Counter Mage

Followers of this tradition are known as Counter Mages. They see their magic as both a weapon and a tool, a resource far superior to any piece of steel or armor. Counter mages act on instinct in battle, using their spells to seize control of another spellcasters contributions on the battle field. Their spells strike hard, while their defensive skills foil their opponents’ attempts to counterattack. Counter mages are also adept at turning other spellcasters’ magical energy against themselves.

Counter Mage Features 

Wizard Level	Features
3rd	Spell Lock
3rd	Battle Foci
6th	Counter Savant
10th	Assertion of Will
14th	Mystra's Curse

 

Spell Lock

You have learned how to forcibly sever a creature’s connection to the Weave—arcane or divine alike. When your magic overwhelms a spellcaster’s control, you can lock them out of spellcasting entirely, if only for a moment.

You can impose Spell Lock in one of the following ways:

Spell Lock Triggers

1. Critical Spell Strike

When you score a critical hit with a spell attack roll, the target becomes spell locked until the start of its next turn.

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2. Overwhelming Area Magic

When you cast a spell of 5th level or higher that affects an area, each creature in the area that is capable of casting spells must make an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC.

• On a failed save, the creature is spell locked until the start of its next turn.

Save DC:
8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

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3. Forced Spell Lock

When you hit a creature with a spell attack or a weapon attack, you may attempt to impose Spell Lock on that creature.

• You can use this option a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

• You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• No action is required beyond the triggering attack.

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Spell Lock (Condition)

A creature under the effects of Spell Lock suffers the following restrictions:

• The creature cannot cast spells.

• The creature cannot activate magic items that require spellcasting, Such as scrolls or wands, rods, ect. 

• Ongoing concentration is not broken, but the creature cannot cast new spells while spell locked.

Spell Lock ends at the start of the affected creature’s next turn, unless otherwise specified.

Spell Lock is not a condition, does not require concentration, and is not suppressed by dispel magic.

Battle Foci

You have refined your spellcasting style into a combat doctrine, channeling magic through a specialized arcane implement. Choose one of the following Battle Foci: Rod, Staff, or Wand. Once chosen, this focus cannot be changed.

Your Battle Focus functions as your spellcasting focus.

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Arcane Barrage (Shared Feature)

Regardless of your chosen Battle Focus, you gain the following ability:

Arcane Barrage

When you take the Magic action to make a ranged spell attack using your Battle Focus, you fire arcane bolts of energy.

• You fire one bolt, plus one additional bolt for every two wizard levels you have (maximum of six bolts).

• You may target one creature with all bolts or distribute them among multiple creatures.

• You do not make a separate ranged spell attack roll for each bolt, rather make one roll and compare them to all Targets AC.

• Each bolt deals 1d4 damage.

• You roll the damage die once and apply the result to every bolt that hits.

Damage Progression

• At 11th level, the damage die increases to 1d6.

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Damage Type Access

When you gain a new tier, you may choose the damage type each time you use Arcane Barrage.

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Rod Focus — Arcane Juggernaut

You turn raw endurance into battlefield dominance.

• While wielding your rod, you gain temporary hit points equal to your wizard level at the start of each of your turns if you have none.

• You have damage reduction 5 against nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws.

This option allows the Wizard to be more of a partial frontline, and allows them to free up feat slots for classic feats such as war caster

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Staff Focus — Spell Sculptor

You master control over hostile resistance and elemental expression.

• When a creature makes a saving throw against one of your spells, you may treat your proficiency bonus as doubled for the purpose of determining your spell save DC once per turn.

• Once per round when you cast a spell, you may change its damage type according to the table below:

This change must be made when the spell is cast.

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Wand Focus — Precision Overload

You optimize spell output through relentless efficiency.

Damage Compression

When you roll damage for a spell you cast, any damage die that rolls within the top two values is treated as if it rolled its maximum value.

Examples:

• d4: 3–4 → 4

• d6: 5–6 → 6

• d8: 7–8 → 8

• d10: 9–10 → 10

• d12: 11–12 → 12

This applies to one damage roll per spell.

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Bolt and Ray Amplification

When you cast a spell that creates bolts or rays (such as magic missile, scorching ray, or eldritch blast via feats or multiclassing):

• You gain a number of additional bolts or rays equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

• These additional bolts deal damage normally and follow the spell’s original rules.

This feature does not alter spell slot scaling beyond the additional bolts, and can only be used with the base spell not an empowered or upcasted spell.

Rod

Rods

You turn raw endurance into battlefield dominance.

• While wielding your rod, you gain temporary hit points equal to your wizard level at the start of each of your turns if you have none.

• You have damage reduction 5 against nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws.

 

Staff

Staves 

You master control over hostile resistance and elemental expression.

• When a creature makes a saving throw against one of your spells, you may treat your proficiency bonus as doubled for the purpose of determining your spell save DC once per turn.

• Once per round when you cast a spell, you may change its damage type according to the table below:

This change must be made when the spell is cast.

Wands

Wands

You optimize spell output through relentless efficiency.

Damage Compression

When you roll damage for a spell you cast, any damage die that rolls within the top two values is treated as if it rolled its maximum value.

