Sure. After the fight starts. No one get's to set favorable preconditions. Otherwise - as I tried to point out - it never ends.
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
There is no credible scenario in which an army sneaks up on someone with only six seconds warning. I have no problem with both sides taking preparatory actions. And I would dispute no-one playing it out, turning away an invading army is the kind of thing that might show up in an adventure.
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
The wizard will have acted long before initiative gets rolled, my guy. contingency has a duration of 10 days
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
The wizard will have acted long before initiative gets rolled, my guy. contingency has a duration of 10 days
And what does Contingency do? It only holds up to 5th level spells, so it's no good as a "I use Teleport run off to the other side of the world if I start to lose" button. And it only does 1 action spells that target self, so so you can't blast enemies or instantly draw a Teleport Circle with it. About the best you can do in this case is use Dimension Door to run away, but practically speaking that doesn't let you do much more than stretch things out until the Wizard gets run down again or at least leaves matters inconclusive.
I'm indifferent to contingency (I voted for druid... they don't have contingency), and I'm not going to assume the high level character spends all their time preparing static defenses or anything. I just assume the high level character goes "Hm, that looks like an army. I should go make preparations, and because I'm a high level character traveling by myself the army can neither track me nor chase me down so... I'll be back when I'm ready."
In a stand-up fight, an army beats any single character. However, if a high level character decides to hit and run on the army, there's very little the army can do to stop them (assuming you use a class that's actually competent at that kind of thing, which mostly means primary spellcasters, though some ranged martial builds have a chance).
I'm indifferent to contingency (I voted for druid... they don't have contingency), and I'm not going to assume the high level character spends all their time preparing static defenses or anything. I just assume the high level character goes "Hm, that looks like an army. I should go make preparations, and because I'm a high level character traveling by myself the army can neither track me nor chase me down so... I'll be back when I'm ready."
In a stand-up fight, an army beats any single character. However, if a high level character decides to hit and run on the army, there's very little the army can do to stop them (assuming you use a class that's actually competent at that kind of thing, which mostly means primary spellcasters, though some ranged martial builds have a chance).
Meh, honestly hit and run is a pretty limited option. At 20th level you've got 12 spell slots that can move you enough distance to actually disengage from a fight, which are also your 12 best damage slots. There's also Fly, but practically speaking the odds don't favor you holding that spell while in engagement range if something like 40 bowmen can get shots at you.
Yes, if you get to build and play tactically while a bunch of CR 1/8 mooks have to come at you from across the horizon you can try to hit and run, but more realistically you can't both hit hard and run away long enough to solo an army. The most realistic outcome is probably a stalemate or possibly an extended campaign of attrition, but no, even a 20th level character can't just march into an army anime-style and just lay waste unless this opposing army is specifically teed up as a soft target.
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
The wizard will have acted long before initiative gets rolled, my guy. contingency has a duration of 10 days
And what does Contingency do? It only holds up to 5th level spells, so it's no good as a "I use Teleport run off to the other side of the world if I start to lose" button. And it only does 1 action spells that target self, so so you can't blast enemies or instantly draw a Teleport Circle with it. About the best you can do in this case is use Dimension Door to run away, but practically speaking that doesn't let you do much more than stretch things out until the Wizard gets run down again or at least leaves matters inconclusive.
Depends on what the contingency is, but if the proposed scenario is "surprise! combat with 2,000 mooks", then resilient sphere on first damage negates everything but that first arrow... and then it's the wizard's turn
In a different scenario, mislead would also be quite effective
And again, as has been stressed over and over and over in this extremely silly thread, a high-level wizard has many other options available to them that they can cast well before the fight even begins. Is this battle even taking place with the wizard right from the jump, or is their simulacrum thinning the ranks of the army first?
The whole "no favorable preconditions" thing is a de facto acknowledgment that the wizard would win if they are actually allowed to do what a wizard is capable of doing
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
The wizard will have acted long before initiative gets rolled, my guy. contingency has a duration of 10 days
And what does Contingency do? It only holds up to 5th level spells, so it's no good as a "I use Teleport run off to the other side of the world if I start to lose" button. And it only does 1 action spells that target self, so so you can't blast enemies or instantly draw a Teleport Circle with it. About the best you can do in this case is use Dimension Door to run away, but practically speaking that doesn't let you do much more than stretch things out until the Wizard gets run down again or at least leaves matters inconclusive.
