Optimizing an Unarmored Wizard with low STR and DEX ?

[Wasp]

If I want to play a physically "weak" Wizard that has low scores for both STR and DEX who's not wearing any armor - how could I optimize them under those restrictions? And not die immediately?

What subclass would you suggest? Is there anything in Multiclassing, Feats or Magic Items to help me there? Are there any homebrew materials or houserules that could help with a wizard like this?

The limitations:
- No armor or shield proficiency (not through races or (sub)classes or feats - I mean why wouldn't you wear armor if you could)
- both STR and DEX at max 10
- all sources allowed (including Eberron, Ravnica, Tasha's etc)
- preferably not Tortle or Loxodon or something with natural armor though
- we get a free feat at lvl 1

I assume Mark of Warding Dwarf Abjurer with Armor of Agathys and the Eldritch Adept feat for Armor of Shadows and at will Mage Armor may be the best option for some survivability?

[KorvinStarmast]

Take the mage armor spell, use it,
Take the shield spell, use it when needed (particularly versus archers)
Get Bracers of Protection (+2 AC if you are not armored)
Dodge a lot.
Use the Greater Invisibility spell.

[RogueJK]

As noted, Tortle is the easy route, letting you have a 17 AC regardless of your DEX or armor. Or with a good CON, a Loxodon can have a similar AC without investing in DEX or wearing armor, thanks to their natural armor of 12+CON. One of my group's last campaigns featured a Tortle Bladesinger who was an absolute unit in melee combat, thanks to their 22ish AC plus array of offensive and defensive spells.

None of the other natural armor races are going to matter since they're all 13+DEX, and you can get an AC of 13+DEX via a daily casting of Mage Armor already.

I'd look at a race that can either net you a racial AC boost like Warforged, or a racial HP boost like Hill Dwarf, or a source of Temp HP and extra AC like Beasthide Shifter. Use your stat increases to boost INT and CON.


Setting aside the Tortle/Loxodon options, Bladesinger is likely your best subclass options for a low DEX unarmored Wizard. You don't have to utilize the Bladesinger's weapon or armor proficiencies or Extra Attack; they're just as good at traditional Wizard things as any other. Bladesong lets you add +INT to AC while it's is active. Combined with Mage Armor, you'd be looking at up to a 16-18 AC (or 17-19 AC if Warforged or while shifted as a Beastshide Shifter). Downside is limited uses of Bladesong per day, especially at lower levels, so there would still be times that you'd be running around with a low AC of ~13-14.

Or, if Bladesinger doesn't interest you since you won't actually be using some of their class features, Abjurer would give you a refillable HP buffer. (And it stack with Temp HP from something like Shifter.) You'll still get hit a bunch due to your ~13 AC with Mage Armor, it just won't hurt as much.

Either way, you can leverage the Wizard's array of defensive spells like Shield, Mirror Image, Blink, and Blur, as well as summoning meatshields via the various Summon X/Conjure X spells, in order to help dull the impact of your lower than average AC.


Something like this:

Beasthide Shifter Abjurer
STR 8
DEX 10
CON 15+1
INT 15+2
WIS 14
CHA 8
AC of 13 from Mage Armor, or 14 while Shifted.
Extra HP Buffer of Arcane Ward, plus 1d6+(2 x PB) while Shifted

Or

Warforged Bladesinger
STR 8
DEX 10
CON 15+1
INT 15+2
WIS 14
CHA 8
AC of 14 with Mage Armor, or 17 while Bladesinging (bumping up to 19 AC when you eventually hit 20 INT)

[Sigreid]

Dump those points into Con so you can better withstand that occasional hit. Work with the group on how to be protected. Maybe focus on buffing so you provide a solid buff to the party and then stay out of the way.

[Person_Man]

You can ask a friend to cast Sanctuary on you, and then only cast buffs or Summons and not spells that target enemies.

And you can just focus on summons and long range attacks in general, and stay as far away from other combatants as possible.

And its always a good idea to have escape hatch spells like Invisibility and Misty Step, so that you can run away when needed.

[Skrum]

I think you are overthinking this. Just cast mage armor at the beginning of the day, precast mirror image when possible/if you think the battle is gonna reach close quarters, and then just...do wizard stuff. Being ranged is incredibly insulating in most battles, in most parties.

I mean I assume you're when you say "low" dex, you mean like 10. You're not literally dumping dex, right? 13 AC with mage armor, 18 with shield, and just move as far away from combat as possible. Remember too that you can drop prone to avoid incoming ranged attacks, and as long as you aren't making ranged attacks of your own (there are plenty of spell and cantrip possibilities), you won't be hampered by it. Could go abjurer or warmage wizard if you want some extra defensive tools.

