Help with a wizard

[DarkJester]

My friend loves to play wizards..... But he is really sucking at it. Everytime we start a game he wants to be the arcane caster. At first we let him, he would just end up picking weird spells in no real fashion. Its been a while since he has tried to be one, since after a while of his antics we made someone else starting playing the casters. He has asked me (another player in the group, the stand in mage when he isn't) to help me with his character. He wants something that can be a great help to the group/ good in combat. He told me really doesn't care in what way though.

Guidelines set by the dm: 26,000 exp (almost 8th level) , 40 point (WOW) point-buy.
The character will be coming into a group of 9th level character,so far every character he has played has been the weakest in the group. He gets 18,000 gp and can craft his own magic items (if he picks the feats)

He is leaning toward sun elf for race, but any race from core or FCS is allowed.

Any suggestions?

 

[bret]

You forgot to mention what he is good at playing.

Given that, we could probably come up with a character that can be played that way yet supplements his powers with magic. That way, your friend has a well defined role he can play and still gets the spells.

 

[perivas]

Playing a wizard is not an easy feat for some people. It sometimes requires patience and forethought. Good ability to think on one's feet can get one much further than anything else.

I suggest that he creates a human sorceror. Firstly, he can bypass the need to prepare spells, which could have severely limited his abilities. Secondly, I suggest that he plays a combat-oriented sorceror. That way, he gets to fling his spells, but will be able to generally help the group fairly easily.

Of course, his personality style may call for some other orientation, but generally, a human combat-oriented sorceror will be a significant help for any group that tends to enter combat and does not really require much finesse to play.

As for fleshing out this type of character, I suggest choosing just one theme and maxing out the spells in this theme. Utility-wise, this probably makes for a weak character but it does tend to keep one who is indecisive or conducive to fads to maintain a fairly good character. Part of the problem with sorcerors is the limited number of spells, but if your friend chooses only one spell theme, my guess is that he'll turn out to be quite a force to be reckoned with.

My suggestion: go with a fire sorceror...burnings hands, combust, agnazzar's scorcher, fireball, and wall of fire. Just pick as many fire spells as he can; it makes a suprisingly fun character to play. As for feats, go with bloodline of fire (if possible), spell focus (evocation), greater spell focus (evocation) and martial weapon proficiency (long sword). Then buy a flaming sword and a cloak of fire resistance or the like if possible.

That might seem one-dimensional, but it can be fun to play.

 

[RogueJK]

My suggestion: go with a fire sorceror...burnings hands, combust, agnazzar's scorcher, fireball, and wall of fire. Just pick as many fire spells as he can; it makes a suprisingly fun character to play. As for feats, go with bloodline of fire (if possible), spell focus (evocation), greater spell focus (evocation) and martial weapon proficiency (long sword). Then buy a flaming sword and a cloak of fire resistance or the like if possible.

This is an excellent suggestion. It gives them something relatively simple to focus on, and he will still be extremely useful. It even gives him a good foundation for roleplaying the character.

If he needs that bit of extra power, help him get into the Elemental Savant Prestige Class. A Fire Elemental Savant Sorceror with Bloodline of Fire, Spell Focus (Evocation), and Greater Spell Focus (Evocation) is powerful, useful, and easy to play.

He may need some help with his spell choices, but that's where you (and the rest of your group) come in. The focus on Fire spells ought to help with this, though.

Something like this:
Human Sorceror (40 pt. buy)
Str - 10
Dex - 16
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 11
Cha - 17

Sor1 - Bloodline of Fire, Spellcasting Prodigy
Sor2
Sor3 - Empower Spell
Sor4 - Cha +1 (18)
Sor5
Sor6- Energy Substitution
Elem. Savant1
Elem. Savant2 - Wis +1 (12)
Elem. Savant3 - Spell Focus (Evocation)
Elem. Savant4
Elem. Savant5
Elem. Savant6 - Greater Spell Focus (Evocation), Dex +1 (17)
Elem. Savant7
Elem. Savant8
Elem. Savant9 - Maximize Spell
Elem. Savant10 - Dex +1 (18)
Sor7
Sor8 - Energy Admixture
Sor9
Sor10 - Cha +1 (19)
(He could replace these last 4 Sorceror levels with levels in another Prestige Class.)

