The school of the arcane, which some might say is the study of magick in its purest form, being filled with spells that blast raw magickal power onto their targets, and dismantle the very fabric that allows magick to function. Other mages need to be wary in the presence of an Arcanist who walks down the path of the arcane, lest they find their spells ineffective or used against them.

Arcane Ward

At 2nd-Level, your study over the arcane has led you to be able to weave magick around yourself and your allies for protection. When you cast a spell from the school of the Arcane of 1st-Level or higher, you can simultaneously take a strand of that magick and forge a magickal ward that lasts on yourself that absorbs magickal energies. This ward lasts on you until you finish a long rest, and has HP equal to twice your Arcanist Level + your INT modifier.

Whenever you take damage from spells or other magickal effects, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 HP, you take any remaining damage. Furthermore, when a creature that you can see within 10m of you takes damage from a spell or magickal effect, you can use your reaction to cause your Arcane Ward to absorb that damage. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 HP, the warded creature takes any remaining damage.

While the ward has 0 HP, it can't absorb damage, but its magick remains. Whenever you cast an Arcane spell of 1st-Level or higher, the ward regains HP equal to twice the spell's level.

Once you create the ward, you can't create it again until you finish a long rest.

Spell Insight

At 6th-Level, your mastery over the arcane allows you to more finely peer into the inner workings of spells as they manipulate the Mist around them. Whenever you would cast a spell from the school of the Arcane that requires you to make an ability check as a part of casting that spell (as in Dispel and Spell Shield), you can add half of your proficiency bonus (rounded down) to that ability check.

Arcane Concentration

At 10th-Level, your specialty in the school of the Arcane means that you have become protected against the brunt of arcane effects, and are able to manipulate the energies of existing spells to form a protective shield around you.

Your resistance stage to ARCANE and FORCE damage increases by 1, and you become immune to effects that would force you to lose spell slots. Furthermore, while you are concentrating on a spell, you gain a +2 bonus to your Saving Throws. If the spell on which you are concentrating is a spell from the school of the Arcane, you also halve any damage that you receive from spells.

Magick Counter

At Level 14, arcane magicks suffuse your very being – even as you are struck by other spells, you are able to discern how the spell manipulates the surrounding Mist and use a special brand of magick to cast the spell back in a short span of time.

Reaction trigger: When you are within the area of effect or are the target of a spell that has a casting time no longer than 1 action.

Effect: You can immediately begin casting the same spell after the spell resolves. You still need to expend the appropriate spell slot.

You can use this a number of times equal to your INT modifier, which replenishes every long rest.

As a student of the Path of Debilitation, you have honed your ability to magickally subdue other people and monsters. Some of these mages are peacemakers who bewitch the violent to lay down their arms and charm the cruel into showing mercy. Others are tyrants who magickally bind the unwilling into their service. Most fall somewhere in between.

Hypnotic Gaze

At 2nd-Level, your soft words and enchanting gaze can magickally incapacitate another creature. As an action, choose one creature that you can see within 2m of you. If the target can see or hear you, it must succeed on a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC or be

Charmed

Incapacitated

On subsequent turns, you can use your action to maintain this effect, extending its duration until the end of your next turn. However, the effect ends if you move more than 2m away from the creature, if the creature can neither see nor hear you, or if the creature takes damage.

Once the effect ends, or if the creature succeeds on its initial saving throw against this effect, the creature becomes immune to this feature for 24 hours.

Forceful Debilitation

At 6th-Level, your spells that afflict creatures gain greater potency. Whenever you would cast a spell that would force a creature to make a saving throw without dealing damage, you can force one creature to take a –1 penalty to its saving throw. You must choose to do this before the DM tells you the creature's roll. If that spell is from the school of Debilitation, the penalty becomes a –1d4 penalty.

Resilience

At 10th-Level, your dabbling in debilitation spells have led to greater resistances against most of their effects.

