Greetings everyone, I recently wrote an article on warlock and talked about why it is one of my favorite classes. Afterwards, suggestions and comments came to me to write articles about other classes, and now I will follow these suggestions and talk about all the classes in dungeons and dragons table top rpg game and of course Baldurs Gate 3. It will be mainly for the newcomers to the dungeons and dragons, but I should remind you again that baldurs gate games can be considered as a digitized version of dnd games. So let's get started.
Is it hard to play Wizard?
No it is not hard. That would be the short answer.
Playing Wizard requires more reading than making a character from other classes. Because what you specialize in is spells. And according to the spells you cast, your character is different from other wizards. You need to learn to cast spells, and this is the biggest tricky point of playing wizard. Learning your spells. So reading a little bit.
In addition to that, those who don't like to read can easily watch videos about these spells on youtube. I am even thinking of starting a yt channel next year.
You will learn new spells every time you level up. You will be able to write two new spells per level in your book. I will give detailed information about this, that is, about the wizard spellbook.
But since what I write here is to inform people who are new to the game, I will not go into overly detailed mechanics and damage calculations or the best spells... Anyway, these new spells you learn will set you apart from other wizards. They will make you different.
A lot of subclasses. I don't know what to pick...
It's normal to feel like this at first. But let me tell you that except for 1-2 setting specific subclasses, subclasses are not important for a wizard. As a beginner, you don't need to focus on this. Just talk to your Dungeon Master and tell him about the character you envision in your head. They will suggest you a proper subclass.
Do you have to play Evocation Wizard if you want to wreak havoc and set everything on fire? No, you don't.
Will your damage change much if you don't? No, it doesn't.
The subclass you choose will only affect the price of the spells you copy into your spellbook for a very long time, almost half the game. Speaking of which, let's talk about spellbooks.
Wizards Have Spellbook
Wizards are a class that learns magic and uses their intelligence to do so. They are not people who are born with magic. Those with innate magic ability become Sorcerers in Dungeons and Dragons.
The Wizard, on the other hand, uses his/her own labor, sweat and understanding of nature, understanding of the universe and understanding of magic, using his/her intelligence and mind to write and solve formulas. Think like Doctor Strange. He is a wizard. Remember the cinematic montage of how long it took him to understand magic and the runes?
A wizard has his/her own spellbook and from what I've seen in my games, players are terrified of playing a wizard. Only one player chose to play a wizard. The reason for this is obvious, because from the outside there are so many spells and players don't know how to choose them. Do not be scared. It is not hard.
You can also write new spells in your spellbook every time you level up. The subclass you choose, basically, affects almost exclusively the price of copied spells... When you wake up in the morning, you start the day by memorizing these spells again and committing their formulas to memory. This means a second job.
So you may have 50 spells in your spell book. But according to your level, you need to choose the spells you will memorize in the morning. Don't worry, it's the same for other full-caster classes like Cleric and Druid. When they wake up in the morning, they memorize their spells with various power as well. You only have a book in addition.
Remember that this is necessary for a ROLEPLAY. Mechanically it is up to you to say I have chosen these spells and continue. But I always prefer a wizard who opens his book and talks about his work, even in one sentence. Remember that this is a roleplay game. Also you can have your spellbook on the table for real. Which is neat if you ask me.
Identity = Spellbook
As for book examples, I can suggest very creative things. I think that a spellbook should be an identity for a wizard, because it is a very different thing to play a wizard who writes his spells in an old old book, scribbled formulas and studied equations on its yellow pages. On the other hand, a spellbook in the hands of a young boy who has just gotten his spellbook and graduated from a wizard school is a completely different feeling.
But I think we can go to more creative colurs.
The idea of a wizard writing his/her spells as a tattoo on his body has always appealed to me. He reads them in the morning with the help of a mirror and starts his day that way. Whenever he finds a new formula, he tattooed these spells on his own body. I would like to see a player play with this idea. Some dungeon masters are against this idea because they think it's a good idea for wizards to lose their books and write an adventure for it. Although there is good potential in this idea, if there is a player who wants their spellbook to be their tattoo, I would recommend dungeon masters to think about another adventure.
Another example is the idea of a wizard writing his spells on a long endless scroll. Imagine a character who stumbles upon or somehow buys an endless scroll instead of the standard notebook. This is also a great visual if you ask me. Meters and meters of parchment paper and a wizard studying at the end...
