Tips for an unexperienced dm's wizard npcs. Help please

[Thewaitingman]

The thing is, I've been avoiding using wizard npcs close to the party or against it because I haven't much experience playing as a wizard and I don't know which spells he would normally prepare depending on the circumstances..

For example, what would a wizard -with access to any up to 4th lvl spell- prepare considering he might be ambushed? attacked right out? fight against a magical beast/animal?
What would a army mage have constantly prepared in case of any military encounter?
What would a city/guild mage normally have prepared?

Ofcourse I don't expect answers for all of these, more like a general guide for preparing casters..

Thanks in advance!

[eggynack]

A general guide for preparing wizards you say? Take a gander at Treantmonk's guide to wizards: playing a GOD (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=394.0). It doesn't give advice specifically for the design of NPC wizards, but if you're looking for good spells, I don't know of a better source.

[Thewaitingman]

Thanks, that's a good start! Though it represents a player's point of view I could check it out.

[Raineh Daze]

Just be careful to not follow the guides too closely, else you'll have a TPK or spotlight-hogging NPC on your hands (I'm guessing, since you're not used to using wizards, that the optimisation ceiling is pretty low)

[Silva Stormrage]

Another thing to note is that while for PC's damage spells tend to not be that efficient, for NPC's they tend to be pretty useful, especially with some metamagic (Not quite mailman level metamagic). Practical or easy metamagic on empower and you can get a 7th level caster doing 8d6 * 1.5 damage to the entire group each round (Plenty of +1 CL buffs out there for minimal investment). Sending about 3 of those against a standard 10th level party can actually be pretty lethal as long as the party doesn't all have evasion. Pump init and watch the pc's dodge for their life :smalltongue:

(Warning don't do this in a surprise round since PC's tend to dislike instant death encounters :smalltongue:)

[graymachine]

We had (in our early days) a DM send the party, half-dead, running from a group of 10 or so low-level sorcerors that ambushed us and all kept targeting one PC at a time with magic missile. Embarrassing.

[Thewaitingman]

The thing is, you can't think as a player would. A npc wizard has different things has to worry about, how to hide his spellbook from envious wizards, how to avoid battle with many different techniques, what potions to have on him at all times.. It's these thoughts that I can't manifest due to my inexperience..

[Hammerpriest]

The thing is, you can't think as a player would. A npc wizard has different things has to worry about, how to hide his spellbook from envious wizards, how to avoid battle with many different techniques, what potions to have on him at all times.. It's these thoughts that I can't manifest due to my inexperience..

Except your PC Wizards would and should worry about the exact same things. In general, having a lot of different spells to deal with anything that might come in a given day is a general guideline. If he would expect a more specific encounter, prepare spells pertaining to that encounter.