School of Contract Magic

AUTHOR'S NOTE / DISCLAIMER

I have never played D&D before! This is my very first design experiment, born purely out of a fun mechanical concept I wanted to explore.
Because I don't have playtest experience, I am completely open to constructive criticism, balance adjustments, and mechanical feedback. Let me know what works and what doesn't.

 

While traditional wizards study the inner workings of magic and spells, the movements of the stars, the incantations of ancient scrolls, or the natural properties of elements. Wizards of the School of Contract Magic follow the footsteps of Warlocks, studying the anatomy of contract, but without using another being.

They treat their own soul, mind, and body as a closed magical weapon, applying strict equations to forge contracts with their own being.
This forbidden discipline is not for the faint of heart. To gain a massive surge of explosive capability tomorrow, you must be willing to lock away your own defenses today.

Over time, the constant spiritual taxation and severe self-restrictions begin to physically warp the wizard, fracturing their physical strength and agility in exchange for an intellectual breakthrough.

In combat, a Contract Wizard is the ultimate strategic gambler. When cornered, they can liquidate their magical reserves to temporarily upgrade their fragile mortal bodies into fast, tanky physical combatants. At the height of their power, they can exploit ultimate internal loopholes.

If you are a tactician who thrives on high-stakes resource management, calculated sacrifices, and balancing on the razor's edge between total burnout and absolute omnipotence, the School of Contract Magic welcomes your signature on your own ledger.

The Internal Wager

When you choose this school at 3rd level, you begin studying the exact spiritual geometry required to sign contracts with your own soul. You learn to speak, read, and write Abyssal, Infernal, and Deep Speech to study ancient texts on contract-making.

Your internal contracts are still imperfect. Because you are constantly restricting and dividing your own mind, you suffer a -1 penalty to your Spell Attack rolls and Spell Save DC starting out. Your magic is slightly harder to land because your focus is split.

Fractured Identity

Your divided mind and contracts spiritually and mentally drain your psyche. The constant calculation of soul, mind and body has given you a fractured identity, but allowed you to reach higher aspirations.

You get -1 to Strength and Dexterity. At Level 8, lose 1 more Strength and Dexterity. Gain +1 Intelligence.

You are engrained with stable knowledge allowing you to gain proficiency in any of these skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, or Religion.
OR
You dare to wager you mind away in a 1d20 roll. Depending on the dice roll, you get a different reward ranging from weak to strong.
- Mind Drain (1-5): The drain on your psyche intensifies.
Start the next fight with disadvantage on starting roll for 1d8 turns.
- Volatile Resonance (6-10): Your fractured mind forces your spellcasting to burn hotter, but the backlash cracks your own vitality. 
Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you add an extra 1d6 Force or Psychic damage to one of the damage rolls.
But, whenever you cast a spell from a Spell Slot of Level 2 or higher, roll for 1d4 psychic damage as your split mind recoils from the strain.
- Moment of Clarity (11-15): Despite your identity wavering, you find a moment of clarity. +1 Intelligence.
- Death of Ego (16-20): You embrace ego death and atain new knowledge. You learn one cantrip of your choice from the Wizard spell list.

[01 – 05] Wager: Mind Drain

Your fractured mind falters under the strain. You have disadvantage on your next Initiative roll in combat

[06 - 10] Wager: Volatile Resonance

Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, add 1d6 Force or Psychic damage to one damage roll.

Additionally, when you cast a spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you take 1d4 psychic damage.

[11 - 15] Wager: Moment of Clarity

Despite your identity wavering, you find a moment of clarity. +1 Intelligence.

[16 - 20] Wager: Death of Ego

You embrace the ego death and attain new knowledge. 

You learn one cantrip of your choice from the Wizard spell list.

Stable Knowledge

You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.

Somatic Re-allocation

You learn how to temporarily tear down your magical reserves to violently upgrade your physical, mortal body through a contract with one’s own being.

As a bonus action, you can choose to "burn" one of your available spell slots to gain a surge of physical power that lasts for (1+Spell Slot Level) minute(s). You lose the ability to use that Spell Slot until you take a short rest.

Based on the level of the spell slot you sacrifice, you immediately gain the following benefits for the duration:

• Temporary Hit Points: You gain extra health equal to 3 × Spell Slot Level.
• Movement Speed: Your walking speed increases by 5 × Spell Slot Level feet.
• Physical Prowess: You gain a bonus to your Strength and Dexterity checks/saving throws equal to the Spell Slot Level.

Eldritch Enchainment

Your internal math becomes more aligned with itself. 

You finally master the first self-imposed restriction without affecting your body.

 At the end of a Long Rest, you choose one spell slot of 5th level or lower and enchain it.

That slot is locked and unusable for the next 8 hours. 

When you finish your next Short Rest, the slot unlocks, and your knowledge of internal contracts grants you a temporary Bonus Spell Slot of that exact same level.
This bonus slot vanishes if you take any rest, or when 24 hours pass.

Contractual Recast

You can activate a Contractual Recast at any point during your turn (including immediately after moving or taking a reaction), provided you have not yet taken an Action or a Bonus Action. Activating this ability consumes your Action and Bonus Action for the turn, and your turn ends immediately after the recast is resolved.

To use this ability, you must target an expended spell slot that meets the following criteria:

1. It must be a spell slot of 2nd level or higher.
2. It cannot have been previously targeted by a Contractual Recast (you cannot recast the exact same slot twice).
3. Your current stacks of *Contractual Dissipate must be strictly lower than 5.

When your turn ends, roll a 1d20. The DC equals 8 + your current Dissipate Stacks and the formula is d20 + your Arcana modifier. You do not lower the Spell Slot Level and the Spell Slot stays used up. Nothing happens.

If you land higher, the targeted spell slot is instantly restored, but its level is permanently lowered by 1 for the rest day (an expended 4th-level slot becomes an available 3rd-level slot). You can use this newly minted slot normally on your subsequent turns.

*Contractual Dissipate: Each time you trigger this ability, you gain 1 stack of Contractual Dissipate. This acts as an internal pressure gauge:

• Your stacks decrease by 1 at the end of every second turn.
• Burnout: If your counter reaches 5 stacks, your magical network completely collapses. You enter a state of severe internal burnout. You are completely unable to cast spells using spell slots for 5 turns. You cannot use Contractual Recast again until your stacks drop back down to 0.
• You get an opportunity to dodge if you fail the Contractual Recast, creating 30 feet of distance between you and the attacker. This will give you disadvantage on saving throw rolls for 1d2 turns.

Reassembled Identity

Your mastery of contracts has refined and perfected you.
You regain a part which was once lost.

Lose all negative effects inflicted by previous aspects of this subclass. 
You keep positive effects like the extra damage from Wager.

Gain +1 Intelligence.