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This is the Quickstart Guide version of the wizard, which only has features up to level 5. For the complete class, check out the Pathfinder Core Rulebook!

You are an eternal student of the arcane secrets of the universe, using your mastery of magic to cast powerful and devastating spells. You treat magic like a science, cross-referencing the latest texts on practical spellcraft with ancient esoteric tomes to discover and understand how magic works. Yet magical theory is vast, and there’s no way you can study it all. You either specialize in one of the eight schools of magic, gaining deeper understanding of the nuances of those spells above all others, or favor a broader approach that emphasizes the way all magic comes together at the expense of depth.

Key Ability

Intelligence: At 1st level, your class gives you an ability boost to Intelligence.

Hit Points

6 plus your Constitution modifier: You increase your maximum number of HP by this number at 1st level and every level thereafter.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.

Perception

Trained in Perception

Saving Throws

Trained in Fortitude
Trained in Reflex
Expert in Will

Skills

Trained in Arcana
Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 2 plus your Intelligence modifier

Attacks

Trained in the club, crossbow, dagger, heavy crossbow, and staff
Trained in unarmed attacks

Defenses

Untrained in all armor
Trained in unarmored defense

Spells

Trained in arcane spell attacks
Trained in arcane spell DCs

During combat encounters...

You likely try to stay out of the fray, carefully judging when to use your spells. You save your most powerful magic to incapacitate threatening foes and use your cantrips when only weaker foes remain. When enemies pull out tricks like invisibility or flight, you answer with spells like glitterdust or earth bind, leveling the field for your allies.

During social encounters...

You provide a well of knowledge about arcane matters and solve arguments with logic.

While exploring...

You locate magical auras and determine the arcane significance of magical writing or phenomena you uncover. When you run across an unusual obstacle to further exploration, you probably have a scroll that will make it easier to overcome.

In downtime...

You learn new spells, craft magic items, or scribe scrolls for your party, and seek out new and exciting formulas in addition to spells. You might even forge scholarly connections and establish a school or guild of your own.

You Might...

• Have an unquenchable intellectual curiosity about how everything in the world around you works—magic in particular.
  
• Believe fervently that your school of magic is superior (if you’re a specialist) or that true mastery of magic requires knowledge of all schools (if you’re a universalist).
  
• Use esoteric jargon and technical terms to precisely describe the minutiae of magical effects, even though the difference is probably lost on other people.
  

Others Probably...

• Consider you to be incredibly powerful and potentially dangerous.
  
• Fear what your magic can do to their minds, bodies, and souls, and ask that you avoid casting spells in polite company, as few can identify whether one of your spells is harmless or malevolent until it’s too late.
  
• Assume you can easily solve all their problems, from dangerous weather to poor crop yields, and ask you for spells that can help them get whatever they desire.
  

Table 3–18: Wizard Advancement        

Your Level	Class Features
1	Ancestry and background, initial proficiencies, arcane spellcasting, arcane school, arcane bond, arcane thesis
2	Skill feat, wizard feat
3	2nd-level spells, general feat, skill increase
4	Skill feat, wizard feat
5	3rd-level spells, ability boosts, ancestry feat, lightning reflexes, skill increase

Table 3–19: Wizard Spells Per Day

	Spell Level
Your Level	Cantrips	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
1	5	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	5	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	5	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	5	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

* The archwizard’s spellcraft class feature gives you a 10th-level spell slot that works a bit differently from other spell slots.

Class Features

You gain these abilities as a wizard. Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels next to their names.

Ancestry and Background

In addition to the abilities provided by your class at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background, as described in Chapter 2.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training. These proficiencies are noted at the start of this class.

Arcane Spellcasting

Through dedicated study and practice, you can harness arcane power to cast spells. You can cast arcane spells using the Cast a Spell activity, and you can supply material, somatic, and verbal components when casting spells (see Casting Spells).

At 1st level, you can prepare up to two 1st-level spells and five cantrips each morning from the spells in your spellbook (see below), plus one extra cantrip and spell of your chosen school of each level you can cast if you are a specialist wizard. Prepared spells remain available to you until you cast them or until you prepare your spells again. The number of spells you can prepare is called your spell slots.

