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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 6075670" data-attributes="member: 87792">For the record, a level 1 scroll costs 25 GP.  Is 25 GP less than 15,000 GP?  Yes.  So under the Rules as Written, level 1 scrolls should always be available.  A level 5 scroll costs 1125 GP.In short you are putting in place massive house rules to explicitely nerf the wizard that are against the letter and the spirit of the rules.  The fighter, of course, can't get a +3 equivalent sword.It's strange because you are again putting in place massive house rules to explicitely nerf the wizard.One part of wizards being overpowered is due to crafting.  One part of wizards being overpowered is due to the magic item economy and casting items being severely undercosted.  One part of wizards being overpowered is due to the flexibility of spells.To show your challenge is fair, put a fighter, and a rogue into the same scenarios as the wizard.  Show me how the fighter handles the detective scenario with his 2+Int skill points per level to find the princess.The thread isn't "is d&d 3.x a broken rule set?" we already know the answer is yes. As it is for ANY system with that many variables and that many add-ons.  The thread is about "what do you do about over-powered casters". And my answer is... don't give PCs every item they ask for, as much as that might crush some modern player's ideas of "always say yes" and whatnot.  The DMG says all over the magic item section that its really easy to over-power things with a poorly placed magic item.So, I still want to see a wizard without hand-picked magic items.</blockquote>If the fighter sells that +1 sword, he makes a loss of 1150GP.  He only gets to sell it at half price.  For the amount that fighter lost on his sword, the wizard can have burnt through 46 first level scrolls.  This is why the "consumables cost money" argument is ridiculous.Under the conditions you've set, I don't think I enter a wizard.  I enter a druid.  Mostly because your two nerfs are laser-focussed on the wizard and completely ignore the other two Tier 1 PHB classes.  No scrolls?  Restricts the wizard list.  Doesn't do a single thing to the divine casters.For the record even with your house rules, at each level it's one offensive spell, one defensive, one utility, and one other. And I can leave half my spell slots open in the morning until I know what I'm going to be doing.Offence if I'm soloing is pretty much pure conjuration after first level. L1: Grease, Colour Spray or Sleep (not prepared because it's absolutely useless by this level - probably colour spray as enchantment's normally the second dump school)  L2: Glitterdust (or possibly Web).  L3: Stinking Cloud.  L4: Black tentacles.Utility: L1: Silent Image (going to fill up a lot of L1 slots). L2: Invisibility.  L3: Fly. L4: Scrying.  L5: Teleport.Defence: L1: Mage Armour.  L2: Alter Self.  L3: Dispel Magic.  L4: PolymorphOther: L1: Alarm.  L2: Knock.  (Stiff competition here).  L3: Slow (Allowing Web rather than Glitterdust at L2).  L4: Solid Fog.  L5: Prying Eyes.It's not a perfect selection (and is silent image heavy at L1).  Also not a selection to match the tier 1 casters you haven't biothered to nerf.  If we're on any sort of realistic option I'm a specialist conjurer for an extra spell per level.Now, for your missions:Scry (the Princess should voluntarily fail her save anyway, and you can Message with any luck) and Prying Eyes.  Turn invisible once you've found her, and fly.  Knock your way through any locked doors and distract guards with Ghost Sound and Silent Image (or just take them out).  Touch her.  Teleport the pair of you back to your sanctum.  Teleport away and tell them to find someone else.  Dragons are significantly under their CR.  Either that or scry and invisibility to find the thing when it's asleep.  Tackling dragons head on is the job of clerics, druids, and fighters.   Either that or Prying Eyes to find the thing when I know it's asleep.  Silent image to keep us hidden, then try to gank the unconscious dragon from massed minion firepower while keeping it trapped under a Solid Fog.Prying Eyes, Invis and fly or alter self.  I have spells that should deal withany two of the three BBEGs in that base.  And teleport as an exit strategy.Is this all perfect strategy and unbeatable?  No.  But meanwhile our  fighter is blundering around having been unable to find the princess.  He's got to take the fire breathing flying spellcaster on head on (if he can even reach it).  And he has nothing to help with the infiltration.  Our rogue at least has gather information skills and can probably get to the princess.  But then struggles solo - the rogue has to wipe out all the guards  If the alpha strike doesn't kill the sleeping dragon the rogue is dead.  And he has a lower chance of finding our sleeping dragon.  And ... I'll give him the base as long as he only has to fight the sorceror (he can't catch the other two flat footed for sneak attack).On the other hand our druid Scrys and plays Dr Doolittle then Aggressively Hegmonizing Ursine Swarm (I'm a bear with a bear companion who summons bears) to deal with the kidnappers.  He too finds the dragon asleep and then burns his high level spells to have a private army to simultaneously charge the sleeping dragon.  And he scries and turns into a stray dog to infiltrate.  The druid is winning here and winning hard.  Because the druid, like the wizard, is a tier 1 caster - and all your nerfs haven't done much to slow him down; the Druid probably has more raw power than the wizard, but the wizard's major strength is flexibility which is what all your nerfs target.  (And remember druids get to cast Summon Nature's Ally spontaneously).Um... <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#wizard" target="_blank">you can't dump divination</a>.  If you're going to make ridiculous houserules to debuff the wizard, with a laser focus on the wizard (leaving the druid and cleric almost untouched), at least get the rules right.[/QUOTE]

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