scsimodem
2009-05-28, 04:26 PM
Having seen many threads in the past with people wondering how to play wizards, and seeing as how my responses typically got buried in a sea of replies, I thought I'd put this here as its own thread. I'm choosing to write it from a 3.x (mostly 3.5) perspective because the guidelines laid down in that can apply to pretty much any game in which there are wizards.
As for my qualifications, I am an avid wizard player (though I have yet to play one in 4e) and have played 2e, 3e, and 3.5e wizards extensively, as well as White Wolf mages, and I have played with an Exalted Sorcerer (I'm new to Exalted, but it looks like Exalted Sorcerers don't suffer the same limitations as most types of wizards because, well, it's Exalted). I am also very effective with my wizards, often having to step back to keep from outshining the party, even when lower than the average level. So, here it is, my way of passing on my years of experience to those just starting out.
Character Creation:
I love the spoiler tag. It makes things so easy. Ok, anyway:
Abilities:
As a wizard, your first and primary duty will be casting spells. The only stat you use for casting spells is intelligence. By hook or by crook, get an 18 in this stat, even if it gimps most of your other stats. Every two points of int gives you more spells to play with and spells that are harder to resist. If you can't get an 18, put your highest stat into int. You won't regret it.
After that, strength and dexterity are good picks if you plan on using a lot of touch and ranged touch spells. If you do both, go with dex and take the weapon finesse feat. Wisdom is also a good stat, as it raises your will saving throw, which is useful against other wizards. Constitution gets you hp and charisma helps in social situations, including negotiations with summoned creatures. In other words, max out your int and then pick other abilities based on your personal preferences.
Race:
This is mostly a matter of personal preference, but some are better than others. I tend to go with human or a race that grants a bonus to int (such as the sun elf). Most of the core races have abilities that can compliment a wizard (dex and size making it easier to hit with touch attacks, immunity to certain spell effects, the ability to recover spells in 4 hours instead of 8, etc.). The only two core races I would shy away from are the dwarf, which doesn't give any penalties to the wizard but no outstanding bonuses either, and the half-orc, which has no benefit to give the wizard but gimps him out of the gate with a -2 int penalty, which, at least by my reckoning, is unforgivable.
Skills:
Max out all arcane type skills: Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft, Concentration, Decipher Script, and, if playing 3e, Scry. After that, remaining skills are mostly a matter of taste. I tend to take additional knowledge skills (my best wizard ever took a special variation in the Quintessential Wizard that allowed him to get two ranks out of every skill point spent in knowledge), but nothing says you can't take social skills if you want to cross-class or have a feat that makes one or more of them a class skill. If you've followed this guide so far, you should be able to max out a minimum of 6 skills (7 with a human or high int race).
Feats:
With most early metamagic feats too expensive to use and most other feats out of reach (crafting feats have a 3rd level minimum, while combat feats often have a BAB prerequisite), your choices are limited. Consider taking spell focus or getting a head start on metamagic. Going spell focus (conjuration) and augment summoning can be great for a human concentrating on summoning. Improved initiative is also a good pick, as going first means you get to unleash your AoE attacks before your meat shields get in the way. There are also plenty of good feats in various splat books.
To specialize or not to specialize:
It's a good question. If you specialize, you get extra spell slots, but two schools of magic (varies in other editions) are forever closed to you. I usually don't specialize because I want my characters to be flexible, but if you foresee your wizard casting pretty much the same kind of spell all the time, then specialization may be for you. If you must specialize, forbidden schools are largely a matter of taste, but I recommend against forbidding transmutation and in favor of forbidding necromancy. Granted, there are good necromancy spells, but that's true of all schools. However, necromancy is limited in that most of its more powerful spells have the evil descriptor or are primarily useful for performing evil acts (disregard if, for some reason, your DM allows evil characters, which I don't).
Spell Selection:
This is what makes or breaks a starting wizard. High level wizards can pick pretty much anything and be effective (though those who started at level 1 are probably better at it). There are only two things to consider early on: flexibility and duration. Your spell slots are very limited (If you specialized and took a +2 int race, you have 4. My human generalists start with only 2), so you need to stretch them. Magic missile may seem like a staple, but at 1st level, it uses up half of your spells and, at most, kills one creature. Then it's gone. Instead, consider going with color spray and sleep as your combat spells. They're useless at high levels, but at low levels can take multiple opponents out of the fight. Other good ones (both in and out of combat) are disguise self, magic weapon, enlarge person, and burning hands. Now, as you level up, it's advisable to add more first level spells to your spellbook. Magic missile and animate rope are staples of mine, but their limited utility at first level means I hold off on learning them.
