so your DM targets non threats with MORE attacks then whimpy AC combatants...even counting melee with a staff?
maybe that was not what you ment, but it is what it comes off as, I will asume there is some miscommunication and move on...
Ok, your group all charge in and...um what?
miss alot, AND be on the line of combat...
I guess they are all fighter Mages? or something? I know I can only remember 1 or 2 times that a straight wizard entered combat and made a diffrence. Infact I can think of only 1 time, and it was totaly badass BECUSE it was so rare.
If wizards got +1 to hit (or-1thac0) for the first 3 or 4 levels and d6's for those hp and leather armor (or like 4e int mod over dex) then I would agree, this class is meant to go into a fight with a weapon, and then at latter levels use spells
is getting very old very quicky, and this is not just to you or even on this topic... but it is SUCH BS... "Your problem is becuse your players are not smart enough" "Your problem can be solved with Better players" is BS
The problem can be solved by makeing all classes contribute to the game.
I'll cover everything above briefly. 1> I did not say your player's lacked intelligence, just that the choice to stand around doing nothing is on them, not the system. 2> I'm one of the DM's and what you said above makes no sense in the context of the previous part of the conversation. 3> I notice you skipped all the other options that were available besides jumping into the combat line. Does that mean you see combat or standing around doing nothing as the only two available options? That isn't a limitation in any edition.
I ran a 2e campaign with a party consisting of 3 wizards, 2 fighters, 1 fighter/thief, 1 fighter/wizard, and no clerics. The wizards proved their worth time and again both with and without using spells. They were always doing something with the goal being to aid the fighters, and sometimes even they stepped into combat, but never did they stand around doing nothing for 7-10 rounds. When we converted to 3e they kept doing things, both combat and non-combat. System made no difference to how the players chose to run their characters.