D&D General why do we not have an arcane half caster?

[Tales and Chronicles]

Elemental based swordmage is one I'd really like to see. Would work great thematically with genasi.

I'd go with magic school-based archetypes myself. You know, like if each school of magic had a special type of blade-casting that came alongside the more academical spellcasting. If the schools of magic exist as real entities in your setting, they could even be the armed-arm of such academies or spellcaster guilds.

• Ghostblade: illusion-weaving gish
• Knight-Abjurator: abjuration, heavy armor, walking anti-magic zone
• Ardent: enchantment, buffer, warlord-y, inspired from the glam-bard and the order cleric
• Bone Knight: necromancy, undead graft, inspired from Diablo 2 necromancer
• Navigator: conjuration, movement-based abilities
• Oracle Archer: divination, shoot beyond the limit of sight
• Alchemical Juggernaut: transmutation, heavy armor, potion junkie, self-buffer extraordinaire.
• Spellrager: evocation, elemental burst, heavy damage spikes.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

so shed loads of elemental damage spells for at least one subclass?

A good example would be searing smite for a fire themed class, thunderous smite / a shocked themed version for air, cold/acid type versions for water, etc.

It's less about casting fireball, and more about setting your sword on fire.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

I'd go with magic school-based archetypes myself. You know, like if each school of magic had a special type of blade-casting that came alongside the more academical spellcasting. If the schools of magic exist as real entities in your setting, they could even be the armed-arm of such academies or spellcaster guilds.

• Ghostblade: illusion-weaving gish
• Knight-Abjurator: abjuration, heavy armor, walking anti-magic zone
• Ardent: enchantment, buffer, warlord-y, inspired from the glam-bard and the order cleric
• Bone Knight: necromancy, undead graft, inspired from Diablo 2 necromancer
• Navigator: conjuration, movement-based abilities
• Oracle Archer: divination, shoot beyond the limit of sight
• Alchemical Juggernaut: transmutation, heavy armor, potion junkie, self-buffer extraordinaire.
• Spellrager: evocation, elemental burst, heavy damage spikes.

Though that would cause people to ask why they aren't just wizard fighters, if it's just the wizard schools but not. The ideas for their skill focus and abilities is nice, but thematically it should be moved as far from wizard schools as it can be.

I think u/fanatic66 from reddit has very good ideas for subclasses, though some have been eaten by other classes.

 

[TwoSix]

Though that would cause people to ask why they aren't just wizard fighters, if it's just the wizard schools but not. The ideas for their skill focus and abilities is nice, but thematically it should be moved as far from wizard schools as it can be.

I think u/fanatic66 from reddit has very good ideas for subclasses, though some have been eaten by other classes.

The guy who made the Swordmage class on r/unearthedarcana? Yea, that's some really solid homebrew.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Though that would cause people to ask why they aren't just wizard fighters, if it's just the wizard schools but not. The ideas for their skill focus and abilities is nice, but thematically it should be moved as far from wizard schools as it can be.

I think u/fanatic66 from reddit has very good ideas for subclasses, though some have been eaten by other classes.

you could always merge two together to mix&max and make otherwise very different basic stereotypes.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The Binder and the Witcher are two ideas that have been bandied about, both which deal with going after monsters. They both are ostensibly "monster hunters". Which to be honest is probably the best thematic idea for an arcane warrior... because they need to be really strong and healthy and combat savvy to deal with the attacks from these creatures... while also have the magical ability to find, charm, bind, and/or frighten them. Locate creature... Hold monster... Charm monster... Protection from evil... all these types of "arcane" magics would lend themselves to this archetype.

But there's only one problem. WotC keeps giving this archetype to the Ranger.

My thought on that is that the Ranger hunts. The binder seals.

But, I'm just lobbing an idea at the wall. I also like the idea of the "Mage Killer" or "MAgical Guard" I always did like the Swordmage's Aegis ability, it felt very unique and cool. Give it a better name and it could work

 

[Chaosmancer]

A protector of reality? They are the guardians of the portals to other worlds?

A bulwark against magic? They are the breakers of spellcasters gone amok?