Examples:

• d4: 3–4 → 4

• d6: 5–6 → 6

• d8: 7–8 → 8

• d10: 9–10 → 10

• d12: 11–12 → 12

This applies to one damage roll per spell.

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Bolt and Ray Amplification

When you cast a spell that creates bolts or rays (such as magic missile, scorching ray, or eldritch blast via feats or multiclassing):

• You gain a number of additional bolts or rays equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

• These additional bolts deal damage normally and follow the spell’s original rules.

This feature does not alter spell slot scaling beyond the additional bolts, and can only be used with the base spell not an empowered or upcasted spell.

Counter Savant

Starting at 6th level,

Your mastery of spell disruption allows you to collapse hostile magic at the moment of its formation.

You add counterspell to your spellbook if it is not already there. It is always prepared for you and does not count against your prepared spells.

Enhanced Counterspell

When you cast counterspell, the creature casting the triggering spell must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC with disadvantage.

• On a failed save, the spell fails and produces no effect.

  • The creature wastes the action, bonus action, or reaction used to cast the spell.

  • If the spell was cast using a spell slot, the spell slot is expended.

• On a successful save, the spell is cast normally.

Overwhelming Interruption

If the creature fails the Constitution saving throw by 10 or more, it also becomes spell locked until the start of its next turn.

Assertion of Will

Starting at 10th level,

Your command over the Weave allows you to fracture a foe’s defenses—mental, physical, or arcane—at the moment your magic takes hold.

Once per round, when you cast a spell, you may assert your will over the spell and apply one of the following effects. You choose the effect when the spell is cast.

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Enfeebled Grip

When you cast a spell that targets a single creature, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or immediately drop one held weapon or item at its feet (your choice if multiple items are held).

• Severe Failure:
  If the target fails the saving throw by 10 or more, the item is violently hurled 30 feet away.

  Roll a d8 to determine the direction:

  • 1: Directly north (the square above the creature)

  • Continue counterclockwise through all adjacent directions

The item lands in the final space determined by the roll.

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Staggering Spell

When you cast a spell that targets a single creature, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC.

• On a failed save, the creature cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.

• Severe Failure:
  If the creature fails the saving throw by 10 or more, it also takes force damage equal to:

  1d4 per 2 levels of the spell slot used (minimum 1d4)

  Examples:

  • 5th-level slot → 2d4 force damage

  • 8th or 9th-level slot → 4d4 force damage

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Counter Suppression

When you cast counterspell, you may reinforce the interruption with crushing arcane pressure.

• If the target fails the Constitution saving throw against your counterspell, it suffers the following additional effects:

  • Any concentration spells immediately end.

  • The creature cannot cast spells until the start of its next turn.

• Severe Failure:
  If the target fails the saving throw by 10 or more, the interrupted spell is reflected back at the original caster:

  • The spell is cast at its base level

  • The spell resolves exactly as written

  • If the spell affects an area, the area is centered on the original caster

  • You cannot alter the spell’s damage, damage type, or other properties

This reflection does not require additional actions and does not count as casting a new spell.

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Important Clarification (Design & Rules)

• This feature does not apply the silence spell or its condition.
  Instead, it uses explicit mechanical effects:

  • Ends concentration

  • Temporarily blocks spellcasting

• This avoids unintended interactions with antimagic, sound, or spell descriptors and keeps the feature tightly scoped.

Mystra's Curse

Starting at 14th level,

You have learned to invoke a fragment of Mystra’s divine decree, forcibly silencing the Weave itself. Where your will alone once sufficed, you now call upon a higher law—one that even magic must obey.

Antimagic Dominion

Once per long rest, you can use an action to create an antimagic zone centered on a point you can see within 60 feet.

• The zone is a sphere with a 10-foot radius.

• At 18th level, the radius increases to 30 feet.

• The zone lasts for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus.

This zone functions as an antimagic field, with the following rules:

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Antimagic Effects

While inside the zone:

• Spells cannot be cast, and spells already in effect are suppressed for the duration.

• Magical effects end immediately upon entering the zone and do not resume until the source leaves the area. This includes spells cast into the zone, Targeted spells just do not hit their target while persistent spells do not see the effects till the field is down. 

• Magic items become inert while within the zone and provide no magical benefits.

• Summoned or conjured creatures are suppressed while in the zone.

• Ongoing magical effects resume normally once the affected creature or object leaves the zone, unless their duration has expired.

This effect applies to arcane, divine, and innate spellcasting alike.

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Equal Judgment

Mystra’s Curse does not discriminate.

• If you are inside the antimagic zone, you are affected by it as well.

• You cannot cast spells, benefit from magic items, or maintain magical effects while within the zone. This zone does not count as a magical effect you maintain, once it is activated it no longer acts as per your will and must run its course. 

You may choose the placement of the zone to exclude yourself, but doing so sacrifices control of the battlefield center.

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Rules Clarifications (Important)

• This feature follows the core rules of antimagic field, except where explicitly overridden above.

• Nonmagical materials are not suppressed.
  Adamantine armor is only affected if it is magical. Mundane adamantine functions normally.

• This zone does not dispel magic permanently; it suppresses it for the duration.