D&D 5E Bard/Wizard Hybrid Class: The White Wizard

[TaranTheWanderer]

In another thread, I brought up the 'White Wizard' archetype and I kind of lamented how 5e wizards don't really cover this. To me, a White Wizard would have access to minor healing and curing diseases etc...

This is the purview of the cleric, druid and bard. Then I wondered about mixing class abilities:

Essentially, using the bard spell list, add some Wizardy feature: spellbook and the ability to acquire spells and inscribe them. Replace the wizard special ability (like portent) with bardic inspiration. I'm wondering what other abilities you could take away from one class and add to the other class to get a hybrid?

For this thought experiment, Lore Bard makes the most sense as an archetype.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Thinking more:

• Spellcasting based on Int
• Wizard Saves and Proficiencies
• d6 hp
• skills: any 3 (as per bard)
• Tools: Herbalism Kit

Expertise (as per bard) but restricted to: Nature, Arcana, Religion, Insight, Medicine, other?

Probably drop Jack of All Trades? but replace it with what? Wizards don't get any other abilities except spells.
Maybe have a thematically appropriate selection of Wizard spells added to the Bard list?


Magical Secrets, Countercharm and Song of Rest all seem thematically appropriate (except the 'song' is reskinned as herbalism or something)

 

[ph0rk]

This is a neat idea. I’d suggest prepared spells like the wizard, and perhaps even basing it off the wizard class (but with the bard list, plus a few extra - a few things from the cleric list, too, like flame strike or sources of radiant damage, e.g. sacred flame), but that’s mostly because I think the wizard base class is better built around “lots of spells”. Maybe signature spell and healing word would be too much?

Perhaps called a “Sage” or something like that.

 

[jgsugden]

The Divine Soul sorcerer gives you a bit of the feel you desire, but is not a wizard.

If I were seeking to add this to the game, I'd do it via a 'School of Divinity' wizard that gets to learn spells on the Cleric Spell list, much as the Divine Soul Sorcerer does. However, I don't find that this is a gap that that needs to be filled, or that players have asked to fill.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Thinking more:

• Spellcasting based on Int
• Wizard Saves and Proficiencies
• d8 hp
• skills: any 3 (as per bard)
• Tools: Herbalism Kit

Expertise (as per bard) but restricted to: Nature, Arcana, Religion, Insight, Medicine, other?

Probably drop Jack of All Trades? but replace it with what? Wizards don't get any other abilities except spells.
Maybe have a thematically appropriate selection of Wizard spells added to the Bard list?


Magical Secrets, Countercharm and Song of Rest all seem thematically appropriate (except the 'song' is reskinned as herbalism or something)

1st this is a cool start, but I would go a bit wierder.
Thinking more:

• Spellcasting based on Int
• Wizard Saves and Proficiencies
• d6 hp
• skills: any 3 (as per bard)
• Tools: Herbalism Kit

give you the spellbook of the wizard BUT draw from the cleric list (so 2 per level added to the book) but I would give them the life domain as always known/prepped. I would then keep the spell prep and DC from wizard.

I would keep the arcana recharge 1/2 level.

I would also keep inspiration (Bonus action give a d6 but equal to your prof times per day and not ever upgrade....but later we are doing something with this)

at level 3 Expertise (as per bard) but restricted to: Nature, Arcana, Religion,or Medicine

at 5th level 10th level and 15th level I would keep bardic secrets... BUT the secret spells are ALWAYS count as preped.

at 6th level I would replace countercharm with a new use of inspiration... you can spend a bonus action and a die to heal a target 1d8 )instead of the normal d6 everything else does) and they can spend a HD. If they do spend the HD then in addition they gain temp hp equal to the amount you heal them

now this is where people are going to get weird...

I would not give them spells over 5th level... they do full wizard/fullcaster up to 5th level BUT starting at levels 11,13,15,17,and19 I would take a page from warlock... you choose 1 spell of the level to know and you can cast it 1/day

BUT at 18 and 20 I would keep spell mastery and signature spell from wizard

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

at 6th level I would replace countercharm with a new use of inspiration... you can spend a bonus action and a die to heal a target 1d8 )instead of the normal d6 everything else does) and they can spend a HD. If they do spend the HD then in addition they gain temp hp equal to the amount you heal them

I really like countercharm and it fits the 'defender/healer' vibe. But, after reading it, maybe it doesn't do what I think it does. If people are charmed or frightened, they get a new save at advantage as well, anyone who is subject to a charm or frightened effect can make their save at advantage. Or does it just protect people for a single round in the event that a charm or frightened effect occurs in that specific round?

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

now this is where people are going to get weird...

I would not give them spells over 5th level... they do full wizard/fullcaster up to 5th level BUT starting at levels 11,13,15,17,and19 I would take a page from warlock... you choose 1 spell of the level to know and you can cast it 1/day

Yeah, for me, I like this to be a Wizard. A full caster. Especially since both classes I'm pulling from are full casting classes.

It is a neat idea but not exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

The Divine Soul sorcerer gives you a bit of the feel you desire, but is not a wizard.

If I were seeking to add this to the game, I'd do it via a 'School of Divinity' wizard that gets to learn spells on the Cleric Spell list, much as the Divine Soul Sorcerer does. However, I don't find that this is a gap that that needs to be filled, or that players have asked to fill.

Wouldn't this be too powerful? To give a Wizard access to Wizard spells AND Cleric spells? The wizard spell list is already very good. The sorcerer list is fairly limited in comparison to the Wizard list so the addition of Cleric spells seems less powerful.

 

[Blue Orange]

Adventurer Conqueror King's Priestess was basically a hyper-cleric that had mage-level fighting abilities but extra clerical spells.

I've also seen a Medic class in early issues of Dragon that was the same idea--poor combat ability but better healing than a Cleric (they got Raise Dead at level 5 if I remember right).

You could reskin the cleric as a magic-user that has healing spells discovered through magic and works as a secular cleric. You'd have to figure out a way to keep magic-users from researching their spells though, and they might not get along with clerics resentful of the impious encroaching on their territory (which might make for interesting story ideas though...)

 

[cbwjm]

I've had a couple attempts at making a white mage, one was basically a wizard with cleric spells and subclasses. No weapons or armour from the domains so it didn't work that well with some of them, like war.

Another was the Magic-User. Not a white mage as much as a single magic using class that had subclasses that focused it. Becoming a white mage made you better with healing, protection, and radiant damage spells. The small trade off being that you couldn't cast any spells that dealt direct necrotic damage. The class had a few other subclasses like black mage, druid, elementalist, illusionist, and wizard that also gained bonuses to certain areas and may lose access to some spell effects.