OSR Old school wizards, how do you play level 1?

[GrimCo]

Even then, they aren't fun. Slowest xp progression,very low hp (unless you rolled at least 15 for con, 2 hp on average), low AC (unless you rolled at least 15 for dex, you have AC 10), 1 spell per day. Lv 1 wizards die if someone sneezes hard in their direction. Giving them name is optimistic. Giving them backstory is just waste of time. Best advice for players? Make at least 2-3 backups, you will need at least one before session 1 is over.

 

[fuindordm]

They are not fun for everyone but they are fun for some people. Same as the other classes.
One of the joys of AD&D is that each class (or each group) represents a different strategy for interacting with the game and a different experience for players.
And at level 1 not even the fighters are very durable. They might hit harder, have better AC and more HP--but your average orc still hits them pretty often (a 1 HD monster has THAC0 19 and hits AC4 on a 15+ roll). I've lost count of the number of fighters who died brutal deaths because they got flanked by low-level monsters and took two hits in a row. The whole party should be sneaking around and avoiding stand-up fights like the plague, not just the wizards and thieves.

 

[SpellObjectEnthusiast]

Unless your classic dnd party has 8-10 human players, there should be plenty of hirelings around that the wizard's players can direct when they're in scenarios the wizard won't be useful.

 

[Sword Devil]

Throw stuff. Throw oil, throw daggers, throw sand in enemies' eyes, throw ball bearings and caltrops, throw a net if you can get one, maybe keep a bag of rats on you and throw them too. Throwing stuff is a lot like casting spells but without the magic.

 

[Foodgeek]

Yeah, back then I wound up just using a short bow after I had cast my one spell (In the B/X we are playing, you cannot cast spells holding a weapon except a wand or staff), and if something rushed me, a staff. We are level 4 now, so I have magic missile and web now.

As far as hirelings (the previous comment), we didn't have hirelings who could fight at level 1.

 

[Foodgeek]

Yeah, magic users are very restricted in the B/X we are playing but I've been making it work with my +2 INT modifier and +1 CON modifier, staying back of party. Clerics are actually beefed up a bit in this version though.

We keep hiring mercs, but they keep rolling 1 on a d6 (level 0) for HP, so keep getting killed by environmental effects traveling between worlds in our skyship in the skycrawl add-on. We've lost 4 of 6 mercs and the other two (3HP) did go down once in an enviro effect but did not die. Now we have a level 1 fighter henchman (8HP), so he should last longer.

 

[Mannahnin]

Yeah, back then I wound up just using a short bow after I had cast my one spell (In the B/X we are playing, you cannot cast spells holding a weapon except a wand or staff), and if something rushed me, a staff. We are level 4 now, so I have magic missile and web now.

The short bow is an interesting house rule. LotFP allows that, right?

I know 5 Torches Deep also lets casters use Simple weapons, including the Hunting Bow (but not the War Bow). The casters in my three year campaign were very grateful for that, especially at low levels.

 

[Foodgeek]

LotFP allows you to use whatever weapon you want, but a cleric needs one hand free for his holy symbol to cast spells, a MU can't cast spells while holding a weapon other than a staff or wand, and an elf (which we don't use) I believe just needs one hand free to cast spells. Also, MU can cast spells lightly encumbered so my character wears leather armor. MUs are so restricted in LotFP, that I'll take any help i can get. A lot of classic Basic spells don't even make sense here so are not included (burning hands, lightning bolt, etc) because you can't move before or after casting a spell.

Clerics are not restricted to blunt weapons.

 

[Mannahnin]

LotFP allows you to use whatever weapon you want, but a cleric needs one hand free for his holy symbol to cast spells, a MU can't cast spells while holding a weapon other than a staff or wand, and an elf (which we don't use) I believe just needs one hand free to cast spells. Also, MU can cast spells lightly encumbered so my character wears leather armor. MUs are so restricted in LotFP, that I'll take any help i can get. A lot of classic Basic spells don't even make sense here so are not included (burning hands, lightning bolt, etc) because you can't move before or after casting a spell.

Clerics are not restricted to blunt weapons.

Yeah, that matches my recollection.

Of course this is in a context where all the classes have been tweaked outside the parameters of TSR D&D. Fighters being the only ones who ever get an improved chance to hit, for example.

 

[Muso]

Throwing darts as far away as possible from the brutal part of the fight.