Structural Class Changes (Mana, Talents, Clear gish structure)

[Kryx]

Precognition

1. Looking over Precognition I realized that I could interpret the spell another way. Does the d6 effect happen only once (affecting only one saving throw, ability check, or attack roll) before expiring or does it affect every ability check, saving throw, and attack roll during its duration?

Every time we've looked over this spell I have assumed it was a latter. Few spells buff stats through straight numbers due to issues breaking 'bounded accuracy' I'll quote one of my player's thoughts on this spell below- we've talked about this ability quite a bit! It is clear the 1d4 AC buff is a constant, but I would reword the spell a little to be a bit more clear. 'As long as precognition is active the caster adds 1d6 to any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll.

The spell is worded in the same format as RAW Bless and Bane:

Whenever you make an attack roll, ability check, or a saving throw before the spell ends, you can roll a d6 and add the number rolled to the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

Additionally, whenever you are attacked before the spell ends, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to your armor class.

"Whenever" and "before the spell ends", like the RAW versions, state that it applies on all rolls during the duration. I'd like to keep the wording which matches the RAW wording expectations.

It would be a very simple matter to have someone cast Bless on you while you're under Precognition, and it would be very rare for you to lose concentration on the spell then. [...] And what would stop someone from casting Shield of Faith on you in addition to that?
Might it be more reasonable for the caster of Precognition to choose when to gain its benefit (once per turn perhaps) instead of having full access to all of its effects every time like Bless?
If Bless and Precognition cannot be stacked, and Shield of Faith and Precognition cannot be stacked, then it might be fine to leave it as is.
I can understand if similar magical effects on the same target do not stack (similar to Paladin auras and temp HP) and you instead use whichever magical effect is the strongest.

Buffs stacking is the inherent problem of D&D 5e which was handled via typed bonuses in D&D 3/3.5. In RAW 5e this isn't a problem because there is no overlap in spells accomplishing the same goals whereas in my system there is. I would not allow buffs of the same kind to stack via the "similar magical effects on the same target do not stack" principle. If you can think of a way of codifying that as a general rule please let me know.

adding 1 to 4 extra AC for every attack roll that targets you just seems like an unusually high AC buff especially for a 1 mana spell.

Shield of Faith adds +2 AC for 5 minutes/mana on any target as a bonus action. Precognition adds +2.5 AC for 1 minute/mana on yourself as an action. Precognition has other benefits that offset that disparity, but 2.5 AC on average is not a problem for a 1 mana spell.

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Entropic Shield

2. Entropic Shield in the Chaos Theme might be a little too strong. I suggest increasing the d8 to a d12. I really love the idea of the spell but alongside blur- it is a very frustrating spell to deal with- especially when augmented! It is a chaos spell, I think thematically it should be powerful but unreliable. After all it can deflect any kind of attack. Even from a very high CR monster even at 1 mana. It is still vulnerable to saving throws, but I think its a little strong. I'm curious what your thoughts are.

At 1 mana the spell has a 2/8 (25%) chance of avoiding attacks. 3/8 (2 mana) is 37.5%, 4/8 (3 mana) is 50%. Keep in mind that there are 6 mana spels that make you fully immune to damage so being very unlikely to hit at higher mana tiers is by design (still worse than Invulnerability).
However, I forgot about Blur when balancing this spell. With Blur as a 2 mana spell offering ~25% chance to avoid attacks (in the middle range of bonus vs AC) perhaps I've evaluated Entropic Shield a bit too high. Options to change Entropic shield would be:

1. Remove the "one plus the mana" to just be mana so we start at 12.5% and scale by 12.5% at each tier. Would be about the same benefit as Blur at 2 mana.
2. Remove the d8 and just use the disadvantage that Blur does. In 3.5 Blur and Entropic Shield had the same benefit

Chaos spells use d8 so I don't want to change the dice. Stacking with Blur is a problem. I removed Blur's concentration to allow it to compete with Mirror Image, but I wonder if it'd be best to add concentration to Mirror Image instead. This would reduce any stacking concerns.

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Magus, Arcane Strike
The whole design around this feature was actually outdated from raw mana costs. I need to update this whole paradigm - it's way too strong right now. The goal is for the "Mana attack" features to work on 1 mana or more spells. Mage is supposed to be unique in that they can channel cantrips as well (like the Duskblade of 3.5). Let me revist my math and come back with a proper solution.