LibraryOgre
2022-02-19, 02:19 PM
I talked with a friend yesterday who did not like the original College of Arcana... he felt it gave way too much, and overshadowed the College of Lore. This version is a bit different... they have a bit more access to bard spells (though they still cast them as wizards), and much less access to Wizard spells (topping off at 3 schools, plus any from Magical Secrets)
College of Arcana
The college of Arcana bards are different from the other Bards, and broke off from the College of Lore about three score years ago. While the College of Lore focuses on a breadth of knowledge, the College of Arcana focuses exclusively on the study of magic. In that study, they learn the basic secrets of wizardly magic; not the indepth secrets of the wizard schools, but enough that they begin to keep a spellbook and prepare spells like a wizard, in addition to some access to bard magic.
3rd: Additional Skill
At 3rd level, College of Arcana bards receive proficiency in Arcana, or in another skill of choice if they are already proficient. They may apply their 3rd level Bard expertise to Arcana, even if they just learned it.
3rd: Wizard Magic
At 3rd level, the College of Arcana bard switches their style of casting to that of a Wizard; they maintain a spellbook, may learn new spells from the spellbooks of wizards and other bards of the College, and prepare spells each morning. They use Intelligence as their casting attribute, are able to cast any of their prepared spells using any appropriate slots, and so on; all as outlined under "Spellcasting" in the Wizard class description, and the Your Spellbook sidebar, on page 114 of the Player's Handbook.
Their initial spellbook contains all of their 1st level Bard spells, as well as a 2nd level spell from either the Bard spell list or from their chosen Wizard schools. They may no longer cast spells as Bards; Charisma is no longer their casting attribute, and they must prepare spells, not cast spontaneously. They do retain Bardic ritual casting, but may not longer use musical instruments as arcane foci, though they may use arcane foci appropriate to wizards.
As they learned Bardic Magic first, they do have the bonus that all 5 of the bard spells they learned at 1st and 2nd level are prepared at all times. As they advance in levels, they learn spells from either the Bard list or their selected Wizard schools, and all of these spells must be prepared. They may not learn additional Bard spells except through level gain or by finding them in the spellbook of another bard of the College of Arcana. Wizards are not able to cast these Bard spells (unless they are also Wizard spells).
3rd Level: School Selection
At levels 3, 6, and 14, the bard selects a single wizard school. They may learn and cast spells from this school, and gain the 2nd level features of this school. Thus, one bard may learn Evocation, and thus gain Evocation Savant and Sculpt spells, while another may learn Necromancy, and gain Necromancy Savant and Grim Harvest.
Additional Note: Magical Secrets
At levels 10, 14, and 18, bards may select 2 spells, of a level they can cast, and learn them as Bard spells. In the hands of an Arcana Bard, these spells are recorded in the Bard's spellbook, but cannot be learned by Bard or Wizard, unless they are normally Bard or Wizard spells; otherwise, they are simply too esoteric for those casters to unravel. Wizard spells acquired through Magical Secrets do not need to be from one of the Bard's chosen schools.
College of Arcana
The college of Arcana bards are different from the other Bards, and broke off from the College of Lore about three score years ago. While the College of Lore focuses on a breadth of knowledge, the College of Arcana focuses exclusively on the study of magic. In that study, they learn the basic secrets of wizardly magic; not the indepth secrets of the wizard schools, but enough that they begin to keep a spellbook and prepare spells like a wizard, in addition to some access to bard magic.
3rd: Additional Skill
At 3rd level, College of Arcana bards receive proficiency in Arcana, or in another skill of choice if they are already proficient. They may apply their 3rd level Bard expertise to Arcana, even if they just learned it.
3rd: Wizard Magic
At 3rd level, the College of Arcana bard switches their style of casting to that of a Wizard; they maintain a spellbook, may learn new spells from the spellbooks of wizards and other bards of the College, and prepare spells each morning. They use Intelligence as their casting attribute, are able to cast any of their prepared spells using any appropriate slots, and so on; all as outlined under "Spellcasting" in the Wizard class description, and the Your Spellbook sidebar, on page 114 of the Player's Handbook.
Their initial spellbook contains all of their 1st level Bard spells, as well as a 2nd level spell from either the Bard spell list or from their chosen Wizard schools. They may no longer cast spells as Bards; Charisma is no longer their casting attribute, and they must prepare spells, not cast spontaneously. They do retain Bardic ritual casting, but may not longer use musical instruments as arcane foci, though they may use arcane foci appropriate to wizards.
As they learned Bardic Magic first, they do have the bonus that all 5 of the bard spells they learned at 1st and 2nd level are prepared at all times. As they advance in levels, they learn spells from either the Bard list or their selected Wizard schools, and all of these spells must be prepared. They may not learn additional Bard spells except through level gain or by finding them in the spellbook of another bard of the College of Arcana. Wizards are not able to cast these Bard spells (unless they are also Wizard spells).
3rd Level: School Selection
At levels 3, 6, and 14, the bard selects a single wizard school. They may learn and cast spells from this school, and gain the 2nd level features of this school. Thus, one bard may learn Evocation, and thus gain Evocation Savant and Sculpt spells, while another may learn Necromancy, and gain Necromancy Savant and Grim Harvest.
Additional Note: Magical Secrets
At levels 10, 14, and 18, bards may select 2 spells, of a level they can cast, and learn them as Bard spells. In the hands of an Arcana Bard, these spells are recorded in the Bard's spellbook, but cannot be learned by Bard or Wizard, unless they are normally Bard or Wizard spells; otherwise, they are simply too esoteric for those casters to unravel. Wizard spells acquired through Magical Secrets do not need to be from one of the Bard's chosen schools.