How do you play your wizard?

[shurai]

I recently made a 3rd level elven wizard. It's pretty standard stuff, but I've been making heavy use of the Scribe Scrolls feat. To wit, my character has 1 or 2 scrolls of every spell in his spellbook. I've also spent a fair amount of gold on getting lots of interesting spells into the spellbook into the first place. It seemed like the 'right' way to use the feat, to make a large number of esoteric and often useless spells available at a moment's notice for unexpected emergencies.

In fact, I've saved members of the party more than once with my scrollcase: Once I cast Grease on a party member as she was being carried off by gargoyles after being paralyzed. Then as we were all falling down a shaft (can you dig it?) to our more-than-likely deaths, I had Feather Fall ready to go and saved several members of the party (one of them was over the weight limit but survived anyway, thanks to another ability).

Some people I play with hardly use the wizard's ability to scribe scrolls (and have a large number of esoteric spells handy), but this seems like it ignores one of the wizard's strengths. I spent maybe 400 gold on the exercise, and about 16 xp, and I've already reaped rewards and have a large volume of scrolls left.

What do you all think?

-S

 

[Crothian]

If I played a Wizard, this is the way I'd do it. Scrolls are a great addition to any spellcaster, especially the utility spells.

 

[AuraSeer]

Yeah, scrolls are one of a wizard's biggest advantages. The sorcerer may have more slots per level, but wizards have more spells known; scrolls let them use all those known spells without taking up scarce slots.

 

[0-hr]

My first wizard was a dwarf named "Lothar the Scribe". I made great use of scrolls, at least until the mid levels. After that, they are just too dern'ed expensive - especially when you are already spending 90% of your income just getting new spells into your book!

At low levels though, scrolls are great, and low level scrolls are still useful even later on. One thing that helps tremendously is a Hewards Handy Haversack; let's you prepare whichever scroll you want as a free action. And if kreynolds is your DM, it gives you quickdraw with all of your weapons for free too!

 

[Corwyn]

That is one of the main things to do with a wizard, as he has a small amount of spells he can memorise.

Scrolls for the utility spells that you will use once in a while or are very specific.

Wands for the combat oriented spells, these are the spells you want to have a boatload of when you need them.

With these two bases covered the wizard should be ready to face the challenges of life.

The spells you actually memorise should be a combination of the utility, defensive and offensive types.

If I play a wizard that is how I would do it anyway.

 

[Tar-Edhel]

My wizard uses wands for the attack spells and memorizes only utility spells during the day.

He was created a few weeks ago though and I don't have many spells yet. Wands work fine for the time being but I can imagine having to rely on scrolls to get all the utility spells needed.

 

[loviatarfrostbringer]

I beleive you have found the wizard's niche quite nicely.

Look at it this way (and this applies to all item creation feats):

If you spend enough xps (equal to yor current level-up xps necessary) on magic items to help prevent you (and presumably your party) from dying you are at least batting average overall. Example - If your handy scroll (or whatever) that costs 51 xps to create saves a party member (or yourself) from losing a whole level, you are way ahead in the numbers game.

If you don't use the item, it is like buying insurance - not that cool overall but you'll be smiling all the way to the bank when you do collect.

Just my ten cents (my two cents are free).

 

[Thanee]

Well, I havn't used the Scribe Scroll feat excessively, but it is surely a way to expand your repertoire (and especially useful on those spells you only need in those rare circumstances when you do not have them prepared - I'm not sure if Featherfall is really the best spell to scribe on a scroll, tho).

The GP/XP cost for low level scrolls is nothing, you can easily spend those!

Bye
Thanee

 

[Laslo Tremaine]

My only complaint about the scribe scroll feat is the time it takes to make a low level scroll.

This is very much a YMMV issue, but in our campaign we have about 1 month of down-time after every adventure. My wizard usually has better things to do with his time (like making a Boccob's Blessed Book or scribing new spells into a book).

If I have any excess downtime, it does usually goes to scribing scrolls though.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

With my wizards, I usually spend very little money on increasing their spell repertoir and instead just buy scrolls from other wizards. (I guess this wouldn't be possibly in games with extremely limited magical availablility, but low level scrolls and potions are probably the most widely available items out there. . . or at least, should be).

Really, there's no point in spending 600 gold to have gust of wind in your spellbook and 375 gold to buy a scroll so you can put it in your spellbook and then a day and 187.5 gold (and 15 xp) to make a scroll of Gust of Wind when you're only likely to need that scroll once or twice in your adventuring career. Just buy a couple scrolls of it to start out with and you've got more money, time, and xp than otherwise. For lower level spells it's an even worse deal to spend the cash to have them in your spellbook. A first level spell needs to be cast 9 times in order for the cost of scrolls to equal the cost of scribing it into a spellbook.

At least that's the way I play it. Know a variety of useful spells and rely on scrolls for the rest. The only exceptions are spells which need a high caster level in order to be useful. Alarm, I scribed into my spellbook. (Since it's not too useful before clvl 4 so scrolls would be a lot more expensive). Identify follows a similar logic. (So does Rope Trick for that matter).