Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tenk51 Sep 22, 2009 17:28:15	this is my first time playing the game, and I'm going to be playing as a wizard(edition 3.5, if that matters), and I'd like some tips. most importantly I'd like to know if its really important to look up the extended descriptions of spells, or if the short, 1 sentece description with the big list of wizard spells is enough, becuase having to look through the entire glossary of spells every time I want to pick out new ones seems like it would seriously drag down play.
#2 pyro_azer Sep 22, 2009 17:33:59	community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758... This will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about wizards.   And yes you need to look up the entire spell to understand how it works.
#3 kouk Sep 22, 2009 18:27:04	Oh, there is a tremendous difference between the rules editions, especially for spellcasters. Being a Wizard in 3.5 means a lot of ... bookwork. I'd suggest photocopying or otherwise copying the information for the spells you know (yes, pretty much everything is necessary about them), and make a little "spellbook" for your reference so you don't need to look in the PHB. If you play as a sorcerer, you will know many fewer spells over time but be able to use them more often, so that's another option.
#4 tenk51 Sep 22, 2009 19:13:53	thanks for the help. I thought about switching to a sorcerer, but that felt to mutch like giving up.
#5 Azuridin_the_aged Sep 22, 2009 19:15:56	and don't forget that a vivid mind and imagination makes a wizard go much farther then the damage a spell can cause. Alot of first time wizards tend to overthrow the bonuses of base spells like light, or open/close, or the like. Take into consideration what you can target or do with the spell before actually planning out your daily ones. For instance. Light + enemies eyes as target = one blinded npc. Open/Close + targeting the sheath of an enemies weapon = weaponless target.
#6 oynaz Sep 23, 2009 16:44:19	Remember to bring a crossbow.
#7 kouk Sep 23, 2009 17:48:37	and don't forget that a vivid mind and imagination makes a wizard go much farther then the damage a spell can cause. Alot of first time wizards tend to overthrow the bonuses of base spells like light, or open/close, or the like. Take into consideration what you can target or do with the spell before actually planning out your daily ones. For instance. Light + enemies eyes as target = one blinded npc. Open/Close + targeting the sheath of an enemies weapon = weaponless target. I think most DMs would consider those uses beyond the scope of those spells, and being attended by a creature at least require attack rolls. Light targets objects, and you have to touch them. Sheathes are kind of open anyway, it's a matter of pulling or inserting the item. You could try some things like putting caltrops in a bag, attaching it to the ceiling upside down, then using Open/Close on the bag to dump the caltrops out as a trap of some sort though. But the sentiment can be the same; many powers have non-obvious uses or combinations.
#8 entropy_judge Sep 24, 2009 8:58:40	and don't forget that a vivid mind and imagination makes a wizard go much farther then the damage a spell can cause. Alot of first time wizards tend to overthrow the bonuses of base spells like light, or open/close, or the like. Take into consideration what you can target or do with the spell before actually planning out your daily ones. For instance. Light + enemies eyes as target = one blinded npc. Open/Close + targeting the sheath of an enemies weapon = weaponless target. I think most DMs would consider those uses beyond the scope of those spells, and being attended by a creature at least require attack rolls. Light targets objects, and you have to touch them. Sheathes are kind of open anyway, it's a matter of pulling or inserting the item. You could try some things like putting caltrops in a bag, attaching it to the ceiling upside down, then using Open/Close on the bag to dump the caltrops out as a trap of some sort though. But the sentiment can be the same; many powers have non-obvious uses or combinations. Light worked that way in 2E and AD&D - 60-yard range, could be cast on an opponent's visual organs for -4 to hit and -4 penalty to AC.
#9 Azuridin_the_aged Sep 24, 2009 9:58:42	Then thats the choice of the DM that is running the game but it boils down to the use of your imagination. I for one have never said no to utilising a spell in any such way as long as i'm given a good enough reason for doing so from the player and/or it falls under the paramaters of the spell. Even in 4e those dang cantrips caused me much grief. Like prestidigitation making a an enemy NPC smell like rotting dead flesh with the carrion crawler in the room. or someone uitilising ghost sound targeting an enemies ears with the sound of a loud crash continiously. Or my personal favorite, casting light on a gnome sorcerors cloak so even when he went invisible he lit up like a christmas tree. The scope of a power, much like any class utility, goes only as far as you can think and argue it. And while the DM may originially be thrown through a loop if you can legitimatley argue why it worked there is no reason it should not be allowed other than the DM does not want it as so or cannot figure out how to make it work in game terms.
#10 LordOfWeasels Sep 24, 2009 17:00:24	Light worked that way in 2E and AD&D - 60-yard range, could be cast on an opponent's visual organs for -4 to hit and -4 penalty to AC. Yes, but Light at that point was a Daily spell, competing with Magic Missile and Burning Hands for your Vancian Magic Memory Space.
#11 entropy_judge Sep 24, 2009 17:07:39	Light worked that way in 2E and AD&D - 60-yard range, could be cast on an opponent's visual organs for -4 to hit and -4 penalty to AC. Yes, but Light at that point was a Daily spell, competing with Magic Missile and Burning Hands for your Vancian Magic Memory Space.   ... Does 3.5 not also use Vancian casting for Wizards?
#12 LordOfWeasels Sep 24, 2009 17:09:41	... Does 3.5 not also use Vancian casting for Wizards? Yes.  3.5 did not correct that error. Did I miss something?  I thought I was comparing to 4th ed, where light is a trivial at-will Minor Action.
#13 entropy_judge Sep 24, 2009 17:18:23	Yes.  3.5 did not correct that error. Did I miss something?  I thought I was comparing to 4th ed, where light is a trivial at-will Minor Action. Aside from mild disagreement over "errors" ... the OP is using 3.5, and neither of the posts in my quote mentioned an edition, so I would assume they would be referring to 3.5 as well, there being no mention of 4E at that point.
#14 LordOfWeasels Sep 24, 2009 17:29:25	Aside from mild disagreement over "errors" ... the OP is using 3.5, and neither of the posts in my quote mentioned an edition, so I would assume they would be referring to 3.5 as well, there being no mention of 4E at that point. You're right!  I'm sorry, that was my mistake.
#15 entropy_judge Sep 24, 2009 17:34:16	Not a problem ;) (Oh, dear gods, those smilies are terrible!)
#16 Myck Sep 25, 2009 13:25:38	Slightly off wizard but useful as an example of usual uses for a spell, I once used entangle to catch some other party members from falling to their doom (or possiby falling just to their severe injury).  The just voluntarily failed their saving throws so the entangle esentially "caught" them.  I casted it high into the trees so that branches and vines could catch them.