As you increase in level as a wizard, your number of spell slots and the highest level of spells you can cast from spell slots increase, shown in Table 3–19: Wizard Spells per Day.

Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or have your enemies roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Intelligence, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Intelligence modifier. Details on calculating these statistics appear in General Rules.

Heightening Spells

When you get spell slots of 2nd level and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-level spells. This increases the spell’s level, heightening it to match the spell slot. Many spells have specific improvements when they are heightened to certain levels.

Cantrips

A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn’t use spell slots. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day. A cantrip is automatically heightened to half your level rounded up, which equals the highest-level of wizard spell slot you have. For example, as a 1st-level wizard, your cantrips are 1st-level spells, and as a 5th-level wizard, your cantrips are 3rd-level spells.

Spellbook

Every arcane spell has a written version, usually recorded in a spellbook. You start with a spellbook worth 10 sp or less, which you receive for free and must study to prepare your spells each day. The spellbook contains your choice of 10 arcane cantrips and five 1st-level arcane spells. You choose these from the common spells on the arcane spell list from this book or from other arcane spells you gain access to. Your spellbook’s form and name are up to you. It might be a musty, leather-bound tome or an assortment of thin metal disks connected to a brass ring; its name might be esoteric, like The Crimson Libram, or something more academic, like A Field Study in Practical Transmutation.

Each time you gain a level, you add two more arcane spells to your spellbook, of any level for which you have spell slots. You can also use the Arcana skill to add other spells that you find in your adventures.

Sample Spellbook

You can fill your spellbook with whichever spells you like, but the list below covers a good selection of starter spells for a 1st-level wizard. These are the exact spells found in Structure and Interpretation of Arcane Magic, a basic spellbook used by arcane academies and master wizards to teach apprentices good habits in arcane research.

Cantrips: Acid splash, detect magic, electric arc, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read aura, and shield.

1st Level: Burning hands, color spray, grease, mage armor, and magic missile, plus one spell of your school if you’re a specialist wizard.

Arcane School

Many arcane spellcasters delve deeply into a single school of magic in an attempt to master its secrets. If you want to be a specialist wizard, choose a school in which to specialize. You gain additional spells and spell slots for spells of your school. Arcane schools are described in detail in Magical Schools.

If you don’t choose a school, you’re a universalist, a wizard who believes that the path to true knowledge of magic requires a multidisciplinary understanding of all eight schools working together. Though a universalist lacks the focus of a specialist wizard, they have greater flexibility. Universalist wizards are described below.

Arcane Bond

You place some of your magical power in a bonded item. Each day when you prepare your spells, you can designate a single item you own as your bonded item. This is typically an item associated with spellcasting, such as a wand, ring, or staff, but you are free to designate a weapon or other item. You gain the Drain Bonded Item free action.

Drain Bonded Item [free-action]

Arcane, Wizard
Frequency once per day

You expend the power stored in your bonded item. This gives you the ability to cast one spell you prepared today and already cast, without spending a spell slot. You must still Cast the Spell and meet the spell’s other requirements.

Arcane Thesis

During your studies to become a full‑fledged wizard, you produced a thesis of unique magical research on one of a variety of topics. You gain a special benefit depending on the topic of your thesis research. The arcane thesis topics presented in this book are below; your specific thesis probably has a much longer and more technical title like “On the Methods of Spell Interpolation and the Genesis of a New Understanding of the Building Blocks of Magic.”

Improved Familiar Attunement

You’ve long held that fine-tuning the magic that bonds wizard and familiar can improve the mystic connection, compared to the safe yet generic bond most wizards currently use. You’ve formed such a pact with your familiar, gaining more advantages from it than most wizards. You gain the Familiar wizard feat. Your familiar gains an extra ability, and it gains an additional extra ability when you reach 6th, 12th, and 18th levels.

