How to Play a Wizard

[Aktariel]

What is the best way to play a wizard?

I've heard all kinds of things on this board, about how "If the DM isn't crying, your wizard ain't trying," and how wizards can do crazy go nuts things, and how (IIRC) a specialized Transmuter wizard is one of or the single most powerful class in the game,

but I still don't know how to set my game on fire. I've read the list of spells that fucking kill people, but I can't find a similar list of spells for transportation and utility.

Basically, I'd like to have some fun with my (relatively inexperienced) DM by playing a crazy-go-nuts-with-frosting-on-top wizard.

Right now, we're playing through the Sunless Citadel adventure, and I have no idea what's next (campaign wise, I already know Sunless Citadel because I ran it). My character is currently a slight variation on the updated Mr. IcyHot cleric build from WoTC, but I'm kinda unhappy with him.

But I digress.

First level. Up to, essentially, "as far as [you] want to go," according to the DM.

So, fellow gamebreakers, how do I break my game? Can someone explain the basic and/or finer points of playing a Batman? Hold my hand through a few scenarios as I try to learn how to set my world on fire?


EDIT: At this point, we are playing "standard" 3.5 DnD. Almost all sources are available, though they must be cleared through the DM first, but I don't expect too many problems as she's pretty lenient and flexible (if not experienced). Oh yeah, and we can't play evil characters, if that matters (maybe some BoVD spells...?).

Race? Class? To specialize or not? Prestige Classes? Currently, the party is two druids, two rogues, me the cleric, and a strange sorcerer/spellsword wannabe. I'm the only one here who is even remotely optimized, though I did get one of the Druids to have a Riding dog as a companion.

At this point, I have two goals, really. One is to learn how to play a wizard, and play one well. The second is to take my knowledge, and make people cry. While having fun and saving my party's ass, of course.


Cheers,
Ak

[Jacob_Orlove]

With two druids and two rogues, you should have no problems with party damage output, so you can focus almost entirely on disabling enemies and controlling the battlefield.

You want to specialize. In fact, you want to take Focused Specialist to get twice as many bonus spells out of it. Pick Conjuration or Illusion, and drop any two of Enchantment, Abjuration, and Necromancy, plus Evocation. If you really want to cheese things out, and you specialized in Conjuration, swap your familiar for the PHB2 alternate class feature.

You don't need Prestige Classes, and if you're playing at low enough levels for the majority of your time, planning for one would just be a drain on your valuable feats. Still, some are really powerful, so you might as well aim for Incantatrix.

At really low levels, just casting Color Spray a few times a day is a game-winner, even from scrolls. Silent Image can also buy your rogues and druids and their animal companions enough time to tear up your enemies. After that, it's on to Grease (makes people flatfooted against the rogues, and possibly prone/unable to move), Web (traps most people), and Glitterdust (Blinding people is really good). For real ultimate power, have fun with Alter Self and stuff that you can cast as an Immediate Action.

You can leave some spell slots open during the day in case you need to prepare Knock or whatever, too. Takes only 15 minutes.

Scrolls are really good to have. Stock up!

[cthulhu]

http://bb.bbboy.net/thegamingden-viewth ... ][br]There is the list of utility spells that you wanted.

Broken tactics at level 1: Be a gray elf for int 20. the con penalty hurts but with the elven racial substitution level you don't have to specalist and can now cast 4 spells a day. Colour spray's DC will be 16 and it takes out anyone who fails.

You can also specialize, but you know.

Charm person will also make DM's cry if you dump points cross class into diplomacy. Sure its not that hot at level 1, but if you can scrap together a DC20 diplomacy check you can convert people into 'helpful' which means they will take risks to protect you. Not as awesome as dominate person in that it doesn't instantly pokemon them, but if you can get the diplomancy check, you're in business.

[Aktariel]

Thanks for the utility list; I found the link a little while ago further down in the killer spells list myself. The problem is still not fully wrapping my mind around how to play a wizard.

As to damage - I wouldn't usually worry, no - but these people don't get optimizing.

So it looks like I have to do it "all". Not that I think I can. Just most of it.

Where are grey elf and the elven racial substitution level located?

[Surgo]

Gray Elf is core, the substitution levels are in Races of Rabbitfucking.

Your low-level tactics will consist of Color Spray and Silent Image. Glitterdust and Web are the kings of level 2 spells as well.

