You sit down at a table to play some D&D, your rich backstory ready to go and your character’s accent so well-tuned that you might well be mistaken for a Julliard graduate, if you’re not careful. Your character meets up with some other schmucks at an Inn (ironically, naturally) and before you know it, you’re off on a quest! Spirits are riding high as your party sets out into the wilderness, and no one’s in better spirits than you. But just as your party crests a ridge, you find yourselves under attack from all sides—a stinging barrage spurred on by the hateful fist of your DM fate. Your character leaps into action, casting a spell they’ve been practicing since childhood, and…

Nothing happens. Your spell was totally worthless. You watch as your party flounders against your enemies and swallow back your feelings of uselessness. Over the next several encounters, you find your character alternating between being merely ineffective (as your spells continue to do nothing) and, at times, being an outright liability (as your stronger party members have to continually come to your rescue). Your epic backstory might as well be in the trash, your carefully-cultivated language a thing of the past. Whereas before you had been looking forward to this game for weeks, now you’re just counting the minutes until it’s over.

We’ve all been there, right? Well, the Lesser Key’s goal is to prevent you from ever having to experience that kind of thing again. It is intended for everyone who’s ever wanted to play an arcane spellcaster in Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons, but, for whatever reason, just can’t quite seem to crack it. Specifically, the Lesser Key of Sargon focuses on building and playing the Arcanist archetype, which I loosely define as: “A dedicated primary arcane spellcaster with a flexible set of tools and a tactical mindset that enables them to meaningfully and proactively contribute to every encounter.”

In other words, rather than focus on how to build the perfect Wizard, the Lesser Key advises you on how to perfect a certain playstyle. It isn’t merely intended to strengthen your character, however, but also your own skills as a player—including by consistently advocating a teamwork-focused approach to D&D 5e. Knowledge is power, after all, but a true Arcanist always uses it wisely.

Roughly summarized, the Lesser Key is split into the following parts:



Section I (7 pages) – an introduction to the Arcanist playstyle as applied to both in- and out-of-combat roles



Section II (4 pages) – a discussion of the concept of Relative Superiority, a concept pioneered Admiral William H. McRaven, as applied to D&D



Section III (19 pages) – a comparison of the various character classes who could potentially fill the Arcanist role, along with a comprehensive multiclassing analysis

Section IV (40 pages) – a lengthy commentary on choosing spells, including discussions of most individual arcane spells in 5e D&D and a set of 16 rules for selecting spells for your character

Section V (18 pages) – an essay, aided by flowcharts, discussing the tactics of casting spells in 5e D&D, along with commentaries on resource usage, Counterspelling, the importance of reconnaissance, interacting with your DM and fellow players, the action economy, and improving your own personal defenses



Section VI (7 pages) – a broad comparison of monster types for your general reference, derived from a statistical analysis of the nearly 700 monsters in the 5e Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

Section VII (23 pages) – a commentary on choosing magic items, with special emphasis on what is more useful to an Arcanist relative to the rest of the party; this section is explicitly team-focused, and assumes the Arcanist takes the enlightened view that what is good for the goose is also good for the goose’s benevolent overlord

Section VIII (2 pages) – a brief conclusion, again setting forth the general intent of the Lesser Key and a few final words of “wisdom”

Appendix A (2 pages) – a discussion of metagaming, including the author’s philosophical stance on “good” versus “bad” metagaming

Appendix B (1 page) – links to other handbooks discussing specific class optimization

The Lesser Key represents the distillation of more than a decade and a half’s worth of experience in conceptualizing, designing, playing, and DMing for arcane spellcasters across various editions of Dungeons and Dragons and at all levels of play. The views stated herein are solely my own, although I have made an effort to link to sufficiently reasonable discussions or official rulings that clarify grey areas.

Have fun! And if you're so inclined, please let me know what you think in the reviews; feedback is my lifeblood. I have now made this title Pay What You Want, so please enjoy!