Your connection with your familiar alters your arcane bond class feature so that you store your magical energy in your familiar, rather than an item you own; you also gain the Drain Familiar free action instead of Drain Bonded Item. Drain Familiar can be used any time an ability would allow you to use Drain Bonded Item and functions identically, except that you draw magic from your familiar instead of an item.

Metamagical Experimentation

You’ve realized that the practice known as metamagic is a holdover from a time long ago, when wizards had to work out their own spells and variations rather than rely on spells recorded by others and passed down over the years. This allows you efficient access to various metamagic effects.

You gain a 1st-level metamagic wizard feat. Starting at 4th level, during your daily preparations, you can gain a metamagic wizard feat of your choice that has a level requirement of no more than half your level, which you can use until your next daily preparations.

Spell Blending

You theorize that spell slots are a shorthand for an underlying energy that powers all spellcasting, and you’ve found a way to tinker with the hierarchy of spell slots, combining them to fuel more powerful spells.

When you make your daily preparations, you can trade two spell slots of the same level for a bonus spell slot of up to 2 levels higher than the traded spell slots. You can exchange as many spell slots as you have available. Bonus spell slots must be of a level you can normally cast, and each bonus spell slot must be of a different spell level. You can also trade any spell slot for two additional cantrips, though you cannot trade more than one spell slot at a time for additional cantrips in this way.

Spell Substitution

You don’t accept the fact that once spells are prepared, they can’t be changed until your next daily preparation, and you have uncovered a shortcut allowing you to substitute new spells for those you originally prepared.

You can spend 10 minutes to empty one of your prepared spell slots and prepare a different spell from your spellbook in its place. If you are interrupted during such a swap, the original spell remains prepared and can still be cast. You can try again to swap out the spell later, but you must start the process over again.

Wizard Feats

At 2nd level and every even-numbered level thereafter, you gain a wizard class feat. These feats begin below.

Skill Feats (2nd)

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. Skill feats can be found in Chapter 5 and have the skill trait. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.

General Feats (3rd)

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat. General feats are listed in Chapter 5.

Skill Increases (3rd)

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this increase either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you’re untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you’re already trained to expert.

At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you’re already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you’re already a master.

Ability Boosts (5th)

At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you boost four different ability scores. You can use these ability boosts to increase your ability scores above 18. Boosting an ability score increases it by 1 if it’s already 18 or above, or by 2 if it starts out below 18.

Ancestry Feats (5th)

In addition to the ancestry feat you started with, you gain an ancestry feat at 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter. The list of ancestry feats available to you can be found in your ancestry’s entry in Chapter 2.

Lightning Reflexes (5th)

Your reflexes are lightning fast. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

Arcane Schools

If you specialize in an arcane school, rather than studying each school equally (as universalists do), you gain an extra spell slot at each spell level for which you have wizard spell slots. You can prepare only spells of your chosen arcane school in these extra slots. In addition, you can prepare an extra cantrip of your chosen school. You also add another arcane spell of your chosen school to your spellbook.

You learn a school spell, a special type of spell taught to students of your arcane school. School spells are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to study your spellbook or perform arcane research.

Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. Focus spells don’t require spell slots, nor can you cast them using spell slots. Certain feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points. The full rules for focus spells appear in Focus Spells.

Abjuration

As an abjurer, you master the art of protection, strengthening defenses, preventing attacks, and even turning magic against itself. You understand that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You add one 1st-level abjuration spell (such as feather fall) to your spellbook. You learn the protective ward school spell.

Conjuration

As a conjurer, you summon creatures and objects from places beyond, and use magic to transport to distant locales. You understand that the true key to victory is strength in numbers. You add one 1st-level conjuration spell (such as summon animal) to your spellbook. You learn the augment summoning school spell.

Divination

As a diviner, you master remote viewing and prescience, learning information that can transform investigations, research, and battle strategies. You understand that knowledge is power. You add one 1st-level divination spell (such as true strike) to your spellbook. You learn the diviner’s sight school spell.

Enchantment

As an enchanter, you use magic to manipulate others’ minds. You might use your abilities to subtly influence others or seize control over them. You understand that the mind surpasses matter. You add one 1st-level enchantment spell (such as charm) to your spellbook. You learn the charming words school spell.

