D&D 5E Spells and Magic 5E New Wizard Archetypes

[Zardnaar]

Back in the 2E days the players option books were released and I quite liked them under limited circumstances. I quite like the new specialist wizards.

Generally it was fairly typical AD&D specialist, you get some opposed schools (something I miss), a bonus to saves vs those spells and a penalty on the opponents saves generally -1 but sometimes -2 or 3.

You had the philosophy specialist the wizard in the PHB that were in the PHB for 2E and 3E. They are the illusionist, necromancer etc.

Then they added the effect specialists. They were the
Elementalists (air, earth, fire, water)
Dimensionist
Force Mage
Mentalist
Shadowmage

And the Thaumaturgical wizards.

Alchemist
Artificer
Geometer
Song Mage
Wild Mage

Basically 13 odd wizards counting each element as one and updating them from the Tome of Magic for a few. Anyway how many of these wizard sound interesting for 5E? I will briefly look at them.

Elementalists (air, earth, fire, water)
Theses ones are fairly easy. 5E has the elementalists as Sorcerers. Alot of the spells from 2E enabling them have been done in PotA and Xanathars. You could probably do them as a wizard, but I do not see a drastic need for them anytime soon and they could stay exclusive to sorcerers IDK. I am fine either way.

Dimensionalist
This was an odd one even in 2E and its spells were things like dimension door, gate etc IIRC. Not a great idea perhaps and you might have to add the 2E spells into 5E to cover it and even then I am struggling to see the point.

Force Mage
Back in the day I wanted to play one of these and its one of the few I used as an NPC. Its basically a sub class invoker using forcespells like magic missile and the various bigby spells. Its probably one f the stronger concepts for a wizard using a subtype of damage dealing spels that are not elemental based and they managed to build a level 1-9 spell list for it adding in some new spells.


Mentalist
Basically a sub type of an enchanter. Even in 2E this class was really stretching it IMHO as even in my teens I was wondeinrg why you would need it over just a normal enchanter. Weak concept IMHO. Generally this class was about spells like dominate and mind reading type spells.

Shadowmage

Last seen perhaps in 3E with the Shadow Adept in Magic of Faerun and updated in 3.5. I kind of liked this idea back in the day and the 3E shadow weave in FR.

Alchemist
Basically a wizard that can brew magic potions earlier than other wizards. In modern terms the concept seems to demand a new class perhaps due to Pathfinder I suspect. In 3E terms you more or less get the brew potion feat for free. Still could be done as a new class or archetype I suppose its probably interesting enough to stand on its own either way.

Artificer
This was originally a magic item creating focused class for AD&D where it was a bit difficult to make them. Last seen as a 5E UA playtest people did not seem to like the class as they expect an Eberron artificer. Mechanically its fine as a wizard archetype but see previous comments about changing expectations.

Geometer
Fancy word for a rune mage using the various glyph type spells and spells that required drawing symbols on stuff and magic mouth. Not exactly an exciting prospect even back then. Has anyone on ENworld played this back in the day or seen it get played ever?

Song Mage
Another interesting one that has a bit of bard in it. Probably not needed in 5E at all due to the lore bard basically obsoleting the class and the concept was not the strongest one in the 1st place. Was similar to enchanter.

Wild Mage
Is now a Sorcerer and unlike the elemental wizards probably does not need or require a sorcerer and a wizard option for it. Still getting Nahals Reckless Dweomer (NRD)back into the game could be fun and I had a PC drop an anvil on his head circa 2013 playing this class. NRD basically triggers a wild surge but is kind of like a wish spell as well (you can request a spell and hope for the spell functions normally result).

So what ones do you like the best? Personally I like shadow and force mage as concepts, Geometer is at the bottom of the list.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

I mean I think each one is cool in its own way, but I think the current 5e mechanical options could easily support each one by reflavoring the look of the spells/abilities and making a themed spell list.

 

[steeldragons]

I think it would behoove the game to split things up by them a bit more...and help to substantiate the Sorcerer at the same time as exapnd the Wizard.

To my mind, anyone who is a "single element/theme" of magic is best served as a Sorcerer. And some of the above suggestions, 2e notwithstanding, are simply too weak on which to base even a subclass...the "Dimensionalist"? "A subset of Enchanter"? I mean, come on. If you're [the plural "you"] going to develop a subclass, it needs to have a shtick on which to hang the class. "I only use teleportal spells" is kind of silly. Sure, it'd be cool for anyone to play Blink or Majik or Nightcrawler, but this isn't a Supers game.

"Song Mage" seems utterly redundant and is clearly best composed as a Bard subclass, if used at all.

So, "Elementalist" could be unfolded to include most, if not all, energy types, and be Sorcerers:
air/earth/fire/water
shadow (Shadowcaster)
force (which I question the strength of concept to even be a subclass seems a bit too niche to bother)
psychic (which could be the Mentalistor just plain Psychic sorcerer vs.a "Mystic")
radiance...are we calling that the Favored Soul sorcerer still? Some light/shiny flipside to the shadowweavers.

The Wizard subclasses, as they have always been, though have inexplicably been termed "traditions" instead of "schools" in this edition, should be "traditions/schools." That is, learning/learned/instructed ways of making magic that the wizard must research and expand their knowledge in. Where the shadow sorcerer can just "make" magic with/using shadows and darkness, the Runecaster has a variety of effects (even with leanings toward one specialty or the other) but has to study and learn this "tradition" for using magic.

