Quote Originally Posted by Yahzi View Post
They wouildn't be unplayable. They just wouldn't be playable in module mode. You know, where the party has the planned 4 encounters each day, regardless of what they did or didn't do the day before. Of course, in module mode, wizards aren't particularly broken. Just have half the monsters save from the spell effect by DM Fiat, and everybody's happy.

But in role-playing mode, or sandbox mode, where the characters have lives and spend money on food and have NPC friends and allies and live in an actual society, then wizards who can cast once a year are still uber. The rarer magic is, the more powerful it becomes.

True, they won't be memorizing fireball much. Instead they'll memorize the one or two spells necessary to defeat the BBEG. Then the fighters and rogues will have to escort the wizard into the lair/dungeon, protecting him while he does cantrips and shoots a crossbow, until they come to the BBEG. Then the wiz novas, destroys the unkillable monster in a few rounds, and everybody splits up the treasure.

It's not a game where everybody gets to do an equal amount of combat every encounter, or even every session. But it's still a very playable game. It requires a special kind of player for the wizard - one who can enjoy issuing lines like "I've just told our foes exactly where we are" every time you ask them to cast even a cantrip. They have to plan ahead, settle for not being in the spotlight most of the time, be cryptic and clever, and view other people as necessary tools to be manipulated to victory rather than useless layabouts or an underappreciative audience. It's a tough act. But I've played that character, and it was a blast.
True. but not every wizard ought to be like that, nor will eveyr person enjoy playing that archetype.