Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) has yet to include an official witch class for the fifth edition, with the closest being the druid, loosely based on the Celtic shaman, and the pact of the tome warlock. Players have been combining features from different classes to create a witch in D&D for years. In its early years, D&D was often blamed for leading players to dabbling in the occult and even committing violent crimes.
A dungeon master (DM) creates a fantasy realm from their or her, and wizards may cast spells combining components of mind and logic, while sorcerers cast. As the Satanic panic boiled over in the 1980s, Dungeons and Dragons became one of the many once innocuous activities pulled under suspicion. In 1984, comic-strip artist Jack Chick published a tract called “Dark Dungeons”, where a young woman named Debbie is seduced into witchcraft through her participation in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
During this time, Dungeons and Dragons has received attention for allegedly promoting Satanism, witchcraft, suicide, pornography, and murder. Some of these books, like TEEN WITCH, are written for young readers. There is even a DUMMIES GUIDE TO WICCA AND WITCHCRAFT.
D&D has finally stopped being called witchcraft by most people, but it still remains a part of pop culture and known for its fun tabletop RPG. It is important to understand that each of the magical artifacts exists in “real world” sorcery and witchcraft, which are completely anti-D&D.
📹 It’s okay for Christians to get into Dungeons & Dragons / Harry Potter?Mike Winger
In recent Q&A Mike says this is a Christian liberty issue, do whatever your conscience allows. What say you?
Can you be a mage in D&D?
In the context of D&D 5e, a mage is an arcane spellcaster who is capable of casting spells typically associated with other classes, such as wizard, sorcerer, warlock, arcane trickster, eldritch knight, or bard. This is achieved without the need to explicitly specify the class in question.
Does D&D have witches?
Dungeons and Dragons has not yet introduced an official witch class for fifth edition, with the closest being the druid, based on Celtic shaman, and the pact of the tome warlock. Players have been combining features from different classes to create witches in D and D for years. However, there is a need to explore the fun lore and abilities associated with being a dedicated witch at lower levels. Dungeon Master can now let players become witches in their stories, allowing players to explore the specifics of the witch class and its features.
Are female wizards witches in D&D?
A “witch” can refer to various types of wizards, including female wizards who received instruction in magic from an extra-planar patron, such as Graz’zt, or male “warlocks”. In the Feywild, witches were typically archfey or goddesses, while in Elminster’s generation, witches were self-taught herbalists or spellcasters of arcane magic. They lived in rural areas and focused on making a living through casting spells. Bubudow witches specialized in medicinal herbs, while mediums, or spirit channelers, specialized in necromancy and communicating with the dead.
The term “witch” began to be used in the Realms in 1100 DR as a pejorative for female spellcasters and servitors of hags, particularly in Chessenta, Turmish, and the Vilhon Reach. This usage continued into the 1300 DR, particularly among the Bedine of Anauroch. In the 14th century DR, spellsingers were sometimes referred to as witches in the Western Heartlands, and superstitious people in the Vast labeled mages as “witches” and burned them on a stake. In Kara-Tur, the term was occasionally used to refer to individual women who were wu-jen.
Is Dungeons and Dragons ok for Christians?
Christian products, such as “Dungeons and Dragons”, can be positive alternatives to occultic and secular games. However, they should be evaluated for their message and values. Avoid games that focus on violence, sexuality, greed, or self-indulgence. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to meditate on virtues and praiseworthy aspects of entertainment. If you need more information, contact the Counseling department or check out the book “Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids”, which discusses “D and D” and other games in-depth. This resource can be found at local Christian bookstores, libraries, or online retailers.
What does the Bible say about roleplaying?
In 1 Corinthians 10:7, the Bible places significant emphasis on the fact that role-playing games (RPGs) should not be considered an idol or detract from one’s spiritual commitments. This is because the Bible advocates for a life centered on God, where all actions align with Christian values.
Is D&D Religious?
This list of deities in Dungeons and Dragons, including all of the 3. 5 edition gods and powers of the “Core Setting” for the roleplaying game, is a crucial element of the game. Religion is essential for supporting the cleric class and the ethical alignment system, which is one of the three fundamentals of role playing. The pantheons used in D and D provide a useful framework for creating fantasy characters, governments, and worlds. D and D draws inspiration from various mythologies but takes great liberty in adapting them for the game’s purposes. The Greyhawk gods list contains many of the deities listed here.
The first official publication to detail god-like beings for the game was Gods, Demi-Gods and Heroes, published in 1976. The Deities and Demigods source book was first published in 1980, which included the Cthulhu Mythos and Melnibonéan mythos. In 1992, Monster Mythology was published as a sourcebook for the second edition of Dungeons and Dragons, reintroducing detailed information on the deities of several non-human pantheons. The Faerûnian pantheon for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting was more fully detailed in 1996-98 with the publication of Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities.
Does D&D have fairies?
Fairies, a race in Dungeons and Dragons, are infused with the magic of their home, the Feywild, and are a powerful and magical race. They can fly at a speed equal to their walking speed and possess the druidcraft cantrip, allowing them to pick up faerie fire and enlarge/reduce. At level 1, fairies can fly at a speed equal to their walking speed and can use various classes to combine their ranged flight and powerful spellcasting. However, melee classes like Barbarians, Fighters, Monks, and Paladins are less useful.
Fairies are one of the many fantastical races that can be chosen when creating a D and D character. The first fairies spoke Elvish, Goblin, or Sylvan, and picked up Common from encounters with human visitors.
Is there any magic in Dungeons and Dragons?
In August 2022, primal magic was reintroduced in Dungeons and Dragons with the One D and D public playtest, stating that it originates from the forces of nature found in the inner planes. Druids and rangers are practitioners of primal magic. However, this division was removed in September 2023.
There are eight classic schools of magic in Dungeons and Dragons: abjuration, alteration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, illusion, invocation, and necromancy. Spell schools are introduced in the 2nd edition Player’s Handbook and expanded on in The Complete Wizard’s Handbook. Jeff Howard highlights that schools of magic are not necessarily academic institutions but rather a taxonomy of reality, classifying the chaos of existence and experience into a structured and order whole.
In the 4th edition, spell schools were initially absent but were reintroduced with the Dungeons and Dragons Essentials supplement. The spell schools introduced are Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Nethermancy, corresponding to the Shadow subschool of the Illusion school from previous editions. Other classical schools’ spells are present as utility spells or spell descriptors.
Are witches evil in D&D?
