Wizard: Onomancy in D&D's Unearthed Arcana
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2019
- Jeremy Crawford talks about the Onomancy subclass for the Wizard in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. This new Unearthed Arcana is available now on D&D Beyond.
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"Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man's will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A NAME is the fire itself." -Pat Rothfuss.
What is this from? This is absolutely amazing.
@@RashidMBey this is from the Name of the Wind. Incredible fantasy novel.
My man Abenthy laying down the wisdom.
@@scruffytlr789 I want him to make a return so bad in the next book (when it comes out next life).
I define an individual’s true name to be the around 5-10 syllables that define the core essence that they are. Past, present, future, and impact. If you grow past say 500-1000 years you might learn what YOUR true name is but your body will subconsciously recognize what it is. I flavored my wizard that whenever he speaks anyone’s true name, or is doing true name magic he speaks the most ancient of languages, Primordial. If anything I want to give him a sort of Setne vibe and would DEFINITELY take advantage of conjuration, banishment, and enchantment spells. I do kinda wish that their level 14 ability was something around the line of “prepare a physical component (like a hollow clay statuette) and when using the creatures true name while in possession of the statue, they have to make a successful amount of Will saves equal to(CR divided by 3) or they’ll be extracted (erased from existence)” essentially they have to fail that will save multiple times to do so and if they manage to break free they’d take I dunno 7d10 psychic damage with an extra d10 for every failure. And clearly this feature would only be allowed once per long rest and a failure results that it doesn’t work on the target for 1 year?
Wanna make a mom character who uses the full names of their enemies when scolding them and dealing damage
Cruel man
😂😂😂 Go to your hole _________________
@@TerrariaGolem Magical Initiate, I believe?
@@dragonmaster613 yeah that's right it gives you 2 cantrips and an extra spell but what would your other cantrip and extra spell be
@@dylanneal9281 thunderclap and earth tremor to emphasize the "get over here" of the 'Mom Voice"!
An entire campaign where you try and find someone’s name just sounds like death note. I would love to play in that.
Then truenamer (onomancer's former name, lol) comes along and solves the campaign in a single action.
Luis Bencosme obviously you can’t let something like that happen but that would be pretty funny
"Usidore, Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr'akkas. The elves know me as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarfs know me as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And I am also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar. And... there may be other secret names you do not know yet!"
But you can call me... Tim.
The vampires know him as Antony Daywalker.
The bakers know him as Biscuit Meniscous
The Gamblers of Chorroth know him as Johann Sebastian Bacharach.
But you may know me as... Smanko.
Dale sprinkle sleeves
Dwarves are Dutch? Not a lot of mountains and hills over here...also, 'Kissing Feats' is a great translation.
Called the Onomancer because when they show up, all the major devils say "oh no".
I can totally see pit fiends soloing out the wizard for the simple reason that it knows their true name lol
@@kylestanley7843 Oh yeah, every kind of fiend HATES Onomancers, categorically.
"We could have associated onomancy with a bard"
and you could have given him a lute and red hair
I wonder if you can learn the name of the wind...
But the real question is what does a wise man fear?
Cody Gabel completing the series from the looks of it.
.....I dont get it.
@@TheTsugnawmi2010 Its reference to Pat Rothfuss books.
I was going to point out the joke that Bruce Wayne’s True Name is Batman by these rules.
MrFinalMax interestingly enough Kevin Conroy who voices Batman in many things decided to portray him this way. Batman is the reality Bruce is just the cover.
@@jaysw9585 One's mother doesn't decide one's true name.
@@NihilTruth I see you are learned in these Arts.
There's a story where wonderwoman asks Superman and Batman their names while they hold the lasso of truth, and the responses are Clark Kent and Batman
@@jaysw9585 Batman IS himself. Everything he is does and cares about is Batman. Bruce is a way to get more things for Batman.
"Hello Deanarys Stormborn, rightful queen of the seven kingdoms, the Roynahr and tge first men, Khaleesi of the great grass sea, breaker of chains, and mother of dragons. Great to meet you, I am an Onomancer."
