School of War Magic

A variety of arcane colleges specialize in training wizards for war. The tradition of War Magic blends principles of evocation and abjuration, rather than specializing in either of those schools. It teaches techniques that empower a caster’s spells, while also providing methods for wizards to bolster their own defences.

Followers of this tradition are known as war mages. They see their magic as both a weapon and armour, a resource superior to any piece of steel. War mages act fast in battle, using their spells to seize tactical control of a situation. Trained in some dunamancies they are adept at controlling the flow of every battle. Their spells strike hard, while their defensive skills foil their opponents’ attempts to counterattack. War mages are also adept at turning other spellcasters’ magical energy against them.

In great battles, a war mage often works with evokers, abjurers, and other types of wizards. Evokers, in particular, sometimes tease war mages for splitting their attention between offence and defence. A war mage’s typical response: “What good is being able to throw a mighty fireball if I die before I can cast it?”

 School of War Magic Class Features

Combat Superiority

At 2nd level, you have learned to weave your magic to fortify yourself and deflect attacks and spells with your arcane prowess. When you are hit by an attack or you fail a saving throw, you can use your reaction to gain a +2 bonus to your AC against that attack or a +4 bonus to that saving throw. When you use this feature, you can’t cast spells higher than 3rd level until the end of your next turn.

Due to your extensive combat training, your keen ability to assess tactical situations allows you to act quickly in battle. You can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Intelligence modifier.

 

Fluid Evoker

Beginning at 2nd level, you can create pockets of relative safety within the effects of your evocation spells. When you cast an evocation spell that affects other creatures that you can see, you can choose a number of them equal to 1 + the spell’s level. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save.

Arcane Bulwark

Starting at 6th level, you can weave magic around yourself for protection. Once per long rest you can conduct a 10-minute long ritual to construct an Arcane Bulwark around your body that lasts until you finish a long rest. The Bulwark has a hit point maximum equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.

When successfully weaving your Arcane Bulwark you gain Arcane Flux charges equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. You gain one Arcane Flux when you manage to successfully counterspell or dispel magic.

When you have at least one Arcane Flux, 

• as a bonus action, you can recharge your Arcane Bulwark with an amount of hp equal to half your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier, consuming one Arcane Flux.
• you can, once per turn, when you deal damage to a creature or object with a wizard spell, spend one Arcane Flux to deal extra force damage to that target. The extra damage equals half your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. 

While the Bulwark has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. 

Unwavering Mind

Beginning at 10th level, the magic you channel helps ward off harm. While you maintain concentration on a spell, you have a +2 bonus to AC and all saving throws.

Arcane Eruption

Starting at 14th level, you can increase the power of your simpler spells. When you cast a wizard spell of 1st through 5th level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.

The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 necrotic damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the necrotic damage per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.