Warmage | Base Class

Warmage

An elf recites the motions again for the simplest spell she knows, repeating them until she knows they are perfect. With a single, precise stroke, she unleashes a wave of arcane energy, focused into a searing blue beam.
A tiefling waves her hands to conjure floating greatswords of humming blue energy, which dance about in mesmerizing and deadly arcs. One blade takes on an aspect of fire, and the other lightning, as she begins to cleave through the goblinoid horde.
Waving a black-and-red checkered banner, a dragonborn king charges into the fore. At his sides are warmages of all houses, a chessboard of elite arcanists, poised to turn the tide of battle.
The undisputed masters of cantrips, warmages turn the most fundamental types of magic into a deadly and precise art.

Cantrip Masters

While other spellcasters aspire to grander and more complex spells, warmages refine and master the most fundamental magic: cantrips. Warmages wield their magic in the same way that a warrior uses a sword, bow, or axe: as weapons to be perfected and mastered, not as an unknowable force to be feared. In contrast to sorcerers and wizards, their magic is a trainable skill, one that can be mastered by almost anyone with discipline and aptitude. Therefore, warmages stand among the most fearsome of spellcasters, with only the most rudimentary of spells.

Strategic Geniuses

Warmages have a long and storied history as masterful strategists and tacticians, both in grand battles and personal skirmishes. If a warmage is outgunned or outmanned, they’ll try to outthink their foes, which works more often than not. They demonstrate an efficient kind of pragmatism, owing perhaps to their ability to solve many problems with just a few magical tools.

Aligned Free Agents

While some warmages are fully self-taught, the majority join a house: a loose confederation of warmages who practice together and share secrets of the trade. Houses teach invaluable battlefield strategy, but each individual house also touts their own brands of tactics and styles of magical tricks. The House of Knights, for example, emphasizes armor and martial prowess, whereas the House of Kings emphasizes battlefield strategy.
By way of metaphor, houses that value honor and teamwork above all else brand themselves after games of strategy, whereas those who epitomize self-reliance name themselves for games of chance. This division in the warmage houses is representative of a schism that dates back to the earliest warmage masters. Legend has it that the first two masters separated when one decided to found a college. The other, out of spite, built a casino outside its grounds.

Creating a Warmage

Warmages come from all walks of life, so as you build yours, consider where you first learned the fundamentals of magic, which you would go on to perfect. You might have picked up cantrips from a fellow adventurer or in the early stages of wizarding training. You could even be self-taught. Choose an Arcane Initiation which best fits your character’s history with magic.
Moreover, consider how you feel about magic as a whole. Are you envious of other spellcasters, or are you confident you could best them regardless? Did you once pine to be a wizard, but found you could never muster enough true magic to form a spell slot? Did you choose warmagistry to hone your talents to their absolute peak, or did you choose it to wield power no warrior can equal?
Lastly, consider your prospective warmage House. Though you don’t choose one until reaching 3rd level, your aspirations might shape which house you favor the most. If you would like to dabble with greater arcane magic, the House of Bishops is the best fit. If the clashing of swords at the frontlines piques your interest, consider the House of Knights.

Quick Build
You can make a Warmage quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Make Strength your third highest if you plan to take the House of Knights. Then choose the chill touch, force dart, force weapon, and phantom grapnel cantrips, and the Adventurer Arcane Initiation. Pick any background that emphasizes your magical discipline.

Class Features

As a warmage, you have the following class features.

• Leather armor, a dagger, and any simple weapon
• (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
• (a) an explorer’s pack or (b) a scholar’s pack
• A gaming set

Spellcasting

At 1st level, you begin to learn the simple, yet potent, brand of spellcasting for which warmages are known.

Cantrips
You know four cantrips of your choice from the warmage spell list. You learn additional warmage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Warmage table.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the warmage cantrips you know and replace it with another warmage cantrip.

Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your warmage spells, since you learn your spells through practice and mental discipline. 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 warmage 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

Spellcasting Focus
You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your warmage spells.

Arcane Initiation

Warmages come from all backgrounds and walks of life. At 1st level, choose where you first learned the basics of magic. The cantrips offered by your initiation don’t count against your total number of warmage cantrips known.

