Hello all,
My tabletop group will be starting a new campaign soon (I've been DMing for 2 years and I'm almost done) and the next person taking the reins has expressed a desire for someone to play a full arcane caster. Maybe because I was a little slow to decide what to play, now I'm stuck being the wizard/sorcerer/arcanist.
My first DnD character was a 2nd ed wizard. So I'm familiar with the class as a player, and I built a decent exploiter wizard. I'm just not sure I want to play the squishy guy in the back.
Party is a paladin, barbarian, ranger and bard. My real question is: What do I do? Play the wizard to keep everyone hasted while I slowly go insane or try something in the same hemisphere like a caster druid?
by "full arcane caster" I assume what's meant is a class that can cast up to 9th level arcane spells. Witches also fall into that category, so you might look to see if any of the archetypes there sound interesting.
as for not being a squishy caster in the back.
You could consider one of these builds or some variation of them
Neckbreaker Mage (Bloodrager/Wizard)
Key Concept: A wizard that uses magic and skill to make one shot stealth kills
Race: Tiefling
Racial Traits: Prehensile Tail, Maw or Claw[Maw]
Traits: Magical Knack, Adopted -> Final Embrace
Class: Bloodrager(1), Wizard(5)
Bloodline: Destined
School: Veil
Familiar: House Centipede
F. Archetype: Emissary
Feats: Throat Slicer(1st), Dirty Fighting(3rd), Bushwhack(5th)
Bonus Feats: Imp. Grapple(1st), Scribe Scroll(2nd), Arcane Discovery[Knowledge is Power](6th)
Spells: True Strike, Expeditious Retreat, Invisibility, Contingent Action
Suggested Gear: Lesser Silent Metamagic Rod, Armbands of the Brawler, Cloak of Elvenkind, Sandals of Quick Reaction, Headband of Intelligence +2, Cold Iron Light Pick, Belled Catsuit
Key Features: • At 6th level with spells Steath = 41
• At 6th level can get an automatic 49 grapple check and a 29 pin check, once pinned can use contingent action to trigger a coup de grace via Contingent Action. Minimum dmg results in a 34 fort save vs death.
Backstabbing Transmuter (Wizard/Rogue)
Key concepts: A melee character who gets many sneak attacks
Race: Half-Elf
Racial Traits: Mordant Envoy
Class: Rogue/Ninja(1), Wizard(3), Arcane Trickster(10)
School: Shapechange
Bloodline: Shapechanger
Feats: Skill Focus[Disguise](1st), Accomplished Sneak Attacker(3rd), Eldritch Heritage(5th), Imp. EH[Mutable Flesh](11th)
Suggested Gear: Perfectionist Shavtoosh, Amulet of Mighty Fists, Pauldrons of the Juggernaut, deliquescent Gloves, Headband of Ninjitsu
Key Features: • At 11th level casting Monstrous Physique(Any) lasts 12 hours
• Has full sneak attack progression until 14th level
Both of these would cause you to lose 1 level of spell progression, but in both cases it seems well worth the delay. If needed you could change up the progression I've laid out by taking the 1 level dip at 2nd level instead of 1st. The end result is the same.
If you're ok delaying things further there's also this build
Putrid White Haired Witch (Witch/Monk)
Key concepts: A stench grappler that can pin and then incapacitate or kill multiple creatures at range.
Alignment: LE or LN
Race: Human
Trait: Adopted->Final Embrace
Class: Witch(1)/Monk(1)/Witch(7)/Monk(2)/Witch(X)
Archetypes: White Haired(Witch) / Hamatulatsu Master(Monk)
Patrons: Revenge or Strength
Familiar: King Crab
Feats: Racial Heritage[Ogre](1st), Weapon Focus[Hair](2nd), Feral Combat Training(2nd), Great Fortitude(3rd), Corrupted Flesh(6th), Improved Stench(7th), Pungent Stench (9th), Monastic Legacy(11th)
Suggested Feats: Grabbing Style, Grabbing Drag, Grabbing Master, Body Shield, Chokehold, Hamatula Strike, Pinning Knockout, Sleeper Hold, Kraken Style, Kraken Throttle, Kraken Wrack, Fetid Breath
Suggested Gear: Dan Bong, Gauntlets of the Skilled Maneuver[Grappling], Pauldrons of the Juggernaut, Armbands of the Brawler
Key Features: • At 1st level your natural attack has the grab ability and you are not considered grappled, while grappling and still threaten as normal.
• At 8th level you will have Constrict, Trip, Pull and Strangle for free.
• At 9th level You have Stench (60 ft, DC 16+Con mod, 15 rounds)
• Your Stench ability will nauseate opponents and sicken them. Sickened applies a -2 to most actions and nauseate will prevent them from being allowed to make a grapple check to break free.
