Need Mid-Level Wizard Builds

[J. A.]

I’m in need of several NPC wizards and don’t have the time to build them myself. I’m looking for one wizard around 14th-15th level, and several others in the 4th-8th level range.

Does anyone happen to have characters already built that fit these criteria? And that you'd be willing to share? Ideally I’m looking for full builds with level-appropriate items and spellbooks.

All contributions will be very much appreciated by a harried and overwhelmed GM.

[Dasrak]

I created a Random Spellbook Generator a few years back that could help tremendously with filling out spell lists. This makes it really easy to get a baseline selection of spells, and then you can just swap out a few to personalize the list. This really takes the edge off the most time-consuming part of producing wizard NPC's.

In terms of 4th-8th level wizards, I actually do have a 6th one on-hand that I statted up recently and have in a presentable form:

Necromancer Wizard:

Necromancer
XP 1,600
Half-Elf Necromancer (Undead Master) 6
NE medium humanoid (Human,Elf)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, perception -1

AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18 (+1 dex, +4 armor, +4 shield)
hp 41 (6d6+18) plus 10 temporary from false life
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +5
Defensive Abilities elven immunities

Speed 30 ft
Melee +1 dagger +4 (1d4+1/19-20)
Special Attacks channel negative energy (DC 15, 8/day), Grave Touch (8/day)

Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 6th; concentration +11)
3rd - Halt Undead (DC 19), Stinking Cloud (DC 17), Slow (DC 17), Vampiric Touch (DC 19)
2nd - Acid Arrow, False Life, Ghoul Touch (DC 18), Mirror Image, Spider Climb
1st - Cause Fear (DC 17), Mage Armor, Ray of Enfeeblement (DC 17) (2), Shield
0th - Detect Magic, LightO, Read Magic
Opposition Schools Enchantment, Evocation

Str 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Eschew Materials, Improved Channel(B), Skill Focus (Spellcraft)(B), Spell Focus (Necromancy), Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)
Skills Appraise +14, Bluff +6, Knowledge (Arcana) +14, Knowledge (Planes) +14, Knowledge (Religion) +14, Spellcraft +17, Stealth +8
Equipment +1 bone dagger (bonded item), Cloak of Resistance +1, potion of cure light wounds, scroll of sleep, scroll of true strike, Metamagic Rod (reach, lesser), spellbook, 12 onyx gems worth 25 gp each
Languages Common, Elven, Goblin, Halfling, Necril, Orcish
SQ Bonded Item (Dagger), Necropolitan (Ex), Reanimator (Su)

Spellbook
Value 915 gp
Pages Filled 53/100
Spells
3rd Animate Dead, Halt Undead, Stinking Cloud, Slow, Vampiric Touch
2nd Acid Arrow, Animate Dead (lesser), Command Undead, False Life, Ghoul Touch, Mirror Image, Spider Climb
1st Cause Fear, Chill Touch, Identify, Mage Armor, Mount, Ray of Enfeeblement, Repair Undead, Shield
0th Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Bleed, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Light(O), Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue

[J. A.]

This is perfect, exactly what I'm looking for.

More like this would be very welcome.

[Coidzor]

When you say level-appropriate items and spellbooks, what do you mean? Basic NPC WBL? Heroic NPC WBL? WBL as if they were a PC?

[Dasrak]

Coidzor wrote:

When you say level-appropriate items and spellbooks, what do you mean? Basic NPC WBL? Heroic NPC WBL? WBL as if they were a PC?

I presume he means NPC wealth, since he's specifically asking for NPC's and by default they use the heroic wealth track.

[J. A.]

NPC wealth is fine, although I’m also open to PC builds with PC wealth.

@Dasrak, thanks for that spellbook generator, that’s a great tool and very helpful. Do you also have an example or two of the kinds of undead that your 6th-level necromancer would be animating?

[Dasrak]

J.A. wrote:

Do you also have an example or two of the kinds of undead that your 6th-level necromancer would be animating?

Given her level the only types of undead she can create on her own power are zombies or skeletons. Her archetype gives her access to Animate Dead as a 3rd level spell. You might consider adding the Haste spell to her list of spells known if you'd like her to make use of fast zombies. The way I was using her, she did not make use of fast zombies so I intentionally kept Haste off her list of spells known as a nod to that. Feel free to change that to your preference.

Of course, she does have the Command Undead ability and knows the Command Undead spell, so she has the means to exercise control over naturally-occurring undead. Maybe give her some burning skeletons and have her bully around a free-willed Mummy with the constant threat of fire?

[J. A.]

Okay, thanks. Burning skeletons would be awkward in the space available, but is there some other enhancement that could be added to the base skeleton?