“Who knows a man's name, holds that man's life in his keeping. Thus to Ged, who had lost faith in himself, Vetch had given him that gift that only a friend can give, the proof of unshaken, unshakeable trust.”-Ursula K. Leguin
Love that book so much
@@justinjacobs1501 It's so great. It is my first association with Onomancy. It is described so evocatively but always with reverence and restraint. It really sells the idea of knowledge being the source of power better than any other book.
Your true name is the name that strikes fear into you when your mother says it.
I define an individual’s true name to be the around 5-10 syllables that define the core essence that they are. Past, present, future, and impact. If you grow past say 500-1000 years you might learn what YOUR true name is but your body will subconsciously recognize what it is. I flavored my wizard that whenever he speaks anyone’s true name, or is doing true name magic he speaks the most ancient of languages, Primordial. If anything I want to give him a sort of Setne vibe and would DEFINITELY take advantage of conjuration, banishment, and enchantment spells. I do kinda wish that their level 14 ability was something around the line of “prepare a physical component (like a hollow clay statuette) and when using the creatures true name while in possession of the statue, they have to make a successful amount of Will saves equal to(CR divided by 3) or they’ll be extracted (erased from existence)” essentially they have to fail that will save multiple times to do so and if they manage to break free they’d take I dunno 7d10 psychic damage with an extra d10 for every failure. And clearly this feature would only be allowed once per long rest and a failure results that it doesn’t work on the target for 1 year?
Imagine a campaign where to beat the BBEG, you have to quest first to help the Onomancer discover their name to even stand a chance with his spells. This subclass is a great example of how player options can dramatically impact how a story is made.
Makes me immediately think of Kvoth from The King Killer Chronicles.
They both draw from the same folklore.
And the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K Leguin
For those thinking "Extract Name is too powerful!", remember that the following spells are on the Wizard spell list:
- Charm Person
- Suggestion
- Detect Thoughts
- Friends cantrip (you don't need them to be friendly for very long)
That's not even getting into the spells that could allow a Wizard to spy on enemies and learn their names incidentally (Invisibility, Clairvoyance, etc).
When a character is able to obtain the target's True Name through magic at level 1, giving them one free attempt natively is not that broken in the grand scheme of things. Calm down.
I think it needs unique drawbacks that can happen to the wizard if their true name is discovered, like they make themselves vulnerable to the same kinds of effects from anybody, not just other Onomancers, that’d give them a reason to conceal their names from everybody
"It wouldn't be Ian McKellen, it would be Gandalf." The truth from Mr. Crawford!
The real question is how would onomancy synergize with high level spells. What if you included someones true name in a true ressurection/wish etc. How about knowing the true name of someone you killed and trying to raise the corpse?
according to the actual class features, the best you could do is do it without seeing them if you know their true name, but I would imagine that someone who's at the zenith of onomancy could like... forgo spell components? Like, maybe the gems and what not are payment for finding the soul and bringing it back to the body, but with their true name, you can almost... call to them?
and is it it just people that have true names? what about plants? animals? elements? weapons? can you call the true name of a storm and call lightning down on your foes? call upon an ancient weapon wielded by the gods for smiting?
@@jacobgalloway1392 I think the class info implies that non sentient creatures likely don't have true names, since it says "if they have one". It makes sense that some lesser creatures, like say, an ant, would not have a true name, and indeed many animals wouldn't, but domesticated animals and pets could probably have a true name, as it is the name they respond to and are known by.
@@deadseven3474 Makes sense. but what about sentient weapons?
@@jacobgalloway1392 uh... Well if it responds to the name, has the sentience to acknowledge itself as being that name, and others know it as that name, yea probably.
I would imagine onomancy could be used as a way to imbue weapons with personality and power, actually. When you use magic to grant a blade a name, it adopts the properties of that name into its being, and in a sense its essence is altered. You could argue that with this logic, any weapon, sentient or non sentient, could have a true name as long as it has been named at one point... but that's up for the dm to decide, right?
