep each slot where they were able to prep just one of that niche spell just in case without a very high opportunity cost so going back to vancian would be a big bump for them. Even better avoiding the arguments over if one ruins the game or not by having a pick your style between default o5e style & vancian prep each slot with a kkarger pool of slors like adept/berzerkers get a choice on armor

 

[Faolyn]

Of course you drop this when I have to write up some stuff for my game tonight that I've been putting off for two weeks!

(Seriously, though, I shall read this with great interest!)

• Equipment lists: The Scholar's package includes "10 sheets of parchment" among other things as does the phb scholar's pack but given the lack of use for that parchment in o5e it's bewildering why. Hopefully in a5e it lets them scribe scrolls or something?

The parchment is mostly a fluff thing, I think. If you have the kind of character who likes to take notes or leave notes behind for others to find--that's what the parchment is for. Like, I was in a game where the rogue (I think that was his class) was actually a sage who wrote detailed notes on the monsters we came across and did autopsies on them (or would it be necropsies, if they're not humanoid?). I don't think the parchment is considered high quality enough for real scroll writing.

 

[tetrasodium]

Of course you drop this when I have to write up some stuff for my game tonight that I've been putting off for two weeks!

(Seriously, though, I shall read this with great interest!)


The parchment is mostly a fluff thing, I think. If you have the kind of character who likes to take notes or leave notes behind for others to find--that's what the parchment is for. Like, I was in a game where the rogue (I think that was his class) was actually a sage who wrote detailed notes on the monsters we came across and did autopsies on them (or would it be necropsies, if they're not humanoid?). I don't think the parchment is considered high quality enough for real scroll writing.

Yea I agree that it's mostly fluff but ten sheets is an absurdly limited amount of fluff where the limitation is probably going to almost immediately stop that kind of player's goals. I called it out more because of how o5e drops the ball with scroll scribing.

 

[stadi]

View attachment 133720
That's not vancian, it's 5e default. Wizards especially actually lose a lot by going to it from vancian prep each slot where they were able to prep just one of that niche spell just in case without a very high opportunity cost so going back to vancian would be a big bump for them. Even better avoiding the arguments over if one ruins the game or not by having a pick your style between default o5e style & vancian prep each slot with a kkarger pool of slors like adept/berzerkers get a choice on armor

By vancian I meant the whole spell slot thing. Having spell slots and needing access to your spellbook is what I dislike in the D&D wizard.

 

[Waller]

By vancian I meant the whole spell slot thing. Having spell slots and needing access to your spellbook is what I dislike in the D&D wizard.

This is an advanced version of the D&D wizard. It was never going to be a brand new class.

 

[Faolyn]

Yea I agree that it's mostly fluff but ten sheets is an absurdly limited amount of fluff where the limitation is probably going to almost immediately stop that kind of player's goals. I called it out more because of how o5e drops the ball with scroll scribing.

Well, paper was expensive back then. Also, it's unlikely that these are letter/A4 size sheets. You can easily that these sheets are newsprint or quatro-sized, making each sheet the equivalent of eight sheets of regular paper. Plus, you can always buy more parchment. Or make your own, with the leatherworker's tools.