A lot of playing a lower-level wizard is about coming up with creative usage for Silent Image (and Major Image, when you get it). That spell can seriously do just about anything until your opponents start getting True Seeing.

[Aktariel]

OK... So what are some uses of Silent Image?

My main concern here is that I suspect that the DM is one of those "opponents know everything" kind of people. Not on purpose, but just because it happens. That being said... even if our opponents don't see through silent image, they might act like they can anyway.

Oh well. Time to do some research.

[technomancer]

The damage output will pretty much take care of itself, if you just give the rogues the ability to sneak attack.

This can mean Glitterdust (if you are blind, everyone else is effectively invisible, and invisible rogues get sneak attack), Grease (flatfooted anybody?), or even summons (flankers). Sleep is a big fat duh, as you can CDG them. Color spray can give your friends sneak attack at up to 4HD, 5 or more HD still lose their actions. Enlarge Person can even give your buddies reach, making it that much easier for your rogues to flank.

[CatharzGodfoot]

As Mr. Orlove said, focused specialist (from Complete Arcane, I think) is the way to go.

There are two very important reasons for this. One, a first level mage probably has 2 spells per day. A focused specialist probably has 4. This keeps scaling. Two, a focused specialist actually get some flavor. Rather than being a 'blah' mage like a normal specialist or mage, you're forced to be a necromancer, illusionist, or whatever.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthre ... t=18500[br][Logic Ninja's Guide to being Batman]

Here are your level 1 spells:
Sleep (this ends fights)
Color Spray (this ends fights)
Silent Image (this saves your ass and disables enemies)

Okay, with me so far? Okay, you know that class feature you get 'Familiar'?
1 - swap it out for the Conjurer ability of "Make yourself immune to attacks up to [your int mod] times per day".
2 - Hummingbird, DO IT (+2 init? +3 init? Elven racial level substitution can double the bonus!)
3 - Aid Another, this is what your familiar does all day. Otherwise it hides in the bushes.

You know that class feature you get, 'Scribe Scroll'? Use it. Really. A level 1 spell scroll costs a whole 12.5 gp and ONE XP. Scrolls are made of awesome at low level and count as effectively adding another wizard to the party. Here is what you put on a scroll (make note that these spells don't really have saves):
Grease
Expeditious Retreat (get people in front of you)
Enlarge Person
Comprehend Languages (just in case)
Magic Missile (Some monsters only can be hit with this, like Ghosts and Will-O-Wisps)
Silent Image (have we mentioned this yet?)
Feather Fall (it comes up)
Jump (it comes up)
Benign Transposition (SpC) (wanna avoid grapples for the low, low price of one scroll? Hell yes! Keep it on your belt and activate it as a standard action because it's an 'activate a magic item' action)

Figure out how to use silent image effectively. Bluff with it. Illusionary walls are awesome (and you can cage yourself in, granting total concealment). False enemies are awesome with it (more the better!), overpowered enemies are awesome with it (summon a Balor!), bluffing is good with it (silvered weapons, flaming swords, the head of your favorite deity in the sky, whatever.).

DON'T GET HIT. Silent Image is your way to secure this. Silent Image can duplicate the effects of a Fog Cloud/Darkness spell (except better because your allies can auto-disbelieve if you tell them it is an illusion ahead of time, or craft 'this is an illusion' on the side they can see). What are you using your move actions for? Hide! Even if non-proficient, monsters have lousy spot/listen checks that they have to make to even attack you (and one of your highest stats is Dex, right?).

Get a crossbow (or bow, if elven), keep it loaded. At level 1 it can do more damage than a raging barbarian.

Save your money (except for crafting), get a rod of Lesser Extend Spell (bonus points if you can get it cheap for levels 1-2 only) and a Headband of Intellect. Extend False Life and Mage Armor to have better hp and comparable armor than to the rogue. After that, get airborne with Protection from Arrows (1hr/level, extend it) to neutralize most threats at the beginning of the day (and you can't be attacked in the night thanks to Rope Trick).

Consider an Aging template (-2 all physical, +1 all mental).

