D&D 5E Looking for a "Nature Wizard" Subclass [+]

[CleverNickName]

One of my players has decided to multiclass his Druid into a Wizard. Normally I try to talk the player out of multiclassing (the rules for MC in 5th Edition leave much to be desired, IMO, and I'd rather tweak their existing class than bolt on a whole new one) but we couldn't come to an acceptable compromise. The player has already taken the level of Wizard, and is now trying to figure out which subclass he is going to pick at his next level-up.

Now obviously, this isn't an optimal choice--but that's okay! This player emphasizes the game lore, story consistency, and his character's fiction over combat ability and optimization. He isn't multiclassing because it gives him a cool new edge on the battlefield; he's multiclassing because of story reasons. In a nutshell: a family member gave him a spellbook, intending for him to sell it as treasure (a quest reward). Well, the druid didn't want to part with a gift from his sister, so he decided he would start studying it. The player understands that literally any subclass will work for this situation, but he would like for it to have a bit of a personal touch. He's a druid, you see, and his sister knows that, and she's both thoughtful and kind--she would have picked a nature-based spellbook for this gift.

Can anyone recommend a subclass for a nature-based Wizard? I'm thinking things like School of Botany, School of Geology, School of Zoology, School of, I dunno, Ecology? Meteorology? Geology? I looked around on Google a bit and nothing really stood out. Most of what I've found so far is "wizard who can do druid stuff," and we've already got the druid stuff.

Or is there a way to show one of the existing subclasses from a new angle? A way of looking at Evoker or Transmuter as a "natural science" instead of just Ye Olde Firebolt Slinger, for example? Because I tried...Bahamut knows I tried...but again, nothing really stood out.

Or do you have any favorite nature-based Wizard spells? It's the spells that make the mage, after all. Are there any favorite must-have spells for a hippie Wizard?

We've got a little bit of time (they have several thousand XP to go before he needs to pick an Arcane Tradition), so we're not in a terrible rush. We're mostly just brainstorming right now.

I marked this as a "+" thread, mostly to help keep this on-topic. I know a lot of people probably think a MC Druid/Wizard isn't a good idea, and that's a valid opinion, but I don't want the conversation to turn into a debate over my player's choices. We're all trying to work with the player's idea here, not against it. Right?

 

[le Redoutable]

if you affiliate nature-based to Priesthood Core Class ( as in 2nd ed ) then you end up with a Magic-User / Priest combo, which hasn't proven localyzation in the six-Core Classes combos
( like a Cleric = Warrior/Priest, an Elementalist = Warrior/M-U, a Psionicist = Warrrior/Rogue or so )
other combos are
Druid
Bard
Illusionnist ( M-U/Thief hemm not Thief but Rogue )

 

[CreamCloud0]

@CleverNickName i don't really have a direct answer but a question that might help others provide an apropriate one: what kind of druid are they and what's their play focus? a moon druid is obviously going to synergise differently than one that focuses on summoning or elemental spells.

 

[DaedalusX51]

I would say the most druidic spell school would probably be transmutation.
Your subclass choice really depends on how many levels they plan on taking in Wizard.
I would probably take either School of Transmutation or Order of the Scribes.
With Transmutation you would be able to turn iron armor into stone or wood for an hour with concentration. Not great but applies to a druid.
With Order of the Scribes, you would lean into the spellbook itself being special with your magical quill and awakened spellbook.

 

[CleverNickName]

if you affiliate nature-based to Priesthood Core Class ( as in 2nd ed ) then you end up with a Magic-User / Priest combo, which hasn't proven localyzation in the six-Core Classes combos
( like a Cleric = Warrior/Priest, an Elementalist = Warrior/M-U, a Psionicist = Warrrior/Rogue or so )
other combos are
Druid
Bard
Illusionnist ( M-U/Thief hemm not Thief but Rogue )

Yep, and I agree. I tried to talk the player into Cleric, Paladin, even Warlock--but the player chose Wizard. Now we're just trying to settle on the subclass and spells, and figure out what a Nature Wizard is going to look like.

@CleverNickName i don't really have a direct answer but a question that might help others provide an apropriate one: what kind of druid are they and what's their play focus? a moon druid is obviously going to synergise differently than one that focuses on summoning or elemental spells.

