Wizard
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Once apart in the world, wizards now stand challenged by the advance of artifice and by the crumbling of the once-respected Conclave of Rune. The relation between wizards and artificers has always been tumultuous. That is not to say that individual wizards and artificers do not find matters of agreement--rather, it often means that their methods of working, their goals, and their faiths, tend to be vastly different and it tends to lend itself to different mindsets and goals. This mindset has been most prominent in guilds and organizations--who often find themselves at odds economically as well as idealistically.
The title of "wizard" still carries an aura of mystique, though in many, but not all places--wizards are an accepted part of life. From low-level tinkerers to masters of the art, from the kindly crafter of fireworks to the devious crafter of ancient wonders, wizards have long been found upon Ea's landscape. Thus, fear of magic tends to be relatively rare--though fear and mistrust of specific types, especially the darker arts, is a growing concern. With Rune's Conclave out of the picture, wizard schools have become more localized, with local traditions, and the practice of the darker arts has become less accepted, not more.
With Rune's loss, and the fall of their famed God of Magic, the nature of magic is changing underneath the feet of these arcanists. With Eluna on one side, and Taara on the other, the world of mages is changing. Wizards are now even more divided amongst themselves by ideology, giving rise to the famous (and spectacular) Wizard's Duels. They've joined politics, exploration teams...the role and realm of wizardry is changing from something more passive to something...different and potentially, explosive.
Oddly, this increased competition has increased the rate of study, of discovery. New arcane wonders are being discovered more often than before. To some, this was a long-needed shake-up. To others, more comfortable in bookish studies, they worry it might have gone too far.
In the minds of the public, wizards have been associated with the Convocation of Rune for most of known history. Rune, through its efforts, has been responsible for much of the wizardly order and education. With the fall of this nation, wizards have taken to forming smaller convocations, which are run officially by various nations. This has had the effect of a greater variety of local flavor and invention. Rune's laws and influence still hold sway, however--just now with a more local and colorful flair.
Many wizards hold to an abstract philosophy named the Covenant of Mana. The Covenant describes the use and invocation of magic--its roots are lost to history, but it's likely it was inspired from Animus, Himself. Particular interpretations, of course, differ.
Wizard
Role: While universalist wizards might study to prepare themselves for any manner of danger, specialist wizards research schools of magic that make them exceptionally skilled within a specific focus. Yet no matter their specialty, all wizards are masters of the impossible and can aid their allies in overcoming any danger.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (all) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.
| The Wizard | |||||||||||||||
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells per Day | |||||||||
| 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Arcane bond, arcane school,cantrips, Scribe Scroll | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bonus feat | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Bonus feat | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 11th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | |
| 12th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | |
| 13th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |
| 14th | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |
| 15th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Bonus feat | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 16th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | |
| 17th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 18th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 19th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| 20th | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Bonus feat | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Wizards are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with a wizard's movements, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.
Spells: A wizard casts arcane spells drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list presented in Spell Lists. A wizard must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time.
To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the wizard must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a wizard's spell is 10 + the spell level + the wizard's Intelligence modifier.
A wizard can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Wizard. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells).
A wizard may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, the wizard decides which spells to prepare.
Bonus Languages: A wizard may substitute Draconic for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.
Arcane Bond (Ex or Sp): At 1st level, wizards form a powerful bond with an object or a creature. This bond can take one of two forms: a familiar or a bonded object. A familiar is a magical pet that enhances the wizard's skills and senses and can aid him in magic, while a bonded object is an item a wizard can use to cast additional spells or to serve as a magical item. Once a wizard makes this choice, it is permanent and cannot be changed. Rules for bonded items are given below, while rules for familiars are at the end of this section.
Wizards who select a bonded object begin play with one at no cost. Objects that are the subject of an arcane bond must fall into one of the following categories: amulet, ring, staff, wand, or weapon. These objects are always masterwork quality. Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material. If the object is an amulet or ring, it must be worn to have effect, while staves, wands, and weapons must be held in one hand. If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object worn or in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell. The DC for this check is equal to 20 + the spell's level. If the object is a ring or amulet, it occupies the ring or neck slot accordingly.
A bonded object can be used once per day to cast any one spell that the wizard has in his spellbook and is capable of casting, even if the spell is not prepared. This spell is treated like any other spell cast by the wizard, including casting time, duration, and other effects dependent on the wizard's level. This spell cannot be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities. The bonded object cannot be used to cast spells from the wizard's opposition schools (see arcane school).
