D&D 5E (2014) Rating Wizard Traditions at 2nd Level

[jaelis]

Far as I can tell, you can use minor conjuration to create spell components, even expensive ones. That's pretty handy.

 

[Cognomen's Cassowary]

Is that not the point of the rules lite? It fits within the theme and intent of the ability, after all. Or are you going to say that an evoker can't avoid destroying a wall with thieir fireball, but manage to avoid hitting a bag of rats in the dead center of the blast?

I would rule that the evoker could allow up to four of the rats, assuming a third-level fireball, to automatically pass their saves and take no damage from the spell. Since there is no mention in the feature of objects, and since the rules on damaging objects make no mention of saving throws, and since the idea of a wall succeeding on a dexterity save strikes me as incongruous, I would say that the objects have failed their saves before the spell is even cast. Even the rats that survived the spell would still be in a flaming bag.

Of course, house rule as you like, but be clear that you are doing so.

Now, as for ratings . . .

Arcane ward - 8/10 - Has benefits in combat and exploration, encourages you to cast spells of the related school, and helps you maintain concentration. This is about the best there is.

Minor conjuration - 5/10 - A Swiss army knife with applications primarily in exploration and as a spell component, best for its unlimited uses. Somewhat limited by DM discretion.

Portent - 6/10 - Has functions in any of the three gameplay pillars, but the randomness reduces its applicability. If you roll in the 9-12 range, it can be like not having a feature at all.

Hypnotic gaze - 4/10 - Modest uses in all three pillars, but too limited for everyday use.

Sculpt spells - 6/10 - Powerful when it applies, and it sort of encourages you to cast spells of the school. However, it has no use outside of combat and even in combat only works in specific circumstances.

Improved minor illusion - 5/10 - Gaining a cantrip is always going to be good, has value in combat and social pillars, maybe a few uses in exploration as well. Rewards creative play, but in the end, it only improves a single cantrip.

Grim harvest - 2/10 - Only good in combat, requires that you strike the killing blow with a spell of first-level or higher, scales poorly, and doesn't do anything if you aren't taking damage.

Minor alchemy - 2/10 - As far as I can tell, its primary uses lie in ripping off shopkeepers and bribing low-level mooks, and it creates more concentration saves.

Bladesong - 4/10 - Powerful for a certain combat style, with the very rare application in exploration. Except for two minutes per rest, it's as good as having no feature at all.

 

[Mephista]

I would rule that the evoker could allow up to four of the rats, assuming a third-level fireball, to automatically pass their saves and take no damage from the spell. Since there is no mention in the feature of objects, and since the rules on damaging objects make no mention of saving throws, and since the idea of a wall succeeding on a dexterity save strikes me as incongruous, I would say that the objects have failed their saves before the spell is even cast. Even the rats that survived the spell would still be in a flaming bag.

Of course, house rule as you like, but be clear that you are doing so.

Its not a matter of house ruling, its a question of different understanding of the rules. The intent as I read it is that Scult Spell is that the wizard is shaping the spell so it doesn't damage people. "Making Saves" is just how the writers expressed the outcome. No one is actually trying to dodge the spell here - its the wizard just shaping the spell so that people just aren't being hit. Understandably, its expressed this way because so much of the game hyper focuses on combat, but the intent of the ability (Shaping blasts) has applications beyond just combat, which is why its so interesting of an ability to mess around with.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Arcane ward - Gives you quite a lot of hitpoints per day... IF you cast nothing but abjurations. "The wizard is low on hit points" does not tend to be a prime motivator for a party to rest in my experience, so this is not that great. 3 stars.

Minor conjuration - Anything you create has to fit within a 3ft sphere (ie - no dimension can be greater than 3ft). So... a little limited. That said, it's basically "hey, you just bought the entire equipment list". 4 stars.

Portent - Amazing, but limited uses. Even average rolls can be high or low enough to do some good. At level 2 it's somewhat limited, because you have a dearth of really great things you want people to fail succeed at rolls for. It really comes into it's own when you have some higher stakes. 4 stars.

Hypnotic gaze - Highly DM dependant. This is not a spell, so it doesn't have obvious spellcasting components, and the result is that you don't take actions and you are charmed. If you weren't in combat, a DM might rule that the target doesn't notice that he's under the effect. OTOH, some DMs insist that every vaguely magical thing anyone does is accompanied by magical flares and sparks and a giant neon sign detailing the effect being performed. 5 stars if you can use it subtly, 4 if you can't.