Hags, or witches, are depicted as evil, old, and magical in Earth folklore. They have been used to scare children and adult D and D enthusiasts for generations. Night Hags, the most idealized and hag-like of the Hags, dwell in the lower planes, inducing nightmares and harvesting soul larvae. They are considered hideous and insidious, aiming to corrupt every good thing they encounter and breaking sacred bonds.
Annis Hags, the largest and most physically imposing of the Hags, are the largest and most physically imposing, standing at least seven feet tall and resembling a tree and mountain birthed by an old ogre. They have sharp teeth, physical strength, and nails made of iron, making them a smart choice for adventurers. However, they are some of the most conceited of the Hags and enjoy destruction and domination. If a battle with an Annis Hag is in your party’s future, they will likely find you.
Are there curses in Dungeons and Dragons?
The Dungeons and Dragons 5E material contains approximately 20 items that are afflicted with a curse.
Is Dungeons and Dragons inappropriate?
DnD is a game that features mythical creatures such as wizards, dwarves, and orcs, along with magical elements such as spell-casting. It is rated low for its content, making it suitable for parents to be aware of.
📹 The Problem with Wizards in D&D
Wizards are the most iconic DnD class in… well all of D&D, but playing a wizard at low levels sure is something. How can we …
I solved the spell scroll issue in my game by leaning into the fact that academics is inherently cooperative. You’re not an isolated scholar, you gave regular contact with fellow wizards, subject experts, etc through magical owl post. Someone will be happy to trade you an extra spell scroll in return for components, information, a recommandation to a mentor, etc. Sooo many story hooks. And the wizard can request spell scrolls in-world.
the thing to note about the ritual spells for the wizards, they have an additional advantage compared to others, since they can ritual cast spells they haven’t prepared, so long as they have it in their spellbook. Other classes need to have the spell prepared to cast it as an ritual, but not wizards. Bonus points for the scribe wizard, who can once per long rest can cast a ritual spell without the added time. Edit: small mistake about the scribe wizard. while the scribe wizards quill doesn’t need ink, it doesn’t says that it reduces the cost of copying spells. So by Raw they still need 50 gold for each spell level, they are just quicker with copying, but as dm you can choose not to enforce that.
I’m currently playing a Scribe Wizard in a campaign and I love what my DM does when it comes to scroll loot. Whenever the party gets magical/new gear, he has a short list of things that he homebrewed, thought would be cool, and/or we will need in the future. He also has a list of “choose your own” gear. For example, he’ll say something like “there are also 3 uncommon magic items and 2 third level scrolls. Either y’all can pick what they are or I can.” I know that it might break emersion for some people, but I love having a bit of say when it comes to what we get (within reason) and the DM doesn’t have to figure out what your priorities as a player are
As someone who loves the wizard class, I feel that their weakness at low levels is often overstated. Especially so since cantrips are now castable an unlimited number of times – a wizard’s fire bolt is now the equivalent of a fighter swinging their sword, or a ranger firing their bow in the sense that it can be done an unlimited amount of times (though a bow can still run out of ammunition, a sword can still break, and a spellbook can still be stolen). With a bit of creativity and abuse of Prestidigitation and the environment, I feel like a lot of the weakness can be overcome. It’s just a matter of mindset a lot of the time – though I imagine some campaigns can be especially brutal for wizard and other squishy characters dependent on one gimmick.
To help out with your spellsinger. Spells with the cast time of reaction at level 1: Shield – An invisible barrier of magical force appears and protects you. Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus to AC, including against the triggering attack, and you take no damage from magic missile. Absorb Elements – The spell captures some of the incoming energy, lessening its effect on you and storing it for your next melee attack. You have resistance to the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn. Also, the first time you hit with a melee attack on your next turn, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends. Feather Fall – Choose up to five falling creatures within range. A falling creature’s rate of descent slows to 60 feet per round until the spell ends. If the creature lands before the spell ends, it takes no falling damage and can land on its feet, and the spell ends for that creature. Defensive spells for a wizard you can use as a reaction in melee or at ranged. Also key! Shield stacks with Mage Armor, if you have both. I usually prefer Shield of the two. Giving up a 1st level spell slot to cancel an enemy attack and potentially a group of attacks? Good use! In DnD5e I mostly use Firebolt for attacking especially at low levels anyways, and I’m happy for it because I played DnD3.5e and am glad I nolonger have to carry a crossbow or be an elf. Though, Pathfinder’s universalist school wizard ability to attack at range with your melee weapon is fun, especially if you’re an eldrich knight wizard attacking at range with your 2h buster sword.
The thing about Wizards’ defences is that their AC is actually pretty decent. If you get a 16 in DEX (which there’s not much of a reason not to) and cast mage armour, you get and AC of 16. That is higher or equal than Rogues and Monks before level 4. If you cast Shield, you get an AC of 21, which is higher than what any martial gets. If you take an armor dip for medium armor and shield, you have a base 19 AC which can go up to 24 AC with shield without magic items.
My favorite use of wish (specifically as the 9th level spell) is to create a spell scroll of their own design, which they can inscribe into their spellbook, creating their very own spell. Because, in my eyes, that’s one of the greatest feats a wizard can put on their resume. A defining achievement that puts them in a tier of their own
Bladesinger is great because of 1 thing: Extra attack. And it’s no ordinary extra attack. You can replace 1 attack with a Cantrip! If you cast Shadow Blade and duel wield it with a rapier, you can be making 3 attacks per round that deal 2d8 + your dex mod by level 6 Edit: to clarify, the idea is that you can attack as your action using the Shadowblade, then cast booming blade with the second attack, then bonus action two weapon fighting with the shadow blade. My mistake was that you either need a short sword or the duel wielder feat
A friend of mine solved the “Weak Wizard at low level” issue by creating a runic magic system. It worked very similarly to programming, meaning the skill floor and ceiling was the number of runes you knew, and your ability to CREATE spells. Which is the big issue I have in DnD and other similar tabletops, being tied down to “Fireball”, “Chain Lighting”, “Force Bolt” ect. I never felt like a scholar doing my own reaserch, I always felt like a plagarist using other peoples. My favorite game of all time is Morrowind, and the Wizzard Fantasy in that game is superb. You can create all kinds of spells, with the only restrictions being which ones you learned (cant use fire effect withiut knowing a fire spells), your Intelligence/Willpower (Being your mana and chance to cast globally respectively), and your skill in the spell discipline (Destruction, Alteration, ect.). And… you know… money. But its not super hard to get money if you know what youre doing.
I’ve gotten in the habit of, whenever the party fights a wizard, having the enemy wizard’s spellbook include a few desirable spells (and if they’re not in the wizard’s stat block, those are just the spells they didn’t have prepared that day); experienced wizard players usually just start carrying around looted spellbooks until they have a chance (and/or high enough level) to copy what they want. Reducing the cost of copying lower-level spells as a house rule also helps.
