Arcane Traditions
The study of wizardry is ancient, stretching back to the earliest mortal discoveries of magic. It is firmly established in the worlds of D&D, with various traditions dedicated to its complex study.
The most common arcane traditions in the multiverse revolve around the schools of magic. The more esoteric traditions of wizardry, however, seek to blend the schools of magic with other skills, pushing the boundaries of what magic can do. Some of these less common traditions have been catalogued here: the Schools of Artifice and Theurgy, as well as the unorthodox practices of the Hedge Wizard.
School of Artifice
A wizard versed in the School of Artifice often has stumbled into this study of their own volition and their own design. Indeed, just about any artificer will tell you that they founded this arcane tradition themselves, although these sorts of claims are almost never verifiable. Nonetheless, wizards of the School of Artifice have a tendency to tinker with contraptions and magic, blending the two crafts into an inventive new method of weaving magic.
School of Artifice features
| Wizard Level |
Features |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Artisanal Savant, Alchemy |
| 6th | Imbue Magic |
| 10th | Wondrous Invention, Artificial Servant |
| 14th | Artificial Artisan |
Artisanal Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to craft a wondrous item is halved, and you don't need the formula to craft any common rarity wondrous item.
In addition, you gain proficiency with any two artisan's tools of your choice.
Alchemy
Starting at 2nd level, you can produce magic potions in a short amount of time. When you cast a wizard spell that has a range of self or touch and a casting time of 1 action, you can increase its casting time to 10 minutes while holding a vial or flask of mundane liquid, such as water. After this time has passed, you expend the spell slot (and any materials consumed as part of the casting of the spell), but none of the spell’s effects occur. Instead, the liquid becomes a magic potion imbued with the spell's effect. If the spell can produce one of multiple effects, you choose which effect when you use this feature.
Thereafter, any creature can consume the potion. If the original spell requires concentration, the creature that consumes the potion ignores that part of the spell, and the potion's effect last for the duration of the spell.
Instead of replicating the effect of a spell, you can expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to create a potion of healing.
Alchemical Concoctions
| Spell Slot | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1st or 2nd | Potion of Healing |
| 3rd or 4th | Potion of Greater Healing |
| 5th or higher | Potion of Superior Healing |
When you create any potion using this feature, it lasts for 8 hours, or until it is used. You can have a limited number of potions at any time, equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Infuse Magic
Beginning at 6th level, you have learned to infuse your magic into the tools of war. While you are touching a weapon, armor, or bundle of ammunition, you can spend 1 minute and expend a spell slot to infuse the object with a temporary effect. This effect lasts until you finish a long rest. You can only infuse one object or bundle of ammunition at a time, and you can only use this ability once per short rest.
The spell slot expended determines what kind of object you can effect, and what sort of magic you imbue the object with. You can use a higher level spell slot to imbue an object with any effect that a lower level spell slot could also imbue.
Magically Imbued Effects
| Spell Slot | Object and Effect |
|---|---|
| 2nd | +1 ammunition (10 pieces) or +1 shield |
| 3rd or 4th | +1 weapon or +1 armor |
| 5th | +2 ammunition (10 pieces) or +2 shield |
| 6th or higher | +2 weapon or +2 armor |
Wondrous Invention
Eureka! Your idle tinkering has finally paid off. At 10th level, choose any common or uncommon wondrous item from the DMG, with your DM's permission, and add that item to your inventory. Only you can use this item, and you don't have to attune to this item to use it.
If this magic item is lost or destroyed, you can spend 1 day of downtime to construct a copy of the item. Crafting a replica item in this way deconstructs the original, which falls apart if it is not already destroyed.
Artificial Artisan
Your mastery of invention knows no bounds. Starting at 14th level, choose any uncommon or rare wondrous item from the DMG, with your DM's permission, and add that item to your inventory. Only you can use this item, and you don't have to attune to this item to use it.
You can replicate this item using the rules from your Wondrous Invention feature.
In addition, you can infuse magic into two objects, instead of one, with your Infuse Magic feature.
School of Theurgy
A number of deities claim arcane magic as their domain, for magic is as much a part of the fabric of the cosmos as wind, fire, lightning, and all other primal forces. Just as there are deities of the sea and gods of warfare, the arcane arts feature their own divine patrons.
Such deities often have clerics, but a few gods of magic bid their followers take up the study of wizardry. These religious magic-users follow the arcane tradition of theurgy, and are commonly known as theurgists. Such spellcasters are as dedicated and scholarly as any other wizard, but they blend their arcane study with religious devotion.
