[PF] Dwarf Wizard. Saves Galore!

[QuidEst]

For a while, I've been interested in playing a Dwarf Wizard. I always passed up on it because getting no bonus to Int hurts, and Wis is normally a dump stat. Con is nice, and Cha is a dump, so that's good.

I actually ran the numbers, and it turns out that Dwarf works great if you don't mind some hefty min-maxing.

20 point buy:
7 Str
18 Con
14 Dex (Will be taking a +1 natural armor familiar)
18 Int
9 Wis
5 Cha

What does Dwarf bring to the table? Well, the alternate favored class bonus speeds up crafting, which is nice. +1/5 of a day per day per level! Take it with the Hedge Magician trait and you'll be a master crafter.

But more to the point… take the Glory of Old (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/regional-traits/glory-of-old-dwarf-regional-trait) trait and Steel Soul (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/steel-soul) feat at level 1. Play a Void-school Wizard.
Your level 1 saves against spells and SLAs are now +11 Fort, +9 Ref, +8 Will. Every bit of that stacks with Cloak of Resistance, and you get a free +1 to this every five levels.

You'll either want to take a +1 AC familiar (Armadillo, Giant Isopod, or Turtle), or switch to 16 Con, 16 Dex if there's another familiar you want.

Any thoughts? The main weakness here is (Su) abilities, of course, but none of the saves are bad.

[Endarire]

DEX is handy for more initiative (especially initiative!), but also AC, Reflex saves, and certain skills.

CON is handy for more HP and Fortitude saves.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Good at first level (make sure you prepare expeditious retreat just in case). At higher levels you won't be winning any character optimization contests, but you won't have to spend much of your wealth on defensive items because you already have great hit points and saves.

[QuidEst]

DEX is handy for more initiative (especially initiative!), but also AC, Reflex saves, and certain skills.

CON is handy for more HP and Fortitude saves.

Yep, I know! Winning initiative is a little less important with great saves to avoid getting rocket tagged. X) That's what the 16/16 build is for, though.


Good at first level (make sure you prepare expeditious retreat just in case). At higher levels you won't be winning any character optimization contests, but you won't have to spend much of your wealth on defensive items because you already have great hit points and saves.

Well, I think it'll be fun, mostly. Main issue will be things with supernatural abilities getting through.

[ericgrau]

With all that hp and saves, you could get up front and start including yourself in your own spell areas. Combine with defensive spells and more assertive movement to get more foes to cluster, and turn your defense into an offense. Mage armor and false life are easy choices for action economy since you can keep them up all day. But a rnd/level or min/level spell for a buffing round is nice, and perhaps more on scrolls for rare situations when you can squeeze in more.

Sure selective spell, abjurations and other tricks work too, and they can keep you from hurting yourself too much. But your it's nice to be able to handle a max level spell centered on yourself without a buff round, or to use spells that aren't eligible for selective spell and so on. The more tricks you can exploit the better.

[QuidEst]

With all that hp and saves, you could get up front and start including yourself in your own spell areas. Combine with defensive spells and more assertive movement to get more foes to cluster, and turn your defense into an offense. Mage armor and false life are easy choices for action economy since you can keep them up all day. But a rnd/level or min/level spell for a buffing round is nice, and perhaps more on scrolls for rare situations when you can squeeze in more.

Sure selective spell, abjurations and other tricks work too, and they can keep you from hurting yourself too much. But your it's nice to be able to handle a max level spell centered on yourself without a buff round, or to use spells that aren't eligible for selective spell and so on. The more tricks you can exploit the better.

I kind of like thinking of this as the golem build. :smallbiggrin: Priorities include a Ring of Evasion, which will let you drop evocations willy-nilly. Before that, using AoEs with no effect on a save works just as well. Best of all, you can start out with standard Wizard tactics. Then, when they reach you, start dropping the AoEs and the like.

Buddy up with a high-Charisma Paladin, a Monk, a Spellbreaker Inquisitor, and a Superstitious Barbarian to make a magebuster squad.

[grarrrg]

Buddy up with a high-Charisma Paladin, a Monk, a Spellbreaker Inquisitor, and a Superstitious Barbarian to make a magebuster squad.


I'll just leave this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231168) here...

Tis a little older, and in need of a few updates. But overall is quite solid.

[magwaaf]

why is wisdom a dump stat? you have something against will saves? i try to make sure every character i play has a solid will save.

[QuidEst]

why is wisdom a dump stat? you have something against will saves? i try to make sure every character i play has a solid will save.

Wizards already have good Will save progression. This makes up for a low Wisdom score, provided it isn't taken too far down. Typically, this means you can leave Wisdom at +0, maybe -1. To pull this off well, we need the -1. This build permits us to worry less about saves. Unfortunately, Dex controls our AC and initiative, and Con is tied to our hitpoints.