Rune Alchemist

Rune Alchemy combines 2 differing sides of magic; potion making and rune crafting. In turn, the rune alchemist is able to produce a massive variety of potions and empower runes to be used to supplement their spells.

Arcane Transmutation

You blend alchemy and runecraft into a single discipline, inscribing formulaic sigils that reshape magic either as it is cast or as it settles into physical form.

Rune Points. You gain a pool of Rune Points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
You regain all expended Rune Points when you finish a long rest. Rune Points fuel both your runic spell augmentations and your alchemical potions.

When you cast a wizard spell on your turn, you may spend 1 Rune Point to inscribe a minor empowered rune onto the spell as you release it.

• A rune activates only if at least one target of the spell is hit by the spell’s attack roll or fails its saving throw.
• The rune’s effect occurs immediately after the spell resolves.
• A spell may only benefit from one rune.

At 3rd level, you know the following Basic Runes, each costing 1 Rune Point to inscribe:

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Air Rune

One target of the spell takes an additional 1d4 force damage.
(Die increases to 1d6 at level 6, 1d8 at level 10, and 1d10 at level 14.)

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Water Rune

One target of the spell takes an additional 1d4 cold damage.
(Scales to 1d6, 1d8, 1d10.)

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Earth Rune

One target of the spell takes an additional 1d4 thunder damage.
(Scales to 1d6, 1d8, 1d10.)

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Fire Rune

One target of the spell takes an additional 1d4 fire damage.
(Scales to 1d6, 1d8, 1d10.)

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Mind Rune

You or one creature affected by the spell gains a 1d4 bonus to the next Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw it makes within 1 minute.

At 6th level, you may instead add 1d4 to a Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution saving throw.
At 10th level, the bonus becomes 1d6.

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Body Rune

You or one creature affected by the spell gains temporary hit points equal to your wizard level.

At 6th level, this becomes 1d8 + Intelligence modifier + proficiency bonus.
At 10th level, this becomes 1d8 + Intelligence modifier + (proficiency bonus x 2)

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Pulse Rune

Your magic sends a jolt through a creature’s reflexes.
One creature subtracts 1d4 from the next initiative roll it makes.
(Scales to 1d6, 1d8, 1d10.)

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Grasp Rune 

Your magic briefly binds the target.
One target’s speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

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 These runes count as neither spells nor magical items; they are minor arcane alterations woven into your casting.

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Alchemical Potions

You also learn to stabilize spell energy into physical form.

Formula Knowledge

Whenever you add a spell to your spellbook, you also learn its alchemical formula, allowing you to create a potion of that spell.
Additionally, you may learn the formula for non-wizard spells only after witnessing the spell being cast or studying a spell scroll, as determined by the DM.

Brewing a Potion

As part of a long rest, you may spend 1 spell slot and 1 Rune Point to transform that spell into a potion you craft.
You must have an empty vial.
The potion holds the spell’s effect; drinking or applying it uses the spell’s casting time and rules unless noted otherwise.
Spells requiring attack rolls cannot be made into potions.
Your DM may rule that certain spells (such as teleportation or summoning) cannot be replicated alchemically.

Spell Slot Lock

You cannot regain the spell slot used to create the potion until the potion is consumed or you end its magic.

Potion Limit

You can maintain a number of active potions equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
If you would create a potion beyond this limit, one potion of your choice immediately loses its magic.

Using a Potion

A potion may be drunk, thrown, or applied to a creature within 5 feet as an action.
If the target is unwilling, you must succeed on a melee spell attack to apply it.
On a miss, the potion is wasted.

Potions lose all magical potency when you finish a long rest unless otherwise noted by a higher-level feature.

Level 6: Greater Transmutation

Your mastery of runic chemistry deepens, allowing you to weave more potent sigils into your spells and refine destructive alchemical mixtures.

You gain access to Advanced Runes, each costing 2 Rune Points, and you learn to craft Volatile Compounds.

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Advanced Runes

When you cast a wizard spell on your turn, you may spend 2 Rune Points to inscribe one of the following advanced runes onto the spell. A spell may benefit from only one rune, basic or advanced.

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Law Rune

You inscribe a stabilizing glyph that sharpens form and discipline.
Choose yourself or a creature targeted by the spell. Until the start of your next turn, the creature gains one of the following benefits:

• +1 bonus to AC
• +1 bonus to its next attack roll
• +1 bonus to its next damage roll

At 12th level, this bonus increases to +2.

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Chaos Rune

You unleash unpredictable arcane turbulence.
One target of the spell that took damage from it takes an extra 2d6 damage of one of the spell’s damage types.

Alternatively, you may instead deal 2d8 damage of a random type from the Chaos Table below.

At 12th level, this extra damage becomes 2d8 or 2d10 (random).

Chaos Table (1d12)	Damage Type
1	Piercing
2	Bludgeoning
3	Slashing
4	Cold
5	Fire
6	Lightning
7	Thunder
8	Poison
9	Acid
10	Necrotic
11	Radiant
12	Psychic

 

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Astral Rune

You channel starlit wards through the spell.
Choose yourself or one target of the spell. That creature gains resistance to one damage type dealt by the triggering spell until the start of your next turn.

