Post/Author/DateTime	Post
gregm 11-15-04, 02:28 PM	It is possible that I might soon be starting a new adventure and I have decided that I would probably be a wizards (as no one in my entire group has ever been one in any game we have ever played) I would like some advice. What are good feats (especially at level 1). What about spells (again especially at low levels)?? Would it be good idea to be a grey elf? Or should I be a human? I'm also not sure about which school to specialise in. I don't want it to be evocation as that just seems like too powergaming for my liking. I'm considering either conjuration (with augment summoning) or enchantment. Obviously I would still want a good old fireball every now and again as a back up. Which schools should I choose as forbidden as well? I'm thinking necromancy (don't want and evil guy), then I'm not sure. Probably transmutation because abjuration seems more handy. Please give me some advice. Thanks in advance
Melpomene 11-15-04, 02:38 PM	Feats: School specialization, greater specialization, Spell penetration, skill focus: spellcraft or concentration. Those should hold you for a level or two. Race: Human. The extra feats and skills are nice, but what's really important is keeping somewhat decent physical stats. School: Most people dump Necro or Divining. This is a shame, as both schools have much to offer. I would recomend keeping abjuration and divindation, as you will miss both of them sharply when they're gone.
hekker 11-15-04, 02:38 PM	The answer to this question depends a great deal on what kind of advice you're seeking for excactly. If you want to know what race, feats, and spells are most 'powerfull' to choose, it's best to ask in the character optimalization forum (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=339) If you want to know "how to play a wizard", as in, how to ROLEplay a wizard, you can best ask around in the Character Development Forum (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=340) Would it be good idea to be a grey elf? Or should I be a human? The guys on the first forum will probably be able to calculate to 3 decimals which of the two is most efficient (probably the grey elf, but you should ask your DM before you bring in non-core races), the guys in the second forum will tell you have to pick the race that best 'fits' with the character. Each of your questions will similarly be answered differently on the 2 forums. As for what I myself think is best: as feat: spell focus or combat casting or possibly dodge, good spells are magic missile (even usefull at higher levels because it never misses) and charm person can work wonders too (especially if you have the spell focus(enchantment) feat. I think you should pick the race that you feel the most comfortable with, because that makes it easier for me to 'get in character'.
Starmage21 11-15-04, 02:38 PM	as a newbie mage, i dont recommend specializing. Youll need to see what spells can do for you, and which ones you really dont need. 1st level wizards always need the benchmark spells, and i dont recommend outright attack spells for memorization on a day-to-day basis. spells you should know: Magic Missile Mage Armor Shield Identify Enlarge Person (an excellent Buff spell :D) Ray of Enfeeblement (wha? Necromancy!!!)
UltimateReality 11-15-04, 02:55 PM	It is possible that I might soon be starting a new adventure and I have decided that I would probably be a wizards (as no one in my entire group has ever been one in any game we have ever played) Wow. I don't think my group has ever been without an arcane caster (usually a wizard). Kudos to you guys for being able to hold out so long... What are good feats (especially at level 1). What about spells (again especially at low levels)?? Spellcasting Prodigy! :) Handily the best feat for a Wizard if you're using Forgotten Realms. (If you're doing that, be a human and also take the feat that lets you use your Intelligence bonus instead of your Constitution bonus for hit points at first level.) I'd also pick up "Tome & Blood" as they have a nice bunch of feats in there, depending on the focus of your character. You'll probably want