Wizard of Onomancy

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Overview & Creation

Onomancy

  Practitioners of magic well know the power of names, but wizards who follow the tradition of Onomancy use their magic to manipulate the words that encompass existence. Onomancers expand their study into language itself, searching for threads of magical significance that weave through names. Something that is named stands out in the multiverse, distinct from the tapestry of creation all around it. That distinction creates power that onomancers seek to tap. By speaking a target’s true name, the wizard’s spells slip between the cracks of the target’s defenses, conforming to its essential nature through the power of its name. To protect themselves, wizards who follow this tradition often hide their true names, typically by adopting monikers and pseudonyms

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Class Features

Arcane Recovery

You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your Spellbook. Once per day when you finish a Short Rest, you can choose expended Spell Slots to recover. The Spell Slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your Wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.   For example, if you’re a 4th-level Wizard, you can recover up to two levels worth of Spell Slots. You can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two 1st-level Spell Slots.  

Arcane Tradition

  When you reach 2nd Level, you choose an arcane tradition, shaping your practice of magic through one of eight schools, such as Evocation. Your choice grants you features at 2nd Level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.  

Ability Score Improvement

  When you reach 4th Level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two Ability Scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.  

Spell Mastery

At 18th level, you have achieved such mastery over certain Spells that you can cast them at will. Choose a 1st-level Wizard spell and a 2nd-level Wizard spell that are in your Spellbook. You can cast those Spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot when you have them prepared. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.   By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the Spells you chose for different Spells of the same levels.  

Signature Spells

When you reach 20th level, you gain mastery over two powerful Spells and can cast them with little effort. Choose two 3rd-level Wizard Spells in your Spellbook as your signature Spells. You always have these Spells prepared, they don't count against the number of Spells you have prepared, and you can cast each of them once at 3rd Level without expending a spell slot. When you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a short or Long Rest.   If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.  

Arcane Traditions

  The study of Wizardry is ancient, stretching back to the earliest mortal discoveries of magic. It is firmly established in fantasy gaming worlds, with various traditions dedicated to its complex study.   The most Common arcane traditions in the multiverse revolve around The Schools of Magic. Wizards through the ages have cataloged thousands of Spells, grouping them into eight categories called schools. In some places, these traditions are literally schools. In other institutions, the schools are more like academic departments, with rival faculties competing for students and funding. Even wizards who train apprentices in the solitude of their own towers use the division of magic into schools as a learning device, since the Spells of each school require mastery of different Techniques.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following items, plus anything provided by your Background. • (a) a Quarterstaff or (b) a Dagger • (a) a Component pouch or (b) an arcane focus • (a) a Scholar's Pack or (b) an Explorer's Pack • A Spellbook

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Spellcasting

As a student of Arcane Magic, you have a Spellbook containing Spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power.   Cantrips   At 1st Level, you know three Cantrips of your choice from the Wizard spell list. You learn additional Wizard Cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Wizard table.   Spellbook   At 1st Level, you have a Spellbook containing six 1st-level Wizard Spells of your choice. Your Spellbook is the repository of the Wizard Spells you know, except your Cantrips, which are fixed in your mind.   Preparing and Casting Spells   The Wizard table shows how many Spell Slots you have to cast your Spells of 1st Level and higher. To cast one of these Spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended Spell Slots when you finish a Long Rest.   You prepare the list of Wizard Spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of Wizard Spells from your Spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your Wizard level (minimum of one spell). The Spells must be of a level for which you have Spell Slots.   For example, if you're a 3rd-level Wizard, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level Spell Slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared Spells can include six Spells of 1st or 2nd Level, in any combination, chosen from your Spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Magic Missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared Spells.   You can change your list of prepared Spells when you finish a Long Rest. Preparing a new list of Wizard Spells requires time spent studying your Spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per Spell Level for each spell on your list.   Spellcasting Ability   Intelligence is your Spellcasting Ability for your Wizard Spells, since you learn your Spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your Spellcasting Ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Wizard spell you cast and when Making an Attack roll with one.   Spell save DC = 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Intelligence modifier Spell Attack modifier = your Proficiency Bonus + your Intelligence modifier   Ritual Casting   You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your Spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.   Spellcasting Focus   You can use an arcane focus as a Spellcasting focus for your Wizard Spells.   Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher   Each time you gain a Wizard level, you can add two Wizard Spells of your choice to your Spellbook for free. Each of these Spells must be of a level for which you have Spell Slots, as shown on the Wizard table. On your Adventures, you might find other Spells that you can add to your Spellbook (see “Your Spellbook”).