It's easy to follow and has a theme to it, and you can't go wrong with most Evocation spells.

 

[Omegium]

human 5 Necromancer/ 2 red wizard, without divination and abduration (shield and dispel magic already taken)

Stats:
10 str
10 dex
18 con
18 int +1+4 (item) = 23
10 wis
10 cha

Feats: Spellcasting Progidy, Tatoo focus, Craft Wonderous Items, Silent spell, Spell focus: necromancy

Skills: max knowledge arcana, max spellcraft, scry, concentration, spot, listen

Equipment:
Headband of intellect+4 (crafted) 8k
Cloak of resistance+3 (crafted) 4.5k
Amulet of Health +2 (crafted) 2k
Rest: healing potions and standard adventure gear and aditional spells
Total: 14.5 k

DC: +6 (int) +1 (spellcasting progidy) + 1tatoo focus + 10 = 18 + spelllvl, 21 for necromancy

Spells: enervation, ghoul touch, improved invisibility, polymorph self, dispel magic, mage armor, shield, ray of enfeeblement, lightning bolt, magic missile.

Tactic: polymorph self into grim (18 dex, +2 size to ac, can fly). Ac = 10 + 4 (dex) + 2 (size) + 4 (mage armor) + 7 (shield) = 27
Cast ghoul touch on enemies, CDG with enervation. Thats 2d4 negative lvl (fortsave = 10 + 2d4*5)

Be careful, he can possibly frag his party (learned through experience. ) We are lvl two munchkins now because of this experience

 

[RogueJK]

human 5 Necromancer/ 2 red wizard, without divination and abduration...

I think that, based on what DarkJester has said, this specific character and tactic might be a little too advanced for his friend... This is, of course, IMHO.

Once he has had experience playing an effective arcane caster, he could try a character like this. But for now (IMHO again) he should stick with something simpler.

 

[bret]

If he needs that bit of extra power, help him get into the Elemental Savant Prestige Class. A Fire Elemental Savant Sorceror with Bloodline of Fire, Spell Focus (Evocation), and Greater Spell Focus (Evocation) is powerful, useful, and easy to play.

[ snip ]
Sor1 - Bloodline of Fire, Spellcasting Prodigy
Sor2
Sor3 - Empower Spell
Sor4 - Cha +1 (18)
Sor5
Sor6- Energy Substitution
Elem. Savant1
[ snip ]

This will not work.

Sorcerers don't get Knowledge: The Planes as a class skill. He is limited to 4.5 ranks of it at Sor6, and needs a full 8 ranks.

If you are using FR feats, you could take the Educated or Cosmopolitan feats to get around this.

The other way is to go through a different PrC that has this as a class skill and then go Elemental Savant. Mage of the Arcane Order is a good fit for many people, although that will cost him a feat.

 

[DarkJester]

The campaign is rather combat heavy. My friend has in the past been a fighter (moderately well), and has always been the best rogue in the group. I don't think that the problem is the wizard being to complex for him. He is a very smart guy. He just doesn't know how to apply the spells correctly....i dunno.

Any more input is welcome.

 

[RogueJK]

This will not work.

Sorcerers don't get Knowledge: The Planes as a class skill. He is limited to 4.5 ranks of it at Sor6, and needs a full 8 ranks.

If you are using FR feats, you could take the Educated or Cosmopolitan feats to get around this.

The other way is to go through a different PrC that has this as a class skill and then go Elemental Savant. Mage of the Arcane Order is a good fit for many people, although that will cost him a feat.

You're right.

It's going to cost him a feat either way, so taking Educated allows him to get into the PrC faster than taking levels as a Mage of the Arcane Order. Plus, he wouldn't be wasting a feat on Cooperative Spell.

My suggestion was just a rough outline, so I didn't check all of the prerequisites and requirements. Good catch.

Another way would be to take levels as an Arcane Devotee. Take Educated or Cosmopolitan (Knowledge: Religion). Then, replace Empower Spell with Enlarge Spell, and he'll be able to get into the PrC at level 5. Then, take 1 or 2 levels of Arcane Devotee, and continue with levels as a Fire Elemental Savant. You'll only be, at most, 1 level behind what I had originally planned.

