Manacraft Warden

The Manacraft Warden is a rare and sought-after niche of the wizard community. Prized by generals on their battlefields, regencies in their courts, and spymasters in their espionage, the Warden is a complement to any station that expects less-than-favorable run-ins with adversarial mages. Born of a need to not only protect from harmful magics, but to interrupt or even turn the tables on a magical adept by leveraging their energies against them, thereby creating a security of presence and deterrent against those who would wield magic in their presence at all. 

While other classes of wizard have spent their years studying the nuances of specialty and crafting their aptitude for specific schools of magic or purpose of implementation, the Warden has spent their education diving deeper into the fundamentals of magic. While others see basic manacraft as a building block on which they will establish a tower of specialized supremacy, the Warden views simple arcane energy as a font of specialty and nuance all its own; where others build upward in a race to the heights of magical potency, the Warden digs downward, diving hard to study the roots that grow from the veil and blossom into specialized magics.

Through their unrelenting breakdown of these fundamentals into a well of knowledge with possibility limited only by creativity, the Warden gains an understanding and even an aptitude for control over the energies that fuel the magics around them. Through this, they gain insight that allows them to preempt, dispel, or even redirect spellcraft that would be used against them or their allies. Seeing the threads that connect these magics to the very veil of arcana from which magical power is drawn, the Warden can harness their potency for the ends they see fit.

Arcane Portent

Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to scribe a spell scroll is reduced by 1 hour and 25 gold for each spell of the same school of magic that is already transcribed within your spell book (Minimum cost after reduction is half of the total initial cost)

I.e.: Copying a 5th level abjuration spell (normal cost 10 hours and 250 gold) while you currently have 3 abjuration spells in your book (minus 3 hours and 75 gold) would give a net transcription time of 7 hours and 175 gold. Copying a 5th level abjuration spell (10 hours and 250 gold) with 9 abjuration spells in your book (minus 9 hours and 450 gold) would still have a cost of 5 hours and 125 gold, as this is the minimum possible cost for a 5th level transcription.

You also gain expertise in the Arcana skill if you don't already have it.

Visualize the Threads

The Warden begins to see the font of arcane magic and the threads with which its power is used, and they are malleable.

Threadwork

Starting at 2nd level, whenever one of your abilities or spells would cause the target(s) to make a concentration check on your turn, you may expend a bonus action to make them do so with disadvantage.

Further, whenever you are forced to make a concentration check because of a spell or magical effect, you may do so with your INT saving throw instead of your CON saving throw. (Concentration checks for damage taken from sources other than a spell or magical effect will still rely on CON saves.)

Pull the Thread

As a reaction, whenever a creature within 30 feet of you casts a spell, you can manipulate the threads of energy that they draw from, causing the creature to make an INT saving throw against your Spell DC. The distance of this ability increases by 5 feet per wizard level after 2nd. On a failure, the creature's spell has one of the following effects based on that spell's target type:

Individual target(s): The creature's spell attack roll or Spell DC suffers a penalty of 1d4. The penalty increases by an additional 1d4 at 7th (2d4), 11th (3d4), and 15th (4d4) levels.

Area of Effect: At 2nd level, the creature's Spell DC suffers a penalty of 1d4. At 7th level the spell additionally has its damage reduced by 1d4 of the spell's damage die, up to half of total die for the spell. At 11th level, the area of effect is additionally reduced by 1d4 x 5 feet from either radius, distance, length, or height. At 15th level, the creature's Spell DC suffers an additional 1d4 penalty, for a total penalty of 2d4.

On a successful save, the spell is cast without hindrance. This ability may be used in this way twice per long rest.

 

Control the Flow

Starting at 6th level, your ability to perceive the flowing nature of the veil and its energies is heightened. You gain the ability to decipher the innate powers of magic around you. When a spell or other magical effect is cast within 60 feet of you, you may make an Arcana check. With this Arcana check, you can determine the level of spell present or being cast. This check does not tell you the nature of the spell, the school of magic, or whether the spell is damaging or not. To gain this benefit, you must be able to see AND hear the casting creature. This range may be extended beyond 60 feet or apply to static casting devices (such as traps) with disadvantage, as determined by the DM. The DC for this check is 14 + the spell's level.

