Wizard in an anti-magic zone prison

[Daafmans]

My adventurers want to break someone out of an underground prison. Its a mine where nobody every gets out. The prisoners have to mine stuff and send it up in order to get food and water.

The entire prison is anti-magic zone (this is the highest security prison around), so spells and magic items are useless. Getting out will be difficult, so I predict they will be there for a while. My adventurers are three in total: a rogue halfling, a human warrior and a gnome wizard. The halfling and warrior will probably be fine, but I'm afraid the wizard will feel super useless there and get bored quickly.

So my question is: How can a wizard be useful/interesting in an anti-magic zone, especially during combat?

[Innocent_bystan]

Is the wizard a gnome of the tinkering kind? Have him prepare clockwork devices and alchemical concoctions.

As a homebrew suggestion: allow the wizard to retroactively prepare for situations x times per day. Presumably the character is super smart, but the player isn't. X times per day, the character can say: "you know, I've prepared for exactly this eventuality."

[Greywander]

Find the source of the anti-magic field and disable it. The wizard brings out the big guns and/or is their getaway car.
Certain guards are spellcasters that carry an item that allows their spells to cast inside the field, probably restricted to spells below a certain level. The wizard collects these tokens of an increasing level as they proceed through the prison.
Introduce the wizard to the equipment section of the handbook. Caltrops, ball bearings, acid, lamp oil and torches, tripwires, bags of flour, et cetera.
Let the wizard feel useless, let the fighter and rogue shine. In a future session, take away everyone's weapons, let the wizard shine.

[Tubben]

Certain guards are spellcasters that carry an item that allows their spells to cast inside the field, probably restricted to spells below a certain level. The wizard collects these tokens of an increasing level as they proceed through the prison.



I like that idea. Nice idea. Just have to make sure, that this token only works inside the prison, otherwise it's pretty neat outside the prison.

[Greywander]

Yes, the tokens themselves would be nothing special, rather it is the anti-magic field that is specifically tuned to exclude spells cast by a bearer of one of these tokens.

This does, of course, present a pretty big security flaw in their system. You would need to rationalize the existence of these tokens. If the prison is designed to hold primarily spellcasters, then it probably wouldn't make much sense. But if it also holds tough barbarian types, then they might need a few spellcasters on hand to subdue them if they get unruly. As such, the guards should have spells prepared specifically for bringing down meathead fighters and barbarians.

Anyway, it was just one idea. If it were me, I'd be hesitant to introduce the players to the idea that anti-magic fields can exist that allow some people to cast spells in them. One of the inherent downsides of anti-magic fields is that your own spells get blocked, too, so if you take that away then you know its just a matter of time until the players try to weaponize that (e.g. discovering the source of the anti-magic field and researching how the spell was modified, then poof, you've got an anti-magic wizard that can still cast spells).

In fact, RAW there isn't currently a way to set up a permanent anti-magic field, but I believe this was available in older editions, so it's not too out there.

[JackPhoenix]

It's, in fact, not an anti-magic field. It's anti-spellcasting field. Casters inside are out of luck if they want to do something... perhaps they'll even take damage if they try to cast spells... but spell effects and magic items (that don't cast spells, like wands or scrolls) brought from outside still work. Guards can use magic equipment if they need it to subdue some prisoners, nobody else is supposed to be there and will be shot on sight if they'll try to smuggle something inside.

Or there's no anti-magic field at all. Instead, prisoners wear bracers/collars/shackles/tattoos that prevent them from using magic. Guards would still be able to use spellcasting normally, nobody else is supposed to be there and will be shot on sight, so it doesn't matter if outsiders could use magic.

[EvilAnagram]

It's, in fact, not an anti-magic field. It's anti-spellcasting field. Casters inside are out of luck if they want to do something... perhaps they'll even take damage if they try to cast spells... but spell effects and magic items (that don't cast spells, like wands or scrolls) brought from outside still work. Guards can use magic equipment if they need it to subdue some prisoners, nobody else is supposed to be there and will be shot on sight if they'll try to smuggle something inside.

