COS level 1 Wizard (Possible Spoilers?)

[rgoodbb]

COS level 1 Wizard

Hi folks, I’m about to start a Curse of Strahd campaign as a 1st level Wizard in Death House. I have played COS before, but as a Barbarian and am not sure my Wizard will survive.

I have, for some reason, always avoided playing a Wizard in every edition, but now I’m biting the bullet and am musing spell choices. My cantrips will be Light (as I am a human Wizard), Mage Hand for utility and Ray of Frost for my combat cantrip. I am planning to go Illusionist so at second I get the Improved Minor Illusion.

I do not know the rest of the party make-up, and AC-wise, my Dex is 14 (+2)

As you know I get 6 spells to putin the book, so I’m thinking 2 rituals and 4 spells:

Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Grease
Mage Armour
Tasha’s Tiny Tantrum (re-fluffed)
Thunderwave

(I have no interest in Sleep).

My 2 questions are;

1) Is it worthtaking both Grease and Tasha’s as both drop enemies prone?

2) Is it worthconsidering Shield at 1st level as well as Mage Armour?

I was going to take Shield with Alarm at 2nd

Anyone care to comment on my selection. I am open to changing 1 or 2 spells about

As always, thanks for your thoughts, time and expertise.

Cheers, BB.

 

[Gadget]

Is it worthtaking both Grease and Tasha’s as both drop enemies prone?

Well, both of them target different saves and are pretty nice debuffs at this level, so I don't think the overlap is too severe.

Is it worth considering Shield at 1st level as well as Mage Armour?
I was going to take Shield with Alarm at 2nd

Both Shield and Mage Armour are useful spells, but preparing both at first level is a significant investment of resources, though admittedly one that can save your bacon at the right time. Normally I would only go with one or the other, but I have heard that COS is hard on low level characters.

 

[Radaceus]

1) Optimizing:
(disclaimer: I prefer Grease, because I like to use it on my party members in situations like dividing up treasure piles... )
Grease is AoE, that creates an area that a Dex save must be rolled if a creature enters or ends it's turn there, falling prone if failing the save. Tasha's, a single target Wis save, but are also incapacited as well as prone ( they cannot take actions or reactions), can last up to a minute, but they get a save each turn and if attacked ( there is also the chance for creatures to be resistant to Enchantment...). It's Apples vs an Orange, really, (Dex saves usually better than Wis saves for lower level creatures) but Grease wins out for effectiveness.

2) yes, shield is probably most effective at the lower levels, at the higher levels, that +5 to AC often is not going to help you. Swap Tasha's for Shield at 1st

3) no illusion spells? Consider Color Spray at 1st (no saves, great for low level mobs) , drop Thunderwave, unless you are Mountain Dwarf and wearing Medium armor (if that is the case, then drop Mage Armor) you do not want to get into a situation where this spell is effective, stay away from melee you're too squishy. Rely on your combat cantrip, and if you are playing something like High Elf, you can use a bow as well for combat.

4) not sure on Alarm, it is a good ritual, and if you were considering Abjurer it would be a mainstay. I'd take something else.

 

[jgsugden]

At first level I take 5 rituals and 1 non-ritual. You only get 3 spells per long rest. You can use the same spell for all three and enjoy the long term benefit of detect magic, comprehend languages, unseen servant, find familiar and alarm. At second level I take shield and absorb elements for emergency defense. Generally, you can find or buy more first level spells at higher level when you want them.

For that one starting spell I'd go with sleep, but you won't. Tasha's is a great way to take down the big threats in a meaningful way and protect allies - and is just fun overall.

 

[77IM]

If you're concerned about survivability, take both mage armor and shield. You won't regret it; both are incredible spells, and it's almost always better to live a few more rounds and use cantrips than to blow your wad on attack spells.

