Arcanist

Arcanists are expert mages who specialize in manipulating magical forces in complex ways. They are the most academic and formal casters, and are the best at complex rituals, wards, and enchantments. Arcanists are often found in wizard academies and guardian fortresses, where their skill at defensive warding is put to use.

Arcanist talents give a variety of utility and combat effects, with a focus on defense. These talents give ways to set up wards and runes, dispel other magic effects, and build constructs of magical force. Arcanists have no purely offensive talents. Arcanist ribbons further enhance their knowledge about and ability to manipulate magic.

Examples of arcanists in fiction include the entire cast of Harry Potter, any D&D caster that specializes in abjuration, as well as most fictional academically-trained wizards or mages.

Novice Talents

Arcane Shield

You conjure a shimmering field of magical force that blocks an attack

Cost: 1 Mana
Trigger: An attack targets your Defense
Duration: Until the start of your next turn

You gain +5 Defense.

Counterspell

You disrupt another caster’s spell, preventing it from taking effect

Cost: 0 Mana
Range: 120 feet
Trigger: Your target casts a spell

Roll a d6. If your result is higher than the cost of the triggering spell, the triggering spell doesn’t take effect. The cost of the triggering spell is calcuated before any effects that reduce the spell’s cost.

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, add 1 to the result of the d6.

Death Ward

You ward your ally against death with a last-ditch shield

Cost: 2 Mana
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 8 hours

When your target would fall to 0 health, they instead fall to 1 health, and this spell ends.

Dispel Magic

You dispel a magical spell, ending its effect early

Cost: 1 Mana
Range: 60 feet

Make a Magic attack roll against the Magic DC of each spell affecting your target.

Success: The spell immediately ends

Glyph

You carve a magical glyph that contains another spell

Cost: 2 Mana
Materials: 1 gp of expensive chalk
Target: A flat surface you can reach
Duration: 1 year, until the glyph triggers, or until the glyph is destroyed

You inscribe a small magical glyph onto your target. The glyph does nothing until it triggers. When the glyph triggers, the Explosive Runes effect activates.

You choose the conditions that trigger the glyph. For example, you could choose for the glyph to trigger when any creature touches or stands on the surface, when an object covering the glyph is removed, or when a creature reads the glyph. You can also specify more complex conditions, such as only triggering when a creature fails to speak a particular password. If the glyph is damaged, it triggers immediately. If two glyphs are in the same 5-foot space for 1 hour, their magic interferes and both trigger. If the glyph is moved more than 5 feet, it becomes unable to trigger for 1 minute.

Optionally, you can store a different effect in the glyph instead of Explosive Runes. When you cast this spell, also cast another spell of your choice. This other spell doesn’t take effect as normal, but is instead stored inside the glyph. This other spell takes effect when the glyph triggers. You must specify all the parameters of the spell (including its target, any heightening, and so on) when you store it in the glyph.

Heightened (per +1 Mana): The damage of the Explosive Runes effect increases by 1d6

I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.

Hold Creature

You paralyze a creature, holding them in place with magical force

Cost: 2 Mana
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Sustained, up to 1 minute

Make a Magic attack roll against your target’s Strength DC.

Critical Success: Your target is restrained and incapacitated
Success: Your target is restrained
Failure: Your target is slowed until the end of its next turn

Protector Ward

You shield a creature with a magical ward, protecting it from hard

Cost: 1 Mana
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 8 hours

Your target has 10 Shield against a damage type of your choice.

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, the amount of Shield increases by 10.

Sever Mana

You disrupt an enemy’s internal mana, dealing heavy damage

Cost: 2 Mana
Range: 60 feet
Requirements: Your target has a mystic origin

Make a Magic attack roll against your target’s Spirit DC.

Critical Success: Double damage and double mana loss
Success: Your target takes 3d12 damage and loses 3d4 mana
Failure: Half damage and half mana loss

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, the damage increases by 1d12 and the mana loss increases by 1d4.

Veteran Talents

Arcane Hand

You conjure a giant hand made of magical force that mimics your own hand

Grasping Hand

Range: 60 feet

You Disarm, Grapple, Shove, or Trip your target. Use your Magic score instead of your Strength score for the attack roll.

If you Grapple a creature, you don’t need to be able to reach them, you aren’t slowed, and you can’t drag them with you when you move. It’s the hand grabbing them, not you.

Interposing Hand

Range: 60 feet
Target: An empty space you can see within range

The target space is occupied by the hand. The space is completely impassable and provides cover.

Punching Hand

Range: 60 feet

Make a Magic attack roll against your target’s Defense.

Success: Your target takes 6d6 damage

Cost: 5 Mana
Duration: 1 minute

You conjure a giant hand of shimmering, translucent force. The hand mimics the movements of your own hand, but with extended range and power. You can use the Grasping Hand, Interposing Hand, and Punching Hand powers.

At the GM’s discretion, the hand can perform other useful tasks, such as manipulating objects or carrying items. As a general rule, the hand uses your Magic score instead of Strength or Agility, and it can function out to a range of 60 feet.

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, the range of each power increases by 10 feet, and the damage of Punching Hand increases by 1d6.

Reflect Spell

You counter spells so well that you reflect them onto your enemies

Prerequisites: Counterspell

When you cast Counterspell, you can choose to redirect the triggering spell instead of disrupting it. When you redirect a spell, you choose the target of the spell instead of the original caster.

