I know it is not possible to change your wizard's school of magic, but I wonder, if in a hypothetical setting, a necromancer wizard decides to multiclass as an evocation wizard, why wouldn't that be possible?
So, like even as a necromancer you can use regular wizard spells of different schools, so why isn't it possible for your wizard to be able to learn another wizard class?
Well maybe it is because it takes so long to "study" and become knowledgeable, but what if you have a race that has a much higher extended life span? Would it not be possible if it were in a real-life fantasy world?
I know in the Forgotten Realms books, Elminster is a multiclass wizard (fighter 1, rogue 2, cleric 3, wizard 24, archmage 5 as of edition 3, and a controller 19 in edition 4, with no stat block for 5e sadly) but my point is that we all know how awesome and badass he is, but while it is the 3rd edition, he was still able to be classed as two types of wizards. If you look up what an archmage is for 3e, it is basically an evocation wizard because they are able to sculpt and manipulate spells (also was called metamagic). He knew every spell that was known to most common spellcasters, savant in arcane magic, he could use psionic magics as well as counterspell magics. In fact, the only magic he didn't ever use was conjuration magic and that which delt with those of the fiendish planes.
Yes, I understand that he is an all-powerful spellcaster of the books (even though he has been present in many of the videogames and in the official books as well) with a literal deity favoring him, but we are also talking about a fictional world where magic and creatures of wonderous and foul are abounded so technically anything is possible.
So again, why couldn't someone be able to multiclass as a necromancer wizard and an evocation wizard?
Also, I am still kind of a newbie with dnd, I have played many times and even tried DMing my own story, but I also seem to have confusion and pondering quandaries about the "rules" of the game, and yes, I also know that most of this would be only allowed if the DM said it could be, but I am more curious as to if it would even be plausible. Eh, curiosity killed the Tabaxi 🤷♂️
RAW, this does not work because the Multiclassing rules say it has to be a new class. If the DM allowed it, I think you would need to treat it like any other multiclass. Your spell slots would scale the same, and so would the spells you have access to, so an Evoker Wizard 4/Necromancer Wizard 4 would only have access to 2nd level spells, not 4th as a normal Wizard 8 would have. I think I would allow this as a DM, but I would have the caveat that duplicate class abilities would not stack in the way Extra Attack can't stack (so no double Arcane Recovery or Scholar).
I would say that if you really wanted to switch specialty, I would allow you to do so, but you would be replacing your specialty, not gaining a second one. In other words, with study the Necromancer could change their focus and become an Evoker instead, losing all necromancer specific abilities and replacing them with Evocation.
The whole point of of the Wizard subclasses is that you gain abilities because of your intense (singular) focus. Just as a cleric who wants a new subclass could do so, but would have to give up their first to do so. One could not be both a Life Domain and War Domain cleric - they could switch, but not take up both at the same time.
I know it is not possible to change your wizard's school of magic, but I wonder, if in a hypothetical setting, a necromancer wizard decides to multiclass as an evocation wizard, why wouldn't that be possible?
So, like even as a necromancer you can use regular wizard spells of different schools, so why isn't it possible for your wizard to be able to learn another wizard class?
Well maybe it is because it takes so long to "study" and become knowledgeable, but what if you have a race that has a much higher extended life span? Would it not be possible if it were in a real-life fantasy world?
I know in the Forgotten Realms books, Elminster is a multiclass wizard (fighter 1, rogue 2, cleric 3, wizard 24, archmage 5 as of edition 3, and a controller 19 in edition 4, with no stat block for 5e sadly) but my point is that we all know how awesome and badass he is, but while it is the 3rd edition, he was still able to be classed as two types of wizards. If you look up what an archmage is for 3e, it is basically an evocation wizard because they are able to sculpt and manipulate spells (also was called metamagic). He knew every spell that was known to most common spellcasters, savant in arcane magic, he could use psionic magics as well as counterspell magics. In fact, the only magic he didn't ever use was conjuration magic and that which delt with those of the fiendish planes.
Yes, I understand that he is an all-powerful spellcaster of the books (even though he has been present in many of the videogames and in the official books as well) with a literal deity favoring him, but we are also talking about a fictional world where magic and creatures of wonderous and foul are abounded so technically anything is possible.
So again, why couldn't someone be able to multiclass as a necromancer wizard and an evocation wizard?
Also, I am still kind of a newbie with dnd, I have played many times and even tried DMing my own story, but I also seem to have confusion and pondering quandaries about the "rules" of the game, and yes, I also know that most of this would be only allowed if the DM said it could be, but I am more curious as to if it would even be plausible. Eh, curiosity killed the Tabaxi 🤷♂️
RAW, this does not work because the Multiclassing rules say it has to be a new class. If the DM allowed it, I think you would need to treat it like any other multiclass. Your spell slots would scale the same, and so would the spells you have access to, so an Evoker Wizard 4/Necromancer Wizard 4 would only have access to 2nd level spells, not 4th as a normal Wizard 8 would have. I think I would allow this as a DM, but I would have the caveat that duplicate class abilities would not stack in the way Extra Attack can't stack (so no double Arcane Recovery or Scholar).
I would say that if you really wanted to switch specialty, I would allow you to do so, but you would be replacing your specialty, not gaining a second one. In other words, with study the Necromancer could change their focus and become an Evoker instead, losing all necromancer specific abilities and replacing them with Evocation.
The whole point of of the Wizard subclasses is that you gain abilities because of your intense (singular) focus. Just as a cleric who wants a new subclass could do so, but would have to give up their first to do so. One could not be both a Life Domain and War Domain cleric - they could switch, but not take up both at the same time.
That is how I would rule it.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.