Or there's no anti-magic field at all. Instead, prisoners wear bracers/collars/shackles/tattoos that prevent them from using magic. Guards would still be able to use spellcasting normally, nobody else is supposed to be there and will be shot on sight, so it doesn't matter if outsiders could use magic.
One of my characters was in a similar situation, and he was able to use his transmuter abilities to get the party out.

At which point the DM retconned things so it wouldn't work.

[Temperjoke]

My adventurers want to break someone out of an underground prison. Its a mine where nobody every gets out. The prisoners have to mine stuff and send it up in order to get food and water.

The entire prison is anti-magic zone (this is the highest security prison around), so spells and magic items are useless. Getting out will be difficult, so I predict they will be there for a while. My adventurers are three in total: a rogue halfling, a human warrior and a gnome wizard. The halfling and warrior will probably be fine, but I'm afraid the wizard will feel super useless there and get bored quickly.

So my question is: How can a wizard be useful/interesting in an anti-magic zone, especially during combat?


Find the source of the anti-magic field and disable it. The wizard brings out the big guns and/or is their getaway car.
Certain guards are spellcasters that carry an item that allows their spells to cast inside the field, probably restricted to spells below a certain level. The wizard collects these tokens of an increasing level as they proceed through the prison.
Introduce the wizard to the equipment section of the handbook. Caltrops, ball bearings, acid, lamp oil and torches, tripwires, bags of flour, et cetera.
Let the wizard feel useless, let the fighter and rogue shine. In a future session, take away everyone's weapons, let the wizard shine.


It sounds like the guards are only at the entrance, which seems like a hole in the ground that prisoners and supplies are dropped into, and the prisoners are basically left on their own inside of it, since the guards control the food and water supply. So, the idea of a token or bracelet of some sort that allows spellcasting inside the area is less likely to exist, unless the zone extends above the mine. Then it would be natural for a few spellcaster guards to have something like that, which means that there would only be a couple of those token/bracelets, that would easily be missed.

Setting that thought chain aside for the moment, this is the time that the wizard's other skills should start to shine, which don't require magic. Think about what the wizard is proficient in, racial traits, any feats that the wizard has. For example, the wizard seems to be the only race in the party with darkvision. How can that help? Well, what about an area that it's risky to carry a torch in? If the gnome is a forest gnome, then the wizard could talk to rats in the mine. If there are wizard prisoners in the mine, give the party wizard advantage on diplomacy-related rolls with them.

If the prisoners are truly left unattended in the mine itself, then they'll likely have factions controlling parts of the mine, as well as groups attempting to mine their way out. There are probably a number of collapsed tunnels, since prisoners likely aren't experienced enough to properly reinforce the tunnels.

[Mjolnirbear]

Or, dont let one character dictate the plot.

It would suck for the Gnome, but eventually he'd get out. Give him a crossbow or a mechanical task. Fighters deal with 'resists non-magic weapons' and 'only a spell will solve this problem' ALL THE TIME. Let the fighter be the necessary one this time and the wizard feel a little useless. Perspective is good for the soul.

[EvilAnagram]

Or, dont let one character dictate the plot.

It would suck for the Gnome, but eventually he'd get out. Give him a crossbow or a mechanical task. Fighters deal with 'resists non-magic weapons' and 'only a spell will solve this problem' ALL THE TIME. Let the fighter be the necessary one this time and the wizard feel a little useless. Perspective is good for the soul.

I think the basic problem is that he suggested they might spend several sessions there. While a session in which you aren't crucial is tolerable, three sessions in which you have nothing to do is not fun.

[Mjolnirbear]

Which I agree with, but give him something non-magical to do. Something with which he can apply his vast reserves of intellect. A wizard is more than just spells. Where is his familiar? Where are his knowledge skills or tool proficiencies or investigation?

[Joe dirt]

i believe animated dead still are animated in antimagic areas, u can serve as squad commander with skeletons firing their bows

[Sigreid]

You figure out the prison. Let the players figure out what to do about it. That's the game after all.