There just aren't many good area-denial spells at 1st level, which is why everybody takes sleep. I think thunderwave is a decent pick -- you need to be in close range to use it, but it knocks enemies away, which can help you get out of close range quickly. But it's not the best option either, for that reason. Ditto for color spray, and burning hands is even worse because it doesn't have any control element at all. So if you really don't want sleep, I think grease is really your best bet. So I vote grease as your third spell.

For single-target spells, Tasha's tiny tantrum is not bad, but the enemy gets a save every round so don't expect it to last long. The other really good one to consider is charm person, which is not nearly as good in combat, but has some really incredible non-combat utility at this level. The damage-dealing spells at 1st level have never impressed me. The classic magic missile is not awful, but at this level, you're probably better off saving your slots for shield. Chromatic orb is even worse, unless you have some special ability that helps you with spell attacks (and you don't), and don't even get me started on the trap-option that is witch bolt. And there's a reason nobody ever takes ray of sickness.

So for your fourth spell, I'd say it's a toss up between charm person and thunderwave. I'd probably lean towards thunderwave if you're worried about dying, and then take charm person at 2nd level.

I like the idea of making the fifth and sixth spells rituals, since you can only prepare four spells. Find familiar is great if you are into that sort of thing. The other two worth checking out are detect magic and identify, although at level 1 I think detect magic will come in more handy because you might not be finding many magic items worth identifying.

So there's my recommendation:

detect magic
find familiar
grease
mage armor
shield
thunderwave

 

[abirdcall]

Shield is a much better investment of spell slots than Mage Armour.

Mage Armour may not do anything for you at all while Shield is all but guaranteed to have an effect. You should wait until at least 5th level before starting to cast Mage Armour.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm not sure I would bother at all with offensive spells at first level. They run out far to soon and Wizards offer good utility with rituals, familiars and knowledge skills. Shield is better than mage armour, since your aim is to not be targeted at all, and if you are unlucky enough to be on the recieving end +5 is more likely to save your butt than +3. Personally, though I would play a dwarf, gith, lizardfolk or tortle so I could forget about mage armour all together.

 

[Mistwell]

My cantrips will be Light (as I am a human Wizard), Mage Hand for utility and Ray of Frost for my combat cantrip. I am planning to go Illusionist so at second I get the Improved Minor Illusion.

I do not know the rest of the party make-up, and AC-wise, my Dex is 14 (+2)

As you know I get 6 spells to putin the book, so I’m thinking 2 rituals and 4 spells:

Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Grease
Mage Armour
Tasha’s Tiny Tantrum (re-fluffed)
Thunderwave

(I have no interest in Sleep).

My 2 questions are;

1) Is it worthtaking both Grease and Tasha’s as both drop enemies prone?

2) Is it worthconsidering Shield at 1st level as well as Mage Armour?

I was going to take Shield with Alarm at 2nd

Anyone care to comment on my selection. I am open to changing 1 or 2 spells about

As always, thanks for your thoughts, time and expertise.

Cheers, BB.

You can only use two spell slots and prepare four spells. So, it might be overkill to do all of Grease, Tasha's and Thunderwave. I'd probably swap one of those for Alarm or Comprehend Languages (both rituals).

What is your feat by the way? You could grab Magic Initiate. Treantmonk (whose guides I love) recently suggested Magic Initiate: Druid to get Goodberries which his familiar can deliver to downed allies, along with Guidance (a great cantrip) and one more additional cantrip (like Resistance or Mending).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You could use Magic Initiate to pick up Mage Armour (one use a day is ideal) and two extra wizard cantrips.

 

[rgoodbb]

You can only use two spell slots and prepare four spells. So, it might be overkill to do all of Grease, Tasha's and Thunderwave. I'd probably swap one of those for Alarm or Comprehend Languages (both rituals).

What is your feat by the way? You could grab Magic Initiate. Treantmonk (whose guides I love) recently suggested Magic Initiate: Druid to get Goodberries which his familiar can deliver to downed allies, along with Guidance (a great cantrip) and one more additional cantrip (like Resistance or Mending).

I have Alert so I can hopefully get some control early