School of the Occult

The School of the Occult is a magical tradition that is far darker than other schools; it is the type of magic often relegated to the Nine Hells or the Far Realm. The magic is based in forbidden knowledge that is both powerful and maddening. Its wielders twist and corrupt the Weave, often to devastatingly spectacular effect.

The hunger for knowledge and for power align perfectly in the School of the Occult. Wizards that pursue this school are often cast out of the civilized academic tradition of wizardry as they are viewed as evil beings. While this is certainly the case for many, it is not for all. Some wizards have "fallen" into this school when their spellbook was cursed by dark forces or when they learned magic from corrupted scrolls disguised as mundane spells. Once a wizard has tasted occultic magic, it is near impossible for them to turn away.

Tainted Grimoire

Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, you have access to the warlock spell list. These spells count as wizard spells for you and your spellcasting ability is Intelligence. When you first take the subclass, choose two first level spells from the warlock spell list and add them to your spellbook. These spells are in addition to the spells you can add to your spellbook from taking a level in the wizard class. 

If you lose your Tainted Grimoire or it is destroyed, it will return to you at the end of your next long rest in the same condition in which you last had it. This process causes you to gain 1 level of exhaustion. If it is destroyed by a sufficiently powerful means (per the discretion of the DM) it will not return. You can then use the usual procedure to transcribe the spells that you have last prepared into a new spellbook, which then becomes your Tainted Grimoire.

Cursed Empowerment

Beginning at 2nd level, you gain the ability to enhance the damaging effects of your spells, at a cost of some of your resiliency. When you hit with a damaging spell, you can choose to expend any number of your wizard Hit Dice (d6) to roll them and add the result to the damage roll of the spell. If you roll a 1 on any of the dice, you can reroll them and you must use the new result. If the spell inflicts multiple types of damage, choose one to increase via this feature. You can only use this feature once per spell; if the spell requires multiple damage rolls, you can only increase the damage of one of the rolls. The damage is increased before taking resistance, vulnerability, or successful saving throws into consideration.

 

Horrorologist

By the 6th level, your studies into the occult have shaped your mind. You cannot be frightened by aberrations, fey, fiends, or undead, and you have advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about these creature types. You gain proficiency in Arcana, or expertise if you were already proficient. Finally, you have advantage on Charisma saving throws and Concentration checks initiated by aberrations, fey, fiends, or undead.

Emulate Terror

Beginning at 10th level, you can gain the ability to transform yourself to resemble the horrors to which your magic is tied. As a bonus action you can embody one of the horrors listed below, taking on some of its physical features and powers. This transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you become incapacitated or die. You can transform this way once per long rest at level 10 and once per short rest at level 14.

• Hellspawn: Possible physical manifestations include curved horns, claws, forked tail, glowing red eyes, etc. You gain resistance to fire damage, and you can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of any wizard spell you cast that deals fire damage. You can make a melee weapon attack using your horns or claws as a bonus action on your turn. You can use your Intelligence modifier and proficiency bonus for the attack roll, and the damage is equal to 1d6 + your proficiency modifier slashing damage and 1d6 fire damage.
• Hag: Possible physical manifestations include wrinkled skin, exaggerated facial features, elongated fingers and limbs, pale white eyes, etc. You gain immunity to poison damage and resistance to acid damage. Your spells ignore resistance to poison damage and treat immunity as resistance. When you take this form, you can instantly cast mirror image without expending a spell slot.
• Ilithid: Possible physical manifestations include tentacles, bulging craniums, slimy skin, multiple eyes, etc. You gain resistance to psychic damage. If you are casting a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater and would deal psychic damage, you can double the range. When you hit a creature with psychic damage, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
• Lich: Possible physical manifestations include rotting flesh, exposed bones, taught skin, hallow eye sockets, etc. You gain resistance to necrotic damage. When you hit a creature with a spell and deal necrotic damage, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice the spell level. Your hit point maximum cannot be reduced and creatures cannot gain hit points from spells or abilities that drain your vitality (such as enervation or a vampire's bite).

Become Terror

Starting at 14th level, you can transform more fully into the horrors which you have studied. When you transform using the Emulate Terror feature, instead of adopting some of the physical attributes of your chosen horror, your body is completely transformed to resemble the creature. This change is cosmetic, you retain your game statistics. In addition to the features granted by Emulate Terror, you gain the following benefits:

• Hellspawn: Choose a fiend of your same size class to appear as. You gain a flying a speed equal to your walking speed and darkvision. As long as you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield, your AC increases by +2.
• Hag: Choose a hag to appear as (or a masculine version or a hag). You gain a +1 to your spell attack rolls and spell save DC. As an action, you can touch a creature and attempt to inflict them with the poisoned condition. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. Creatures that are immune to the poison condition instead have advantage on this saving throw. Creatures that are resistant to/have advantage against the poisoned condition do not benefit from that resistance.
• Ilithid: Choose an aberration of your same size class to appear as. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see that has an Intelligence score of 2 or higher. When you inflict 10 or more psychic damage to a creature, you can force it to make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save you can choose to either have it become frightened or decrease its Intelligence score by 1 (minimum of 2 for creatures that originally had a score greater than 2). A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn and a creature's Intelligence score returns to normal once this feature ends.
• Lich: Choose a state of decomposition to appear as, ranging from a week-old corpse to a skeleton. If you kill a creature, you can choose to have it rise as a zombie under your control at the start of your next turn. The zombie takes its turn immediately after yours. You can control a number of zombies created by this feature equal to your proficiency bonus. Once this feature ends, any remaining zombies lose hit points equal to half of your wizard level (rounded down). Any zombies that remain after that become hostile.

After this feature ends (1 minute duration), roll a d10. On a 1, you retain some small physical attribute of the creature into which you transformed. This may be a mouth full of jagged teeth, an extra eye where it doesn't belong, a skeletal finger, etc. This remnant lasts for 1d10 days or until removed with a remove curse spell or similar.