Summary
Wizards are the spell masters ofDungeons & Dragons, being able to potentially learn more spells than any other class can. The 2024 Player’s Handbook keeps that identity up and running, maintaining what makes wizards who they are while giving them a few new options to showcase their knowledge.
The changes found within the 2024 rules mostly revolve around versatility, giving wizards more options to change up their spells during a single day, or even cantrips when long resting. If you’re looking to play a wizard in the future, be sure to keep these changes in mind.
They Will Need To Cast Identify
A wizard’s spellbook is the core of their identity, since without it, they would have a difficult time swapping spells or even learning new ones. While you don’t want other people putting their hands on it in the best of cases, in the off chance that they do, you’re better off if they can’t read the contents.
Now your spellbook has a little more secrecy, since the 2024 Player’s Handbook adds a nice little feature where other people can’t read your spellbook, unless they cast Identify. Of course, this doesn’t only apply to you, so if you want to take spells from a recently defeated spellcaster, you better have Identify ready within the pages of your own book.
6Scholar
Expertise For Wizards
Expertise used to be a mechanic closely associated with rogues, but nowadays, plenty of other classes have some access to it. When wizards make it to level two in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, they get the scholar feature, which lets them have expertise in one of a select list of skills.
Expertise is applied to a skill you are already proficient in. Said proficiency is doubled.
The skills are Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, and Religion. you may now prove your deep magical knowledge by being an expert in Arcane lore, or roleplay as a magical detective by having expertise in Investigation.
5You Now Gain Your Subclass At Level Three
You’ll Have To Wait Another Level To Specialize In A School
All classes have had their subclass choice standardized in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, with each having their choice at level three, and the book containing four choices for each class. This means that wizards, who used to be able to gain their subclass at level two, will now have to wait for an additional level.
This is a minor change in the grand scheme of things, so much so that old subclasses are easily adaptable to the new model. Simply make whatever they used to give you at level two happen at three, and you’ll be ready to play the new and improved 2024 wizard.
4Simpler Way To Prepare Spells
No More Need For Calculations
In the original 2014 rules, the number of spells you could prepare from your spellbook was equal to your level plus your Intelligence modifier. This calculation, at the end of the day, was the same for nearly every wizard, since they all wanted to have their intelligence reach the highest possible value in the shortest amount of time.
This, in turn, made wizard players reluctant to try any other species that weren’t optimal, or take any feats that prevented them from getting 20 points in Intelligence. Now, the number of spells you can prepare is a fixed number per level, opening up players to experiment with all sorts of combinations.
3Memorize Spell
A Quicker Way To Cast
Wizards can always replace spells after a long rest, but you don’t always have eight hours to prepare for an upcoming fight. This is where memorize spell comes in, a level five wizard feature that lets them use a short rest to replace one of their spells with another one from their spellbook.
This is great for moments when you need to make a small change in a pinch. If, for example, you know you’re about to face a group of devils, it may be a good chance to take a short rest,swapping your trusty Fireballfor something that will actually damage the fire immune monsters.
2Epic Boons
Make Your Wizard As Powerful As It Can Be
All classes at level 19 gain the optionto choose an epic boon, a special feat reserved for high level play that can fundamentally change how you play your character. Wizards already have many options to customize their characters, but what these boons offer can go above and beyond, as well as not expending spell slots.
The boon recommended by the 2024 Player’s Handbook is spell recall, giving you a one in four chance to not spend a spell slot when casting a level four or below spell. While great, an even better option is the boon of dimensional travel, since low health wizards always need to reposition themselves out of harm’s way, so being able to teleport after each spell cast is a real blessing.
1Replace Cantrips On Long Rests
Cantrip Formulas Are Back
An old optional feature for wizards was cantrip formulas, letting them change one of their cantrips during a long rest for any option in the wizard cantrip list. This is back as a core feature in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, but at level one, giving players even more time to experiment with what they want to have astheir bread and butter spell.
With so many cantrips being changed in some way, this feature lets everyone test out everything before falling back to the old favorites like Firebolt. While the old version of the feature required your spellbook, this one seems to be completely detached from it.
