Wandslinger

A Wandslinger usually finds themselves on the wrong side of the law. These outlaws, or fugitives, are at home in dangerous urban spaces as they have learned how to whittle wands to fight strange magic with strange magic. Not spellcasters, they bastardize the tradition of artifice to create arcane martial weapons. Many of these Wandslingers travel so they may scavenge or claim spoils of war to transform their wands into more powerful instruments of destruction. These wands may be whittled from wood that could be blessed, cursed, or animated. Containing cores made from the plunder of arcane monstrosities, elementals, or even dragons. Depending on the situation, these arcane firearms may be seen as a gift, or to some as a damning jinx. Not one Wandslinger is similar to another, yet all are widely considered formidable foes.

Level 3: Whittling Artifice

You learn the arcane capability of carving martial instruments of ethereal forces despite your inability to cast spells. You gain the following traits that assist you in the tradition of wandcraft:

Tools of the Trade. You gain proficiency in the arcana skill and in woodcarver's tools.

Substitute Work. When you make a magic item, specifically a wand that creates a spell effect, you do not need to have that spell prepared for every day of working. You may instead use consumable items like potions, spell scrolls, or other items that may produce that spell effect once before being destroyed like fireball fungus. Once the wand is made, it is per the DM's ruling whether the items are consumed for each day of work, based on the difficulty and your success.

Level 3: Wandcraft

You can whittle wands and imbue them with arcane power. Whenever you take a long rest, you may create a wand with an elemental damage type attuned to it. You may only have one wand type crafted at a time. In your hands the wand acts like a weapon, allowing you to make an Attack action with it on your turn dealing cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, or slashing damage. The wand has the following traits:

When you attack with the wand on your turn, crackling energy bursts from it and hits the target, not requiring any ammunition be expended. The magic doesn't originate from spellcasting therefore it is not susceptible to the counterspell spell or similar effects, but it may be susceptible to abjuration like the antimagic field spell or similar effects. If the wand requires a saving throw from a target, your saving throw DC equals: (8 + proficiency bonus + Dexterity modifier).

If you used your attack action with a light weapon, you may attack with a wand as a Bonus Action, not including your dexterity modifier to your damage. You must have at least two wands if you are to attack on your action and bonus action with a wand. 

 At higher levels you may have more wands crafted at a time, at 5th level you may have two wands crafted at a time, 11th level three wands, 17th level four wands.

Cold Wand

This white wand is chilly to the touch and may have engravings or gem inlay that suggest an icy crystalline aesthetic. This wand emits a light blue beam and deals cold damage, as well as freezing any liquids in its path.

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Slow (Cost: 1d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Constitution saving throw or have its Speed reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. The Speed reduction will not exceed 10 feet even if synergized with other abilities, features, or weapons.

Fire Wand

This red-orange wand is warm to the touch and may have engravings or points lit with a small flame that suggest a fiery aesthetic. This wand emits a bright beam and deals fire damage, as well as causing flammable objects to begin burning if not worn or carried

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Ignite (Cost: 2d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Dexterity saving throw or begin burning. At the end of each of its turns, the target may make another Dexterity saving throw to end the effect on itself on a success. The fire also goes out if it is doused, submerged, or suffocated.

Force Wand

This dark wand is abnormally heavy and may have engravings or undulating luminance that suggest a wickedly powerful aesthetic. This wand emits an iridescent purple beam and deals force damage, as well as pushing any freestanding objects away from its path.

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Push (Cost: 1d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet away from you.

Lightning Wand

This grey wand is tingly to the touch and may have engravings or metallic accents that suggest a lightning rod aesthetic. This wand emits a yellow beam and deals lightning damage, as well as zapping any metallic objects along its path.

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Shock (Cost: 1d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Dexterity saving throw or be unable to make Opportunity Attacks until the start of its next turn.

Necrotic Wand

This black wand seems to gloom in your touch and may have engravings or rotting that suggest an ethereally grave aesthetic. This wand emits a sickly pale beam and deals necrotic damage, as well as sapping light and color along its path.