A solution I came up with way back in 3.5 was spell description scroll. One of the problems that existed back then is that you could fail to scribe a scroll into your book despite spending the time and money. This led to wizard’s not scribing scrolls but casting from scrolls more often than not. Basically wizards were the class with free spell slots all over the place. Replace acess to basic spell scrolls with spell description scrolls and hand them out like candy – but spell description scrolls can only be used to add to a spellbook. They were easier to add to spell books cost less and took less time to add to spell books, we’re not destroyed by copying into spell books, and could be used to add many, many variants of spells without any problems. Suddenly wizards could go to hubs of magical learning and offer old scrolls already copied into books for access to new ones. You can excite a player by giving them access to ice ball separate from fireball. Next thing you know they’re looking forward to Thunderball, acid ball, blue ball, whatever. Wizards could have access to a crazy bloated spell list without worrying about having them having an unreasonable number of casts per day. Theives got poison everywhere they looked. Fighters collected specialized weapons from any being that ever saw an anvil. And wizards overflowed with bit of paper. And clerics got healing scrolls so they could still cast without everyone complaining they weren’t getting healed ALL the time. Thats how it works.
The School of Witchcraft is maybe my favorite subclass I’ve ever read! The flavor, the abilities, the thought of walking around with a gaggle of ghosts as your spellbook, the way each ability gives you something new in a way that builds on the stuff that came before rather than just being in the same vein of stuff!
The Scribes feature that can temporarily burn out your spells for a few days seems like a really big cost, but just remember how easy it is for Scribes wizards to copy spells. So just copy literally as many spells as you can find and you’ll be in great shape. It’s DM dependant to make work, but if you communicate with your DM that that’s what you want it’s just a really good feature
I played a Bladesinger to level 20 in a former campaign. There are a lot of great spells that proc a melee spell attack that are super damaging. I took them with a level 1 fighter to start, then get a wizard level there after. Shield and Absorb Energy were essential spells. What you seem to be missing that when you level up you can pick two spells that you don’t have to purchase and copy down.
I played a wizard once, “Doctor Wagon,” who was a Frankenstein-styled doctor-turned-necromancer who sought to understand the “true nature of life and death.” My favorite character, “Quintessa,” is a noble-born sorceress who augmented her inborn power with a bit of wizardry (Ritual Caster feat), making her a kind of half-and-half (harkening back to the “Ultimate Magus” from 3e). Her goal is to become a “Mage of Power,” someone whos arcane ability goes beyond the limit of ninth-level spells…
The thing i love most about the Scribes Wizard’s capstone ability is that it instantly turns all your useless spells like Detect Trap and Leomund’s Secret Chest into an impenetrable shield. If you’re doing what your subclass is telling you to do (scribing every single spell you can get your grubby little hands on) it’s a god-tier ability
I really like the witch class idea! It reminds me of my favorite childhood book seires, The Thickety. The main character Kara was a witch, but specifically a Wexari, a type of witch born with magic so intrinsic she was capable of creating world-altering spells without a grimoire (at the cost of some part of her being, in her case her memories). In the books, every spell ever cast first came from a Wexari, and the grimoires catalogued their knowledge and spell-craft so that those with the ability to cast magic but not the ability to make it could use their spells. This of course was an incredibly corrupt system, as the grimoires were cursed to basically be mind-altering drugs so you’d cast every spell in the book and then get taken to the Well of Witches, where you’d become part of the system and forced to catalogue the spells and tempt future witches into picking up a grimoire and starting the process over again. It’s a very good series. Also creepy as hell. No wonder I love horror so much.
I enjoy playing wizards and do just fine at every level of the game. One of the great aspects of the wizard is the versatility to literally save the entire party from the unexpected (or what should have been expected but the party didn’t listen to the wizard). I have stopped so many TPKs as a wizard by having just the right spell to get the party out of a tight spot.
Wizards don’t really ever feel like they fit into the party. At low levels they’re barely capable of having enough spells to last a combat encounter, at higher levels you’re traveling with a demigod capable of soloing boss encounters. I’m not sure whether it’s even possible to make a class that’s entirely dependent on their spell slots fun without just making high-level spells so absurdly broken the party just exists as meat shields and moral support.
Speaking of bg3 and witches, I’m actually playing a Necomancer wizard, and the game does provide a neat use for the class: a medium. When you arrive to the aftermath of Waukeens keep, you can save a man stuck under burning rubble. If you cast speak with dead on his dead wife with him present, he will actually make a comment, asking if you are a medium and can ask his wife a question. And it makes sense; so many people die in the world of dnd and can’t afford resurrections, so why not find a Necromancer to speak one last time to the deceased? I really, really like this angle, and just makes me like the subclass even more.
One thing that a lot of folks forget you can make a back-up Spellbook, the book itself costs 50 gp and RAW you can copy out of your current Spellbook for 10 gp and 1 hour per level. As an alternative there is a common magic item from Xanathar’s called the Enduring Spellbook that cannot age and is fireproof and waterproof.
I may have pumped my fist in the air when you mentioned order of scribes because they are my beloved and I thought you were going to forget about them. This had the effect of causing my 80 lbs poodle who had been laying belly up with his head in my lap so I could give him belly rubs to instantly startled to his feet at my sudden and loud enthusiasm.
There are also bookshops and libraries. The bookshop in waterdeep dragon heist is pretty much constantly available to wizards to get spells from once they hit level 2. That is if they realize they can visit it before level 3(definitely what happened with my player’s wizard since the party was too distracted with side quests😅)
I don’t really enjoy playing spell casters in dnd, so the witch supplement doesn’t interest me too much. HOWEVER, I really REALLY love all of the flavor and the mechanics and creativity that you put in all of your homebrew creations. Literally all of your things that you give to us at the end of your articles are incredible to me and I’m so stoked that you’ve finally put them in a book so you can get paid for the stuff that you’ve created! I’m looking forward to Antonio Domico’s Guide to Everything when it comes out!
I tried offsetting the terrible low level wizard feeling by starting with a level of artificer, and it’s SO GOOD I can’t even begin to describe it. You get all the goodies including medium armor and shield proficiencies, proficiency in CON saves (HUGE for a wizard!) AND access to Cure Wounds and Faerie Fire AND your starting HP is 8 instead of 6. In return, you only lose Signature Spells, and who cares about that at level 20. My level 2 artificer/wizard had 18 base AC which could be bumped on-demand to 23 AC with Shield. Absolutely astonishing!
