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View Full Version : Level 1 Wizard, help needed please



lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:08 PM
Hi, I'm fairly new to D&D, and playing in my first campaign. My character (level 6 paladin) died at the weekend due to being drowned by a Kua-toan high-priest :( (small room, create water spell, locked door and a rogue who couldnt pick locks to save his own mother)

And due to us being in the middle of nowhere and having pissed the local priest-hood off (same rogue went and offended them :() I dont have the chance of being ressurected any time soon.

So I'm rerolling. With a bit more knowledge of D&D, and what my party lacks, I've decided to roll a wizard. Unfortunately I'm not sure what the best way to do it is so I was wondering if you guys could help me out on a build for level 1-5ish.

Stats I've rolled are 17, 17, 15, 13, 9, 5 and I was thinking I'd want to be human for the extra bonus feat at level 1.

Were only really using PHB, books-wise, but if you use anything thats not in it, gimme a link or tell me where it is so I can try and find it to show my DM.

Thanks in advance guys :)

Mr the Geoff
2007-05-23, 04:20 PM
Ouch that's gonna be one wierd build.
17s in Int and Dex I think
15 into Con
9 into strength is as low as you can go, 5 str is not an option if you want to carry your own spellbook
13 wisdom as a penalty on will saves is not nice
5 Charisma

Looks like one ugly, grumpy wizard you're getting
I suppose the other concept would be a 5 dex no dex bonus to armour clumsy but wise and charismatic wizard.

The int bonus gives you 6 1st level spells. That's probably grease, mage armour, color spray or sleep, feather fall, enlarge person (buff the fighter) and magic missile (hey you have to do direct damage sometimes, and MM hits almost everything you'll meet at first level).

I am not a wizard expert so there's people that might optimise that better but for core only that should make you take control of most low level encounters with a single appropriate spell (then you hide at the back, using a crossbow if you get bored waiting for the rest of the party to flatten the sleeping/unconcious/greased mobs),

Feats wise I would probably say spell focus in the school of your choice to up the save DC on the grease or the color spray, and improved initiative or skill focus: concentration to either get the drop on your enemy or simply cast the spells defensively.

Smiley_
2007-05-23, 04:27 PM
I would suggest putting a 17 in both INT (of course) and CON. Now, you might think that CON is not as good as DEX, but in my campaign, we have a wizard with a base CON of 20. He can get hit with a few standard issue offensive juggernaut spells (fireball, cone of cold) and still be up and healthy. This also ups the FORT save (protects you from nasty death spells).

The 15 and should go into wisdom or dexterity. I would suggest wisdom to get the WILL save up. This protects you from nasty illusions like phantasmal killer. Always

put the 13 and 9 where you think it will do most help. DEX will increase armor class but STR will help in the early game with those goblins.

as for CHA, put the 5 in there. Wizards get very little in the realm of talking and bluffing anyway. That's what rouges and bards are for. Have the wizard wear a mask in public.

If you want to specialize in a school, I would take transmutation or illusion. There are some nice spells in both schools.

Arbitrarity
2007-05-23, 04:28 PM
The recommended grey elf is of course in the Monster Manual, under elves.

Secondly, stat priority should be something like INT>CON>DEX (or swap con and dex)>WIS>CHA/STR

Placing the 5 is hard.

I recommend, with the odd stats, that you make your character middle aged, so that he gets a +1 to all mental, -1 to all physical ability scores (PHB).

Therefore, put the 17 in INT, for 20 (middle aged, grey elf). Put the other 17 in CON, for 14 (-2, grey elf, -1, age), Put the 15 into dex, for 16 (+2 elf, -1 age). Put the rest as you desire, possibly the 13 into Wis for the will save. Remember, 2 strength is not fun, so put the 5 in either wisdom or charisma.

Ask if you can get a higher level rerolled character, as being level one in a level 6 party hurts.

Specialize, and maybe use divination. Ban evocation is your best bet.

Best 1'st level spells are grease, sleep (though if others are level 6, not so good), color spray (see sleep), ray of enfeeblement, mage armour, shield, silent image, enlarge person, maybe alarm, maybe a protection from evil, charm person.

Maybe get collegiate wizard (CArcane) as it gives you 6+INT modifier spells at 1'st level, and learn 4 at each higher level.