to pick up lots of metamagic feats -- persistant and extend spell are nice if your DM won't let you cast everything with Permanency :P, while Maximize Spell is also cool. My favourites from T&B are Energy Substitution(sonic), as nearly nothing has sonic reduction or healing (although that's not as prevalent anymore *sigh*) and then Energy Admixture. Would it be good idea to be a grey elf? Or should I be a human? Go with human for the feat and extra skill point. Oh, and all stat boosts go into Intelligence, obviously. I would make Dex your second-highest score, and then Con. Nothing is more satisfying than taking a breath weapon in the face, failing your save, and watching everyone else go "*blink* you're still standing?!". And Wizards NEED survivability at low levels. I'd recommend taking whatever familiar ups your Constitution (in 3.0 a toad gave it +2, not sure about 3.5).0 I'm also not sure about which school to specialise in. I don't want it to be evocation as that just seems like too powergaming for my liking. I'm considering either conjuration (with augment summoning) or enchantment. Obviously I would still want a good old fireball every now and again as a back up. Don't specialize in a school. Stay versatile. If your DM is foolish enough to allow the Incantatrix class, take it at level 7. I know you can take it at level 5, but if you hold out those extra two levels you can learn Improved Invisibility before having to specialize in Abjuration (and when you do, I've found choosing Illusion and...I think Necromancy?...as your prohibited schools generally works well). You want to keep Transmutation. Lots of useful spells there. Um...*looks over post* Wow I gave you a bit of a powergaming guide there. Herm. Maybe this should go on the Character Optimization board. :P For wizards it is important vital to be survivable at low levels...what level are you guys starting at? As for spells to start with...you'll want a good mix of utility, defense, and offense. At low level you have much more of the first one, a moderate amounth of the second, and precious little of the third. The best spells will be determined by what you go up against, too. My 4 "must haves" from each spell level in the 3.0 PHB are as follows. There are MANY other useful spells depending on the situation...spend any treasure first on Intelligence and Dexterity boosting items, then spells, and only after that on any other nifty stuff. As a wizard, your biggest asset is that you can, if given enough time and money, learn literally hundreds of spells. 1st: Magic Missile, Shield, Mage Armor, True Strike. 2nd: See Invisibility, Blur or Mirror Image, Blindness/Deafness, Bull's Strength or Cat's Grace [for melee fighters, or you and any Dex-based fighters, respectively] 3rd: Dispel Magic, Fireball, Fly, Haste 4th: Improved Invisibility, Polymorph [I know they changed these for 3.5, don't know how so look it up if you're playing that], Dimension Door, Leomund's Secure Shelter 5th: Dominate Person, Cone of Cold, Teleport, Permanency 6th: Greater Dispel Magic, Chain Lightning, Disintegrate, True Seeing These are what I've used the most so far in both our current campaign and others. (Current character is only lvl 12, 500 xp from being 13, so I haven't had time to judge what level 7+ spells are the best yet. My party likes dying around levels 10-13 so I don't have much experience with higher spell levels.) Hope this all helps. :)
Aluroon 11-15-04, 03:40 PM	Play a Sun Elf (FRCS) or a Grey Elf (MM). The int boosts rock, and the more spells you have the better, especially at low level. I'm currently playing a 4th level Sun Elf (going on 5th next game), and it’s nice to have a 21 int. Monsters almost always fail there saves. Do not, under any circumstances, specialize. Specialist’s wizards in 3.5 get the shaft. In 3.0 it could be useful (I was fond of playing Illusionists with Enchantments as my restricted school), but in 3.5 it’s not even close to worth it. Favorite level 1 spells are as follows, ranked according to how useful I have found them: 1. Sleep (Aka, goodbye and good night, go to sleep little bugbears, so I can cut your throats) 