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About this mod
Warmages master that most basic of wizardry skills: cantrips. Always prepared for battle, they hone simple but reliable magic, and what they can do with a Fire Bolt can put an archmage to shame. Based on homebrew by Mage Hand Press.
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Hey there! This is another adaptation of some 5e homebrew. Specifically, the Warmage by Mage Hand Press. The Warmage is a more martially-inclined spellcaster, focusing on refining and enhancing cantrips for use in battle. This is my second stab at porting over a Mage Hand class. It's a lot more complicated, but hopefully should take some of what I've learnt and be overall a bit cleaner under-the-hood.
Should support levels 13-20, if you have a level unlocker. I've mainly playtested levels 1-12, though, so tell me if you run into any issues. The House of Bishops cannot upcast spells beyond 6th-level, although this is only relevant if multiclassing heavily into another class.
What is a Warmage?
They're kind of the spellcaster version of Fighters! Not in the sense that they walk around carrying swords, but in that they're all about the simple and reliable. No managing spell slots here. The Warmage is about taking Fire Bolt, taking Acid Splash, taking those odd cantrips like Light, and performing tricks with them no "true" spellcaster would bother with. Their Warmage Edge allows them to buff the damage roll of any Warmage cantrip, while their Arcane Surge allows them to then further double all those dice.
But what might really make your cantrips interesting are your Warmage Tricks. Among other things these let you:
- Blast people back with a Force Dart!
- Dissolve people's defenses with Acid Splash!
- Blind people with the Light cantrip!
- And more!
Each Warmage is further defined by their House, loose confederations Warmages gather in.
- The House of Bishops gathers those truly gifted in the arcane, getting limited access to spell slots and levelled Wizard spells.
- The House of Kings are natural-born leaders, spending their turns both flinging cantrips and issuing orders to their allies.
- The House of Pawns aspire to true flexibility with their cantrips. They have access to every unique Trick the other Houses get, and can swap out one of their Warmage cantrips each Short Rest.
- The House of Rooks are craftier than most, able to magically bypass locks and disappear in a flash.
- The House of Lancers channel their magic through unarmed strikes, combining cantrips with physical prowess.
Regardless, your casting stat is Intelligence.
New spells
The Warmage has a few new, unique cantrips as part of its repertoire:
- Arc Blade: This handy cantrip converts your weapon's damage to Lightning, and can shock a nearby foe for a bit of extra damage.
- Force Buckler: Who needs shields? This bonus-action cantrip will allow you to coat yourself with magic for a turn, so long as you have a hand free.
- Force Dart: Sometimes you just want to bludgeon someone from a distance with a dart made of pure energy. I won't judge.
- Phantom Grapnel: Pull enemies closer to you with this magical grappling hook.
- Quickstep: Use your bonus action to get a bit of extra movement.
- Springheel: Hop to your heart's content, for your jump will no longer cost a bonus action over your turn.
Features by level
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- HP per Level: 5
- Proficiencies: Light Armour, Simple Weapons
- Proficiencies (Multiclass): Light Armour
- Starting Saves: Constitution, Intelligence
- Level 1: You gain four Warmage cantrips, along with two extra cantrips determined by your background. Additionally, you gain an Arcane Fighting Style:
- Blaster: Your spell save DC increases by 1.
- Deflector: When you have a hand free, you can use your reaction to subtract your Proficiency Bonus from the attack roll of a ranged weapon or spell attack targeting you.
- Resistive: While in light armour or under the effects of Mage Armour, you have +1 AC.
- Sniper: You gain +1 to your ranged spell attacks.
- Striker: Cantrips that require a melee attack now deal an extra 2 damage.
- Level 2: You gain the Warmage Edge feature, letting you add (once per turn) your Intelligence modifier to a Warmage cantrip's damage roll. You also learn a Warmage Trick; you'll learn more as you level up, up to 10.
- Level 5: Your Warmage Edge improves: you can now add your Intelligence modifier + one extra damage die to a Warmage cantrip. Once per Short Rest, you may use an Arcane Surge to double the damage dice of a Warmage cantrip. You cannot do this with a Critical Hit, whose damage dice are already doubled.
