Bonded Magician

The adherent of an ancient form of Wizardry, the Bonded Magician studies magic by interacting with extraplanar entities, specifically their familiars. Familiars are often overlooked or ignored as sources of arcane knowledge, but the Bonded Magician studies and engages with theirs as the principal method of learning spells. These tiny spirits come from extradimensional places where magic is more commonplace, and they have insights they can share with their Wizards. 

When magic was new, spellcasters most frequently received their knowledge of magic directly from the gods. However, the gods feared mortal magic use and withheld many spells. The Wizards of the day had to figure many spells out for themselves. Magical experimentation was dangerous, often deadly. And even when successful, the Wizard who unearthed the spell formula did not necessarily give it to anyone else.

The gods were not the only source of magic in the multiverse, and the creatures of Faerie, the Elemental Chaos, the clockwork plane of Mechanus, and more beyond those were all interested in the events happening in the Prime. Once interplanar communication was discovered, Wizards quickly identified spirits and granted them forms so they could act as companions to spellcasters. These spirits had a natural understanding of how magic functioned and proved to be valuable in the field of spell research. Such experimentation was not entirely without risks, as the familiars had patrons who could become offended if the familiar was mistreated. But catastrophic explosions were no longer a required step in spell creation. Eventually, the known spell list grew to where it is today and many Wizards now wonder if there is anything left to discover. 

Bonded Magicians that concentrate on elementals are also known as Sha'ir. Bonded Magicians that concentrate on fey and fiends are also known as Witches. 

Bonded Magicians add Augury,  Conjure Celestial, Conjure Fey, Conjure Woodland Being, and Planar Ally to the Wizard spell list.

Improved Familiar Bond

You add Find Familiar to your spellbook, and the spell is always considered prepared by you. If you already know the spell, you can add a different 1st level spell to your spellbook. 

When you gain the service of a familiar and you select one of the creatures in the spell description, you can choose for the familiar to be celestial, construct, elemental, fey, or fiend. Your familiar gains immunity to one type of damage and one condition associated with its type. The familiar also gains one language depending on its type, which it can speak despite its form. You gain advantage on saving throws made to resist or overcome the condition the creature is immune to. You also gain the ability to understand (but not speak) the language your familiar is granted by its type.

You can communicate with your familiar telepathically or verbally in any language you know, and you can even communicate in nonsensical syllables--the familiar always knows what you are trying to say. The familiar can communicate with you telepathically or vocally using the sounds of its creature type. While these sounds are not a language, you always know what the familiar is trying to say. 

Type	Damage immunity	Condition immunity	Language
Celestial	Radiant	Frightened	Celestial
Construct	Poison	Poisoned	Modron
Elemental	Acid	Petrified	Primordial
Fey	Psychic	Charmed	Sylvan
Fiend	Fire	Frightened	Infernal

 

Unlike the normal casting of Find Familiar, each familiar you summon is a unique individual, and they do not retain memories of previous familiars unless they are the same form. In that case, the Bonded Magician can choose to begin with a clean slate or recall the previous familiar. As such, each familiar will have its own responses to combat when unled. Also, assign your familiar a personality trait from the table below, or create a unique one for the Familiar. 

Most familiars hide in the face of combat, but some try to be aggressive. A very loyal familiar might try to position itself to deliver a touch spell without a command to do so. A familiar who feels like she is being taken advantage of will sour against their summoner and might become difficult to work with. A familiar with a legitimate grievance can simply choose to end its service with the Bonded Magician, which gives it a way to refuse a direct order from you. If it does, it immediately returns to the extradimensional place it came from. If your familiar quits on you, then you cannot call a familiar of that type (celestial, fey, etc.) until you gain a new level. If you offend all the types and none will work with you, you cannot advance in levels as a Bonded Summoner. Otherwise, you can change familiars as often as you can cast Find Familiar, at a 10 gp component cost. 

Extraplanar entities hear about how the Bonded Magician treats their familiars who share their type. For example, celestial powers such as gods and angels might react poorly to the Bonded Magician if he abuses a celestial familiar, while the fabled Court of the Genies might welcome you like an old friend thanks to the generosity you showed your elemental familiar.

Familiar Personality Traits / Quirks:

1	The familiar is very ambitious, and plans to catapult from this job to something important!
2	The familiar has picked up a liking for food and begs for table scraps from those eating nearby
3	The familiar emotes very well and is unable to disguise disdain (or love or loathing, choose).
4	The familiar has begun collecting some mundane object, which it keeps in your backpack.
5	Your familiar has grown to like or dislike the mundane creatures whose form it wears.
6	The familiar dislikes getting wet and hides in its extradimensional space whenever it is likely.
7	The familiar is playing to the letter of the law and does not offer ideas or assistance.
8	The familiar occasionally has instinctive flashes whenever it spots a predator (or prey).
9	The familiar is a terrible busybody and spies on everyone it knows. It might share.
10	The familiar learned to hum from someone and does it when safe. It might not be good at it.