2. Featherfall (very useful sometimes, I used it twice in the last session alone to save the parties bottom, and you never know when your going to take a fall yourself) 3. Grease (DM: they charge you Wizard: oh no they don’t, they need to make balance checks) 4. Silent Image (Awesome spell that WILL, I say again, will save your bacon at least once) 5. Scatterspray (This one is from Magic of Faerun or the FRCS, basically a low level area of effect spells.) At low levels if you’re pressed into melee, your not really going to have a chance even if you do happen to have mage armor running, because it only lasts a little while, and is quickly made completely useless before to long. Leave the buffing to the clerics at this level. Aluroon
green_yawgmoth 11-15-04, 03:58 PM	Don't be a wizard, be a sorcerer. Spontaneous casting rocks! Just see if you can get your DM to let you have some cha-based skills. I'd recomend asking for bluff and diplomacy, and probably gather info too. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
PhaedrusXY 11-15-04, 05:56 PM	HERE (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=165134<br%20/>) is The Wizard's Handbook, a thread on the CO boards that is a pretty good guide to building and playing a wizard character. I don't agree with everything he says for sure, but most of it is pretty good. I think dwarf makes probably the best wizard race, strange as that may sound if you played earlier editions. :cool: You get a bonus to Con, medium size (which is better for Alter Self and Polymorph if your DM restricts it by caster size), and Darkvision. You get a penalty to Charisma, which I often use as a dump stat anyway. If you want to be good with people, you have enough skillpoints from your high Int to buy skills to make it so. Human and grey elf are also good, and gnome is probably the best if your DM doesn't restrict Polymorph by caster size. (This restriction has been dropped from the 3.5 version, but some people haven't noticed.) I would not recommend specializing, unless there is another arcane caster in the group that can fill in your "blind spots", or you are a multiclassed cleric/wizard/mystictheurge or something similiar so that you can fill in your own "blind spots". The bonus spell per day and known at each level is not worth giving up two whole schools for, in my opinion. If you need more spellslots per day, scribe more scrolls. Speaking of scrolls, you should keep several in your pack at all times. I mainly scribe scrolls of spells that don't depend on caster level so much, and that are very handy when you need them, but that you don't need very often. Every time you get some downtime, go scribe scrolls or research new spells. It is totally in with the roleplaying of a bookworm, which is how people see most wizards, anyway. I usually choose about 1/4-1/3 "buffs", 1/3-1/2 offense, and 1/4-1/3 "utility" spells. I include in the offense so called "area control" spells, which are really the most powerful spells in the game in my opinion, if used well. So I wind up with only a few direct damage spells, maybe 1 or 2 at each level. My favorites are spells with no save and no SR that can hinder large groups of enemies, like Evard's Black Tentacles and Solid Fog. They have multiple benefits of 1) dividing the enemy forces so they can't all come at you at once, 2) trapping alot of them so you can rain down destruction on them en masse, and 3) being difficult to resist. Also, try to think up good combinations of spells and how to use them. Two spells used well together can be much more powerful than either of them would have been alone. Examples are: Waves of Fatigue + Evard's Black Tentacles. The enemy is weakened with no save, which makes it more difficult for them to beat the grapple checks of the tentacles, and also can't move as fast, so it takes them longer to escape the Tentacle area, even if the win a grapple check. Throw on a Cloudkill and spray the area with Fireballs to finish them off. Some other combos I like: Obscuring Mist + Rope Trick to escape a bad situation, and a bat familiar with Darkness cast on it delivering Touch spells (works better in 3.0).
