Playing my first wizard! What spells are out there?

[Wuufwuuf]

Hey all, my play group has recently started a new campaign and I decided I'd play my first wizard. We're a few sessions in, so I've got my starting stuff picked out and at this point I'm looking into future options so I don't get decision paralysis when it's time for a level up.

I limited myself to a list of officially published spells to make character creation easier, but my DM is really accepting of (read: downright encourages) unofficial sources and homebrew.

That's a lot of material to sort through, so I thought I'd ask what everyone's favorite stuff is to get started.

For context, I'm using the illusion tradition, and I'm primarily looking to fill an area control/buff role within the party, though I also plan to have some damage spells prepared at all times, just in case. Utility is also welcome.

So yeah, anything I should check out?

Edit: Feats and such are also things I'm looking into, so I'd appreciate input there as well.

Edit Edit: we're 5th level, if that helps.

[jaappleton]

What level are you?

[Wuufwuuf]

5th, currently. DM likes to get right to business. I'm not too worried about level restrictions at the moment, I have some time to look through stuff and consider all the options before I have to rush to a decision.

[Ralanr]

I highly recommend always having shield on hand. +5 AC can save your life.

[Beechgnome]

As a few general rules, I always like to have a mix of concentration/nonconcentration spells, spells that target different saving throws or damage types, a few buffs/movement spells to get me out of trouble and a utility spell or two if I have room.

Spells that always are useful to me are Find Familiar and Shield at first level, Misty Step and Blindness/deafness ( a non-concentration Con save spell that scales really well) at second level, Fireball (Dex save) and Counterspell at 3rd, Banishment (rare Charisma save) and Polymorph (Con save, but useful for buffing) at 4th level and Telekinesis (Strength check) and Seeming (again, Charisma save, non concentration, so many uses and illusion to boot) at 5th level.

Because you are an illusionist, you'll probably want to grab Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force (rare Intelligence save, psychic damage) and Hypnotic Pattern (great crowd control), Major Image (potentially creative uses) and if you get to high enough level, spells like Hallucinatory Terrain, Dream and as I said Seeming.

[Ninja_Prawn]

my DM is really accepting of (read: downright encourages) unofficial sources and homebrew.

Woop woop! This (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2017/03/fey-spells.html) is (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2017/02/necromancy-spells.html) relevant (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2016/01/chronomancy-spells.html) to (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505138-5e-Spellbrew-Contest-II-The-Themes-they-are-A-changing) my (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479518-GitP-Regulars-as-Spells) interests (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19927737&postcount=34).

I'm sure there are plenty of other people who can advise you about the relative merits of the official spells, so I'll leave that to them.

[kladams707]

As a few general rules, I always like to have a mix of concentration/nonconcentration spells, spells that target different saving throws or damage types, a few buffs/movement spells to get me out of trouble and a utility spell or two if I have room.

Spells that always are useful to me are Find Familiar and Shield at first level, Misty Step and Blindness/deafness ( a non-concentration Con save spell that scales really well) at second level, Fireball (Dex save) and Counterspell at 3rd, Banishment (rare Charisma save) and Polymorph (Con save, but useful for buffing) at 4th level and Telekinesis (Strength check) and Seeming (again, Charisma save, non concentration, so many uses and illusion to boot) at 5th level.

Because you are an illusionist, you'll probably want to grab Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force (rare Intelligence save, psychic damage) and Hypnotic Pattern (great crowd control), Major Image (potentially creative uses) and if you get to high enough level, spells like Hallucinatory Terrain, Dream and as I said Seeming.

Just to add to this, the levels are referring to spell levels, not character level.

This is pretty much what I'd go with too. I might (MIGHT) pick up haste before fireball simply because can risk friendly fire, and you may as well make sure your fighter has the stamina to take it. Of course, if your party is ranged, ignore that. Or just make sure the melee folks hold their turn while you soften them up.

As for feats, resilient (constitution) will really help you keep those concentration spells going because it will give you proficiency in constitution saves.

[Wuufwuuf]

I highly recommend always having shield on hand. +5 AC can save your life.

It is very high on my "to obtain" list. That and mage armor were some pretty serious oversights during character creation. Luckily, I had enough presence of mind to take mirror image.


As a few general rules, I always like to have a mix of concentration/nonconcentration spells, spells that target different saving throws or damage types, a few buffs/movement spells to get me out of trouble and a utility spell or two if I have room.

Spells that always are useful to me are Find Familiar and Shield at first level, Misty Step and Blindness/deafness ( a non-concentration Con save spell that scales really well) at second level, Fireball (Dex save) and Counterspell at 3rd, Banishment (rare Charisma save) and Polymorph (Con save, but useful for buffing) at 4th level and Telekinesis (Strength check) and Seeming (again, Charisma save, non concentration, so many uses and illusion to boot) at 5th level.

Because you are an illusionist, you'll probably want to grab Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force (rare Intelligence save, psychic damage) and Hypnotic Pattern (great crowd control), Major Image (potentially creative uses) and if you get to high enough level, spells like Hallucinatory Terrain, Dream and as I said Seeming.