Adventurer
You picked up your magic informally by traveling with a dozen different mages over the years. You learn the mage hand and ray of frost cantrips.

Circus Performer
You learned a few simple tricks to participate in a sideshow or circus act. You learn the dancing lights and minor illusion cantrips.

Eldritch Event
An influx of insidious magic left an imprint on you. You learn the chill touch and message cantrips.

Mercenary
You mastered the fundamentals of war magic to engage in battle with similarly armed arcanists. You learn the arc blade and true strike cantrips.

Temple
A monastery or temple educated you in the ways of gentle healing magic. You learn the sacred flame and spare the dying cantrips.

Tower Apprentice
You apprenticed under a spellcaster for some time, who taught you the fundamentals of arcana. You learn the prestidigitation and shocking grasp cantrips.

Self-Taught
You taught yourself all the fundamentals of magic from a dusty old tome or abandoned scroll. You learn the fire bolt and light cantrips.

Survival
To survive in the wilderness, you taught yourself to cast simple spells. You learn the druidcraft and shillelagh cantrips.

Arcane Fighting Style

Warmages learn that magic is the purest of weapons, and can be wielded just as easily as any other. At 1st level, choose one of the following fighting styles:

Blaster
The spell save DC for your warmage cantrips increases by 1.

Deflector
When you have at least one hand free and a creature hits you with a spell attack or a ranged weapon attack, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your Armor Class for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.

Resistive
While you are wearing light armor or are under the effects of the mage armor spell, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class.

Sniper
When making a ranged spell attack, you gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll. Additionally, you ignore half cover when casting a warmage cantrip.

Striker
When you hit with a cantrip that requires a melee attack and exceed the target’s AC by 5 or more or score a critical hit, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage roll.

Warmage Edge

Starting at 2nd level, once on each of your turns when you deal damage with a warmage cantrip, you can improve one damage roll of the spell, adding your Intelligence modifier to the roll. Starting at 5th level, and as you gain levels in this class, you also add extra dice to the damage roll for your warmage cantrips, as shown in the Cantrip Bonus Dice column of the Warmage table. For example, when you are at 5th level, you can improve the damage of the fire bolt cantrip to deal fire damage equal to 3d10 + your Intelligence modifier on a hit.

Warmage Tricks

Beginning at 2nd level, you learn a Warmage Trick, a special technique that alters the way you fight, move, and cast your spells. You learn two tricks of your choice at 2nd level, and you learn additional tricks at higher levels, as shown in the Tricks Known column of the Warmage table.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the tricks you know and replace it with another trick for which you meet the prerequisites.

Warmage House

Upon reaching 3rd level, you choose a Warmage House, which teaches you a suite of magical techniques. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th 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.

Arcane Surge

Starting at 5th level, you learn to, for a moment, tap into a vast reservoir of magical power and unleash it upon your foes. On your turn, when you deal damage with a warmage cantrip, you can deal twice the number of damage dice dealt by the spell. You can’t use this feature on a spell that has scored a critical hit.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Starting at 11th level, you can use this feature twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.

Tactical Insight

At 6th level, you learn how to use ambient magical power to defend yourself from your foes’ magical attacks. You can add your Intelligence modifier to saving throws you make against spells and other magical effects that deal damage.

Strategic Deflection

Starting at 14th level, as a reaction when a creature casts a spell that targets you or includes you in its area of effect and the spell forces you to make a saving throw to avoid damage, you can use your reaction to attempt to redirect some of the spell’s energy to a new target. If you succeed on your saving throw against the spell, choose another creature you can see within the spell’s range or up to 30 feet away from you, whichever is closer, to make a saving throw against the spell, using your spell save DC. The chosen creature can be the original spellcaster. On a failed save, the creature suffers the effects of the spell as if you had cast the spell and they had been the original target or been within the area of the spell.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Master Warmage

At 20th level, you reach the pinnacle of your warmage prowess. If you cast a cantrip that deals 4 dice of damage to a target, it instead deals 5 dice of damage (excluding your cantrip bonus dice). If you cast a cantrip that makes 4 attacks, it instead makes 5 attacks.