Josh_Kablack 11-15-04, 06:34 PM	I'm going to go against the grain here: 1: Specialize. Specialize. Specialize. I don't care in what, but for crying out loud, prohibit Evocation. Losing out on Tenser's Floating Disk is worth getting extra spells. Do not under any circumstances prohibit Transmutation. 2: Either jack all your save DCs up as high as they can go, OR avoid spells which grant saves. Both are quite workable, but they result in vastly different characters. 3: Mobility is essential to survival. 4: Do not be selfish with your spells. Magic Weapon does the most good on the weapon of the party member who does the most damage, which likely is not going to be you, the wizard. 5: Human, Dwarf, Elf and Gnome are all good races, but each lends themselves to a different type of wizard. For the Human, you are using your bonus Feat and Skill points to head directlly, do not pass go do not collect $200, for a prestige class. Which one depends on what your DM allows in his game, but never ever ever take even a single level that doesn't increase your spell progression as a wizard. For the sake of illustration we'll say go for Loremaster, since it's in the DMG. This means that your extra skill points are going into a knowledge skill, your extra feat is going to be either Extend Spell or Skill Focus in a Knowledge and that your spell picks will be slightly biased towards Diviniations (True Strike, See Invisibility, Detect Thoughts and Locate Object are all crazy go nuts useful anyways. Identify is pretty strong too, but the material compenent makes you cry and want to be a Cleric of Boccob instead) For the Dwarf, you have a good Con, save bonuses and a slow movement rate. You actually want to be a close-in wizard. You want to combine spells which increase your defenses (Protection from Evil, Shield, Bear's Endurance) with spells that harm multiple nearby enemies (Burning Hands, Color Spray, Scorching Ray, Ghoul Touch, Stinking Cloud). This is the only sort of build you actually want Evocations for. For the Elf, you want to maximize the effectiveness of your proficiency with the longbow, which deals more damage than Magic Missile would until you hit third level. You want to stay away from melee and use archery or medium to long range spells in combat. Expeditious Retreat is your best friend here. True Strike, Magic Weapon, Obscuring Mist, Spider Climb, Cat's Grace, Flame Arrow, Heroism, Keen Edge and Dimension Door are strong selections for the mobile elf archer. Additionally False Life helps to compensate for your low Con and d4 Hit Dice. Seriously consider taking Toughness at 1st level if you don't expect the campaign to last long. For the Gnome, you are going to maximize your Illusion DCs and effectiveness. Color Spray never goes obsolete, and Phantasmal Killer is the lowest-level save or die in 3.5. You are going to specialize in Illusion spells, you are going take Spell Focus Illusion, Greater Spell Focus Illusion and prepare as many Illusion spells as you can. Your small size gives you a bonus to Hide, which you should attempt to capitalize on. On the downside, expect to spend a lot of time arguing with the DM over the nitty gritty of the still-too-vague illusions rules. 6. Some general combos which tend to be useful are: Expeditious Retreat and a long-ranged spell or decent missle weapon. Works even better once you get Fly. Invisibility and Summon Monster <any>. This is not an attack and lets you stay safe while still having an effect on the combat. If this is going to be your "schtick" I recommend that you specialize in Conjuration and take Augment Summon. Huge Fiendish Monstrous centipedes grapple really well. Spectral Hand and being on the other side of a chasm/pit/raging barbarian as your enemy Flying familiars and flasks of alchemist's fire - non proficiency doesn't matter here. Locate Object, a map and then either digging or Dimension Dooring in to get the treasure you're after. Cloudkill and spells which impede movement.
TommyBlack 11-15-04, 06:34 PM	there's a really good article on the d&d site called "wizards with class" that primarily deals with how to work a wizard with an existing party. You should probably check it out.
PhaedrusXY 11-15-04, 08:31 PM	An addendum to my post. :D When I say I would never specialize, I mean in 3.5. If you still play with 3.0 rules and can only drop one school, it isn't that bad. If I did play a specialist wizard, I'd see about getting Use Magic Device as a class skill somehow, so I could still use wands and scrolls from my prohibited schools. There are a few ways to do this involving prestige classes, non-core feats, etc. It's a great idea to get UMD as a class skill anyway, because it gives your familiar the crazy ability to use magic items like wands and even command word activated items, if you get a familiar that can speak, like a raven. Familiars use your skill ranks or theirs for all skills, whichever is better. So get a familiar with a decent Charisma that can speak, and they can be pretty good at using UMD.