When pointy hat said about witches not being in dnd I yelled so loudly Witches and Witchcraft are probably my favourite fantasy tropes ever and then he revealed the wizard subclass written and I got excited AND THEN REVEALED A WHOLE DAMN BOOK AND I ALMOST DROPPED MY DAMN LAPTOP. I seriously can’t express my excitement that I can actually put on of my witch characters in a game without tedious multiclassing for the vibes.
I have a kenku wizard who used to be a fighter with a sword but got old and can’t swing a sword anymore- so, as a kenku, he learned from his time in his old party from his wizard friend and he follows the school of chronurgy (amazing bc i can have enemies reroll their crit hits and allies reroll their crit fails) He’s has a slight dementia, so his spellbook helps a lot love him tho
New Pointy Hat? Another opportunity to advocate for a series similar to “Which Lich” except it’s immortality in DnD through the lens of different schools of magic instead of different classes. Liches have necromancy figured out, but the other schools could have interesting ways to endeavor to live forever.
Except for healing – fair And tanking – Somewhat disagree, with the combination of the best reaction spells that give elemental resistance and +5 ac at will, and subclasses like: Abjuration “I got a health pool now” Bladesinger “Level 2 20 AC, Level 8 24 AC” (not counting the shield spell) and war magic with the +4 to saves you can do a lot defensively. Although this does come with the note that the wizards most effective defensive tool is that they are not required to be anywhere close to the enemy, and that most of their kiting tools/mass shutdown are probably a better, less gimmicky pick if you just want to not die. Bladesinging was only for elves, and that was bad: I do agree, although on some level, a tortle bladesinger should not exist, still, the low HP pool is very painful, and it is technically still “optimal” to kite with the increased movement speed. However, as a wizard with on demand 25 ac, or crit negation (thanks silvery barbs), on demand elemental resistances and the classic counterspell, the only thing one is really venerable to is getting in area of effects or, funnily enough, needing to pass saves. Those are generally not more common in melee. About it being mad: Assuming you are not a tortle, wizards only care about 3 starts to start with: 1Int, because its their spellcasting stat, 2 Con: If you are a wizard, and you drop con, my dude, that is not very survivable, and finally, since you will probably rely on mage armor, and it is a 13+dex, you probably want some serious dex anyway.
Not related but, Here’s an idea for Paladin + Lich: The Undead Oath is an oath taken by a Paladin who knows death is upon him, but cannot complete his oath. So, the paladin must take a journey through undeath, abandoning the radiance, and turning to necrotic means, to defeat necrotic enemies. Whenever the paladin “dies”, he returns, with more information on his death, as long as his oath remains unbroken, it will return, and as you can guess, the oath is the phylactery. The Undead Knight will come back, again and again, until the oath is fulfilled, and the Paladin can rest. They are known as the Hallowed Ones. However, the danger of this oath is when the necromancy takes over, the Paladin will become, less human, feel less lively, forgetting morals, and subjecting to mindless violence, until their figure is almost unrecognizable. Becoming the thing that they were meant to beat. From the Hallowed One, to the Hollow One. This was inspired by some homebrew I was making for a Soulslike campaign, if you could guess.
Scribes wizard is the best because it lets you copy an entire spellbook in a short rest instead of a week, you get a pet ghost, you can swap out just about any elemental damage type so long as you pick up a handful of key spells at certain levels, and you get always active magic graffiti that goes beyond what the basic graffiti cantrips can do. As for blade singer… I prefer taking a bunch of levels in Echo Knight fighter and multiclassing into war wizard. Best summoner in the game.
I’m playing a scribes wizard (started out with 2 lvls in artificer). But the thing is, the concept of scribes wizard not needing to pay gold for spells isn’t a consensus. It’s up to the GM’s interpretation. The issue is that the feature says you don’t need ink in order to use the quill, but the wizard’s copying spells feature states that the cost represents material components, as well as fine inks. So a GM could argue, that even though you might not need ink, you’d still need the material components. If there is a ruling that says clearly that scribes wizards completely waive the costs, I’d love to know about it and tell my GM 😁
The reason why a lot of tables don’t just hand wizards a ton of spell scrolls is because of balance. The power of all casters is directly tied to their arsenal of spells available to them in an adventuring day, this is especially true of the Wizard. Not only do they have the largest spell list they can also ritual cast spells without having to prepare them which allows them to save resources and gives them more utility than any other caster. Even at low levels this can immediately become a problem if a DM isn’t careful or puts their foot down. Even a wizard sticks strickly to only the spells they learn as they level is still more versatile than the majority of casters. The DM needs to be able to control that just like they are able to control the arsenal a martial character has.
A lot of people make this mistake with divination wizard, and I understand why they would, since it makes the class more powerful, but… you can’t use portent to replace a rolled die. You have to use the portent before you make the roll. So you can’t reroll a failed save. Still good for forcing someone to fail or getting someone to succeed, you just have to use it proactively.
The way I got around wizards in the early leveling, is having them create throwable objects. Sometimes it did border on artificer styles with using chemistry to create simple acids and bombs, or physics to create simple traps (given enough time). But it was always fun to get creative with it because that’s how I felt being a wizard should be like. You’re a big nerd with brittle bones, and if you’re out of mana then time to use lessons learned from those other non-magic based classes you had in school (assuming your character took those).
I’m pretty sure a male Witch is called a warlock, which makes sense to me since in most folklore witches gained their power through a pact with a demon, but I like your take as well, stories and media about witches learning and improving on their abilities through experience and risk rather than studying or trading for them are much more exciting
I will note as a GM you can give more option then just getting the spell from a scroll, an easy option is allowing the player to get the spell from another wizard spellbook, an other option is to have a town library where academic journals on spells can be found along with other mundane books and the way you would balance said library is that unlike scrolls the academic journal aren’t ready to cast like scrolls are but rather simply contain the instructions necessary to prepare the spell. Additionally you could make the spell available to the player for cheaper by letting the player rent the book much like a real library works.
I am about to start my new Witchlight campaign and I have incorporated Sly Flourish’s “Dread Incursions” into my Prismeer. So I have brought in Cyre 1313 (Train), The Carnival I’Morai (and at this Carnival I included a Cowboy sharpshooter). I expanded the story of Will and the Getaway gang to make them much more like the Lost Boys (who were just Fey Pirates) so… my Witchlight game would be truly made for you. 🙂
ngl, i’ve had the opposite problem before, in a game with a new DM he was throwing spells, magic items, and cash at us all the time. He had an NPC in the first town who he expressly told us could give us ANY SPELL IN THE GAME to use as a scroll or copy into my spell book, including cantrips (which I didn’t take because that’s broken). By lvl 4 I had almost 30 spells in my book.