And yeah, high Con would serve pretty well. I think there's some merit to valuing Con over Dex for a wizard anyway - extra hit points are nice, and those concentration checks aren't going to make themselves.

[Sigreid]

Adding, I had a wizard that took took the cantrips for shaping earth and water, using them to create temporary fortifications.

[CTurbo]

I agree with being ok with 10 Dex + Mage Armor AC most of the time, and you will find magic items like Ring of Protection and/or Bracers of Defense which would help in the future. Spells like Shield, Mirror Image, and Blur will help a lot. I'd concentrate on mobility to escape melee range so Misty Step would be a staple and the Mobile feat would be worth a look. If somebody ends their turn next to you, hit them with Booming Blade and run away. The Defensive Duelist feat could be worth a look. All you have to do is hold a dagger and you could use your reaction to add your PB to your AC when needed.

I'd choose Abjurer for sure. Deep Gnome with the Svirfneblin feat would be decent. You could also use your allies as partial cover.

[Mastikator]

Goblin, try to grab skill master for stealth (which you'll need for lack of dex). Use bonus action to hide. Your armor is not being seen.

[Arkhios]

Make yourself as undesirable target as possible, and your low armor class won't be that much of an issue (Saving Throws are another thing, however.)

Starting from 3rd level, you can have both Mage Armor and Mirror Image active at once, and neither requires your concentration. On top of that, you can cast either Blur or Protection from Good and Evil to further reduce the chance of hitting you (though you need to concentrate so you can't have both). Then there's False Life and Armor of Agathys to grant you temporary hit points (the latter comes with a "bite", so that's a nice bonus).

So, yes, Mark of Warding Dwarf Abjurer is definitely a good choice. Especially if you can take Armor of Shadows via Eldritch Adept.

[Willie the Duck]

Fundamentally, if you don't go Tortle, Loxodon, or some convoluted way to get heavy armor or Barkskin, your AC is going to be 1-X points lower than it otherwise might be (say, compared to a standard 'Mage-Armor+ Dex 14 or so' wizard). I would do what you can to up that AC (spells, magic items, spells and class abilities your allies can cast upon you, etc.), but then also work as hard as you can not to be targeted in the first place, along with making the attack at disadvantage whenever possible.

Idea: use your feat for Eldritch Adept - Devil's Sight. If you are being routinely targeted, drop a darkness upon yourself and turn off the lights. Best to coordinate with the party such that any frontliners with a free feat or fighting style take the blind fighting style.

Otherwise, take the Minor Illusion cantrip. Create 5' cube objects and hide within them.

Hire bodyguards. The rules don't cover someone holding a pavise in front of you, but this probably falls under the cover rules broadly. Either way, a meatshield dedicated to intersecting anyone trying to advance upon you would eat up most of the melee attacks coming your way.

Have escape routes -- know Misty Step, Dimension Door, Rope Trick.

Have hit points. If not Eldritch Adept, consider Gift of the Metallic Dragon so you can cure yourself in a pinch. Be the guy who buys out the healing potions at every town you visit (also see about DM ruling about a hireling using their action during combat to feed you a potion).

[Greywander]

This is a tough one. No armor, no natural armor, and dumping DEX pretty much insured you can never have an "optimal" AC; no matter what route you go, your AC will always be less than it could have been. There is one way to get okay-ish AC at the cost of concentration and not stacking with anything, and not being a wizard spell: Barkskin. You can get it with a 3 level dip in druid or via the Adept of the Red Robes feat, which in turn requires the Initiate of High Sorcery feat and 4th level.

The other way to go is to ignore AC and instead maximize your ability to soak damage. The archetypal example of this is a Bear Totem barbarian with max CON and any methods of further reducing damage and/or generating temp HP. Unfortunately, a 3 level dip into barbarian probably doesn't appeal to you, and even if it did you would have to be raging to get the damage resistance, which would prevent you from casting spells.

I think your best options are to either go Necromancer and max your CON so you can sit back from the front line and let your skellies handle things while generating temp HP whenever you personally kill something. Or go Abjurer and look for ways to generate temp HP and gain damage resistance. Armor of Agathys would work well on an Abjurer, but you still want to find ways to reduce damage. Stack with Fire Shield for even more retribution damage when you get hit.

