Specialist Wizard (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

A specialist wizard has more focus on his magic that normally afforded by arcane schools, giving up some areas of magic completely to focus on the school in question.

Not all these specializations may exist in all worlds. Even in settings that allow some of them, others might be unavailable. Historically illusionists are the most common specialist wizards.

Class Abilities

The specialist has all the standard wizard's class abilities except as noted below.

School Specialization

The specialist wizard specializes in one school of magic and gains great advantage in this field. In return, they give up several other schools of magic completely.

Spells of the school the specialist is focused on are prepared in a spell slot one level lower than normal. This means that an illusionist casts illusion spells as if they were all one spell level lower. Shadow conjuration is a 4th level wizard spell, but is only a 3rd level spell to a specialist wizard of the illusionist school. What is ordinarily first level spells of the chosen school now becomes cantrips and can be cast any number of times in a day. This bonus does not apply when creating magi items; the cost of a scroll, potion, wand or other magic item is always calculated based on the spell's normal level, tough a specialist wizard may learn the prerequisites for creating a magic item earlier than a normal wizard.

A school specialist does not get to customize his choice for opposition schools, his opposition schools are determined for him when he chooses his specialization. These restrictions are more significant than those most wizards follow. A school specialist prepares a spell that is in one of his prohibited schools as if it was one level higher.

This replaces the arcane school ability. Specialist wizards do not receive school slots or school powers.

Classic Schools of Specialization

School Name	Description	Opposed Schools
Abjuration	The art of suppressing and trapping magic.	Divination, transmutation, illusion.
Conjuration	Calling agents and minions, or creating what you need.	Transmutation, divination, evocation.
Divination	Gaining information.	Enchantment, conjuration, abjuration.
Enchantment	Controlling minds.	Divination, evocation, necromancy.
Evocation	Channeling forces, mainly for destruction.	Illusion, enchantment, conjuration.
Illusion	Deceiving the senses.	Evocation, necromancy, abjuration.
Necromancy	Magic of death.	Transmutation, illusion, enchantment.
Transmutation	Transforming creatures, objects, and forces.	Necromancy, abjuration, conjuration.

Abjurers

Specialists in negating magic and using magic to negate other effects, abjurers are hindered from using subtle magics that divine or change qualities of reality.

Conjurers

Callers of creatures and relatively advanced phenomena from other planes, they are unable to evoke raw energies or to either change or divine what is already present.

Diviners

Masters of the truth, diviners are repelled by the falsehood of illusions, enchantments, and the anti-life of necromancy.

Enchanters

Masters of the mysteries of the mind and how to deceive it, enchanters are limited in their ability to work the straight-line effect of evocation, the truth-finding of divination, or the rigidity of the undead.

Evokers

Masters of the direct application of energy, evokers have trouble with subtlety and fine control. Things the call from other planes are raw and unformed.

Illusionists

Masters of the ephemeral, illusionists have trouble with the straightforward effects of evocation and abjuration and like enchanters are baffled by undeath.

Necromancers

Masters of the barrier between life and death, necromancers are the ultimate realists and won't meddle in the deceptive abilities of transmutation, illusion, and enchantment.

Transmuters

Masters of form, their control is disrupted by the forces of undeath and cannot tolerate, abjuration. They can call raw energies, but their control of planar forms is too lacking for conjuration.

Tassilonian Schools of Specialization

Related to sin magic, a Tassilonian specialist fuses on one of the virtues/vices of old Tassilon. This kind of specialization is an alternative to that outlined above but has fewer hindered schools. These schools also have a role-playing dimension; a mage of one of these sins must always fight the corrupting urges of his sin. This is not a strict code, but you should not pick any of these schools if you are not interested in playing it out.

School Name	Magic Type	Description	Opposed Schools
Envy	Abjuration	The art of suppressing magic other than your own.	Evocation, Necromancy.
Sloth	Conjuration	Calling agents and minions to perform your deeds for you, or creating what you need as you need it.	Evocation, Illusion.
Lust	Enchantment	Magically controlling other creatures to satisfy your desires, and manipulating others' minds, emotions, and wills.	Necromancy, Transmutation.
Wrath	Evocation	Mastery of the raw destructive power of magic, and channeling those destructive forces.	Abjuration, Conjuration.
Pride	Illusion	Perfecting your own appearance and domain through trickery and illusions.	Conjuration, Transmutation.
Gluttony	Necromancy	Magic that manipulates the physical body to provide for an unending hunger for life.	Abjuration, Enchantment.
Greed	Transmutation	Magically transforming things into objects of greater value or utility, and enhancing the physical self.	Abjuration, Conjuration.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Arcane School