Aquamancer (5e Class)
Aquamancer[edit]
A drought ravages the land, and an entire town is on the verge of dying of thirst. But a god takes notice of their plight, and now a chosen townsperson can give drink to the entire community.
Elsewhere, an assassin descends on a mage, thinking the mage has spent all her magic energy. The assassin doesn’t know of the mage’s innate connection to water, which allows her to protect herself while freezing him to the bone.
A city plagued by relentless wild animal attacks is near a breaking point. All of its able-bodied soldiers are too injured to keep fighting. Their fortune turns around when one league’s study of water magic leads to healing at a rate once unheard of.
These are Aquamancers. While their modes of obtaining their power vary wildly, they all have the same basic connection to the element of water. Wielders of water magic can drown enemies, cure allies, and even see the unknown. But most uniquely, aquamancers can devote an entire reservoir of power to a single spell, and tap that reservoir to extend the spell beyond its traditional limits.
Creating an Aquamancer[edit]
In creating an aquamancer character, there are two main questions to ask. The first, how did you obtain your power? The second, what purpose does that power serve? The source of magical power determines your font of origin, which in turn determines many of your other strengths. Is the power innate? Was it acquired through rigorous study? Was it an act of divine intervention? The question of ‘why’ is especially relevant in the latter two cases. If you obtained this power through study or were granted it supernaturally, there must be a reason, and this reason should be reflected in your initial Spellspring choice. Do you need to grant healing, gather information, defeat enemies, or simply provide water for others to drink? Even those with inborn abilities rise to the occasion to accomplish a goal or provide for a need. When you’ve answered these questions, your font of origin and your first Spellspring should be clear.
- Quick Build
You can make an aquamancer quickly following these suggestions. First, choose your Font of Origin. Your font's spellcasting ability should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution or Dexterity. Second, choose the Sage background. Third, choose two simple weapons and a scholar's pack for your starting equipment. Fourth, for your Spellspring, choose between Armor of Agathys, Cure Wounds, Healing Word, or Ice Knife. Finally, choose the Frostbite, Guidance, and Mage Hand cantrips.
Class Features
As a Aquamancer you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per Aquamancer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + Constitution modifier per Aquamancer level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: Light
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Water vehicles
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Persuasion, Religion
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) A light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) two simple weapons
- (a) An explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack
- A simple weapon, leather armor, and an arcane focus
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 3d4 x 10 gp in funds.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features | Cantrips Known | —Spell Slots per Spell Level— | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | ||||
| 1st | +2 | Font of Origin, Spellcasting, Spellspring | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Elemental Cohort, Spellspring Improvement | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Lash of Water, Rapid Inlet, Font of Origin Feature | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement, Capable Cohort | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | — | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | Spellspring Improvement | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | — | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | — | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | Font of Origin Feature, Capable Cohort Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | — | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | — | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 14th | +5 | Spellspring Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 15th | +5 | — | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 17th | +6 | Capable Cohort Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Font of Origin Feature | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20th | +6 | Spellspring Improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Font of Origin[edit]
At 1st level, you choose a Font of Origin, the source of your magical power. Choose between Divine Cascade, Natural Confluence, or Scholar's Geyser. In addition to granting features at 1st, 3rd, 10th, and 18th levels, your choice determines your Spellcasting ability.
Spellcasting[edit]
- Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the aquamancer spell list. You learn additional aquamancer cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Aquamancer table.
- Preparing and Casting Spells
The Aquamancer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of aquamancer spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the aquamancer spell list. When you do so, choose a number of aquamancer spells equal to your spellcasting ability modifier + your aquamancer level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest.
- Spellcasting Ability
Your spellcasting ability for your aquamancer spells depends on your font of origin. Wisdom is the spellcasting ability for Divine Cascade aquamancers. Charisma is the spellcasting ability for Natural Confluence aquamancers. Intelligence is the spellcasting ability for Scholar’s Geyser aquamancers. You use the denoted ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your ability modifier for that ability when setting the saving throw DC for an aquamancer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier
- Spellcasting Focus
You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your aquamancer spells.