If you want a more original idea, let me introduce Grandma Merry.
Unique Example Character; Grandma Mary
Our sweet and chubby grandmother was a woman who lived in the village. She was taking care of her grandchildren because her son and daughter-in-law had run away or had to stay away for some reason that was not very important at the moment. Or they were living in another city…
His grandson Jason was going to a wizard school in the next town. One day Jason didn't come home from school. Grandma Mary got scared and went to visit the school. She found out he was missing. She took her grandson's books and worksheets and started looking for a clue.
That's when she discovered the light that had been missing for years. Mary was a very good knitter. As she looked through her grandson Jason's notes and drawings of spells and runes, she realized she could do them with knitting.
She asked one of the teachers for a spell that could point in the direction of her grandson. Even though the teacher laughed at her, the desperate grandmother wanted to help Mary and wrote the spell on a scroll.
Marry studied the shapes of this spell for days, knitting and handcrafting. She studied its runes. She studied its geometric patterns.
One day, unexpectedly, she was suddenly able to cast this spell. Since that day, she has been searching for her grandson, Jason's book in one bag and her knitting, ropes and crochet in the other.
As you can see.
She's a great character.
Mary spends the 50 gold coins she needs to learn new spells on things like needle and thread. She doesn't buy ink like other wizards. She also doesn't have a spell book. She memorizes her spells by repeating different types of knitting she has done before. She uses her knitting needles as a wand to cast them!
If you play it, be sure to let me know how it goes!
Spellslots and Other Mechanics, You Can End The Combat With One Spell
Wizard class is a fullcaster class. So you have a lot of spell slots. These slots are not as few as a warlock, but like a warlock, they don't come back after a short rest. But one of them does! And that depends on your level. It's a great thing! Because wizard is a class where you can be a full caster and get at least one spell slot back after a short rest!
Magic and questions like how to cast spells can feel complicated at first glance in the dnd world. In the coming days, I will try to explain these topics in detail in a simple way. I will try to help you visualize them better by giving examples.
In terms of damage, wizards have a lot of options. You have a lot of painful spells and various versions of them. Especially a spell like fireball is at your disposal. You can learn this spell after level 5. Even the game's designers acknowledge how iconic it is. And the reason why they left it as the most damaging spell for its level is because it is so… iconic.
But a wizard has so many other options besides dealing damage and destroying enemies... He can create cobwebs around the area, locking all his enemies in place.
She can cloud the minds of those he's fighting, making them see illusions that aren't really there, and make sure his friends get away safely. Or give them the chance to attack for an extra turn.
To support a Barbarian friend who is too strong, she can cast a flying spell to send him flying into the dragon above them. Or she can fly over a large canyon they need to cross.
If you don't like that, you can teleport directly after a while. By the way, you can teleport not only between planes, but even to other planes if you have the right materials.
You can create your own magical mansion. You can go inside it and have meals and rest safely...
As you can see, I can give you many examples and all of these things can be done with one spell. Maybe two spells. Oh, by the way, did I mention that you can also cast a counterspell spell to block your enemy when they cast a spell on you?
Final Thoughts
Wizards need a spellbook. They will record and copy their newly learned spells there
Spellbooks are person spesific. Every wizard has different, personalized book
All wizards need 50gp materials per spell level to copy a new spellbook like our grandma needs ropes and threads... your wizard may need ink and parchment
Subclasses do not matter for wizards especially for newcomers. Identity comes from choosen spells and character concept
They can recover a spell slot even after a short rest but ony one spell slot. And only once in a day. Which is very good for a full caster. This is called Arcane Recovery
They have the most spells in the game so therefore they are the most flexible caster/magic user
They can use Arcane focus or component materials for their spells
Wizard is one of the most flexible and powerful classes in the game.
When you start playing, if you do your homework, read up on spells, watch videos and keep in touch with your dungeon master and ask him for help, you will have a lot of fun. Be sure to share with your dungeon master what you want to do and the character you want to live. Even if the Wizard is a character who doesn't need a DM and learns his own spells, you can still learn spells from the spell scrolls you come across. For this reason, make sure you are on good terms with your DM so that he/she can give you books full of spells!
Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!