The Fractured Arcanist

Wizards who follow the path of the Fractured Arcanist have broken the conduits of magic within themselves. They willingly tore their own leylines apart, suffered a terrible accident, overstepped their arcane abilities, or forced their body to endure a magical flux, leaving them misaligned with the Weave. This rupture allows them to exploit gaps in magic’s natural laws, channeling raw power in ways others cannot, but at terrible personal risk.

A Fractured Arcanist is a living error in the world’s magic—able to ignore casting restrictions, bend reality, and warp time itself. Yet each exploit risks their body, mind, and very soul being shredded by the uncontrolled forces they command.

Exploit the Gaps

When you choose this subclass at 2nd level your internal magical conduits are broken, allowing you to circumvent the natural laws of magic.

When you cast a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose to bypass one of the following restrictions:

• Ignore the material components of the spell (even if they indicate gold cost).
• Cast the spell as a bonus action, if it normally takes an action, as a action if it normally takes 1 minute, or half the casting time if it normally takes longer than 1 minute.
• Remove the need for concentration on the spell. (The spell still ends after its standard concentration time elapses.)
• Double the spell’s range.

Each time you exploit the gaps in this way, you must immediately roll on the Fractured Leyline Surge Table (below).

 

 

Fractured Leyline Table

d100	Effect
01–02	Conduit Collapse. You take force damage equal to your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier.
03–04	Weave Mending. You regain hit points equal to twice your wizard level.
05–06	Spell Fizzle. The triggering spell immediately ends and has no effect, and consumes a spell slot.
07–08	Raw Channel. Your spell’s damage is maximized.
09–10	Weave Backlash. You are stunned until the start of your next turn.
11–12	Thread Step. You teleport up to 30 feet to a space you can see.
13–14	Leyline Bleed. Lose your highest-level unspent spell slot.
15–16	Arcane Reservoir. You regain a spell slot of 3rd level or lower.
17–18	Explosive Discharge. You and all creatures within 10 feet take 2d8 force damage.
19–20	Perfect Flow. The triggering spell does not consume its spell slot.
21–22	Dead Thread. You can’t cast spells until the end of your next turn.
23–24	Overclock. You can take one additional action immediately.
25–26	Conduit Erosion. You gain one level of exhaustion.
27–28	Nullphase. You become invisible until the start of your next turn.
29–30	Unstable Displacement. You teleport 30 feet in a random direction, taking 1d6 force damage if you hit an object.
31–32	Leyline Fortification. You gain resistance to all damage until the start of your next turn.
33–34	Snapped Anchor. You become frightened of the nearest creature until the end of your next turn.
35–36	Cascading Charge. For 1 minute, your spells deal an extra 1d8 force damage.
37–38	System Lock. Your speed is reduced to 0 until the end of your next turn.
39–40	Weave’s Favor. Your spell ignores resistance, and treats immunity as resistance.
41–42	Weave Lash. All concentration spells you are maintaining immediately end.
43–44	Arcane Rewind. You may immediately recast the triggering spell at the same level against a different target without expending a spell slot, if the spell effect is an emanation the center may not be within 20ft of the original spell.
45–46	Arcane Cascade. One magic item you’re carrying becomes nonmagical for 1 hour.
47–48	Anchor Threads. You gain temporary hit points equal to twice your wizard level.
49–50	Critical Feedback. You take damage equal to twice the spell’s level (force damage).
51–52	Reality Flex. You may choose to succeed on one saving throw you make in the next minute.
53–54	Memory Fragmentation. You lose one prepared spell at random until your next long rest. Roll a die appropriate to your prepared spells and remove the spell that corresponds with the roll.
55–56	Residual Surge. You regain all expended Hit Dice.
57–58	Null Pulse. A 10-foot-radius antimagic zone centered on you appears until the end of your next turn.
59–60	System Override. The next time you roll on this table, you can choose the result instead of rolling.
61–62	Temporal Stutter. You lose your next reaction and bonus action
63–64	Temporal Echo. You immediately gain an additional bonus action this turn.
65–66	Backdraft. The spell instead targets you if possible, or originates on you if its an emanation effect.
67–68	Favorable Distortion. Enemies have disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the start of your next turn.
69–70	Wild Disruption. The environment around you warps unnaturally: roll on the Wild Magic Surge table (PHB p. 104) and apply the result. Until the start of your next turn any spells cast within 10ft of you trigger an additional effect from the Wild Magic Surge table.
71–72	Spontaneous Insight. You learn one spell of your choice from the wizard spell list until your next long rest.
73–74	Rift Spawn. A hostile creature who's CR equals 1/4 of your wizard level of the DM’s choice appears and attacks you for 1 minute before vanishing. This creature cannot be killed, only stunned for a turn when it's HP reaches 0. The creature regains half its max HP after its Stunned effect ends.
75–76	Overloaded Threads. You regain two expended 1st-level spell slots.
77–78	Splintered Body. Take 3d6 necrotic damage and your maximum hit points are reduced by half that amount until your next long rest.
79–80	Leyline Surge. Each creature of your choice within 20 feet must make a Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 force damage, while you heal for the same amount dealt.
81–82	Arcane Blindness. You are blinded until the end of your next turn.
83–84	Residual Arcana. One expended magic item of yours regains all charges.
85–86	Rift Drag. You are banished to a harmless demi-plane until the start of your next turn.
87–88	Empowered Presence. Allies within 30 feet gain advantage on saving throws until the start of your next turn.
89–90	Weave Recoil. The next spell you cast before the end of your next turn automatically fails.
91–92	Spectral Guardian. You summon a glowing guardian spirit (AC 17, 10 hp) that follows and protects you for 1 minute, imposing disadvantage on attacks against you.
93–94	Critical Overload. Roll twice more on this table and apply both results.
95–96	Weave Harmonization. Until your next long rest, your spell save DC increases by +1.
97–98	Catastrophic Surge. You immediately drop to 0 hit points, stable.
99–00	Supreme Control. You may immediately end one ongoing magical effect or condition affecting you (as if by greater restoration).