Spellspring[edit]
At 1st level, you designate a signature spell. This spell must be a first-level spell on the Aquamancer spell list. Your signature spell is always prepared, and doesn’t count against your number of prepared spells. Further, you have a stockpile of Spellspring points. You can expend these points to cast your signature spell without expending a spell slot – the number of points you expend is equal to the level at which you choose to cast the spell. You can’t cast the spell at a level for which you don’t have spell slots. The number of Spellspring points you have depends on both your other statistics and which spell is your signature spell, as shown in the following table.
| Signature spell | Spellspring points |
|---|---|
| Alarm | Your proficiency bonus |
| Armor of Agathys | One third your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Create or Destroy Water | Spellcasting modifier + proficiency bonus + half your aquamancer level, rounded down |
| Cure Wounds | One third your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Detect Evil and Good | Your proficiency bonus |
| Detect Magic | Your proficiency bonus |
| Detect Poison and Disease | Your proficiency bonus |
| Fog cloud | Your aquamancer level |
| Healing word | One fifth your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Hunter's mark | Half your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Ice knife | One third your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Ice wave | One third your aquamancer level, rounded up |
| Identify | Your proficiency bonus |
| Longstrider | Your proficiency bonus |
| Purify food and drink | Spellcasting modifier + proficiency bonus + half your aquamancer level, rounded down |
| Sleep | Half your aquamancer level, rounded up |
At 2nd level, at 6th level, at 14th level, and at 20th level, you choose another signature spell from among the same possible spells. You track your Spellspring points for each signature spell separately. You regain expended Spellspring points upon finishing a long rest. At 20th level, you also regain expended Spellspring points at the end of a short rest.
Elemental Cohort[edit]
At 2nd level, a Water Elemental Cohort enters your service. You obtain a small vessel, such as a clay jar, that the elemental rests in. While it’s inside that vessel and that vessel is completely sealed, the elemental is incapacitated and is immune to all damage. Outside the vessel, the cohort rolls initiative separately but obeys all orders you give it.
Your cohort gains the following features:
- As long as your spellcasting ability score is greater than 10, your cohort’s score in that same ability is equal to yours.
- You can communicate telepathically with your cohort as long as you’re on the same plane; however, your cohort can’t willingly move away from you if the distance between you is at least 1 mile.
- Because you commune so closely, for each of your skill proficiencies for skills that use your spellcasting ability score, your cohort is also proficient in those skills, and uses your proficiency bonus for checks in these skills. Additionally, you can speak, read, and write Aquan, and your cohort can speak and read all of your languages.
- Your cohort gains an additional skill proficiency of your choice, using your proficiency bonus for checks in that skill.
- Your cohort learns a cantrip of your choice from the Cleric, Sorcerer, or Wizard spell lists. Your cohort's spell attack bonus and spell save DC are equal to yours.
- Your cohort’s alignment is the same as yours.
- Whenever you level up, your cohort's hit point maximum increases by 1d6 (or 4) + its Constitution modifier.
If your cohort loses all hit points or it would die, it disappears to the Elemental Plane of Water. As a result of the breaking of your link with each other, you take 2d6 psychic damage. This damage increases to 3d6 at level 4, 4d6 at level 10, and 6d6 at level 17. This damage cannot be reduced or prevented in any way. You can resummon your cohort over 1 hour using 50gp of materials.
Lash of Water[edit]
Beginning at 3rd level, you may use your action and expend a spell slot of 2nd level or higher to fire a column of water at a target within 15 feet of you. Make a melee spell attack roll, dealing 5d8 bludgeoning damage on a hit. This damage increases by 2d8 for each spell level above 2nd.
Rapid Inlet[edit]
At 3rd level, you gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed plus 10. Additionally, you can breathe both air and water.
Ability Score Increase[edit]
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Capable Cohort[edit]
When you reach 4th, 10th, and 17th levels, your cohort grows larger and more well-adapted to battle. The following table shows how your cohort's statistics change at each level.
| Aquamancer level | Size | AC | Str score | Con score | Slam attack bonus | Slam damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Small | 14 | 8 (-1) | 14 (+2) | +5 | 5 (1d6+2) |
| 10 | Medium | 15 | 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | +5 | 9 (2d6+2) |
| 17 | Large | 16 | 18 (+4) | 20 (+5) | +7 | 13 (2d8+4) |
Regardless of your cohort's size, it will fit in the vessel you obtained when it first entered your service.
As your cohort's Constitution modifier increases, its hit point maximum increases by the difference multiplied by its number of hit dice.
Starting at 10th level, your cohort is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapon attacks.
Divine Cascade[edit]
As a Divine Cascade aquamancer, you have a divine sponsor who is the source of your power. Unlike a paladin, you don’t swear an oath to your divine sponsor, but you are expected to use your aquamantic magic, and especially your Spellsprings, in a way that follows your sponsor’s alignment.