Set contingency aside. Apparently the 14th level wizard, despite being able to literally do their own enchanting, is apparently not allowed any magical gear at all, since that would be 'pre-preparation'.
As for contingency 'My teleport contingency transports me to convenient safe, out of range of the army, staging area. Then, knowing where the army is and it being limited to army strategic movement limitations, I take a day and do all the setting up of favorable pre-conditions the DM told me I was not allowed.'
Again, an army just suddenly appearing, catching the wizard unawares, how is that not a pre-condition favoring the army? But then, Army and Wizard suddenly appear. Wizard sees an obviously threatening army. Army sees.... some lone traveler. Wizard continues to look like a simple traveler, while getting out of the army's way, then can do all the pre-prep they feel they need and engage when they are ready.
Meh, honestly hit and run is a pretty limited option. At 20th level you've got 12 spell slots that can move you enough distance to actually disengage from a fight, which are also your 12 best damage slots.
If you're ever engaged you've made a mistake; the whole point is to attack in ways where they have no viable options for retaliation. But no, you probably aren't going to kill the army in a single day (unless they're unprepared for severe weather, in which case two castings of control weather will do the job), but, well, armies aren't very fast. If you kill a hundred people a day without taking any damage in return, it's not going to take that long for it to cease to function as an army. Even faster if you can identify and target the command staff.
Well - sure. But my claim is that 2000 mooks can defeat any single character of any level. I don't believe that the wizard has enough anything to effectively reduce the number of mooks - if they employ proper tactics - and once he's out, he'll die very very quickly. Also, he doesn't get to pick the conditions: He doesn't get to start combat at 500 feet up, just like the army of mooks doesn't get to charge over a hilltop and surround the wizard. No setting up obvious win conditions beforehand.
Armies are not subtle. Any starting condition other than "the parties start at least a mile apart" is unreasonable, and due to relative mobility, that means the high level character is always going to pick the engagement situation, unless the army has a means of forcing the character to make a stand. If the army is discovered a mile away from a town, a single high level character isn't going to be able to prevent them from sacking the town, because the only viable victory condition for the single character is whittling them away over a period of hours to days while being essentially unattackable... but a high level character of the right class can do that, it just requires superior mobility and long range lethal effects.
Druid with storm of vengence if we are talking any player of any level instead of the 14th level the OP suggested way back when would put a massive dent in a 2000 person army, large enough suspect they could just fight them straight after that.
Unless for some bizarre reason the army is so spread out that doesn't work, in which case they are so spread out the I get 2000 long bow shots will hit enougn thing kind of falls apart. and they are just never hitting the Druid, wizard etc.
There is no credible scenario in which an army sneaks up on someone with only six seconds warning. I have no problem with both sides taking preparatory actions. And I would dispute no-one playing it out, turning away an invading army is the kind of thing that might show up in an adventure.
That is what you call an 'ambush' - and I personally guarantee you there is ample historical evidence this has happened again and again, over and over, unto nigh-infinity.
I can only restate: No advantageous preconditions for either side. And we do not need to agree here. I'm perfectly happy with a draw or indefinite ceasefire =D
Apparently the 14th level wizard, despite being able to literally do their own enchanting, is apparently not allowed any magical gear at all, since that would be 'pre-preparation'.
I wanted to comment on this though. I've set the bar as low as humanly possible: My mooks are classless goons with a bow and a sword. This is deliberate, my point is that enough attack rolls will kill any opponent, including a high level character, all but instantly.
Everything else is beside the point. Everything. Maybe the wizard is flying, maybe the troops then get ballistas, maybe the wizard has magic items, maybe the troops do too, maybe this and that and the other thing: All ... beside the point.
If there is an actual fight between 2000 troops, using intelligent tactics, and any character - that character dies. Or I'm wrong. Storm of Vengeance does give me some pause. But hey, I'll take that too: If I'm wrong in just one instance, I still consider myself to be right. And I'm not 100% on Storm of Vengeance.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That is what you call an 'ambush' - and I personally guarantee you there is ample historical evidence this has happened again and again, over and over, unto nigh-infinity.
On the scale of armies, 'ambush' means the defenders have minutes of warning, instead of the hours to days they would normally have. Armies are incapable of stealth on the small unit tactical scale D&D generally operates in.
