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Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 6916460" data-attributes="member: 12731"><p>Here's the secret. </p><p></p><p>At low levels your save DC is going to suck, no matter what you do. Meanwhile, hitpoint-related spells such as Sleep and Fireball rock. </p><p></p><p>But at high levels, your save DC can and will shut down just about anyone and anything, as long as you make smart decisions (big stupid brutes should be targeted by Intelligence and Charisma saves, not Strength and Constitution saves etc). Very very few monsters have great save bonuses for all six abilities.</p><p></p><p>So focussing on your spellcasting ability (Int in this case) is actually much less important in this edition than any previous.</p><p></p><p>At low levels, it doesn't matter much, since you have better ways of using your very few spell slots than to lock down a monster for a single round <em>maybe</em>. </p><p></p><p>And at high levels, it again doesn't matter that much if you're sporting a 20 or just an 18... because once your save DC reaches 17 or thereabouts, its much more about avoiding the (few) strong saves of your opponent than worrying about that 17 not being an 18...</p><p></p><p>In summary, those wizard guides are flatly wrong. They're written with a lot of preconcieved baggage from editions previous. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand it, and I too thought getting up your spellcasting ability score was the most important thing for a long time. </p><p></p><p>Now I realize I was wrong, and so was all those guides. </p><p></p><p>Zapp</p><p></p><p>PS. I hope nobody thinks the above mean you should take a dump on your Int score. Because I don't. What I'm saying is that if you find a feat you like, go ahead and take it. Having Int 16 instead of 18 for a couple of levels isn't the disaster you could argue it was in previous editions.</p><p></p><p>Sure starting out with Int 20, getting blessed by the gods for a quick bump to 22, and then nearly breaking your neck as you trip over a lost-and-found <em>Robe of the Archmagi</em> doesn't hurt. If you get your save DC up to 17ish already when you're still wet behind the ears, you will skip the entire meh phase of Hold Person and similar spells, and that's great. But it's far from the be all and end all save DCs were previously.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 6916460, member: 12731"] Here's the secret. At low levels your save DC is going to suck, no matter what you do. Meanwhile, hitpoint-related spells such as Sleep and Fireball rock. But at high levels, your save DC can and will shut down just about anyone and anything, as long as you make smart decisions (big stupid brutes should be targeted by Intelligence and Charisma saves, not Strength and Constitution saves etc). Very very few monsters have great save bonuses for all six abilities. So focussing on your spellcasting ability (Int in this case) is actually much less important in this edition than any previous. At low levels, it doesn't matter much, since you have better ways of using your very few spell slots than to lock down a monster for a single round [I]maybe[/I]. And at high levels, it again doesn't matter that much if you're sporting a 20 or just an 18... because once your save DC reaches 17 or thereabouts, its much more about avoiding the (few) strong saves of your opponent than worrying about that 17 not being an 18... In summary, those wizard guides are flatly wrong. They're written with a lot of preconcieved baggage from editions previous. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand it, and I too thought getting up your spellcasting ability score was the most important thing for a long time. Now I realize I was wrong, and so was all those guides. Zapp PS. I hope nobody thinks the above mean you should take a dump on your Int score. Because I don't. What I'm saying is that if you find a feat you like, go ahead and take it. Having Int 16 instead of 18 for a couple of levels isn't the disaster you could argue it was in previous editions. Sure starting out with Int 20, getting blessed by the gods for a quick bump to 22, and then nearly breaking your neck as you trip over a lost-and-found [I]Robe of the Archmagi[/I] doesn't hurt. If you get your save DC up to 17ish already when you're still wet behind the ears, you will skip the entire meh phase of Hold Person and similar spells, and that's great. But it's far from the be all and end all save DCs were previously. [/QUOTE]
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