Wizards can also do independent research to acquire new spells. They don’t necessarily need scrolls or books stolen from other wizard. Granted, it’s harder than just scribing, but it IS an oft forgotten option, and wizard can even INVENT their own spells through research. At least, that’s the case for earlier editions (PF/3.5e and earlier.)
Hey, Pointy! My kiddos and and I love your articles and draw a bunch of inspiration from them (not to mention several chuckles throughout). So when I saw this article and realized you have not one, but TWO books, I couldn’t stop from jumping straight for the storefront. To my sadness, though, it seems that the printed versions of your new Hexbound book are already out. Hopefully, they can make a return before long. 🤞🏻
Pair a Bladesinging wizard with 3 levels of champion fighter for Crit on 19 and use theShadow Blade spell for advantage on attacks Suuuuper fun Also, they don’t actually need THAT high HP because at Dex/ Int at 18/16 your AC is 25+ 13 Mage Armor +7 modifiers +5 shield spell Find bracers of defense and you’re at 27
I’ve been toying with Blue Mage wizard for a long time, but always wanted to make it work well. Then I stopped playing D&D 5E as much and primarily play other systems. But wizard is by far my favourite class in concept, it’s hard though when most DM’s do not run them well or accommodate for their requirements… as a DM/GM I know how hard it can be to do “loot” or rewards, but wizards have specific needs that arr rarely if ever met. I saw the Hexbound kickstarted years ago right when I backed a bunch of other things, had to forgo at the time… it looks awesome, I’ll definitely be snagging a copy! My groups hardly play 5E anymore though, so we might never get around to using it sadly.
Here’s the thing about bladesingers. If your dex and int are high then hit points do not matter. I have a character, Harvey, who is a level 13 bladesinger. He has a 20 dex and a 20 intelligence. Baseline his ac is 15. With mage armor it’s 18. While blade singing it is 23. And as a reaction he can make it 28. And that’s with no magic items increasing AC. Sure, if he is touched he dies, but good luck touching him. And it’s a great mix of martial and magic because you’re fully martial, made stronger with feats and items, who also has a full spell book. Imagine getting sliced up by swift skinny boy and then getting power word killed by said dude. By far my favorite subclass.
there is the spell resistance you can cast for bladesinger to replace your extra attack at level 6 situational but it does allow you to reduce damage and still attack with your action. although it is reducing your damage potential, it’s the only time I have seen Resistance be a very “Useful” option.
When DMing for a Wizard, you don’t need to sprinkle spell scrolls in the loot to let them get access to new spells. Wizards can also copy from another Wizard’s spellbook. This means that all you really need to do is make sure that there are other Wizards in the world: either friendly Wizards that can act as a tutor, enemy Wizards who have spellbooks the player can loot after killing them, or dead/absent Wizards that left behind a spellbook the player can find. In the case of the friendly tutor Wizard, it’s also reasonable to reduce the time / cost of copying a spell if they’re being actively tutored, as the player Wizard isn’t needing to experiment as much in order to understand the spell they’re trying to learn. Beyond this, other spellcasting classes can write spell scrolls, and then if that spell is on the Wizard spell list as well, the Wizard may then copy that spell into their spellbook. Because of this, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for a DM to allow a Wizard player to, for example, learn how to cast Fireball directly from a friendly Sorcerer (NPC or partymate) who’s willing to help teach them.
Your Hexbound book looks fantastic. I’m curious how it will hold up once 5.5 goes online. I inquire because I’d like to purchase it. Grim Hollow is already importuning me to fund yet again, which tells me that those folks are concerned how well the previous incarnations hold up. Edition changes are problematic.
I am so interested in picking up a copy of this book and getting the PDF version, but it looks like you’re sold out! Is there any chance to open up an ability to preorder a future copy of this book while also getting the PDF deal? Super-duper congrats on the success of the book, I’m really looking forward to checking out your adventures!
1. I kind of want the witch book, 2. I thought the cost was excessive. 3. I feel like there’s a gap where a wizard could learn new spells through mimicry & memorization to later be transcribed into the book, or sort of like bending to be trained to do wizardry by master/professor without the need for a spell scrolls.
I noticed you implied they dont have armor, that’s incorrect. If their race/feat/background has given them access to armor, they can cast with no downsides, this why 2 levels of Fighter (For that sweet double Cast action surge) and full armor is crazy. It’s relatively easy to hit 20 AC by level 2 on a Wizard base, and with Shield spell be able to hit 25. There are a lot of races that give armor proficiency too, like Dwarves.
Something that the hat is forgetting is that while the wizards don’t have a ton of HP (which is easily remedied with a single feat) is that any wizard absolutely walks over any other class in terms of defense. At level 10 a wizard could easily out-defend a level 20 paladin with a legendary set of armor and a legendary shield using nothing but their spells.
It looks like the books are out of stock with no way to place an order. Do you know if they’ll be back in stock by the end of April? I really wanted to pick up a deluxe edition and was hoping for the PDF too, it seems odd there’s no option to buy it now and just have it on backorder to secure my PDF.
Pointy I’ve been perusal you since you started and I’m so proud to see how far you’ve come!! You truly are one of the most creative creators I’ve seen and you always supply us with thorough, enjoyable, and useful content. I can’t wait to get my hands on your book!!!!! I’m in love with the Witch concept!! Keep crushing it dude!!
I actually used Gale the MOST out of BG3 party memebrs in early game: Shadowheart wasted spell slots on healing and missed, Astarion got very weak shortsword stab, and Wyll was THE worst larty member until around level 4-5. I was a Paladin myself so other figter classes didn’t feature much… But Gale? Cantrips were good enough, lighting up oil and barrels or putting out fires, or even peppering enemies with crossbow, which kind of finished most battles for me, magic missile HITTING when nothing does and Shatter, Fog or Circle of Daggers were amazing early CC.
19:50 that’s the high skill floor, higher levels wizards are easy to play so long as you’re organized since you can be braindead throwing fireballs all day. its the lower levels that the wizard shines in its high power high difficulty. its when you have to be smart as a player and play efficiently and with your party, and if you do a wizard is still OP at those lower levels. take the humble grease spell, wizard only and all it does is make people trip and fall. but applied intelligently it can turn an otherwise deadly encounter into an absolute joke where the party slaughters one enemy at a time. applied creatively with a good dm and it can do so many different things not outlined in its spell description. you could cast that single spell in an adventuring day and save so much more resources across the party that you wouldn’t need to cast anything else. but wotc has been kind and the old days of level 1 wizards having only a single spell are over, now you can trivialize every encounter.