A wizard can add additional magic abilities to his bonded object as if he has the required item creation feats and if he meets the level prerequisites of the feat. For example, a wizard with a bonded dagger must be at least 5th level to add magic abilities to the dagger (see the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat in Feats). If the bonded object is a wand, it loses its wand abilities when its last charge is consumed, but it is not destroyed and it retains all of its bonded object properties and can be used to craft a new wand. The magic properties of a bonded object, including any magic abilities added to the object, only function for the wizard who owns it. If a bonded object's owner dies, or the item is replaced, the object reverts to being an ordinary masterwork item of the appropriate type.
If a bonded object is damaged, it is restored to full hit points the next time the wizard prepares his spells. If the object of an arcane bond is lost or destroyed, it can be replaced after 1 week in a special ritual that costs 200 gp per wizard level plus the cost of the masterwork item. This ritual takes 8 hours to complete. Items replaced in this way do not possess any of the additional enchantments of the previous bonded item. A wizard can designate an existing magic item as his bonded item. This functions in the same way as replacing a lost or destroyed item except that the new magic item retains its abilities while gaining the benefits and drawbacks of becoming a bonded item.
Arcane School: A wizard can choose to specialize in one school of magic, gaining additional spells and powers based on that school. This choice must be made at 1st level, and once made, it cannot be changed. A wizard that does not select a school receives the universalist school instead.
A wizard that chooses to specialize in one school of magic must select two other schools as his opposition schools, representing knowledge sacrificed in one area of arcane lore to gain mastery in another. A wizard who prepares spells from his opposition schools must use two spell slots of that level to prepare the spell. For example, a wizard with evocation as an opposition school must expend two of his available 3rd-level spell slots to prepare a fireball. In addition, a specialist takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks made when crafting a magic item that has a spell from one of his opposition schools as a prerequisite. A universalist wizard can prepare spells from any school without restriction.
Each arcane school gives the wizard a number of school powers. In addition, specialist wizards receive an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a wizard can prepare a spell from his specialty school in that slot. This spell must be in the wizard's spellbook. A wizard can select a spell modified by a metamagic feat to prepare in his school slot, but it uses up a higher-level spell slot. Wizards with the universalist school do not receive a school slot.
Cantrips: Wizards can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Wizard under “Spells per Day.” These spells are cast like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again. A wizard can prepare a cantrip from a prohibited school, but it uses up two of his available slots (see below).
Scribe Scroll: At 1st level, a wizard gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat.
Bonus Feats: At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, a wizard gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, he can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, or Spell Mastery. The wizard must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums. These bonus feats are in addition to the feats that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. The wizard is not limited to the categories of item creation feats, metamagic feats, or Spell Mastery when choosing those feats.
Spellbooks: A wizard must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook, except for read magic, which all wizards can prepare from memory.
A wizard begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from his prohibited schools, if any; see Arcane Schools) plus three 1st-level spells of his choice. The wizard also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to his Intelligence modifier to add to the spellbook. At each new wizard level, he gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new wizard level) for his spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards' spellbooks to his own (see House Rules).
Arcane Schools
Wizard Familiars
These will be listed on the Bestiary page when Lahar has the next attack of OCD.
Starter Kits
Wizards are experts in the arcane field, and can cast a variety of spells, though they have to plan what they want to cast at the beginning of each day. They tend to have a high intelligence, and focus on knowledge skills. A higher dexterity can be useful for defense, and going earlier in the combat round so they can quickly buff their allies, or raise a barrier, for example.
Wizards typically focus on buffs for their allies, utility, and battlefield control, and will choose their spells around these concepts. Blaster wizards are also popular. The feats Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration will be important around mid levels and higher for any mage.
Please note that while the linguist specialist and "arrogant wizard" are fun, we also appreciate other concepts.
| Concept | Attributes | Feats and Skills | Common Spells | Notes |
| Scholar | Int 16+ | Key Feats: None
Recommended Feats: Spell Focus (Any), Skill Focus (Knowledge/Any, Spellcraft) Key Skills: All Knowledge skills (Arcana, Nature, Dungeoneering, Religion, The Planes and Local cover monsters), Spellcraft Additional Skills: N/A |
You're the type of guy that prefers books over people. Your theoretical knowledge is second to none. You easily identify the weaknesses and strengths of that which you and your party faces. |
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