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Specialist Mages |
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Description: |
Specialist wizards, such as illusionists, are those who choose to concentrate their studies on one particular magic school.
The 12 schools of magic are: Abjuration, Alchemy, Alteration, Conjuration/Summoning, Divination, Enchantment/Charm, Geometry, Illusion, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy, Shadow and Song. In addition, the elemental wizards and wild mages also belong to this class. For each school of magic, there is an opposition school or schools. Specialist wizards can never cast any spells from as opposing school. The chart that details all the requirements, opposition schools, races eligible for each specialization, and minimum ability scores is shown at the bottom of the page.
The most crucial decision a beginning wizard must make is whether to specialise in a school of magic or instead opt for the life of a mage. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the mage has a chance to learn any new spell he encounters, but the specialist's opportunities are more limited -- he cannot learn spells from schools that are in opposition to his own. The specialist has stricter racial and ability requirements than the mage, but he also has better saving throw bonuses. The choice to specialize can have profound effects on a wizard's role in the game, and players should think carefully before committing their characters to a school of magic. Since there is no meaningful difference between a mage and a specialist in their abilities to cast the spells they know, wouldn't the wise player always choose to play a mage? Not necessarily. In the long run, the specialist's experience bonus, saving throw bonuses, and acquired powers (see the listings in the school descriptions found by following the links at the bottom of the page) make him a far more formidable opponent than the mage. Additionally, the limits on the number of spells a wizard can use and know mean that the specialist will eventually catch up to the mage in these areas. |
| Ability Requirements: |
A wizard must meet certain ability requirements to become a specialist. For instance, a wizard with a Dexterity of 15 can't become an illusionist. But even if low ability scores haven't eliminated all of the specialization choices, the player should still look at his character's Intelligence score and see how it affects his chance of learning spells. An Intelligence of 9 means that the character will have a 50 percent chance to learn spells of his speciality based on the normal 35 percent chance to learn a new spell for an Intelligence of 9 plus a 15 percent bonus for being a specialist.
An Intelligence of 17 means that the character will have a 90 percent chance to learn spells of his specialty (the normal 75 percent chance for an Intelligence of 17 plus a 15 percent bonus for being a specialist). Notice that the 15 percent bonus helps the character with the lower Intelligence more than it does the character with the higher Intelligence; the bonus boosts the Intelligence 9 character's chance from 35 to 50, an increase of more than 40 percent, while the Intelligence 17 character's chance is increased from 75 to 90, which is a boost of only 20 percent.
Clearly, the lower the Intelligence of a wizard, the more specialization helps to increase his chance of learning spells. This is somewhat offset by the specialist's limitations to which spells he can learn (he can't learn spells from oppositional schools), but over the course of a campaign, a low Intelligence wizard stands a good chance of learning more spells by specializing. |
All specialist wizards (illusionists, enchanters, and so on) gain 30 character points to buy skills. |
Access to schools: |
A specialist wizard automatically has access to all schools of magic that are not specifically noted as opposition schools for his specialty. (Note that spells from opposition schools that happen to be included in alternate schools such as song magic, alchemy, or elemental magic are still not available to the specialist. Wild magic is available only to wild mages.) |
Armored wizard (15): |
This wizard can cast spells while wearing the armor of his choice |
Automatic spells (5): |
When a wizard with this spell gains access to a new level of spells, the character automatically gains a spell of that level for the character’s spellbook. |
Bonus spells (10):
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Specialist wizards gain one additional spell per spell level. The extra spell taken must belong to the wizard’s school of specialization. For example, a 5th level mage can cast four 1st level spells, two 2nd level spells, and one 3rd level spell. But a 5th level specialist wizard can cast five 1st level spells, three 2nd level spells, and two 3rd level spells—provided the added spells are from his chosen school.
So, a 1st-level specialist can begin with two spells, but a 1st-level mage begins with only one. This difference is inconsequential over the course of a long campaign, but it can be significant if playing a short adventure with low-level characters
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Casting reduction (5): |
The casting time of all the mage’s spells is reduced by 1. If a spell’s original casting time is 1, it is not reduced. |
Combat bonus (10): |
A wizard with this ability uses the rogue THAC0 chart. |
Detect magic (10): |
| Characters purchasing this ability can detect magic once a day for every two levels. For example, a 7th level mage can detect magic three times a day. This is in addition to any detect magic spells the mage might carry. The character can spot magical radiations within his line of sight, up to 60' away. He can determine the intensity of the magic—dim, faint, moderate, strong, and overwhelming. |
Extend duration (10): |
The duration of all non-instantaneous spells increases by 1 round for every two experience levels of the wizard. For example, if a 6th level wizard casts a spectral hand spell, it will last 15 rounds rather than 12 rounds. |
Intense magic (5):
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If a specialist wizard casts a spell from his chosen school, the targets of that spell suffer a –1 saving throw penalty.
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Learning bonus (5): |
A +15% bonus when attempting to learn new spells belonging the wizard’s school of specialization. |
No components (10): |
The ability to designate one specialty-school spell per character level as a spell that does not require material components. For example, a 3rd-level specialist may have a total of three spells in his spellbook that do not require material components. |
Range boost (5): |
The reach of all ranged spells (spells with a range other than 0, self, or touch) from the wizard’s chosen school is increased by 25%. For example, the 1st level wizard spell charm person has a range of 120 yards. That range is increased to 150 yards. |
Read magic (5): |
Characters purchasing this ability can read magic once a day for every two levels. For example, a 4th level mage can read magic twice a day. This is in addition to any read magic spells the mage might carry. |
Research bonus (5): |
When attempting to research and create a new spell of his specialized school, treat the spell as one level lower than its actual level. |
Saving throw bonus (5): |
+1 bonus on saving throws vs. spells cast at them from their school of specialization. This bonus can be purchased several times with a cumulative effect. |
Optional Restriction: |
Learning penalty (5):
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A specialist wizard with this restriction suffers a penalty of –15% to all learn spell rolls outside his own specialty.
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Limited magical item use (5+):
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A wizard with this restriction disdains enchanted items as a crutch for the weak and refuses to use certain categories of magical items. For each category that is barred to him, he gains 5 CPs . The categories are: potions, oils, and scrolls; rings, rods, staves, and wands, and miscellaneous magical items; and all weapons and armor. |
More opposition schools (5+):
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| A specialist wizard with this restriction may choose to take additional opposing schools, gaining 5 character points for each additional school in opposition to his specialty. Only standard schools (i.e., those described in the Player’s Handbook) can be selected as additional opposition schools. |
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Specialist Wizard Schools
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