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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 2764978" data-attributes="member: 2011">Ok, since people continue to support the "get rid of the leather armor at first level" idea, I have to chime back in with why this is a mistake.The character has an AC of 13 without any armor. He can cast either Mage Armor or Shield to get it to 17. Let's assume he takes Mage Armor for the greater duration.This means that outside of his defensive spell, he has ONE spell per day to cast. One (not including dinky zeroth level spells). His entire decent repetoire can be gone in two rounds.If he were to face a combatant type, the minimum to hit of such an opponent is probably +2 (e.g. first level opponent Fighter with 12 Str). The maximum is maybe +5 (e.g. first level opponent Fighter with 18 Str or Fighter with 16 Str and Weapon Focus or Fighter with masterwork weapon, 14 Str, and Weapon Focus).That means that most combatant type opponents will hit him anywhere from 50% of the time to 65% of the time.If he manages to cast Mage Armor (or Shield) before this happens, it means his odds go up to 30% to 45% of the time.Since the opponent Fighters will average 6 to 10.5 points of damage per hit (including criticals and assuming longswords and not two handed weapons), almost any hit will take the Wizard out.That means that the Wizard will be taken out on average in 2 to 3 rounds if he has Mage Armor up, typically less than 2 rounds if he does not, and sometimes in 1 round in melee combat (which regardless of what people say, you cannot avoid every single combat). It will probably take more rounds to take him out (with one opponent) with missile combat, especially if he can find cover.The Mage Armor lasts one hour per day. The Leather Armor lasts 24 hours (23 if he takes it off before casting Mage Armor).Chances are that if he casts Mage Armor, within an hour, he will also cast his other first level spell most days.Hence, it is critically important that he have at least some armor on for the majority of the day when he is out of first level spells to cast anyway. Plus, he can sleep in Leather Armor with no penalties.Now, if he decides to go with one offensive spell and one defensive spell every day, then he might not want to wear his leather armor until after he has cast his Mage Armor spell. But once the Mage Armor spell is gone (regardless of whether he has cast his other spell), he should be putting on the Leather Armor. It is only prudent to do so. If he goes with two offensive spells, it is probably better to wear the Leather Armor right off the bat.Look at the math. If he decides to go with two offensive spells and Leather Armor, his odds of casting x number of offensive spells per day are:2: 81%1: 18%0: 1%His odds when using Mage Armor are:2: 0%1: 100%0: 0%So, only 1% of the time will he lose both offensive spells (which means it will probably never happen before second level). Using Mage Armor, he never gets two offensive spells cast in the same day (not including the dinky zeroth level ones which his crossbow typically is superior to).Additionally, the odds are good that he will not have a lot of gold to both scribe scrolls and put spells into his spellbook (and acquire another magical item if possible, i.e. if he gets a magical item, the rest of the PCs will probably split up any other treasure). Hence, he typically will not have a lot of scrolls to use on any given day either.For all intents and purposes, the Wizard will typically do more damage in a day with a Light Crossbow (at +3 to hit) than he will with spells. Spells are NOT his bread and butter at first level. His crossbow is his bread and butter. At first level, spells are the icing on the cake. He's better off trying to find cover and fire his crossbow and save his one or two offensive spells for super critical situations. If he has two offensive spells, that means that he will be successful in 99% of those first time of the day super critical situations.</blockquote>

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