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:28 PM
Ouch that's gonna be one wierd build.
17s in Int and Dex I think
15 into Con
9 into strength is as low as you can go, 5 str is not an option if you want to carry your own spellbook
13 wisdom as a penalty on will saves is not nice
5 Charisma

Looks like one ugly, grumpy wizard you're getting
I suppose the other concept would be a 5 dex no dex bonus to armour clumsy but wise and charismatic wizard.

the int bonus gives you 6 1st level spells. That's probably grease, mage armour, color spray or sleep, feather fall, enlarge person (buff the fighter) and magic missile (hey you have to do direct damage sometimes, and MM hits almost everything you'll meet at first level).

I am not a wizard expert so there's people that might optimise that better bt for core only that should make you take control of most low level encounters with a single appropriate spell (then you hide at the back, using a crossbow if you get bored waiting for the rest of the party to flatten the sleeping/unconcious/greased mobs)

I dont think I have to worry about carrying my own spellbook, the 5 could go in Str. My DM doesnt like encumberance rules and generally ignores weight of things unless we abuse it (like our half-orc barbarian who wanted to buy a sheep to wear on his shoulders to keep his neck warm -.-).

Captain van der Decken
2007-05-23, 04:30 PM
Going Gnome for the bonus to Illusions and the +2 con could be a good idea. Though the strength penalty might hurt. For spells I'd suggest you get colour spray, grease and sleep, and maybe ray of enfeeblement too.

Maybe put the 17s into con and int, the 15 into dex, the 13 into str and the 9 and 5 into wis and cha respectively.

F.L.
2007-05-23, 04:32 PM
Con is very important, especially for the Concentration skill. If you can pull off defensive casting, that can be useful sometimes. (Though you probably can't at low level).

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:33 PM
I would suggest putting a 17 in both INT (of course) and CON. Now, you might think that CON is not as good as DEX, but in my campaign, we have a wizard with a base CON of 20. He can get hit with a few standard issue offensive juggernaut spells (fireball, cone of cold) and still be up and healthy. This also ups the FORT save (protects you from nasty death spells).

The 15 and should go into wisdom or dexterity. I would suggest wisdom to get the WILL save up. This protects you from nasty illusions like phantasmal killer. Always

put the 13 and 9 where you think it will do most help. DEX will increase armor class but STR will help in the early game with those goblins.

as for CHA, put the 5 in there. Wizards get very little in the realm of talking and bluffing anyway. That's what rouges and bards are for. Have the wizard wear a mask in public.

If you want to specialize in a school, I would take transmutation or illusion. There are some nice spells in both schools.

Not in an early game, rest of my party is still level 6 :) I'll be pretty much hiding at the back, buffing my party for the moment. Was thinking about taking Transmutation as my specialisation, dropping Enchantment and Necromancy.

Mr the Geoff
2007-05-23, 04:35 PM
Dunno, if I was your DM I would call making a character with 5 strength in the first place abuse of the encumbrance rules. A light load to you would be 16lb, anything more is taking penalties to movement.

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:39 PM
The recommended grey elf is of course in the Monster Manual, under elves.

I recommend, with the odd stats, that you make your character middle aged, so that he gets a +1 to all mental, -1 to all physical ability scores (PHB).

Maybe get collegiate wizard (CArcane) as it gives you 6+INT modifier spells at 1'st level, and learn 4 at each higher level.

I doubt either of these will fly with my DM, if its in the Monster Manual, not the PHB, how can I choose it as my race? Have I missed something?

Had a look at collegiate wizard, but in the area that my campaign is set I doubt there are any large magic schools anywhere nearby, wouldnt really fit into the story.

Not sure about changing my age, mentioned it once to the DM, he thought it was a bit twinky.

Talya
2007-05-23, 04:42 PM
I doubt either of these will fly with my DM, if its in the Monster Manual, not the PHB, how can I choose it as my race? Have I missed something?

Had a look at collegiate wizard, but in the area that my campaign is set I doubt there are any large magic schools anywhere nearby, wouldnt really fit into the story.

Not sure about changing my age, mentioned it once to the DM, he thought it was a bit twinky.

