Wizard
Wild and enigmatic, varied in form and function, the power of magic draws students who seek to master its mysteries. Some aspire to become like the gods, shaping reality itself. Though the casting of a typical spell requires merely the utterance of a few strange words, fleeting gestures, and sometimes a pinch or clump of exotic materials, these surface components barely hint at the expertise attained after years of apprenticeship and countless hours of study. Wizards live and die by their spells. Everything else is secondary. They learn new spells as they experiment and grow in experience. They can also learn them from other Wizards, from ancient tomes or inscriptions, and from ancient creatures (Such as the Fey) that are steeped in magic.
Wizards’ lives are seldom mundane. The closest a Wizard is likely to come to an ordinary life is working as a sage or lecturer in a library or university, teaching others the secrets of the multiverse. Other wizards sell their services as diviners, serve in military forces, or pursue lives of crime or domination.
But the lure of knowledge and power calls even the most unadventurous wizards out of the safety of their libraries and laboratories and into crumbling ruins and lost cities. Most wizards believe that their counterparts in ancient civilizations knew secrets of magic that have been lost to the ages, and discovering those secrets could unlock the path to a power greater than any magic available in the present age.
Quick Build
You can make a Wizard quickly by following these suggestions. First, INT should be your highest ability score, followed by CON or DEX. If you plan to join the School of Enchantment, make CHA your next-best score. Second, choose the Sage Background.
Class Features
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1D6 per Wizard level
At 1st level: 6 + Your CON Modifier
At higher levels: 1D6 or 4 if lower than 4, + CON Modifier
Proficiencies
- Armor
- None
- Weapons
- Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, Light Crossbows
- Tools
- Calligraphy Tools
- Saving Throws
- INT, WIS
- Skills
- Choose two from: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, and Religion
- Spellcasting
- INT
Starting Equipment
- 1. (a) a quarterstaff or (b) a dagger
- 2. (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
- 3. (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- 4. A spellbook
Wizard Table
| Level | Cantrips Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3 | 2 | - | |||||||
| 2nd | 3 | - | ||||||||
| 3rd | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | ||||||
| 4th | 4 | 3 | - | |||||||
| 5th | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | ||||||
| 6th | 4 | 3 | - | |||||||
| 7th | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | ||||||
| 8th | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | ||||||
| 9th | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | ||||||
| 10th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | |||||
| 11th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 12th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 13th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 14th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 15th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 16th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||
| 17th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 18th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| 19th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 20th | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Class Features
Spellcasting
INT is your spellcasting ability for your Wizard spells. Your magic comes from your intensive studies. You use your INT whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your INT modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your INT modifier
Spell attack modifier = your Proficiency Bonus + your INT modifier
You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.
You prepare the list of Wizard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of Wizard spells from your spellbook equal to your INT modifier (Minimum 1) + your Wizard level (Minimum 1). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of Wizard spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Ritual Casting
You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
Arcane Focus
You channel your knowledge of spellcraft through a medium that helps guide your magic. It can be a staff, wand, rod, or your Spellbook that was constructed for the purpose for channeling magic. It acts as a Spellcasting Focus for your Wizard spells.
Spellbook
You have a spellbook containing six 1st-level Wizard spells of your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of the Wizard spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. It can only be read by you or by someone casting Identify. 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 the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil Wizard's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient 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 it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the Wizard 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 and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, 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 to spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied 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.
Your spellbook can be your Spellcasting Focus.
Arcane Recovery
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 Wizard level rounded up, and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.
Scholar
Your studious nature allows you to master a variety of skills. You gain Expertise with one of the following skills if you have proficiency with it: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, or Religion.
You gain additional skills as you specialize in your studies. Your School of Magic grants you features at levels 3, 6, 10, and 14.
→ Choose your subclass belowAbility Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Memorize Spell
You are a quick learner and even fine details are kept in your mind. Whenever you finish a short rest you can replace any leveled spell with another leveled spell in your spell book.
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Spell Mastery
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 that have a casting time of an action. 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.
When you finish a long rest you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells of the same levels.
Epic Boon
You gain an Epic Boon feat for which you qualify.
Signature Spells
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.
Schools of Magic
Wizard Subclasses (20)
Choose your subclass at the level indicated in the class table above.