- Judge's Spellcaster
At 1st level and each time you gain a level in this class, you learn a spell of your choice from the Cleric or Paladin spell lists. The level of the spell can be no higher than half your aquamancer level, rounded up, and you may only learn a total of two 7th level spells, two 8th level spells, and two 9th level spells in this way. Each spell you learn in this way counts as an aquamancer spell for you, and is added to the list of spells you can prepare each day.
- Coursing Protection
Starting at 3rd level, whenever you or a friendly creature within 30ft of you would fail a saving throw, you can use your reaction to invoke the protection of your sponsor. Roll 1d6, and add the result to the result of the saving throw. You can use this feature a number of times equal to half your aquamancer level, rounded down, and you regain expended uses at the end of a long rest.
- Aura of Renewal
Your magic cleanses the world of your supernatural enemies. Starting at 10th level, whenever a hostile creature that’s an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead enters to within 10ft of you for the first time in a turn or starts its turn there, that creature is dealt 1d10 radiant or necrotic damage (the damage type is chosen based on the alignment of your divine sponsor). If that creature is also in contact with water that was created by a spell you cast, that creature is dealt an additional 2d6 radiant or necrotic damage; if it is not in contact with water, but is in contact with fog or clouds created by a spell you cast, that creature is dealt an additional 1d6 radiant or necrotic damage.
At 18th level, the radius of this effect increases to 30ft.
- Torrential Potential
Starting at 18th level, whenever you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell, you instead use the highest possible number on each die. Additionally, whenever your Lash of Water or a spell you cast of 1st level or higher deals cold or bludgeoning damage, add your Wisdom modifier to the damage dealt.
Natural Confluence[edit]
As a Natural Confluence aquamancer, your power is innate, bubbling outwards from your very soul. Your strength comes from focusing and tempering that power.
- Boil from Within
At 1st level and each time you gain a level in this class, you learn a spell of your choice from the Sorcerer spell list. The level of the spell can be no higher than half your aquamancer level, rounded up, and you may only learn a total of two 7th level spells, two 8th level spells, and two 9th level spells in this way. Each spell you learn in this way counts as an aquamancer spell for you, and is added to the list of spells you can prepare each day.
- Elemental Home
Starting at 3rd level, you have darkvision out to an additional 60 feet while underwater.
- Spell Doubling
Also starting at 3rd level, as you cast one of your signature aquamancer spells, you may apply one of the following effects:
- If the spell has a single target and has a range other than “self,” you may choose two targets within range for the spell.
- If the spell has a range of at least 5ft, you may double its range.
- If the spell has a duration other than “instantaneous,” you may double its duration.
- If the spell has a casting time of 1 action, you may change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.
- If the spell requires concentration, the next time you would fail a saving throw to maintain concentration on the spell, you can choose to pass that saving throw instead.
- If the spell is create or destroy water, you may double the amount of water created or destroyed.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to half your aquamancer level, rounded down. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
- Extra Spellspring
At 10th level, you choose one of the following three options.
- You gain an additional signature spell from among first-level spells on the Aquamancer spell list.
- You learn a first-level spell from the Sorcerer spell list. That spell is an aquamancer spell for you, and it counts as a signature aquamancer spell. Your Spellspring point maximum for that spell is 4.
- You choose a first-level spell that you have learned via the Boil from Within feature. That spell is a signature aquamancer spell for you with a Spellspring point maximum of 4. You learn another first-level spell from the Sorcerer spell list as if you learned it via the Boil from Within feature.
- Aquatic Soul
Starting at 18th level, you no longer age, you can't be aged magically, and you no longer need to eat (though you can still eat if you choose). In addition, as a bonus action, you can transform, gaining the following benefits for one minute:
- Your size becomes Large.
- You are immune to poison damage and resistant to fire, bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage.
- You take half damage from opportunity attacks.
- You are immune to becoming poisoned, and have advantage on saving throws against being grappled, restrained, or prone.
- You can move through a space as narrow as one inch without squeezing, but you cannot stop there. If you would stop there, you instead are pushed to the nearest space that can contain a Large creature.
- You can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. If you do, and that creature is Large or smaller, you may use your action to grapple the creature unless it succeeds on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC. If the creature is grappled, it is restrained and unable to breathe unless it can breathe underwater, and it may attempt the saving throw again as an action. You may grapple up to one Large creature or two Medium or smaller creatures at a time.
