Arcane Tradition
Notes from the Nails: this was originally inspired by the character Anastasia from Shadow Hearts: Covenant, so the default fluff is that this is a modern or gaslamp fantasy setting, in which cameras and lenses etc. are common. If you wanted to play this class in a medieval fantasy setting, you could fluff the ‘camera’ as a magic item (like spheres in Final Fantasy X) or ancient technology (like the Sheikah slate in Breath of the Wild). It could even be replaced by incredibly fast painting skills!
School of Images
Wizards belonging to the School of Images are obsessed with capturing photographic records of everything they encounter. They carry their cameras everywhere they go, and their offices are filled with pictures of monsters, copious notes, and overburdened corkboards. Although many give the impression of being half-crazed maniacs, their research is often deep and penetrating — and they always have a few tricks up their sleeves. After all, you can’t get the perfect shot without getting close to where the action is!
Monster Album
At 2nd level, you begin to collect the images of monsters you fight. You can use an action to take a picture of one creature you can see within 30 feet. If the creature has a CR no greater than half your wizard level (rounded down), you capture its image for your monster album. Once you have a monster’s image, you know all of its game statistics, including its armor class, maximum hit points, ability scores, save proficiencies, damage resistances, and special abilities.
You can store a number of monster images equal to your wizard level. An image can be removed from the album as a bonus action; when you do so, the image is permanently destroyed.
Photocopy
Also at 2nd level, when you attempt to copy a spell into your spellbook, the process is much faster. You require only 1 round per level of the spell (the gp cost is unchanged.) However, you can only conduct this process in total darkness.
Projector
At 6th level, you gain the ability to summon a copy of any monster in your monster album. As an action, you summon the creature into an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet. It remains for up to 1 minute, and requires your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). The DM has the creature’s statistics.
The summoned creature is friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the creature, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to it, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.
Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Telescopic Lens
When you reach 10th level, you can cast spells through your camera, taking advantage of its optical zoom. As long as you can see the target, you can treat all spells with a range of touch as having a range of 30 feet instead.
Additionally, if you have a monster’s image in your album, all monsters of the same name have disadvantage on saving throws against spells that you cast.
Blinding Flash
Starting at 14th level, you can trigger a blinding flash when you use your Monster Album feature to capture a new image. Each creature in a 30-foot cone (directed towards the monster being photographed) must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or be blinded until the start of your next turn.
Changelog
2/10/18: Monster Album: slight rewording to confirm that you can target any creature, but only capture images of those below the CR threshold.
2/13/17: Blinding Flash: Reworded to clarify that triggering the effect is optional