A Wizard of Earthsea anyone?
Yes, if someone wants an introduction on what this name thing means, it would be the "Earthsea" novels by Ursula Le Guin
A Wizard of Earthsea or The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss are very good examples of fiction that really explain the idea behind the magic of true names
Ohhh... Mega-nifty. I love wizard subclasses that aren't just school specializations.
I have notes for a very similar riff: the college of ischyrography. Wizards of this school are adept at magical writing. They can do stuff like cast spells that aren't from their spell list from scrolls and increase the potency of their glyph and symbol spells.
If the Artificer weren't already floating around as a thing, I'd probably do some kind of wizard college based on making magic items, too, because the wizard with a mass of strange gizmos is also a big part of folklore.
My one of my favorite books, Skullduggery Pleasant, has a book of every person's 3 names is the big macguffin of the book.
Shooting Star I’m also a big Skulduggery Pleasant fan and thought that was really cool, I also really love how it’s defence mechanism was just making people hesitate too much to actually go through with stealing it
@@wodaman8365 It's been nearly a decade since I read it, so I didn't quite remember how the book was protected. I just remember the main character getting locked down by her given name, then creating her chosen name.
What?
@@defensivekobra3873 Can you be more specific in your question?
defenseive kobra In Skulduggery everyone has 3 names - true name, which you’re born with, given name which your parents give you and your taken name which you create. in the first book, a magic user knew the main characters given name and they already had sway over her - a majority of the first book was her forming her taken name. Really good books, even after going back to read as an adult.
This resonates so well with the magic in Eragon
The moment I heard him say "using names to cast spells" i immediately jumped to Eragon.
Haha same
Ursula K. Le Guin got there before anyone else with her Earthsea trilogy.
@@toshomni9478 ya i couldnt believe i didnt see an earthsea comment right at the top. those were written in like what 1973 or something.
So this video kind of convinced me that this concept fits the Bard better ... Their spellcasting being from Charisma (force of personality); their abilities more balanced to both help allies and hinder foes; their magic concept centering around the telling of tales through various forms of expression.
The ability to learn someone's name can either be really bad in most cases, but when it's not bad, its INCREDIBLE. that will ruin a ton of mysteries. I love this classes deal, but that one ability is kind of annoying.
Same with diviners really, the potential to break games is there.
Also, nice username lol
honestly, one of the coolest concepts for a wizard. can i ask for a rework of the lore wizard though (the other best concept just overpowered).
Yes, that would be so cool. Lore Master is one of the most iconic concepts for the Wizard.
I think School of Invention took many of the features of Lore Wizard, I believe it comes in the next Eberron book aswell
@@Zeay I very much hope so. Although, I'd prefer a standalone Lore Mastery school.
@@Zeay It did but in a way that got rid of all the cool stuff but prodigious inspiration
Hybrid this with a rogue for information gathering so you learn the names of your enemies
You could literally have a Onomancy wizard who always says a different name whenever people ask
"Whats your name"
Wizard: *"NOTHING IMPORTANT"
*
"Okay ill just say Wizard then.."
Sorcerer: *"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IM A WIZARD?!"
*
"Then whats your name"
???: *"SOMETHING ELSE"
*
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!"
???: *"I WOULDN'T ASK THAT"*
You did it with barbarian, you did it with warlock now you went ahead and created a wizard that i am most excited to play. 3 classes that i never even considered are now the 3 characters i look forward to playing the most.