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Subclass Options

Arcane Tradition

  At 2nd level, a wizard gains the Arcane Tradition feature. Here is a playtest option for that feature: the tradition of Onomancy.

Onomancy

Practitioners of magic well know the power of names, but wizards who follow the tradition of Onomancy use their magic to manipulate the words that encompass existence. Onomancers expand their study into language itself, searching for threads of magical significance that weave through names. Something that is named stands out in the multiverse, distinct from the tapestry of creation all around it. That distinction creates power that onomancers seek to tap. By speaking a target’s true name, the wizard’s spells slip between the cracks of the target’s defenses, conforming to its essential nature through the power of its name. To protect themselves, wizards who follow this tradition often hide their true names, typically by adopting monikers and pseudonyms.

True Names

Onomancy, or naming magic, is a method of spellcasting that uses a creature’s true name to enhance a spell’s effects. A true name is the name by which a self-aware creature identifies itself. This name might be the name a person was given at birth, or one a person chose or earned later in life. Whatever a name’s origin, the simplest way for you to know your true name is to think truthfully about yourself and then think, “My name is …” Your true name is how you finish that sentence. You can try to hide your true name by using a pseudonym, but you must be wary not to inhabit that false name too deeply. If a false name comes to be the best expression of who you are, it becomes your true name. Changing one’s true name is never a quick choice; it’s something that happens over time as a name becomes the creature’s truth. As a quick guide, a creature has a true name if it understands at least one language or it has an alignment.

Bonus Proficiencies

2nd-level Onomancy feature You learn one language of your choice and gain proficiency with calligrapher’s tools.

Extract Name

2nd-level Onomancy feature You can magically compel a creature to divulge its true name. As a bonus action, you target one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save, you discern that this magic failed, and you can’t use this feature on the target again. On a failed save, the target is charmed by you until the end of your next turn, and you mentally learn the charmed target’s name or the fact that the target lacks a name. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Fateful Naming

2nd-level Onomancy feature You can bend magic to assist or hinder creatures through the power of their true names, and even use those names as an anchor to affect others around them. The bane and bless spells are wizard spells for you, and you add them to your spellbook. You always have them prepared, yet they don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare. You can cast either spell without expending a spell slot if you speak the true name of one target of the spell as part of casting it. You can cast the spells in this way a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Resonant Utterance

6th-level Onomancy feature You learn words of power called Resonants, which allow you to tailor your spells through the use of a target’s true name. Resonants Known. When you gain this feature, you learn two Resonants of your choice, which are detailed in the “Resonant Options” section. Each time you gain a level in this class, you can replace one resonant you know with a different one. Using a Resonant. You can use one Resonant when you cast a wizard spell with a spell slot and speak the true name of one creature targeted by the spell. Speaking the name is part of casting the spell.   You can use Resonants a number of times equal to half of your wizard level (round down), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Resonant Options. Here are your options when choosing a Resonant: Absorption. When you cast a spell that deals damage to the named target, you gain 3d6 temporary hit points. The number of temporary hit points you gain increases by 1d6 when you reach 10th level (4d6) and 14th level (5d6) in this class . Devastation. If the spell requires the named creature to make a saving throw, that creature has disadvantage on the first save it makes against the spell. Dissolution . The first time the named creature takes damage from the spell, that creature takes an extra 2d8 force damage. The extra force damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 10th level (3d8) and 14th level (4d8) in this class . Nullification. If the named target is affected by any other spells, you know what those spells are, and you can attempt to end one of your choice by succeeding on an Intelligence check with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the chosen spell . Puppetry. The first time the named creature takes damage from the spell, you can knock the creature prone or move it up to 10 feet, either directly toward you or away from you. Sympathy . If the named creature is within range of the spell, you can target the creature with the spell even if you can’t see the creature or it has total cover against the spell.

Inexorable Pronouncement

10th -level Onomancy feature You learn two new Resonants of your choice from your Resonant Utterance feature .

Relentless Naming

14th -level Onomancy feature You have learned how to bypass a named creature’s defenses against certain types of damage. When you cast a spell that deals damage to a creature whose true name you speak as part of casting the spell, you can cause the spell to deal force or psychic damage to the creature, instead of the spell’s normal damage type.