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.
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.