D&D 5E Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards 5e

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

Rofel Wodring said:
Magic Missile is a terrible spell to break enemy concentration with. Magic Missile upcast to 4th level will do about 21 damage, which won't even break the generic DC 10 concentration save. It's only really good as a hail mary to stop several spellcasters concentrating on a spell at once.

No. This is a terrible suggestion. Unless you do one-encounter workdays against single super-casters, you will not win this race.

This is another terrible suggestion. Unless you know for a fact they're going to be casting some turkey spell like Witch Bolt or Otto's Irresistible Dance at the archer, it's a very acceptable price to pay. In a recent module, I counterspelled the counterspell of an archmage who was throwing up a shield; this allowed the paladin and ranger to one-shot them on the first round.

Also, if your DM rules that casting counterspell (or any reaction spell) while in the middle of casting another spell makes you lose your spell, they are screwing you over with a houserule. Don't let them get away with that.

Toll the Dead requires a Wisdom Saving Throw. It will not be better than Fire Bolt (or any spell that targets ranged AC) most of the time unless you did something like put on a Robe of the Archmagi and Ioun Stone of Mastery while also getting really lucky with a Deck of Many Things.

I pretty much agree with every point Rofel makes here. I would add though that it is a good idea to have a damage cantrip that requires a to hit roll, and another that requires a saving throw. The latter are useful if you are in a situation where you would have disadvantage on an attack roll, or the enemy has a high AC.

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

Joshua Gilliam said:
Thanks for the great guide. I was looking at the XgtE Pyrotechnics which is now the most recent version and it appears that the synergy between pyrotechnics and flaming sphere is limited. Pyrotechnics states that the source flame must be non-magical, so would you need to spend a round lighting something on fire to use pyrotechnics?

I agree. I updated my rating and description of Pyrotechnics, but neglected to do the same for flaming sphere. That is now done.

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

TomFinn said:
Hi Treantmonk, love the guide. Just about to finish playing a campaign with a Svirfneblin Portent Wizard- really enjoyed it.

You recently updated the Levitate spell to blue, and said that casting it at higher levels means you can target multiple enemies- I don't see that in the spell description?

Without that, is it still blue give the Con save factor?

Your reading is correct, I must have confused it with fly. That said, yes, I am comfortable with the blue rating despite targeting Con. Here's a more detailed reasoning:
5e is not a complicated game, but there is nuance that I wasn't fully grasping until I had some significant experience. One of those areas is with spell preparation. Particularly at mid level and up, it becomes challenging to know which spells deserve those precious preparation slots. Levitate is one such spell, as the versatility is so immense that it is handy in many different situations. The more I play now, the more often Levitate makes my spell list at level 3, and the more often it remains prepared at level 10+. Yes, the con save is significant, but I think it deserves blue despite that, not ignoring that. Hope that makes sense - I'm rambling.

outsider · Jun 30, 2018

Treantmonklvl20 said:
1) I prefer evaluating the final draft of something without seeing the previous drafts. I don't know if it's better or worse than what it was, I want to know if it's good compared to things we actually use.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS!

Comparing an ability to the previous version of that ability has ZERO place in a strategy discussion. The goal of a strategy discussion is to determine which of the available options are best for whatever situation we are looking at. Nerf and buff talk has it's place, and that place is NOT in a strategy discussion.

This is by far my biggest pet peeve in gaming. It's not as common in D&D(as there's far less nerfing and buffing going on) as it is in video games, thankfully.

Incredible document & thread, by the way.

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

ScuroNotte said:
For Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, I understand the low rating you gave due to the poor damage and Con save. But don't you think that its huge area of affect (60 feet radius sphere) makes it deserve a higher rating?

The short answer is no.

The longer answer is that a larger radius is an advantage, but it's not a big advantage. In most combats, that extra radius isn't useful, but in those combats where it is, it would be a lot more useful if the base effects of the spell were better.

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

jgsugden said:
It is a pretty hefty investment (2 feats), but useful if you do not have a regular way to 'use up' your reaction effectively. That investment is palatable when you consider the independent utility of war caster. I considered it once, but realized that there were a lot of OAs being generated for the benefit of my wizard without PAM... it would not have added that many additional spells.

Yes, not sure it's practical. That said, it's interesting, and worth a post xp!

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

Ancalagon said:
I'm sorry to hear you weren't doing well, glad to hear you are better, and lastly I wanted to thank you for your guides. I know that people disagree about some of your findings, complain even, but know that they are *tremendously* appreciated

Thank you! Fortunately, the health concerns were largely a false alarm. The symptoms of GERD and a Hatial Hernia it turns out can be very similar to the symptoms of esophageal cancer. Fortunately, I was suffering from the former, and after a few unpleasant probes with long cameras with waiting times in between that were months but felt like years, now I'm simply down to some regular pantoprazole and malox.

Edit: I think I'm basically caught up. I'll be back over the next few days to check for new content.

krunchyfrogg · Jun 30, 2018

Treantmonklvl20 said:
This is correct. My group only plays with official material, so I don't even read the UA stuff. When someone says, "Gloomstalker Ranger got seriously nerfed from the UA Ranger", it tells me 2 things:
1) I prefer evaluating the final draft of something without seeing the previous drafts. I don't know if it's better or worse than what it was, I want to know if it's good compared to things we actually use.
2) The UA Ranger was BETTER than the Gloomstalker? This is why I never play with UA material.

I’m glad my group doesn’t allow UA stuff as well.

jgsugden · Jun 30, 2018

Glad the health scare is passed. As someone else that has been probed... I feel your pain.

You hit on the one thing I think guides like this are lacking: Guidance on managing spells available, spells known, spells prepared and spell slot usage. When does it make sense to add another class or feature to gain access to spells no on the wizard list? What spells do you want to select when advancing levels and creating the characters? When to take them? At any given level, what are your regularly prepared spells? What spells are worth learning because you may want to prepare them once in a while? What spells do you prepare between adventure in town? Also, how does the need fo concentration alter your list of prepared spells? That is where a guide that helps new wizards learn their way would be most helpful.

Treantmonklvl20 · Jun 30, 2018

jgsugden said:
Glad the health scare is passed. As someone else that has been probed... I feel your pain.

You hit on the one thing I think guides like this are lacking: Guidance on managing spells available, spells known, spells prepared and spell slot usage. When does it make sense to add another class or feature to gain access to spells no on the wizard list? What spells do you want to select when advancing levels and creating the characters? When to take them? At any given level, what are your regularly prepared spells? What spells are worth learning because you may want to prepare them once in a while? What spells do you prepare between adventure in town? Also, how does the need fo concentration alter your list of prepared spells? That is where a guide that helps new wizards learn their way would be most helpful.

Yes, I've tackled managing concentration/bonus/reaction/action spell management to some degree, but pretty much need another whole section on spell preparation and managing a spellbook for that. Hmmm...not going to delve into that deep pit today, but I'll put some thought into how that would even be structured.

D&D 5E Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards 5e

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