Nom 11-15-04, 09:07 PM	Let's take a step back. How does a wizard differ from the other caster classes? The main benefit of a wizard is variety. Given enough time to prepare, you have a spell for nearly every situation. Your drawback is 'given enough time to prepare'. This is diametrically opposed to the sorcerer, who has only a very limited range of tricks but has instant access to them all. Mechanically, the ability score which matters is Int and the skill is Spellcraft. These two form the core of determining how effective a wizard you are. Beyond that, pick stuff to keep you alive or fill out holes. Specialisation is an interesting question. You sacrifice two schools, which cuts into your flexibility, but gain 1 spell / level / day, which is not insignificant. Choose what to give up carefully. Here are some stylistic paths, some of which work for both Sorc + Wizard, and some which are Wiz only: * The evoker. Spell Focus (Evocation), fireball. 'Nuff said. * The stealthy summoner. There is a wide range of stuff you can do that doesn't void invisibility but causes lots of inconvenience to your enemies. Spell Focus (Conjuration) and Augment Summoning are good if you're primarily a summoner, but may be wasted if you're more interested in illusion / deception. * The magesmith. Get item creation feats and use them liberally. Wizard only, but works with any not-too-specialised wizard. * The buffer. Slightly encroaching on cleric turf, your role is to make everyone else more effective. Like summoning, buffing doesn't void invisibility. A good wizard plans ahead. Unlike the sorcerer, who must select spells for maximum utility, a wizard can pick and choose. Some good rules of thumb: * Customise your daily selection based on likely challenges. * With a few levels under your belt, you can afford to take a couple of "emergency" spells (like featherfall and dimension door) each day. A good wizard always has an escape plan. * Learn the rules for leaving slots empty. "Locked door? Just give me 15 minutes".
Soepkom 11-16-04, 09:24 AM	One addition to all the good advice aboce: Improved Initiative At low levels, it can be the difference between kill or be killed, and at high levels it helps a lot too. I'll never play a caster without it again ^^
FriendoftheDork 11-16-04, 09:34 AM	Probably alot of good advice above, but if you want to look at my advice and comments to it check out my thread at Regdar's Repository called "Guide to Making a 1st Level Wizard" here's a link for the lazy: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=311432
gregm 11-16-04, 02:05 PM	Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why is spellcraft so usefull? I really don't know as I have never seen a wizard played before.
Josh_Kablack 11-16-04, 02:37 PM	You need Spellcraft as a wizard because it's the skill you use to learn a spell from someone else's spellbook or from a scroll. Without spellcraft, your spellbook will be limited to your starting spells and the addtional two spells per level. It's also useful for identifying spells being cast (and counterspelling them) and in-place magical effects.
Nom 11-16-04, 03:04 PM	Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why is spellcraft so usefull? I really don't know as I have never seen a wizard played before.(1) You need it to learn spells (except default spells). See pg 178. (2) You need it to identify what spells other casters are casting. See pg 82. Without spellcraft, your DM is within his rights to (and probably should) say 'He casts a spell. Something happens'. If you want to figure out what spell it is (rather than just guess - "gouts of flame, eh? Burning hands, maybe?") then you need Spellcraft. There's a bunch of other useful abilities associated with Spellcraft.
AzzKcr 11-16-04, 07:28 PM	don't mean to hijack your thead but im my group im the first guy to play a wizard in awhile. last guy was 2yrs ago in 3.0. In the phb p.179 it says it takes 24hrs to put a spell in your book. is that 24hrs straight no sleep as my DM see's it or do you get to sleep in the time?
Nom 11-16-04, 11:08 PM	In the phb p.179 it says it takes 24hrs to put a spell in your book. is that 24hrs straight no sleep as my DM see's it or do you get to sleep in the time?I'd rule it as '1 day, without interruptions', but including basics (sleep, eat). If your DM wants to interpret that as being awake the whole time, that's his prerogative, but you should complain if he starts making stamina checks to complete the process.