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Nature Rune

You infuse the spell with restorative essence.
You or one creature affected by the spell regains hit points equal to 2d6 + your Intelligence modifier.

At 12th level, this becomes 2d8 + your Intelligence modifier.

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Cosmic Rune

You twist space briefly as the spell completes.
Choose yourself or a target of the spell. You teleport the chosen creature up to 15 feet to a space you can see.

This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

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Anchor Rune

Spatial magic locks down the target.
Until the start of your next turn, the target cannot teleport or be teleported.

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Balance Rune

You stabilize or destabilize footing.
One target has disadvantage on the next Strength or Dexterity saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn.

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Silence Rune

Your spell disrupts vocal resonance.
One target cannot cast spells with verbal components until the start of your next turn.

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Lockstep Rune

Your spell anchors momentum.
One target’s speed cannot be increased by spells or abilities until the start of your next turn.

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Volatile Compounds

Your alchemical skill allows you to turn spell energy into unstable explosive mixtures.

When crafting a potion using your Arcane Transmutation feature, you may choose to create a Volatile Compound instead. A Volatile Compound has the following properties:

Damage

It deals 2d4 damage per level of the spell slot used to create it, in a 10-foot-radius sphere.

Throwing and Detonation

As an action, you may throw a Volatile Compound to a point within 20 feet, where it detonates on impact.

Volatile Compounds count as ranged projectiles for features such as Deflect Missiles, allowing a monk (or any creature with a similar reaction) to attempt to catch or redirect the compound as it travels.

Creatures in the blast radius must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking full damage on a failure or half on a success.

Damage Type

Roll on the Chaos Table to determine the damage type after the explosion.

Chain Reactions

If a Volatile Compound explodes within the blast radius of another, that compound immediately detonates as well.
Each secondary explosion rolls its own damage, but creatures in range take half of that roll automatically, without making additional saving throws.

 

Level 10: Alchemical Familiar

Your experiments allow your familiar to absorb a stable alchemical ooze, altering its form into a curious mixture of creature and concoction.
When you finish a long rest, you may choose for your familiar to take on an Alchemical Ooze Form, replacing its usual movement and abilities with the following enhancements.
It retains all normal familiar rules: it cannot attack, uses your initiative, and acts only as commanded.

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Level 10: Master Transmutation

Your runic formulas reach new heights of complexity.
You can craft Master Runes, each costing 3 Rune Points, granting the following effects when you cast a wizard spell on your turn.

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Master Runes

When you cast a wizard spell on your turn, you may spend 3 Rune Points to inscribe one of the following advanced runes onto the spell. A spell may benefit from only one rune; basic advanced, or master.

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Soul Rune

You channel entropic magic into the spell.
One creature that failed its saving throw against the spell (or was hit by it) takes 2d8 necrotic damage, and it cannot regain hit points until the start of its next turn.

At 14th level, the extra damage increases to 3d8.

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Blood Rune

You harvest vitality through the spell.
One creature damaged by the spell takes 2d8 necrotic damage, and a creature within 30 feet of it regains hit points equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

At 14th level, the necrotic damage becomes 3d8, and you may divide the healing between two creatures (including yourself).

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Wrath Rune

You unleash violent emotional resonance through the spell.
One creature damaged by the spell takes an additional 3d8 damage of one of the spell’s damage types.
This damage triggers only once for spells that deal damage over multiple rounds.

At 14th level, the damage increases to 3d10.

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Paradox Rune

You twist the creature’s perception of time.
Choose a target of your spell. If it fails a Wisdom save, its initiative count becomes 0 until the end of its next turn.

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Gravity Rune

You intensify gravity around the target.
One target must succeed on a Strength save or have its speed reduced to 0 until the end of its next turn.

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Horizon Rune

You fold time around an ally.
If the target of your spell is willing, it immediately moves up to 15 feet and may take the Ready action without using its action.

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Cage Rune

You bind the target in a tightening runic lattice.
The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or become restrained.
The effect lasts until the start of your next turn, ending early if the target takes damage

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Level 14: Rune Weaving

Your mastery of runecraft reaches its apex, allowing you to reshape spells, space, and alchemical energy with overwhelming precision. You gain the following features:

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Runic Overcharge

When you cast a spell, you may expend 3 Rune Points to flood the spell with unstable alchemical magic.
Choose one of the following:

• Add two additional damage dice matching one of the spell’s damage types
• Force one target of the spell to make its saving throw with disadvantage
• Grant yourself resistance to all damage until the start of your next turn

You can use Runic Overcharge only once per turn.

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Efficiency Mastery

You have refined the patterns of your runes to their most efficient forms.

• Once per turn, when you spend Rune Points, you may reduce the cost of that rune effect by 1 Rune Point (minimum 1).
• You may use this reduction a number of times per long rest equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

Efficiency Mastery cannot reduce the cost of Grand Transmutation.