[Dasrak]

J. A. wrote:

Okay, thanks. Burning skeletons would be awkward in the space available, but is there some other enhancement that could be added to the base skeleton?

The only other "standard" skeleton template is the Bloody Skeleton, which can be tedious to permanently destroy if your players don't have a cleric and didn't come prepared ahead of time. Nothing wrong with just using regular skeletons as a meat shield if you prefer.

Also, since I needed an Evoker of about that level range for my own game in the near future, I decided to do a proper statblock for sharing purposes rather than my usual chicken-scratch notes. He sort of mixes damage with battlefield control with his spell selection, meaning he works best with some support and given a fair amount of distance.

Evoker:

Evoker
XP 2400
Tiefling Admixture Evoker 7
LE medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft, Perception +8

AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+1 deflection, +2 dex, +4 armor, +4 shield)
hp 41 (7d6+14)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +7
Resist Cold 5, Electric 5, Fire 5

Speed 30 ft
Special Abilities Versatile Evocation (8/day)

Racial Spell-like abilities (CL 7th; concentration +5)
1/day Darkness

Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 7th; Concentration +12)
4th - Lingering Sheet Lightning (DC 20), Ice Storm (DC 21), Wall of Fire (DC 21)
3rd - Lingering Fireball (DC 20) (3), Fly
2nd - Flaming Sphere (DC 19), Ice Slick (DC 19), Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Web (DC 17)
1st - Burning Hands (DC 18), Expeditious Retreat, Grease (DC 16), Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield
0th - Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ray of Frost, Read Magic

Opposition Schools Illusion, Enchantment

Str 10, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Additional Traits (Magical Lineage [Fireball], Resilient), Greater Spell Focus (Evocation), Lingering Spell, Scribe Scroll (B), Spell Focus (Evocation), Spell Specialization (Fireball)
Skills Bluff +7, Fly +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +15, Knowledge (Planes) +15, Perception +8, Spellcraft +15, Stealth +12
Equipment Ring of Protection +1 (bonded item), Headband of Vast Intellect +2 (Fly), Cloak of Resistance +1, Spellbook
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal, Goblin, Orc
SQ Bonded Item (ring), Intense Spells (+3)

Spellbook
Value 2180 gp
Pages Filled 94/100

Spells
4th Dimension Door, Ice Storm, Shout, Wall of Fire
3rd Anchored Step, Explosive Runes, Fireball, Fly, Force Punch, Lightning Bolt, Sheet Lightning, Shifting Sand, Thunderstomp (Greater), Tiny Hut, Wind Wall
2nd Flaming Sphere, Frost Fall, Gust of Wind, Ice Slick, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility, Whispering Wind, Web
1st Burning Hands, Expeditious Retreat, Flare Burst, Grease, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield
0th Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Bleed, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue, Spark

[J. A.]

Thanks! That evoker is also perfect for my needs.

And as it turns out, the Bloody Skeleton will work very well for what I had in mind, so thanks for that as well.

[J. A.]

So, Dasrak's contributions were excellent, but I still have a need for a couple more wizard builds.

Does anyone have anything around 4th or 5th level?

[Eldred the Grey]

Try this its the wizards from the NPC Codex.

[Coidzor]

Alas, I don't have any NPC versions offhand. (Although I'm now tempted to put together a level 14+ necromancer who uses the fact that they have no cap on the number of Blast Shadows that they can control in order to facilitate an undead magic-item-crafting sweatshop. Possibly who has a rival who uses sustainably produced construct-crafters instead.)

I do have a small bit of input on the subject of minions that a Wizard could put together through Necromancy, though.

Undead with more-or-less explicit creation methods:

This Reddit thread and this Giant In The Playground thread go into more detail about undead with explicit construction details, or at least ones that are explicitly within the realm that a PC could create. Probably worth taking a gander at each if you find that at all of interest.

A level 5 Undead Master Wizard, or a level 7 Wizard of basically any other archetype, can access Make Whole, Fly, and/or Locate Object or Clairaudience/Clairvoyance in addition to Animate Dead, allowing them to add Necrocraft, Beheaded, and Isitoq to the repertoire of minions they can create. And as NPCs, the GM can take the leeway to get around some of the awkward things about creating Beheaded swarms or handwave the 1 HD of undead wasted when creating Isitoq(s?). Necrocraft are stuck at Medium size until CL 7+, though as an NPC, the necromancer can get around the Construction Point limitation that may or may not exist for PCs to be able to make higher CR Necrocraft, if desired.

Baseline Animate Dead can also get Exoskeleton and Frostfallen undead as well.

Sunbaked Zombies require some special circumstances but are Animate Dead friendly.

