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E
ach wizard chooses an arcane tradition
when they start their studies. If they want to
raise the dead, they become a necromancer.
If they want to barrage people with arcane
bullets, they become an evocator. But what if
a wizard realizes his schola electi isn't so
interesting after all? What if he decides to
change his tradition midway through his career? This
document should serve as a basic guide to creating a balanced
wizard with multiple arcane traditions.

A wizard who wants to choose a new arcane tradition must do
so at a level in which they'd normally gain a new Arcane
Feature (6th, 10th, or 14th). This is indicative of the wizard
finding a good "stopping point" in his studies of the original
school, or of the time it takes for the wizard to adjust his
studies to fit the new tradition.
Instead of gaining that level's respective Arcane Tradition
Feature, take the new Arcane Tradition's first feature. You
cannot gain more than one iteration of the Savant feature.
As an example, Bimbus is a 9th level Evocation Wizard.
When he levels up to 10, he decides he wants to dabble in
some Transmutation instead. To do so, his player would not
the Empowered Evocation Feature. Instead, he'd take
Transmutation's Minor Alchemy Feature. He would not,
however, take the Transmutation Savant Feature, because he
already has the Evocation Savant Feature.
Finally, if you decide to cross back into your original arcane
tradition, take the feature you would have gotten when you'd
changed traditions the first time. For instance, Bimbus would
take Empowered Evocation at the 14th level if he decides to
switch over again.

Variant Rule: Idiot Savant

At your DM's discretion, you may instead choose to
take multiple iterations of the Savant Feature.
However, you do not gain the alternative Feature
granted by the Tradition.
In Bimbus' example, he would take
Transmutation Savant instead of Minor Alchemy.

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Considering balance, why might you choose to create a
character with this system? Since you are sacrificing access to
higher level abilities, at first glance it may seem
counterproductive.
A player who takes multiple Arcane Traditions, however, is
looking for versatility rather than raw power. Consider the
reason you chose Wizard in the first place! If you choose
multiple traditions, it's only natural that you'd have to sacrifice
some power for other benefits.

MAT; version 1.1, created by ganelon

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