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Grand Transmutation

You can channel a surge of rune energy into an overwhelming burst of battlefield transmutation.

As an action, you may expend 4 Rune Points to transmute a 30-foot-radius area you can see within 120 feet.
Choose one of the following transformations. The transformation persists until the end of your next turn.

Frozen Expanse

The ground crystallizes into jagged ice.

• The area becomes difficult terrain.
• Creatures of your choice must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or have their speed halved until the end of their next turn.
• A creature that fails by 5 or more is also knocked prone.

Gravity Vortex

You collapse alchemical force inward.

• Creatures of your choice must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pulled 20 feet toward the center and knocked prone.
• A creature that succeeds is still pulled 10 feet but is not knocked prone.

Burning Conversion

Volatile fire ignites the air.

• Creatures of your choice take 4d10 fire or acid damage, Dexterity save for half.
• A creature that fails by 5 or more has disadvantage on its next attack roll.

Vital Bloom

Alchemical life surges outward.

• Allies regain 3d10 hit points.
• Allies gain resistance to the next instance of damage they take before the end of their next turn.
• Enemies of your choice must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.

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Mythic Transmutation (INT 22+)

If your Intelligence score is 22 or higher, your mastery deepens further.

You may expend 6 Rune Points (instead of 4) to use one of the following Mythic Transmutations. The transformation persists until the end of your next turn.

Temporal Lock

You thicken the flow of time in a localized bubble.

• Creatures of your choice must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have their speed reduced to 0 and be unable to take bonus actions or reactions until the end of their next turn.

Arcane Collapse

You unravel ambient magic in the area.

• Creatures of your choice must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on all saving throws until the start of your next turn.

Elemental Cataclysm

Choose poison, cold, lightning, or thunder.

• Creatures of your choice take 6d10 damage of the chosen type, Dex or Con save (your choice) for half.
• The area becomes elementally charged until the end of your next turn:

– Poison : Creatures of your choice have disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of their next turn.

• Constructs and undead have disadvantage on their first Strength check or attack roll before the end of your next turn.

– Cold: The area becomes difficult terrain. Each creature of your choice must make a Dex save or be knocked prone. 

• Creatures that are climbing or burrowing immediately lose their grip or motion, falling or surfacing in the nearest open space.

– Lightning: Reactions are suppressed in the area. 

• Enemies of your choice become positively charged: Attack rolls made with metal weapons against them have advantage until the start of your next turn.
• Allies of your choice become negative charged: Attack rolls made with metal weapons against them have disadvantage until the start of your next turn.

– Thunder: Creatures of your choice in the area have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws and Constitution ability checks (including concentration checks) until the end of your next turn.

• Flying creatures of your choice have their flying speed halved until the end your next turn.

 

Level 14: Alchemical Familiar: Volatile Vessel

Your familiar can absorb unstable alchemical mixtures, turning its body into a mobile explosive reaction chamber.

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Volatile Absorption.

As an action, you may feed a Volatile Compound to your Alchemical Familiar.
The familiar becomes Charged until it drops to 0 hit points, takes fire, lightning, or force damage, or you use a bonus action to command it to detonate.

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Volatile Detonation.

When the familiar detonates the stored compound, the explosion originates from its space.
Creatures within a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on the familiar must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking damage as normal for a Volatile Compound.

A creature that shares the familiar’s space when it detonates makes this saving throw with disadvantage. This includes allies.

The familiar is destroyed by the explosion.

A familiar cannot hold more than one Volatile Compound at a time.

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Runic Echo: Detonation

When your Alchemical Familiar detonates a Volatile Compound, all creatures within the explosion’s 20-foot-radius sphere take the Volatile Compound’s damage normally (Dexterity saving throw for half), unless a detonation mode specifies otherwise.

Before the explosion resolves, choose one of the following modes:

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Stabilized Burst (Safe Mode)

Your protective runes shield allies from the worst of the blast.

Allies within 20 feet:

• take no damage from the explosion
• gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier x 2
• may each be pulled up to 5 feet toward the familiar

Enemies within 20 feet:

• must make a Strength saving throw
– On a failure: pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone
– On a success: pushed 10 feet away but not knocked prone

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Last-Light Pulse (Dangerous Mode)

You invert the explosion’s energy, sacrificing safety for devastating momentum.

Allies within 20 feet:
• take the explosion’s damage normally (Dex save for half)
• then gain temporary hit points equal to half the damage they took
• are pulled 10 feet toward the familiar if they remain conscious

Enemies within 20 feet must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC:

On a failure:

• pushed 10 feet away
• knocked prone
• dazed until the start of their next turn
(dazed = no reactions and disadvantage on attack rolls)

On a success:

• pushed 10 feet away
• speed is reduced by 10 feet until the end of their next turn

(This does not prevent legendary actions.)

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Reconstitution.

If your familiar is destroyed by this detonation, it reforms after 10 minutes with 1 hit point.
You may instead expend a spell slot as an action to reform it instantly.