The problem I have with wizards in dnd is that I don’t get to have all the spells learned at the same time Wizards are so squishy that it would also only be fair if wizards don’t need to use spell slots as well While we’re at it they’re also kinda slow so they should just have passive haste and bless In my opinion at least
the problem in my exp with wizards isent persy geting players spell scrolls its them being able to aford them. and players not playing them right, or having time to write them down in there book. a one off i ran the majic casters could get a migic gun. and could enchant the bullets with diffrent spells. they really loved it. also enjoyed being able to use monsters that mornaly would be to hard for my players.
just make bladesinger with all stats poured in dex const, buy band of intellect early and enjoy your 18 cd up to 23 with shield spell. you also can boost that with mantle of protection +1 so it will be 19 24 cd. you can also pick rase of yuan ti and you would have advantage vs all magic and resistanse to poison, or get tortle instead and give up dexterity for something else, and you will have 17 cd + 4cd + 5cd = 26cd as soon you would obtain tha band of intellect, and look then at the face of DM
I feel like Greater Portent shouldn’t be just one extra Portent die. Like, as you say, it’s more of an already amazing thing, but it doesn’t really seem like that much on the surface? Maybe have it instead allow you to generate an additional Portent die each Short Rest, on top of your two from Long Rest. OR have it augment Expert Divination, allowing you to choose to generate a Portent die instead of recovering a lower level spell slot when you cast a leveled Divination spell.
Personally, I have some beef with bladesinger because it very aggressively surpasses eldritch knight in power level despite the fact that both are meant to fulfil a similar gish role, and it’s plainly because of the raw power of spells. Both subclasses struggle in that they do want investment in multiple stats. Dex, con, and int for both, along with possibly str depending on the weapon the eldritch knight uses, though the rapier is the obvious way to go for fulfilling the gish role. (This could lead to a tangent where I argue that the rapier is overpowered and should be a d6 instead of a d8, but that’s for another time.) While eldritch knight has some advantages over bladesinger like better armor, higher hit die, and some lower level fighter features like second wind and action surge (which can be used to cast two leveled spells in a turn RAW), that’s where the advantages end. Operating with a heavily restricted spell list and an incredibly low number of spell slots means it doesn’t fulfill the gish role very well, both problems the bladesinger does not struggle with. Conversely, bladesinger does have the disadvantage of being a wizard, which just means using light armor after taking the subclass (studded leather is great because during bladesong your ac will become 12+dex+int, which will outperform many ACs and is comparable to an unarmored barbarian holding a shield, which is usually at least 18). In exchange it becomes faster (+10 movement speed), gets advantage on acrobatics, and gets a bonus to concentration, and the wizard doesn’t even have to concentrate on the bladesong itself, meaning they’re free to cast haste on themselves to push their power even further by level 5, something eldritch knight can’t even do by the time it becoems 13th level because haste isn’t on its spell list.
So you hit my biggest (positive) trigger when you mixed the blue mage with dnd. I live in Greece and fate had me cross paths with a crazy dude here who has been making his own ttrpg for the last 18 years. It’s called Μυθοπλασια or Mythcraft and its basicly an amalgamation of DND, final fantasy and magic the gathering. It’s immensely complex but super interesting. In this game my character happens to be a Blue Realor which is basicly the blue mage evolution. The class features spells and skills like pulling spells other people can cast and casting them yourself, stealing abilities and traits from targets and most importantly stealing permanently blue spells from monsters you encounter in the wild with staples like Bad breath from malboros. It’s an insane class and surely the best wizard experience I have had in an ttrpg. (If anyone is interested I would love to rant further and show pdfs and stuff 😂) Amazing article and ideas keep it up man ❤
Bladesinger is lowkey one of the best tanks in the game unless the DM specifically counters it, cough antimagic field cough The chance to hit it is so low that you really only need 14 to maybe 16 Con, definitely not the most MAD build I’ve ever seen. Plus the Tough feat puts your HP on par with a Fighter before Con even comes into play. Bonus in that now we even have silvery barbs to protect us from our one normal weakness, crits negating our AC and one-shotting our HP (if not Tough) at the same time.
Two words, War Magic. Int to initiative, +2 to AC and saves while concentrating on a spell (which is most of the time), +2 to AC or +4 to saves as a reaction (like shield), and later damage the person you reacted to. 2.5 years into playing a Githyanki War Mage, it’s been a blast! I’m about 4 sessions from lvl 17. If you have a good DM who gives the Int character things to learn and find out, Wizards are a blast. It’s a good time being the smartest person in the room.
RPG magic is like Real Estate’s three rules (Location, location, and location). Magic doesn’t cost anything, and magic doesn’t cost anything. It doesn’t cost anything to have magical capabilities. There’s no investment involved in choosing a class, in which one might cost more than another. In 5e, anyone can be an initiate (that also has no cost) and have a spell to cast. It doesn’t cost anything to use magical capabilities. There is no game mechanism, a penalty or diminishment that has nontrivial effect in play. Many classes have at-will cantrips that are more powerful than 1st level spells, so they don’t even have the cost of being a limited resource. When there is a cost, it often doesn’t make sense, or can even be gamed to a slight advantage. 3e spells could cost experience points, which are beyond the 4th wall and don’t exist in the game world. A cost mechanism might be a robust fatigue system. Some magic could have a subtle aging effect. If teleportation aged everyone one day, they wouldn’t want to make it their day-to-day transport.
i remember in a campaign based on Soul Calibur my friends and i ran, one of them ran a bladesinger named Lugubrious who’d beatbox because it’s cooler when you actually sing to bladesing he kept getting knocked prone in a continued streak of bizarre circumstances so the DM said “alright fine you get to breakdance to swing your sword and get up from prone in the same action”
Some people think Bladesingers are the tanks, but it’s necromancers. I’ve diverted something close to 300 damage that would’ve otherwise gone to my party, simply by having zombies in chain mail and shields taking the dodge action every other turn. Also, we can have a CR 20 creature under our permanent control at level 14.
