D&D 5E What's this about the Mountain Dwarf being a better wizard?

[The Black Ranger]

There is a big argument going on over at the Wizard's site with regards to the mountain dwarf being the best race for the wizard. Could anyone shed some light on this?

 

[Klaus]

There is a big argument going on over at the Wizard's site with regards to the mountain dwarf being the best race for the wizard. Could anyone shed some light on this?

People are looking at the light and medium armor proficiencies. A mountain dwarf wizard could begin play wearing scale mail and rise all the way to half plate, giving them a better AC than mage armor (not to mention hefting a big axe or hammer). Sure, those are sweet, if you plan on having a wizard that stays in the front line.

 

[eniodeangelis]

Having proficience en warhammer and other weapons due to the race adding this bonus exactly the same as a fighter, you found yourself with a multiclass character fighter/magic-user with no limits as in others editions there was.

For me, the classes are terribly unbalanced, and the game needs some adjustments.

 

[The Black Ranger]

People are looking at the light and medium armor proficiencies. A mountain dwarf wizard could begin play wearing scale mail and rise all the way to half plate, giving them a better AC than mage armor (not to mention hefting a big axe or hammer). Sure, those are sweet, if you plan on having a wizard that stays in the front line.

Wouldn't it be better to have a high AC versus ranged attacks? Not to mention that a higher Con would give them a better concentration check?

 

[Nagol]

Wouldn't it be better to have a high AC versus ranged attacks? Not to mention that a higher Con would give them a better concentration check?

I'm unsure how you get a better AC specifically against ranged attacks.

Assume you are using the basic array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

Int 15, Con 15, Dex 14, Wis 12, Cha 8 Str 12 after race mods.

You get 5 +2 bonuses as you level.

The first 2.5 go into Int to get your 20 and the next 2.5 go into Con getting you to 20.

Medium armour allows you up to +2 from Dex so your starting AC is 16 in scale mail and you can still take advantage of Shield should you wish. The character isn't great at melee to-hit or damage, but can carry and use a battle axe if it is desired. Is it the /best/ Wizard? I'm not sure there is such a thing. Is it a strong choice? Yep.

 

[The Black Ranger]

I'm unsure how you get a better AC specifically against ranged attacks.

Assume you are using the basic array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

Int 15, Con 15, Dex 14, Wis 12, Cha 8 Str 12 after race mods.

You get 5 +2 bonuses as you level.

The first 2.5 go into Int to get your 20 and the next 2.5 go into Con getting you to 20.

Medium armour allows you up to +2 from Dex so your starting AC is 16 in scale mail and you can still take advantage of Shield should you wish. The character isn't great at melee to-hit or damage, but can carry and use a battle axe if it is desired. Is it the /best/ Wizard? I'm not sure there is such a thing. Is it a strong choice? Yep.

I was referring to Klaus' statement about being on the front line. While a wizard won't be on the front line, he is still open to being hit by ranged attacks. I also got to thinking, a dwarf wizard would be able to have an extra spell slot because he wouldn't need to cast Mage Armour at the beginning of every day.

 

[Obryn]

With rolled stats and a stat cap of 20, anyone makes a pretty good anything.

Armor is nice, and so is a Con bonus. It's more useful for a wizard than +1 to Int in the long run, I'd say.

 

[FadedC]

The main weakness is that your intelligence is lower so you will be a less effective spell caster. Assuming only a 12 strength, your battle axe will be less effective then casting shocking grasp so the only real advantage you have to make up for being a weaker spell caster is the higher armor class. I wouldn't really call that a strong option, but it is viable.

If you play without feats (unlikely for most of us) then the dwarf wizard will eventually catch up after 11 levels of being an inferior spell caster. With feats he'll be behind one feat at that point, which is hard to evaluate without seeing what feats look like.

 

[Nebulous]

Didn't older versions of D&D have miscasting % chance in different armors?

 

[Obryn]

The main weakness is that your intelligence is lower so you will be a less effective spell caster. Assuming only a 12 strength, your battle axe will be less effective then casting shocking grasp so the only real advantage you have to make up for being a weaker spell caster is the higher armor class. I wouldn't really call that a strong option, but it is viable.

If you play without feats (unlikely for most of us) then the dwarf wizard will eventually catch up after 11 levels of being an inferior spell caster. With feats he'll be behind one feat at that point, which is hard to evaluate without seeing what feats look like.

Hmm?

First, with rolled stats, he doesn't need to be behind anyone.

Second, the best Int modifier so far is +1, which isn't even a pip on the d20.

Third, with a cap of 20, you're not behind for long.