"Something something names"
-The wind book person
I really love this subclass so much and hope it becomes official. The UAs in general lately have been great. I also really like Oath of Heroisim, The College of Elequince and Circle of Wildfire
IKR!? These are so good, especially fiend summoning is perfect with onomancy and the new bard
Perfect demon/devil/fey summoner
Celestials, elementals, aberrations... a lot of stuff lol
@@kylestanley7843 mainly those three
I like the mechanics (aside from the "if they pass the save once you can't use your stuff on them unless you get the name through some other means" part), but the theme of it being *specifically* learning the ACTUAL true name of the target is so bad, everyone that plays that I associate with, both DM's and players, hate it. Usually, we have very mixed opinions, but in my community, legit no one likes it being true names. True names are *powerful* things, and it's absurd that a PC can just make you give it up with a single save. It hardcore clashes super hard with the established lore that they've gone with for true names, often requiring tough quests and time commitments to discovering someone's true name. They try to preserve that power by making it a one time pass or fail thing, but that really just winds up showing how you *can't* balance that with a single class feature. If it's a class feature to learn someone's true name, then true names shatter the appeal of being powerful for the sake of balance and not completely throwing out entire campaigns to acquire them. If they don't account for that balance and remain as powerful as the lore implies, then you have an overpowered PC now. It'd be SO much better if they just changed it from "You learn the target's true name" to "You use a semblance of the power involving true names to enhance your magic against the target" or something similar, as long as it's not the true name itself. Doing that would fix every problem with the class imo; you wouldn't have to limit their 2nd level save feature to being a one shot per person thing, you wouldn't need to limit it to creatures that can be charmed (which by the way, doesn't make sense; you mentally learn the target's name... They aren't TELLING you the name. You just learn it. Why do they need to be charmed?), and you can preserve the power of true names in the lore and in campaigns/adventures/settings.
Quite well spoken.
I think it was in 4th Edition, Orcus was sending his agents into the Plane of Dreams to try to discover the Raven Queen's true name so he could become the undisputed ruler of the dead.
Olorin is the name for Gandalf right?
I like the idea that your true name incorporates the quantum realm. You utter the name, with the exact coordinates of space and time. Therefore your true name is hard to learn as it's always different. From one second to the next, from one point to the next. Therefore, Wizards are studying the weave to understand space, time, and string theory.
This is perfect for the LV4 _Summon Greater Demon_ spell in XGE.
That demon finna be pissed
Complient for now yeah, but eventually? Pissed lol
@@kylestanley7843 use planar binding on it as spell is about to end.
I’m so proud of all the nerdy ness in the comment section, from name of the wind or doctor who or eragon or tales from the earthsea it’s just ridiculously awesome
This has a lot of similarities to a lot of stuff. Eragon's a great book anyways who can be blamed lol
Yet barely anyone referencing the 3e tome of magic version its trying to fix (tho sadly with a lack of free sending).
This is PERFECT for one of my players. I’m going to see if she wants to retcon into this subclass
God an onomancer villain bbeg would be amazing imagine all the spy work and all sorts of stuff would have to be done and the final battle where they just bash the party around and use blink to evade whilst dishing out name based damage
Something like this deserves to be fleshed out. Playing one sounds cool enough, but fighting against one? That sound painful for the players.
Williegh my exact thought XD great opportunity for humour too as a dm you could assign shitty nicknames to your players or raise them up with awesome titles imagine the minions the onomancer would have it would be such a ragtag menagerie of things the wizard has screwed over great for roleplaying opportunity
The BBEG could send out his familiar on a regular basis to talk to people or witness their deeds and try to find out their true names. And even send Soul eaters after them when he gets to know their names.
SPECIALLY THE WIZARD
*especially
Sir davvyus chapp is proud of you
ESPECIALLY THE WIZARD
Soooo Kvothe. He did say fantasy and folk lore but he could have just said hey pat you know that magic name thing you got going on. Let’s bring that into dnd. Pat prob would have been yeah sounds fun. it was bound to happen with Jeremy DM’ing for Patrick. But then Jeremy was like hmm why would I ask I can just add that it is done in folk tales and you know the demon thing used in dnd already, never mind that knowing a demon name in not solely a dnd thing. I will just take credit and seem completely amazing and it is just a coincidence that I DM for that famous author. Funny when he says something like “we put this in the wizards, I mean it could have been you know let’s say a bard, but no.”
All that being said I like Jeremy and Pat and all this stuff they do, just would be cooler if they were honest where obvious inspiration came from and how it could have been used as publicity for both parties. That or I am just too cynical and had a few minutes to waste. Have fun!