I wanted to comment on this though. I've set the bar as low as humanly possible: My mooks are classless goons with a bow and a sword. This is deliberate, my point is that enough attack rolls will kill any opponent, including a high level character, all but instantly.
That is only relevant if attack rolls are possible; there are a decent number of options for attacking while remaining unattackable.
I wanted to comment on this though. I've set the bar as low as humanly possible: My mooks are classless goons with a bow and a sword. This is deliberate, my point is that enough attack rolls will kill any opponent, including a high level character, all but instantly.
pick a lane. Either they are spread out so far massive aoE spells only hit 20 or less or they get enough attack rolls to kill anyone. You can't have both, as if you are spread out even close to as far as you suggest only a handful will have an attack on the person a round.
I think the best class is actually a Bard specifically built for the task because they can have any of the big spells for mass damage (Meteor Swarm, Storm of Vengeance, Earthquake, and Tsunami are obvious higher choices), but I also think Mirage Arcane is a solid spell against an army of fodder in other ways.
Bards also have the skill support for hiding and evading forces in a long battle over time like that.
The issue with Bards is I never take most of those spells. If they haven't taken those spells it's obviously not going to work.
Wizards have a similar issue as Bards. While Wizards have more spells in their Spellbooks than Bards prepare those selections of higher level spells tend to be a lot more limited because of the rarity of finding them on scrolls or in other places.
Wizards often don't take them and there is no guarantee that they found and scribed them. Wizards also lack that skill support and are more restricted in self-healing options.
Druids have a good assortment appropriate spells and are guaranteed to be able to have them prepared at the first rest after finding a place to lay low if they don't already have them, and Wild Shape to support skills and mobility.
I doubt the army would be attacking every spider in the vicinity in case it's a spellcaster.
There is no credible scenario in which an army sneaks up on someone with only six seconds warning. I have no problem with both sides taking preparatory actions. And I would dispute no-one playing it out, turning away an invading army is the kind of thing that might show up in an adventure.
That is what you call an 'ambush' - and I personally guarantee you there is ample historical evidence this has happened again and again, over and over, unto nigh-infinity.
I can only restate: No advantageous preconditions for either side. And we do not need to agree here. I'm perfectly happy with a draw or indefinite ceasefire =D
Apparently the 14th level wizard, despite being able to literally do their own enchanting, is apparently not allowed any magical gear at all, since that would be 'pre-preparation'.
I wanted to comment on this though. I've set the bar as low as humanly possible: My mooks are classless goons with a bow and a sword. This is deliberate, my point is that enough attack rolls will kill any opponent, including a high level character, all but instantly.
Everything else is beside the point. Everything. Maybe the wizard is flying, maybe the troops then get ballistas, maybe the wizard has magic items, maybe the troops do too, maybe this and that and the other thing: All ... beside the point.
If there is an actual fight between 2000 troops, using intelligent tactics, and any character - that character dies. Or I'm wrong. Storm of Vengeance does give me some pause. But hey, I'll take that too: If I'm wrong in just one instance, I still consider myself to be right. And I'm not 100% on Storm of Vengeance.
The wizard knows the range of balista, though. And can make their own items and only needs to equip themselves. The army has what they are given and are an army. If they are the army of an empire supported by a level 14+ wizard, then the wizard in the scenario likely has a friendly army somewhere *they* can call on, too.
If you set a scenario that favors the army, of course the army wins.
Meteor Swarm would literally destroy a condensed army.
At level 14, I'm not sure if it's possible. I think bugbear drunken master monk where he uses hit and run strategies:
He keeps spamming Dash bonus actions every turn.
Falls prone behind some cover if available.
This would keep the close ranged ones from reaching him unless they are super fast, and the ranged ones would be heavily disadvantaged.
The real strat:
Either Monk or Barb, find 5 tome of understanding(for Monk) or5 manual of bodily health and 5 manual of quickness of action. Your Armor class could either be 30 or 32, and if you take the Dual Wielder feat, a +1 for monk holding two weapons (so 31), then take the Warforged race (+1 bonus to AC, so 32 for Monk and 33 for barb). Put on some Adamantine armor too, to negate the ato hit effect/extra damage of criticals.
Unless you have some soldiers with freaking +12 to hit at least, they won't win.
Meteor Swarm would literally destroy a condensed army.
