Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kill_Joy 04-06-06, 02:18 AM	I was thinking about playing a Dwarf wizard, but have not seen any posts with this as an idea. I see him as a dwarf geometer. I am just wondering if there is some reason not to use the dwarf as a wizard race that I do not see. If it is okay, what feats do you suggest that I take, and is it worth buying Races of Stone for a Dwarf Wizard (are there any feats that would help me)? Thanks in advance.
_J_ 04-06-06, 02:51 AM	There is a really good prestige class for Dwarven wizards in Races of Stone, it's called Runesmith. With only one level of it, you will be able to cast spells without any somatic components! That means a wizard with full plate and tower shield, with no arcane spell failure. The tricky part is how to qualify, as you need Heavy armor proficiency, and that either means losing three feats, or one caster level for a dip into fighter. Dwarf is a pretty good race for wizards even without that, though. +2 constitution is really good for characters with a lousy d4 HD. Hit points are nice to have.
Thanatos42 04-06-06, 03:19 AM	I'll second the runesmith option, as well as the dwarfs make good wizards line of thinking. That extra hp per level can really mean something to a spellcaster. Races of Stone is definitely worth buying if you plan on playing a dwarf spellcaster. There's a new race, dream dwarves, that are basically dwaves without the charisma penalty (forget what stat is penalized, maybe wisdom). Means dwarf sorcerer is a viable option as well.
elthenar 04-06-06, 03:31 AM	Runesmiths are very cool, they are a good class to build a gish around. FYI, if you can wait on runesmith, you can dip a level of dragonslayer into your build. you get all armor and martial weapons and the first level gives you a spell casting level. you need BaB +5 and ironwill and dodge feats to get in.
_J_ 04-06-06, 03:54 AM	Races of Stone is definitely worth buying if you plan on playing a dwarf spellcaster. There's a new race, dream dwarves, that are basically dwaves without the charisma penalty (forget what stat is penalized, maybe wisdom). Means dwarf sorcerer is a viable option as well. It's Dexterity, which makes it slightly less appealing choice, even if still pretty good. For a dwarf sorcerer, the book has really good racial substitution levels. If you don't mind taking 9 levels of sorcerer, you can add your con modifier to your cha to determine how many bonus spells you can get! Let us assume our dwarf sorcerer has a starting charisma and constitution of 16 both, you then add +6 enhancement bonus to both, +4 inherent bonus to con, +5 inherent bonus and the +5 bonus from levels to cha, and he has a constitution of 26 with a modifier of 8, and a charisma of 32. So with this racial substitution level, you have a charisma of 40 for bonus spell determination, that means you have one more spell of every spell level you would normally have! Though 9 levels of sorcerer is usually 3 or 4 more than should be, and sorcerers can't be Runesmiths...
Bonzai 04-06-06, 09:58 AM	I've thought about a Dwarf Wizard, as a crafter. Making magical arms and armor. But then they came out with Battle Smiths and the very cool Iron Soul Forgemaster. Unfortunatly I would much rather be a Fighter 4/Incarnate1/Iron Soul Forgemaster than a Wizard, as he can actually play with the toys he makes. Then I thought about a Dwarven sorcerer that focused on earth magics. But after researching it, Clerics are much better at it. That leaves a Runesmith. Runsmiths can be interesting, but I just haven't gotten around to playing one.
TheOne 04-06-06, 10:54 AM	The most powerful wizard in my world is an NPC dwarven wizard/sentinel of bharrai (BoED). It is really a good class if you don't mind being exalted.