Warmage Tricks

The following tricks are presented in alphabetical order. If a warmage trick has prerequisites, you must meet them to choose it. You can choose the trick at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

Bishop’s Maneuver
Prerequisites: 10th level, House of Bishops
You can take the Disengage action as a bonus action, and when you do so, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of your turn.

Blasting Cantrip
Once on each of your turns, when you deal force damage to a creature with a warmage cantrip, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in a straight line.

Blinding Light
Prerequisite: light cantrip
When you use the light cantrip to target an object you are holding, you can direct a flare at a creature you can see within 10 feet of you, which must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature is blinded until the start of your next turn. After a creature has failed a saving throw against this trick, it has advantage on all saving throws against it for the next 24 hours.

Castle
Prerequisites: 10th level, House of Rooks
As an action, you can choose a willing Small or Medium creature you can see within 120 feet of you. You both teleport, swapping places.
Once you use this trick, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Chivalrous Presence
Prerequisite: House of Knights
You gain proficiency in the Insight and Persuasion skills, and you have advantage on ability checks you make to interact with nobility. Additionally, other creatures can always discern when you’re telling the truth.

Cloak of Feathers
Prerequisite: House of Rooks
While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier.

Commander’s Steed
Prerequisites: House of Kings
You learn the find steed spell and can cast it at will without expending a spell slot. Your steed is more resilient than most; its hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your warmage level.

Corrosive Cantrip
Once on each of your turns, when you deal acid damage to a creature with a warmage cantrip, you can cause the acid to erode the target’s defenses. The next time a creature makes an attack roll against the target before the start of your next turn, roll a d4 and subtract it from the target’s Armor Class for this attack.

Draining Cantrip
Whenever you deal necrotic or poison damage to a hostile creature with a warmage cantrip, you can siphon some of its life force. You gain temporary hit points equal to half your warmage level, which last for 1 minute.

Explosive Cantrip
Once on each of your turns, when you deal fire damage to a creature with a warmage cantrip, each creature within 5 feet of the target, except yourself and the target, must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or take half the fire damage dealt to the target.

Extended Range
When you cast a warmage cantrip that has a range of 5 feet or greater, its range is doubled.

Field Medic
Prerequisite: House of Bishops
You learn the spare the dying cantrip, which doesn’t count against your number of cantrips known. Additionally, when you cast spare the dying on a creature that has 0 hit points, the target regains 1 hit point and gains temporary hit points equal to your warmage level, which last for 1 minute. Once a creature regains hit points from this trick, it can’t do so again until it finishes a long rest.

Flexible Range
Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged spell attack rolls. Additionally, when you cast a warmage cantrip that requires a melee spell attack, its range increases to 10 feet.

Icy Cantrip
Once on each of your turns, when you deal cold damage to a creature with a warmage cantrip, you can numb the target with a frigid blast. The first time the target makes an attack roll before the end of its next turn, it must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the attack roll.

Knight’s Aegis
Prerequisites: 10th level, House of Knights, force buckler cantrip
When you cast the force buckler cantrip, you can concentrate on it for up to 1 minute. The spell doesn’t end early if you are hit by an attack.

Lieutenant’s Demand
Prerequisites: 10th level, House of Kings
You can cast the spell command at will without expending a spell slot.

Mage Hand Knack
Prerequisite: mage hand cantrip
Your skill with the mage hand cantrip allows you to use it as an extension of yourself. When you cast the spell and as a bonus action on your subsequent turns, you can use one of the following effects with the hand:
Press. The hand pushes against a Large or smaller creature within 5 feet of it. Choose a direction away from that creature. Every foot of movement in that direction while the hand is pressing against it costs the creature 1 extra foot of movement. The hand continues to push against the target until the spell ends or you use your bonus action to use a different effect with the hand.
Punch. The hand strikes one creature or object within 5 feet of it. Make a melee spell attack for the hand using your spell attack bonus. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 force damage.
Seize. The hand grabs a Small or Smaller creature and attempts to grapple it. The creature must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (its choice) against your spell save DC or be grappled by the hand. The hand continues to grapple the target until the target uses an action to break the grapple on its turn, the spell ends, or you use your bonus action to use a different effect with the hand.

Mystical Armor
You can cast the mage armor spell on yourself at will, without using a spell slot or spell components.