I actually got about half of these during creation. Hypnotic pattern made our second combat absolutely silly



Woop woop! This (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2017/03/fey-spells.html) is (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2017/02/necromancy-spells.html) relevant (http://mfov.magehandpress.com/2016/01/chronomancy-spells.html) to (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505138-5e-Spellbrew-Contest-II-The-Themes-they-are-A-changing) my (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479518-GitP-Regulars-as-Spells) interests (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19927737&postcount=34).

I'm sure there are plenty of other people who can advise you about the relative merits of the official spells, so I'll leave that to them.

!!! That's a lot of links! Thank you!

[DivisibleByZero]

At low levels, don't worry too much about single target damage dealing spells. You have cantrips that are usually almost as good (or sometimes even better) than low level damage spells. Maybe Magic Missile for automatic damage, or Chromatic Orb so you have resistances covered, but beyond possibly that, don't.
Low level AoE damage is okay.
You'll want one single target CC, and one AoE CC.
You'll want a defensive spell or two.
You'll want a buff or two.
You might want a debuff or two.
The rest should be utility.
That quite literally covers just about everything, and you can cover (most of) it in your prepared spells by level 4 or 5.
Try to choose things that have varying saving throws, so you always have something for the enemy at hand.
Later you can start doubling up on some of these at different spell levels.

[Rabbit_Shadow]

The animate object spell with small objects will put out some massive damage.

10 small objects each hitting at a +8 and doing 1d4+4 damage or
10 small objects each with a +6 to hit and a 1D8+2 damage.

My DM did not like how high the adv damage was from that spell, so he removed it from the game before I was able to use it.

[Findulidas]

Ask him if you can be a lore wizard. :smallbiggrin:

[KorvinStarmast]

The animate object spell with small objects will put out some massive damage.

10 small objects each hitting at a +8 and doing 1d4+4 damage or
10 small objects each with a +6 to hit and a 1D8+2 damage.
Saw the wizard drop some ball bearings on the ground a few nites ago. Next turn, Animate object. Buckshot versus a Hill Giant that had taken a bit of damage. Nice damage. (Finished off the giant)

[Wuufwuuf]

Just to add to this, the levels are referring to spell levels, not character level.

This is pretty much what I'd go with too. I might (MIGHT) pick up haste before fireball simply because can risk friendly fire, and you may as well make sure your fighter has the stamina to take it. Of course, if your party is ranged, ignore that. Or just make sure the melee folks hold their turn while you soften them up.

As for feats, resilient (constitution) will really help you keep those concentration spells going because it will give you proficiency in constitution saves.

Resilient sounds like a smart thing. I can't think of an instance where I won't be concentrating on SOMETHING in combat. I actually got haste as a bonus from the dm since we started 5th level. It's the easiest to remember, our martials remind me every time I prepare spells.

[Wuufwuuf]

You guys are so fast I can't keep up!


At low levels, don't worry too much about single target damage dealing spells. You have cantrips that are usually almost as good (or sometimes even better) than low level damage spells. Maybe Magic Missile for automatic damage, or Chromatic Orb so you have resistances covered, but beyond possibly that, don't.
Low level AoE damage is okay.
You'll want one single target CC, and one AoE CC.
You'll want a defensive spell or two.
You'll want a buff or two.
You might want a debuff or two.
The rest should be utility.
That quite literally covers just about everything, and you can cover (most of) it in your prepared spells by level 4 or 5.
Try to choose things that have varying saving throws, so you always have something for the enemy at hand.
Later you can start doubling up on some of these at different spell levels.

I'm actually really glad you outlined that. Forget about what spells to learn, you've given me a great rubric for what to prepare every day!


The animate object spell with small objects will put out some massive damage.

10 small objects each hitting at a +8 and doing 1d4+4 damage or
10 small objects each with a +6 to hit and a 1D8+2 damage.

My DM did not like how high the adv damage was from that spell, so he removed it from the game before I was able to use it.

!!! That sounds awesome, but it also sounds like a "Check with your DM first"


Ask him if you can be a lore wizard. :smallbiggrin:

He suggested it, and I *almost* went that route, but Illusion was more tempting to me on a personal level. Might do that next time though, he's got some pretty deep lore in his world, to the point where I will knowledge check paving stones to find out more about trade routes and the like.


Saw the wizard drop some ball bearings on the ground a few nites ago. Next turn, Animate object. Buckshot versus a Hill Giant that had taken a bit of damage. Nice damage. (Finished off the giant)

Holy... Wow, ok, definitely asking DM

[DivisibleByZero]

I'm actually really glad you outlined that. Forget about what spells to learn, you've given me a great rubric for what to prepare every day!

Yeah, IMO filling in these "blanks" is the best way to go about it. The actual spells matter less than making sure you cover the bases.
It doesn't matter what the spells are. If you have different saves covered, and different "categories" covered (CC/damage/buff/debuff/utility), then you'll *almost always* have at least one effective trick up your sleeve, regardless of the actual spells on your list.

