Talk:Wizard

NOTE: Pull familiars onto page, and make them all able to speak. Alternatively, let's simplify this greatly. Suggestion: A familiar gives a +1 to +3 scaling bonus on one skill of your choice and call it done.

Plan C: Remove familiars and bonded items completely.

(RD) that just feels lazy to me. If they're not fun, and they don't add any uniqueness to the Wizard (over the Sorcerer or other casters) then I will agree, but I think we can make them fun.  I'm happy to do the work.

Familiars

• Should be comparable in usefulness/coolness/power to bonded item -- interesting/difficult choices are good!

Familiars are spirits who are inherently magical (from a plane near the font of power?) who have been asked by the wizard to lend assistance. While in this plane, they are offered a physical vessel, in the form of a small animal, which they inhabit. However, they only utilize this physical form when strictly necessary (it's kind of yucky), which is to say, any time they are separated from the wizard they have paired up with.

Familiar spirits are smart, can have strong, vivid personalities, and are, for the most part, helpful to their wizard. Their actual motives for helping are not totally clear, but could include things like "immortal and bored", or "for the furtherance of Magic", or "because this wizard has some specific fate the familiar is interested in being involved in", etc.

• familiars have two modes:
  • on the person of their master, in which case, they provide a buff based on which critter was chosen as their physical form
    • while on their master, they have no hit points, cannot be targeted, and can only be banished if their master is killed.
  • away from their master, in which case they serve as eyes/ears for remote locations, and can even be the focal point of a limited number of spells
    • spells 2 spell levels lower than master's max available spell level
    • while away from their master, can be targeted with attacks, and share the hit points of their master. If both the familiar and the master are in the same area of effect of an attack, they each take damage, reducing all of it from the caster's health.
    • while away from their master, they do not threaten, provide flanks, or occupy spaces. They squeeze with anything that enters their space, without penalty for either creature.

• need to create a table of buffs provided while on their master, based on critter chosen.
• should probably review the familiar feats again to make sure they still work with these ideas.

critter buffs could include:

• a specific type of sense which the caster might not have
• a bonus to one or more specific skills
• a luck bonus on ranged to-hit rolls
• 5 feet of extra speed each move action

... etc.

Bonded Items

Looking over these rules, bonded items are more of a drawback than a boon. If you don't wield/wear it, you have to concentrate to cast any spells? that's not a good class feature.

Maybe we could boost the bonded item by making it cheaper to add magic to them. Need to feel this out, given some of the forthcoming changes to magic items (i.e. we will probably be severely limiting which of the crafting rules players have access to, once we've redone the pre-built magic items).

It could be that you always pick a magic item that the bonded item will be based on (instead of just a masterwork object), and that magic item's cost is halved forever, even when you upgrade it to better versions of itself. Just a thought.

• we could then have a series of acculturated magic items that are specifically intended to be bonded items (though other caster classes could use them, if they wanted to). A series of orbs, for example, which have to be held in the hand/wielded to activate, but do STUFF.

Other bonded item ideas

• bonded item is always the wizard's implement (unless they go with a familiar).
• bonded items, in addition to being implements, can also be a magic item.
• the whole bonded item is purchased at a discount.
• somatic components can be performed with the bonded item, instead of a free hand.

Specific Bonded Items

• staff - requires both hands to wield, threatens foes (because it is a quarterstaff)

• guardian aspect; abjuration

• book - doesn't threaten, only requires one hand to wield

• knowledge aspect; conjuration

• orb - doesn't threaten foes, but only requires one hand to wield

• seeker aspect; divination

• amulet - doesn't threaten, must be presented with one hand

• will aspect; enchantment

• cape - doesn't threaten, must be manipulated with one hand

• trickery aspect; illusion

• wand - doesn't threaten, only requires one hand to wield

• war aspect; evocation

• athame (dagger) - threatens, only requires one hand to wield, but other hand must be open

• blood aspect; necromancy

• ring - doesn't threaten, must be presented to wield, requiring the hand wearing it

• grounding aspect; transmutation

hidden rule here is that both hands must be occupied to threaten foes.

we may also want to get rid of rods being clubs. I know it's interesting flavor, but it's probably a bit strong. Wizards (and sorcerers) should have to go out of their way to wield a weapon which threatens foes. It should be a conscious choice, not an accidental benefit of something they would do anyway (wield a rod).

Wizard Example Build

(Probably not actually a legal build; needs reviewed; keeping it here in case we get around to building a viable sample build later, so we can steal ideas from this one)

Human, base stats: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 16, int 20, Wis 10, Chr 10.

Example Feats

1st Level: Dodge, Still Spell. These are always useful. Always.

3rd Level: Spell penetration. Because caster level checks are HARD.

5th Level: Spell focus, Silent Spell. Let's see them make THIS saving throw. More important, gags and silence spells don't do a thing any more.

7th Level: Dazing Spell. Your spells are terrible in their power. AS THEY SHOULD BE.

9th Level: Selective Spell. This lets you nuke at will, no matter what your pesky team-mates are doing.

10th Level: Elemental Spell, Acid. You know what's better than fireball? Acid ball.

11th Level: Widen Spell: Size does matter. Oh yes, it does.

13th Level: Maximize Spell. Finally! Some PROPER firepower!

15th Level: Greater Spell Penetration, Quicken Spell. Punch it through, baby, and then cast ANOTHER spell!

17th Level: Greater Spell Focus. Even harder saves.

19th Level: Spell Perfection. As a Wizard, perfection is your normal state.

20th Level: Intensify Spell. Yeap. Because a 30d6 Polar Acid Ray sounds about right.