The monster manual has quite a number of playable races, including elf subraces.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm

Arbitrarity
2007-05-23, 04:43 PM
It is, at that. Grey elf is an elven subrace.

Gray Elf
Taller and grander in physical appearance than others of their race, gray elves have a reputation for being aloof and arrogant (even by elven standards). They have either silver hair and amber eyes or pale golden hair and violet eyes. They prefer clothing of white, silver, yellow, or gold, with cloaks of deep blue or purple.

Gray Elf Traits (Ex)
These traits are in addition to the high elf traits.

+2 Intelligence, -2 Strength.


As with all subraces, make sure to run it by your DM. It has no level adjustment, so it can be played at level 1. It's also one of the most powerful races for a wizard, if only for the intelligence bonus.

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:46 PM
So you think I should put the 9 in Str and the 5 in Cha? Was gonna describe him as a hunched, pale gaunt human, with sunken eyes anyway, so I guess the sheer arrogance of a grey elf would also account for the low Cha

my_evil_twin
2007-05-23, 04:50 PM
Had a look at collegiate wizard, but in the area that my campaign is set I doubt there are any large magic schools anywhere nearby, wouldnt really fit into the story.For the next few minutes, you are officially my hero.

On the subject of that 5, ouch man. Without armor you might pull off a 5 strength, as long as you have friends to carry your belongings. A score that low probably means some sort of handicap. May be a roleplaying opportunity.

Be afraid of spiders and shadows.

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 04:53 PM
For the next few minutes, you are officially my hero.

On the subject of that 5, ouch man. Without armor you might pull off a 5 strength, as long as you have friends to carry your belongings. A score that low probably means some sort of handicap. May be a roleplaying opportunity.

Be afraid of spiders and shadows.

Yeah, it sucks, rolled a three and 3 ones, discounted 1 one, and then used the one reroll we get to reroll another to get another one ><

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 05:03 PM
Any ideas on Traits I should take guys?

ClericofPhwarrr
2007-05-23, 05:05 PM
Do you mean feats? Traits are from the Unearthed Arcana book, and you said you're only using the PHB.

lordsigmund
2007-05-23, 05:08 PM
Do you mean feats? Traits are from the Unearthed Arcana book, and you said you're only using the PHB.

Yeah, sorry, being an idiot, feats it is.

ClericofPhwarrr
2007-05-23, 05:13 PM
It depends on what you decide on for spells, specialization, stat arrangement, and race.

Meanwhile, look here: Logic Ninja's Guide to Wizards (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18500)

tarbrush
2007-05-23, 05:29 PM
I would strongly consider banning evocation instead of necromancy. Things like ray of enfeeblement and false life are going to be very useful spells for you especially if you're playing lots of levels behind everyone.

Crazy_Uncle_Doug
2007-05-23, 05:35 PM
I'd go:

Str 9
Dex 15
Con 17
Int 17
Wis 13
Cha 5

Your will save is strong, so the extra +1 you'd get from a Wis of 15 will be negligible in the end (until you miss your save by "1" that is.)

Constitution is good. Gets more hit points, and helps with Fortitude saves. Reflex lets you dodge spells, but poison, death magic and other such lovelies can do a lot harm too and pop up more than you'd think. A 15 Dex is nothing to sneeze at, anyhow.

Str and Cha tend to be dump stats for the Wizard. A 9 strength means you won't be grappled as easily as a total wuss with 5. Charisma ... well no one wants to be soft-spoken and hideous, but if you're in a decent party, you'll have the Bard or Paladin do all the talking just like you'd expect the Fighter or Barbarian to do all the heavy lifting.

Feats, I'd suggest against the metamagic feats right away. Most bring spells up a spell level or two or three or more. They'll be useful when you're higher level. Now, in fact, is a good time to get some of the less class-specific Feats. Toughness adds to your hit points. It's good to give your Wizard a head start. Any Feat that adds a bonus to skills I'd suggest as well.

I'd had a similar situation. I played a Dwarf Wizard a while back. I started with a Constitution of 18, a Intelligence of 18, a Dexterity of 12, and a Charisma of 6. I started with the "Dauntless" feat (a regional Feat from FR Campaign Setting). He started with 13 Hit points, a fact that made the party Fighter ticked off ("You have more hit points than me? That's wrong!" The outrage didn't last in the long run.)

