I'm going to be playing D&D again in a couple of weeks!  I met one of the guys who runs Living Greyhawk for Ontario / Ket, and he has a weekly drop-in game close to where I live + work.  He gave me a bunch of his older books, and I'm going to start kickin in doors and taking monster's stuff in September.

I haven't played in a D&D game since first edition, and I've been looking online for some tips on the 3.x stuff.  Since I dropped by here today, I realized -- you guys probably have some suggestions!

So, here's the deal.  I'm going to play a 1st level Wizard.  With a pointy hat.  I'm not sure about the Skills, Feats and Spells.  What do you suggest to make him awesome?  I'm less interested in character optimization at level 10 as much as making him more fun / badass from the get-go and keeping that going.

Pimp my 1st Level Magic User. :haw:

Quote from: StuartI'm going to be playing D&D again in a couple of weeks!  I met one of the guys who runs Living Greyhawk for Ontario / Ket, and he has a weekly drop-in game close to where I live + work.  He gave me a bunch of his older books, and I'm going to start kickin in doors and taking monster's stuff in September.

I haven't played in a D&D game since first edition, and I've been looking online for some tips on the 3.x stuff.  Since I dropped by here today, I realized -- you guys probably have some suggestions!

So, here's the deal.  I'm going to play a 1st level Wizard.  With a pointy hat.  I'm not sure about the Skills, Feats and Spells.  What do you suggest to make him awesome?  I'm less interested in character optimization at level 10 as much as making him more fun / badass from the get-go and keeping that going.

Pimp my 1st Level Magic User. :haw:

May I suggest

Enlarge Person to cast on the fighter or barbarian, (that's a nice reliable buff- a potential battle-winner)

Ray of Enfeeblement to cast on any melee enemy (it's a crippling debuff with no save)

Improved initiative is a nice starter feat for a beginner wizard, (you want to be acting first in the round if you can). Other people will suggest other things, but Imp. Init is a nice start.

and please consider how each of the familiars might work for you.

Yeah, I'd already thought Improved Initiative was the way to go!  I thought high Dex + Crossbow would be a good plan as well.  (This wasn't an option in 1st)

Some tips:

Make him a specialist wizard. The easiest kinds of specialists to play are Evokers with Enchantment and Illusion as banned schools. They also get lots of zapping power, which is good for new players and people who are learning the 3.x spell system. Specialists are generally a strong choice for play throughout all levels - more spells / day is always good.

If you do decide to go with an Evoker, it's worth pointing out that there are broadly two kinds of Evokers. There are ray mages and everybody else. In 3.x, ray spells use ranged touch attacks to hit, but they don't normally allow saving throws. They are usually close range spells. Most other evocation spells don't need to roll to hit, but they allow saving throws for half or none. They are usually effective from a long ways off. Some feats are best for ray mages, some for "regular" evokers. Ray mages tend to be dexy little fuckers who stick within thirty feet or so of the front line. Other evokers tend to zap people from the middle.

Skill wise, your order of skill importance is: Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge(Arcana), everything else. Don't waste ranks on Craft, Profession or Decipher Script.

Featwise, it's hard to say because there's so many options and you haven't given us a good idea of the concept. If you want to play a Ray Mage, Point Blank Shot should be one of your first two feats, along with maybe Split Ray or Empower Spell (neither of which you'll be able to use for two levels, but that's true of almost all metamagic feats - you're investing for level 3). If you're playing a regular Evoker, then Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus ain't bad starting feats, and your pick at level 3 should be Empower Spell.

Don't forget after your first adventure (when you've got a handful of XP) to spend some downtime scribing scrolls. You can do that from 1st level so long as you have the gold and it's super handy.

D&D 3E opened up the Wizard to all races, so you have some neat choices. The small races seem to be especially popular. You instantly gain a +1 to hit bonus and +1 AC -- all very nice for a combat wizard. The reduced damage doesn't really hurt you, as you'll be doing that by magic, not through weapons. A halfling wizard with a Cat familiar is actually able to sneak around rather nicely without any skill points spent. With its inherent Dex bonus you're rather good at hitting and avoiding.

Gnome wizards are also rather abundant. The race is inherently more magical, so it's a better fit for flavor. And it's got a con bonus, which in my experiance is the second most important stat for 3E wizards. Yeah, I'd rather have my players spend it on Wis or Dex, as this seems to be more in line with the archeype, but with a d4 hit dice, every single point counts. With the gnome's bonus, a 16 Con is attainable, and those +3 points each level can save your tiny butt.

