War Mage - A Wizard Subclass
Wizards, in my humble opinion, have always gotten a raw deal. You can trace this all the way back to the 1st edition:
The wizard rolled a d4 for hit points.
Cantrips weren't a thing.
At the 3rd level, the wizard only had two 1st-level and one 2nd-level spell slots
There was no such thing as a spell component pouch. Didn't have the material components? Couldn't cast the spell.
Spell damage, quite frankly, sucked. For example, the 1st-level spell Burning Hands did 1 hit point of damage per level.
They even say how bad the starting wizard is in the AD&D Player's Handbook:
They have but four-sided dice (d4) to determine how many hit points of damage they can withstand, and magic-users have the least favorable table and progression as regards missile and melee combat. Furthermore, they can wear no armor and have few weapons at their disposal, as martial training is so foreign to magic use as to make the two almost mutually exclusive.
Sure, they can be one of the, if not the, most powerful classes in the game at later levels. The problem is that getting there is a slog, and often deadly. You spend most of your adventuring life standing in the back (or hiding behind a rock), wearing no armor, and yelling at your allies to move out of the way so you can cast fireball and not incinerate your friends.
All that said, I know when I play a wizard, I look forward to when I'm higher level and get to obliterate monsters, NPCs, and the occasionally unfortunate ally standing in the spell's area of effect. This is what drove me to create the War Mage subclass. Ok, that and pure jealousy, having to watch my fellow barbarian slaughter everything in sight while I use my last spell slot to cast magic missile and do 1d4+1 damage.
The War Mage's focus is on doing damage to its foes. Pure and simple. I always say hitting things is fun. In the case of the war mage, it's casting spells that burn, freeze, melt an enemy's brain, and crush their body and soul that is where the fun is at.
Wizard: School of War Magic
War Mages are arcane specialists who blend spellcasting with martial efficiency. They focus on enhancing the destructive potential of their magic, extending the reach of their spells, and overwhelming foes with relentless arcane assaults. These wizards are often found on battlefields, serving as elite magical artillery or leading charges with devastating spellcraft.
Level 3: Cantrip Savant
You know two additional Wizard cantrips of your choice, so long as they deal damage.
Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can replace one of these cantrips from this feature with another Wizard cantrip of your choice, so long as it deals damage.
Level 3: Blistering Cantrip:
You have learned to overpower your magic. When you cast a cantrip at a creature and hit, your magic continues after the hit. At the end of the target's turn, it takes half the cantrip's normal damage. It continues to take this damage for a number of rounds equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
If you hit the target with a cantrip while it is still under this effect, the previous cantrip's additional damage ends, and the target instead suffers damage from the new cantrip.
Level 6: Spell Extension
You can increase the range of your spells by funneling more magic into the spell. Increase the range of a spell by a distance equal to 5 feet times your Proficiency Bonus. If the spell has a range of Touch, you can instead cast it at this new range. Once you use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Level 10: Enhanced Initiative
When you roll initiative, you can immediately cast a 1st-3rd level spell that causes damage and with a casting time of 1 action as part of rolling initiative. The spell can only target one creature and has no area of effect. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Level 14: FIREBALL!
You always have the Fireball spell prepared. In addition, you can choose one of the following benefits when casting Fireball. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
You can change the spell’s area of effect to a 30-foot Cone.
You can choose one creature to have Disadvantage on its Dexterity saving throw.
When casting the spell with a 3rd-level spell slot, you can roll an additional d6 damage die.
Like what we do?
Join our Patreon!
You’ll get early access to deep dives, the Homebrew Hoard
featuring 500+ monsters, ad-free articles, and more!
Follow us on Reddit to keep up to date on everything we talk about!
Art Credit - WotC
