Acolyte

The Acolyte is one of the faithful. Their beliefs and ideals burn pure and hot within their heart. They have a cause to believe in, be it a faith, religion, or simple system of beliefs to which they are divinely committed. Faith can move mountains and work other miracles, and the Acolyte is the instrument through which these wonders manifest.

Faith powers the Acolyte, providing a conduit through which they gain the ability to cast divine spells. This ability comes through calm reflection, meditation, or fervent prayer. The Acolyte might believe that the spells they wield come to them from a higher power, or they might believe that they come from deep within their own being, unlocked through their consideration of the ultimate forces of the universe.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to become an individual whose faith in themself or a higher power provides spellcasting ability.

Channel Divinity

When you take this advanced class at 3rd level, you gain the ability to channel divine energy directly from your deity, using that energy to fuel magical effects. You start with two such effects: Turn Undead and an additional effect of your choice. You choose another Channel Divinity option at 15th level. Your Channel Divinity options are detailed at the end of this advanced class.

When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.

Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this advanced class, the DC equals your Acolyte spell save DC.

Beginning at 7th level, you can use your Channel Divinity twice between rests, and beginning at 18th level you can use it three times between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.

Potent Spellcasting

Starting at 7th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.

Destroy Undead

Starting at 7th level, when an undead of CR 1 or lower fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed. The CR of undead increases as you gain levels.

Divine Intervention

Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your deity to intervene on your behalf when your need is great.

Imploring your deity's aid requires you to use your action. Describe the assistance you seek, and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your level, your deity intervenes. The GM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell or cleric domain spell would be appropriate.

If your deity intervenes, you can't use this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use it again after you finish a long rest.

At 18th level, your call for intervention succeeds automatically, no roll required.

Channel Divinity Options

When you learn a new Channel Divinity option, you may choice from the following:

Radiance of the Dawn

You can use your Channel Divinity to harness sunlight, banishing darkness and dealing radiant damage to your foes. As an action, you present your holy symbol, and any magical darkness within 30 feet of you is dispelled. Additionally, each hostile creature within 30 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes radiant damage equal to 2d10 + your cleric level on a failed saving throw, and half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that has total cover from you is not affected.

Read Thoughts

You can use your Channel Divinity to read a creature's thoughts. You can then use your access to the creature's mind to command it. As an action, choose one creature that you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature succeeds on the saving throw, you can't use this feature on it again until you finish a long rest.

If the creature fails its save, you can read its surface thoughts (those foremost in its mind, reflecting its current emotions and what it is actively thinking about) when it is within 60 feet of you. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

During that time, you can use your action to end this effect and cast the suggestion spell on the creature without expending a spell slot. The target automatically fails its saving throw against the spell.

Turn Undead

As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.

A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

War God's Blessing

When a creature within 30 feet of you makes an attack roll, you can use your reaction to grant that creature a +10 bonus to the roll, using your Channel Divinity. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the DM says whether the attack hits or misses.

Subclass Acolytes

If you want your acolyte character to specialize in a particular form of divine magic, you can replace some of their advanced class features with those of cleric subclasses. Apply the following steps:

1. If the subclass gets any bonus proficiencies or cantrips at 1st level, add them to the advanced class at 3rd level.
2. If the subclass receives the Divine Strike feature, replace the Acolyte "Potent Spellcasting" ability with it. Divine Strike damage increases at 15th level rather than 14th level.
3. Change the Channel Divinity option the advanced class always gains at 3rd level from "Turn Undead" to the Channel Divinity option the subclass gains at 2nd level.
4. Replace the Acolyte "Destroy Undead (CR 1)" 7th level feature with the 1st level feature of the subclass.
5. If the 6th level feature of the subclass is not a Channel Divinity option, replace the Acolyte "Destroy Undead (CR 2)" 10th level feature with the 6th level feature of the subclass. Otherwise, replace it with the following feature:

6. Remove the Acolyte "Destroy Undead (CR 3)" 15th level feature.
7. Replace the Acolyte "Destroy Undead (CR 4)" 18th level feature with the 17th level feature of the subclass.
8. Add the subclass' domain spells to the advanced class' spell list

Example: Acolyte of Life

Acolytes of Life have a particular mission from their patron deity — to promote vitality and health through healing the sick and wounded, caring for those in need, and driving away the forces of death and undeath.