Mystical Athlete
Prerequisite: quickstep or springheel cantrip
When you cast the quickstep cantrip, your speed increases by 20 feet instead of 10 feet. When you cast the springheel cantrip, your jumping distance increases by 20 feet instead of 10 feet. If you know both of these cantrips, you can cast both of them as part of the same bonus action.

Mystical Weaponmaster
Prerequisite: force weapon or magic daggers cantrip
Once on each of your turns when you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll with the force weapon or magic daggers cantrips, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Mystical Vision
You can cast the detect magic spell at will without expending a spell slot.

Phantom Hookshot
Prerequisite: phantom grapnel cantrip
You can cast the phantom grapnel cantrip as a bonus action. If you do so, its range is reduced to 15 feet. When you cast the spell as an action, creatures are pulled an extra 10 feet by the spell toward you.

Rapid Fortification
Prerequisite: mending cantrip
You can cast the mending cantrip as an action or a bonus action. If you cast it as an action, you can use one of the following effects:

• You can restore a single nonmagical object, such as a door, cart, or window, to pristine condition if at least half of its parts are present. This object can be no larger than 10 cubic feet, or 1 cubic foot if it is exceptionally complex (such as a clock).
• You can create simple fortifications, such as sealing a door shut, adding wooden planks to a window, or building a short stone wall (no larger than 10 cubic feet). You must have the materials present to use this ability.

Severe Cantrip
When a creature rolls a 1 on a saving throw against one of your warmage cantrips, it automatically fails the save and takes twice the number of damage dice dealt by the spell, as if you scored a critical hit. The additional damage only applies to the creature that rolled a 1.

Signature Focus
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you finish a long rest, you can place a unique sigil on a simple weapon, which becomes your signature focus until you use this trick again. This weapon becomes magical, and it can be used as a spellcasting focus for your warmage spells. Your signature focus is bonded to you, and gains a number of special abilities:

• As a bonus action, you can call your signature focus to your hand, as long as you are on the same plane of existence as it.
• You can add your Intelligence modifier, instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, to attack rolls using your signature focus.
• Your signature focus gains a number of charges equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of 1). When you damage a creature with it or a cantrip cast through it, you can expend 1 charge to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to that creature. Your focus regains all expended charges when you finish a long rest.

Silent Cantrip
Once on each of your turns when you deal thunder damage to a hostile creature with a warmage cantrip, you can create a 15-foot-diameter sphere of magical silence (as per the silence spell), centered on yourself or the creature (your choice), which lasts until the start of your next turn.

Split Fire
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you cast a warmage cantrip that requires a single spell attack roll, you can select multiple creatures and make a spell attack roll against each. You can target a number of creatures equal to the number of damage dice the cantrip deals, and split your damage dice up amongst your targets, to a minimum of 1 die of damage per target. Each attack must target a different creature.
For example, fire bolt deals 3d10 damage. You can choose to target three creatures and deal 1d10 damage to each creature, or you can target two creatures, dealing 1d10 damage to one creature and 2d10 damage to the other creature, or you can target one creature for 3d10 damage.

Static Cantrip
Whenever you deal lightning damage to a hostile creature with a warmage cantrip, you can sap part of the energy into a charge, which clings to your body until the start of your next turn. While charged, you can use your reaction when you take damage from a creature you can see within 5 feet of you to deal lightning damage equal to half your warmage level to the creature.

Unerring Strike
Prerequisites: 10th level, true strike cantrip
When you cast the true strike cantrip, you can concentrate on it for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. You gain advantage on the first attack roll you make against the target on each of your turns while maintaining concentration on true strike.

Warmage Houses

Each warmage is defined by their chosen House, which teaches them valuable skills and offers a confederation of allies they will keep for their lives. Named for games of strategy and games of chance, each house emphasizes a unique approach to spellcasting and combat.

Warmage Spell List

Unlike other spellcasters, warmages only learn cantrips, which they pick from the following list when they gain certain levels in their class. If a cantrip appears on the wizard spell list which is not represented here, the GM can allow this cantrip to be a warmage spell as well. Spells marked with an asterisk (*) are new to this class.

The Warmage Spell List can be found here.