Now, you have a viable 1st level wizard. You're going to be underpowered at 1st level, as you have nothing but your spells and not many of those. Druids have wild shape and clerics are decent fighters, but don't worry, you'll make up lost time later.
General tips for playing a wizard at all levels:
Spell selection:
This is the single greatest issue for wizards, as wizards have the fewest spell slots per day and the largest potential for having a number of spells available to fill those slots. Also, unlike a sorcerer, you must fill those slots at the beginning of each day, rather than making it up as you go along, so here are some general tips for making it happen.
Likelihood of use: This encompasses two principles. The first is how many different situations the spell could be used in. Illusions are great for this, as most general illusion spells have the ability to be used in or out of combat. Look for spells that don't specifically do damage or inflict status effects. Things like fog cloud and spider climb will typically find use in a single day, no matter what you do, so they're always spell slots well spent. The other principle is how likely the situations the spell is designed for are to arise. Combat is a constant in most RPGs, so spells designed to harm, inhibit, or otherwise mess up your enemies will typically see use, as well as spells that beef up or protect your allies. Unless you're pretty sure you're going to come up against a specific situation, it's typically advisable to carry around scrolls of highly specialized spells, rather than memorize them 'just in case.'
Total Impact: You only have so many actions in a battle and spell slots in a day. Make sure each one counts. Now, that doesn't mean to blow your biggest, flashiest spells at the first thing that looks at you funny, but unless the situation is dire, try to save a spell for when it will have the most impact. A fireball might to great damage to that one creature, but why not scorching ray it and use a fireball against multiple fores later? Always try to make spells count for as much as possible.
Not to be used for the other use: This bad case of Engrish is a perfect example of what a wizard SHOULDN'T do. Just because the spell was clearly intended for one purpose doesn't mean it shouldn't be used for another. Got some spare money and a choke point? Use rope trick at the choke point and pack it full of alchemists fire, acid, and lamp oil. When you dispel a rope trick, all the stuff drops out and BOOM! Alternatively, you could hide the party in there for an ambush. Telekinesis doesn't do much damage, but if you hurl somebody off of a high ledge, falling damage can do the rest. Alternatively, a dimension door paired with a feather fall can get a rather hefty object high enough to do some damage to whatever it hits. Don't have a heavy object? Summon a large creature. The range on a summon spell is short, so you can actually get it a good distance off the ground. Judicious use of such principles can even get around spell resistance.
Synergy: Cast spells that go well together. Enlarge person and bull's strength stack. True strike will ensure that your attack spells hit. The deadliest piece of synergy I've found so far is combining shapechange with foresight. As long as you can see what's about to hit you, you can shift into a form that's immune (or resistant) to it. Also remember to try to limit your polymorphing to forms capable of casting spells. Remember, synergy.
Other tips:
Scrolls, scrolls, scrolls: All wizards have the scribe scroll feat at first level. Yes, it will keep you a little behind in xp, but scrolls are actually pretty cheap, and they both expand your spells per day and allow you to carry around spells that prepare you for obscure situations without wasting precious spell slots on them. It's worth the xp hit. Trust me. Also look into taking the higher level equivalent, craft wands.
Crafting: Once again, it sets you back in experience, but given the ridiculous stuff you can make with the standard crafting rules, you can become a walking arsenal. You'll also make friends in the party if you decide to take craft magical arms and armor.
Above all, be creative: Sometimes, your DM will provide you with what seems like an insurmountable obstacle. My DM did this to me all the time not because he thought I needed to be humbled, but because he was curious to see how I'd get out of it. If a creature is immune to magic or has high magic resistance, use a spell to hit him with something that's not a spell. Summon creatures, drop a rock on him, open up the ground and watch him fall, or whatever. There's ways around just about anything. Just remember not to think about what spells are supposed to do, but rather what they can do. Example: My wizard's party was once surrounded by undead with a whole army of warforged and not enough transportation to get all of them to safety. I wasn't high enough to have teleportation circle, so I cast prismatic wall. My allies held off the onslaught while I dispelled the first 6 layers, after which we all fled through the 7th layer, which teleports the character to a random plane. Everything but the plane of shadow and the ethereal plane had been locked out, so we figured it was safe enough. I used a nigh impassable wall as an escape rout, then dispelled and escaped through more mundane means (fly).
