School of the Hedge-Mage (5e Subclass)

School of the Hedge-Mage

The hedge-mage is an often comical figure, one on whom more lofty scholars of the arcane frequently look down on. Yet the Hedge-Mage is much more tricky and powerful than their appearance might suggest, and some have a huge number of tricks up their sleeves to confound and deceive their enemies. The hedge-mage, sometimes known as the street mage or conjurer of fancies, is a wandering wizard who lacks the wealth, resources and learning of other wizards. Instead, the knowledge that they have was taught to them by a mentor or parent, repeated through word of mouth rather than read in the musty pages of a book. At some point, the hedge-mage sets out on their own, though, and starts to develop their own magic, cobbling together spells and tricks from the fragments they already know.

Hedge-mages scrounge and grub around for what they can- theirs is not a profitable life, but one of a dedication to what they see as a tradition to be maintained. Few learn more than the most basic magic and they are rarely more than performance artists, exercising their feeble powers to stun audiences in small towns and villages that don't come into much contact with magic. A small minority of hedge-mages do become more powerful, however, and gain a versatility in their magic that is often just as impressive as what can be achieved by a more formally tutored mage. Make no mistake, though, the hedge-mage does not have a 'knack' for magic. Instead, they must work their fingers to the bone perfecting the tricks of their trade.

Most hedge-mages use a spell book like any other wizard, though theirs tend to be tattered, stained and in poor repair after years on the road. A few hedge-mages are a little more creative in how they store their spells, though- one might them have them tattooed onto his body, while another might write each of them onto a card from her playing card deck. Whatever the case, these repositories of magic function just the same as any other spell book or magical store, despite their outlandish appearance.

Trinket Tricks

Beginning at 2nd level, when you first select this school, you can create magical trinkets and knickknacks that store spells. Most often these are sold to punters for their amusement and your monetary gain. They only have a short duration, so the Hedge-Mage has to be sure to make themselves scarce once the bauble loses its power.

When you cast a non-cantrip spell of 5th level or lower, provided you expend a spell slot to cast it, you may target a small item such as a scrap of paper, necklace or other trinket. If you do, the spell is stored within that object rather than being normally cast. At any time until your next long rest, a creature holding that object may cast the spell from it. If the spell has a casting time greater than an action, it becomes one action (the casting time is unaffected if it is a bonus action or reaction). To cast the spell, the creature must be aware that the spell is contained within the object. The spell uses your spell save DC and spell attack modifier. The next time you take a long rest, the trinket loses its magic and if the spell has already been cast, all of its magical effects end early.

Weird Magic

At 2nd level, your spells are cobbled together from the teachings of your mentor, bits of spellcraft picked up and imitated from other spellcasters and your own invented incantations (which often wield more style than substance). While this gives you less precision than other wizards, it allows you to be unpredictable and versatile with your spellcasting, creating bizarre and impressive effects. A hedge-mage's fireball might burn with a chilly bluish flame, or their lightning bolt might be formed from a glowing, radiant energy.

When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher, you may choose to apply one (and only one) of the following effects to it-

Replace each instance of one of the following damage types in the spell's text with another one of those damage types- acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant and thunder.

Replace each instance of one of the following saving throws in the spell's text with another one of those saving throws- Strength, Dexterity and Constitution.

Replace each instance of one of the following saving throws in the spell's text with another one of those saving throws- Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.

Once you've used this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Copy-Cat Caster

You have learned all sorts of tricks from all sorts of places, and know how to draw on your arcane magic to replicate the powers of entirely different disciplines. At 6th level and again at 10th and 14th level, you may add two spells of 1st level or higher from another class's spell list to your spellbook. These spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. These spells count as wizard spells for you, though other wizards cannot copy them from your spellbook. They cannot be chosen for your Spell Mastery feature when you reach 20th level.

Master of Small Magics

Hedge-mages are experts when it comes to wowing a crowd and know myriad amusing and useful magical tricks. At 10th level, during each long rest you may select three cantrips from the wizard spell list. Until the beginning of your next long rest, you may cast those cantrips. They do not count against the number of cantrips that you may learn.

Font of Wonders

Beginning at 14th level, you become a master of magic that can change and shift at a whim and your displays of power become all the more spontaneous and frenetic. You may use your Weird Magic feature a number of times equal to your intelligence modifier between each short rest, but may use it no more than once each turn.

Furthermore, you can use a bonus action on your turn to enter a spellcasting frenzy. For the next minute, or until you lose concentration (as though concentrating on a spell), your speed is doubled, you have advantage on Dexterity saving throws, you gain a +2 bonus to your spell attack and damage rolls and the DCs of spells you cast are increased by 2. In addition, you gain an additional action on each of your turns. That action can be used only to cast a cantrip or take the Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action. Once you've entered a spellcasting frenzy, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

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