School of Theurgy features
| Wizard Level |
Features |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Divine Inspiration, Divine Initiate |
| 6th | Channel Arcana |
| 10th | Divine Spellcasting |
| 14th | Vicar Arcana |
Divine Inspiration
Choose a domain from the Cleric's choice of Divine Domains (most options can be found in the Player's Handbook, p.59) . Many theurgists choose the domain of Knowledge or Light.
When you choose this tradition at 2nd level, and whenever you gain a level in this class, you can treat any spell in your domain's spell list as a wizard spell. Other wizards can't copy your cleric spells.
In addition, you also gain a cleric cantrip from the Cleric spell list. This cantrip counts as a wizard spell for you. When you gain additional wizard cantrips, you may select from either the Cleric or Wizard spell lists.
Divine Initiate
When you choose this tradition at 2nd level, you gain your chosen domain's 1st-level features. If a domain feature refers to your Wisdom modifier, you may use your Intelligence modifier instead. However, you do not gain any weapon or armor proficiencies from the domain.
Channel Arcana
At 6th level, you gain the ability to channel arcane energy directly from your deity. You start with two such effects: Divine Arcana, and the Channel Divinity option granted at 2nd level by your domain.
When you use your Channel Arcana, you choose which effect to manifest. You must then finish a short or long rest to regain the use of this feature. Some Channel Arcana effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect, the save DC equals your wizard spell save DC.
Beginning at 6th 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.
You do not gain additional Channel Divinity options from your domain if your domain normally grants that feature.
Channel Arcana: Divine Arcana
As a bonus action, you speak a prayer to control the flow of magic around you. The next spell you cast gains a +2 bonus to any attack roll you make for it or to its saving throw DC.
Divine Spellcasting
Starting at 10th level, whenever you cause damage with a wizard cantrip, you also cause radiant damage equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Vicar Arcana
Your divinity studies have revealed heavenly truths to you. At 14th level, and whenever you gain a level in this class, you can add spells to your spellbook from either the cleric or wizard spell lists.
Hedge Wizard
Not all wizards have the luxury of grand libraries and valuable supplies. Hedge wizards are pursuers of eclectic lore, and their libraries are the humble cottages, and sometimes literal hedges, where they lay their heads. Conventional practitioners often look down on the humble hedge wizards, but from scraps of spells and tricks learned along the way, they cobble together an understanding of the arcane to rival that of any classically trained wizard.
Hedge Wizard features
| Wizard Level |
Features |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Indigent Savant, Improvisational Magic |
| 6th | Thrifty Wizardry |
| 10th | Eclectic Arcana |
| 14th | Observational Learning |
Indigent Savant
You often have to make do with limited resources. Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, when you copy a spell into your spellbook, you may choose to halve the gold required, while doubling the time spent to record the spell.
Improvisational Magic
When you choose this tradition at 2nd level, you have learned to improvise with your spellcasting.
As an action, you can attempt to cast a spell in your spell-book of 5th-level or lower that you don't have prepared. As a part of this action, make an Intelligence check against your own spell save DC. If you succeed, you can cast the spell as if you had prepared it. If you fail this check, the spell fails, and the spell slot is wasted.
Once you successfully cast a spell in this way, you must finish a short or long rest to attempt to cast an unprepared spell again.
Thrifty Wizardry
Over time and practice, your eccentric spellcasting methods have revealed shortcuts to casting your spells. Starting at 6th level, when you cast a wizard spell with a costless material that is consumed by the spell, the component is not used up.
You may also use a focus in place of this component.
In addition, when you cast a spell with a material component that has a gold value, you can reduce the value needed for the component by 10 × your wizard level, up to half of the required value. For example, at 6th-level, if a spell required the use of a diamond worth 150 gp, you could use a diamond worth 90 gp instead.
Eclectic Arcana
After all this time, your improvisational methodology has incidentally unlocked arcane secrets that most other wizards don't seem to know. Choose a spell list other than the wizard spell list. Starting at 10th level, and whenever you gain a level in this class and add wizard spells to your spellbook, you can add 1st- or 2nd-level spells from your chosen list instead.
Any spell added in your spellbook through this feature is considered a wizard spell for you. However, no other wizard can copy these spells into their own spellbook.
Observational Learning
Starting at 14th level, your slipshod practice of magic has trained you to study the magic you observe. When you see a creature cast a spell on the wizard spell list of a level that you can cast, you can use an action on your next turn to memorize what you saw. Before the end of your next long rest, you can attempt to copy that spell into your spellbook. To do so, you must make an Intelligence (Arcana) check, the DC of which is equal to 10 + the level of the spell.
You can memorize one spell at a time with this ability, and can only record a number of spells in this way equal to your Intelligence modifier.