Spiritual Advisor

Your connection to your familiar gives you insight about other creatures of that type, so if your creature is a fiend you know more about fiends, and so on. You have advantage on INT (Arcana) and INT (Nature) checks related to their monster type, and your DM may extend advantage to other rolls related to the familiar's monster type.

Also, your connection to an extraplanar intelligence grants you the ability to cast Augury once per long rest without using a spell slot. Augury counts as a Wizard spell for you. 

Expanded Familiar Options

As your understanding of the Wizard-Familiar bond increases, you learn to call upon new creatures to act as your familiar. You may now also choose from Cackler, Dretch, Dust Mephit, Flumph, Flying Dagger, Flying Sword, Gazer, Geonid, Ice Mephit, Imp, Magma Mephit, Manes, Mud Mephit, Pseudodragon, Quasit, Quadrone (Small), Quickling, Smoke Mephit, Sprite, Steam Mephit, and Tridrone (Small). If you choose one of these creatures, they do not receive the Damage Immunity associated with their type but they do receive the Condition Immunity and the Language. Other creatures might serve as a familiar, with DM approval. Familiars should be at most CR 1 and Small-sized.

Each of these creatures has a stronger connection to extraplanar motivations, and the DM is encouraged to give them Ideals and Bonds as appropriate.

You may also choose from the list of creatures in the Find Familiar spell description, but you gain access to two additional creature types: Dragon and Aberration. Creatures granted this type take on alien appearances that combine their original and granted creature types. For example, a Dragon Cat might have scales and draconic eyes, while an Aberration Cat might have patches of fur interspersed with a soft armadillo shell, an extra eye or two, and tentacles in place of legs. Aberration and Dragon creatures do not have any particular damage immunities, but you gain Blindsight 10 ft. when the familiar is on the same plane as you. 

Type	Damage immunity	Condition immunity	Language
Aberration	none, but you gain Blindsight 10 ft.	Charmed	Deep Speech
Dragon	none, but you gain Blindsight 10 ft.	Frightened	Draconic

 

The range at which you can communicate with your familiar increases to 1 mile. Your familiar must still be within 100 feet of you to deliver a touch spell for you. 

You can now use your action to have your familiar make an attack or cast a spell using its reaction. Familiars can never summon other creatures.

Proxy Spellcasting

At 10th level, your familiar begins to assist your spellcasting in new ways. 

Concentration Proxy: Once per long rest, your familiar can assist you by assuming the concentration of a spell you have cast. You must use your reaction at the start of the Familiar's turn to transfer concentration, and the Familiar must use its action to assume concentration on the spell. As a magical creature and a spirit, your familiar does not need to make CON checks to maintain concentration when it takes damage. The familiar must use its action on each of its turns to maintain concentration for you. Concentration is broken if the familiar moves further than 100 feet away or if it is dismissed, stunned, or destroyed (the highest HP of any familiar is 26, although most have 9-16 hit points). Your familiar can still deliver touch spells for you using its reaction while it concentrates on a spell for you.

Location Proxy: You can also cast spells as though you occupied the space of your familiar, if it is within 100 feet of you. It takes no action on your part, but the familiar must use its reaction. You can cast spells through your familiar a number of times equal to your INT modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.

Spell-Seeking Proxy

Bonded Magicians constantly interact and negotiate with their familiars for magical knowledge, as reflected in the spells they acquire when they gain a level in the Wizard class. But at 14th level, the Bonded Magician can gain a spell on the fly by sending its familiar out to bring the spell back to them. 

The Bonded Magician uses a bonus action to command the familiar to find a particular spell. The familiar can be up to one mile away when the Bonded Magician issues this command. The spell must be on the Wizard's spell list and must be 5th level or lower. The familiar immediately uses its reaction to seek the spell and is temporarily removed from play as it shifts to an appropriate plane. On the familiar's initiative count, the familiar makes an INT (Arcana) check using the Bonded Magician's bonus against a DC equal to 10 + twice the spell's level. On a success, the familiar finds the spell and returns to play adjacent to the Bonded Magician. On a failure, the familiar does not locate the spell and tries again on its next turn.

The familiar cannot communicate with the Bonded Magician while it is on another plane. When it returns with the spell and is within 100 feet, the Bonded Magician treats that spell as a prepared spell for one casting only. The familiar holds the spell until the Wizard takes a short or long rest. If the familiar is destroyed or dismissed before the Bonded Magician casts the spell, then the spell is lost. The Bonded Magician must still provide any material components the spell requires. 

The Bonded Magician can send its familiar to bring back a spell once per long rest.