As a DM, I'm working on a design for a 5E 2014 player character who was an 18th level wizard, but has been beaten down to 1st level due to a curse (and will grow back to 12th level in the campaign). Would you play this design? Would the really good days be good enough to outweigh the really bad days?
There are three pieces to the design: a trait that increases or decreases their spell slots, two 1st level utility spells with infinite uses (Spell Mastery retained from 18th level), and a beefier familiar that can tank on days when the wizard has few spells.
Erratic Arcana
While your spellbook contains centuries of learning, your grasp of the arcana within changes from day to day. When you finish a long rest, you must reprepare the list of wizard spells that are available for you to cast. When you do, roll on the Erratic Arcana table to determine the total combined level of spell slots to gain or lose.
If the total is negative, choose a number of spell slots to lose until you finish a long rest. The spell slots must have a combined level that is equal to the total. For example, if the total is -2, you can lose two 1st level slots, or one 2nd level slot. If this effect would cause you to have one or fewer spell slots, you can instead choose to retain two 1st level slots.
If the total is positive, choose a number of spell slots to gain in addition to your normal spell slots. The spell slots must have a combined level that is equal to the total. For example, if the total is 2, you can gain two 1st level slots, or one 2nd level slot.
Erratic Arcana
d100
Total
%
d100
Total
%
01
-9
1%
56-64
1
9%
02-03
-8
2%
65-72
2
8%
04-06
-7
3%
73-79
3
7%
07-10
-6
4%
80-85
4
6%
11-15
-5
5%
86-90
5
5%
16-21
-4
6%
91-94
6
4%
22-28
-3
7%
95-97
7
3%
29-36
-2
8%
98-99
8
2%
37-45
-1
9%
00
9
1%
46-55
0
10%
The d100 table above is equivalent to rolling 2d10 and subtracting one from the other: "When you [finish a long rest], roll a d10, then roll another d10 and subtract the result from the first. The total represents the spell slots you lose or gain". I wasn't sure which mechanism would be preferable - roll a d100, or roll two d10s and subtract the second from the first. The highest chance is for no change to spell slots, with a maximum loss or gain of 9 - but with a caveat that it never drops the player below two 1st level spell slots (i.e. slots as per a 1st level wizard - this could be increased if too annoying!). Also, their spellbook does not contain Wish.
Spell Mastery
You have mastered the Shield spell and the Enlarge/Reduce spell. You always have these spells prepared and they don't count against the number of spells you have prepared. You can cast these spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.
Dire Raven
Your familiar, Vrook is an unusually large raven and has the statistics of an Eagle. When you target Vrook with the Enlarge spell, he assumes the statistics of a Giant Eagle instead of the normal effects of the spell. When you target Vrook with the Reduce spell, he assumes the statistics of a Raven instead of the normal effects of the spell. Regardless of his form, Vrook has an Intelligence of 8, and retains the Mimicry trait of the Raven.
When you target Vrook with the Polymorph spell, you can transform him into his Eagle, Giant Eagle, or Raven form in addition to the forms normally permitted by the spell.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
So.... your player will have essentially a permanent Giant Eagle they can use to carry the party across most obstacles, and which they can ride in combat to snipe from above. But they can also do all kinds of hijinx with enlarge/reducing items at will - e.g. shrink down a boulder have Vrook carry it high in the sky then drop it on enemies, or enlarge a rock to block door ways.
They have essentially a permanent +5 bonus to AC.
And the only draw back is some randomized spellslots that averages out to net equal which they could get around just by waiting for a good day to go adventuring.
What subclass are they taking? If they combo this with Bladesinger this is an incredibly OP character in waiting.
Hm. Enlarge/Reduce gives them a Giant Eagle for 1 minute at a time, with a 10gp re-summoning cost (Find Familiar) if they get it killed. Maybe Giant Eagle could be limited to once per long rest, or only kick in at xth level. I thought the summoning cost would keep them from abusing it at low levels, and by higher levels, a CR 1 creature becomes less impactful.
