The Academian

Want to play the character that wizards beat up in high school? Me too! The academian is an Intelligence-based full caster that trades the wizard's combat versatility for your choice of massive skill support, great healing ability, or incredible out-of-combat power. If a wizard was an engineer, with many practical uses for magic, the academian would be a theoretical scientist with greater knowledge but less immediate utility. An academian has devoted their life to study, research and higher education. Academians know that it's never enough to simply know facts by rote: the question "why?" is far more important.

The academian's talent for spells is somewhat similar to that of wizards, but it lacks the vast majority of damaging and area-of-effect spells that grant the wizard peerless control over the battlefield. An academian's forte is not dealing damage, but reshaping the problems at hand so that their allies can solve them most efficiently, or bypassing problems altogether. The academian's three subclasses each modify the academian's focus significantly.

The scholar is a master of many talents, rivaling the rogue for their skill expertise and general knowledge.

The physician is an arcane doctor, bringing the logic and analysis to a field previously dominated by divine magics.

The geometer understands the nature of magic like no other. With enough uninterrupted time, they can perform unprecedented feats of spellcasting.

Quick Build

You can make an academian quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score. Pick Wisdom as your second-best score to improve your Obvious Solutions. Constitution should be your third-best score to improve your survivability and concentration. Next, pick the Cloistered Scholar or Sage background.

Class Features

As an academian, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d6 per academian level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per academian level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: None
• Weapons: Clubs, daggers, light crossbows, quarterstaffs, spears

• Tools: None

• Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom

• Skills: Choose one from Animal Handling, Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Religion

Level Progression

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a quarterstaff, (b) a spear, or (c) a dagger
• (a) a scholar's pack, or (b) a diplomat's pack, or (c) an explorer's pack containing a book
• a component pouch, ritual book, pen, and bottle of ink

Spellcasting

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your academian spells, because your magical skill is dependent on your intellect and education. 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 an academian 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

Spells and Cantrips Known

At 1st level, you know a total of five spells and cantrips from the academian spell list, divided among 1st level spells and cantrips at your discretion. The Spells and Cantrips Known column of the Academian table shows when you learn more academian spells and cantrips of your choice. Each spell you learn must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the academian spells or cantrips you know and replace it with another spell or cantrip from the academian spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Ritual Casting

You may cast spells from your ritual book as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and they are of a spell level for which you have spell slots.

Ritual Book

At 1st level, you have a ritual book containing three spells of your choice. These spells must have the ritual tag, but can be of any level, and chosen from any class list. Intelligence is your casting ability for all spells in your ritual book.

If you come across a spell in written form, you may add it to your ritual book as long as it has the ritual tag. The process of copying the spell into your ritual book takes 2 hours and 50gp per level of the spell. This cost represents the ink, paper and material components expended during the process of mastering the spell.

Obvious Solutions

You have common sense and you know how to use it. When you're confronted by stress or danger you can fall back on a number of obvious solutions to solve the problem for you.

At 1st level, you learn 2 obvious solutions to utilize. You learn an additional obvious solution at 7th, 13th, and 19th level. Each time you learn a new obvious solution, you can also replace one obvious solution you know with a different one.

Saving Throws

Some of your obvious solutions require your target to make a saving throw to resist the obvious solution's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