- Level 6: You add your Intelligence modifier to saves against spells.
- Level 11: Your Warmage Edges add another damage die to your Warmage cantrips, and you may use Arcane Surge twice per Short Rest.
- Level 14: Once per Short Rest when you are targeted with a ranged spell attack, you may roll against the enemy's spell save DC to attempt to deflect the spell back at them.
- Level 17: Your Warmage Edge deals another damage die, for a total damage bonus of your Intelligence modifier + three extra damage dice.
- Level 20: Your Warmage cantrips add an extra damage die to their damage.
Tricks
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Additionally, Warmage subclasses get exclusive tricks that are only selectable by that subclass.
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- Blasting Cantrip: When you deal Force damage with a Warmage cantrip, blast an enemy back 3m.
- Blinding Light: When you cast the Light cantrip, you can shoot off a flare at an enemy, potentially Blinding them.
- Corrosive Cantrip: When you deal Acid damage with a Warmage cantrip, lower the target's AC by 2 until the next attack against them.
- Draining Cantrip: When you deal Necrotic or Poison damage with a Warmage cantrip, you can drain the lifeforce of your enemy and grant yourself some temporary hitpoints.
- Explosive Cantrip: When you deal Fire damage with a Warmage cantrip, cause a small explosion, causing 1d6 Fire damage to those within 2m of your enemy who fail a Dexterity save.
- Extended Range: Double the range of any ranged cantrips.
- Flexible Range: Melee cantrips can be cast from 3m away. Ranged cantrips can be cast as melee ones when threatened.
- Icy Cantrip: When you deal Cold damage with a Warmage cantrip, numb your opponent. Its next attack roll has a d4 penalty.
- Mystical Armour: You can cast Mage Armour on yourself at-will, without costing any spell slots.
- Mystical Athlete: The effects of Quickstep and Springheel are doubled, and casting one will -- if you have both -- automatically cast the other.
- Phantom Hookshot: You can use Phantom Grapnel as a bonus action, and the distance it pulls things increases.
- Static Cantrip: When you deal Lightning damage with a Warmage cantrip, you become Charged. When an enemy hits you with a melee attack, you can deal half your Warmage level in Lightning damage back at them.
Additionally, Warmage subclasses get exclusive tricks that are only selectable by that subclass.
Subclasses
House of Bishops:
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- Level 3:
- You have limited access to levelled Wizard spells from the Conjuration and Evocation schools, gaining spell slots and spells at the rate of an Eldritch Knight. At certain levels, you may learn one spell from the full Wizard list.
- Additionally, you are proficient in Arcana and History.
- Level 7: You can summon your Mystic Companion to your side, getting access to Find Familiar as a ritual. Like a Pact of the Chain Warlock, this familiar can be an Imp or a Quasit.
- Level 10: Warmage spells that make a spell attack roll have double the range. Additionally, you automatically maximise your damage dice when targeting objects with Warmage spells.
- Level 15: When casting Warmage spells that affect an area, you can exclude your allies from the effects. This works for both damaging spells and spells like Hypnotic Pattern.
- Level 18: [not currently implemented]
House of Kings:
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- Level 3: You are proficient with medium armour, battleaxes, longswords, tridents and warhammers. You have two Battle Dice which recharge on Short Rest or when enterring combat; after successfully hitting a creature, these can be spent using a bonus action on Stratagems.
- Blitz: Manoeuvre an ally. They ignore opportunity attacks and get an extra 3m of movement.
- Gambit: Give your allies an opening. The next attack roll against your enemy by someone other than you has advantage.
- Mystic Counsel: Pick an ally within 9m. They may expend your Battle Die to add to a saving throw.
- Stalemate: Lock the opponent you've hit in place. They cannot move until the end of their next turn.
- Outside of combat, these dice may be expended to improve any Intelligence or Wisdom check.
- Level 7: You and any allies within 36m of you ignore the movement speed reduction of difficult terrain.
