Bryan898 said:
I haven't taken part in the discussion as of yet, though I've followed it and enjoyed it immensely, but I'd like a chance to field this question as it intrigued me.
1.) The spell mirror image would be a counter to the fighter hitting the wizard, the feat cleave would be a counter to that tactic, the wizard is then left with mutliple other counters to still prevent the fighter from hitting him. The wizard still has an ability to protect from that tactic, invisibility for example.
Most of the Wizard protection from combat spells are relatively weak until higher level.
Mage Armor = 4 AC, most armors before magic is applied to them are higher than that.
Shield = 4 AC, most shields are less than that until mid level, but then it turns around in favor of combatant types.
Blur effectively adds a few points of AC (eg.. if the Fighter has a 50% chance to hit the Wizard, he has a 40% chance against a Blurred Wizard or a +2 AC equivalent for the Wizard).
Invisibility boosts the miss chance to 50%, but you cannot do anything offensive in return.
And all of these except Mage Armor tend to be cast within combat, using up a precious round just to get some minor AC defense. The Fighter has good AC defense often 24/7.
When you combine this with the 3+ hit points per level that a Fighter has over a Wizard and the typically higher AC, the chances of killing a Wizard at lower levels in combat is very very high. In order to get to higher level where he starts to shine, a Wizard has to survive low level.
Bryan898 said:
2.) It's more fun because the wizard already has numerous ways to protect from the fighter, and giving the fighter the ability to deal with one of them seems to balance it out a bit better. One less viable defense against a fighter isn't going to hurt the wizard, especially at the cost of three feats.
This is basically inaccurate. The Wizard has few effective ways to protect himself from the Fighter until much higher level. And, the Wizard is not only going to be threatened by Fighters, but also by monsters with claw/claw/bite.
Name a second or lower level defensive spell outside of Mirror Image that actually protects a Wizard significantly.
Bryan898 said:
3.) Spellcasting classes basically have the upper hand in the game as far as power goes. Allowing a fighter to deal with a second level spell with a three feat combination doesn't seem too overpowered. Not every fighter will have Great Cleave, and mirror image is still a viable tactic for the wizard, along with his huge list of others.
They do not have the upper hand at lower levels. There, they tend to struggle pretty hard, just to survive.
Bryan898 said:
Now I ask the opposite: Why is it so important that this one second level spell of the wizard's has no good counter for the fighter? Why is it more fun to allow the wizard near complete protection from the fighter's attacks than a chance for the fighter to hit the wizard? How does one second level spell having a counter to it that you'd rarely run across ruin the fun for the wizard, when he has hordes of other options at his fingertips? You seem to have a pro-wizard bias
.
No. I have a pro-fun bias.
Mirror Image is the only really effective anti-combat defensive spell at low level. In order to have fun, the player of the Wizard or Sorcerer has to be able to survive.
Having a PC die is not fun for many people.
And, it is not complete protection. This spell is acquired at 3rd or 4th level. By 6th level, most Fighter types can get 2 attacks per round and some Fighter types can get that at 1st level with Two Weapon Fighting or Rapid Shot, or in the case of a Monk, Flurry of Blows (and claw/claw/bite for some monsters). Granted, they will not all hit images, but the AC of images is pretty low.
Mirror Image is at best a delaying tactic defensive spell whose effective defense decreases both as combats extend and also as the characters get higher level.
PS. My fighting Dwarven Illusionist at 4th level once had his Mage Armor, Shield, Expeditious Retreat, and Mirror Image spells all simultaneously dispelled by a 5th level Orc. Magical protections can sometimes be very fragile. Armor and shields tend to be much more reliable and longer lasting.
Bryan898 said:
By the way, I do have a pro-fighter bias.
I enjoy playing fighter classes more than spellcasting classes, though I've played both. However, I do like that the spellcasting classes are the more powerful than the fighters at higher levels, I want my Gandalf's and Sauron's to be all powerful. Adds to the fantasy feeling of the game for me.
Agreed.