Later levels: USE YOUR SPELLS. I can't tell you how many wizards just don't use their spells. Lesser Quickening Rods, Swift action spells, immediate action spells, all-day buffs, sleeping in a Rope Trick. You have have a spell left at the end of the day when you curl up into an Extended Rope Trick (at level 4 it lasts long enough to sleep in), you are failing. Look at the Beguiler spell list (Stay the Hand, Hesitate) for suggestions on how to stay alive via spell burning. Max your concentration check (duh!), but keep a Distract Assailant spell handy (flatfooted opponents can't take AoOs, and the rogue gets free Sneak Attack).

Even later levels: plan for everything. If you aren't airborne, wtf? You need to avoid grapples and that is the easiest way to do it. Dimension Door or Benign Transposition (scroll!) can save your ass.

Glitterdust is awesome, Sculpted Glitterdust is even a good 3rd level spell (it should be Sculpted from a rod or have it's Metamagic cost reduced via Metamagic School Focus or similar cheap trick).

[SunTzuWarmaster]

I would like to add that an illusionary wall is useful because it is a legit wizard tactic (just put a periscope on the outside and pretend that you can see the enemy through it). Even if your DM is a dick to illusions, they are not likely to interact with it to get a save, and you have total cover to ranged attacks with no Line of Effect for spells.

[RandomCasualty]

1200281559[/unixtime]]OK... So what are some uses of Silent Image?

My main concern here is that I suspect that the DM is one of those "opponents know everything" kind of people. Not on purpose, but just because it happens. That being said... even if our opponents don't see through silent image, they might act like they can anyway.

Oh well. Time to do some research.

If your DM is one of those types, I really recommend against using illusions.

Though it still has some uses. One is in ranged combat. say if you round a corner and see 10 kobolds at 60 ft with crossbows. Create an illusionary wall right in front of your party. Let them know it's an illusion.

Then your party members can walk through it and back with a move action (autodisbelieving it) and fire through it. It'll end up giving your party 50% concealment against the enemy until they disbelieve it. If the enemy wants to use ranged weapons then they have to beat a will save to disbelieve it, whcih is kinda nice.

Other than that, there really isn't much you can do with illusions if the enemy automatically knows they're fake.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Better yet, cast wall of stone and tell them that they should step through it to auto-disbelieve.

[josephbt]

@SunTzuWarmaster

Hummingbird?? Where is it from?

[CatharzGodfoot]

1200392372[/unixtime]]@SunTzuWarmaster

Hummingbird?? Where is it from?

Dragon Magazine. And I'm pretty sure that it's +4 Init.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

That, and it's awesome when your hummingbird familiar helps you bluff.

Work out a system with you party members like "all of my illusions will have a capitol letter I in them" so that they know they are fake.

There are lots of fun things to do with illusions even if the opponent knows that they are fake (I've had that DM before). Using them to emulate other spells is usually a good call. For instance, you can use it as a level 1 Glitterdust where the enemy has to make 2 saves (but has a larger area).

You can make it create illusionary pits/crevices with thin wires across them, so that your party can pretend to be fighting on tightrope while the enemy is actually balancing (denied dex to AC!).

Illusionary Grease is always good times (Will save to interact with it, Balancing denies dex to AC, doesn't affect allies). Bonus points if you summon some illusionary monsters that trip and fall in it.

Ghosts, Specters, Dead relatives, undead armies, and the like essentially cannot be interacted with.

Illusionary Darkness, if I haven't mentioned it, is useful.

Also, if you can swing the F+K Combat Casting feat or Extraordinary Concentration (there is a Skill Trick too), you can totally keep concentration without it costing you a useful spell.

Also, you can totally use ONE spell for the entire combat:
1 - Make illusionary wall
2 - Enemies run through wall
3 - Wall disappears to be replaces by 5 ghosts
4 - Enemies swat at ghosts
5 - Ghosts grow fangs and attempt to bite enemies (they fail)
6 - Enemies disbelieve ghosts
7 - Grease covers the enemies surrounding area
etc. This is all one spell that you are maintaining concentration on
* you are using your move action to hide.

[RandomCasualty]

1200432192[/unixtime]]
Illusionary Darkness, if I haven't mentioned it, is useful.

I'm pretty leery of illusionary darkness. That sounds like a glamer, not a fighment, because you're concealing light, not really creating anything. It's like turning something invisible by creating the illusion of nothing.