More to come.
As for my qualifications, I am an avid wizard player (though I have yet to play one in 4e) and have played 2e, 3e, and 3.5e wizards extensively, as well as White Wolf mages, and I have played with an Exalted Sorcerer (I'm new to Exalted, but it looks like Exalted Sorcerers don't suffer the same limitations as most types of wizards because, well, it's Exalted). I am also very effective with my wizards, often having to step back to keep from outshining the party, even when lower than the average level. So, here it is, my way of passing on my years of experience to those just starting out.
Character Creation:
I love the spoiler tag. It makes things so easy. Ok, anyway:
Abilities:
As a wizard, your first and primary duty will be casting spells. The only stat you use for casting spells is intelligence. By hook or by crook, get an 18 in this stat, even if it gimps most of your other stats. Every two points of int gives you more spells to play with and spells that are harder to resist. If you can't get an 18, put your highest stat into int. You won't regret it.
After that, strength and dexterity are good picks if you plan on using a lot of touch and ranged touch spells. If you do both, go with dex and take the weapon finesse feat. Wisdom is also a good stat, as it raises your will saving throw, which is useful against other wizards. Constitution gets you hp and charisma helps in social situations, including negotiations with summoned creatures. In other words, max out your int and then pick other abilities based on your personal preferences.
Race:
This is mostly a matter of personal preference, but some are better than others. I tend to go with human or a race that grants a bonus to int (such as the sun elf). Most of the core races have abilities that can compliment a wizard (dex and size making it easier to hit with touch attacks, immunity to certain spell effects, the ability to recover spells in 4 hours instead of 8, etc.). The only two core races I would shy away from are the dwarf, which doesn't give any penalties to the wizard but no outstanding bonuses either, and the half-orc, which has no benefit to give the wizard but gimps him out of the gate with a -2 int penalty, which, at least by my reckoning, is unforgivable.
Skills:
Max out all arcane type skills: Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft, Concentration, Decipher Script, and, if playing 3e, Scry. After that, remaining skills are mostly a matter of taste. I tend to take additional knowledge skills (my best wizard ever took a special variation in the Quintessential Wizard that allowed him to get two ranks out of every skill point spent in knowledge), but nothing says you can't take social skills if you want to cross-class or have a feat that makes one or more of them a class skill. If you've followed this guide so far, you should be able to max out a minimum of 6 skills (7 with a human or high int race).
Feats:
With most early metamagic feats too expensive to use and most other feats out of reach (crafting feats have a 3rd level minimum, while combat feats often have a BAB prerequisite), your choices are limited. Consider taking spell focus or getting a head start on metamagic. Going spell focus (conjuration) and augment summoning can be great for a human concentrating on summoning. Improved initiative is also a good pick, as going first means you get to unleash your AoE attacks before your meat shields get in the way. There are also plenty of good feats in various splat books.
To specialize or not to specialize:
It's a good question. If you specialize, you get extra spell slots, but two schools of magic (varies in other editions) are forever closed to you. I usually don't specialize because I want my characters to be flexible, but if you foresee your wizard casting pretty much the same kind of spell all the time, then specialization may be for you. If you must specialize, forbidden schools are largely a matter of taste, but I recommend against forbidding transmutation and in favor of forbidding necromancy. Granted, there are good necromancy spells, but that's true of all schools. However, necromancy is limited in that most of its more powerful spells have the evil descriptor or are primarily useful for performing evil acts (disregard if, for some reason, your DM allows evil characters, which I don't).
Spell Selection:
This is what makes or breaks a starting wizard. High level wizards can pick pretty much anything and be effective (though those who started at level 1 are probably better at it). There are only two things to consider early on: flexibility and duration. Your spell slots are very limited (If you specialized and took a +2 int race, you have 4. My human generalists start with only 2), so you need to stretch them. Magic missile may seem like a staple, but at 1st level, it uses up half of your spells and, at most, kills one creature. Then it's gone. Instead, consider going with color spray and sleep as your combat spells. They're useless at high levels, but at low levels can take multiple opponents out of the fight. Other good ones (both in and out of combat) are disguise self, magic weapon, enlarge person, and burning hands. Now, as you level up, it's advisable to add more first level spells to your spellbook. Magic missile and animate rope are staples of mine, but their limited utility at first level means I hold off on learning them.
