Is dragonblood remotely interesting for wizards?

[Pippin]

Hey playground,

I've been reading dragon-related books lately and I've been under the impression that a dragonblooded wizard wouldn't profit from his subtype nearly as much as a dragonblooded sorcerer would.

Are there nice things for wizards at all?

[Red Fel]

Are there nice things for wizards at all?

Yup. A few quick examples: Arcane Spellsurge is a Sor/Wiz/Wu Jen 7 spell from Dragon Magic that takes 1 standard action, lasts for rounds per level, and reduces the casting time of spells you cast while in effect. If you have the Dragonblood subtype, you can cast it as a swift action - meaning that you can start spamming sped-up spells immediately, rather than waiting until your next turn. Blunt Natural Weapons is an Assassin/Bard/Sor/Wiz 3 spell from Dragons of Faerun that decreases the target's natural weapon damage dice by 1 step for every 5 CL. If you have the Dragonblood subtype, you cast it at +1 CL, which means you're more likely to be more crippling. Eyes of the Oracle is a Cleric/Sor/Wiz/Wu Jen 6 spell from Dragon Magic that grants a +2 insight bonus to AC and Reflex saves, and allows you to ready a standard action at the end of your turn irrespective of the number of actions taken that turn. If you have the Dragonblood subtype, the AC and Reflex bonus increases to +3.
Those are just a few illustrations.

Note also that the source matters. For example, a Dragonborn Wizard receives the Dragonblood subtype, plus the benefits of being Dragonborn - namely, choice of breath weapon, sensory upgrade, or (Ex) flight. That latter one can take an already-dangerous Wizard and make him even moreso, as (Ex) flight can't be dispelled or disjunctioned. A Wizard who takes the Dragontouched feat receives the Dragonblood subtype, plus 1 HP, bonus to some skills and saves, and the ability to select Draconic feats as if he were a Sorcerer. Now, generally, these require expending a spell slot, but some have uses. For example, Draconic Claw gives you a claw weapon (for which you may or may not have use) as well as the ability to make a claw attack as a swift action against a threatened opponent when you cast a spell that takes a standard action. Draconic Flight lets you fly after you cast a standard action spell, with a flight speed of 10 feet per spell level, which is like a free Expeditious Retreat when you cast a spell. Draconic Power increases your CL by 1, bam.

So there are some benefits. Not exclusive to Wizard, and not amazing, but they're there.

[dextercorvia]

If you are interested in metamagic cost reduction, Practical Metamagic is available to dragonblood Wizards who cast spontaneously through something like Uncanny Forethought.

[WhamBamSam]

If you are interested in metamagic cost reduction, Practical Metamagic is available to dragonblood Wizards who cast spontaneously through something like Uncanny Forethought.Uncanny Forethought isn't really spontaneous casting for the purposes of qualifying for Practical Metamagic, as far as I can tell, but the Spontaneous Divination ACF would work.

@OP: The thing of it is, almost nothing will get as much out of the dragonblood subtype as Sorcerers will, as it is to a large extent specifically geared toward Sorcerers. So Wizard options for leveraging the subtype will always look less impressive by comparison. If it makes you feel better, Wizards get more than Sorcerers out of lots of other things.

In my experience, the classes that actually care most about the subtype are meldshapers, because the draconic soulmelds include some very handy ones (particularly the Claws of the Wyrm and Dragon Tail for natural attack builds as they grant natural weapons just for being shaped). Breath Weapon users care as well, because Entangling Exhalation is pretty important to a lot of them, but DFAs get Dragontouched as a bonus feat, and we tend not to think about Dragon Shamans if it can be avoided.

That said, since Wizards can do everything, there is potential for these options to be of some interest to them as well, depending what you're building for. If you intend to get a breath weapon somewhere (grafting it on, the Dragon Breath spell, being a Dragonborn, etc.) you might be interested in Entangling Exhalation as well. It's only an afterthought to the Persisted Dispelling Breath you're probably rocking if you bothered to make a breath blaster wizard, but it's still a handy debuff that never gets too out of style. If you're a gish, especially a polymorphing one, Shape Soulmeld (Claws of the Wyrm or Dragon Tail) for natural attacks that will work in any form could be worthwhile.