I wanna play one of these in OOtA to get a shot at true-naming a Demon Lord and either going mad from the revelation or becoming one of the most hunted being in the multiverse.
Can't wait to fight some Francis
Matt Brown Or Sheldon
Tell me Elodin what is the name of the wind ? Oh should I throw myself of a balcony first ? XD
I am so excited for Unearthed Arcana!
I really like this kind of magic thematically, but I think it would fit much better as an optional setting element that every spellcaster can then use and interact with, instead of only this one subclass.
There might still be a subclass that specializes in it and takes it to the next level, but everybody should be able to use it to some degree.
Well thematically the wizard is the only one who works with texts to discover stronger magic. I see what you mean however. I'd say why not just create onomancy as a magic school, and say its just a wizard can learn.
As a DM I dont want my players thinking about NPC names hahahaha. What this Giants name? Doug the Ice Giant, old name very ancient.
I much prefer true names to stay as their own magic system
If it's their own magic system like psionics, then bard, warlock and wizards could tap into it in different ways.
Also, I wonder if the Extract Name works on someone immune to charm, like an Archfey patron warlock?
I would rule that no, simply because the effort you should go to to get someone's name could be fun quest material with clear-cut payoff for the players. Extract name is honestly my least favourite part of the subclass
@@deKahedron It's just there to use the subclass' feature in everyday combat. Trying to get the name of the big bad will be more of an investigation, but without the Extract feature it would never be used when fighting random mobs on the road, which would make the subclass feel bland besides a few occasions.
@@deKahedron RAW it wouldn't work, because the feature specifically says that you learned "the charmed target's" true name, and if you're immune to charm, then obviously you can't be the charmed target. Also, i agree. They'd avoid the problem you mention if they just didn't make it the actual true name itself, and instead just made it true name-derivative magic. That way, it's like by studying the power that true names have, you gain some understanding of how to manipulate your magic to have enhanced effects on targets by applying your own form of naming magic. But True Names themselves? God no.
I have an Orc character who was raised in an arena under the title of 'Vicious'. It is what he goes by, but he doesn't think of it as his true name, but rather his birth name hidden in his earliest memories under layers of trauma. I wonder if he had his name revealed by an Onomancer, if that would bring out his true name?
I guess it's possible to be nameless.
@@kylestanley7843 That would be kinda terrifying for an Onomancer. Seeing something has no name. Or like, an Abjuration or Demon Lord and it has to start making insanity checks
If a Changling is a target of Onomancy, could he nullify the effects of his true name being said by changing into one of his long established personas? When in a persona like that, they ARE the persona.
This kinda excites me. I can imagine a paranoid wizard with a really simple name that constantly changes their name every 12 hours to some conveluted name
7:10 - spellcaster of texts? Sounds a lot like a Lore Master, hmmmm?..
Why not combine Lore Master and Onomancer into one awesome official subclass? Removing all the OP stuff and leaving all the awesome, iconic stuff.
I honestly think naming would have been a better fit for bards as part of the flavor text in players handbook is that many bards believe the gods spoke reality into existence and it is the echoes of these words that bards capture and use for their spells. True naming does make sense for the wizard but I would argue that it has more thematic and narrative weight for the bard.
If we're being completely honest here it doesn't feel like the Wizard needs another subclass in comparison to the other classes in the game, and from the of UA subclasses the Onomancer and the Twilight Domain feel too powerful to be perfectly honest. As DM I'd be afraid to let these into my game cause they might completely overshadow the other subclasses. Plus the fact that the Twilight Domain is so vague and varied I'm not really sure what the commonality between the different ascribed gods is supposed to be.
