confusing level 1 wizard dilemna

[Mistwell]

Do you want to be the Wizard who turns invisible, flies, and nukes things from above with a fireball? Or do you want to be the wizard who nimbly dodges things from the ground while zapping them with scorching rays? What is your preferred playing style?

 

[Doug McCrae]

With those stats a viable alternative would be to switch wis + con and go for a gish build - a fighter/wizard. Fighter 1/Wizard 6/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5. You'll be almost as good a caster as a straight wizard but you'll be using your spells to buff your melee ability, taking advantage of that 17 strength.

 

[Nifft]

The problem with Color Spray is that you need to be very close indeed to your intended targets for the spell to work.

Very true -- but it's still the most effective 1st level spell for a long time. (After which, silent image is arguably the strongest... but that depends how much fun your DM allows you to have with Illusions in general.) By 3rd level, your Illusionist will have mirror image to make combat proximity much less frightening.

And then a human can move 10 feet further each move, 20 with ER. Don't have to run faster than the landshark, you only have to run faster than the gnome, eh?

That's true, but a gnome or halfling without er will easily keep pace with a dwarf, or anyone else in Medium or Heavy armor; and a gnome or halfling with er will outpace all of them.

The speed issue gets smaller when you have access to fly, and disappears entirely with overland flight ... so it really depends what level you plan to play through.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Plus, lets face it, there is that +1AC bonus for being small, and no corresponding penalty to spell damage.

Tangential question:

Halflings get a bonus to throwing things...are there any spells that could take advantage of that bonus?

 

[Felix]

Very true -- but it's still the most effective 1st level spell for a long time. (After which, silent image is arguably the strongest... but that depends how much fun your DM allows you to have with Illusions in general.) By 3rd level, your Illusionist will have mirror image to make combat proximity much less frightening.

Granted. But neither with Silent Image (nor any of the Image spells, really), nor with Mirror Image will the +1 Illusion DC come in terribly handy. Yes, Image spells have a Will save if interacted with; a smart Illusionist simply has to figure a way to use the illusion such that they don't interact with it, but rather simply believe what the illusion shows them.

I love that +1 Illusion DC when I want to play a Gnome Focused Specialist Illusionist, but for a general wizard it won't come into play that much.

That's true, but a gnome or halfling without er will easily keep pace with a dwarf, or anyone else in Medium or Heavy armor; and a gnome or halfling with er will outpace all of them.

True, of course, but this heavy armor business won't affect the comparison between a human and a gnome wizard; the human will have an easier time fleeing...

The speed issue gets smaller when you have access to fly, and disappears entirely with overland flight ... so it really depends what level you plan to play through.

...Until these come in to play, naturally. But at that point the +1 AC is less significant, as is the +1 attack; like how racial advantages of every kind decrease in importance as you increase your level.

I'd still say it's a wash between the human and the gnome; it would depend entirely for me on what flavor of wizard I wanted to play.

 

[Nifft]

Granted. But neither with Silent Image (nor any of the Image spells, really), nor with Mirror Image will the +1 Illusion DC come in terribly handy.

True. However, the bonus will apply to the best early crowd control spell (color spray) and the earliest save-or-die (phantasmal killer) and the most flexible spells in the game which don't cost XP (shadow evocation / conjuration + greater versions).

I love that +1 Illusion DC when I want to play a Gnome Focused Specialist Illusionist, but for a general wizard it won't come into play that much.

True, unless you focus on taking advantage of it. Even a generalist has good reason to prep the illusions mentioned above.

...Until these come in to play, naturally. But at that point the +1 AC is less significant, as is the +1 attack; like how racial advantages of every kind decrease in importance as you increase your level.

Yes. Wizards have a knack for making such things as "AC" and "grapple checks" irrelevant.

I present the Gnome and Halfling more as tools to shape this guy's ability scores than as strictly superior choices.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Christian]

I understand that the +3 HP/level will be nice.

I think looking at it in relative terms may be more beneficial to you than in absolute terms. This is a character class with d4 hit points, for an average of 2.5 hit points per level with a 10 Con, or 5.5 hit points per level with a 17 Con. That is huge! Barring toad familiars (eew!), Toughness feats, and Con-boosting items, you can expect at 11th level to have (on average) either 29 hit points, or 62. Believe me, 29 hit point won't last that long at that level. The 10 Con Wizard's only defense is to not get hit, and a couple points of Dex bonus to AC will not, in general, go very far towards preventing that.