The intention was to give them an alternative combat mode on days when the slots don't go their way - Shield and stay out of the way, while their Giant Eagle does more of the fighting.
On days when they have very few slots, Mage Armor might not make the cut, so I thought Shield would give them some AC (they're old-as-balls with lower physical stats). Would Mage Armor be a better spell to have in Mastery? Limited to self only, perhaps.
I could reduce Mastery to only one spell, or their choice of x or y. Perhaps Proficiency Bonus times per day, instead of unlimited.
Thanks for your thoughts!
They're not a power gamer by any means, and the design ties into the overall narrative - they're most likely a transmutation wizard. I'm trying to balance making them volatile in an interesting way, but not annoying to play.
As for the spell slots, I could shift the probabilities around (at the moment, it's 45% helpful, 45% unhelpful, 10% neutral) - but the narrative has a ticking clock, so spamming long rests for high slots would cost them in other ways.
The intention was to give them an alternative combat mode on days when the slots don't go their way - Shield and stay out of the way, while their Giant Eagle does more of the fighting.
Familiars aren't allowed to make attacks, so they could never use the Giant Eagle as a combatant. If you want it to be a pet-class I highly recommend looking at the pet-classes from Tasha's to based a scaling statblock off of.
(they're old-as-balls with lower physical stats)
Age doesn't have any mechanical effects in DnD, if they have a +0 or +1 for DEX then unlimited Shield might be ok, but they will stack that on top of Mage Armour most likely so unlimited Shield means an AC of 18-20 for most Wizards.
I'm trying to balance making them volatile in an interesting way, but not annoying to play.
Why make spell slot volatile then? The problem you'll run into is most digital character sheets won't allow spell slots to be increased beyond those awarded to the class, so it could be very annoying to track unless you are using paper & pencil character sheets. I'd suggest making it the number of spells they have prepared that is volatile [TBH when you first described it as a wizard with memory issues I assumed you would make spells prepared either reduced or random], but give them a guaranteed minimum of 1 spell per spell level they have slots for.
I tried messing with spell slots rather than spells prepared so that they can sometimes punch above their current level (balanced by sometimes being nerfed to beneath their current level). It's all on paper, so no problem with digital sheet compatibility. Adding or removing spells prepared limits or expands their options for the day, but doesn't really affect power - and I want them to have glimpses of what they were once capable of.
I should have said earlier - their old spellbook contains all their old spells (chosen by me), only decipherable by them (they can't sell it or let NPCs learn from it). The player knows their character was once more powerful, but not necessarily how powerful, and will figure out over the campaign that they are a heroic wizard who should have died centuries ago (kept alive by a cursed item).
If they roll high on the slots, say 7, they could choose to gain it as one 7th level slot, and either upcast a lower level spell, or choose to prepare a 7th level spell that day. A single powerful feat of magic - or they could gain it as some medium slots.
Are you thinking of the Tasha's Cauldron Beast of the Land/Sea/Sky blocks for Ranger Beast Masters? That could work, thanks!
Their Dexterity is 11, so AC 15 with Shield, and 18 with Shield+Mage Armor.
Maybe I should cut the table down to simpler options. Gain or lose 9, 5, 3, or 1 levels of spell slots.
As a DM, I'm working on a design for a 5E 2014 player character who was an 18th level wizard, but has been beaten down to 1st level due to a curse (and will grow back to 12th level in the campaign). Would you play this design? Would the really good days be good enough to outweigh the really bad days?
There are three pieces to the design: a trait that increases or decreases their spell slots, two 1st level utility spells with infinite uses (Spell Mastery retained from 18th level), and a beefier familiar that can tank on days when the wizard has few spells.
The d100 table above is equivalent to rolling 2d10 and subtracting one from the other: "When you [finish a long rest], roll a d10, then roll another d10 and subtract the result from the first. The total represents the spell slots you lose or gain". I wasn't sure which mechanism would be preferable - roll a d100, or roll two d10s and subtract the second from the first. The highest chance is for no change to spell slots, with a maximum loss or gain of 9 - but with a caveat that it never drops the player below two 1st level spell slots (i.e. slots as per a 1st level wizard - this could be increased if too annoying!). Also, their spellbook does not contain Wish.