Although my Charisma was low, I had no trouble getting people to do things for me. Charm Person is a great spell, used properly. Echantments did a lot to offset my lack of personality.

Conjurer
2007-05-23, 07:59 PM
How about:

Dwarf

Str 9
Dex 15
Con 17 (19 :) )
Int 17
Wis 13
Cha 5 (3!!! You can turn this into something legendary! The dwarf that made all mothers cry the moment they saw him. The dwarf that could never get an ale without resorting to magic because the waitresses would never go near him. The dwarf that they all call... you poor thing!)

+2 saves vs Spells and +2 Fort saves vs Poisons is great. Only downside is losing the Human Feat at level 1.

geek_2049
2007-05-23, 09:31 PM
Play a gnome

Str-9 (-2 for race)
Dex-15
Con-17 (19)
Int-17
Wis-5
Cha-13

Acquire yourself a pack animal or take Tenser's Floating Disk as a spell. This is not the most powerful build, but it would lend interesting opportunities for role playing.

Darrin
2007-05-23, 10:03 PM
I doubt either of these will fly with my DM, if its in the Monster Manual, not the PHB, how can I choose it as my race? Have I missed something?

Many DMs cut down on potential cheese (and memorizing several metric buttloads of sourcebooks) by restricting players to "Core only" = PHB + DMG + MM. Subraces defined in the MM usually count (this includes grey elves), and occasionally a DM will forget they are in there.

So if your DM said core only, then technically grey elf as a subrace should still be legal.

Lemur
2007-05-23, 10:35 PM
A common trick with casters is to make them start at middle age, which nets them a -1 to all physical stats, and a +1 to mental ones. This would make a stat setup like:

Str 8
Dex 14
Con 16
Int 18
Wis 14
Cha 6

Alternatively, you could switch Wis and Str for 10 Wis and 12 Str if you're worried about carrying capacity. Personally, I think that human or gnome are the better choices for wizards (out of core, at least) so I'd do the swap if you're a gnome, which would result in 10 Wis, 10 Str, and 18 Con.

Ethdred
2007-05-24, 05:44 AM
Being Level 1 in a level 6 party is going to get you killed real quick unless the DM is very careful - to the extent of limiting his or the other players' fun. You really ought to get him to give you a couple of free levels at least.

Having said that, if you survive the first combat, you should level up pretty quickly!

But if you stay 1st level a lot of the traditional 1st level spells are going to be redundant, so look more at how you can buff the others (and stay out of harm's way yourself)

lordsigmund
2007-05-24, 06:15 AM
Being Level 1 in a level 6 party is going to get you killed real quick unless the DM is very careful - to the extent of limiting his or the other players' fun. You really ought to get him to give you a couple of free levels at least.

Having said that, if you survive the first combat, you should level up pretty quickly!

But if you stay 1st level a lot of the traditional 1st level spells are going to be redundant, so look more at how you can buff the others (and stay out of harm's way yourself)

He said hes gonna give us a few lower level encounters as we travel back to where my previous character died, so that should give me a little exp to start with.

EDIT:

Ok, I've drawn up a Middle Aged Gray Elf:

Str 10 (used the 13)
Dex 16 (used a 17)
Con 16 (used a 17)
Int 18 (used the 15)
Wis 10 (used the 9)
Cha 6 (used the 5)

I think it works well, gives me +3 bonus on my Dex and Con and +4 for my Int, and I think my DM wont mind since I used it for balance rather than cheese.

Chose Toughness as my Feat for some much needed HP, and have picked the following 1st level spells (specialising in Conjuration, banning Evocation and Enchantment):

Protection from Evil
Shield
Mage Armor
Grease
Colour Spray
Ray of Enfeeblement
Enlarge Person

A mix of buff spells (best use for myself as a lvl 1 char I think) and control spells.

B!shop
2007-05-24, 06:43 AM
I have played in a group some time ago where the wizard (a great roleplayer) was an evocator with 6 WIS.
Hilarious, umpredicable, really funny.

Seeing him throwing fireballs against a Troll fighting closely with our dwarven warrior without any regard of him and hearing him justify his behavour with "Hey! Trolls fear fire, dwarves not!" is still one of the most enjoyable sessions I've ever played :smallbiggrin: