Wizard

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**Primary Ability:** Intelligence

Wizards are supreme magic-users, defined by their careful and exhaustive study of magic’s inner workings. Drawing on the subtle weave of magic that permeates the cosmos, Wizards cast spells of explosive fire, arcing lightning, subtle deception, and spectacular transformations. Their magic conjures monsters from other planes of existence, glimpses the future, or turns slain foes into zombies. Their mightiest spells change one substance into another, call meteors from the sky, or open portals to other worlds.

Beyond the sheer power of the spells they cast, though, Wizards share an approach to magic that is scholarly and exacting. Wizards understand magic at a fundamental level, giving them a precise mastery of their spells. They examine the theoretical underpinnings of magic, particularly the categorization of spells into schools of magic, and use those foundations to alter their spells and even craft entirely new spells. Renowned Wizards such as Bigby, Tasha, Mordenkainen, Yolande, and many more invented iconic spells now used across the multiverse. Wizards’ lives are seldom mundane. The closest a Wizard is likely to come to an ordinary life is working as a sage or lecturer in a library or university, teaching others the secrets of the multiverse. Other Wizards sell their services as diviners, serve in military forces, or pursue lives of crime or domination.

But the lure of knowledge and power calls even the most unadventurous Wizards from the safety of their libraries and laboratories and into crumbling ruins and lost cities. Most Wizards believe that their counterparts in ancient civilizations knew secrets of magic that have been lost to the ages, and discovering those secrets could unlock the path to a power greater than any magic available in the present age.

### CREATING A WIZARD

To create a Wizard, consult the following lists, which provide Hit Points, proficiencies, and armor training. If you’re making a level 1 character, also consult the “Starting Equipment” section, and if you’re using the multiclassing rules, see the “Multiclassing and the Wizard” sidebar.

Then look at the Wizard table to see the class features you get at each level in this class. Descriptions of those features appear in the “Wizard Class Features” section.

### HIT POINTS

* **Hit Dice:** 1d6 per Wizard level
* **Hit Points at Level 1:** 6 + your Constitution modifier
* **Hit Points per Later Level:** 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier

### PROFICIENCIES

* **Saving Throws:** Intelligence, Wisdom
* **Skills (Choose 2):** Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Religion
* **Weapons:** Simple Weapons
* **Tools:** None

### STARTING EQUIPMENT

As a level 1 character, you start with the following equipment, or you can forgo it and spend 55 GP on equipment of your choice.

* Arcane Focus
* (Quarterstaff)
* Dagger (x2)
* Robe
* Scholar’s Pack
* 5 GP

### MULTICLASSING AND THE WIZARD

If your group uses the multiclassing rules in the Player’s Handbook, here’s what you need to know if you choose Wizard as one of your classes.

* **Ability Score Minimum.** As a multiclass character, you must have a score of at least 13 in the Wizard’s primary ability, Intelligence, to take a level in this class or to take a level in another class if you’re already a Wizard.
* **Spell Slots.** Add all your Wizard levels to the appropriate levels from other classes to determine your available spell slots for casting spells, as detailed in the multiclassing rules. You prepare spells for each of your classes individually, referring to the rules of each class to determine the number of spells you prepare for it.

### WIZARD CLASS FEATURES

As a Wizard, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified levels in this class. These features are listed on the Wizard table.

#### LEVEL 1: ARCANE RECOVERY

You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. When you finish a Short Rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots 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 level 6 or higher. For example, if you’re a level 4 Wizard, you can recover up to two levels worth of spell slots, regaining either a level 2 spell slot or two level 1 spell slots. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

#### LEVEL 1: SPELLCASTING

As a student of arcane magic, you have learned to cast spells. See the Player’s Handbook for rules on spellcasting. The information below details how you use those rules as a Wizard.

