Replacement Variants [Int -4] (2 slots)
This proficiency allows a specialist wizard to change the spells they learn into more usable variants as they transcribe them into their spellbooks or onto a scroll. A minimum Intelligence of 16 and Wisdom of 12 are also required.
A wizard with the replacement variants (RV) proficiency can modify a spell prior to scribing it with successful proficiency check (the proper changing of the magical equations and notations). A successful check allows the caster to augment and/or change the spell to incorporate his specialty school(s). The effects of these augmentations are that the chosen spell can be made to incorporate an element of another school of magic. Note that specialist wizards can only add their chosen school of specialty to the spell they are changing. Thus, an armor spell could be made to bear the school of Illusion in addition to that of Conjuration and Force, of which it is already a part. This new spell is listed below as an example spell. Note if an illusionist made this spell change, this is the only possible school change that could be made, as it must be changed to include only his school of specialty.
The creator of this “new” spell can delegate any changes in function that the new school may have imposed on the old spell; although the more different the spell, the more lessening effects (see below) must be chosen and incorporated into the augmented spell.
Although any of the following can also change when a spell is augmented as listed above (at least one must be chosen, as all spells changed in this way are altered and lessened in power slightly):
| The spell may increase in level. |
| The spells area of effect may become smaller. |
| The spells duration may be reduced by at least 2 rounds, 1 turn, or limited to 24 hours (for spells like armor). |
| The damage the spell can take before being dispelled (like an armor spell) may be reduced by at least 2 points. |
| The damage of the spell is lessened by at least 1 point of damage, but if the spell’s new damage is only reduced by less than 5 points of damage it must take at least 2 levels longer to reach the maximum damage for the spell. |
| A saving throw or ability check may be allowed to avoid some effects or for the spell victims to “save” for half of damage. |
| The spell will affect at lest one less person in the case of area of effect magic. |
| The spell may now require a material component that has to do with the function of the spell, or similar to a spell of similar function within the same school of magic that the wizard is a specialist in. |
| Any spell that is based wholly on illusion can gain or retain any saving throw penalties imposed on the victim of the new variant spell only if a material component is used. |
Furthermore, the new spell is rendered “restricted” to only the wizards of similar magical specializations. Thus a spell augmented to include the school of illusion, would also be rendered “restricted to illusionists”, and unusable to most other wizards.
A failed RV proficiency check causes the spell to be transcribed improperly; and it is then considered incorrect and cannot be used as a spell. Although the wizard can try to rewrite the spell after researching it to gain the right formulas to make it work.
Replacement variants as a proficiency can be used to enhance research on a new spell or magical process. A successful proficiency check reduces the cost of spell research for all specialty wizards who are researching a spell of their school of specialty by a percentage equal to their bonus chance to learn spells of their specialty school, thus an illusionist could reduce the cost of his illusion spell research by 15%; and an elementalist mage could reduce the cost by 25%.
DM Optional, Restriction Rule: This proficiency could be considered born or stolen from the school of Incantation/Metamagic and as such specialists in the school of Incantation or Metamagic can freely use any such augmented or changed spell once it is written down, but only so long as they also have the replacement variants proficiency.
Example Spell, for the Replacement Variants proficiency: phantom scale mail