Resilient Sphere

You conjure an indestructible sphere around several creatures

Rolling Sphere

Duration: 1 minute, or until you use Crashing Sphere

Choose a direction. At the end of each of your turns, you roll 10 feet in that direction. This movement stacks with further uses of this power: if you use Rolling Sphere 10 times, then you move 100 feet at the end of each of your turns. If this movement would carry you into another creature or a solid object, use the Crashing Sphere effect on that target.

Crashing Sphere

Make an Agility attack roll against your target’s Agility DC.

Critical Success: Your target takes 1d6 damage for each 10 feet you would move and falls prone
Success: Your target takes 1d6 damage for each 10 feet you would move
Critical Failure: You take 1d6 damage for each 10 feet you would move

Cost: 4 Mana
Range: 30 feet
Requirements: Your target is Size +1 or smaller
Duration: Varies

You conjure a sphere of magical force around your target. The sphere is translucent, solid, weightless, and completely indestructible. Nothing can pass in or out of the sphere except light. Your target can roll the sphere to move at half Speed, but can’t move normally. Your target can use the Rolling Sphere power.

Make a Magic attack roll against your target’s Agility DC.

Critical Success: This spell lasts 10 minutes
Success: This spell lasts 1 minute
Failure: This spell lasts until the end of your target’s next turn
Critical Failure: This spell ends immediately

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, you can target another creature within range.

Stabilized Glyph

Your glyphs are stable and can apply spells multiple times

Prerequisites: Glyph

When a glyph created by your Glyph spell triggers, you can choose for the glyph to be only temporarily disabled instead of permanently destroyed. Any Novice Arcanist can manually reset a disabled glyph, which lets the glyph trigger again in the future. If the glyph contains Explosive Runes or a spell of cost 0, the glyph automatically resets after 1 hour.

Manually resetting a glyph requires 1 minute of work. If the glyph contains a spell of cost 1 or higher, this work consumes an amount of expensive chalk worth 1 gp times the Mana cost of the spell stored in the glyph.

Wall of Force

You conjure a transparent and almost indestructible wall of magical force

Cost: 5 Mana
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Sustained, up to 10 minutes

You conjure an invisible wall of force. The wall consists of up to 10 flat, thin square panels, each of which is 10 feet by 10 feet in size. You can choose each panel’s position and orientation, so long as all panels are connected and within range. You cannot conjure a panel in a space occupied by a creature or a solid object.

The wall is physically solid and is weightless. Each panel has 10 Health and 100 Anything Shield. You choose whether the wall is free-floating or whether it rests on a solid surface.

Master Talents

Antimagic Field

You conjure a field that blocks all magic within an area

Cost: 6 Mana
Range: 120 feet
Area: 10-foot burst
Duration: 1 hour

You conjure an antimagic field that fills the spell’s area. Creatures within the field cannot cast spells, and new spells cannot target anything within the field. Any existing spell affecting a target within the field is temporarily suppressed on that target. (While suppressed, the spell has no effect on the target, but its duration still counts down.)

Antimagic Field does not suppress itself. That would just be silly.

Heightened

For each +1 Mana, the radius of the burst doubles.

Forcecage

You trap your target in a conjured cage of magical force

Cost: 7 Mana
Range: 120 feet
Duration: 1 hour

Your target is immobilized. You have a +10 bonus to Magic DC against any attempts to free or move your target, such as the Escape power. This spell ends immediately if your target is moved with a Teleportation power.

Reactive Ward

You can conjure wards around your allies right before they’re hit

Prerequisites: Protector Ward

Your Protector Ward power gains the following effect.

Heightened

If you add +1 Mana, this spell is instead of , and it gains a trigger of “Your target takes damage”. This spell’s duration changes to 1 minute.

Epic Talents

Ribbons

Floating Disk

You conjure a magical disk that can support heavy weights

Cost: 1 Mana
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 1 hour

You summon a floating disk of translucent magical force at the target location. The disk is roughly 3 feet wide. The disk can support up to 500 pounds before collapsing. You can use the Command Disk power.

Identify Magic

You learn all the spells that are currently affecting a target

Cost: 1 Mana
Range: 10 feet

You learn all the spells currently affecting your target. You learn the broad effects of these spells, but you don’t learn all the specifics of how those spells work. You don’t learn about any hidden curses affecting your target.

Ritual Expert

You can complete rituals much more quickly than normal

You can complete the optional ritual for Ritual spells in a tenth of the normal time.

Unseen Servant

Conjure a helpful invisible servant that acts for you

Cost: 1 Mana
Duration: 8 hours

You conjure an unseen servant, which is an invisible force that obeys your orders. You have a telepathic connect with your unseen servant, and you can order it to perform common household tasks, such as preparing meals, cleaning up, or delivering objects. If combat stats are necessary, your unseen servant is a Minion Spirit commoner.

Zone of Truth

Detect whenever anyone in an area tells a lie

Cost: 2 Mana
Area: 30-foot burst
Duration: 10 minutes

Whenever anyone in this spell’s area knowingly speaks a lie, the spell sends you a ping. This power doesn’t detect half-truths or lies by omission. When you cast Zone of Truth, you choose whether the ping is perceptible to only you or to everyone nearby.