Evocation

As an evoker, you revel in the raw power of magic, using it to create and destroy with ease. You can call forth elements, forces, and energy to devastate your foes or to assist you in other ways. You understand that the most direct approach is the most elegant. You add one 1st-level evocation spell (such as shocking grasp) to your spellbook. You learn the force bolt school spell.

Illusion

As an illusionist, you use magic to create images, figments, and phantasms to baffle your enemies. You understand that perception is reality. You add one 1st‑level illusion spell (such as illusory object) to your spellbook. You learn the warped terrain school spell.

Necromancy

As a necromancer, you call upon the powers of life and death. While your school is often vilified for its association with raising the undead, you understand that control over life also means control over healing. You add one 1st-level necromancy spell (such as grim tendrils) to your spellbook. You learn the call of the grave school spell.

Transmutation

As a transmuter, you alter the physical properties of things, transforming creatures, objects, the natural world, and even yourself at your whim. You understand that change is inevitable. You add one 1st-level transmutation spell (such as magic weapon) to your spellbook. You learn the physical boost school spell.

Universalist Wizards

Instead of specializing narrowly in an arcane school, you can become a universalist wizard—by studying all the schools equally, you devote yourself to understanding the full breadth of the arcane arts. For each level of wizard spell slots you have, you can use Drain Bonded item once per day to recall a spell of that level (instead of using it only once per day in total). You gain an extra wizard class feat, and you add one 1st-level spell of your choice to your spellbook.

Key Term

You’ll see the following key term in many wizard abilities.

Metamagic: Actions with the metamagic trait tweak the properties of your spells. These actions usually come from metamagic feats. You must use a metamagic action directly before Casting the Spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than Cast a Spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the metamagic action. Any additional effects added by a metamagic action are part of the spell’s effect, not of the metamagic action itself.

Wizard Feats

If you need to look up a wizard feat by name instead of by level, use this table.

Feat	Level
Bespell Weapon	4
Cantrip Expansion	2
Conceal Spell	2
Counterspell	1
Enhanced Familiar	2
Eschew Materials	1
Familiar	1
Hand of the Apprentice	1
Linked Focus	4
Reach Spell	1
Silent Spell	4
Widen Spell	1

Wizard Feats

At each level that you gain a wizard feat, you can select one of the following feats. You must satisfy any prerequisites before taking the feat.

1st Level

Counterspell [reaction] (Feat 1)

Abjuration, Arcane, Wizard
Trigger A creature Casts a Spell that you have prepared.

When a foe Casts a Spell and you can see its manifestations, you can use your own magic to disrupt it. You expend a prepared spell to counter the triggering creature’s casting of that same spell. You lose your spell slot as if you had cast the triggering spell. You then attempt to counteract the triggering spell.

Eschew Materials (Feat 1)

Wizard

You can use clever workarounds to replicate the arcane essence of certain materials. When Casting a Spell that requires material components, you can provide these material components without a spell component pouch by drawing intricate replacement sigils in the air. Unlike when providing somatic components, you still must have a hand completely free. This doesn’t remove the need for any materials listed in the spell’s cost entry.

Familiar (Feat 1)

Wizard

You make a pact with a creature that serves you and assists your spellcasting. You gain a familiar.

Hand of the Apprentice (Feat 1)

Wizard
Prerequisites universalist wizard

You can magically hurl your weapon at your foe. You gain the hand of the apprentice universalist spell. Universalist spells are a type of focus spell, much like school spells. You start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. See Arcane Schools for more information about focus spells.

Reach Spell [one-action] (Feat 1)

Concentrate, Metamagic, Wizard

You can extend the range of your spells. If the next action you use is to Cast a Spell that has a range, increase that spell’s range by 30 feet. As is standard for increasing spell ranges, if the spell normally has a range of touch, you extend its range to 30 feet.

