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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrozenNorth" data-source="post: 8855204" data-attributes="member: 7020832">You are missing the forest for the trees.  You claimed to want "real play experiences" where wizards dominated.  You received two, then immediately argued that they didn't really show that wizards dominated.Except, yes, sometimes the monster you come up against is a wandering monster and you don't need to kill it, just incapacitate it while you go on your way.Here's another example of that.  Critical Role, 2nd campaign.  Party gets attacked by an enormous frost worm type thing as a random encounter.  It is absolutely tearing up the party.  One cast by polymorph (by the cleric, who got it from their domain), and the frost worm is a CR 0 bunny.  Party continues on its way.Here's yet another example.  Wizard first level.  Casts Find familiar as a ritual.  Doesn't use a spell slot.  Chooses Owl, which doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.  Every turn in combat, the owl flies to an enemy, uses the Aid action (giving advantage to an attack against the monster) than flies out of range.  At the cost of exactly 1 of their 6 spells learned, 0 spell slots and 0 actions, the Wizard is one of the strongest buffers at first level, able to give out advantage once a round.A hypnotic pattern has a 50% chance of incapacitating the Nalfeshnee, even with magic resistance.  The challenge against a CR 13 monster with magic resistance is rendered trivial with a 3rd level spell.The usual defense against wizards not being overpowered is that their power is limited by their spell slots.  As early as mid-levels, this isn't the case for days with fewer encounters.  However, even in days with more encounters, the fact that many low-level spells remain extremely powerful (web, hypnotic pattern, invisibility) means that their power isn't substantially limited by their spell slots.Sorcerers are typically much less effective than wizards for a couple of reasons.  First, they draw from a much smaller spell list.  Second, their much fewer spells known means choosing to learn Web as their 2nd level spell means giving up many of the other extremely useful 2nd level spells.A 9th level sorcerer can cast 9 spells, from levels 1 through 5.  That averages to 2 spells per level (technically, there are probably a couple they can cast at higher level).  They can choose Web and then they need to choose 1 more from Enhance Ability, Hold Person, Invisibility, Misty Step and Suggestion.  Those choices have to serve them whether the day is mostly combat, mostly non-combat, and regardless of the monsters fought.  Meanwhile, a wizard can switch their loadout depending on whether they anticipate a lot of combat or not.It's not "bad rolls".  By level 9 or 10, a wizard's DC is easily 17, and most monsters have at least one save that is only a +0 or +1.  A quick lore check (or just common sense), and the wizard can target a defense that the monster has very little chance of succeeding at.And wizards, unlike sorcerers, can very easily choose spells that target a variety of defenses and still have room in their loadout for defense and utility spells.A sorcerer could cast web.  But an 9th level sorcerer has a total of 10 spells known, compared to a wizard who can prepare 14, plus the ritual spells he can cast from his spellbook that don't count towards the 14.If you are sincere about wanting to learn about others' experiences, listen, and don't try to find reasons why it isn't really a problem that the Wizard shut down the DM's big set piece because of 1 spell.</blockquote>

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