[Sigreid]

This is a tough one. No armor, no natural armor, and dumping DEX pretty much insured you can never have an "optimal" AC; no matter what route you go, your AC will always be less than it could have been. There is one way to get okay-ish AC at the cost of concentration and not stacking with anything, and not being a wizard spell: Barkskin. You can get it with a 3 level dip in druid or via the Adept of the Red Robes feat, which in turn requires the Initiate of High Sorcery feat and 4th level.

The other way to go is to ignore AC and instead maximize your ability to soak damage. The archetypal example of this is a Bear Totem barbarian with max CON and any methods of further reducing damage and/or generating temp HP. Unfortunately, a 3 level dip into barbarian probably doesn't appeal to you, and even if it did you would have to be raging to get the damage resistance, which would prevent you from casting spells.

I think your best options are to either go Necromancer and max your CON so you can sit back from the front line and let your skellies handle things while generating temp HP whenever you personally kill something. Or go Abjurer and look for ways to generate temp HP and gain damage resistance. Armor of Agathys would work well on an Abjurer, but you still want to find ways to reduce damage. Stack with Fire Shield for even more retribution damage when you get hit.

That brings the idea of a necromancer investing in a skeleton or zombie with a tower shield. Provided your DM is ok with tower shields as they're less of a combat shield and much more a wall you carry with you to provide full cover.

[RogueJK]

You can ask a friend to cast Sanctuary on you, and then only cast buffs or Summons and not spells that target enemies.


Or, starting 1 level in Artificer gets you not only CON save proficiency to maintain Concentration, you can also get INT-based Sanctuary to cast on yourself, plus some additional INT-based spellcasting, and it won't slow down your Wizard spell slot progression.

An Artificer 1/Necromancer Wizard X leaning on Sanctuary, Mirror Image, Mage Armor, and the occasional Shield for defense, and relying on primarily an Animate Dead horde while also Concentrating on upcast Summon Undead, supplemented by some ranged cantrips and AoEs when not under the effect of Sanctuary, is a viable means to an unarmored Wizard build that can fairly effectively counter a low AC.

The issue would be that, until Animate Dead/Summon Undead comes online at Level 6 (Artificer 1/Wizard 5), you wouldn't have a lot to do in combat while Sanctuary is running. So it's more of a Tier 2+ option.

[Willowhelm]

If I want to play a physically "weak" Wizard that has low scores for both STR and DEX who's not wearing any armor - how could I optimize them under those restrictions? And not die immediately?

What subclass would you suggest? Is there anything in Multiclassing, Feats or Magic Items to help me there? Are there any homebrew materials or houserules that could help with a wizard like this?

The limitations:
- No armor or shield proficiency (not through races or (sub)classes or feats - I mean why wouldn't you wear armor if you could)
- both STR and DEX at max 10
- all sources allowed (including Eberron, Ravnica, Tasha's etc)
- preferably not Tortle or Loxodon or something with natural armor though
- we get a free feat at lvl 1

I assume Mark of Warding Dwarf Abjurer with Armor of Agathys and the Eldritch Adept feat for Armor of Shadows and at will Mage Armor may be the best option for some survivability?

Do you want to find a way to have AC as high as possible with those restrictions, or do you want suggestions how to optimise a low-AC character?

For the former im a little confused. You’ve set your own criteria to limit things, but you’re not really going “all in” on making them squishy.

Like.. don’t wear armor but take a tattoo that gives you the same benefits.

Don’t wear armor, or have natural armor, but cast Mage armor all the time.

Don’t hold a shield but cast a magical one.

What’s the actual vibe you want? Do you want the edge of your seat excitement of a true glass cannon where one hit is going to bring you down but you can wipe out hordes and turn the tide? Or do you just want to be able to walk around in a city with restrictions on arms and armor without being defensless?

What are you optimizing for?

A goblin that hides as a bonus action, inside illusions, holding a big concentration spell is a very different optimisation to a bladesinger who is going to look harmless and then conjure a shadow blade and wreck the place in melee etc

[Greywander]

Agreed, it would help to know more about the specific character concept. It would absolutely make sense for a physically weak character to wear a breastplate or hauberk under their robes, especially as they become more experienced and acclimated to being in dangerous situations. Knowing more about the kind of character you want to play will help us help you maximize their survivability while staying true to your concept.

One thing to note is that imposing disadvantage on enemy attacks will have a much smaller effect if you don't have the AC to back it up. Disadvantage only means they need to beat your AC twice, which isn't difficult if your AC is already low. Blur is a waste of a spell slot and concentration, while Sanctuary and Mirror Image can mitigate attacks independently from your AC score.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Trying to optimize for survivability, with restrictions that will guarantee a low AC? "Don't get attacked" is the right answer here, the character needs to be an absolute coward.