Sorry, you're right--that would be helpful information!

This character is a Firbolg Druid, Circle of Wildfire. He is the party's healer and buffer, and he would like to branch out a bit into other styles of magic...but the play focus is on the story. I get the feeling that the player isn't looking for something powerful, or looking to fill any kind of gap...he just wants his sister's gift to impact his character in a noticeable way. He will be the only druid who can cast certain spells, reskinning them to look like wilderness magic (his firebolt smells like a campfire, and hold person looks like a tangle of vines, for example), and that will help him stand out in the world. "The druid with the familiar? Oh yeah, I've heard of him..."

So anything that would make his wizard unique would be appreciated.

 

[Laurefindel]

I'm throwing this here if you're willing to homebrew or use homebrew content.

Spoiler: Hedge-Magician

Hedge Magician
You were born out of the corpse of a talented wizard. Like some of your folk, you have inherited part of your birth corpse’s memories and skills – in your case, the ability to prepare and cast wizard spells, a rare gift among your kind. While you could not thoroughly understand the intricacies of recording magic in a spellbook, you managed to make it thus far and adopted a method with which you are much more comfortable.

Gri-Gri Talisman
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, you replace your spellbook with a gri-gri; a shamanistic pouch in which you store your spell foci and material components. From this point on, every wizard spell you cast has an inexpensive material component attached to it (in addition to the expensive component, if applicable). In all other respects, your gri-gri functions both as a wizard spellbook and a spell component pouch. You prepare the list of wizard spells that are available to you as you normally would with a spellbook – in your case, by gathering and sorting your components in your gri-gri. As with a spellbook, you can change your selection of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of wizard spells requires time spent gathering and organizing ingredients for your gri-gri; at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

You can copy wizard spells of level 1 or higher in your gri-gri from a scroll or a spellbook as indicated in the “Your Spellbook” sidebar on page 114 of the Player’s Handbook. Since most ingredients can be gathered in nature, the gold you must spend to copy a new spell in your gri-gri is halved but the time required to do so is doubled as you forage for your spell’s material components.

Twigs and Bones
Starting a 2nd level, you gain the ability to cast augury but only as a ritual, as described in chapter 10.

In addition, you can spend 10 minutes to perform a special ritual and read the fortune of one of your companions. Choose a creature with whom you’ve completed a long rest. If the creature is a player character, ask them to choose between an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw. If the recipient creature isn’t a player character, you choose the type of roll affected by this feature. Then, roll a d20.

• On a result of 1-10, you predict that the creature will fail on the chosen roll.
• On a result of 11-20, you predict that the creature will succeed on the chosen roll.

At any time from this moment on when the recipient creature makes an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw within 30 feet of you, you can choose to use your prediction instead of rolling the dice. If the recipient creature is a player character, they get to choose whether to use your prediction or make the ability check, attack roll, or saving throw normally. Player characters do not need to be within 30 feet of to use your prediction.

When the recipient creature uses your prediction to fail on the chosen roll, a sense of dread is immediately lifted and the next roll of the same type is made with advantage.

You can only divine the fortune of one creature at a time. Before you can use this feature again, you must finish a short or long rest, and the first prediction must come to pass.

Nature’s Secrets
At 6th level, you learn two spells from the druid spell list. The spells you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Wizard table, or a cantrip. These spells are automatically added to your gri-gri at no extra cost. The chosen spells count as Wizard spells for you and use your Intelligence as their related spellcasting ability. You learn two additional druid spells when you reach 12th level, and two more at 18th level.

Ritual Dancer
Staring at 10th level, you gain the ability to cast any spell you know up to 5th level as a ritual. For a spell to be cast as a ritual this way, it must have a duration other than instantaneous and once the ritual is completed, the spell’s duration is doubled. Once you cast a spell as a ritual using this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

Naturalize
Upon reaching 14th level, you can use nature to cure fatigue and flush detrimental enchantments. You gain the ability to cast greater restoration as a ritual without expending a spell slot or using material components. You must have free access to nature in order to complete this ritual.

Once you’ve cast greater restoration with this feature, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.