I define an individual’s true name to be the around 5-10 syllables that define the core essence that they are. Past, present, future, and impact. If you grow past say 500-1000 years you might learn what YOUR true name is but your body will subconsciously recognize what it is. I flavored my wizard that whenever he speaks anyone’s true name, or is doing true name magic he speaks the most ancient of languages, Primordial. If anything I want to give him a sort of Setne vibe and would DEFINITELY take advantage of conjuration, banishment, and enchantment spells. I do kinda wish that their level 14 ability was something around the line of “prepare a physical component (like a hollow clay statuette) and when using the creatures true name while in possession of the statue, they have to make a successful amount of Will saves equal to(CR divided by 3) or they’ll be extracted (erased from existence)” essentially they have to fail that will save multiple times to do so and if they manage to break free they’d take I dunno 7d10 psychic damage with an extra d10 for every failure. And clearly this feature would only be allowed once per long rest and a failure results that it doesn’t work on the target for 1 year?
The True Name feature of modified spells is way too much like Sorcerer metamagic. Completely steps on the toes of another class, it’s literally the one reason to use a sorcerer and not some other spellcasting class and all the sorcerer has going for it.
I do think that metamagic shouldn't have been restricted to sorcerers personally and it makes sense that wizards with arcane study should be able to do some form of metamagic.
@@TheCinderfang whether it makes sense or not is irrelevant. From a balance standpoint, Sorcerers have many downsides compared to other arcane casters: having an abysmal 15 spells known, a worse spell list than wizards, and no ritual casting. The "upside" to playing one is access to Metamagic. If another arcane caster with access better spells and features gains access to their core feature, there isn't really a reason to ever play a sorcerer because it's just a worse version of that.
@@Legion19911009 Oh, I do definitely agree that sorcerers do need something more. The only thing I disagree with is that metamagic is enough to make them their own thing. I have a feat in my home game that like the existing feat that gives access to battle master maneuvers it gives access to a metamagic (costing 1sp). I have a small sample size there but I have not experience sorcerers feeling like their class identity is lost as a result.
However, to more fairly address your point, I do understand that sorcerers can feel that metamagic is one of the few redeeming factors for the current sorcerer class. I've fiddled a bit with different variants to help the sorcerer feel more its own thing but it without a doubt does have some short comings currently.
@@Legion19911009 They do have the distinct advantage of not having to buy their spells from anywhere, or have to store them in something that can be lost.
@@mduckernz only the wizard has that problem, really. Warlocks don't store their spells, bards don't, clerics don't, druids don't. Only wizards do that.
Good that someone explains it.. We oldschool gamers are all familiar with the great fantasy books and stuff, but the newer generations who doesnt like to read so much, doesnt know a lot about "true names"
The Elf with a wand.. The Grey Pilgrim.. Olórin
When I think of true names, I think of them more in the Hellboy sense. He has a true name. He never identifies himself by it, but he knows it, and it holds greater power than the name he was given; Hellboy.
I'm imagining a world where everyone is born with a True Name, which is unknown to anyone who doesn't know about True Names, and thus checks for them. That these True Names are determined by the cosmos themselves.
I love this concept but i feel that the fluff could use some revision to really cement it as a wizard subclass. Anyone can learn a name but it takes study to understand the meaning behind a name, or to understand something so well that you can thereby name it. Take the nomenclature for organic chemistry for example. By the name of a substance you can determine it's makeup, and by studying it's makeup you can determine it's name. I feel that onomancers in this context should be doing this with a creature's soul. This eliminates the ability to ask some barkeeps name and instantly gain power over him, but also is a good reason that nobles can still exist using their own names. It really makes it so that the wizards, the most studious of spell casters, are the only ones dedicated enough to learn this science. If this were the case then the extract name feature may need to change slightly to better reflect the fact that a true name is highly unlikely to be gained by other means, but everything else would stay much the same without the other spell casters and wizard sub classes feeling left out because they apparently couldn't use the magic of saying "bob" when they cast a spell.
The other class I could see dabbling in the power of the true name is the bard. Their magic comes from similar roots. The very first sentence in the "Music and Magic" section of the class is "In the world's of D&D, words and music are not just vibrations of air, but vocalizations with power all their own." and "Bards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape, and that the echoes of these primordial Words of Creation still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers."
Reminds me of The Legend of Earthsea.