Widen Spell [one-action] (Feat 1)

Manipulate, Metamagic, Wizard

You manipulate the energy of your spell, causing it to affect a wider area. If the next action you use is to Cast a Spell that has an area of a burst, cone, or line and does not have a duration, increase the area of that spell. Add 5 feet to the radius of a burst that normally has a radius of at least 10 feet (a burst with a smaller radius is not affected). Add 5 feet to the length of a cone or line that is normally 15 feet long or smaller, and add 10 feet to the length of a larger cone or line.

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2nd Level

Cantrip Expansion (Feat 2)

Wizard

Dedicated study allows you to prepare a wider range of simple spells. You can prepare two additional cantrips each day.

Conceal Spell [one-action] (Feat 2)

Concentrate, Manipulate, Metamagic, Wizard

Hiding your gestures and incantations within other speech and movement, you attempt to conceal the fact that you are Casting a Spell. If the next action you use is to Cast a Spell, attempt a Stealth check against one or more observers’ Perception DCs; if the spell has verbal components, you must also attempt a Deception check against the observers’ Perception DC. If you succeed at your check (or checks) against an observer’s DC, that observer doesn’t notice you’re casting a spell, even though material, somatic, and verbal components are usually noticeable and spells normally have sensory manifestations that would make spellcasting obvious to those nearby.

This ability hides only the spell’s spellcasting actions and manifestations, not its effects, so an observer might still see a ray streak out from you or see you vanish into thin air.

Enhanced Familiar (Feat 2)

Wizard
Prerequisites a familiar

You infuse your familiar with additional magical energy. You can select four familiar or master abilities each day, instead of two.

Special If your arcane thesis is improved familiar attunement, your familiar’s base number of familiar abilities, before adding any extra abilities from the arcane thesis, is four.

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4th Level

Bespell Weapon [free-action] (Feat 4)

Wizard
Frequency once per turn
Requirements Your most recent action was to cast a non‑cantrip spell.

You siphon spell energy into one weapon you’re wielding. Until the end of your turn, the weapon deals an extra 1d6 damage of a type depending on the school of the spell you just cast.

• Abjuration force damage
  
• Conjuration or Transmutation the same type as the weapon
  
• Divination, Enchantment, or Illusion mental damage
  
• Evocation a type the spell dealt, or force damage if the spell didn’t deal damage
  
• Necromancy negative damage
  

Linked Focus (Feat 4)

Wizard
Prerequisites arcane bond, arcane school
Frequency once per day

You have linked your bonded item to the well of energy that powers your school spells. When you Drain your Bonded Item to cast a spell of your arcane school, you also regain 1 Focus Point.

Silent Spell [one-action] (Feat 4)

Concentrate, Metamagic, Wizard
Prerequisites Conceal Spell

You’ve learned how to cast many of your spells without speaking the words of power you would normally need to provide. If the next action you use is Casting a Spell that has a verbal component and at least one other component, you can remove the verbal component. This makes the spell quieter and allows you to cast it in areas where sound can’t carry. However, the spell still has visual manifestations, so this doesn’t make the spell any less obvious to someone who sees you casting it. When you use Silent Spell, you can choose to gain the benefits of Conceal Spell, and you don’t need to attempt a Deception check because the spell has no verbal components.

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Sample Wizards

Conjurer

Your magic summons creatures, transports you, and creates useful items. You know about odd creatures and distant realms.

Ability Scores

Prioritize Intelligence. Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom round out your defenses.

Skills

Arcana, Crafting, Diplomacy, Nature, Occultism, Religion, Society

Specialization

Conjuration

Thesis

Improved Familiar Attunement

Higher-Level Feats

Enhanced Familiar (2nd), Advanced School Spell (8th), Effortless Concentration (16th)

Illusionist

You cast illusory spells that fool the senses, and you excel at bypassing threats without violence.

Ability Scores

Prioritize Intelligence. Increase Dexterity and Charisma so you can sneak and deceive people with skills as well as spells.

Skills

Arcana, Deception, Diplomacy, Occultism, Society, Stealth, Thievery

Specialization

Illusion

Thesis

Spell blending

Higher-Level Feats

Conceal Spell (2nd), Silent Spell (4th), Advanced School Spell (8th), Magic Sense (12th)