- Level 10: Those within 3m of you add your Intelligence modifier to saves against spells.
- Level 15: You learn a new Stratagem that allows an ally to make an extra attack or cast one cantrip.
- Level 18: Once per combat you can grant your allies a free Battle Die, which can be expended to add to an attack roll or saving throw.
House of Pawns:
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- Level 3: You learn an additional Warmage Trick; the House of Pawns can also learn every otherwise subclass-exclusive Trick. Additionally, you learn one extra Warmage cantrip, which can be swapped out for any Warmage cantrip you don't have on a Short Rest.
- Level 7: When you target an enemy with a cantrip, you can take away their reaction.
- Level 10: You learn an additional Arcane Fighting Style.
- Level 15: You add half your Intelligence modifier (rounded up) to Initiative checks. When you enter combat and are not Surprised, you have double your movement on your first turn.
- Level 18: Your Warmage Edge increases by another damage die.
House of Rooks:
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- Level 3: You can cast Knock at-will, without using spell slots. Additionally, you can activate Rook Strike: this gives you advantage on your attack with a Warmage Cantrip (or gives your enemy disadvantage on their save to resist). This can be activated once, then needs to recharge either through Short Rest or by killing an enemy with a cantrip.
- Level 7: Add your Intelligence modifier to Dexterity checks. Additionally, you take half damage from falling.
- Level 10: After taking damage, you can use your reaction to activate a Fleeting Decoy, giving any further attacks against you that turn disadvantage.
- Level 15: You can move without triggering opportunity attacks.
- Level 18: Once per Short Rest, you can cast an enhanced version of Invisibility on yourself. You have double movement speed while invisible, and can make one attack or cast one cantrip without breaking invisibility.
House of Lancers:
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- Level 3:
- While not wielding any melee weapon, you can make 1d6 unarmed strikes, and you can replace your Strength or Dexterity modifier with Intelligence for them. You can cast Warmage cantrips that require a melee weapon with your fists.
- While wearing no armour, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier. While in Mage Armour, you can use 13 + your Intelligence modifier to calculate your AC.
- You can lunge 4.5m towards enemies without provoking an opportunity attack as an action. You may then make a melee attack of your choice at no cost.
- Level 7: Whenever you make a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution check, you may use your Intelligence modifier instead. Additionally, difficult terrain does not slow you down.
- Level 10: When you are hit by a ranged spell or weapon attack that deals Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Necrotic or Radiant damage, you can use your reaction to reduce its damage by 1d10 + your Intelligence modifier + half your Warmage level.
- Level 15: Your lunge increases to 9m.
- Level 18: Once per Long Rest, you can expend an Arcane Surge Charge and an action to cast three Warmage cantrips at once. You cannot use Arcane Surge on these cantrips.
Multiclassing notes
The Warmage only gets cantrips, and so does not further multiclass spell slot progression. The exception are the House of Bishops, who are considered third-casters and gain spell slots at a similar rate to an Eldritch Knight.
Otherwise, if a feature says it works with "a cantrip", it works with any cantrip. If it says it works with a Warmage cantrip, it only works with cantrips learned through the Warmage class. For instance, a Warmage cannot dip Warlock and then apply Warmage Edge to Eldritch Blast.
Credits
As mentioned, this class and the spells it adds are based on homebrew released by Mage Hand Press, available from them online or in Valda's Spire of Secrets and their Complete Warmage. Mage Hand have publically given permission for Baldur's Gate 3 mods based on their classes to be made on their Discord.
The chess icons used are just some altered Vector art from Wikimedia Commons, originally made by Colin Burnett. They're basically placeholders, but they should serve for now. (If you are an artist willing to take commissions for BG3 icons, feel free to get in touch.) The House of Lancers was a quick image done by me.
Finally, I want to give a quick thanks to the Community Library, which isn't a dependency but from which this mod does borrow some scripts. The free-hand check is also quick grab from Dr. Kekyll's Grappling Framework, which allows asset reuse.