1st level wizard design

[efreet]

I've been given the task of playing the wizard in a game which starts from scratch - 1st level just starting gold etc. I've no idea of any particular themes to the campaign (e.g. lots of undead etc.) and need some inspiration.

What do your wizards look like at 1st level. I'm looking for everything from race, feats, specialist school, spell known, spells memorised, starting equipment - the whole lot! Got any ideas for any particularly good combinations to go for?

I'd like to be as effective as possible from the start, but not have my choices hurt me once I've gained a couple of levels.

efreet.

 

[0-hr]

Get a crossbow.
Pick a specialized school for the extra spell.
If you have the money, make a few scrolls.

Otherwise you'll spend most of your time as a spectator at 1st level.

 

[DarkJester]

I generally prefer human or gnome wizards. Human (I just like humans) they get that handy bonus feats. Gnome wizards con bonus ofsets the small hit dice a little, plus they are small so more bonuses there.

If it is your first wizard, I wouldn't specialize unless you know what you want. The crossbow will be your most used weapon until you gain some levels.

Try to plan out your feats ahead of time, depending on what books you have. Spell casting prodgidy is great if it is available to you (FRCS). I'd also recomend eventually heading into the archmage prestiege class. Lots of cool benefits there (if it is available to you, again FRCS).

Do not take magic missle, or memorize it at low levels, there are much more useful spells. Charm person works wonders if your in an urban setting, mage armor is always nice for that much needed boost in ac when in the thick of it. Silent image can be great if you have a creative imaginiation.
For combat spells, sleep and color spray are your killers here. With a decent intellgence most things will only have a 25-30% chance of making the save.
If you wanted to be really effective at low levels (and still so but not to the same extent) at high levels, take spell focus and greater spell focus enchantment as your feats. Not much will make sleep saves with that dc, and later on you can get the hold spells, suggestion, feeblemind, and charm/dominate monster.

 

[JoelF]

Consider a small sized race, for the +1 to AC and attack rolls. The STR penalty isn't a big deal, since you won't be in melee often anyway. Also, if you pick halfling, you get +2 dex, and thus another +1 to AC, and if you pick gnome, you get +2 con, and a bonus hp/level. (This later choice is especially good with a toad familiar, which gives an additional +2 Con.)

As for spells, you should probably choose either sleep or color spray for their ability to take out a group of low level foes. You should also take either mage armor or shield (if not both) for defense. Magic missile or truestrike are also good choices for offense, but not quite as good as sleep or color spray at 1st level. They are great spells for readying an action to disrupt enemy spellcasters with, however.

For feats you have several options. Dodge and toughness increase your defense. (so does expertise and the saving throw enhancers, but these aren't as useful as 1st level.) There's others, but these are what I'd worry about at first.

You won't be able to make scrolls at character creation yourself, since you'll have 0 XP, but after your first adventure, make several. As mentioned, if you have the gold (which wizards often do) buy a scroll or two, since they're only 25gp for a caster level 1 scroll.

 

[Sinjin the Rogue]

Wizard

My advice is similar to what others have posted, but I do ideas that vary from the typical wizard.

What can be said of the wizard is true for all other classes, but I have found it vital for my wizard:
Work on the areas where you are vulnerable, because survival is your primary concern
1. AC - As a first level wizard, you might be fighting enemies that have an average attack bonus of +1 to +3. All it takes is one swing from a battleaxe to end your career. However, if you start off with a 14 dex, mage armor and shield, you can boast an AC of 23. That's going to be higher than most of the tanks in your group, and it will require that the majority of foes you fight will have to roll a natural 20 to hit you. This will allow you to survive long enough to cast those offensive spells or use your crossbow to inflict damage.

2. Saving throws - While you might be able to sport a good AC, AC does not provide protection against most spells. If you start as a human, you will get a free feat at level one. I used my two feats at level one (besides scribe scroll which you get for free) to take greater fortitude and lightning reflexes. I know many people would disagree with a wizard taking these two feats, but those to saves are your worst, and a +2 bonus to each is very nice. It will be especially nice for you at later levels. I can''t tell you the number of times my wizard survives simply because of those two feats. Besides, you'll get a new feat at level 3 and another metamagic or item creation feat at level five, so you can take spell focus and something else at those levels. Remember, the levels come pretty quickly when you are just starting out, so you'll get those feats in no time. Remember too that as you gain levels, you can add to your saves by purchasing a cloak of spell resistance, and you can use your second level buffs to increase your will, dex and con scores, which will also add to your saving throws. My wizard is currently level 13. I have a Cloak of Protection +5, which I saved the money to buy. All three of my saving throws are at 13, and when I cast cat's grace, endurance and owl's wisdom on myself, I can boost my saves to 14 or 15.

3. Spell resistance: You're not going to find anything that you can afford at low levels that will give you spell resistance. This is something to ponder for your wizard in later levels, as it will be the only area of vulnerability you will still have to address.

4. Movement. The addage "run away to fight another day" is a reality in D&D. Until you get teleportation spells, you will need to be able to get away if the situation becomes hopeless. One of the best investments I ever made was boots of striding and springing. I know many people prefer boots of haste, but given the fact that boots of haste only last ten rounds, the boots of striding and springing allow for more movement overall. It's funny, because my rogue was the first person in the party to buy the boots, and once everyone saw that my rogue could rush in from long distances in order to attack, everyone else in the group eventually got a pair of the boots.

