All-wizard party for Mad Mage

[Dalebert]

I'm playing Mad Mage in a group already and another group is talking about starting it up. We've tossed around the idea of making an all-wizard party with some small dips but still mostly mage. Having played a little, I'm wondering if this is not the best dungeon for such an experiment as fun as it sounds as we've had some near wipes in a more versatile party as it is.

Thoughts?

[Unoriginal]

Unless your DM treat the dungeon as completely static and let you long rest whenever without consequences, yeah, you'll get crushed, indeed.

[nickl_2000]

DISCLAIMER - Haven't played it, will be playing in within the next year, but haven't yet.

It seems like you would be severely hurt by not having any healing in a major dungeon delve. Now, that being said, if you had someone dip 1 level into cleric or 3 levels into Druid you may be able to get all the healing you need. 3 levels into Druid would net you healing spirit and some other interesting goodies that may mitigate it very effectively.

[Nhorianscum]

I'm playing Mad Mage in a group already and another group is talking about starting it up. We've tossed around the idea of making an all-wizard party with some small dips but still mostly mage. Having played a little, I'm wondering if this is not the best dungeon for such an experiment as fun as it sounds as we've had some near wipes in a more versatile party as it is.

Thoughts?

I'd go for it. Mono-fullcaster is strong and the roleplay opportunities are priceless. (My favorite 5e campain so far was an all-Sorc ToA)

[Helldin87]

Just the RP element alone of a monoclass party has always intrigued me personally. If you do this please post updates as to how it goes!

[Citan]

I'm playing Mad Mage in a group already and another group is talking about starting it up. We've tossed around the idea of making an all-wizard party with some small dips but still mostly mage. Having played a little, I'm wondering if this is not the best dungeon for such an experiment as fun as it sounds as we've had some near wipes in a more versatile party as it is.

Thoughts?
Hi! :)

Disclaimer, I know nothing about this "Mad Mage" campaign so maybe my opinion bears no weight on this because of its specifics but...

In a general case, all Wizard party is...
- an extremely badass AWESOME party IF your DM agrees that you can copy spells from each other (imo no reason by RAW/RAI to refuse) AND all of you, in-game and in-character, agree to share spells without restraint (considering the usual trope of Wizard, I'd argue this suggests you would need to establish a strong connection between all characters from background or initial quest).
- probably a bad idea otherwise. Not that it wouldn't work (nearly 99% of whatever combination of classes you can imagine can work, including same-class), but it would require to be extremely cautious and coordinated because Wizards are overall still frail people for quite some time (yeah, they can buff themselves with spells, but it means they have less slots for offense).

So, I'll consider case 1 is valid.
Then I'll suggest the following two groups, considering how I view the different schools
"Variable bias towards Evil" (you can of course play them Lawful Good, but their features do tend to push towards selfishness and destruction, with Necromancer being the hard limit): Necromancer, War, Evocation, Bladesinging, ~Conjuration (depends on spell choice really), Enchanter (depends on how you use charmed condition for of course).
"True neutral" (I dont see their powers as giving any inclination in behaviour): Illusion, Divination, Transmutation.
"Variable bias towards Good: Abjuration (totally personal opinion of course, as with this whole block).

Now on to suggestions.
First, disclaimer: while party 100% made of same class and even same archetype can totally work (see below), I *strongly* advise forgetting even the raw idea of full Necromancer party. It would just be a huge pain to handle for you and DM unless the latter is used to managing groups and use variant rules to help with that.
For the same reason, I'd say full Conjurer is ill-advised.

Second, quick analysis.
Even if you can share all spells, even if you all get Shield and the like, you'll probably want to set some roles in party (even if you get all same archetypes -but in that case it will make dips into other classes or feat choice more important).
Tanking: Abjurer is the best in the long-run (good HP ward + resistance against spells), Bladesinger is the best early (+INT to AC).
Mob-dealer: there are many ways to do such things, but in short disabling groups is either killing them or making them incapacitated from movement or vision. For that reason, the easiest way is to get one Evoker in the group because Fireball is just great when you don't fear friendly fire. With that said, Conjurer and Illusionist get several spells that get the work done too, and it's better that several in party know these kind of spells anyways.
Boss-dealer: this means dealing high damage (which is hard for a Wizard to do until second half) or disabling him which is where Diviner *can* be king. Saying *can* and not *is* because you still need to get the rolls you want on the day you want, which is never a given. Illusion (Phantasmal Force), Transmutation (Slow, Polymorph) have tools to deal with this.
Healer: well, Transmuter is the only answer here if you want archetype features, especially since it's the only one that can revive people. But there are other ways so it's not strictly required, especially if you count on feats and multiclasses.

So, suggestions for pure-classes.
1. Full Illusionist: this can actually be a great deal of fun, if your DM allow you to Ready spells to coordinate them: paired with Illusionist's benefits, you can really set up impressive schemes and lies. Requires much creativity though.

2. Full Transmuter: this party would be hard to make survive at low level, but you'll be the kings in the long-run. Especially as far as traveling or setting up safe places for rest is concerned. Free Polymorph every short rest is just that good.

3. Full Abjurer / Full Bladesong: you'll have to decide who uses what spells, but this can work very well. Band of Brother's like party. ^^

Now for the balanced groups.
1. "Aggressive" party: Necromancer, War, Bladesinger, Evoker: you could have guessed that heh?
Bladesinger and War help creating and standing the frontline, with Necromancer's minions helping managing aggro by avoiding flanking or reaching towards the backline, which is precisely Necromancer and Evoker, first using concentration on a battlefield spell (Slow being a good contender because no friendly fire), and Evoker doing what he does best, aka blasting everything.

2. "Adventuring party": Ajburer, Transmuter, Diviner, Conjurer: confer above. :=) This party has all the basics, including revive heal and emergency action economy boost through conjurations.

3. "Manipulative party": Diviner, Enchanter, Illusionist, Transmuter: the party that is all about avoiding direct conflict while shaping the world as they like by manipulating information in the broader meaning.

4. "My personal favorite 1": Bladesinger, Transmuter, Evoker or Conjurer, Diviner: Diviner does ground work for where to go and how to accomplish objectives, helped by Bladesinger and/or Transmuter acting as scouts or spys. In fight, Bladesinger tries and holds fort when needed, with Evoker blasting around or Conjurer bringing in Elementals.


Unless your DM treat the dungeon as completely static and let you long rest whenever without consequences, yeah, you'll get crushed, indeed.
Would it be possible to detail a bit without spoilering? Otherwise forget this.

Honestly though, I'm pretty sure even for harsh campaigns full Wizards can still work IF multiclass is allowed. Otherwise, I'd tend to agree.