• Obvious Solution save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifer

Obvious Solution list

• Call for help. As an action, you pick an enemy you can see within 10', and an ally that can hear you within 60'. That ally can use their reaction to make a weapon attack targeting only the chosen enemy. That attack has a bonus to its damage roll equal to your Wisdom modifier.
• Create a distraction. As an action, you distract a creature within 30' who can see and hear you. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on the next attack roll or skill check it makes. This obvious solution uses your concentration, and you can maintain your concentration for up to one minute, as long as you do not end your turn more than 30' away from the target.
• Focus your mind As a bonus action, you increase the power channeled into your simplest spells. Until the end of your turn, all of your damaging academian cantrips have a bonus to their damage rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.
• Get out of there. When an enemy within 5' takes damage, you can use your reaction to move a distance equal to your half your speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
• Have a tough friend. When you are the target of an attack, you may use your reaction to change the target of the attack to a willing ally within 5'. You must use this ability before the attack is rolled.
• Know your enemy. As a bonus action, you carefully examine a creature you can see within 120'. Until the end of your turn, that creature has disadvantage on saving throws imposed by your academian cantrips.
• Know yourself. As a bonus action, you meditate on your mental state, enhancing the next simple spell you cast. Until the end of your turn, you have advantage on attack rolls made as a part of your academian cantrips.
• Obfuscate. You can use hidden implications, ambiguous language and complex phrasing to hide the true meaning of your words. As an action, you speak a false statement phrased in such a way that it is factually correct in every respect. Spells and magical effects that detect falsehood will confirm that you are telling the truth, as will successful Wisdom (Insight) checks. To correctly identify the lie, a creature must make a successful Intelligence check against your Obvious Solution save DC.

• Run for it. As an action, you gain extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals double your speed, after applying any modifiers. You cannot move towards any enemy you know the location of during this turn. For example, if you have a speed of 30 feet, and use this ability, you can move up to 90 feet on your turn, as long as you only move away from all known enemies.
• Use big words. As an action, you speak a sentence full of meaningless polysyllabic arcanobabble. All creatures of your choice within 30' who understand your language must make a Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, they think that you know what you're talking about and trust your expertise.

Expertise

At 1st level, choose one of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability checks you make that use that skill proficiency.

Academic Focus

When you reach 2nd level, you choose an academic focus, molding your future studies in one of three directions: Scholar, Geometer, or Physician, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 2nd level, and again at 6th, 14th, and 18th level.

Thaumic Control

Starting at 6th level, you've learned to manipulate the underlying principles of spell control, freeing up your own mind for more important thoughts. When you cast a concentration spell targeting only one willing creature, you may transfer the concentration requirement for that spell to the target. The target must maintain concentration for the spell effect to function, but you do not. Spell duration, and all other effects, remain unchanged.

Starting at 14th level, this feature is no longer limited to spell effects targeting only one creature. Whenever you cast a concentration spell targeting only willing creatures, you may transfer the concentration requirement for that spell to those targets. To maintain the spell effect on themselves, each target must maintain concentration on your spell. If one target loses concentration, the spell effect ends for them, but the other targets' concentration and spell effects are unaffected.

Even though you do not need to maintain concentration on spells cast using this feature, the cognitive effort of casting such a spell interrupts any concentration effect you are maintaining yourself.

Intellectual Supremacy

At 20th level, you've honed your mind's power and focus to the highest degree. You are both a librarian and a library. Your Intelligence and Wisdom scores increase by 4. Your maximum for these scores is now 24. In addition, you gain proficiency in Charisma saving throws.

Academic Focuses

An academian's love is knowledge, but not all study the same topics with the same attention. Some delve into the mysteries of the arcane, enhancing their ability to control magic. Others study the mysteries of life and death, seeking to duplicate divine magics with arcane power. Most, however, devote their lives to the accumulation of facts and mastering the minutae of the universe.

Scholar

Scholars seek knowledge. Comprehension is far more important than simple physical power, and far less common. A scholar is most likely to spend their lives in a library or university, as a researcher or professor, venturing out into the world only rarely. When they do, their lifetime of accumulated trivia lets them solve problems that few others could conceive of, much less answer.

General Education

Starting when you choose this Academic Focus at 2nd level, you may choose a number of Academian class skills equal to your Intelligence modifier. You gain proficiency in those skills. Whenever your Intelligence ability score is changed permanently (by an ASI or class feature, but not by magical items or effects), update this feature accordingly. For example, when your Intelligence increases from 16 (+3) to 18 (+4), you gain 1 additional skill proficiency.

Practiced Researcher

Starting at 2nd level, you have mastered the art of finding information in libraries, archives, and other collections. You can automatically find any properly filed book or document. You have advantage on ability checks made to locate improperly filed items and information, or identify fraudulent or falsified documents.

In addition, you may choose four spells of any level, from any class list. These spells count as Academian spells for you, but you must learn them normally.