Almost any non-evil deity can guide an acolyte of life, particularly agricultural deities, sun gods, gods of healing or endurance, and gods of home and community.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to excel at healing while spreading the word of their god.

Divine Strike

At 7th level you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the target. When you reach 15th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Disciple of Life

Starting at 7th level, whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell's level.

Divine Intervention

Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your deity to intervene on your behalf when your need is great.

Imploring your deity's aid requires you to use your action. Describe the assistance you seek, and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your level, your deity intervenes. The GM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell or cleric domain spell would be appropriate.

If your deity intervenes, you can't use this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use it again after you finish a long rest.

At 18th level, your call for intervention succeeds automatically, no roll required.

Blessed Healer

Beginning at 10th level, the healing spells you cast on others heal you as well. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that restores hit points to a creature other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the spell's level.

Supreme Healing

Starting at 18th level, when you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell, you instead use the highest number possible for each die. For example, instead of restoring 2d6 hit points to a creature, you restore 12.

Mage

The Mage follows a long tradition of myth and legend, part of the same exclusive club that Merlin, Morgan Le Fey, and Prospero belong to. They study ancient texts, research lost languages, and master the secrets of the past. The Mage tames the wild energies of magic itself, making it do his bidding. A scholar and master of arcane forces, the Mage can conjure solid objects out of thin air, fling lightning and fire from their fingertips, and even utilize words of power to render themself invisible or intangible.

Learning arcane spells through discovery and memorization, the Mage mixes ancient knowledge with modern technology. Gone are the robes and pointed hats and dusty tomes, replaced by Armani suits and notebook computers.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to master the arcane arts and become a spellcaster.

Your Spellbook

The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of reality. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in a rival mage's home, for example, or in a forgotten book on ancient history in a library.

Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.

Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the mage who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.

For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours expends a Value equal to twice the level of the spell. The cost represents material components as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as any materials you use in the recording process. Once you have spent this time and wealth, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.

Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book — for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your Spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour for each level of the copied spell and expends a Value equal to half the level of the spell.

If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new Spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.

The Book's Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. In days of yore, these were almost universally literal books, ranging from plain, functional leather notebooks to finely bound gilt-edged tomes. However, the world has technologically moved on from this, and in the modern era a spellbook can take a variety of forms, and may be stored digitally on a device. However, it is often the case that older, more traditional mages will still keep a physical spellbook, partially due to mistrust of new technology and partially due to the fear of having their research stolen or erased by a hacker.

Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain a level, you can add one wizard spell of your choice to your spellbook for free. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Mage Spellcasting table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook (see the "Your Spellbook" sidebar).

Arcane Recovery

Beginning when you take this advanced class at 3rd level, you have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a Short Rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your level (rounded up).

For example, if you're a 4th-level mage, you can recover up to two levels worth of spell slots. You can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two 1st-level spell slots.

School Specialisations

The vast majority of mages have a preference for a particular few schools of magic. When you take this advanced class, choose two school of magic from the following: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation.

You can copy spells of the chosen school into your spellbook in half the time, and the Value expended by doing so is reduced by 3.

Magical Infusion

Starting at 7th level, when you cast an wizard spell with a casting time of 1 action, you can increase its casting time to 1 minute. If you do so while holding a nonmagical item throughout the casting, you expend the spell slot, but none of the spell’s effects occur. Instead, the spell transfers into that item for later use if the item doesn’t already contain a spell from this feature. This item is considered magical while it is infused with a spell.

Thereafter, any creature (with an Intelligence score of at least 6) that is holding the item can use an action to activate the item and cast the spell. The spell is cast using your spellcasting ability. The creature that activated the item controls the spell's targets and other effects. However, if the spell has an area of effect, it is centered on the item. If the spell requires concentration, the creature that activates the item maintains the concentration as if they had cast the spell.

When you infuse a spell in this way, it must be cast within 8 hours, or the spell fades and is lost.

You can have a number of infused spells equal to your Intelligence modifier active at the same time.

