School of the Philomath

Philomaths, more commonly known as scholars or lore masters, follow a school of thought within wizardry fixated on understanding the underlying mechanics of magic. Traditionally found within the academies and archives of the world, philomaths are most at home when debating, experimenting, researching or teaching, though it is not uncommon for them to spend time exploring the abandoned libraries and fallen cities of the world in search for lost magicks.

Knowledge Shared

Starting at 2nd level, your mastery over the weave allows you to grant other creatures, even those without talent in the arcane, the ability to manipulate magic for a brief time. Over the course of an uninterrupted 10 minute ritual, that requires the full concentration of you and a creature of your choice, you can grant the creature the ability to perform a single casting of a spell with a casting time of an action, bonus action or reaction contained within your spellbook.

A creature benefitting from this ability must be a humanoid, or a sapient creature possessing the ability to speak and perform the somatic components of spells. Furthermore, the creature must follow all of the typical requirements of the spell, such as any components the spell requires and the maintenance of concentration (if applicable), and if the spell has a duration of greater than 1 hour, it lasts only 1 hour. When the creature casts the spell you taught them, they use your wizard spell save DC and spell attack modifier when casting the spell.

A creature cannot learn more than one spell at a time using this feature, and loses the ability to cast the spell in this way after casting the spell once, or upon finishing a long rest. If you grant a creature the ability to cast a cantrip, they can cast it a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier. You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + half your Proficiency bonus (rounded up), and regain all expended uses after finishing a long rest. The maximum level of the spell that you can grant to a creature is shown in the following chart:

Spell Level:

2nd: Cantrips 3rd: 1st level 6th: 2nd level 9th: 3rd level 12th: 4th level 15th: 5th level

Living Library

When you choose this archetype at 2nd level, your dedicated study has turned you into a compendium of knowledge on a vast array of topics. You gain proficiency in any two Intelligence or Wisdom skills of your choice, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses the Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion skill if you are proficient in that skill.

Furthermore, the time you must spend to copy a spell into your spellbook is halved. Finally, the time and gold cost for creating spell scrolls (as described on Page 133 of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) are quartered and halved respectively.

Adroit Arcana

At 6th level, your knowledge of the arcane allows you to adeptly disrupt the magics of other spellcasters. You learn counterspell and dispel magic and you always have them prepared, though they do not count against the number of Wizard spells you can have prepared.

Furthermore, you have advantage on any ability checks you make to counter or dispel other spellcaster’s magic if you have the spell they are casting currently contained within your spellbook. If you have the spell currently prepared, you make the roll at advantage and gain an additional bonus to the roll equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Finally, when you prepare your Wizard spells, you can now prepare a number of spells equal to double your Intelligence modifier + your Wizard level.

Expansive Repertoire

At 10th level, your control over the weave even extends into disciplines not traditionally associated with the arcane. Choose any two spells of your choice from any class’s spell list (the two needn’t be from the same list). A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Wizard table. You learn the two spells you chose, and they count as Wizard spells for you, though you cannot cast them unless you have them prepared as normal. You learn an additional spell of your choice when you reach the following Wizard levels: 11th level, 13th level, 15th level, and again at 17th level.

You can use spells learned in this way for your knowledge shared feature, as long as you have the spell copied into your spellbook. Other wizards cannot copy spells learned from this feature into their own spellbook, unless the spell is normally available to wizards.

Furthermore, due to your fluency with the weave, when adding a spell to your spellbook through the transcription of a scroll, you can add the spell to your spellbook regardless of whether it’s on the wizard spell list or not.

Master of the Weave

At 14th level, your fluency with magic of all schools is a wonder to behold. When you or another creature you can see casts a spell of 5th level or lower, you can use your bonus action or reaction respectively to immediately cast the spell yourself, expending the appropriate level of spell slot. If the spell requires concentration, you can ignore that component of the spell, maintaining the spell for a number of rounds equal to half your Intelligence modifier (rounded up). You can use this ability twice, and you regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.