• At levels 12+ you gain rogue talents every 2 levels.
• You never gain hexes.
I’d suggest talking to your DM on why he wants a full arcane caster. While Bard isn’t a full caster, it covers most of the bases of a general Wizard to a lessor degree.
If you must go Wizard, necromancers specializing with minions could allow you to indirectly get on the front lines. And bloody skeletons make fun scouts since they can be used to set off traps and as long as the damage isn’t from positive energy or holy water they just get back up and ready to serve again in an hour. Just only use the corpses of the bad guys and explain to the Paladin that your pets are helping protect innocent lives as penance for their crimes in life and you’ll be keeping a tight leash on them.
If a full caster that isn’t arcane, Cleric and Druid are far less squishy and can tangle on the front lines.
I’d suggest talking to your DM on why he wants a full arcane caster.
I second this. I'd think that a GM would be glad not to have a full caster in the party, it's way easier to provide diverse challenges for the party without a full caster.
The party doesn't look like the GM was clinging to "must have" party constellations from the 80's, so I'm genuinly puzzled.
A castery Druid fulfills much the same role as a Wizard. The Bard well and fully fills the role of buff support, so battlefield control is what you need, which Druids are about as good as Wizards at.
the next person taking the reins has expressed a desire for someone to play a full arcane caster.
It'd be helpful to know why. Does his story need one? Or does he just think it's necessary for a balanced party?
Play the wizard to keep everyone hasted while I slowly go insane or try something in the same hemisphere like a caster druid?
There are a few flavors of arcane caster. And the bard is more of the kind who works as a haste dispenser. Have you tried being a summoning caster? You still get to attack things, but also get the versatility of casting spells. The arcanist occultist does a good job of it, but there are other good summoning full casters to choose from.
You could build a master transmogrifer. If you decide to focus on polymorphery, consider taking familiar spell, if it's allowed - it's a level cheaper than quicken.
Eldritch Knight. Start with a level in Fighter, then flip a coin between Sorcerer or Wizard. Have your first two feats be Shield Focus and Shielded Mage. Shielded Mage lets you cast somatic components with a shield while ignoring up to 15% of Arcane Spell Failure (aka, wearing a heavy shield), so it'll be useless until you take your first level in wizard/sorcerer.
If you go wizard, look into the Sword Binder archetype. Basically, you get Spell Strike at level 5, so you can enter Eldrtich Knight without missing the good feature of the archetype. Also, you get proficiency in any sword that you chose as an Arcane Bond, so can get bastard sword proficiency (or something else) as a free feat by taking Wizard levels.
Hmm, maybe something a bit... outside the box? Why not play a Psychic? Specifically, one with the Rivethun discipline. You open up a lot of different options with psychic casting and get the versatility of a wandering shaman spirit at level 5. Add an archetype of your choice, or don't. I've seen the Life Spirit used fairly well to add channel energy to the class.
Eldritch knight hurts on a sorcerer because your casting is already delayed one level. That type of delay means you'll never see level 9 spells even if you make it to 20th, and might not even get level 8 in a normal campaign.
Just play whatever character class you want to play, and will enjoy playing. If it turns out there is something "missing" from the party at a later date, maybe one of the other PCs will be the first to die, and then *they* can wrestle with the dilemma of whether to play an arcane caster.
This said, wizards can be great fun to play, and are no slouches in combat - IF you play the right sort of wizard.
I played a conjuration specialist, and by mid levels, the summoned critters I could call were great additions to the party, even if they weren't nearly as tough as the other PCs.
But a wizard does require more preparation.
You could also play a witch or probably a psychic (or arguably a silksworn occultist) and still be a great arcane or arcane caster substitute.
Or go Eldritch Knight/Dragon Disciple for a more melee focused arcane.
Ultimately though I just want to know why he thinks he needs one?
Your party is pretty low magic at the moment, but its actually more lacking in the divine side than the arcane.
For example a wizard casting haste? why would you need that you have a bard, probably the thing you party needs least is more arcane buffing.
Also you look to have a loooot of damage in that party.
A paladin, a ranger and a barb all being boosted by a bard? thats a lot of damage.
I'd say you'd be looking for more of a control/support caster or a debuffer.
Direct damage and buffing you have in spades.
Eldritch knight hurts on a sorcerer because your casting is already delayed one level. That type of delay means you'll never see level 9 spells even if you make it to 20th, and might not even get level 8 in a normal campaign.
A Fighter 1/Sorcerer 9/Eldritch Knight 10 would get 9th-level spells exactly at level 20.
Also, there's a feat called Prestigious Spellcaster that lets you get a missed caster level from taking a prestige class that doesn't advance it every level.