Sculpt spells - Saves on some friendly fire. No big deal, especially with the available spells at this level. 3 stars

Improved minor illusion - Like hypnotic gaze, totally DM dependant. Some DMs will claim that the spell is incapable of creating any movement, correctly functioning shadows and in general functioning to fool creatures at all. If that's the case, don't take illusion magic at all. If the DM is a jerk, 0 stars. Otherwise 3 stars.

Grim harvest - Recouping hit points when you are victorious is not that great. If you need the hit points, you're losing. If you've killed your foes, you have time to recoup. 2 stars.

Minor alchemy - Turn iron to wood and whittle it into any tool you want. Turn wood or stone or iron to silver and work it. Turn stone into wood and chop out a house. Turn iron hinges into gypsum and watch them crumble instantly. Turn a wooden thing (a wagon, a chair, a table) into silver and braze all the joins to make a single piece of wood. This is amazing. If you could do it as an action, it would be insane, but the 10 minute per cubic foot makes it harder to use. 5 stars.

Bladesong - Snore. 1 star.

 

[Gadget]

I think people are severely misunderstanding Improved Minor Illusion. Other than giving you a free cantrip (that you probably would have selected anyway if you are an illusionist), it really doesn't do much. I find it hard to come up with Minor Illusion applications that really need sound. Then again, I have seen many people treat Minor Illusion as if it were Silent Image, so that may make a difference.

That said, Minor Illusion is a great cantrip, and freeing up a cantrip slot for something else is (basically an extra cantrip) is nothing to sneeze at.


Minor Conjuration: This one is even more subject to DM interpretation than most illusion magic. Must be no more than 3' in any dimension, no more than 10lbs, must appear in in the caster's hand or on the ground in front of the caster, glows dimly, goes away when it takes damage. Can the wizard conjure a key they have seen? Treasure map? secret message? weapon? (does hitting someone with it count as 'taking damage'?). There is a lot open to interpretation here, and many campaigns will not hinge on having the mundane item producible by this ability; especially after a few levels. So in some campaigns it may be a 'flavor only' ability. Others it might be almost over-powered.

Arcane Ward: Decent, especially at low levels, but not great as the levels rise.

Portent: Probably the best 2nd level ability of Wizard sub-classes bar none.

Hypnotic Gaze: Cool story-wise, but rather limited in direct application. Probably not as useful in a 'kick in the door' style dungeon crawl.

Sculpt Spells: Allows the evoker to mitigate the effects of their spells on friendly targets. Very useful.

Grim Harvest: Useful at lower levels, not so much at higher levels.

Minor Alchemy: More flavor than anything, although clever uses could be found (beyond cheating merchants)

Bladesong: probably the most essential of the second level abilities to the sub-class. Other sub-classes could get by without their 2nd level abilities, not the blade singer. Pretty much essential.

 

[ro]

+2 ASI or Feat: (8/10)

Arcane Ward is almost the same as the Tough feat. You get a few extra HP, but all of it is temporary. It can't be healed with healing magic, but it can be recharged by certain spells. (8/10)

Minor Conjuration is an awesome cantrip. You can make anything! But, it's glowing, can only weigh 10 lbs, vanishes when damaged, and can't be magical. (4/10)

Portent is very similar to the Lucky feat. It has one less use, but it has many more applications and make your saving throw magic better as well as help your allies. (8/10)

Hypnotic Gaze is almost as good as Hold Person, but it takes you out of combat. However, it has unlimited, cantrip-like use. Great for disabling NPCs. (4/10)

Sculpt Spells is almost identical to a sorcerer's Careful Spell metamagic, which costs one sorcery point, the equivalent of a 1st level spell slot. This is very useful if you are trying to do lots of damage. If you want to use control spells, this has limited use. (4/10)

Improved Minor Illusion is a fun upgrade on a free cantrip. The same effect could be gained by casting a normal Minor Illusion twice. You don't always need both sound and image, but its basically a double cantrip, about half the benefit of the Magic Initiate feat. (4/10)

Grim Harvest is a nice little boost to HP, but it only happens if you deal the killing blow. If your encounters feature lots of low-level, easy-to-kill enemies, this will work well, but against encounters with only a few stronger enemies, it's pretty much useless. Do you really want to say to your party member, "Hey! Don't kill him! I want to finish him off so I can heal a few HP!" (2/10)

Minor Alchemy is like a low-level Transmute Rock but temporary, taking longer to implement, and having a wider variety of materials. It isn't remotely useful in combat, but a creative wizard can find interesting out-of-combat uses. (3/10)

Bladesong is a massive boost for a melee wizard. It may not fit the normal wizard spellslinging type, but it significantly increases survivability, maneuverability, and concentration saves. Bladesong also comes with Training in War and Song which gives a skill and light armor! (10+/10) Basically a level of Fighter, with its Con save. Or 2.5 Feats.

