Is Lore Master Truly a Disaster?

I haven’t seen r/Unearthed Arcana as up in arms about an Unearthed Arcana article as they were concerning the Lore Master/ Savant Wizard archetype. So, let’s not beat around the bush; Lore Master is strong, but is it overpowered or broken? We’ll take a closer look feature by feature starting from the top.

Lore Mastery:

Lore Master. Lore master is an interesting feature, offering the wizard a change to be actually smart when it comes to areas of knowledge like you would expect a wizard to be by doubling proficiency bonus for their Intelligence based skills such as Arcana and History. It also offers them the ability to use Intelligence for their initiative because flavorfully they always have a plan or idea and are quick-witted. This is probably a couple of the least “dangerous” features the Lore Master gets because unlike the Swashbuckler who gets a whole second ability modifier to initiative, the wizard gets an alternative rather than a bonus. Seeing as initiative constantly fluctuates, this isn’t nor shouldn’t be a major issue.

Spell Secrets. The Spell Secrets ability essentially allows the wizard to, as long as he or she is casting using a spell slot, change one type of “energy” damage to another, we’re talking acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, radiant, and thunder in that order. That is undoubtedly strong, and most dangerous in the hands of a player who knows the Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide, and D&D Lore very well. Troll? Thunderwave is more like Flamewave. Lightning bolt is now a damn Kamehameha wave made of radiant, Mr. Vampire! Multiple Earth Elementals? No big deal, let’s just do a Thunderball of 8d6, they only have vulnerability to thunder! In itself, this spell shaping ability is pretty powerful in the hands of a well-versed player and we should be glad that they didn’t include psychic damage in that list.  Once per short rest, these same wizards can change the type of save that a spell requires. Liken unto changing damage type, this can be problematic in the hands of an intelligent player.

Alchemical Casting. This is the big issue for this archetype. Sacrificing a spell slot of a particular level yields greater result when casting a spell. A first level slot increases the damage by 2d10 for each target of the spell, a second level increases the range from 30 feet to a mile, and a third level slot increases the DC by 2. These are undoubtedly powerful options for spell casting for the wizard. Mind you, at 20^th level, these abilities can be activated only a combined total of ten times (4-1^st, 3-2^nd, 3-3^rd) before using Arcane Recovery, with each use having a different effect per long rest. In order to figure out if this is as dangerous as people think it may be and remove our “vacuum” thinking from this dilemma. 

The first level slot ability is extra damage, which yes, is strong. It is stronger than pumping spells up by a higher spell slot, but it is a much more accessible resource that limits our options earlier or later. However, those first level spell slots are either dead in the water based on what you prepared, or valuable, based on what you prepared. From my time playing Wizard (and the tangentially related Alchemist) part of our battle in prepared spell casting is choosing your spells, why you choose them, and when you use them. Casting spells is a gamble, some people tend to lose that gamble when they choose to cast spells, especially when it comes to damage. My friend Nick constantly lectures me about how to play Wizard (bless him). He has always made the harsh point that damage is the worst use of a spell slot. Now that I have played more casters, I can say that I agree. Spells that have saves or attack rolls tend to be dangerous games of chance. Boosting a spells damage by force damage for the price of losing more of your spell casting faster is even riskier. Remember that casting at a higher level preserves the original level of the spell slot. In Alchemical casting, you are sacrificing more and risking more.

The second level slot ability that increases the range of the spell from a minimum of 30 feet to a mile is pretty impractical. The game does not generally take place in a wide open space. There are, and usually should be obstacles in line of sight for one mile. Many spells specify that you need to be able to see the target of your spell, for most spells, this augmentation only gains use within the first few hundred feet at best. Increasing the range of the spell is probably one of the least intrusive changes these abilities could have presented as.

 The third level ability increases the saving throw of the spell that you cast. I would imagine that this, though the logical basis for the strongest application, isn’t as powerful as they could have made it. Increasing the DC of a spell by 2 only means it will be 10% more effective. I would imagine that the situation that would warrant the use of a third level spell slot would be to try to overcome spell resistance that takes the form of having advantage on a saving throw. Remember that Legendary Resistance will not be harmed by this. This ability is most useful for dealing with crowds, but it also creates a higher danger when splash damage is involved.

Prodigious Memory. Prodigious memory is probably one of the most forgiving wizard abilities for the game thus far. Once per short or long rest, as a bonus action you can switch one of your prepared spell slots. This isn’t overly dangerous. Given that prepared spellcasting is a cumbersome system that often results in a wizard kicking themselves at least once a session that something isn’t prepared. I personally hate prepared spellcasting, I understand the mechanic necessity for it in the 5e system, but there are moments where, as the only spellcaster in a group will often regret a choice they made because they are (insert fanfare) unprepared for a situation at hand but they have the solution. I experienced this last week as a prepared spellcaster.  At least they still have to know the spell….

Master of Magic. Which brings us to Master of Magic which says, “I see that I get wish in three levels, but I would like to cast any spell right now.” Once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to load any spell in the game for which you have spell slots, to load the cannon for casting any spell from the game. Good thing Trap the Soul doesn’t exist. This is obviously powerful, but it also is a massive burden that the discerning and experienced player is best suited for. Being able to cast any spell has only one major flaw: The time most players would take to use it in real time. I have had players back in the 3.5 days disappear into their resources for ten minutes during combat. That is a problem in itself, and that is what this ability promotes. In a party with multiple spellcasters, this may step on a few toes, or be a welcome addition because somebody else will be able to carry part of the load. In a party where the wizard is the only caster (and yes I have seen that) it would be a welcome change. Not every party is perfect and this helps the wizard cover a little more ground.

Summing up:

You may have noticed I have passive aggressively used bold italic for words like thinking and Intelligence in an attempt to subtly make my point. The Lore Master is, even by wizard standards meant to be a highly intelligent character. While everyone on reddit is worried about its power, I would be worried that a player would be able to play it well, like the type of character it emulates. Now, I am not calling anyone stupid, but this archetype wants the player to actually think about what they are doing. They are not suited to pyromaniac blasters because a degree of knowledge and finesse is what really balances the archetype. Any reckless player can play a wizard, but this archetype may be lost on that individual.  We’ve spent too much time in this community defaulting to the idea that wizards are the most powerful class. They might be, but that doesn’t mean every wizard is the most powerful wizard. At the same time, the most powerful wizard is only as powerful as the GM lets them be, or as the GM lets them get out of hand. If a GM sets up encounters that can be taken advantage of, yes Lore Master may just be “overpowered” or “broken”, but is that fault of the Lore Master, or the GM for not using what they have at hand to create not only challenge and balance? Any class can be overpowered if the GM lets the class be overly powerful. GMs and players have a standing relationship that vacuum thinking tends to make us forget. If the GM is trying to challenge players, they have to use everything at their disposal and work as a team. If a player is dominating all the action, then it is up to the GM to correct that. Not by punishing the player, but by challenging the players together. Maybe there is a super spell resistant villain like some kind of mage hunter who is seeking to destroy the wizard that is such a problem because tales of his power have spread. Thus it is up to the rest of the group to help protect the wizard, and in doing so you can, as a GM, help them forge bonds to work together. The rest of the players won’t complain about a lore master if he casts heal on a dying character from 200 feet away, he will be seen as a team player and valued member. Classes are as powerful as the group (players and GM) makes them, not as Wizards of The Coast writes them. No Unearthed Arcana is perfect, and they are subject to revision, but unless something that has had thought put into it, as long as it follows the general design rules, we can’t assume it is overpowered.