Wizard Or Sorc.

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I think wizards look vastly superior on paper. Int based casting, huge spell range, better skills, free feats and earlier access to magic...

However, IME Sorcerors are much better than their paper look when you get to play. The spontaneous casting thing is huge, particularly if you select a decent range of spells and don't know what you're going to face every day. Plus they're like the energiser bunny - they just keep on going... great if you get lots of encounters between resting.

They do somewhat lack in versatility. If you play in a setting where consumable magic goods are freely purchasable, then they can patch that with scrolls - getting a bunch of useful situational spells works. And I'd figure it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a wizard trying to blast with evocation items. Certain spells are really broad as well - limited wish springing to mind - not even that expensive tbh... not a low level option though!

On that point, like Monks - I think they're a lot more fun at higher levels than earlier on. YMMV.

And like some others have said, a wizard really needs downtime to learn new spells and craft items. They're in a sorry state without that.

The flexibility of a wizard is quite unbeatable though. Particularly if they have time and resources to prep for a situation...

Best situation for a party is to have both!

 

[Machiavelli]

I like sorcerers because they fit better with a wide variety of archetypes when multiclassing. Both classes have innate magical talent, but in the sorcerer this talent asserts itself naturally, allowing the character to be of ANY personality type, ANY profession, ANY mindset, and ANY goal orientation. The wizard, however, must be diligent, scholastic, and likely even introverted in order to purposefully get the best use of his magical talent.

I'm introverted and scholastic in real life. In fantasy I like to step outside of myself into someone else's shoes, and the sorcerer fits that best.

Mechanically, however, wizards and sorcerers are well-matched on a generic basis, with their case-by-case comparison entirely dependent upon the campaign issues mentioned by others in this thread.

 

[Li Shenron]

Also, technically a Wizard can keep as many of her slots open as she wishes, and it takes only a fraction of preparation time to fill them later.

Clearly this can't be used immediately before a battle, but it means that with 15 minutes time the Wizard can fill an open slot which she left open, and this offsets her preparation disadvantage a lot (if used for the right spells).

 

[atomn]

Example, in the current campaign that I am a player in, my wizard has progressed from 1st to 4th level, all while in a pretty epic adventure out in the hinterlands away from civilization. We haven't even seen a village in months, much less a town with a library or a spell seller or a mage guild. My PC has had time to scribe exactly 3 scrolls in those 4 levels. The rest of the time the group was either fighting, traveling, resting, or otherwise occupied.
Can't scribe a scroll while on horseback.
Can't add to your spell book in the middle of combat.
Can't craft a wand while you are sleeping.

I've found the same thing in a campaign I'm in. I've found a spellbook but the campaign has our group constantly travelling to another part of the continent (often in the wilderness) so I haven't had any chance to buy supplies and translate those spells into my spellbook. So far I've been multiclassing, so it's not an issue. But if I only had levels of Wizard, it would be a definite negative compared to playing a Sorcerer.

On a separate note, I've noticed in many of the books there are more feats that are specific to Sorcerers as opposed to Wizards. Do they help the balance any?

 

[Pbartender]

Also realize that with no particular special abilities other than a familiar (which is arguably a liability, rather than a benefit), Sorcerers are the spellcasting class that has the least to lose, and the most to gain, when entering a Prestige Class. Just pick a PrC with a full caster level progression... You lose none of the real advantages of being a Sorcerer, and you gain all the special abilities of your PrC.

 

[Li Shenron]

Also realize that with no particular special abilities other than a familiar (which is arguably a liability, rather than a benefit), Sorcerers are the spellcasting class that has the least to lose, and the most to gain, when entering a Prestige Class. Just pick a PrC with a full caster level progression... You lose none of the real advantages of being a Sorcerer, and you gain all the special abilities of your PrC.

But in 99% of the prestige classes for arcane casters, they qualify a level later due to the requirement on spell level.

 

[Dykstrav]

It seems one of the wizard's main advantages would be having scribe scroll, but what happens when they chose to specialize? Do they lose significant power due to sacrificing two schools? What about the UA specialist sub class features? Many of these replace scribe scroll and the other feats a wizard would get with fixex specialities. Does this nerf the wizard at all?

That's one of the reason specialist diviners are nifty. They only have to give up one school. I've also found that specialists aren't really any weaker than generalist wizards, as most players tend to focus in a few schools of magic anyway (usually between 3-5). I typically give up illusion or enchantment, since many critters are immune to illusions anyway and it can be a real pain on the DM to use some of the cooler enchantments. Necromancy is a strong second choice, as there are so many necromancy spells that are totally blown on a save without any effect (evocations usually at least do half damage on a failed save, for example).

Specialist conjurers are probably the strongest combat wizards around, even better than evokers. They get some neat attack spells on their own: acid arrow, web, stinking cloud, sleet storm, cloudkill... Not to mention the various summon monster spells. Conjurers are great for tying up a battlefield with multiple-round area effects and keeping the front line filled. And if he didn't choose evocation as a prohibited school, he still gets those spells too.

I personally dig the alternate class features in Unearthed Arcana. Scribe Scroll or a familiar isn't always that cool a thing to have, so having an option is always good.

 

[amethal]

Hello, My friend is starting a new quest. I was looking to make ether a wizard or a sorc. I looked them both over to see what one really had more to offer and i can't help to notice that wizard is better in a lot of ways ( not saying Sorc. is usless but that wizard just has more to offer ) with.. Feats - Int being his main stat - Using Spell feats and not having it take a full round action. I just didnt see the big up side to sorc. but i am newer at this game. Is the sorc. ab. to cast spells from the cuff that good?

Wizards and sorcerers are both good choices.

If you are looking for the most powerful character, play a cleric instead

I think sorcerers are more fun to play - more spells per day, no planning needed each morning. Other people love choosing their spells each day, so find wizards more fun.

As others have said, a lot depends on your DM - although hopefully he will be fair towards you whichever you choose, giving you opportunities to shine but not being afraid to put you under pressure on occasion by targeting your weaknesses.

But always ask, because sometimes DMs have a set idea of where the campaign is going. In my current campaign, we started off with a shipwreck in which we lost all our equipment. Our DM didn't tell us this in advance, but he did warn us that playing a wizard would be very tough and recommended playing a sorcerer instead.

There are also a few DMs out there who like targetting spellbooks (and sometimes familiars). This can result in a wizard having to spend a lot of resources to keep them safe.

On the other hand, there are DMs who house rule (either deliberately, or through ignorance) that adding spells to a spell book doesn't cost anything (which actually only applies to the "free" spells you get each time you level).

A sorcerer is easy to play from day to day, but careful choice of spells known is a very big part of playing one effectively. Planning is essential here, and mistakes are hard to rectify.

 

[Psion]

Also realize that with no particular special abilities other than a familiar (which is arguably a liability, rather than a benefit), Sorcerers are the spellcasting class that has the least to lose, and the most to gain, when entering a Prestige Class. Just pick a PrC with a full caster level progression... You lose none of the real advantages of being a Sorcerer, and you gain all the special abilities of your PrC.

I agree, but I sort of see this as an "out for a fundamentally weak class" rather than a "feature".

 

[MeSleepNow]

Thanks again guys for all the feed back.