For comparison,
+2 ASI: +2 Dex = +1 AC, +1 Att, +1 Dmg, +1 Dex save, +1 Initiative
+1 AC = 2/5 ASI = .4 ASI

Assuming Wizard Int +4,
Bladesong:
+Int AC (+4 AC = 1.6 ASI),
+10 movement (1/3 Mobile feat) = 2/3 ASI
+4 concentration saves (1/2 of Resilient) = 1 ASI
advantage Acrobatics (+5) = proficiency = 1/3 ASI (Skilled should be a half feat)
Training in War and Song
Light Armor proficiency (1/2 feat, 1 ASI)
Weapon proficiency and Performance proficiency = 1/2 ASI

Altogether,
Bladesong = 3.6 ASI
Training in War and Song = 1.5 ASI
Both = 5.1 ASI = 2.5 feats

 

[hastur_nz]

Portent gets an 11 for me. It's 100% in the player's control, and while it might not come into play every single day, it's very close and the results can be spectacular. It just needs the player to be onto it, and find the most appropriate times to use the numbers.

Most importantly the results get better and better as you level up, because the consequences of a single d20 roll can be so much higher ("save or die" type stuff, i.e. not just damage).

For example, last night our group's level 10 Diviner used Portent at least 3 times in a 3 hour session, and every time it forced a monster to fail on a very important saving throw (e.g. banishment), or made sure a PC succeeded on a very important saving throw / ability check (e.g. Concentration). Without Portent, the two major fights we had, would have been way tougher, potentially catastrophic. It was the players' saviour, and the DM's bane.

 

[Mort]

I dislike bladesong. It is the rare ability that is both extremely, possibly overly, powerful and terrible at accomplishming its intended purpose. A mage using bladesong is much better served just activiting it and then engaging in standard mage behavior (while benefiting from the AC and mobility boost to keep from getting tagged) then rushing into combat as a barely adequate fighter type.

Sent from my SM-G930V using EN World mobile app

 

[clutchbone]

How would you rate each second level tradition feature of the Wizard subclasses, on a scale from 1 to 10, and compared to a +2 ASI?
Arcane Ward
Minor Conjuration
Portent
Hypnotic Gaze
Sculpt Spells
Improved Minor Illusion
Grim Harvest
Minor Alchemy
Bladesong

Arcane Ward: 8/10 Free hp. Cast alarm as a ritual, no spell slot lost. Otherwise, shield, counterspell, and banishment are great spells to use. Extra hp is boring, but extra hp is good.

Minor Conjuration: 4/10 One free, glowing, magical-yet-mundane object, with restrictions. Better for social/exploration campaigns and/or lenient DMs. Worse for hack 'n slash campaigns and/or strict DMs. For example, strict DMs might say a "vial of acid" is two objects, not one (same problem with bag of ball bearings). Personally I allow items listed in the PHB adventuring gear table, but I wouldn't argue the point. Official errata says conjured weapons disappear after dealing damage, so dropping a 10lb bowling ball on someone from up high would be funny.

Portent: 10/10 Yes it's not perfect - average rolls are less useful than extreme rolls - but it's still amazing.

Hypnotic Gaze: 4/10 A weak panic button. 5ft range charm/incapacitation action that breaks very easily and requires your action to maintain. If you walk away, they still get an opportunity attack against you. Better if your party of 5 is fighting 2 ogres, worse if your party of 3 is fighting 8 orcs. Best use is hypnotizing lone sentries/guards and tying them up without a hassle.

Sculpt Spells: 10/10 If you're chucking fireballs around, you want this.

Improved Minor Illusion: 3/10 You can only make static images of objects; no creatures, no fog clouds, and no movement. Few static objects make sound.

Grim Harvest: 2/10 Useless if you're at full health. Vampiric touch is the first available necro damage spell, and it's not that good. Better options at higher level. Even worse in larger parties, as there's a smaller chance that you land the killing blow.

Minor Alchemy: 6/10 Mostly useless... except for turning manacles/locks/hinges/doors/walls into flammable wood or malleable gold. With time, you can collapse or break into any nonmagical structure. Also, can cheat npcs with fake "gold" bars.

Bladesong: 9/10 Bonus action for non-concentration buffs to movement, AC, and concentration checks for two encounters per short rest... great! Although you'll be let down if you were expecting this to let you go toe-to-toe with a hill giant... you're still a d6 hit die wizard.

 

[clearstream]

I rate Portent first equal with Bladesong.

I prefer the former, however, because it is doesn't let Wizard overshadow some martial roles.