Another consideration is specialization. I myself declined to specialize. I know that's taboo for many here, but I have found that having access to the whole gambit of spells is preferable to gaining an extra spell slot and a +2 DC to spells of a given school but losing an entire school of spells. The reason is simple: It's fine to think about how much extra damage you might do by specializing in evocation spells, but the minute your group has to mix it up with a rogues' guild, your going to find that those evocation spells are almost worthless. In essence, it's normally the "situation" that becomes your strongest enemy, and most of the times, your group has no control of the situation. Your party is usually in the position of "aggressor" and you therefore normally end up dealing with others on their terms, not yours. Therefore, having a wider variety of spells gives you more opportunity to alter the situation to an environment that is more conducive to your survival. Some may argue that having 9 more available spell slots at level 20 is better, but by the time you get to level 20, you'll be fighting against foes with a wider variety of strengths and weaknesses. All it takes is that one encounter where you can't cast a spell that could save the day, and your whole party ends up dead.

Some may argue that this type of thing does not happen a lot, but after 13 levels as a wizard, I know for a fact that it does. At lower levels, I was fighting just to survive. Now that I have a few more hitpoints and some extra power, my wizard has been kicking some tail and saving the party. In one of our last adventures, I killed three of four beholders with the flesh to stone spell. I was able to kill a purple worm that had already swallowed our fighter by using a phantasmal killer. I killed a group of salamanders with a cone of cold (spell focus evocation) and a cryohydra with a fireball. In these cases, I needed spells that were capable of killing the enemy in one round, but I had to choose from a number of different schools. (I've had to use a number of other different spells from different schools as well) If I had been a specialist, some of these spells would not have been available to me, and we would have experienced a lot more difficulty and death in our group.

Sorry, I know this was long, but I hope it is useful

 

[rtricher]

I agree with Sinjin,

Myself I specialized a wizard and the downsides are quite heavy.. but an extra fireball was cool.

Anyway the gnome is my choice. as a gnome hes gets to cast a few 0 level spell for free, a toad familiar, boost that con..

If you are doing a point buy depending on how many points you get put a 10 in str a 14 in dex a 14 in con a 16 in int and do what you can with the rest that way your con will be at 18 thus you get 8 HP to start.. Great fortidue and lightning reflexes are good but you might also consider toughness those 3 HP mean nothing to a figther but to you they are your life.

Spells mage armour is always an iportant one, I'm not familiar with the low end offensive spells so trust someone else..

But the levels will come fast.

 

[Quidam]

My wizard started out specializing, but didn't end up using the extra spells (illusiong) and I eventually asked my DM if I could go back to generalist. You'll find yourself missing the spells you've made prohibited.

If you miss those extra spells, pick up some Pearls of Power later on and (once you hit 7th) Miser with Magic from the Kalamar PH. With a spellcraft roll you can retain your Int modifier in spell levels instead of losing them upon casting.

 

[Kershek]

Re: Wizard

Another consideration is specialization. I myself declined to specialize. I know that's taboo for many here, but I have found that having access to the whole gambit of spells is preferable to gaining an extra spell slot and a +2 DC to spells of a given school but losing an entire school of spells.

Minor nit: you get +2 to spellcraft checks from your specialized school, not +2 DC.

The reason is simple: It's fine to think about how much extra damage you might do by specializing in evocation spells, but the minute your group has to mix it up with a rogues' guild, your going to find that those evocation spells are almost worthless.

On the contrary, specializing in Illusion can be very useful. Having a free Silent Image and Invisibility at 3rd level can do wonders when you are trying to retreat. I'm sure the other schools have similar situations. Personally, my illusionist hasn't missed the Evocation school at all so far and he's almost 5th level.

If I had been a specialist, some of these spells would not have been available to me, and we would have experienced a lot more difficulty and death in our group.

The feat Energy Substitution is your friend. Shooting sonic fireballs is a blast. *duck*

 

[Tar-Edhel]

All good advices so far but I'll add a few of my own

Choose Sun elf as race. With +2 INT, your spells got their DC boosted by +1 and you get some more bonus spells. Add Spell casting prodigy as 1st level feat and you get a virtual +2 in INT. With a 18 in INT, you get to 22 INT, with DCs at +6.

With the elf, you get proficiencies in bow and rapier, which are both excellent weapons. With only a few spells per day, you might want to be prepared when your slots are empty.

You absolutely do not want to look like a wizard at 1st level. Display those weapons as much as possible and forget the robe. Ennemies won't recognize you as a spell caster right away and you'll be less impressive than the party's tank. So you should be safe to cast your first spells as ennemies will target jucier prey.

I chose to specialize for the extra spell (and to boost the DC of spells from my school by +4 with Spell Focus and Greater Spell focus) but I think both ways are roughly equal and mainly a question of personnal choice. My only advice: If you choose to specialize, don't choose Transmutaion as your opposed school. Too many very useful goodies you don't want to miss

And, most important of all... Have fun!

 

[Plane Sailing]

Consider what familiar you would like. The Raven is a particularly good one because he can actually communicate with everyone, unlike all the other familiars!.

I'll not go over spell selection since someone else already has. If you can use your starting money to purchase some additional 1st level scrolls, do so! more spells to choose from is good, good, good.

I wouldn't go for the ST boosting feats personally. Perhaps Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot so that you can target your spells and crossbow bolts into melee with impunity! I tend to lean towards metamagic feats, but at 1st level they are more an investment for the future. Silent spell is a good one though, and Still spell is worth it too. Basically any of the +1 level metamagic feats is a decent one to take early on.

Cheers