Nobody will play a wizard or sorcerer!

[Gez]

Well, myself, I'm a mago-addict. My three characters for D&D are gnome wizard/loremaster, human sorceress/aristocrat, and halfling rogue/cleric/fighter/shadowdancer. All cast spells, and a majority of arcane. (I'm also a "small is beautiful" convert, long live the gnomes !)

That said, the d4 thing may seem harsh. Especially when you got no armor. But it's easily avoided. One example: I rolled a 18 and a 16 for my gnome. I put, of course, the 18 in Int, but the 16 was put in Con and so she had 18 Con and the most hp in the party, despite having the lowest HD. Now, if your players think wizards or sorcerers must be elves, and if they're afraid of low hp, that's a problem, but if you can show them that gnomes are the way to go, you will get lots of little wizards soon. Small (bonus to AC and attack), tough (bonus to hit points), cool (bonus to AC against the big nasty giants), efficient (bonus to attack against the gobs and kobolds, some free bonus spells): the Gnome is the perfect race for wizardry or sorcery. Add to that their knack to Alchemy, and their undeniable cuteness factor, and one can wonder why people still play wizards from other races than gnome. Oh well.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Nobody will play a wizard or sorcerer.
if we start at 1st-3rd level- nobody will risk having only d4 HPs... including me.

Wimps.

What do you do if the DM plays that most humanoid monsters are aware of how much punch a mage can do, and says that the monsters would do everything in their power to get the mage first.

Is there a rule that your wizard has to wear long robes and a pointy hat? Try dressing him up in some regular clothes...then you can at least get a spell off before you're targeted.

When that happens, Shield and Mage Armor (yes, they do stack) add a potential +11 to your AC. Are you fighting things at 1st level that can easily penetrate a 21 AC (not counting DEX)? If so, then I can see why no one will play a wizard.

 

[tarkin]

Try getting them to play gnome mages.

High Con = +1 HP/level
Small Size = +1 AC and +1 to hit (great for ray attacks)

usually this works pretty well.

Also, see the Arcane Gnome subrace from the Dragon magazine

 

[Gez]

Try charging for your Cure spells. Think about how much a Potion of Cure Light Wounds costs. Yeah, your fellow PCs might not take to it all that well at first, but they'll get used to it.

And once they get used to it very well, the wizards explains he's not going to shoot fireballs at the orcs if he don't get paid ("I don't care if they're closing, I want 500 gp before I cast this spell ! Magic is an expensive business, and I don't allow you to crook me in this fashion ! Oops, they're here pretty soon. I guess it will make yet another unpaid spell... But I'll keep my word of not attacking the orcs for free Abracadabra !" *mage disappear as he teleport back to his tower*); the fighter will refuse to protect the weakest party member if he's not paid, the rogue won't disarm any trap as long as he's not assured to have the exclusivity of the treasure, etc.

A good idea ? No. But a common.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Cleric & healing:

Just get the party to chip in for a wands of cure light wound. This is by far the most healing for your bucks (750 GP). Always use it to heal after the fight. That way you only need to swap spells once in a while for healing during the fight.

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

I only have trouble getting my players to play a cleric. Man, they rock. My next character is definately going to be a cleric !!!

 

[Tom Cashel]

Cleric & healing:

Just get the party to chip in for a wands of cure light wound. This is by far the most healing for your bucks (750 GP). Always use it to heal after the fight. That way you only need to swap spells once in a while for healing during the fight.

Related question: can anyone who can use a wand use a Wand of Cures?

 

[Xarlen]

Are you kidding? Spellcasters Rule.

I'm playing a Half-Fiend Cleric of Nurell in one game. I may not be as good at hitting things as the barbarian, but beware the Grim Fiend!

My Halfling Transmuter would be a lot more effective if the campaign were different (Lots of Big creatures, lots of saves, lots of hitpoints). Generally the fighter types enjoy it most, and I sit on my hands. Now, if the DM ever used *spellcasters* perhaps I could have a good time.

Anyways, spellcasters kick. Look at the Druid. You can style him to whomp up on anyone, be it with his spells, weapons (A Spiked Staff is murder, as is a Keen Scythe). Animals? Wildshape? Not to mention 3rd party stuff offers a whole buttload of new spells (Book of Eldrich Might, Hellooo Marks). Clerics? Come on. They're just *vicious* if need be. And Wizards... you can have some of the most fun.

Think, there's lots of personalities you can have. The raging Sorceror. The Dwarven Battlemage. The Halfling who likes to cut his enemies down to size (Polymorph, Bestow Curse, Reduce, Ray of Enfeeblement).

Dwarven or Halfling Wizards are best. Humans are good, simply for the skill points and the feat (Improved Initative, a must).

You have a problem with wizards dieing? Well, follow what folks have outlined before: Disguise, Disguise, Disguise. Placement. Use Your Crossbow. Dropping a True Strike and going for the biggest, baddest thing on the field is your best bet. If you got a scroll of Magic Weapon, all the better: Drop it on the crossbow, and you get more damage. Get the cleric to cast Entropic Shield (20% miss chance for arrows).

As soon as you hit 3rd level, either a damage spell (Flaming Sphere is your best bet), or a Mirror Image is a must for defenses in heavy situations. Prof. from Arrows, if folks have a tendency to make you a moving quiver. Buy some scrolls! Buy them! BUY THEM! If you're a first level mage, and you have cash to spend, Buy Scrolls. Mirror Image doesn't cost that much, and you can have a large chance of being missed, even when hit.

If a wizard is simply someoen to drag around and throw a fireball or two at the enemy, then you're out of roleplaying opportunity, and a facet of the game, as much as thinking a fighter is just an armored meat grinder, or a cleric is just someoen to drag around and heal things. The limits of the classes often end the same place the limits of the imagination begin.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I've only played one session of 3e as a player, and my character was a sorcerer - with a barbarian mentality. When he wasn't casting spells he was using his crossbow; when he wasn't doing that he was in the thick of melee. Yeah, he got hammered, but he also had a ball letting the cleric know what a wuss he was.

Holy crap have you been looking at my charcter sheet?

I'm playing a multi-classed Barbarian/Sorcerer right now who wades into melee (after burning all of his spells) with a Longspear getting AoO's all over the place. In a fight with a gang of wererats he did more damage than the war-god cleric in the party.

An he took his 1st level as Barb so as a 3rd level character now (1Bar/2Sor) he has about 24 hp.

It fit his background just right - he was part of a remote barbarian clan that feared arcane magic as it wasn't from the gods - when he developed magical abilities he was outcast.

Anyway i have found that wizards and sorcerers (and clerics) are amoung the most popular choices lagging only behind rogues. Bards, rangers, druids and paladins are the least popular IME.

 

[Caliban]

Related question: can anyone who can use a wand use a Wand of Cures?

No, only classes that have the Cure Light Wounds spell on their class list can use it: Cleric, Druid, Bard, Ranger, and Paladin, plus various prestige classes.