A fundamental balance problem with wizards is the whole ‘prepare spells’ mechanic. Having a lot of tools (spells) to choose from is great in concept, because then you can use the right tool for the right job. The problem is that if you didn’t pack that ‘right tool’ today then now you just have crap that is poorly matched with your activity. And thats something entirely out of the player’s hands. If the DM wants to turn a diplomatic meeting into an ambush assasination, well fuck you! So, in theory, to compensate, Wizard’s abilities ought to be overpowered when used correctly to make up for sometimes being usuable. Whether you can call a lot of spells overpowered or not though especially given the additional spellslot restriction, is debatable. One way this issue could be significantly addressed would be an alternate to Diviner’s ‘preordain’ (except every wizard really ought to have this.) Instead of divining the future for rolls, you trade one or both of them and instead, turn one of your prepared spells into an undeclared spell. During the day, you can choose any spell from your spellbook to cast, but once you choose that spell, it becomes fixed until you re-prepare spells. Basically, you looked into the future and determined “Im really going to want X spell today.” It ensures a wizard is never completely screwed by the DM wanting to add in surprises.
Nothing in Scribes says it reduces the cost of copying spells. Yes the quill produces ink, but there’s no design around calculating how much of the cost of scribing spells is ink versus other materials or special papers. It reduces the time to scribe spells, but not the cost. If cost was included, it would say so.
so i’ve a small question about the school of witchcraft. specifically the Spectral Learning features. it reads: “If the ability you acquire is a spell you do not know, you can add it to your list of spells through your Oral Tradition ability by learning it from the spirit”. however the Oral Tradition ability reads: ” In order to commit it to memory, you must spend 4 hours per spell level practicing the spell”. so lets say you killed a pixie and from Spectral Learning you learned polymorph, now you want to commit it to memory via Oral Tradition. it seems to me like this would take 16 hours. you can’t split this time up over multiple days since you’ll lose the knowledge from Spectral learning after a long rest. what makes me conclude that this can’t be right is that committing the reflective carapace of the tarrasque to memory via Spiritual Savant only takes 5 hours. i’m guessing this is only an oversight in the free preview version. if it is i’m looking forward to buying the full version.
As a DM, the burden of having to include spell scrolls specifically for the wizard is annoying and taxing. I fixed the spell scroll issue by allowing my wizard to learn spells from anywhere. Typically, whenever my wizard encounters preserved arcane magic, he can ask if he can learn the spell. If it’s an official spell, I’ll typically tell him which it is; otherwise, I’ll go homebrew it, and send it off to him. This way, my wizard player takes the initiative in telling me what magic they’re interested in, so I’m free to focus on other things.
“Wizards struggle at lower levels” is only true if you’re using the wrong tools. Lvls 1-2 you get sleep, grease/fog cloud, and hideous laughter (if you dont abuse the find familiar help action). One proper cast of any of these should win your party any low level encounter. 3-4 you get web, cloud of daggers, and vortex warp. These spells are absolutely insane and will break your game. You get 2hp less per level than most other classes, so position yourself wisely and fall prone often to deal with ranged attacks. Also note, it’s only 2hp per level… When a wizard is playing their correct role, pun intended, they will outperform any class at any level.
Wizards are a choice for mid-late game. With shield and mage armor(and/or an armor dip) they aren’t all that squishy in reality, though if they are doing that, then they aren’t spending their resources on progressing through an encounters. This hurts early wizards as they have few resources. Late game wizards are ostensibly lesser gods. Forget the monkey’s paw that is wish, just look at true polymorph, clone, magic jar and simulacrum. Broken as hell. By mid game(starting around level 9) they will be the most potent character in the party. Hard to beat a wall of force. The real weakness of wizards is that most campaigns end before their mid game. This, I find, is because caster power becomes nearly unmanageable by late game. Keeping balance in a party that isn’t oops all casters or oops all martials is nearly impossible doe to their ginormous gap in competency.
I played a Divination wizard for 2 1/2 years, starting in a campaign just a few months before lockdown hit (ended the campaign August 2022 at Level 20!). Before that I played a Fighter as my first character ever in a campaign. 1st session ended in a TPK and the DM felt bad for us so we instead were just knocked out and were looted by bandits. I was PISSED when the DM said my book was stolen as well. I knew playing the opposite of a melee class was going to be a different style of play, but MAN, I felt so useless and squishy until I was able to purchase another spellbook from a wizard academy. It took a while, but luckily another player was playing a Thayan Bladesinger (he later changed to a Necromancer for story sake) and we were allowed to copy from each other’s spellbooks all the while finding random spell scrolls or other wizard spellbooks. We hit Level 20, and it was WILD in the endgame. (I picked up Chronoturgy spells mid-game from befriending a wizard NPC who accidentally aged himself too much while tampering with this “new” form of magic he had discovered.) When we were discussing what to play for the next campaign, the DM (jokingly) said: “NO ONE PLAY A WIZARD NEXT CAMPAIGN, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.” 😂 (He sounded so tired, but in fairness, he was always open for us to play whatever we wanted.)
I have never been o excited in my life to have this. I’ve always wanted to be a witch even before I found and fell in love with DND so this not only made me smile, but now my broke ass has to order this before the sale ends cause now I just wanna make nothing but Witches now, a Witch campaign, Witch NPC’s, Witch Cult, Witch Kingdom! The ideas are running and I need it!. Do you think it can work with like monster races like mermaids cause I was making a Mermaid Monster Hunter like game underwater and I wonder if I can sneak this in some how and if not, I guess a new campaign is mandatory then. I even wanna use this for my OC I’m so excited. Edit: Just checked the website. NOOOO IT”S ALL GONE!!! tears
Wait, so let me get this straight: the only way for wizards to learn spells is by finding in dungeons or buying? That sounds so counterproductive and stupid. I mean, wizards are book worms, why can’t they learn spells by going in a library, or even testing different spells based on the ones they already know?doesn’t that stay in line with the character? Getting by studying monsters and enemies is a good idea too. I don’t know the game make so hard to play as a wizard… sounds like bad game design
Currently rocking a necromancer for my party. Plan is during down time? Write scrolls for false life, blur, mirror image and the like. My go-to offense spell has been Toll the Dead. A surprisingly strong cantrip. Almost all my spell slots go towards either hindering the enemy or buffing myself. Eager for when I can get a zombie shield wall going.
Having scrolls and spell books to copy from is neat but not required at all, just pick useful spells, you have more spells than prepared slots anyway. And about weakness at low levels: wizard’s HP is by 2 lower than other casters at level 1 and by 1 per level for the whole game so i don’t really see the problem, especialy when you have more tools to tank damage than fighter, have mobility spells and 120ft firebolt at your disposal. Also wizards can only copy wizard spells, not any scroll they find.
Witches still feel like Warlocks to me. Since the concept of a Male Witch was a Warlock. Felt like they would be a good subclass for warlocks but not restricted by warlock spell slots. I mean I see the attraction of it with Wizards because you probably felt like they would be restricted by the Warlock “Patron” and spell slots. But that can be changed for the subclass itself even if it’s in that main class.
