Play a Wizard in Dungeons and Dragons V3.5
The wizard is one of the four core classes of a Dungeons and Dragons adventuring party. This article will teach you the basics of creating your first wizard. You need to be familiar with the basics of Dungeons and Dragons V3.5 (D&D) before you read this article.
Steps
Average Wizard
- Read About Wizards. Before you start your first session of D&D during which you will create your character you should read the entire entry about wizards in the Player's Handbook (PHB).
- Pick a Race. Every race can be a wizard, but Half-Orcs are poorly suited to the class. Elf wizard is the stereotype but you should feel free to break away from this, there is no logical reason why Elves make better wizards than any other race. Many people prefer Humans for a wizard. If you want to focus on illusions then you should consider playing a Gnome. Anything with a penalty to Intelligence is a questionable choice for a wizard.
- Generate and Assign Your Vital Statistics. Consult with your Dungeon Master (DM) and find out what system(s) can be used to generate your vital statistics (stats). If it is allowed you should always use the "point buy" system to make a wizard. Intelligence is the only stat that really matters for a wizard and you will want to start with an 18 if that is at all possible. After Intelligence Constitution and Dexterity are also important because they will boost your Armor class and Hit points. Many wizards have very low Strength, Wisdom, and Charisma because these stats are not important to them.
- Pick Your Starting Skills and Feats. Wizards end up with many skill points by virtue of their superior Intelligence. Good skills for every wizard include Concentration, Knowledge Arcana, and Spellcraft. These skills relate closely to magic (Concentration allows you to cast spells even when distracted). Wizards also can take ranks in any of the Knowledge skills. These skills can be very helpful to new players because many of them provide information about the enemies that you will face. For example, you are attacked by a monster so you roll a skill check with an appropriate knowledge skill. If you succeed the DM will tell you the monster's name, its strengths, and its weaknesses. This information can be the difference between victory and defeat. With feats you want to focus on feats that enhance your ability to cast spells. Do not waste your time trying to become better at physical combat or make yourself less fragile. You cannot achieve this in that fashion. Instead use your feats to enhance your magic and then use your magic to enhance yourself, this will work better every time. When you select a metamagic feat, make sure that you can use it effectively. For example, the feat Extend Spell makes spells last twice as long and as a cost it raises the level of the spell by one. So an Extended Mage Armor is a level two spell, not level one, and lasts for two hours per level, not one hour per level. However, if you cannot yet cast level two spells this feat is not yet useful to you. Item creation feats are nice, but do not forget that it takes time and Experience Points (XP) to create any item.
- Decide If You Want to Specialize. Choosing a specialty school of magic gives you more spells every day and makes some of your spells more powerful. However it also means you must choose two schools that are prohibited, meaning that you cannot cast spells from those schools. For beginners it is recommended that you do not specialize. This is best left for later when you know which spells you like to use.
- Pick Your Wizard's Alignment.
- Pick Your Starting Spells. A wizard can know more spells than any other class in D&D but they must learn each one before it can be cast. When you start at first level you will know all of the level 0 spells (cantrips) and two level one spells, plus one additional level one spell per point of Intelligence modifier. So a wizard with an Intelligence of 18 would know six level one spells at first level. Remember that each spell takes one page of your spellbook per level of the spell, with level zero spells taking one half a page each. You must keep track of what spells are in your spellbook and how many pages you have left. When you run out you must buy a new spellbook. You will gain two additional spells at each level. The spells you gain in this manner are free to scribe into your spell book, additional spells cost 100 Gold Pieces (gp) per level of the spell. It is always worth learning a new spell.
- Choose a Familiar. This is mostly a style choice. Your familiar is not very strong and if it dies you suffer a steep penalty. Choose one that suits your character's personality and do not forget to consider the bonus that each one confers.
- Buy Starting Equipment. A wizard does not need much at first. You cannot wear armor, carry a shield, or use most weapons. A quarterstaff and a dagger are good weapons to carry because they are cheap and have more uses than combat. How can you cut ropes binding your friends without a knife, or test the depth of a river without a stick? If you plan to use your Scribe Scroll feat, which you should, then you should carry some parchment. A scroll case is also a good investment for a wizard.
- Know Your Role in the Party. A wizard does a variety of jobs. He can use magic to enhance the party, he can attack the enemy, he can manipulate people, and so on. What your role is in each campaign may depend on how other party members play. Try to be flexible. In combat, remember that sometimes that best spell is not the one that could cause a lot of damage. If you immobilize an opponent you may turn a deadly fight into an easy one.
- Know Your Spells. You should know how every spell in your spellbook works. This will speed up the game and make your wizard more effective. It will also help you prepare an effective choice of spells for your daily preparation.
- Learn New Spells. The best wizard is the one who can cast a huge variety of spells. Do not neglect to learn new spells just because it costs money. A fighter spends his money on weapons and armor, so does a wizard but spells are his weapons and armor. If you find a scroll of a spell you do not know, consider copying it into your spellbook (which expends the scroll) instead of casting it.
- Make Your Own Scrolls. This ability of wizards is often poorly utilized. Spells whose effects are not dependent on your level are the best candidates for scrolls. There are also spells that are rarely used, but when needed are vital. These are also good choices for scrolls, you do not want to waste a daily spell slot on a spell you rarely cast, but you also do not want to risk not having it when you need it. If that is the case, make a scroll.
Meaty Wizard
- Chose the Elf as your race. This is due to their proficiency with swords and bows.
- Put the highest roll/amount into Constitution if working on the buy points or assigned roll system. This is due in part mainly because Wizards start with around 3 or 4 HP.
- Take the Battle Caster Feat so that you can wear light-armor without the chance of spell-failure.
- Put ranks into Spell craft or Knowledge(any). This is simply because your going to be casting spells quite a bit, or giving people knowledge on aspects of the dungeon.
- Buy plenty of Arrows for your bow, however stay away from master-work weapons until your stats increase a bit.
Tips
- Consider the campaign when choosing new spells. If you are frequently fighting with Red Dragons then avoid spells that deal fire damage, even if they seem really awesome.
- The right combination of two or three spells can occasionally create amazing results.
- Ask for advice from veteran players about what spells are the most effective.
- Plan ahead when choosing feats and skills.
- Read through Complete Arcane for more wizard spells and prestige classes.
Warnings
- Playing a wizard takes more time and organization than many other character types in D&D.
- Always avoid melee combat.
- Due to their low armor class and low hit points wizards are very fragile.
- Some spells have [Evil] written in their description. Using these spells is considered an evil act no matter why you do it. For example, even if you used Animate Dead to make a group of zombies serve food in your soup kitchen, casting the spell was still an evil act.