Has anyone thought about the DMs that will have to think about a name for every enemy they put against the players?
Hah, yeah... RNG to the rescue!
Or it can just not be covered. "You have this one's name. I don't happen to know it, but he appreciates your concern, now kill him."
Would love a multiclass Assassin/Onomancer where they stalk their prey for days to months to learn their true name to use it against them.
This is so much better and more creative and flavorful than the stuff in the PHB. I hope this is more the direction wizard subclasses go toward going forward.
the fake name being a real name sorta makes me think of batman, particularly in batman beyond. Where he was like "in my head i call my self batman"
I feel like theres 100% gonna be a new xanathars guide thing with how many of these unearthed arcanas are coming out
also legit you use this in descent into avernus you just win you can get every single devil under your thrall
I hope it doesn't suck as much as the 3.5e Truenamer. Which barely worked until level 10, didn't work at all from level 11 onward until it reached level 20 at which point it got super powerful. And that got printed in an actual book mind you.
Crawford: True names, the stuff of legend, learning someone's true name gives you immense power over them!
Me: So when can an Onomancer learn someone's true name?
Crawford: Oh, second level!
Nice thematics, even nice mechanics, but a subclass that gives you these abilities at 2nd level can't both be balanced and live up to the epic stature of the concept.
I feel like these all are possible classes to be released in the Eberron book. Personally, I'd prefer them in a non-setting based book, but regardless I want it in the Eberron book, cause that means it'd be out soon, cause they're GREAT.
Highly unlikely that they would release unearthed arcana and give themselves so short of playtest time.
I'd expect to see these printed february next year at the earliest
This is so perfect for a campaign idea I have set during the first crusade using christian cosmology. Vecna, basically using gnosticism to try and become god, the strong importance of names in Christianity just gel so well with True names.
I like the idea, but I dont think a given name, identified name should count. There should be a creation name that they may not know until its.used and it calls to them.
Wouldn't this just be a specilised type of diviner?
Why do you need a seperate subclass for this?
Edit; Actually, I think omnomancy sounds like a divination/enchantment hybred, in the same way war magic is an evocation/abjuration hybred.
This feels very Eragon to me. Like, all the magic is based on the names of things in one specific language. And it’s a language that you can’t lie in.
welp here's my Eragon fantasy class.
It finally happened. I’m excited
This wizard is here to kick ass and take names. And then kick ass by taking names. Did I mention take names?
As much as I dislike using it as an example (many an old er story exist that does this); but Eragon is a great example of a society that both recognizes the value yet underestimates the challenge of "True Names".
The humans recognize what magic is, but fail to know there own true name; where as the Elves know their true names with ease but hide it rather poorly as they live into their names without thinking about it. Good politicians they may be but they forget that actions speak louder than words and trap themselves in the process (not counting the genuinely old enough ones that already learned this so occupy themselves in more than one hobby to avoid an easy guess).
i at least think of these races that way in the story I read years ago.
I am saying this so as to explain that my characters true names are not known to them unless they are "knowledge" based and have spent time learning it. My one character Sinbad Nailo is a drow 3rd in line royal family member; but his true name as any true name I would craft is 7-13 names long that form a cave man like sentence using names that mean things in various languages to describe the kind of person they are. So no people cannot simply guess these names short of a DC34 Investagate check after a DC 43 History check to dig up every ounce of info on someone as well documented as a royal family member known to their public in great detail being they are a black sheep and their secrets can only be self contained since no one would favor them enough to stay quiet perfectly.
Commoner Joe schmo that would have no documentation because they do not matter enough for it to exist... that 43 becomes 52 and that 34 becomes 43... not going to happen, outside of blind guessing with high bonuses and nat 20's (I double scores for crits period but it would still be hard to succeed without criting.
I like this sub-class because I want to use true names without working it out ground up.
Besides 'Dad'. I really think my true name might be Dungeon Master. So many people learn to call me that, before learning my given name, and it's the one name I'm most likely to respond to if I hear it. And, yeah, I'm the Dungeon Master.