Scholarly Pursuits

Starting at 6th level, you may choose a number of your skill proficiencies equal to your Intelligence modifier. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses any of the chosen proficiencies. Whenever your Intelligence ability score is changed permanently (by an ASI or class feature, but not by magical items or effects), update this feature accordingly. For example, when your Intelligence increases from 16 (+3) to 18 (+4), you can double the proficiency bonus of 1 additional skill.

Perfect Recall

Starting at 14th level, whenever you make a skill check that lets you add your Intelligence or Wisdom modifier, you may treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

In addition, you gain two additional Spells and Cantrips Known.

Stroke of Genius

Starting at 18th level, when you make an ability check, you may choose to gain Advantage on the roll, and add your Intelligence modifier to the result. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Physician

Physicians seek to understand life and death, and control them. A physician's mastery of magic that is otherwise reserved for divine power makes them powerful allies and deadly foes.

Medical Training

When you choose this Academic Focus at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Medicine skill, and the tools Alchemist's Supplies, Herbalism Kit, and Poisoner's Kit, if you don't already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses any of those proficiencies.

Biomagical Studies

Physicians have a list of spells that they learn at specific academian levels. These spells count as academian spells for you, but do not count towards the number of Spells and Cantrips Known.

Field Medic

Starting at 6th level, when you take a short rest, you may spend your time tending to the wounds of up to six resting creatures. At the end of the rest, the chosen creatures regain hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your Academian level.

Once a creature benefits from this feature, they cannot benefit from it again until they take a long rest.

Second Opinion

Starting at 14th level, whenever an ally within 5' rolls one or more dice to regain hit points, you can use your reaction to allow them to reroll those dice, keeping the higher result from each die.

Soul Redistribution

Starting at 18th level, you can shift the life force of living creatures as you will. As an action, you can make a melee spell attack roll against one living creature within 5' of you. On a hit, the target takes 10d10 Necrotic damage. You may then restore hit points equal to the damage dealt, divided as you choose among any number of creatures that you can see within 15' of you. If this ability reduces the target past 0 hit points, the extra damage does not count towards the available healing. For example, if you use this feature to deal 55 damage to a target with only 40 hit points, you may heal yourself by 40 hit points.

This ability has no effect, positive or negative, on undead or constructs. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

If the target of this feature is willing, no attack roll or damage roll is necessary. You can choose to deal up to 100 hit points of Necrotic damage to the target, and calculate the restored hit points as usual.

Geometer

Geometers understand the nature of the arcane better than any other researcher. Magical forces are predictable, and with enough experience, one can learn to predict and shape the pathways they follow. The use of arcane geometry is not fast or flashy, but the slow, careful creation of arcane matrices grants power unimaginable.

Thaumaturgic Analyst

When you choose this Academic Focus at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Arcana and Religion skills, if you don't already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses any of those proficiencies.

In addition, whenever you witness the casting of a ritual, you may add it to your ritual book. The time and cost of copying the spell into your ritual book are halved.

Student of the Weave

Starting at 2nd level, you start to grasp the underlying truths that bind all forms of magic together. You create an encoded research tome to record your findings and original research about the rarest and most powerful magic.

At 2nd level, and again at 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th level, you may add a spell from any class to your research tome. This spell must be of a level you can cast.

When casting spells from your research tome, you must expend a spell slot as normal, and the casting time is increased by 10 minutes per spell level. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Familiar Formulas

Starting at 6th level, you can cast a spell from your research tome using the spell's normal casting time. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Newfound Efficiencies

Starting at 14th level, you can cast any academian spell you know using the methods you've discovered in your research. If you increase the casting time of an academian spell by 10 minutes per spell level, you can decrease the required spell slot level by 1. If the spell is cast at 1st level, no spell slot is expended. You cannot reduce the required spell slot level by more than 1 in this way.

Unified Theory of Arcana

Starting at 18th level, when you cast spells from your research tome, the level of the spell slot expended during casting can be decreased by 1 level. If the spell is cast at 1st level, no spell slot is expended. You cannot reduce the required spell slot level by more than 1 in this way.