Elves aren't as good as they seem. Their attributes don't really help wizards that much. The Con loss can really hurt. Multi-classing isn't a big option most of the time, so the favored class isn't that important -- unless you're going for a bladesinger. You do gain proficiency with a bow, though. If your DM is giving out lots of attribute points or you roll particularly well, this might be a good combat option, especially for the first few levels.

As always, humans with their extra feat are rather okay.

Multi-classing might not be a good choice, especially early on, but some of the paragon classes are a notable exception. You get stuff one level later for your magical stuff, but some of the bonuses are neat. The human paragon gets a +2 attribute boost, a bonus feat and some neat skills -- one of which remains a class skill forever on. Use Magic Device would be neat to have. Wiz1/Human Paragon 3 for the first four levels isn't a bad choice.

Regarding specializing, don't forget that Diviners only have to sacrifice one school. While Divination isn't especially exciting, you'll need its spells most of the time, so an additional spell is always nice. This is kinda the path of least resistance when specializing...

Dwarves are really good Wizards. They gain heaps of bonuses, a +2 Con bonus, and stay Medium sized (which is good for some things, though not for others), and only lose Charisma, which can be made up pretty easily.

For my buck, it usually comes down to Dwarves for the hit points or Humans for the extra metamagic. With being able to re-train in PHII, you can either spend that extra Feat on Toughness or Improved Init. at early levels, Improved Toughness (Essentially getting your extra HP, but not getting the save bonus, but hey, +10 extra feet movement...) or just metamagic once it's useful.

Also, extra skills if you want them.

They're both good picks.

You can always get a Gray Elf. +2 Int. I dunno where they're at, though.

Gray Elves are in the SRD. -2 Str -2 Con +2 Dex +2 Int.
Ask your DM first, a lot of them don't like the swiss pocket knife elves...

And Thanatos, what do you see as an advantage of being medium sized for Wizards? What ingenious player tactic do I have to prepare for?

Our Living Greyhawk region is anti-Elf...

I'm thinking it'll be a human wizard... with a pointy hat... and since I can retrain I'll take Improved Initiative and Toughness for the 1st Level Feats.  Although the "Greyhawk Method" feat looks nice -- learn extra spells whenever you level up.

What about magic.  What spells are good and which are junk?  I think I'll be in a mixed level party, so the usual 1st level staples (sleep) might not be any use.  I'm also thinking a crossbow is much better than magic missile at first level!

Can't beat magic missiles. Always hit, no energy resistance, no damage resistance, no friggin ghosts. Augmenting it with normal x-bow bolts is nice, but you'll have to hit with that, which can become especially difficult if you're trying to shoot at enemies enganged in melee with your buddies.

Also, magic armor is almost a must-have. Ray of enfeeblement is great and don't forget the versatility of Grease. I'm also rather fond of Jump.
True Strike. Identify.

I applaud the decision to go with the pointy hat.  Whatever mechanical choices you make, you're well on your way.

Pseudo's and Sosthenes' suggestions are all good.  Gotta go with a specialist wizard, preferably one with a couple of simple offensive spells.  Halfling for the dex or Gnome for the con are good choice and the str ping is nothing for wizard.
 
Some choices depend on anticipated campaign length.  Toughness is fine for a 1 shot but not so great for long term.  If the setup allows off time, make lots of 1st level scroll as they're cheap.  Magic Missile is practically a must later on but weak at 1st level, where I'd prefer sleep or burning hands.

Burning Hands is particularly nice when working with a DM who takes the spell description seriously.  "Flammable materials burn if the flames touch them."  That should seriously ruin some monster's day.

No love for Color Spray?

Quote from: jrientsI applaud the decision to go with the pointy hat. Whatever mechanical choices you make, you're well on your way.

It's all about Retro-Stupid.

Also don't forget Charm Person, Reduce/Enlarge Person and Animate Rope...

EDIT: Yes, Color Spray is rather decent. So is Disguise Self. Lots of havoc to be wrought. I'd also put in a vote for skullcaps. All the really cool wizards wear it.

The Toughness feat is no replacement for a decent constitution score. It's a really weak feat, even at first level. Get Point Blank Shot, which will help your wizard both with his crossbow and his ray attacks.

The best first level spells for a wizard:

Charm Person
Sleep
Burning Hands
Mage Armour
Colour Spray

Good backups:
Shield
Magic Missile
Grease
True Strike
Ray of Enfeeblement
Enlarge Person

Spells to keep in mind for later levels:
Expeditious Retreat
Identify
Comprehend Languages
Mount
Protection from Evil/Etc.
Silent Image