Using extract name on a demon or devil... should be fun...
I swear, Onomancers are the destined rulers of the multiverse.
I love this subclass, it's such a shame it got scrapped in favor of the order of scribes. I wish they'd bring it back.
Oh my god I love this character idea I will definitely be using this
@Wesley F. Schneider
😈
"His views were wise, his recommendations SOUND, and, respectfully, YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE AS HE SUGGESTED."
as long they arnt imun to charm, you can just charm or mind control the one WHOs name you want to know and force them to tell you their name.
what if they don't know what their true name is?
well in this video they say that the name you associate with your self is your true name. So as long you Have any type of main nick name That you associate with your self, you Have a true name. You would Have to Have No type of name at all to be safe, even a Title like lord or sir could If you get to comfortable/used with it become your true name. So unlikly for someone to Have No true name.
You would just Have to charm them or control them, and then Have them tell you what name they associate them self with!
Aight
Waiting for the sea of red-headed wizards to pop up everywhere who have the entertainer background and are proficient in sleight of hand and performance
Olórin is Gandalf's original name
when Ted from HR starts kicking butts by knowing everyone's information.
that would be a great villain.
For some reason I really want to see a true name rogue or even a fighter class. I'm just thinking on how fun I it would be, using a rogue's natural ability to boost certain charisma abilities to have an enemy divulge their true name to you, maybe not on purpose, but maybe use some sort of verbal gymnastics. But then you use that name to force this enemy to help or work for you. Think of a thieves guild that, instead of black mail, or bribery, uses a person's true name to control a cities key leaders to control the city behind the shadows. For the fighter perhaps they would be more of a debuff and domination role in the party. Maybe you guys are vs a litch and your book nerd fighter suddenly shouts a name in a strange and guttural language. The litch would then maybe be slowed and be weak to a certain elemental damage type. Any more ideas because now I really want to see these classes.
What about the names of things, objects? Not only living creatures have names. The wind has a name, for one.
Subtle little reference lol
Hey, so I've been playtesting this for half a year now, and I would like to give some feedback. Were would I be able to do it?
Has anyone else noticed that they used the same background for this ability as the Michael Jordan McDonalds anti drug PSA?
i came here to learn about a new class not question my existence.
This steps on both the Enchanter wizard and sorcerer metamagic toes, reign that in.
I like these new subclasses a lot, but i still would prefer the lore/invention wizard to be officialized instead of the onomancy wizard.
I love the idea of a Lore Master and would like WotC to revise this subclass. But I also love the idea of the naming magic. Why not make both Lore Master and the Namer official?
its not that bad maybe a bit overcomplicated but its deffintly going to need some good playtesting. its not as bad as the twilight cleric with its broken infinate darkvision and a heal spell at level 2 for free .
"We could have associated onomancy with a bard." I think there are a number of subclasses that could be associated with other classes. I'd love to have a college of lore wizard. Maybe they should make an optional rule for that kind of thing.
Same, all of my family weirdly on both sides go by their second name
While I love the idea of this, I wonder what they mean by it being a class of Wizard. Is it a school that the wizard can choose, such as necromancy or divination, or is it actually a variation on Wizard class?
Also, I was looking into it and I think it's pretty good, but there are a couple of things that I wonder if they could be different.
First, the resonant called Nullification. It requires you to make an intelligence check to end the effects of a spell, but wouldn't it be more reasonable to have it be an arcana check, or could that be too over-powered if it went that way?
Also, Relentless Naming allows you to change the damage type of your spell to get around an enemy's resistance, but why not just have it cause your spell to ignore resistance/immunity? After all, if you change it to force or psychic, it's possible that you might be changing it to just another damage type that the creature is resistant to.
Everything else about this seems great. I can think of nothing else to possibly change about it, but would love to get some feedback on my suggested changes. I'm already thinking if making a character who is an Onomancer.
Taking name and kicking ass
Watch them learn the true names of demons then bind them to the service of a vile wizard.
Simulacrum ... to find a name.