I think these two have the most legs. And the Protector of Reality is the bigger one. You have a paladin for that in the Oath of Watchers, and a Ranger with the Horizon Walker, but since DnD is a multi-verse, planar defenders make a lot of sense.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I think there is a clear archetype for a warrior mage but it is really hard to do in D&D because of the team-based design.

That archetype is the "fantasy protagonist". From countless video games (with Dragon Warrior as one of the foundational examples), to many popular book series like the Belgariad and the Wheel of Time, often the main character is a sword wielding warrior and a mage.

Either the point is that it's a video game and you need to be able to experience all the stuff (so both cast spells and use cool magic swords), and/or it's a story where you are the special unique hero. In pretty much all of these situations, rather than being a half-caster, this character is a full-on full caster, well on their way to archmagedom or some sort of apotheosis who also can effectively fight.

It's pretty obvious why none of those concepts are a good fit for D&D. Yet, we've watched the movies, read the books, played the games, and now we want to play our D&D character!

It's a compelling concept, but it isn't a half-caster or someone who is an equal member of an adventuring party.

For myself, it was the old elf fighter/mage that I wanted the most, and even a half-caster wasn't enough magic on the higher end (you should get plane shift darn it!) so I just made a new full-caster Warrior Mage class that uses the wizard spell list but instead of getting the full wizard package like Bladesinger gets extra fightery stuff.

 

[steeldragons]

Brainstorming here, so apologies for being somewhat stream of consciousness.

If arcane is traditionally held to be in opposition to divine, than it makes sense that the arcane half-caster would be in opposition to the paladin, which is an extremely strong trope with tons of identification as the "divine warrior".

So aesthetically, the paladin is very much tied to sword and board, heavy armor, mounted knight visualizations. Themes of faith, endurance, and protection, lots of radiant light imagery. So let's reverse it, but stay on a warrior thematic without going full dark knight.

No shield, no armor. Dueling weapon or big weapon. Protected by skill and magical potency, not armor. Evades, parries, and counters, doesn't endure big hits. (Trope precedent: Avenger, bladesinger. Contrast with spellsword, abjurant champion, possibly heavy armor/Str as subclass theme.)

Weapon possibly imbued or empowered by arcane energy (Precedent: Black blade magus, swordmage, hexblade warlock). Magic focused on mobility, aggression, spell strikes with weapons. Haste a must (Precedent: 3.5 swiftblade). Paladin heals and protects, AHC is more offensive, but still has some support. Focus on elemental, force, dimensional spells (Precedent: swordmage).

Paladin leans lawful good (as a trope), AHC leans towards chaotic. Liberator and seeker, as opposed to protector and champion. Like paladin, warrior first, caster second. Thematic of warrior who has some innate magic because of their natural talent, not a mage who has bent their magic towards fighting. Bladesinger, sword bard, hexblade already have "caster who picked up fighting tricks" trope covered.

Possible subclasses: Templar (anti-magic/magebreaker), Enhanced (imbued with magic, possibly against their will), Swiftblade (focused on mobility and teleportation).

Soooo... this guy.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I think there is a clear archetype for a warrior mage but it is really hard to do in D&D because of the team-based design.

That archetype is the "fantasy protagonist". From countless video games (with Dragon Warrior as one of the foundational examples), to many popular book series like the Belgariad and the Wheel of Time, often the main character is a sword wielding warrior and a mage.

Either the point is that it's a video game and you need to be able to experience all the stuff (so both cast spells and use cool magic swords), and/or it's a story where you are the special unique hero. In pretty much all of these situations, rather than being a half-caster, this character is a full-on full caster, well on their way to archmagedom or some sort of apotheosis who also can effectively fight.

It's pretty obvious why none of those concepts are a good fit for D&D. Yet, we've watched the movies, read the books, played the games, and now we want to play our D&D character!

It's a compelling concept, but it isn't a half-caster or someone who is an equal member of an adventuring party.

For myself, it was the old elf fighter/mage that I wanted the most, and even a half-caster wasn't enough magic on the higher end (you should get plane shift darn it!) so I just made a new full-caster Warrior Mage class that uses the wizard spell list but instead of getting the full wizard package like Bladesinger gets extra fightery stuff.

That's well said, but a weaker version that can plug holes in the party rather than specializing in a single role can still work and still do a pretty good job of hitting the fantasy, without unbalancing the game.

Kind of like a bard, but without the musical part.