Now, you have a viable 1st level wizard. You're going to be underpowered at 1st level, as you have nothing but your spells and not many of those. Druids have wild shape and clerics are decent fighters, but don't worry, you'll make up lost time later.
General tips for playing a wizard at all levels:
Spell selection:
This is the single greatest issue for wizards, as wizards have the fewest spell slots per day and the largest potential for having a number of spells available to fill those slots. Also, unlike a sorcerer, you must fill those slots at the beginning of each day, rather than making it up as you go along, so here are some general tips for making it happen.
Likelihood of use: This encompasses two principles. The first is how many different situations the spell could be used in. Illusions are great for this, as most general illusion spells have the ability to be used in or out of combat. Look for spells that don't specifically do damage or inflict status effects. Things like fog cloud and spider climb will typically find use in a single day, no matter what you do, so they're always spell slots well spent. The other principle is how likely the situations the spell is designed for are to arise. Combat is a constant in most RPGs, so spells designed to harm, inhibit, or otherwise mess up your enemies will typically see use, as well as spells that beef up or protect your allies. Unless you're pretty sure you're going to come up against a specific situation, it's typically advisable to carry around scrolls of highly specialized spells, rather than memorize them 'just in case.'
Total Impact: You only have so many actions in a battle and spell slots in a day. Make sure each one counts. Now, that doesn't mean to blow your biggest, flashiest spells at the first thing that looks at you funny, but unless the situation is dire, try to save a spell for when it will have the most impact. A fireball might to great damage to that one creature, but why not scorching ray it and use a fireball against multiple fores later? Always try to make spells count for as much as possible.
Not to be used for the other use: This bad case of Engrish is a perfect example of what a wizard SHOULDN'T do. Just because the spell was clearly intended for one purpose doesn't mean it shouldn't be used for another. Got some spare money and a choke point? Use rope trick at the choke point and pack it full of alchemists fire, acid, and lamp oil. When you dispel a rope trick, all the stuff drops out and BOOM! Alternatively, you could hide the party in there for an ambush. Telekinesis doesn't do much damage, but if you hurl somebody off of a high ledge, falling damage can do the rest. Alternatively, a dimension door paired with a feather fall can get a rather hefty object high enough to do some damage to whatever it hits. Don't have a heavy object? Summon a large creature. The range on a summon spell is short, so you can actually get it a good distance off the ground. Judicious use of such principles can even get around spell resistance.
Synergy: Cast spells that go well together. Enlarge person and bull's strength stack. True strike will ensure that your attack spells hit. The deadliest piece of synergy I've found so far is combining shapechange with foresight. As long as you can see what's about to hit you, you can shift into a form that's immune (or resistant) to it. Also remember to try to limit your polymorphing to forms capable of casting spells. Remember, synergy.
Other tips:
Scrolls, scrolls, scrolls: All wizards have the scribe scroll feat at first level. Yes, it will keep you a little behind in xp, but scrolls are actually pretty cheap, and they both expand your spells per day and allow you to carry around spells that prepare you for obscure situations without wasting precious spell slots on them. It's worth the xp hit. Trust me. Also look into taking the higher level equivalent, craft wands.
Crafting: Once again, it sets you back in experience, but given the ridiculous stuff you can make with the standard crafting rules, you can become a walking arsenal. You'll also make friends in the party if you decide to take craft magical arms and armor.
Above all, be creative: Sometimes, your DM will provide you with what seems like an insurmountable obstacle. My DM did this to me all the time not because he thought I needed to be humbled, but because he was curious to see how I'd get out of it. If a creature is immune to magic or has high magic resistance, use a spell to hit him with something that's not a spell. Summon creatures, drop a rock on him, open up the ground and watch him fall, or whatever. There's ways around just about anything. Just remember not to think about what spells are supposed to do, but rather what they can do. Example: My wizard's party was once surrounded by undead with a whole army of warforged and not enough transportation to get all of them to safety. I wasn't high enough to have teleportation circle, so I cast prismatic wall. My allies held off the onslaught while I dispelled the first 6 layers, after which we all fled through the 7th layer, which teleports the character to a random plane. Everything but the plane of shadow and the ethereal plane had been locked out, so we figured it was safe enough. I used a nigh impassable wall as an escape rout, then dispelled and escaped through more mundane means (fly).
More to come.