Sor1-5, Arcane Devotee 6-7, Elem. Savant 8-17, Arcane Devotee 18-20. (To make it simpler on the player, you could take 5 levels of Sorceror, 5 of Arcane Devotee, then 10 of Fire Elemental Savant.)

Just taking Educated or Cosmopolitan (Knowledge: The Planes) would probably be the easiest, though.

 

[Zhure]

Option 1, the blaster
Human Sorcerer
Feats: Still, Silent, Eschew Material Components, Energy Substitution (Fire)

Sorcerers do well with metamagic feats. Even though they take a full-round action to use, they highlight how the Sorcerer is far more flexible than the wizard. Still will help if grappled or bound and lots of monsters have improved grab. Silent will help in stealth situations and in a silence field. Eschew Material Components is nice for flavoring the Sorcerer as he won't need a spell component pouch. Energy Substitution doubles the number of elemental attack spells the Sorcerer seems to have. Energy Substitution (Acid) or (Sonic) are more of powergamer Feats, but Fire is a good solid schtick. Later on he can take more Energy Substitution feats to broaden his scope even more.

Put most of his stats in CHA, CON and DEX, in that order. AC isn't as important as hit points, but it's close. Let everything else ride at about 10, so he hasn't any penalties. If you've got some points left over, put them in INT to boost his skills.

Max out Concentration. Take KN (Arcana) to 5, so he can take Energy Substitution. Then spread the skills out to other things. Scry is really helpful at higher levels.

Help him pick his spells, at least the first one or two per level. Concentrate on only a few attack spells, as Energy Substitution can cover lots of bases later on.

Suggested spells:
Cantrips (7)
- Ray of Frost; can be used as Ray of Fire
- Prestidigitation; long duration, lots of uses
- Read Magic; makes it easier to read found scrolls
- Mending; great utility and a moneymaker at low levels
- Mage Hand; safer than handling some stuff with bare skin
- Detect Magic; almost mandatory
- Light; useful for a human

1st (5)
- Shield; best 1st level spell
- Magic Missile; second best 1st level spell, scales well
- Comprehend Languages; if he has a low INT, this lets him be a translator
- Feather Fall; pre-quickened and a life saver
- Reduce; helpful later when he takes teleport for hauling more stuff; also reduces target's STR so makes a nice miscellaneous attack spell

2nd (3)
- Web; acts as concealment (stops Sneak Attack), slows enemy's advance; can take low-STR enemy spellcasters completely out of a fight. Also easily burned away by Energy Substitution (fire) spells
- Alter Self; disguise + minor shapeshifting (including wings!)
- Continual Flame; moneymaker at low levels, great concept spell

3rd (2)
- Lightning Bolt; more tactically useful than fireball, can be turned to "Fire Bolt" easily
- Dispel Magic; a *must have* spell for Sorcerers to use against other mages.

Obviously, there are lots of other possibilities, but these would be my favorites for that setup.

Option 2, the buffer.
Human Sorcerer
Feats: Extend Spell, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Familiarity (some kind of bow, perhaps an EWF: Repeating Crossbow), Rapid Shot, Precise Shot

Extend is key. Lets buff spells last longer

Put most of his stats in DEX and CHA, in that order. AC is important, but a high DEX will let him use ranged weapons better.

Suggested spells:
Cantrips (7)
- as above (note Point-blank shot will help with ray of frost damage and hit)

1st (5)
- Shield; best 1st level spell
- Magic Missile; second best 1st level spell, scales well
- True Strike; scales to 20th level
- Feather Fall; pre-quickened and a life saver
- Expeditious Retreat; lets him flee or engage rapidly

2nd (3)
- Web; acts as concealment (stops Sneak Attack), slows enemy's advance; can take low-STR enemy spellcasters completely out of a fight.
- Cat's Grace; gives a boost to AC, and to hit with ranged attacks
- Protection from Arrows; helps stop enemy archers

3rd (2)
- Greater Magic Weapon; cast on bow and quiver at 6th-8th gives +6 to hit and damage, at 9th +9 to hit and damage, etc.
- Haste; +4 AC and one extra partial action per round. Your friends will love you for it (or Keen instead of haste, to make your arrows more deadly, but I like haste better)

Hope that helps,
Greg