confusing level 1 wizard dilemna

[Nifft]

Meh. Disintegrate them before they close to melee.

Since it is a Ray, I think disintegrate is one of the poster children for Precise Shot.

If you'd gone for horrid wilting, I'd be forced to agree.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Felix]

Damnit!

Horrid Wilting, Horrid Wilting!

Heh.

Still, two feats is a whole lot to spend to be accurate with a very few spells, and only when the enemy is in melee. Again, only if you don't allow the Orb spells; if you do that, why prepare anything else?

 

[Nifft]

Still, two feats is a whole lot to spend to be accurate with a very few spells, and only when the enemy is in melee.

Because that's when the chips are down: when the Barbarian stands one attack away from Valhalla, and he's the only thing between the hydra and you; or when the Cleric is being grappled by a roc, and you're sitting on a ray of enfeeblement and a ray of exhaustion.

It's true that it's better to solve problems before they can close to melee, but in my experience melee usually happens despite the party's best efforts.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Felix]

Because that's when the chips are down: when the Barbarian stands one attack away from Valhalla, and he's the only thing between the hydra and you; or when the Cleric is being grappled by a roc, and you're sitting on a ray of enfeeblement and a ray of exhaustion.

Oh, quit being dramatic and lyrical, you.

It's true that it's better to solve problems before they can close to melee, but in my experience melee usually happens despite the party's best efforts.

Cheers, -- N

Maybe so, but I'm the wizard: melee is something that happens to other people. And that's what's important.

 

[Nifft]

Maybe so, but I'm the wizard: melee is something that happens to other people. And that's what's important.

Agree. This is why I'll never, ever give up Conjuration: because I can conjure myself elsewhere.

So long as you're wise enough to realize your minions are disposable party mates are raiseable, you should be fine.

Cheers, -- N

PS: (But seriously, melee happens a lot. It may sometimes be sub-optimal, but the players of Barbarians and Paladins want to charge in & mix it up. As a Wizard, you can work around this in a number of ways. Precise Shot is one of those ways.)

 

[Mistwell]

Unfortunately, I don't have these books. Also, switching between different classes (or at least between variations of the wizard class) seems pretty complicated, and I don't know the first thing about how that works. I don't think my DM understands it, either. This is my first time playing D&D in many years (I used to play 2nd Edition, and had never heard of 3.0, 3.5, or anything else until a couple of weeks ago), so I'd rather keep it simple. Honestly, I'll be impressed if my character makes it to 5th level. I am hoping to get at least that far, because I want to cast fireball.

Ah, then ignore what I said. You're right, it's complicated and not necessary. Just getting the hang of a spell like Silent Image will be a challenge, and you don't need to make it even more complex with all that jazzy shadow stuff I mentioned.

Regarding spell focus: illusion, I am not sure that's my best option. As a gnome, I would already have +1 to DC for illusion spells. Obviously, +2 is better than +1. But I imagine most of the enemies I'll be facing will have stronger Reflex saves than Will saves, so I'll need more help with spells that result in Reflex saves, i.e. mostly Evocation spells. Spell focus: Evocation will give me an advantage against enemies with strong Reflex saves. I think that is my best option.

Well, you will probably find a wide mix of opponents. For example, usually a big tough creature has a high fortitude but weak will save, while a spell caster opponent will usually have a high will save and weak fortitude. In my opinion, reflex is usually the least important save you need to worry about, because even if they make their save they usually still take some damage (usually half). On the other hand, if you hit them with an illusion or enchantment or necromancy spell, the opponent making their save usually means the spell has no effect.

I mentioned illusion because you said you wanted to take advantage of the gnomes +1 DC to illusions. I agree, you should. There are some very potent illusion spells, and some of them can even kill or effectively kill your opponent. For example, Color Spray is a very good offensive illusion spell that is low level, but it remains effective even at higher levels. It has a Will save attached to it though. While opponents will improve their Will save over time, you will not improve your spell DC over time unless you take feats, abilities, increase your intelligence, or other things. If illusion is something you want to do well, eventually you will probably want to take spell focus: illusion.

Now if you want to focus on evocation (which is also a fine strategy, since it has some excellent spells like Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, and Fireball), then you could of course take Spell Focus: Evocation. But, I don't think it's as important as for a school like Illusion. That's because Evocation has a lot of offensive spells that don't allow any save at all. For example, Magic Missile automatically hits and has no save (and is a useful spell for many levels, so you should take it). Scorching Ray is a great spell (and many people think it is even a better spell than fireball, since it has the potential to do more damage, and probably will at higher levels), and it is a ranged touch attack with no save. Of those three good spells I mentioned, only fireball allows a save, and as mentioned even if you make your save against it, you usually still take 50% damage.

Personally, I think you would get more use out of: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, or Great Fortitude, than you would out of Spell Focus: Evocation.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Agreed- Spell focus is really only useful as a path to something else.

BTW, what books will be used in your DM's campaign? We can help a bit more if we know what resources are at your disposal.

 

[doosler]

BTW, what books will be used in your DM's campaign? We can help a bit more if we know what resources are at your disposal.

Not sure. I'll have to ask him. I know he plays 3.5 edition, and he said he would probably convert to 4th edition. He was with me when I rolled my ability scores, and I told him I was planning to make this character a wizard. He wasn't too familiar with the rules for spellcasting, so I don't think he plays wizards very often. That leads me to believe that he doesn't have any of the specialty wizard books like Complete Mage or Complete Arcana or whatever else is out there. But I will check with him to make sure. I think it's safe to assume that I won't have access to anything beyond the PHB and DMG. But I'm still planning on asking him if I can use the feat Collegiate Wizard. If I play a gnome, that will be my only feat.