Also, you can totally use ONE spell for the entire combat:
1 - Make illusionary wall
2 - Enemies run through wall
3 - Wall disappears to be replaces by 5 ghosts
4 - Enemies swat at ghosts
5 - Ghosts grow fangs and attempt to bite enemies (they fail)
6 - Enemies disbelieve ghosts
7 - Grease covers the enemies surrounding area
etc. This is all one spell that you are maintaining concentration on

once they run through the wall, the illusion is auto disbelieved, so the enemies can pretty much ignore it regardless of whatever you change it into. The ghosts would have to be a separate spell.

[Crissa]

It doesn't matter if the light penetrates the figment. It's blocked by the figment to being perceived until it bounces off of something else.

So a lantern behind a cloak of darkness that's a figment totally lights up an area, but you still can't see the lantern or through the cloak. So basically, if you have a good enough spell, you put them in little globes of black and they're cut off from seeing very far.

-Crissa

[shau]

BRIEF SILENT IMAGE GUIDE

Silent image is probably my favorite spell in the game. It is the reason why I play wizards and beguilers. It is the spell I cast most at any level and generally among the first things I buy as a wizard is a wand of it.

Silent image at its core is a spell which creates visual sense data. Since we can make it pretty much as big as we want and almost anywhere we want that pretty much means we control what the opponent sees. So basically you can blind the entire enemy side and they only get a save if they waste an action interacting with it. Even better, you can pretty much ensure that your team will not be effected by coming up with a signal before hand that an illusion is coming or tailoring the illusion itself so that it is obviously fake from their perspective. And that's awesome.

As to what your illusion is, it could be pretty much anything but ideally it will be hazardous, so that your foe will not engage with it, opaque, so that your allies are considered to be invisible within it, and relatively permeable, so that your allies can still attack without breaking the illusion. Here are some suggestions:

Clouds

DnD has a number of clouds that will do you some serious harm if you step inside them. Walking into a fog cloud is generally a bad idea, and walking into a cloudkill will kill many creatures outright. If you surround your enemies with yellowish green smoke they probably won't voluntarily step into it and your party can fire arrows into them while they shoot back blindly.

Colors

DnD also has a variety of magic walls that do really bad things to you. If someone conjures up a wall of purple I doubt the average orc will voluntarily walk into it, and if they do you can kill them with the wall spells pretty easily. Magical walls are also strange enough that no one will find it very odd that arrows still go through.

Cages

Another option would be to just trap your enemy in a cage. This option is not as good as the one above because the enemy can still see you, but if the enemy does not have range attacks there are as good as dead. If you cover the cage with barbs and your opponent weapons are his hands or teeth he will probably not touch it. If he attacks with a melee weapon he will end up wasting his turn even if he discovers the cage is not real.

Ground Hazards

Like the last example, this one is designed to screw those enemies who like to get up close and personal. Trying laying an illusion that looks like a pit across that floor or just covering the floor with spikes or lava. You opponent can't advance, but you can shoot him full of arrows.

Blinking/Swarm/Incorporeal foes

You can also try hiding behind a wall of blinking or incorporeal foes. Unfortunately, DnD does not gives you a total concealment bonus, even if you are behind something way bigger than you. Also unfortunately, you enemy is likely to attack anything that looks attackable, so they are quite likely to interact with this illusion. At least they won't ignore it however.

Blocking Dummies

The blocking dummies strategy does not even try to pick an efficient illusion. Just tell your teammates to hold their action until the end of the round, then but something, anything between you and your opponent. Summon up an illusionary wall of stone, let your enemy swing right through it, proving it false, wait of you group to unload on then enemy, and then summon up an illusionary wall of ice to waste another turn. See how many turns you can hold that dragon with your cheap level 1 wand.

In addition to the above, Silent image has great adaptability. It can be a utility spell and hide the entire party from the guards or an emergency spell that you use to "summon" a balor or something and let your enemy run in fear.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

My favorite Image move was a Major Image that summoned a Balor (took 2 rounds, but concentration was a move action so I could cast another spell), which then ate me (as I cast invisibility while moaning about how I had been dutiful to my 'master') and started moving towards the enemy in a rampage of "I'm FREE, BWHAHAHA, WORTHLESS MAGI SHOULD NOT TAMPER WITH FORCES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL".

Faking your own death is always in style.

[Aktariel]

So. What school should I specialize in, and what schools should I drop?

Or should I just go with the Elven Wizard Generalist racial sub level?

