How do you DM's deal with "Dogpile on the evil wizard" tactics?

[Crass]

That's the strangest euphemism I've ever seen.

Getting back to the topic: I allow sorcs to cast metamagiced spells while grappled. Also, the main evil casters IMC are a custom PrC that gets access to all Necromancy spells, including harm. Mage with Stilled harm == not someone you want to grapple.

You don't say... AFTER you killed my character twice with Harm!

 

[hong]

You don't say... AFTER you killed my character twice with Harm!

Well, even harm isn't a wonder-cure for all ills. It's a touch spell, which means you've got to get next to your target to use it. This brings the risk that you'll be exposed to their attacks, and also their friends' attacks even if they fail the save. So ideally, you want to make sure the target is isolated from their friends before you try to harm them. The _other_ use for it is as an emergency fallback, such as in a grapple.

Of course, this is all a bit moot since I've now gone off my infatuation with harm. I've discovered blasphemy instead. It's shiny!

 

[Zappo]

I generally think that if someone can grapple your wizard, you have done something wrong. A wizard should ideally stay out of melee. Since we don't live in a perfect world, though... mirror image for preventing, dimension door for escaping, stilled spells for reacting.

 

[edbonny]

Gaseous Form - Stilled/Eschew components - takes up a 4th level spell slot - allows for a great escape.

 

[cdsaint]

I might've missed someone already pointing this out, but the 3.5e rules on AoO's make it clear that "moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn’t count as more than one opportunity for that opponent." Of course, you still paint an effective tactic if the bodyguards have enough reach. Each one gets an attack that way.

...but then there's all that gosh-darn tumbling. :\



Well, that's also a popular tactic,, and one with no save if the players use it right. Even a wand needs a spoken command to activate it. Silent spells give a wizard recourse, but that gets stale after a while. While we're on a related topic, does anyone have some thoughts to share on how they deal with silence spells gone rampant?

Thanks Felon, I checked the rules and you are correct that you only get one AOO that is movement related. We're still finding 3.5 rules we aren't familiar with, so no big surprise there. It wasn't that long ago I had to tell my players that they could get more than one AOO per opponent.

I may have to house rule on that, I'll see how it plays out first. I have a spring attacking, spiked chain wielding madman as a PC in the campaign, and have seen several instances of him moving into, out of, back into, and back out of threatened areas of an NPC. Maybe one AOO per trip through the area threatened. It seems kind of strange that you can attack an archer every time he fires, but only get one AOO for someone who spends 20' or more movement traipsing around in your threatened zone.

As far as tumbling goes, 3 of 7 PC's in the group have tumble, but so far it hasn't posed any real problems. I usually try to set up a situation just barely on the hopeless side for the PC's. I'm confident in their ability to come up with a slew of tactics and ideas I never considered and to get out of trouble, often winning handily. I'm always tickled though if some enemies manage to escape, because then they get to learn lessons, and they'll be tougher to fight next time.

I'm not sure what all to do about the silence problem. Meepo (1/2 white dragon kobold wiz8) always has a few potions (invisibility, spider climb, cure serious wounds) on him. He does have the silent and still spell feats, just didn't have any prepped for that first combat. He may actually go overboard next time and prepare most of his spells silent, and a few stilled. The worst thing (for the PC's anyway) is that Meepo will have to report to daddy (the white dragon) about barely escaping with his life, and about the group that killed several of his less powerful half brothers and sisters. So Daddy will start spreading the word, causing any tactics the party used to become common knowlege.

Chris