Shard of Suzail 11-17-04, 05:02 PM	I agree with Aluroon, dont specialise, as a wizard. We have a wizard in our group who lost several schools to specialisation and prestige. In the end, his player retired him because he simply got bored. He couldnt cast any interesting spells at all, he was all about direct damage. Enjoy having a good int and...some skill points (i hate how low the skill allocations are in d and d). Still, you`ll have a few good skills, so pick some useful ones. Experiment with missile weapons, they can be worthwhile. Remember, all those missile weapon feats also apply to ray spells (well, most do), so they are not wasted. Be sure to investigate magical things. Get to know your gm`s world with regards to magic and use that information. Get into the routine of researching things as a game event. Dont get caught in the trap of feeling that you must always have the next level of spells. Sometimes it is better to multiclass and become a more well rounded animal. Get to a level where you spells are good and then look at your options.
TommyBlack 11-17-04, 05:17 PM	As for the 24-hours thing, the way I rule is that anything that seems like it takes a day (working for a living, crafting magic items, crafting mundane items, copying spells) actually takes 8 hours, but no more than that 8 hours can be spent on those things in a day.
Dreaming_in_the_void 11-18-04, 10:14 PM	Nobody is talking up Color Spray. This spell will save your arse and make life easier until about 6th level. Take it, stun em, run fast if alone/watch your party beat up the blinking enemies. Specialization is a bit different. If you're going to play a wizard once or twice at low levels, or if you have an amazing idea for a character that DOESN'T involve an entire school or two, then go for it. The extra spell per day is nice, and any DC bonus is a good bonus. If you plan on playing the wizard past level 4 or 5, I woulndn't specialize. More options means they can't pin down your strategy and you can adjust to almost any situation. By the mid levels you will be able to cast more spells than you have combat rounds in most fights. The bonus spells become superfluous. If you want to cast over and over again and don't care about versatility, play a sorcerer. Item creation. Scribe scrolls often in the beginning. Mage armor, shield, and color spray will be your lifeblood. Have scrolls so you can cast more than one, or several times a day. Tuck a scroll of each under your pillow in case you are attacked at night and haven't rememorized yet. There is an XP price to be paid, but its fairly low and well worth the investment if you can make it through the low levels. Craft Wonderous is nice if only so you can suppliment whatever skills/attributes/etc you may want or need. Brew potions and Craft Wand are somewhat limited. You can accomplish more with rods or staves. Potions do have the benefit of universal use though; your fighter has probably taken way too many hits to the skull to understand the subtle complexities of casting a spell or using a wand, but I'll bet he can chug like a champion.
Felonious Monk 11-18-04, 11:11 PM	Specialize. That extra spell per level per day is very useful. You can find proxies for almost any spell school if you're clever, and --get this-- you are! You're now probably playing the smartest player in the group. You need a short list of skills (concentration, spellcraft, craft:alchemy, knowledge:arcana) and then you can just feed your spare skill points into Knowledge skills. Voila! (How do you get an accent grave to come up?) License to metagame (almost). I currently play a Gnome Conjurer - my fellow players call him "King of the Status Effects" because my technique is always Web/Grease/Cloud of X the area and count on the others to make their saves. Protection from fire and then fireball is always fun, too. Oh, and any force effects... how much damage does an ettin take running full tilt into a wall of force? Wizards can be the most powerful and/or the most fun characters to play. Go Enchanter and get your save DC up in the stratosphere. Or transmuter, buff your friends and watch them do all the work. There are so many possibilities. Edit: oh, and I second Color Spray.
FriendoftheDork 11-20-04, 03:51 PM	Do not specialize. The extra spell per day is useful at first, but as you get more money available and find more scrolls and spellbooks to copy from, you'll soon regret specialization, I have myself. Finding proxies is time consuming, and sometimes you just can't find something that is a useful as say Invisibility, Dispel Magic, charm/dominate spells, magic missile, and so on. Necromancy is the only legitimate school you could do without, but there are plenty of nice spells in that school as well. And, extra spells per day become more and more irrelevant when you get access to enough scrolls and especially, wands. Not to mention staves... The only good reason to specialize is if you use 3.0 rules and play a necromancer (bye, bye divination!) or if you're plaing in an world where you won't get access to scrolls, spellbooks and magic items. But then you should go for Psion instead.