You have Advantage on Saving Throws against any of the following conditions:

Blind

Deaf

Diseased

Poisoned

Sap

Silence

Sleep

Split Enchantment

Starting at 14th level, when you cast a Debilitation spell, or a Shadow spell that does not deal damage, of 1st level or higher that targets only one creature, you can have it target a second creature.

You focus your studies on magick that dazzles the senses, befuddles the mind, and tricks even the wisest folk. Your magick is subtle, but the illusions crafted by your keen mind make the impossible seem real. Some illusionists – including many Moogle Arcanists – are benign tricksters who use their spells to entertain. Others are more sinister masters of deception, using their illusions to frighten and fool others for their personal gain.

Improved Minor Illusion

When you choose this school at 2nd level, you learn the Minor Illusion cantrip. If you already know this cantrip, you learn a different Arcanist cantrip of your choice. The cantrip doesn't count against your number of cantrips known.

When you cast Minor Illusion, you can create both a sound and an image with a single casting of the spell.

Malleable Illusions

Starting at 6th level, when you cast an Illusion spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can use your action to change the nature of that illusion (using the spell's normal parameters for the illusion), provided that you can see the illusion.

Illusory Self

Beginning at 10th level, you can create an illusory duplicate of yourself as an instant, almost instinctual reaction to danger. When a creature makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to interpose the illusory duplicate between the attacker and yourself. The attack automatically misses you, then the illusion dissipates.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Illusory Reality

By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magick into your illusions to give them a semi-reality. When you cast an Illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one inanimate, nonmagickal object that is part of the illusion and make that object real. You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross.

The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone.

The Path of Shadow explores the cosmic forces of life, death, and undeath. As you focus your studies in this tradition, you learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living things. As you progress, you learn to sap the life force from a creature as your magic destroys its body, transforming that vital energy into magical power you can manipulate. Most people label such mages who study this path as necromancers, and see them as menacing, or even villainous, due to the close association with death. Not all necromancers are evil, but the forces they manipulate are considered taboo by many societies.

Soul Drain

At 2nd-Level, you gain the ability to reap life energy from creatures you kill with your spells. Once per turn, when you kill one or more hostile creature with a spell of 1st-Level or higher, you regain HP equal to three times the spell's level, or five times the spell's level if the spell belongs to the school of Shadow. You don't gain this benefit from killing Constructs or Undead.

Undead Thralls

At 6th-Level, you learn the Dark Pact spell and always have it prepared, not counting towards the number of spells you have prepared. When you cast Dark Pact, you can target one additional corpse or pile of bones, creating another zombie or skeleton, as appropriate. You also learn the Spirit Sentinels spell and always have it prepared, not counting towards the number of spells you have prepared, but it always takes the form as if you were Evil aligned.

Whenever you create an Undead using a Shadow spell, it has additional benefits:

• The creature's maximum HP is increased by an amount equal to your Arcanist Level.
• The creature adds half of your proficiency bonus (rounded up) to its weapon attack rolls and weapon damage rolls.
• The creature's weapon attacks are considered magickal for the purposes of overcoming Resistance and Immunity.

Shadow Shield

At 10th-Level, you have become accustomed to dealing with the effects of Shadow magicks, becoming resistant to their effects.

Your resistance stage to DARK damage increases by 1; you have Advantage on Saving Throws against spells and other effects relating to

Berserk

Charm

Confusion

Fear

Instant KO

Sleep

Command Undead

Starting at 14th level, you can use magic to bring Undead under your control, even those created by other mages. As an action, you can choose one Undead that you can see within 20m of you. That creature must make a CHA saving throw against your spell save DC. If it succeeds, you can't use this feature on it again. If it fails, it becomes friendly to you and obeys your commands until you use this feature again.

Intelligent undead are harder to control in this way. If the target has an Intelligence score of 8 or higher, it has Advantage on the saving throw. If it fails the saving throw and has an Intelligence score of 12 or higher, it can repeat the saving throw at the end of every hour until it succeeds and breaks free.