D&D 5E Companion thread to 5E Survivor - Subclasses (Part XIV: Wizard)

[humble minion]

This is one I have few strong feelings about one way or the other, to be honest, so I won't be voting and your favourites are safe from me. I'd cheerfully play an abjurer, illusionist or diviner, even though the abjurer is weeping in the corner over the lack of 2nd level abjuration spells. The necromancer is a disappointment but pet subclasses always are, transmutation is the 'everything left over goes here' option as usual, and the non-PHB subclasses all just seem to be a randomly selected grab-bag of special rules desperately in search of an interesting unifying theme. Just a bit underwhelming all round.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

But controllers, sadly, did not have a well-defined feature or principle around which they were built.

Other than Seekers being kinda weak because they are mostly a damage based class, controllers were incredible fun from the PHB. The first 4e wizard I saw in play was a blast, and it was a favorite at our table for years.

The Champion Fighter and, to a lesser extent, the Evocation Wizard are not well-made. They do a disservice to people wanting a straightforward, no-frills, low-engagement experience.

The Champion, I will grant, is a bit janky. The Evocation Wizard is great. Exactly what I want from a simple wizard.

 

[CleverNickName]

My biggest gripe with the PHB wizard subclasses was their names. They should have called them Illusionist and Necromancer and such, instead of keeping the school of magic names.

My second, and even more minor gripe, is that they should have given us a more generalist option.

But really, that's all I can say about the PHB wizard subclasses. They don't bother me as much as they bother some other folks.

 

[Mind of tempest]

My biggest gripe with the PHB wizard subclasses was their names. They should have called them Illusionist and Necromancer and such, instead of keeping the school of magic names.

My second, and even more minor gripe, is that they should have given us a more generalist option.

But really, that's all I can say about the PHB wizard subclasses. They don't bother me as much as they bother some other folks.

the problem is how to make a generalist who is neither better nor worse than the others and how to give it favour beyond being a wizard, not impossible but it clearly is not easy.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Illusion: a fun PHB subclass. Sure it may rely on GM fiat, but still fun. I would not be upset if it won.

I can't consider anything so dependent on GM fiat to be anywhere above D tier in 5e specifically because you can just be rendered completely ineffectual.

 

[DND_Reborn]

My second, and even more minor gripe, is that they should have given us a more generalist option.

I don't consider this minor at all for myself, it is my BIGGEST complaint about subclasses in general in 5E, but Wizard is especially lacking.

Which is why when War Magic came out, I always used it. It generally helps in combat, and otherwise your PC is a "generalist" and not focused on any school of magic.

 

[Undrave]

I don't consider this minor at all for myself, it is my BIGGEST complaint about subclasses in general in 5E, but Wizard is especially lacking.

Which is why when War Magic came out, I always used it. It generally helps in combat, and otherwise your PC is a "generalist" and not focused on any school of magic.

I think the big problem is that they used the School of Magic as a theme for the subclass, but the schools of magic aren’t REALLY school, are they? Is there really a ‘School of Abjuration’ as a physical building? It’s just some lame classification system that falls apart if you spend too much time thinking about it. This theming not only sucks, it shot out any interesting subclass right now. What even is ‘War Magic’?! It would have been better to base them on the Wizard’s relationship with Magic. Here’s what I would have done for the PHB:

The Academic: The Academic sees Magic as a mystery to study. They specialize in 1 (or more at later level!) school in particular, getting the cheaper copying ability, but they can learn freely from other School. A basic subclass that gets more spells, more rituals and can add more for cheaper. In this scenario, the base class learns less spells during level up, but the Subclass picks up the slack in providing extra spells. The Academic gets a bonus spell of their specialty whenever their base class gives them a new spell.

The War Mage: The War Mage sees Magic as a weapon to wield in battle. Inspired by the 4e Wizard, they develop ‘fighting styles’ that lets them wield the different implements in different ways to gain advantages. They can make effects last longer with orbs, they can make attack rolls more accurate with wands, and they can make use of close-range magic in battle by using their Staff as a defensive weapon. They learn less spells than the Academic but they get class features to set them apart. They get Light Armor proficiency to make them more battle ready and usually specialize in more direct offense.

The Lore Hunter: The Lore Hunter see Magic as a treasure to be uncovered. Somewhere between an Indiana Jones type adventurer and a Gentleman thief, this Wizard has the skills to make it through an old temple full of traps, or maybe to sneak into an Aristocrat’s library. Whereas the Arcane Trickster Is a rogue with a dash of Wizard, the Lore Hunter is a Wizard with a dash of Rogue, getting more skills instead of bonus spells. While they don’t get a rebate to scribing cost, they are much faster than other, allowing them to copy spells and possibly return the stolen book in a single night if they want.

The Diviner can stay but be renamed The Oracle or The Seer or something.

 

[Aldarc]

I think the big problem is that they used the School of Magic as a theme for the subclass, but the schools of magic aren’t REALLY school, are they? Is there really a ‘School of Abjuration’ as a physical building? It’s just some lame classification system that falls apart if you spend too much time thinking about it. This theming not only sucks, it shot out any interesting subclass right now. What even is ‘War Magic’?! It would have been better to base them on the Wizard’s relationship with Magic. Here’s what I would have done for the PHB:

IMO, the problem is that the Schools don't have enough story or hooks to be wizard subclasses. They work for fields of magic. Fine. "Tradition!" and all that. But the Tradition/Schools as Subclass really feels a bit too much like eight flavors of Champion.

 

[Undrave]

IMO, the problem is that the Schools don't have enough story or hooks to be wizard subclasses. They work for fields of magic. Fine. "Tradition!" and all that. But the Tradition/Schools as Subclass really feels a bit too much like eight flavors of Champion.

The schools are pretty much nonsense anyway and it's never made clear what they even are...

Is it a classification based on what the spell DOES or what it's USED FOR? Shield is an Abjuration spell but it uses energy to block attacks so shouldn't be an evocation since it evokes energy? If it's a classification then how widespread and recognized is it? Shouldn't it be possible for the classification of the spell to overlap? why isn't Healing it's own school then?

Is it an actual tradition in the world? What's the purpose of only being a Transmuter? And then what about OTHER traditions?

Is it an actual inherent aspect of magic? Like, if you use magical senses, Shield smells like an Abjuration spell but not like an Evocation spell so it's inherently Abjuration? Are their elemental planes of those eight schools?

In the end it feels really technical or academic, and not really exciting. Schools feel more like a meta conceit and that's a terrible way to build subclasses.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The schools are pretty much nonsense anyway and it's never made clear what they even are...

Is it a classification based on what the spell DOES or what it's USED FOR? Shield is an Abjuration spell but it uses energy to block attacks so shouldn't be an evocation since it evokes energy? If it's a classification then how widespread and recognized is it? Shouldn't it be possible for the classification of the spell to overlap? why isn't Healing it's own school then?

Is it an actual tradition in the world? What's the purpose of only being a Transmuter? And then what about OTHER traditions?

Is it an actual inherent aspect of magic? Like, if you use magical senses, Shield smells like an Abjuration spell but not like an Evocation spell so it's inherently Abjuration? Are their elemental planes of those eight schools?

In the end it feels really technical or academic, and not really exciting. Schools feel more like a meta conceit and that's a terrible way to build subclasses.

I assumed they were schools of thought in the study of magic like different approaches in sociology.

I assume a generalist wizard would be like the old greek academy you had one subject and everything branched out from there.