Voidsticks would be within reach for a 5th-7th level necromancer with crafting feats (and desirable for them to acquire anyway) and, in addition to having a constant Desecrate effect, allow for the creation of Voidstick Zombies, although the exact details of how they should be statted out is a bit ill-defined.

Plague Zombies have to wait until the Wizard is 7th level and can cast Contagion, though, even if he is an Undead Master.

Zuvembies won't be under a necromancer's control, but they are something that even a relatively low level one can make.

Some slight input on the subject of non-Necromancy minions you might conceivably encounter with a Wizard:

Mostly that amounts to a Wizard, probably an Enchanter, having made friends with a Yak or possibly Ox (bison stats) that they use Anthropomorphic Animal on to make into a sort of DIY Minotaur.

That or musing on Craft Construct or Craft Poppet, though the way they interact with WBL is a bit weird from a CR and encounter generation standpoint. It might be better to just budget such things entirely from the CR/encounter-building standpoint rather than the NPC's WBL. So I'll just leave it at that.

[J. A.]

@ Eldred: Thanks for the link. I do have the NPC Codex, but prefer PC builds for their flavor and innovation.

@ Coidzor: Thanks for the detailed list of undead links, those are helpful. I've been wanting to use the Frostfallen template for a while, just haven't had the opportunity yet.

[Kayerloth]

Dig around for a thread by Ravingdork. He has a huge collection of characters posted in the thread including large numbers of casters.

I'm lousy at linking stuff but I'll see if I can find it.

PS: The thread is titled:
Ravingdork's Crazy Character Emporium

Like I said lousy at links but it was the at the top of the list when I used the Search function looking for "Ravingdork"

Thanks to Coidzor for providing a link in his post below!

[Coidzor]

Kayerloth wrote:

Dig around for a thread by Ravingdork. He has a huge collection of characters posted in the thread including large numbers of casters.

I'm lousy at linking stuff but I'll see if I can find it.

PS: The thread is titled:
Ravingdork's Crazy Character Emporium

Like I said lousy at links but it was the at the top of the list when I used the Search function looking for "Ravingdork"

The link.

This post might be useful as a sort of table of contents, too.

[J. A.]

That is just awesome, thank you.

Please note that most of the original links have expired, so he updated the post with a new Master Link, which takes you to a OneDrive page.

I've just started exploring, but from what I can tell, it's glorious.

[Volkard Abendroth]

Melee Wizard: unbuffed:

Suadurix CR 7
XP 3,200
Male human (Garundi) transmuter 8
LE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +2
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex)
hp 62 (8d6+32)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +9
DR 1/bludgeoning
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 living steel quarterstaff +10 (1d6+8)
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +11)
. . At will—change shape (beast shape ii or elemental body i, 8 rounds/day)
. . 6/day—telekinetic fist (1d4+4 bludgeoning)
Transmuter (Blood Mage) Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +11)
. . 4th—dimension door, monstrous physique II[UM], stoneskin
. . 3rd—haste, heroism, ice spears (DC 16), monstrous physique I[UM], sleet storm
. . 2nd—alter self, blade tutor's spirit (2), cat's grace, invisibility
. . 1st—burning disarm (DC 14), long arm[ACG], mage armor, obscuring mist, shield (2)
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation
. . Opposition Schools Evocation, Necromancy
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 20, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB +9; CMD 22
Feats Arcane Strike, Extend Spell, Power Attack, Scale And Skin, Scribe Scroll, Toughness
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +8, Climb +11, Diplomacy +8, Fly +6, Knowledge (local) +12, Linguistics +7, Perception +2, Spellcraft +14, Survival +1, Swim +6
Languages Common, Osiriani, Shoanti, Sphinx, Tien, Vudrani
SQ blood fuel, clot blood, living steel, physical enhancement (+2)
Combat Gear potion of barkskin +2, potion of cure light wounds (4), potion of jump, potion of pass without trace; Other Gear +1 living steel quarterstaff, amulet of mighty fists +1, belt of giant strength +2, cloak of resistance +3, headband of twisted intellect +2, ring of protection +1, spell component pouch, wizard starting spellbook, 25 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Strike As a swift action, add +1 damage, +1 per 5 caster levels and your weapons are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Blood Fuel (6/day) (Su) Deal 1d4 damage to self to gain free+1 metamagic.
Change Shape (beast shape ii or elemental body i, 8 rounds/day) (Sp) Use beast shape II or elemental body I as a Spell-Like ability.
Clot Blood (1 points) (Ex) Gain DR 1/bludgeoning and reduce any bleed damage taken by 1.
Damage Reduction (1/bludgeoning) You have Damage Reduction against all except Bludgeoning attacks.
Evocation You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Evocation school.
Extend Spell Spell duration lasts twice as normal. +1 Level.
Living Steel Some trees suck up potent minerals through their roots the same way others draw water from the ground. Though these trees blunt saws and axes used to hew them and shrug off fire, they eventually succumb to time or the elements. When properly harveste
Necromancy You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Necromancy school.
Physical Enhancement +2 (Strength) (Su) When preparing spells, chosen physical attribute gains enhancement bonus.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Scale and Skin When transmutation spell affects you, gain +1 or +2 to natural armor.
Telekinetic Fist (1d4+4 bludgeoning, 6/day) (Sp) As a standard action, ranged touch deals bludgeon dam vs. foe in 30 ft.
Transmutation Transmuters use magic to change the world around them.

