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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Staff Caster Wizard Archetype PEACH



Avigor
2018-04-14, 10:21 PM
You are the iconic, grey bearded wizard who relies solely upon his staff.

Requirement: Must have a staff used as an arcane focus.

Level 2:

Staff Savant: Your spellbook is magically absorbed into your staff, making them one and the same (hereafter referred to as your “spellbook staff”); however, you must still pay to scribe additional spells as normal, using reagents to empower your staff with the energies of the new spell. You prepare your spells by meditating with your spellbook staff in hand. You can switch the spellbook between your current staff and another staff at any time by performing a 10 minute ritual. Your spellbook staff will not require attunement unless pre-existing enchantments require it. If your spellbook staff is lost or destroyed, you may create a new one with a 10 minute ritual, but any spells recorded within the old one will be lost forever. Your spellbook staff will have a nonspecific magical aura, unless it has a pre-existing enchantment which contains a more specific aura. If you have previously applied Nystul’s Magic Aura to your spellbook staff to conceal its magic aura, you gain advantage on any Persuasion or Deception checks to convince anyone that your spellbook staff is harmless ("You wouldn't part an old man from his walking stick?").
Flexible Savant: Using your spellbook staff, you can cast one cantrip that you don't know as many times as desired for one minute. Once this feature is used, it cannot be used again until after a short or long rest.

Level 6:

Wooden Concentration: You can transfer concentration on one spell effect into your staff at the cost of halving said effect's duration, allowing you to concentrate on another spell instead. If you take damage, you must still roll a concentration save for the effect transferred to your staff, but you cannot have advantage and have no bonus on said concentration save. Once this feature has been used, you cannot use it again until after a long rest.

Level 10:

Potent Staff: If your spellbook staff does not have a Spell Attack bonus from a pre-existing enchantment, it is now treated as having a +1. If it already has a spell attack bonus, that bonus increases by +1. At level 20, this benefit improves +2.

Level 14:

Spell Storing Staff: Your spellbook staff can now store spells as a Ring of Spell Storing, except that instead of just storing up to 5 levels of spells, it can store a total of spells of up to your highest known spell level, so long as no single spell stored is of a level higher than your Intelligence bonus (minimum 1).


So, did I overpower it, or is it good? I'm rather expecting that I might want to tone it down, but I'm not sure where to go about doing so, other than taking an attunement slot (or +1 if you use a staff with a pre-existing enchantment) or just plain nerfing features in a painful way...
EDIT: Multiple adjustments that I realized were needed mere hours after posting but got distracted and didn't come back till now to apply. Removed the AC, the food and water bit, the TWF note (I figure Gandalf might've just taken the Dual-Wielding feat, or else MC'd Fighter), moved Bonded Staff into Magic Staff, eliminated the stacking with appropriate limitations to Potent Staff and Magic Staff, and clarified spell preparation with the staff.
EDIT: Draft 3, added extra cantrip once/rest for a minute, swapped magic staff for a concentration effect.
EDIT: Draft 4, reverted Potent Staff due to feeling over-nerfed. Also added a quote to emphasize the benefits for this archetype from a Nystul's magic aura.

Avigor
2018-04-21, 10:29 PM
2nd draft up, in case anyone is interested.

clash
2018-04-21, 10:38 PM
So the biggest issue I see here is that it is mostly boring. It gives a bunch of passive benefits when using a staff but doesn't really open up new cool stuff to do. I think you nailed the flavor but it needs more interesting mechanics

ShadowSandbag
2018-04-22, 05:32 PM
Overall it looks fine balance wise, but nothing of it stands out as too interesting. Also there should be a 2nd level 2 ability, all schools get 1 ability + 1/2 cost for spells of that school and War Wizard has two abilities since it isn't a school. I imagine this should work the same.

Avigor
2018-04-23, 02:46 AM
So the biggest issue I see here is that it is mostly boring. It gives a bunch of passive benefits when using a staff but doesn't really open up new cool stuff to do. I think you nailed the flavor but it needs more interesting mechanics


Overall it looks fine balance wise, but nothing of it stands out as too interesting. Also there should be a 2nd level 2 ability, all schools get 1 ability + 1/2 cost for spells of that school and War Wizard has two abilities since it isn't a school. I imagine this should work the same.

Good points. Hrm... How's about something inspired by the Wizard's Hat common magic item power for a 2nd level 2 ability, and swapping Magical Staff for a concentration effect? Are those nerfs I applied enough or no?

nickl_2000
2018-04-23, 07:49 AM
Potent Staff: If your spellbook staff does not have a Spell Attack bonus from a pre-existing enchantment, it is now treated as having a +1. At level 20, this benefit improves so that if your spellbook staff does not already provide a Spell Attack bonus of at least +2, it is now treating as having a +2 to Spell Attack.

So a struggle on this particular skill. If you are a wizard who has gotten a staff with a + to spell attack, this entire ability becomes completely worthless.

ShadowSandbag
2018-04-23, 10:52 PM
Overall its looking really good! The level 10 still needs some tweaking since at present it does nothing if you have a magic staff. Would it be overpowered to change it to

Potent Staff: If your spellbook staff does not have a Spell Attack bonus from a pre-existing enchantment, it is now treated as having a +1. If your staff does have a spell attack bonus, from a pre-existing enchantment, increase that enchantment by 1.
At level 20, this benefit changes to +2.


I would also add something to Staff Savant. As is, it just replaces a spellbook, which is nice but is really jsut a change to another feature rather than a feature in itself. What about
In addition, at the end of a long rest you can save a number of spells to your staff, you can cast these spells without preparing them. The Spells 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.


I don't do much homebrewing myself so let me know if people think this is OP

Avigor
2018-05-03, 12:45 PM
Overall its looking really good! The level 10 still needs some tweaking since at present it does nothing if you have a magic staff. Would it be overpowered to change it to

Potent Staff: If your spellbook staff does not have a Spell Attack bonus from a pre-existing enchantment, it is now treated as having a +1. If your staff does have a spell attack bonus, from a pre-existing enchantment, increase that enchantment by 1.
At level 20, this benefit changes to +2.


I would also add something to Staff Savant. As is, it just replaces a spellbook, which is nice but is really jsut a change to another feature rather than a feature in itself. What about
In addition, at the end of a long rest you can save a number of spells to your staff, you can cast these spells without preparing them. The Spells 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.


I don't do much homebrewing myself so let me know if people think this is OP

Okay, I'll go ahead with the first suggestion, it does make more sense and was the earlier version before I over-nerfed it.

As for the second, the PHB traditions have one feature that reduces spell scribing costs by 10%, and another that gives something else, typically minor (similar to Flexible Staff, albeit sometimes more potent like the Divination Wizard's Portent). In this case, I both combine your spellbook and your focus (reducing how much you have to carry around), and give you a means to more easily smuggle your focus past guards (the advantage to deception and persuasion when it's under a Nystul's magic aura).

I'm not sure what else I could throw in, if I should add anything. I suspect anything involving ritual magic, such as casting a ritual without the extra time, or worse yet casting a non-ritual as a ritual, even if either was only once a day, would be too much...

ShadowSandbag
2018-05-03, 04:19 PM
If i remember right, its actually a 50% decrease in cost/time. If you wanted something ritual based, whatabout
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy an spell with the ritual tag into your Spellbook is halved.