It's a subclass I've made for a homebrew setting a few years back (so ignore the Vegepygmy stuff). It looked balanced at the time, and was one of the few classes that actually got playtested. The "cast any one spell as a ritual" things sounds very powerful at first but was actually kind of underwhelming in play. There might be a broken combo that we haven't seen but that might be obvious to you, especially considering druid multiclass which wasn't the case in playtest.

 

[Corinnguard]

Well there is a School of Nature on D&D Wiki. https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/School_of_Nature_(5e_Subclass) Unfortunately, it's like what you said, a 'wizard who can do druid stuff'.

There is also the School of Biomancy from D&D Wiki. https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/School_of_Biomancy_(5e_Subclass)

 

[DEFCON 1]

If the character is mainly a druid, one standard trope of druids is the idea that they are a part of the long-term lifespan of the world. With the land being old, druids live alongside that age. So with that being said... one thing that goes along with that age is the idea of names... how things have been identified and named and evolved over the centuries. Ancient ruins have old names, the remnants of extinct societies have old names, names have been gained and lost over the millenia.

So to go along with that... there was a UA playtest for a Wizard subclass that WotC produced several years ago, the School of Onomancy-- the School of Names-- which was all about finding and using the power that names have in terms of magic. That could be an interesting pairing then... druidism is all about honoring and working within the ancient lands, and onomancy could be the more intellectual knowledge of the land and how the names of all the ancient places, creatures, and things have gathered power that the wizard could tap into.

 

[jgsugden]

I think Transmutation does work with reskinning:

1.) The Minor Alchemy changes the natural makeup of something. That doesn't feel like a stretch at all.
2.) The Transmuter's stone seems like taking on natural elements. You could drop the stone and just allow the PC to give a boon with their magic that infuses someone with nature forces - Speed of a Cheetah, Darkvision of an Owl, Endurance of a Rhino, or Body of Fire/Ice/Storm...
3.) Shapechanger is clearly turning into beasts.
4.) Master Transmuter ... again, these all feel very nature and life oriented to me.

However, you can just build one if you want. I'd go with:

Level 2:

• Expanded Spell List: All druid spells are added to your spell list. When copying a spell that is on the druid spell list into your book, it is half cost.
• Enhanced Basic Familiar: You gain Find Familiar in your spellbook and when you can cast it you can choose any beast with a CR 1/2 or below to be your familiar. It can attack.

Level 6:
* Natural Affinity: When you deal fire, cold, lightning or thunder damage with a spell you may add your proficiency modifier to the damage. When you cast a spell that deals fire, cold, thunder or lightning damage, you can protect plants and beasts of your choice from the spell’s effects. A chosen creature is treated as having been immune to the spell.

Level 10: The Natural Order: As an action, you target one plant, animal or elemental creature you can see within 30 feet. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey your commands for the next 24 hours, or until you use this ability again. A beast, plant or elemental whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than your wizard level is immune to this effect.

Level 14: One with Nature: When you roll initiative, you may elect to infuse yourself with the power of nature. If you do, until the ability ends, you can’t cast spells (but may continue to concentrate on spells), and you gain the following benefits:

You gain 50 temporary hit points. If any of these remain when the ability ends, they are lost.
Your strength increases to 22.
Your size increases to huge and your reach increases to 10 feet.
You gain a natural attack. If the attack hits, it deals 3d12 damage (plus your strength modifier as normal).
You have advantage on attack rolls that you make with natural attacks.
You gain the benefits of the barkskin spell.
You have proficiency in Strength and Constitution saving throws.
You can attack twice, instead of once, when you take the Attack action on your turn. You ignore this benefit if you already have a feature, like Extra Attack, that gives you extra attacks.
You gain resistance to fire, cold, lightning and thunder damage.

You can use this feature twice, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

The ability ends when you choose to end it, or when you become incapacitated (including when you are paralyzed, petrified, stunned or unconscious.)

 

[Tonguez]

Divination or Abjuration will be helpful for a druid (Divinations Portent is way powerful), Conjuration works to extend the Animal companions theme.
NB Artificer Alchemist also fits a Druidic theme.

Level 1 Nature Spells: Find Familiar (animals); Fog Cloud, Thunderwave (weather), Longstrider (terrain); Jump, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall (animal aspect); Sleep and Ray of Sickness (life); Burning Hands (elements)