Stay at long range, and move out of and back into total cover every turn.
Be able to cast Sanctuary, (Greater) Invisibility, and similar spells.
Cast Dragon's Breath on your familiar, and go hide around a corner.
Summon creatures, make undead minions, etc. so you don't need to directly engage.

[Chronos]

This basically just sounds to me like "wizard". OK, so you'll be a little squishy. You make up for that by being a wizard. Not everyone needs to have front-liner AC.

[Greywander]

This basically just sounds to me like "wizard". OK, so you'll be a little squishy. You make up for that by being a wizard. Not everyone needs to have front-liner AC.
Dying isn't fun, though, and a lot of monsters will be smart enough to prioritize the squishy magic user.

But yeah, you don't always need to be perfectly optimized. Though for myself, optimization is almost a compulsion, and it bothers me if I take an option that is strictly worse than another option. "Optimized for what?" is another question, and I'm more fine with a suboptimal choice if I'm getting something else in exchange. One example is optimizing a warlock for long range Eldritch Blasts; you'll rarely need to shoot someone more than 120 feet away, but it still feels dope to be able to touch someone at 1200 feet if you need to. That's still an optimized character, it's just optimized for something a bit more niche than simply maximizing damage or something.

So I suppose the question would be, if we're not getting armor or natural armor, and we're not pumping DEX, then what are we getting that will make that worthwhile? It's not quite as simply as just grabbing feats instead of pumping DEX, since this has more to do with stat distribution at character creation. Given the parameters, the OP will either be putting those points into CON, WIS, or CHA, so the question is, what can we do with that? CON is obvious, but falls a little flat because even with CON a wizard is still pretty squishy. WIS or CHA could enable more of a skill monkey type of character, or allow grabbing spells from other classes, e.g. via Magic Initiate.

I guess we should ask the OP if they're trying to optimize for survival or if they're just trying to get the most out of a wizard with low survivability. Most of this thread has been focusing on the former, but the latter could be worth investigating.

[RogueJK]

So I suppose the question would be, if we're not getting armor or natural armor, and we're not pumping DEX, then what are we getting that will make that worthwhile? It's not quite as simply as just grabbing feats instead of pumping DEX, since this has more to do with stat distribution at character creation. Given the parameters, the OP will either be putting those points into CON, WIS, or CHA, so the question is, what can we do with that? CON is obvious, but falls a little flat because even with CON a wizard is still pretty squishy. WIS or CHA could enable more of a skill monkey type of character

Along these same lines, freeing up the ability to significantly boost CHA could combo well with an Enchantment Wizard specifically.

At 2nd level, Enchanters get Hypnotic Gaze, which allows them to charm an adjacent creature as an Action, and maintain it indefinitely as long as you remain nearby. The Charmed condition gives you Advantage on all social skill checks against that creature. And importantly, unlike nearly all of the other low level and frequently usable Charm spells and effects, Hypnotic Gaze doesn't specify that the target knows they've been charmed or becomes hostile afterwards. So depending on the DM, this could allow you fairly liberal use of it to gain Advantage on a good number of CHA checks. (Though it does specify that they are "visibly dazed", so would primarily be useful when speaking with lone individuals, rather than something like charming the King in his throne room where the entire court can see that they've gone google-eyed and slack-jawed.)

So you could combine this readily available Charm effect with your high CHA and Face skill proficiencies (or even Expertise from Skill Expert or a 1 level Rogue dip) to be an effective Party Face, a role that the typical Wizard cannot fill since their stats traditionally need to go towards INT/CON/DEX ahead of CHA.


Something like this:

Autumn Eladrin Enchantment Wizard
STR 8
DEX 10
CON 13+1
INT 15+1
WIS 10
CHA 15+1

The Autumn Eladrin's racial Charm effect is another example of one of the few that doesn't specifically result in the target knowing or becoming hostile. And while it might appear redundant with Hypnotic Gaze at first glance, it is usable against two creatures at once, plus can be attempted against someone that already made their save against Hypnotic Gaze. Even attempting both in the same turn if the first try fails, since Hypnotic Gaze is an action and Fey Step is a Bonus Action. (I've played an Eladrin who uses Fey Step to gain advantage during social interactions, not by teleporting across the room, but just by momentarily "blinking"/teleporting in place to trigger the charm effect; it's not necessarily RAW since you have to teleport to an "unoccupied space", but the DM was cool with it.)