Academian Spells

Cantrips (0 Level)

• Acid Splash
• Blade Ward
• Control Flames
• Create Bonfire
• Dancing Lights
• Friends
• Frostbite
• Guidance
• Gust
• Infestation
• Light
• Mage Hand
• Magic Stone
• Mending
• Message
• Minor Illusion
• Mold Earth
• Poison Spray
• Prestidigitation
• Produce Flame
• Ray of Frost
• Resistance
• Shape Water
• Shocking Grasp
• Thaumaturgy
• Thunderclap
• Vicious Mockery

1st Level

• Absorb Elements
• Alarm
• Bane
• Bless
• Charm Person
• Comprehend Languages
• Detect Magic
• Detect Poison and Disease
• Disguise Self
• Expeditious Retreat
• Feather Fall
• Find Familiar
• Fog Cloud
• Identify
• Illusory Script
• Jump
• Longstrider
• Mage Armor
• Magic Missile
• Shield
• Silent Image
• Sleep
• Snare
• Tasha's Hideous Laughter
• Tenser's Floating Disk
• Unseen Servant

2nd Level

• Alter Self
• Arcane Lock
• Blindness/Deafness
• Continual Flame
• Darkness
• Darkvision
• Detect Thoughts
• Enlarge/Reduce
• Gust of Wind
• Hold Person
• Invisibility
• Knock
• Lesser Restoration
• Levitate
• Locate Animals or Plants
• Locate Object
• Magic Mouth
• Misty Step
• Nystul's Magic Aura
• Phantasmal Force
• Ray of Enfeeblement
• Rope Trick
• See Invisibility
• Skywrite
• Spider Climb
• Suggestion
• Web

3rd Level

• Animate Dead
• Bestow Curse
• Catnap
• Clairvoyance
• Counterspell
• Dispel Magic
• Fly
• Glyph of Warding
• Haste
• Hypnotic Pattern
• Magic Circle
• Major Image
• Nondetection
• Protection from Energy
• Remove Curse
• Sending
• Slow
• Speak with Dead
• Summon Lesser Demons
• Tiny Servant
• Tongues
• Water Breathing

4th Level

• Arcane Eye
• Banishment
• Charm Monster
• Confusion
• Conjure Minor Elementals
• Control Water
• Dimension Door
• Divination
• Elemental Bane
• Fabricate
• Freedom of Movement
• Greater Invisibility
• Hallucinatory Terrain
• Leomund's Secret Chest

• Locate Creature

• Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum

• Polymorph
• Stone Shape
• Summon Greater Demon
• Watery Sphere

5th Level

• Animate Objects
• Bigby's Hand
• Conjure Elemental
• Contact Other Plane
• Control Winds
• Creation
• Dominate Person
• Far Step
• Geas
• Greater Restoration
• Hold Monster
• Infernal Calling
• Legend Lore
• Mislead
• Modify Memory
• Passwall
• Planar Binding
• Scrying
• Skill Empowerment
• Telekinesis
• Teleportation Circle
• Transmute Rock

6th Level

• Arcane Gate
• Conjure Fey
• Contingency
• Create Homunculus
• Create Undead
• Drawmij's Instant Summons
• Find the Path
• Flesh to Stone
• Forbiddance
• Guards and Wards
• Mental Prison
• Move Earth
• Otto's Irresistible Dance
• Programmed Illusion
• Soul Cage
• Tenser's Transformation
• True Seeing

7th Level

• Etherealness
• Forcecage
• Mirage Arcane
• Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion
• Plane Shift
• Project Image
• Sequester
• Symbol
• Teleport

8th Level

• Antimagic Field
• Antipathy/Sympathy
• Control Weather
• Demiplane
• Dominate Monster
• Feeblemind
• Illusory Dragon
• Maze
• Mind Blank
• Telepathy

9th Level

• Astral Projection
• Foresight
• Gate
• Imprisonment
• Invulnerability
• Shapechange
• Time Stop
• True Polymorph
• Weird
• Wish