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
So.... your player will have essentially a permanent Giant Eagle they can use to carry the party across most obstacles, and which they can ride in combat to snipe from above. But they can also do all kinds of hijinx with enlarge/reducing items at will - e.g. shrink down a boulder have Vrook carry it high in the sky then drop it on enemies, or enlarge a rock to block door ways.
They have essentially a permanent +5 bonus to AC.
And the only draw back is some randomized spellslots that averages out to net equal which they could get around just by waiting for a good day to go adventuring.
What subclass are they taking? If they combo this with Bladesinger this is an incredibly OP character in waiting.
Hm. Enlarge/Reduce gives them a Giant Eagle for 1 minute at a time, with a 10gp re-summoning cost (Find Familiar) if they get it killed. Maybe Giant Eagle could be limited to once per long rest, or only kick in at xth level. I thought the summoning cost would keep them from abusing it at low levels, and by higher levels, a CR 1 creature becomes less impactful.
The intention was to give them an alternative combat mode on days when the slots don't go their way - Shield and stay out of the way, while their Giant Eagle does more of the fighting.
On days when they have very few slots, Mage Armor might not make the cut, so I thought Shield would give them some AC (they're old-as-balls with lower physical stats). Would Mage Armor be a better spell to have in Mastery? Limited to self only, perhaps.
I could reduce Mastery to only one spell, or their choice of x or y. Perhaps Proficiency Bonus times per day, instead of unlimited.
Thanks for your thoughts!
They're not a power gamer by any means, and the design ties into the overall narrative - they're most likely a transmutation wizard. I'm trying to balance making them volatile in an interesting way, but not annoying to play.
As for the spell slots, I could shift the probabilities around (at the moment, it's 45% helpful, 45% unhelpful, 10% neutral) - but the narrative has a ticking clock, so spamming long rests for high slots would cost them in other ways.
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
Familiars aren't allowed to make attacks, so they could never use the Giant Eagle as a combatant. If you want it to be a pet-class I highly recommend looking at the pet-classes from Tasha's to based a scaling statblock off of.
Age doesn't have any mechanical effects in DnD, if they have a +0 or +1 for DEX then unlimited Shield might be ok, but they will stack that on top of Mage Armour most likely so unlimited Shield means an AC of 18-20 for most Wizards.
Why make spell slot volatile then? The problem you'll run into is most digital character sheets won't allow spell slots to be increased beyond those awarded to the class, so it could be very annoying to track unless you are using paper & pencil character sheets. I'd suggest making it the number of spells they have prepared that is volatile [TBH when you first described it as a wizard with memory issues I assumed you would make spells prepared either reduced or random], but give them a guaranteed minimum of 1 spell per spell level they have slots for.
I tried messing with spell slots rather than spells prepared so that they can sometimes punch above their current level (balanced by sometimes being nerfed to beneath their current level). It's all on paper, so no problem with digital sheet compatibility. Adding or removing spells prepared limits or expands their options for the day, but doesn't really affect power - and I want them to have glimpses of what they were once capable of.
I should have said earlier - their old spellbook contains all their old spells (chosen by me), only decipherable by them (they can't sell it or let NPCs learn from it). The player knows their character was once more powerful, but not necessarily how powerful, and will figure out over the campaign that they are a heroic wizard who should have died centuries ago (kept alive by a cursed item).
If they roll high on the slots, say 7, they could choose to gain it as one 7th level slot, and either upcast a lower level spell, or choose to prepare a 7th level spell that day. A single powerful feat of magic - or they could gain it as some medium slots.
Are you thinking of the Tasha's Cauldron Beast of the Land/Sea/Sky blocks for Ranger Beast Masters? That could work, thanks!
Their Dexterity is 11, so AC 15 with Shield, and 18 with Shield+Mage Armor.
Maybe I should cut the table down to simpler options. Gain or lose 9, 5, 3, or 1 levels of spell slots.
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.