Manipulate Flow

Your Counterspell and Dispel Magic become more than simple magical tools, and begin to grant you the ability to harness the energies of the magics that you meddle with.

Whenever a spell or magical effect is affected by your Pull the Thread, Counterspell, or Dispel Magic, you may do one of the following:

Manashield: Form the interrupted arcane energies into a veil of defense around you. Increase your AC by half of the affected spell's level, rounded down, until the beginning of your next turn.

Manabarrier: Deconstruct and reform the coalescing energies into a ward to bolster yourself and those around you. Grant temporary HP equal to the affected spell's level to yourself and any creature within 30 feet of you of your choosing. You may instead choose to grant temporary HP of twice the affected spell's level to yourself or one creature within 30 feet of you. This barrier does not stack onto other sources of temporary HP, and dissipates after 10 minutes.

Arcane Battery: Store the potential arcane energy of the affected spell, increasing the attack roll, ability check, or save DC of your next cast spell by half of the affected spell's level, rounded down. This energy is dissipated if not used with the next spell that is cast, or after 1 minute if no spell is cast.

Arcane Torrent: Imbue your next damage dealing spell with the harnessed energy that you collect, increasing the number of damage die for the cast spell by half of the affected spell's level, rounded down. This energy is dissipated if not used with the next spell that is cast, or after 1 minute if no spell is cast.

If the magic being harnessed is a magical effect instead of a spell, with no stated level, then the DM will decide how potent the effects are in relation to spell level, and can be revealed to the player prior to using this feat with a successful Arcana check, as listed above.

 

Arcane Adept

Starting at 10th level, you gain an additional reaction per turn. This reaction cannot be used for counterspell but it can be used for Pull the Thread and any other spell or feat granted as a reaction. Further, it can be used for one the following:

Arcane Evasion: See the waves before they crash. Use a reaction to grant yourself advantage on a saving throw against a spell or other magical effect.

Arcane Surge: Ride the flow of the veil. Use a reaction to immediately move up to half your movement speed. Attacks of opportunity against you while moving this way are at disadvantage.

Manabond: Use a reaction to expend a spell slot, reducing the damage taken from a spell or other magical effect by a creature other than yourself within 30 feet of you that you can see by 1d6 per level of the spell slot used. This reaction must be used before the spell's damage is rolled.

Additionally, when you cast a spell that requires you to make an ability check as a part of casting that spell (as in counterspell and dispel magic), you add your proficiency bonus to that ability check.

Arcane Saboteur

Starting at 14th level, you are proficient at not only perceiving and harnessing the flow and surges of the veil, but at manipulating them even against the intentions of those who rely on it. Your spells and other magical effects are unaffected by any Antimagic Field that you cast. Further, your manipulation of the threads wielded against you is significantly increased, and can be used to shock enemy mages to their arcane core and even severing them from the flow of the veil.

Whenever a spell or other magical effect is affected by your Pull the Thread or is interrupted by Counterspell, Dispel Magic, or Antimagic Field  during its casting, you can expend a spell slot for one of the following:

Arcane Barrage: Channel the spellcaster's magical energy back into them, causing arcane overload. The creature must make an INT saving throw against your spell DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 2d8 of magical force damage, with an additional 1d8 for each level of the expended spell slot above 1st. This damage bypasses magical or other damage resistances. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage.

Arcane Reflection: If the interrupted spell had individual targets, and at least one of the targets is within 30 feet of you, you may expend a spell slot of at least half the affected spell's level to make a spell casting ability check DC 10 + the spell's level. On a success, instead of interrupting or nullifying the spell or effect outright, you can instead redirect its course to a target of your choosing within 30 feet of you that you can see.

Arcane Weakness: Find the invisible weakness of an opponent through sight within the veil. Dismantle some of the arcane defenses they have built. Follow the threads back to their core and assess and nullify their defenses. When casting is interrupted, gain insight into a creature's resistances, immunities, and vulnerabilities. Make a Spell check using your spell casting ability modifier + 1 for each level of the spell slot you expend against the creature's AC, if successful, change one damage immunity to resistance or remove an existing resistance to a single damage type.