Base Class: Wizard
The tradition of Life Magic explores all avenues at extending life, delving into both necromancy and transmutation, rather than specializing in either of those schools.
Life moves through all beings, like water down a river. To you, this is a resource that can be harnessed like any other.
Some life mages are saintly wizards who sacrifice themselves to heal the downtrodden. Others become tyrants and cult leaders who sacrifice their followers to extend their own life. And still others remain simple utilitarians who seek only to reallocate life force from the wicked (or indolent) to the virtuous (or at least: industrious) where it can be put to more profitable use.
Swift Reconstruction
Starting at 2nd level, you become remarkably adept at manipulating your physical form and life force.
If you cast a necromancy or transmutation spell that only affects yourself, you can change the spell’s casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting, provided the spell’s casting time is normally 1 action.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Redistribute Vitality
Starting at 2nd level, your spells can tap into the life force of your allies. When you cast a necromancy or transmutation spell on a willing creature other than yourself, you can siphon hit points to or from that creature equal to twice the spell’s level.
Arcane Transfusion
Starting at 6th level, your focus in this tradition allows you to transfer life force between creatures in greater quantities than other wizards.
When you deal necrotic damage to one creature in order to heal another creature with a wizard spell (such as vampiric touch or life transference), you can deal maximum damage instead of rolling.
You can use this feature twice. You regain all expended uses of it when you finish a short or long rest. Alternatively, you can expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to regain one use of this feature.
Harvest Life
Starting at 10th level, you can use the life force you siphon from creatures to power your transmutative spells.
When you cast a necromancy spell that deals necrotic damage to a creature using a spell slot, you temporarily regain one expended spell slot. The slot you regain must be of a level lower than the spell you cast and must be used before the end of your next turn on a necromancy or transmutation spell that targets only yourself.
Homunculic Possession
At 14th level, you add the create homunculus spell to your spellbook, if it is not there already.
In addition, you can spend 8 hours transforming your homunculus into a sand-like substance that a willing creature can slowly ingest or absorb through its skin as part of the ritual.
As long as your homunculus is in this host, and all three of you are on the same plane of existence:
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You age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.
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Whenever you or the host regains hit points, you can redistribute them as you choose between the two of you.
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When you cast a necromancy or transmutation spell on yourself, you can have it affect the host instead.
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As an action, you can reduce your physical age by one year while simultaneously aging the host, or vice versa. You both gain a point of exhaustion each time you do this.
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While in this form, the homunculus cannot use its telepathic bond or any of its other abilities.
You can end this bond as an action, causing the homunculus to vacate the host, pouring out of their mouth, ears and other orifices, and transform back into its original form. The bond also ends if you or the host dies.
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Posted Sep 6, 2020@Dr_Frederick - Hey these are excellent points! Thanks for taking the time to explore this so thoroughly. I'll go back to the drawing board, work through these suggestions, and circle back!
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Posted Sep 5, 2020I understand what you’re going for with Harvest Life, but the execution seems a little convoluted. Getting to cast something as a bonus action, or just regaining a yet lower level spell slot might be easier than the current restrictions.
So, Homunculus Possession basically turns the mage into a symbiote. I like how your trying to bring the transmutation back into this, and it’s always cool when subclasses do thing things with aging. However, the homunculus seems a little superfluous to the feature’s effects. You could just expend a spell slot in the ritual and create a bond with the host directly.
All that being said, don’t take these criticisms too seriously. This is overall a very good subclass, and you’re free to be a bit zany with higher level features, since most game won’t actually make it this far.
I hope this review proves helpful to you.
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Posted Sep 5, 2020I like the thematics. Moving around life forces, rather than just pouring them from a divine fountainhead, is a very fitting contrast between a Arcane mage and a Cleric or Druid healer.
Swift reconstruction is solid. I can see it pairing well with spells like False Life, Alter Self, and Haste (at higher levels).
Redistribute Vitality is a good idea, probably the defining feature of the subclass, but the last clause is a little awkwardly worded. Perhaps if you broke it into two parts, it might be clearer: “you can siphon hit points to or from that target. One creature loses a number of hit points equal to or less than twice the spell level, while the other regains an equal number of hit points.”
I would also like to ask whether you intend for constructs and undead to be valid targets for this ability.
.Arcane Transfusion is another excellent idea, fitting well with the rest of the subclass’s themes. That being said, the spell effects it applies to are so specific, it might be easier to just name the spell it applies to (like Necromancer does with Animate Dead.)
That’s the most of the features down (the ones most players will see in game). So far, this subclass seems solid.
What I really like is that we get to move around hit points right from the start, you don’t have to wait for higher levels to start getting into the subclass’s main premise, which is a problem a lot of the official Wizard subclasses have (especially Necromancer).