Con is an oft-undervalued stats for wizards. And it helps with Concentration checks, which help prevent damage almost as much as Dexterity does.

 

[Herobizkit]

After reading everyone's insigtful posts, I gotta agree that you should be looking long-term with the character instead of the short-term. And in the long-term, more HP = longer-lived wizard.

If you were playing more of a RP-type game, I'd totally keep the 17 STR and be the buffest Wizard in the land. I'd even go the extra distance -- wear a two-handed sword, walk around in armor, carry a shield... or at least have the illusion of wearing armor. That'll mess with some people. Then go one better and take the Chameleon prestige class.

But I'm weird.

In YOUR case, Switching STR and CON would be ideal. Switching STR and CHA could be an interesting RP choice. Switching INT and WIS is just funny and you should suggest it with a straight face to your DM and see what he says.

 

[doosler]

After tweaking stats back and forth, I have arrived at the following candidates:

gnome 1
str 8 (-1 attack str, +1 attack size)
dex 12 (+1 range attack dex, +1 range attack size), (+1 AC dex, +1 AC size)
con 19 (+4 HP/lvl, +4 concentration, +4 fortitude)
int 15
wis 15
char 13

human
str 10
dex 12 (+1 range attack dex, +1 range attack Point Blank Shot) (+1 AC dex)
con 17 (+3 HP/lvl, +3 concentration, +3 fortitude)
int 15
wis 15
char 13

halfling
str 8 (-1 attack str, +1 attack size)
dex 14 (+2 range attack dex, +1 range attack size), (+2 AC dex, +1 AC size)
con 17 (+3 HP/lvl, +3 concentration, +3 fortitude)
int 15
wis 15
char 13

All three of the characters listed above have a 15 intelligence. None of them have a net bonus based on strength. Between gnome1 and the human, each has a net bonus of +2 to ranged attack. Since the human is using Point Blank Shot, he will get +1 on damage for ranged attacks (including magical ranged attacks like rays). Gnome1 has +2 AC, compared to the human's +1 AC. I think the AC bonus is more important than 1 extra point of damage on ranged attacks. But what really puts gnome1 over the human is the extra HP/lvl. The halfling has +3 to AC and +3 to ranged attacks. That gives him an advantage over both gnome1 and the human (although he also doesn't get the +1 damage on ranged attacks since he won't have Point Blank Shot). Between the halfling and gnome1, it becomes a question of what is more important, +1 on ranged attacks and +1 AC, or +1 HP/lvl? Halflings have that nifty +1 racial bonus on all saving throws. But gnomes get +1 added to the DC of their illusion spells, which I plan to use a lot.

gnome 2
str 13 (+1 attack str, +1 attack size) (+1 damage on melee attacks)
dex 12 (+1 range attack dex, +1 range attack size), (+1 AC dex, +1 AC size)
con 12 (+1 HP/lvl, +1 concentration, +1 fortitude)
int 17
wis 15
char 13

Gnome2 is different. Unlike the others, he has a net bonus of +2 on melee attacks, and +1 damage on melee attacks. He also has a +2 bonus on ranged attacks and a +2 bonus to AC. He is the only character with a 17 intelligence. That's his biggest strength. His biggest weakness, however, is his low constitution, which will only grant him a bonus of +1 HP/lvl.

At this point I think it's fair to say that I am obsessing over this choice. It's an interesting puzzle. Who should I pick?

 

[Nifft]

Between the halfling and gnome1, it becomes a question of what is more important, +1 on ranged attacks and +1 AC, or +1 HP/lvl? Halflings have that nifty +1 racial bonus on all saving throws. But gnomes get +1 added to the DC of their illusion spells, which I plan to use a lot.

IMHO it comes down to offense vs. defense here.

Halflings have better saves: +1 to all saves, +2 vs. Fear, +1 Reflex (due to +2 Dex), +2 AC.
Gnomes can take punishment a little better: +2 vs. Illusions (like that ever happens), +1 Fort save (due to +2 Con), +1 AC, +1 HP/level.

Halflings can hit easier: +2 to ranged attacks, +3 with thrown weapons.
Gnomes can use spells better: +1 to Concentration checks, +1 to Illusion DCs.

IMHO the Halfling is more defensive, the Gnome more offense-oriented. Pick your PC's personality, and the race should choose itself.

Cheers, -- N