Channel Flux

At 2nd level your broken leylines allow you to bypass the Weave's limits by sacrificing your own vitality.

When you cast a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose to lose hit points equal to twice the spell's level + your Wizard Level. If you do, choose one of the following effects.

• Overcharge: The spell deals maximum damage for one damage roll.
• Reclamation: You regain one expended spell slot of a level equal to half the spell level (rounded up).
• Slip the Weave: The spell ignores counterspell, dispel magic, and immunity/resistance to its damage type.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Sidestep Reality

Beginning at 6th level your broken connection allows you to phase your magic outside of the Weave’s normal flow.

• Temporal Sidestep. When you cast a spell, you can delay its release, suspending it in nullspace. Choose a number of rounds up to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). The spell’s effects do not resolve until the start of your turn after that many rounds have passed, or as a reaction any point before that many rounds have passed. You may only suspend one spell at a time.

• Bypass Resistance. Once per short rest, when you deal damage with a wizard spell, you can change resistance to vulnerability to its damage type until the end of your turn. You can expend a spell slot of 1st-level or higher as a bonus action to regain this ability.

Nullspace Manipulation

At 10th level you can collapse magic around you, forming a dead zone where the Weave can’t properly function.

As an action, you create a Nullspace Zone centered on yourself in a 10-foot radius. It lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. While you are in the zone you gain the following benefits:

• Your spells ignore the need for verbal and somatic components and do not require line of sight.
• Creatures other than you within the zone have disadvantage on spell attack rolls.
• Creatures other than you that cast a spell within the zone must roll a d4, on a 1 or 3 they must roll on the Fractured Leyline table.
• Spells and Magical Effects originating outside the Zone have disadvantage to hit creatures within the zone.

You can use this feature once per long rest.

Threadmastery

At 14th level you have achieved total dominance over the broken threads of your leylines, allowing you to rewrite the flow of magic around you.

Spell Reclamation
Once per long rest, as a bonus action, you may draw on the fractured threads of the Weave to restore your magical power. Choose expended spell slots whose combined levels equal up to half your wizard level (rounded up). You immediately regain those spell slots.

Weave Hijack
When a creature you can see within 60 feet casts a spell that targets one or more creatures or has an area of effect, you can use your reaction to seize the spell’s threads and rewrite them:

• You may change the spell’s targets or move its area of effect to a new location of your choice within the spell’s normal range.
• You can remove one or more of the spell’s original targets to a minimum of 1.
• You do not change any attack rolls that were already made for the spell; the results carry over to the new targets or location if applicable.

You can use Weave Hijack a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.

When you use Weave Hijack, you must roll twice on the Fractured Leyline Table and apply both effects.