[Beechgnome]

Also, to be versatile, you also want to ask yourself: who or what will not be affected by my illusions, and what do I Against them?

So maybe Blindness isn't your bag because blindsight creatures may already be onto you... so you can switch it up and choose Enlarge/reduce or Slow or some other debuff that doesn't care about the target.

[ChampionWiggles]

Hey all, my play group has recently started a new campaign and I decided I'd play my first wizard. We're a few sessions in, so I've got my starting stuff picked out and at this point I'm looking into future options so I don't get decision paralysis when it's time for a level up.

I limited myself to a list of officially published spells to make character creation easier, but my DM is really accepting of (read: downright encourages) unofficial sources and homebrew.

That's a lot of material to sort through, so I thought I'd ask what everyone's favorite stuff is to get started.

For context, I'm using the illusion tradition, and I'm primarily looking to fill an area control/buff role within the party, though I also plan to have some damage spells prepared at all times, just in case. Utility is also welcome.

So yeah, anything I should check out?

Edit: Feats and such are also things I'm looking into, so I'd appreciate input there as well.

Edit Edit: we're 5th level, if that helps.

I highly recommend looking at Treantmonk's guide. I'm honestly shocked no one has linked it yet.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZHzEjiHvtDItZE2ixfoYwqi7brTO-ag8uBJndE5saro/preview

It ranks each spell and is really helpful in deciding what's useful and what's not. Obviously what is a "good" spell is subjective, but Treantmonk gives reasons for why he thinks a spell is not good and I like to use it for reference in just knowing what spells are trap picks.

[Wuufwuuf]

Yeah, IMO filling in these "blanks" is the best way to go about it. The actual spells matter less than making sure you cover the bases.
It doesn't matter what the spells are. If you have different saves covered, and different "categories" covered (CC/damage/buff/debuff/utility), then you'll *almost always* have at least one effective trick up your sleeve, regardless of the actual spells on your list.

The spell book mechanics are what pushed me to wizard over other casting classes. So many options available and the ability to change it up on a long rest basis. These guidelines will probably cut my IRL prep time in half. Definitely making a little checklist on my sheet once I get home. Following this track, is there a rule of thumb for how many of what level spells I should be prepping daily?


Also, to be versatile, you also want to ask yourself: who or what will not be affected by my illusions, and what do I Against them?

So maybe Blindness isn't your bag because blindsight creatures may already be onto you... so you can switch it up and choose Enlarge/reduce or Slow or some other debuff that doesn't care about the target.

Fortunately, I managed not to oversaturate with illusions, though I think at this moment I only call for Wis, Dex, and Int saves, so I should probably look to round that out.


I highly recommend looking at Treantmonk's guide. I'm honestly shocked no one has linked it yet.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZHzEjiHvtDItZE2ixfoYwqi7brTO-ag8uBJndE5saro/preview

It ranks each spell and is really helpful in deciding what's useful and what's not. Obviously what is a "good" spell is subjective, but Treantmonk gives reasons for why he thinks a spell is not good and I like to use it for reference in just knowing what spells are trap picks.

This is a gold mine of information! I'm kicking myself because I read his druid guide at one point and didn't think to check for others. Thanks for linking this!

[DivisibleByZero]

These guidelines will probably cut my IRL prep time in half. Definitely making a little checklist on my sheet once I get home. Following this track, is there a rule of thumb for how many of what level spells I should be prepping daily?

Not really. That's something that will change depending on the spells that you choose.
But personally? For me? The lower the spell level, the more of them I prepare. In my highest levels, I only prepare one or maybe two. I do this because you only have a very limited number of slots with higher level spells. But since your lower level spells can be upcast (even if there's no extra benefit for doing so), any low level spell can be used in pretty much any slot you have.

This about it this way:
If I happened to prepare Fireball as my only third level spell, and we come up against something with resistance/immunity, I could just use my 3rd level slots to cast any other spell I have prepared. Nothing lost.
But if I prepared a bunch of 2nd and 3rd level spells, then once those (fewer number of) slots are gone my options become much more limited.

Yes, this way of doing it is "less powerful" and so some may hate it. But I consider versatility just as important, if not more so.
YMMV

[Wuufwuuf]

Not really. That's something that will change depending on the spells that you choose.
But personally? For me? The lower the spell level, the more of them I prepare. In my highest levels, I only prepare one or maybe two. I do this because you only have a very limited number of slots with higher level spells. But since your lower level spells can be upcast (even if there's no extra benefit for doing so), any low level spell can be used in pretty much any slot you have.

This about it this way:
If I happened to prepare Fireball as my only third level spell, and we come up against something with resistance/immunity, I could just use my 3rd level slots to cast any other spell I have prepared. Nothing lost.
But if I prepared a bunch of 2nd and 3rd level spells, then once those (fewer number of) slots are gone my options become much more limited.

Yes, this way of doing it is "less powerful" and so some may hate it. But I consider versatility just as important, if not more so.
YMMV

Sound logic to me. Makes the most of your resources. Might even encourage me to cast the higher slot spells in situations where I would otherwise try to save them "in case I need it later."