* **Cantrips.** You know three cantrips of your choice from the Wizard spell list (see the “Wizard Spell List” sidebar). Rather than choosing, you may start with Light, Mage Hand, and Ray of Frost. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can replace one of your cantrips from this feature with another Wizard cantrip of your choice. When you reach levels 4 and 10 in this class, you learn another Wizard cantrip of your choice, as shown in the Cantrips column of the Wizard table.
* **Spellbook.** Your wizardly apprenticeship culminated in the creation of a unique book in your possession: your spellbook. It is a Tiny object that weighs 3 pounds, and it contains 100 pages, which can be read only by you or someone casting Identify. You determine the book’s appearance and materials, such as a gilt-edged tome or a collection of vellum bound together by twine. The book contains the spells you know of level 1 and higher. It starts with six level 1 spells of your choice from the Wizard spell list. Instead of choosing spells, you can have your book contain the following spells: Detect Magic, Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Sleep, and Thunderwave. Whenever you gain a Wizard level after 1, add two Wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Wizard table. The spells are the culmination of arcane research you do regularly.
* **Spell Slots.** The Wizard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of level 1 and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a Long Rest.
* **Prepared Spells of Level 1+.** You prepare the list of spells of level 1 and higher that are available for you to cast with this feature. To do so, choose four spells from your spellbook. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Wizard levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Wizard table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Wizard spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 3 Wizard, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If another Wizard feature gives spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this Spellcasting feature, but those spells otherwise follow the rules in this feature.
* **Changing Your Prepared Spells.** Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change your list of prepared spells, replacing one or more of the spells there. Preparing a new list requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast a spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell you add to the list.
* **Ritual Caster.** You can cast any spell as a Ritual if that spell has the Ritual tag and the spell is in your spellbook. You needn’t have the spell prepared, but you must read from the book to cast a spell in this way.
* **Spellcasting Ability.** Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for the spells you cast with your Wizard features.
* **Spellcasting Focus.** You can use an Arcane Focus or your spellbook as a Spellcasting Focus for the spells you cast with your Wizard features.
* **NEW/REVISED SPELLS.** The following spells from this classes spell list have been added or changed, please use these versions:
	+ Acid Splash
	+ Banishment
	+ Blade Ward
	+ Chill Touch
	+ Conjure Elemental
	+ Conjure Minor Elementals
	+ Counterspell
	+ Elementalism
	+ Find Familiar
	+ Friends
	+ Jump
	+ Poison Spray
	+ Power Word: Kill
	+ Shocking Grasp
	+ True Strike

##### EXPANDING AND REPLACING YOUR SPELLBOOK

The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the magical research you conduct on your own, but you might find other spells during your adventures that you can add to your book. You could discover a spell on a Spell Scroll or in an ancient tome, for example, and then copy the spell into your spellbook, using the process below.

* **Copying a Spell into the Book.** When you find a Wizard spell of level 1 or higher, you can copy it into your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to copy it. For each level of the spell, the transcription process takes 2 hours and costs 50 GP. The cost represents the fine inks you use as well as Material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like the other spells in your spellbook.
* **Replacing the Book.** You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook but faster and easier, since you already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 GP for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the Wizard spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep a backup spellbook.

#### LEVEL 2: SCHOLAR

While studying magic, you also specialized in an academic field of study. Choose one of the following skills in which you have proficiency: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion. You have Expertise in the chosen skill.

#### LEVEL 3: WIZARD SUBCLASS

You gain a Wizard subclass of your choice:

* Abjurer
* Diviner
* Evoker
* Illusionist
* Bladesinger (Non-Playtest)
* Order of Scribes (Non-Playtest)
* War Magic (Non-Playtest)

Subclasses are detailed after this class’s description. A subclass is a specialization that grants you special features at certain Wizard levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass’s features that are of your Wizard level and lower. There are non-playtest subclasses that can be used, please check with your DM before using one

#### LEVEL 4: ABILITY SCORE IMPROVEMENT

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. As shown on the Wizard table, you gain this feature again at levels 8, 12, 16, and 19.

#### LEVEL 5: MEMORIZE SPELL

Studying your spellbook for 1 minute, you can expend mental and magical effort to memorize a spell. Choose one spell of level 1 or higher from your spellbook that you don’t have prepared. You now have that spell prepared until you use this feature to prepare a different spell.

#### LEVEL 18: SPELL MASTERY

You have achieved such mastery over certain spells that you can cast them at will. Choose a level 1 and a level 2 spell that are in your spellbook and that have a casting time of an action. You always have those spells prepared, and you can cast them at their lowest level without expending a spell slot. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can study your spellbook and exchange one of those spells for another eligible spell of the same level from that book.

#### LEVEL 20: SIGNATURE SPELLS

You gain mastery over two powerful spells and can cast them with little effort. Choose two level 3 spells in your spellbook as your signature spells. You always have these spells prepared, and you can cast each of them once at level 3 without expending a spell slot. When you do so, you can’t do so again until you finish a Short Rest or Long Rest. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.