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Curse (Cost: 2d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Constitution saving throw or be unable to regain Hit Points until the start of your next turn. 

Slashing Wand

This blue wand is nearly weightless and may have engravings or blades that suggest a steel weapon aesthetic. This wand emits a rippling opaque beam and deals slashing damage, as well as slicing any freestanding objects not worn or carried in its path in half.

When you reach 5th level, you may use a special Cunning Strike effect whenever you use this wand on a target. 

Disarm (Cost: 2d6). If you hit a creature with this wand and deal damage, you may force it to make a Strength saving throw or force it to drop one object of your choice that it is holding, with the object landing in its space. 

Level 9: Overload

You have learned how to overload your wands with volatile power for brief instances of power. While wielding the appropriate wand, you can create one the following effects.

Cold Wall. As an Action with your cold wand, you may construct walls of snow and ice, each 1 foot thick, within a 120 ft range. You may make an amount of 10 ft square wall panels equal to two times your proficiency bonus. Each wall panel must be contiguous with another panel, and since they are objects, they can thusly be damaged and breeched. Each wall has an AC of 12, and a number of Hit Points equal to your sneak attack dice. They have immunity to cold, poison, and psychic damage, and vulnerability to fire damage. If a wall panel is destroyed, it leaves behind a sheet of frigid air. A creature who moves through the frigid air must make a Constitution saving throw or take an amount of cold damage equal to your sneak attack dice, or half as much on a success.

Fireblast. As an Action with your fire wand, you may blast an area with explosive fire within a 120 ft range. Each creature in the 20 ft radius area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take an amount of fire damage equal to two times your sneak attack dice, or half as much on a success.

Force Ray. As an Action with your force wand, you may bombard powerful arcana at a target within a 120 ft range. That creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take an amount of force damage equal to three times your sneak attack dice. If this damage reduces it to 0 hit points, it and everything nonmagical it was wearing or carrying are disintegrated into gray dust. The target can be revived only by a True Resurrection or a Wish spell.

Arc Lightning. As an Action with your lightning wand, you may arc a bolt of lightning at a creature or object within a 120 ft range. Three arcs of lightning then leap from that target to three different creatures or objects within a 30 ft range. Each target must make a Dexterity saving throw or take an amount of lightning damage equal to two times your sneak attack dice, or half as much on a success.

Necrotic Energize. As an Action with your necrotic wand, you may flood a creature with sickly green energy within a 60 ft range. That creature must make a Constitution saving throw or take an amount of necrotic damage equal to three times your sneak attack dice. If this damage kills a creature, that creature rises as a zombie at the start of your next turn. The zombie pursues whatever creature it can see that it is closest to.

Wave of Blades. As an Action with your slashing wand, you unleash a wave of sharp refined energy at all creatures within a 40 ft cone. Each creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take an amount of slashing damage equal to your sneak attack dice and drop whatever they are holding, or only half as much damage on a success without dropping what they're holding.

You are able to use this feature once per short rest. At level 15, you may use this feature twice per short rest.

Level 13: Retributive Snap

You can take a Magic action to snap one of your wands in twain. That wand is destroyed and releases its magic in an explosion that fills a 30 ft Emanation originating from yourself. You have a 50% chance to instantly teleport 60 ft, potentially avoiding the explosion. All creatures in the area of effect must make a Dexterity saving throw, on a failure a creature takes an amount of damage equal to two times your sneak attack dice, or half as much on a success. The type of damage that fills the space is dependent on the type of wand destroyed.

If you take damage from the explosion, that damage cannot be reduced in any way. If an additional wand is snapped before you take a long rest, the 50% chance to instantly teleport to safety reduces to 0% chance. Once a long rest is taken, it returns to 50% chance.

Level 17: Showdown

When you begin initiative with no uses of Overload, you regain all uses. You may use this feature once per long rest.