Controlled Casting

Starting at 7th level, you can focus to control your spells even after they go awry. When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against one of your spells or you miss on a spell attack roll, you can use your bonus action to have the creature reroll the saving throw or to reroll the spell attack roll. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Overcharged Spell

You're extensive practice at spellcasting allows you to occasionally strain yourself past your limits. Beginning at 10th level, when casting a spell, you can treat the spell slot used to do so as being one level higher than it is. This cannot be used to cast a spell of a higher level than the originally used spell slot.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Spell Mastery

At 15th level, you have achieved such mastery over certain spells that you can cast them at will. Choose a 1st-level wizard spell and a 2nd-level wizard spell that are in your spellbook. You can cast those spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot when you have them prepared. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells of the same levels

Signature Spells

When you reach 18th level, you gain mastery over two powerful spells and can cast them with little effort. Choose two 3rd-level wizard spells in your spellbook as your signature spells. You always have these spells prepared, they don't count against the number of spells you have prepared, and you can cast each of them once at 3rd level without expending a spell slot. When you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

Spell Resistance

Through your extensive studies and exposure to arcane energy, you have gained some level of resistance to magical effects. Starting at 18th level, you have advantage on saving throws against spells.

Furthermore, you have resistance against the damage of spells.

Subclass Mages

If you want your mage character to specialize in a particular school of magic, you can replace some of their advanced class features with those of wizard subclasses. Apply the following steps:

1. Replace the Mage's "Arcane Recovery" feature with the 2nd level feature of the subclass.
2. Replace the Mage's "School Specialisations" feature with the "Savant" feature of the subclass. The Value expended by copying spells of the particular school is reduced by 5.
3. Replace one of Mage's 7th level abilities with the 6th level feature of the subclass. More combat focused schools typically replace the "Magical Infusion" feature, whereas more technically focused schools typically replace the "Controlled Casting" feature.
4. Replace the Mage's "Overcharged Spell" feature with the 10th level feature of the subclass.
5. Replace the Mage's "Spell Resistance" feature with the 14th level feature of the subclass.

Example: Evoker

You focus your study on magic that creates powerful elemental effects such as bitter cold, searing flame, rolling thunder, crackling lightning, and burning acid. Some evokers find employment in military forces, serving as artillery to blast enemies from afar. Others use their spectacular power to protect the weak, while some seek their own gain as bandits, adventurers, or aspiring tyrants.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to master the magic of blasting and become a spellcaster.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your wizard spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Ritual Casting

You can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.

Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain a level, you can add two wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook for free. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Mage Spellcasting table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook (see the "Your Spellbook" sidebar).

Sculpt Spells

Beginning at 3rd level, you can create pockets of relative safety within the effects of your evocation spells. When you cast an evocation spell that affects other creatures that you can see, you can choose a number of them equal to 1 + the spell's level. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save.

Evocation Savant

Beginning when you take this advanced class at 3rd level, you can copy evocation spells into your spellbook in half the time, and the Value expended by doing so is reduced by 5.

Potent Cantrip

Beginning at 7th level, your damaging cantrips affect even creatures that avoid the brunt of the effect. When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against your cantrip, the creature takes half the cantrip's damage (if any) but suffers no additional effect from the cantrip.

Controlled Casting

Starting at 7th level, you can exert greater control of your spells to better target your foes. When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against one of your spells or you miss on a spell attack roll, you can use your bonus action to have the creature reroll the saving throw or to reroll the spell attack roll. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Empowered Evocation

Starting at 10th level, you can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of any evoker evocation spell you cast.

Spell Mastery

At 15th level, you have achieved such mastery over certain spells that you can cast them at will. Choose a 1st-level wizard spell and a 2nd-level wizard spell that are in your spellbook. You can cast those spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot when you have them prepared. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells of the same levels

Signature Spells

When you reach 18th level, you gain mastery over two powerful spells and can cast them with little effort. Choose two 3rd-level wizard spells in your spellbook as your signature spells. You always have these spells prepared, they don't count against the number of spells you have prepared, and you can cast each of them once at 3rd level without expending a spell slot. When you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

Overchannel

Starting at 18th level, you can increase the power of your damaging spells. When you cast an wizard spell of 1st through 5th level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.

The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 necrotic damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the necrotic damage per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.

Credits

Document and contents by Dylan Richards (Reddit: u/Altavus , Tumblr: decision-paralysis, Blogger: Decision Paralysis)