Melee Wizards!


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As a straight wizard fighter, I'd take a slightly different route to others' suggestions. Probably something like:

Human wizard,
human feat: martial weapon (guisarme or glaive or ranseur) or spiked chain.
1st feat: combat reflexes
3rd feat: combat expertise
6th feat: improved trip (if guisarm), improved disarm (if ranseur)

Abilities? Ideally Aim for Str 14+, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 13+, Wis & Cha whatever.

The following spells* have no S component, so you can cast them in armour with no chance of spell failure:

Cantrips (2): light, flare
1st level (4): feather fall, hold portal, true strike, ventriloquism
2nd level (4): blindness/deafness, blur, darkness, knock
3rd level (3): displacement, suggestion, tongues
4th level (4): dimension door, lesser geas, polymorph self, shout
5th level (2): teleport, contact other plane
6th level (2): geas, mass suggestion
7th level (4): phase door, power word (stun), teleport without error, vanish
8th level (3): mass charm, power word (blind), Otto's irresistable dance
9th level (6): Mord's disjunction, power word (kill), prismatic sphere,
teleportation cricle, wail of the banshee, wish

(* this was my 3.0e list, there may have been some changes in 3.5e)

A masterwork/mithral chain shirt has no armour check penalty, and can be enhanced by friendly clerics, and you can rely upon mage armour and shield spell up until the time when those become available.

This kind of melee wizard has the benefit of being able to legitimately fight at reach (helps protect those hp), has area control and the potential for multiple attacks via combat reflexes.

False Life is another great 2nd level spell (think of it as 'pre-healing), and vampiric touch could be a useful one too (again, the pre-healing angle of the temp hp). Alter Self is another great 2nd level spell for bumping up your natural armour (if troglodyte form is allowed).

At 7th level the possibilities of stoneskin to protect yourself, and fire shield (aka 'dont hit me) to discourage attacks on you both become available.

All in all, there are some interesting and pretty survivable combinations available.

Cheers
 

Say goodbye to Enlarge Person if you go the Outsider route - you're not a humanoid anymore.

Which is one reason I prefer the psionic version (Expansion) to Enlarge Person. The other reason is that it can bump the PC 2 size classes, compared to Enlarge's one size bump.

(Yes, I realize that psionics aren't really an option here.)

Still, Enlarge Person is good enough to mention, but not essential to a successful melee wizard.
 


Dwarf Fighter 1/ Specialist Wizard 4/Runesmith (Races of Stone)/ Eldritch Knight/and or Abjurant Champion.

Runesmith lets you prepare all of your spell in rune forms, and thus suffer no ASF. It also had d6 hit dice. The Shielded Casting feat, (Races of Stone), could also be useful. It requires the 5 ranks of Concentration, and Combat Casting & shield proficiency, but if you have a shield ready you do not provoke AoO for casting spells in combat.

Mobile Spellcaster from CoAdv would also be useful. If PHB II/ or Unearthed Arcana options are available trade in your familiar.
 


Caliban,

Can one still polymorph into an annis hag in LG?

Or could the OP get the PHB2 Trollshape? IMHO, it may be a powerdown, but the swift cast and safety net of taking most damage as subdual really lets a caster play in melee without horrid risk. {I'd say it is a better Tenser's Transformation than the acual TT spell.
 
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frankthedm said:
Caliban,

Can one still polymorph into an annis hag in LG?

Or could the OP get the PHB2 Trollshape? IMHO, it may be a powerdown, but the swift cast and safety net of taking most damage as subdual really lets a caster play in melee without horrid risk. {I'd say it is a better Tenser's Transformation than the acual TT spell.

Alter Self and Polymorph have been removed from the campaign, they now use the new polymorph rules and spells presented in the PHB2 and Spell Compendium.
 

1. Shield
2. Bears endurance
3. Greater mage armor {SC].
4. Trollshape.

A few low level Pearls of Power should help recall the low level Buffs you use up in each encounter.
 

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