Sorry ya'll. Just putting my threadmy thread here for visibility. Originally text below.I'll keep this brief, as I know people want to jump back into the EA.
Subject: Arcane Ward, the Abjuration Wizard's level 2 class feature and they're iconic class skill going forward. It rewards the wizard for casting protective/support spells from the abjuration school and branching out to other classes that have good spells that could be upcast (like Armor of Agathys).
So, all around a p.neat feature, if niche.
Problem: In game, Abjurer's get an ability called Arcane Ward, but is only so in name only. To compare:
5e Player's Handbook
Starting at 2nd level, you can weave magic around yourself for protection. When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has a hit point maximum equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.
While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.
Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest.
and
Current BD3 EA
Once per day, when you cast an Abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can use a strand of the spell's magic to create a magical ward that lasts until your next long rest. The ward has a maximum of 3 hit points and absorbs all damage done to you. When it is reduced to 0 hit points, you take the remaining damage, but the magic remains. Whenever you cast an Abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell
(Note, the PHB version is also not Temporary HP, whereas the BD3 version overlaps with and otherwise is temp HP)
The problems with this, outside of the emphasis, are as follows.
- 3 HP can be leapt over numerically in a number of ways, especially in this game that has multiple environmental hazards that don't damage people, but do chip at The Ward.
- Casting higher level abjuration spells will also make abjurer's not!temp hp's pool runneth over. So a lot of points will otherwise go to waste. Which also leads to
- The Abjurer taking damage that they would otherwise be able to mitigate, because the pool didn't mitigate any damage.
- The Arcane Ward technically is it's own entity that takes damage for the Wizard first, as per this (much like Mirror Image, infact). Meaning, although the Ward doesn't get resistances and the like, hitting a Ward doesn't force a Wizard to make a concentration check. Which is different from how it functions in-game.
Solutions: Just...just use the version from the PHB. It's solid and balanced already. A wizard with a slight focus on a limited spell school should be reward for the investment, not penalized. Or, at least state that it's going to be worked on so Abjurer's get a version that isn't just a poor man's False Life.
Anyway, that's it. Hope that's not too whingy sounding.
PS: Wizards have innate ritual casting and can cast ritual spells without needing to be prepared. Can they get that back so casting Find Familiar will be worth it and not consume a spell slot? thx
