Are wilders really as broken as I think they are?

[Marimmar]

My advice would be to just let him have fun. I have no idea about the wilder's energy ray but usually the pure energy spells cannot keep up with monster HPs later on. At around CR10 monsters tend to have way over 100 HPs thus reducing damage spell effectivity.

Here's my take on what to really worry about...

- Barbarians with reach weapons and power attack, cleave, and great cleave doing 30+ damage per hit
- Mages with greater invisibility and fly raining down fireballs (only 7th-10th) after that
- Mages with disintegrate spells and quickened true strike (11th+)
- Clerics with harm spells
- Rogues with two-weapon fighting and either blink or greater invisibility

~Marimmar

 

[Kilroy]

My advice would be to just let him have fun. I have no idea about the wilder's energy ray but usually the pure energy spells cannot keep up with monster HPs later on. At around CR10 monsters tend to have way over 100 HPs thus reducing damage spell effectivity.

Here's my take on what to really worry about...

Agreed. Doing 36 damage a few times a day doesn't seem that bad for a 5th level character. A melee character can do well over that with a lucky swing, all day long.

If this is the worst your wilder can do, I don't see a problem at all. Don't punish him for blasting your precious NPCs, that's what the character was designed for. Just make sure that the rest of the group has stuff to do, too.

 

[Kilroy]

Here's my take on what to really worry about...

- Barbarians with reach weapons and power attack, cleave, and great cleave doing 30+ damage per hit
- Mages with greater invisibility and fly raining down fireballs (only 7th-10th) after that
- Mages with disintegrate spells and quickened true strike (11th+)
- Clerics with harm spells
- Rogues with two-weapon fighting and either blink or greater invisibility

Aah, the classics...

Also, watch for:
- metamagic sorcerors dropping a metamagic*lots Ray of Enfeeblement on your huge monsters, dropping them to 1 str, no save.
- 3rd level clerics casting Lastani's Caress and taking the BBEG out of the fight, no save.
- 7th level clerics casting Doomtide and touching anyone with sneak attack.
- monks with Touch of Golden Ice taking out a flurry of slaps on your favorite demon, draining its Dex to 0 in a round.
- 'Direct Approach' rogues abandoning Open Locks in favor of adamantine greatswords.
- 9th level clerics Plane Shifting your Animal Growth'd triceratops.

and that's just the stuff I'll admit to. 36 points of damage is the least of your worries. ;-)

 

[KarinsDad]

I think Wilders CAN be tough.

So can INTELLIGENTLY played intelligent Wizards.

1) Energy Ray is close range. Have your Wizards stay away.

2) Energy Ray is a very low probability weapon against Mirror Image. Mirror Image is the bread and butter protection spell for Wizards and Sorcerers. If an image or two gets popped, then Invsibility and run to fight from a different vantage point (or run away) is an intelligent wizard's best tactic. Why should an intelligent wizard stick around to fight?

3) Wizards should always attack from the dark if possible. PCs generally have to see which means at 5th level, they should be carrying light sources in indoor settings. Do not have enemy wizards attack them in daylight on an open field, have them attack at night or in dark places indoors. It's hard to hit the enemy wizard if you cannot see him.

4) Wizards should always have a dozen hencemen to help them out. Wilders have so few powers that they should be almost defenseless against 3 or 4 fighters.

5) Grappling. Grapple the Wilder with a few Fighter types. Except for that one Take 15 Concentration roll for one power where it uses up his psionic focus, Wilders are practically defenseless against this.

6) If the enemy Wizards know that the Wilder uses Energy Ray Cold often (for example), have them start a battle with Resist Elements Cold (or better yet, Protection From Elements Cold). If the enemy Wizard is 7th level, this is energy resistance 20. This assumes that the enemy Wizard knows something about the Wilder.

7) Have your enemies carry Potions of Cure Serious (or Cure Critical) Wounds.

8) Web the Wilder (and his allies) from a distance. It is harder to manifest when entangled.

etc., etc., etc.


PS. Do your players roll in public? My Psion on Sunday had to manifest Entangling Ectoplasm 3 times because I rolled a 4 and a 6 the first two times and missed the enemy Cleric's touch AC. It happens.


The number one problem for psionic characters in 3.5 is close range on most of their powers. Attack them from range (spell casters and archers), preferably from the dark, and they are toast. If they get within close range, grapple them.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Personally I think Wizards need a higher-level force armor spell. Mage Armor is great at low levels, but something like AC +8 would be a great spell later on.

But HERE is my answer to psionics. I abhor psionics, myself, but one of my friends wanted to run an ALL psionics campaign. So I built an entirely non-psionic Monk. Grapple-monk. With alot of the psionic resistance feats. Manifesting powers on him costs something like 3pp more, for starters, and he's got Good save progression and some other stuff. With increased movement and some Boots of Striding and Springing I usually start off every combat by surging across the battlefield and jumping the enemy artillery ("The Lion Upon The Gazelle") and starting a grapple ("Grasp of Stone Technique!"). It's touch AC, Improved Grapple gives him a great chance to get in, and then he's pretty much got it covered. Monks do their unarmed attack damage in grapples and to manifest IN a grapple is DC 20 plus another DC = Dmg concentration check to get around the damage. My monk uses Earth's Embrace and already has big damage, so if somebody doesn't get him off that psion/wilder/illithid the gig is up. If somebody wants to hit the monk he has to either join the grapple and hope he's better or take a 50% chance of hitting his buddy.

This also works amazingly with Astral Constructs given Improved Grapple. The group's Wilder took Expanded Knowledge and took a page from the monk. If manifesters are visible they usually find themselves getting wrung out like wet rags within two rounds.

--fje

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Personally I think Wizards need a higher-level force armor spell. Mage Armor is great at low levels, but something like AC +8 would be a great spell later on.

Complete Arcane has a Greater Mage Armor, 3rd level, +6 AC