So, for Wizard subclasses, you get people who are good at making magic happen through means or foci other than spells/incantations.
Runecaster: learning to work magic/generate spell effects through runes, glyphs, and carvings.
Swordmage (a.k.a. non-dancing non-elf non-FR Bladesinger, which we already have): learning to work magic through their sword/weapon.
Hedge Mage[simple Green Witch/Wise Man/Woman]: a wizard that foregoes some of the most flashy arcane power to pick up/intermingle some druid magic along the way, magic with and through plants/vegetation, interacting with fae, and the natural world.

Or you get people delving into different "Schools," gaining powers and spell progression as normal but in specialized topics (not singular energy/damage types like the sorcerers).
Chronomancer: a "School" of time-related/-warping magic. Would require large numbers of new spells and/or reskinning existing ones.

Diabolist/Demonologist: a wizard specialized in the conjuring, deal binding(coercing), and banishing of lower planar entities, very "diagrams/talismans" heavy.

Alienist: seemed to be popular a while back. Bring some of the GOOy goodness into the Wizarding realm. Wizards seeking out the incomprehensible powers of the myriad infinities of the "Far Realms" [NOTE: I despise WotC's flavor/injection of "the Far Realms" into their D&D worlds and defaulting it into class and cosmological structures. BUT since it's in there, it should do more than just fuel a single Warlock archetype.]

How 'bout an "Astral-ogist[?]/Star Mage": a wizard specialized in stargazing, space/planar travel (so decent teleporting/movement spells), astral projection/spirit/mindscape and dream walking kind of powers. That kind of thing.

Artificier and Alchemist become the outliers...because I tend to think of them as more Rogue [classes that are defined by their skills...and these skills just happen to result in magical effects] subclasses than Wizard [classes defined by their magic-use/casting/list/progession]. I could see them as Wizard subclasses, specifically because of that "knowledge/learned" base but I think it requires too much revamping at the BASE class level.

Whereas adding the magical effects/items into a Rogue subclass (where you're already getting the light armors, the Int & Dex saves, the skills to boost your Lores and tool -Alchemist's/Artificer's Kits- useage, etc...) seems to be a much easier lift, less clumsy/extensive route to go.

 

[steeldragons]

Oh, I forgot (and though I don't approve or think it should/needs to be included), but a "Blood Mage" could fall into that first category of Wizard subclasses (magic-users through some external action/element).

I, personally, don't think it an archetype that needs be presented or supported for fear of attempts or reinforcement of RL imitation. But the kind of "primal" magic worker who uses/creates/harnesses magic through blood-letting (their own or others), has some mythological legs and at least minimal past representation in the game at some point (2e? 3?).

 

[AmerginLiath]

Shadow Magic made an appearance as the Shadow Sorcerer and Rune Magic as the odd Rune Master PrC in UAs. One could look at those to see how WotC was seeing those concepts in 5e (I've actually been toying with how to convert that failed PrC into a feat as a test on how to turn other older 3.5 PrCs into 5e feats). Geometer meanwhile might have had its lunch money taken by the Ranger's Horizon Walker...

 

[Tony Vargas]

I've always like the idea of elemental-specialist magic-user, and used to implement it as a player by spell choice and spell research.

It was pretty marginal, the 3e sorcerer was much better for that from the player side.

As a DM, I added a number of alternate speciality schools in early 2e.

5e traditions aren't all that compelling, and there's plenty, I suspect the Sorcerer would be more fertile ground. And Artifice & Alchemy could probably go into their own class...

 

[Leatherhead]

IF the Lore Wizard wasn't mechanically broken, I would say that one. It has everything that you want a Wizard to have:

It was the generalist wizard, emphasized wizards changing spells, focused on the spellbook, and had a mechanics that allowed for a character to be smarter than the person playing it (by having the character doing a check to find a weakness, then letting the player do something to target said weakness).

 

[Tony Vargas]

a "Blood Mage"
..., has some mythological legs and at least minimal past representation in the game at some point (2e? 3?).

2e Kit, I think. 3e PrC, 4e Paragon Path.

 

[cbwjm]

I have had a look at updating some of these. I looked at song mage but the spell list just wasn't quite there to make a decent school, though I guess in 5e that isn't too big of a problem.

While some of them may have seemed redundant, spells & magic had expanded on the bonus abilities that they had given specialist wizards so that the mentalist would have had different abilities to the enchanter. I really liked that book, it had some neat ideas and it was fun creating some of the old kits like the martial wizard using the point buy options.

 

[Zardnaar]

I have had a look at updating some of these. I looked at song mage but the spell list just wasn't quite there to make a decent school, though I guess in 5e that isn't too big of a problem.

While some of them may have seemed redundant, spells & magic had expanded on the bonus abilities that they had given specialist wizards so that the mentalist would have had different abilities to the enchanter. I really liked that book, it had some neat ideas and it was fun creating some of the old kits like the martial wizard using the point buy options.

I liked it as well, the PO books get a rough treatment online but they had some gold in them.

Hmmn just reread the dimensionalist its a bit more viable that I thought.