You can transform in this way twice. You regain expended uses at the end of a long rest.
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| Jace Beleren, from Magic: The Gathering. Art by Jason Chan. |
Scholar's Geyser[edit]
As a Scholar’s Geyser aquamancer, you have learned aquamancy through rigorous study. Your powers have been hard-won, the result of intellect and focus.
- Spring of Secrets
At 1st level and each time you gain a level in this class, you learn a spell of your choice from the Wizard spell list. The level of the spell can be no higher than half your aquamancer level, rounded up, and you may only learn a total of two 7th level spells, two 8th level spells, and two 9th level spells in this way. Each spell you learn in this way counts as an aquamancer spell for you, and is added to the list of spells you can prepare each day.
- Reroute Magic
Beginning at 3rd level, spells you cast that have a range of touch may be cast through your cohort, targeting any creature your cohort touches.
- Siphoning Ward
Also beginning at 3rd level, when you cast one of your signature aquamancer spells, you may siphon magic from the spell to create a ward around yourself. The ward has hit points equal to your aquamancer level + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you would take damage, if the ward has more than 0 hit points, the ward absorbs the damage. You take the excess damage if the ward drops to 0 hit points. The ward fades at the end of your next long rest. It doesn't fade from dropping to 0 hit points. When you cast one of your signature aquamancer spells while the ward is active, it gains hit points equal to twice the level of the spell as you cast it.
When you see your cohort take damage within 30 feet of you, you can use your reaction to cause your Siphoning Ward to absorb that damage. If that damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, the cohort takes the excess damage.
Once you create the ward, you cannot re-create the ward until after it fades.
- Moat of Arcana
Starting at 10th level, you can use your reaction to grant yourself protection against interference to your spells. For one minute, you can’t lose concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage. When you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
- Bottomless Spellspring
At 18th level, you choose up to three of your signature aquamancer spells that don’t heal hit points. You may cast the chosen spells at will, as if you had expended a first-level spell slot. If you chose fewer than three spells at 18th level, and if the Spellspring you gain at 20th level is for a spell that does not heal hit points, you may select that spell for this feature.
Aquamancer Spell List[edit]
You know all of the spells on the basic Aquamancer spell list and additional spells based on your subclass.
- Cantrips
Blade ward, frostbite, guidance, ice blade, light, mage hand, mending, ray of frost, spare the dying, shape water, true strike
- 1st Level
Alarm, armor of agathys, create or destroy water, cure wounds, detect evil and good, detect magic, detect poison and disease, fog cloud, healing word, hunter's mark, ice knife, ice wave, identify, longstrider, purify food and drink, sleep
- 2nd Level
Aid, alter self, augury, blindness/deafness, darkvision, detect thoughts, enhance ability, find traps, healing spirit, hold person, invisibility, lesser restoration, locate object, mind spike, see invisibility, silence, skywrite, Snilloc's snowball swarm, warding bond
- 3rd Level
Beacon of hope, clairvoyance, counterspell, create food and water, dispel magic, glyph of warding, haste, mass healing word, plant growth, protection from energy, remove curse, sending, sleet storm, slow, tidal wave, tongues, vampiric touch, wall of water, water breathing, water walk
- 4th Level
Arcane eye, aura of purity, banishment, blight, confusion, conjure minor elementals, control water, death ward, divination, freedom of movement, greater invisibility, hallucinatory terrain, ice storm, locate creature, resilient sphere, watery sphere
- 5th Level
Awaken, commune with nature, conjure elemental (Water Elemental only), contact other plane, dream, dominate person, enervation, greater restoration, legend lore, maelstrom, mass cure wounds, reincarnate, scrying, seeming, teleportation circle
- 6th Level
Find the path, flesh to stone, forbiddance, globe of invulnerability, heal, heroes' feast, investiture of ice, primordial ward, sunbeam, true seeing, wall of ice
- 7th Level
Etherealness, foreseeing shield, plane shift, regenerate, resurrection, teleport
- 8th Level
Abi Dalzim's horrid wilting, antimagic field, control weather, dominate monster, maze, tsunami
- 9th Level
Foresight, gate, ice assassin, imprisonment (minimus containment only), mass heal, storm of vengeance, wish
Multiclassing[edit]
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Aquamancer class, you must meet these prerequisites: Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma of 10 or higher, with at least one being 13 or higher.
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Aquamancer class, you gain the following proficiencies: Water vehicles, light armor
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