EDIt: I ran across a feat in Plot and Poison that allowed you to absorb your familiar into your body, and double the numerical benefits it granted you.

So... if a hummingbird grants +4 init, how does +8 init for the cost of one feat sound? Come to that, +12 for two feats (Improved Init) isn't bad at all.


EDIT 2: Although, I went back and looked at the conjurer alternate ability in PHB II for giving up a familiar... not bad. Not bad at all.

[Voss]

Good schools- conjuration, illusion
Middle schools- transmutation, necromancy, abjuration
'You just have to have it' school- divination
Worst schools- evocation, enchantment (a somewhat controversial call, but almost everything except the power words have saves, and the number of things that are just plain immune to mind affecting stuff is downright absurd).

illusion can go if you're DM is a dick about them. Abjuration and necromancy can optionally go, depending on what you're going for. There are some good spells, but a lot of things that you probably won't care about.

Transmutation can be difficult to give up just because of all the buffs and utility things.

I'd go with a specialst, take the focus specialist from Complete Mage for even more spells per day and go with either Illusion or Conjuration.
Keep Transmutation, the other school you didn't specialize in, divination (obviously), and either necro or abjuration. Personally, as much as I like the blatantly stupid things you can do with Enervation and metamagic at high levels, I dislike giving up the ability to counter spells.
Ditch evocation, enchantment and necromancy (because of focus specialist).

If the DM is serious going to have problems with illusions maybe swap necromancy for illusion, but you do lose out on some good low level spells. Color spray, invisibility, etc.


The elven whatnot isn't all that great. Go for a bunch of extra spells of your speciality through focused specialist, ditch the rat for the conjuration specialist trick in PHII where you can short range teleport as an immediate action (avoiding attacks) and not care about one extra spell per day.


Actually, if you take elven wizard sub level 3, the bonus doubles, there too. So you could get +12 init just from your familiar. Plus improved initiative. Gods. but thats stupid, level 3 and a +16-19 initiative check. And you don't have to take the generalist crap a sub level 1.

[Username17]

Enchantment is actually one I would rank up with Illusion if (and only if) your DM actually lets you use the diplomacy rules and won't let you be a Beguiler.

Being an Enchantment packing guy is like being a character from $yndicate. You have a Persuadatron, you gradually accumulate followers until they can hold off really ass kicking monsters long enough for you to turn them into followers and then it's all down hill.

Of course, the Beguiler is so stupidly better at doing just that that it hardly matters. So if you want that to be your schtick, and the Beguiler is available, by all means just do that. Before the Beguiler I held the Wizard Enchanter as a viable strategy, and now I only offer it as a second option if people don't allow the Beguiler.

-Username17

[SunTzuWarmaster]

<Currently playing a Beguiler>

I hate to give up Enchantment because it has most of the "you lose, sucker(s)!" type of spells. Sleep, Deep Slumber, Hold Monster, etc. are just very good. ~50% of the time a monster will fail the save, so that actually not that big of a deal (other than that it means that you sucked up a round). Charm Person is amazingly good at low levels (OOC, especially).

Necromancy is a pain to ban because of False Life (later on). Extra hps are very nice.

That being said:
Transmutation > Conjuration > Illusion > Abjuration > Enchantment > Necromancy > Divination > Evocation

Evocation gets some damned useful spells (Wall of Force, Contingency), but you can usually end up duplicating them somehow (Staff, Wand, Shadow Conjuration, Domains, paying some other spellcaster to do those 2 spells, etc.). Transmutation is simply too good (Disintegrate, Fly, Teleport, Haste, Enlarge Person, Polymorph, Fly, Blink, I mean COME ON). Abjuration only gets Dispel Magic, but it's a painful thing to lose.

Anywho, I would recommend the Elven Sub level for the hummingbird familiar (w00t for +8 initiative at almost no cost), or the conjurer variant (immune to charges is a sweet wizard ability, also double in a number of good ways like Feather Fall, and 'ignore walls').

Conjurer Specialist (I'm not a fan of Master Specialist), banning Evocation and Enchantment/Necromancy/Abjuration.

[cthulhu]

I'd seriously skip illusions pending sounding out your DM on them. You tend to get wildly varying responses from it. Wildly.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Eh, even if DMs are dicks about it, they tend to be useful for the occasional Phantasmal Killer, Shadow X, Color Spray, and Invisibility (Sphere).