I admit, I disagree with your complaint about Bladesinger, though there is a degree to that because I am allowed to roll instead of using point-buy/standard array. Yes a reasonable CON is desirable (but a good CON is always desirable), but I would argue that Bladesong Wizards’ strength comes from their AC not hit points (which I argue is a stronger connection to wizards – if you want a Buff Gish, then Eldritch Knight or Paladins I would argue fit that role (though you might need to do some flavoring). But merely using point-buy you should be able to easily get an AC 17 with Bladesong (Studded Leather Armor = 12 +3 (15+2) INT +2 (14+1) DEX) by level 3. If you have the shield spell then your AC can be cranked up to 22. If you can max out DEX and INT, then you can have 22 with bladesong and 27 with shield (which if you can get to level 18 – yes I know it never happens in game – but IF YOU CAN, you can literally just perma-spam shield).
I apologize for being rude, but you have so consistently managed to grossly misunderstand or underestimate Wizards that it is infuriating. Any power-builder with a 5 minute tutorial under their belt will know that Wizards easily rank among the best Multiclassing options, right there with Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Fighter and Paladin. This is because Wizards are the near-perfect blend of power and utility, in that both stats are game-breakingly high. Want more Spells per Turn? Fighter. Want more utility per Spell? Sorcerer or Warlock. Want to succeed every Skill Check and support your allies? Bard. Want Cleric Spells and a Fighting Style at the same time? Paladin. All are good classes on their own, but their strengths are maximized when you use them with Wizard as the base. Wizards are, unironically, the best tanks in the game. Take Mage Armor for a free Chain Shirt worth of AC with no weight or drawbacks to be seen, then take Shield, and you have 18 AC minimum for at least one Turn. Given that DEX and INT are pretty much the only two ability scores that matter with Wizard, you’re probably looking at 14-15 DEX with the average build, giving you a grand total of 20 AC at lvl 1 for one Turn. I’d recommend taking Armor of Shadows with a Warlock Multiclass and Magic Initiate – Shield to cut down on Spell Slot usage. This is actually the only time I can think of where taking 2 lvls in Sorcerer for the Metamagic Pool could help. Having even one extra Spell Slot could make or break your combat encounters.
Way too late be relevant: Bladesingers can get pretty tanky. Yes, the HP still suck, but with Studded Leather, +5 Dex, +5 Int and Shield (especially with Spell Mastery), that’s AC 27 without magic items. They are a bit MAD, but if you can get an item that boosts Constitution you’re pretty much golden! Song of Defense is actually pretty meh..
Level 1 Wizard: “I don’t get it, I’ve been studying magic for the largest part of my life and I’m still no further then where I started.” Level 20 Wizard: “Oh dear friend, you just have to go out there and kill shit.” Level 1 Wizard: “And that will make me a better wizard as well as smarter?” Level 20 Wizard: “Somehow it worked for me!”
First point: Diviner is a NIGHTMARE to DM for. I’d prefer to give a grimore full of spells than DM for a Diviner. Second point: witches were literally the female of wizard. like duke to duchess. That however changed in recent years for certain literary purposes and some nomination of religions such as wiccans. Now you can have male witches and female wizards. Both said cases are basically ignoring the root of the language. Edit: Third point: WAR MAGIC. there is no need to explain. Just… War magic
This is why I don’t like the Diviner mechanic. As an old school (Eldritch Wizardry) player, you are essentially giving a Player Character a “Limited Wish” power they use at lower levels. Portents are not glimpses into the future, but the equivalent of the AD&D Illusionists “Alter Reality” spell. But Stellar article as always – Pointy Hat Fan Girl here.
PHB: “Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher Each time you gain a wizard level, you can add two wizard spells of your choice to your spell book. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots…” Although as the GM you should populate your game with scrolls for players to find. Not just Wizard spells but Divine and Primal. Edit: Also, Blade Singer is a beast. Better than a Diviner but not by a lot. Scribe was “slept on” for awhile because of Divine and Abjuration being so powerful but that is no longer the case (from all the recent errata’s I’ve heard about).
Ok weird thing kinda unrelated (sorry) You said dms wanting to be stingy isn’t a bad thing and it’s not BECAUSE DND THE GAME IS DESIGNED AROUND THE PLAYERS BEING POOR Gary gygax said that adventurers were kinda middle class, and that it wouldn’t make sense if they had lots of money or too little money so the idea is that the dm counts time and tracks resource use of the party so that by the end of each adventure the party is basically at 0 gold again so yk like money sinks except instead of castles and stuff it’s mundane things like food, traveling expenses, bunk, shit like that and I think that (this was written for adnd so it doesn’t really hold true but still kinda it does) is really really fucking cool like imagine if the players don’t have enough so instead of paying for bunk they do a quest and in exchange for that quest they’re allowed free stay for the week Anyways yeah stay stingy dms and also not tracking resources is cheating
I’m pretty new to this website, and I’m really enjoying the content. My only real exposure to D&D is Baldur’s Gate 3, but I’ve gone out of my way to learn more. These articles have really helped That said, I have a article idea for you. For my first run of BG3, I recreated my Skyrim character and tried replicating my playstyle as much as I could with my limited knowledge. The backstory was that he arrived in the Forgotten Realms during his escape from Apocrypha. How would you implement a powerful entity like The Last Dragonborn into D&D? What would you do with the Elder Scrolls form of magic? How would something as terrifyingly powerful as the Thuum affect the world?
Unless your DM doesn’t read the copying spells part of the rules. The scribe wizard’s quill is flavor text. As it doesn’t cover reagents to learn spells with. I’m actually playing a Wizard in an AL run for the new Vecna book. We have to run stuff before since it’s a 10-20 book. I am still trying to decide what subclass to take. Scribes lvl 10 free scroll from a spell in the book sounds nice, Divination is always Portent, or Necromancer because of the potential Bone brigade and at higher lvl there is the spell create Magen. It cost max HP to create the CR 1-3 creature and wish is the only way to regain the HP but necromancer can’t lose it in the first place so. Just the 1500 GP for the material components and and since it is a campaign they don’t disappear at module end. Only at campaign end which will be lvl 20.
My build right now Is aiming to Full abjuration wizard + 3 levels in armorer artificier. I Will have full plate armor, shield, casting shield on top, nice pool of HP (with temporary hitpoints, use concentration spells to boost my damage like hell, all while being good at melee fight, ranged fight, control, utility, boosting/nerfing Knowing healing spells. And right now level 5 abjuration only with good dex and magic armor i can already go near enemy without too much problem.