This Enchanter build also works with the earlier discussed suggestion of 1 level of Artificer for Sanctuary, since they'd have access to all the usual Wizard summoning spells (though without the ability to buff your minions like the Necromancer could). In addition, Hypnotic Gaze specifically doesn't break Sanctuary, since it's not an attack or harmful spell, so you'd potentially have something useful to do with your Actions in combat while under Sanctuary. However, you have to be 5' away from an enemy to attempt your Gaze, and with your super squishy AC you likely won't want to be that close to enemies...

[tKUUNK]

This basically just sounds to me like "wizard". OK, so you'll be a little squishy. You make up for that by being a wizard. Not everyone needs to have front-liner AC.

Yeah, this. Still- lots of good suggestions on this thread on how to survive as wizard. Eventually something is gonna get up in your face. Nice to have a plan.

I'm a fan of being aware of your position relative to allies at all times, so when combat breaks out you're likely to at least START in good position.

[Greywander]

I'm a fan of being aware of your position relative to allies at all times, so when combat breaks out you're likely to at least START in good position.
"Don't you know? You never split the party.
Clerics in the back, keep those fighters hale and hearty.
The wizard in the middle, where he can shed some light.
And you never let that damn thief out of sight..."

[Wasp]

As for the question of my character concept and what I want to optimize for:

In general I would like to play a more stereotypical magic user from other RPGs/prior editions who just can't wear armor for some (in-world) reason - basically the frail old man with a grey beard stepping out of his ivory tower for a quest, long staff, a robe. It's more of the image in my head (I do understand that it would make sense for an adventurer to wear armor). And I feel that a high DEX is kind of conflicting with that idea of a more or less frail old wizard. I am fine with high CON because you have to draw the line somewhere and I can see this as an expression of their magical abilities. This is basically because all my 5e wizards so far either wore the biggest armor they could get (dipping artificer or cleric) or going high dex, probably even bladesinger. And I want something else this time. Plus, I kinda like the idea of the shield spell and mage arnor...

So yeah, my idea was to optimize them for survivabilty under these restrictions. I was focusing on AC but it's a good point that it probably means finding the right strategy in combat instead to survive despite being squishy. So hiding and summons sounds like a good method (although I am probably not that interested in a goblin or something like that because it doesn't really fit the image in my head for the frail bearded mage). And there have been some very good suggestions already, thank you for that!

And it's also a very good point that I need an idea what to do with the attribute points I save by not pumping DEX. The Enchanter idea is a good one for that. Have to think about it, but I would love to hear if anyone has an idea what I can do with having relatively high mental stats aside from INT and CON... Could a SORC dip do anything for a Wizard who has the ability to have a higher CHA?

In any way thank you for alle the feedback so far!

[greenstone]

how could I optimize them under those restrictions? And not die immediately?

Frame challenge: You don't.

Just be the best wizard you can, and be blunt with the rest of the party. "Your job is to keep the blaster alive."

In all seriousness, if the wizard dies straight away then the adventuring party has done something wrong, and they need to look at their actions. Are they an "adventuring party" or just a collection of individuals who happen to be in a combat at the same time?

[Willie the Duck]

Frame challenge: You don't.

Just be the best wizard you can, and be blunt with the rest of the party. "Your job is to keep the blaster alive."

In all seriousness, if the wizard dies straight away then the adventuring party has done something wrong, and they need to look at their actions. Are they an "adventuring party" or just a collection of individuals who happen to be in a combat at the same time?

Pretty much this. Or, at least conversely, remove one of those limits the OP included. I say that because, well, those are the ways you armor up a wizard, and the traditional D&D/AD&D squishy wizard has always worked either by 1) having a well-oiled group of bodyguards keeping them out of harm's way, or 2) some kind of shenanigans that let them be less squishy (which the OP is ruling out).

I get why everyone does not want to take a 1-level dip into martial/cleric -- it does feel kinda cheezy (and may be disallowed), but there's always feats. And races -- dwarves are specifically built so that you can walk around in Plate with a 10 Strength, and it (being proficient so you can cast your spells) can be achieved by picking mountain dwarf and one feat (you miss out on shields this way, though). Grab hobgoblin and it takes two feats, but then you get shields (at the cost of a speed of 20, but mounts exist). Or, yes, Luxodon or Tortle.

[Pixel_Kitsune]

Just stay out of combat. Look at Scanlan in Vox Machina. Mechanics wise, even at level 20 he only had a 16 AC because Bard's have SOME armor, but he had an 11 Dex the entire run.