Melee Wizard: basic buffs:

Suadurix CR 7
XP 3,200
Male human (Garundi) transmuter 8
LE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses scent; Perception +4
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 25, touch 15, flat-footed 23 (+4 armor, +3 deflection, +2 Dex, +2 natural, +4 shield)
hp 62 (8d6+32)
Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +11
DR 1/bludgeoning
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)
Melee +1 living steel quarterstaff +13 (1d6+18) or
. . bite +17 (2d6+15), 4 claws +17 (1d8+15), sting +17 (1d6+15)
Special Attacks pounce
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +11)
. . At will—change shape (beast shape ii or elemental body i, 8 rounds/day)
. . 6/day—telekinetic fist (1d4+4 bludgeoning)
Transmuter (Blood Mage) Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +11)
. . 4th—dimension door, monstrous physique II[UM], stoneskin
. . 3rd—haste, heroism, ice spears (DC 16), monstrous physique I[UM], sleet storm
. . 2nd—alter self, blade tutor's spirit (2), cat's grace, invisibility
. . 1st—burning disarm (DC 14), long arm[ACG], mage armor, obscuring mist, shield (2)
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation
. . Opposition Schools Evocation, Necromancy
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 22, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 25
Feats Arcane Strike, Extend Spell, Power Attack, Scale And Skin, Scribe Scroll, Toughness
Skills Acrobatics +10, Appraise +5, Bluff +10, Climb +14, Diplomacy +10, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +4, Fly +8, Heal +2, Intimidate +2, Knowledge (local) +14, Linguistics +9, Perception +4, Ride +4, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +4, Survival +3, Swim +9
Languages Common, Osiriani, Shoanti, Sphinx, Tien, Vudrani
SQ blood fuel, clot blood, physical enhancement (+2)
Combat Gear potion of barkskin +2, potion of cure light wounds (4), potion of jump, potion of pass without trace; Other Gear +1 living steel quarterstaff, amulet of mighty fists +1, belt of giant strength +2, cloak of resistance +3, headband of twisted intellect +2, ring of protection +1, spell component pouch, wizard starting spellbook, 25 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Strike As a swift action, add +1 damage, +1 per 5 caster levels and your weapons are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Blood Fuel (6/day) (Su) Deal 1d4 damage to self to gain free+1 metamagic.
Change Shape (beast shape ii or elemental body i, 8 rounds/day) (Sp) Use beast shape II or elemental body I as a Spell-Like ability.
Clot Blood (1 points) (Ex) Gain DR 1/bludgeoning and reduce any bleed damage taken by 1.
Damage Reduction (1/bludgeoning) You have Damage Reduction against all except Bludgeoning attacks.
Evocation You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Evocation school.
Extend Spell Spell duration lasts twice as normal. +1 Level.
Fly (50 feet, Average) You can fly!
Necromancy You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Necromancy school.
Physical Enhancement +2 (Strength) (Su) When preparing spells, chosen physical attribute gains enhancement bonus.
Pounce (Ex) You can make a full attack as part of a charge.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Scale and Skin When transmutation spell affects you, gain +1 or +2 to natural armor.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ ft. by sense of smell.
Telekinetic Fist (1d4+4 bludgeoning, 6/day) (Sp) As a standard action, ranged touch deals bludgeon dam vs. foe in 30 ft.
Transmutation Transmuters use magic to change the world around them.

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[J. A.]

Fantastic, Volkard, cool and very flavorful build.

Do you happen the know the gp value for the +1 living steel quarterstaff? I'm guessing it's somewhere around 2250 gp, but that's an off-the-cuff guesstimate.

[Eldred the Grey]

Its 500gp for the living steel so it will be 2500gp total.

[J. A.]

Okay, thanks.

Also, Coidzor, I've been going through RD's characters and that's a mithril mine. I found a theurge build that was perfect for one specific concept, down to the number of levels in each class. Really outstanding resource, thanks.

[Kayerloth]

You're welcome ;}

And thanks again to Coidzor for providing the link to RD's thread.