D&D 5E Dwarves are the best spellcasters?

Zardnaar · Mar 24, 2019

Dwarves are better in the charisma based classes especially with rolled stats so if you can roll16-18 it's a lot better.

Mountain Dwarf Dragon Sorcerer and some warlock builds. Haste and things like quickened green flame blade.

MarkB · Mar 24, 2019

Blue said:
Considering that the majority of actual games don't hit 12th (see the D&D Beyond breakdown from last month), that means in your average game the dwarf will never catch up to a +INT race in terms of their primary casting ability.

Note that in addition to Spell Attacks and DCs, greater INT helps with a number of skills that the wizard is the nly one that is likely to be good at, and is used in many of a wizard's subclass features.

One new feature available since this thread's original run is the Mark of Warding subrace variant for dwarves from the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron. +1 each to Dex and Int make a nice combo for wizard dwarves, though you are, of course, giving up the Mountain Dwarf's armour proficiencies in exchange. It also works well with the current version of the Artificer.

Also, elves aren't the only +Int option. Gnomes get +2 to Int which means that they could have a 16 plus two other points in point buy to put elsewhere (say Dex). Half-elves have +1s that can go to INT. Humans get +1 INT, +1 DEX, +1 CON, and +1 everything else. Variant Humans can have +1 INT and another (DEX or CON likely) as well as a feat - which could give another +1. Or some other boost to casting.

My last gnome wizard took Lightly Armoured as a feat, rounding up his Dex from odd to even and wearing studded leather. It worked thematically for the character, who was a member of essentially a special-forces unit, and also meant he could forego the "spell slot tax" of always memorising and casting Mage Armour.

SkidAce · Mar 24, 2019

No such thing as a dwarven magic user....

Henry · Mar 24, 2019

SkidAce said:
No such thing as a dwarven magic user....

View attachment 105551

Is that you, Diaglo?

Actually, you can’t be Diaglo, because you’re not talking about how there are no Paladins or Rangers, just Fighting Men, Clerics, and Magic-Users...

TarionzCousin · Mar 24, 2019

Henry said:
Is that you, Diaglo?

He's not, but does SkidAce have a hat of d02? B-)

The first link on that ENWorld thread no longer works. Scroll to post #9 for one that works.

Krachek · Mar 24, 2019

Jaracove said:
A mate of mine commented on how dwarves seem to be the best wizards...

"Dwarves with their racial armour proficiency and bonus Con, make the best Wizards. Elven wizards can boast one extra Cantrip and +1 Int, but in the grand scheme of things, that hardly adds p to grand arcane mastery.

The extra Con makes up for the low HD, certainly, but it's the armour proficiency that's the big clincher. in 5ed, you can be walking around in breastplate armour, wielding a warhammer and slinging spells as a 1st level dwarf. Elves getting +1 Int (and only High Elves) does not make a significant enough difference to make them superior magi. No race gets more than +1 Int, so the dwarven racial abilities that cover all the areas that Wizards normally lack (armour, good weapons, HP) makes them better wizards than anyone else."

Has he a point? I don't know enough to comment if I'm honest

Most players top their con score at 14, dwarfs or not.
Breastplate is only one point better than mage armor. Not an amazing gain.
You won’t be able to buy a breastplate at first level. And later you will have the choose between this armor and new spell or component.
A dwarf wizard will have lower DC, one less spell prepared.
Overall it is not an tremendous bargain.
Play a dwarf wizard if you like dwarf. But all other races can will be fine too.

Blue · Mar 24, 2019

Zardnaar said:
Dwarves are better in the charisma based classes especially with rolled stats so if you can roll16-18 it's a lot better.

Mountain Dwarf Dragon Sorcerer and some warlock builds. Haste and things like quickened green flame blade.

"If you roll really well you can do better picking a race for features instead of ability score synergies" is just a truism. It's literally true for any class.

Zardnaar · Mar 24, 2019

Blue said:
"If you roll really well you can do better picking a race for features instead of ability score synergies" is just a truism. It's literally true for any class.

Some classes benefit more than others though either due to MAD or reducing the time to max a stat form lvl 12 to level 4. A side effect of the default array is that it does heavily push certain races into certain classes since a Dwarf for example can't get a 20 spellcasting stat until level 12 otherwise (with 0 feats).

Satyrn · Mar 24, 2019

MarkB said:
My last gnome wizard took Lightly Armoured as a feat, rounding up his Dex from odd to even and wearing studded leather. It worked thematically for the character, who was a member of essentially a special-forces unit, and also meant he could forego the "spell slot tax" of always memorising and casting Mage Armour.

Crazy.

My rogue's next (and first) feat is almost certainly gonna be Moderately Armored. I never thought these feats would've ever actually see use in a game.

I am a terrible theorycrafter, is what I'm saying.

bedir than · Mar 24, 2019

SkidAce said:
No such thing as a dwarven magic user....

View attachment 105551

I was always confused why Unlimited as a thief, but quite limited as a Fighter. It still makes no sense.

D&D 5E Dwarves are the best spellcasters?

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