It's not really a large enough area; it's probably only going to hit in the hundreds. That's why you use tsunami or storm of vengeance; they don't do as high damage but they cover an absurd area. At level 14, there's decent options for slowing them down by turning terrain nearly impassible with spells like plant growth, transmute rock, move earth, and mirage arcane, but actually killing the army is probably going to require things like wind wall to avoid arrows, lobbing a few damaging spells, and using some sort of escape spell, and might well require weeks of killing a hundred people a day.
Meteor Swarm would literally destroy a condensed army.
It's not really a large enough area; it's probably only going to hit in the hundreds. That's why you use tsunami or storm of vengeance; they don't do as high damage but they cover an absurd area. At level 14, there's decent options for slowing them down by turning terrain nearly impassible with spells like plant growth, transmute rock, move earth, and mirage arcane, but actually killing the army is probably going to require things like wind wall to avoid arrows, lobbing a few damaging spells, and using some sort of escape spell, and might well require weeks of killing a hundred people a day.
Circle of death would wreck a lot, 60 foot radius is pretty huge, over double the size of meteor swarm. 11,000+sq feet(I do not square the circle) vs tsunamis 15,000. For tsunami though even though its slower than a full retreat in practicality a army wont be able to maneuver well enough to turn around and run away en masse and many more would get killed as it moved. But circle of death is only a 6th level spell. And a 60 foot radius will put most of the survivors in the disadvantage on a shot ranges vs the wizard. Its main flaw is its range is fairly short.
Both though would technically only kill a few hundred unless you got a lot while tsunami moved. My money is still on the caster as most of the army even if they can target the caster will be at disadvantage due to range given how much of a area you clear with a single spell which will give them plenty of opportunity to flee and kill more another day if needed. With storm of vengeance i don't think they need to flee. plant growth to hedge them in and then tsunami would also wreck them. A wizard would probably need hit and run over a couple days though.
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Not setting favorable preconditions means both sides are aware ahead of time what's happening -- you don't just throw them all in a box together and see who wins.
I completely disagree. You want your side to have acted before Initiative - and not mine. I deny those terms. But let's just agree to disagree, it's not like we're going to actually play this out.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
There is no credible scenario in which an army sneaks up on someone with only six seconds warning. I have no problem with both sides taking preparatory actions. And I would dispute no-one playing it out, turning away an invading army is the kind of thing that might show up in an adventure.
The wizard will have acted long before initiative gets rolled, my guy. contingency has a duration of 10 days
Active characters:
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Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
And what does Contingency do? It only holds up to 5th level spells, so it's no good as a "I use Teleport run off to the other side of the world if I start to lose" button. And it only does 1 action spells that target self, so so you can't blast enemies or instantly draw a Teleport Circle with it. About the best you can do in this case is use Dimension Door to run away, but practically speaking that doesn't let you do much more than stretch things out until the Wizard gets run down again or at least leaves matters inconclusive.
I'm indifferent to contingency (I voted for druid... they don't have contingency), and I'm not going to assume the high level character spends all their time preparing static defenses or anything. I just assume the high level character goes "Hm, that looks like an army. I should go make preparations, and because I'm a high level character traveling by myself the army can neither track me nor chase me down so... I'll be back when I'm ready."
In a stand-up fight, an army beats any single character. However, if a high level character decides to hit and run on the army, there's very little the army can do to stop them (assuming you use a class that's actually competent at that kind of thing, which mostly means primary spellcasters, though some ranged martial builds have a chance).
Meh, honestly hit and run is a pretty limited option. At 20th level you've got 12 spell slots that can move you enough distance to actually disengage from a fight, which are also your 12 best damage slots. There's also Fly, but practically speaking the odds don't favor you holding that spell while in engagement range if something like 40 bowmen can get shots at you.
Yes, if you get to build and play tactically while a bunch of CR 1/8 mooks have to come at you from across the horizon you can try to hit and run, but more realistically you can't both hit hard and run away long enough to solo an army. The most realistic outcome is probably a stalemate or possibly an extended campaign of attrition, but no, even a 20th level character can't just march into an army anime-style and just lay waste unless this opposing army is specifically teed up as a soft target.
Depends on what the contingency is, but if the proposed scenario is "surprise! combat with 2,000 mooks", then resilient sphere on first damage negates everything but that first arrow... and then it's the wizard's turn
In a different scenario, mislead would also be quite effective
And again, as has been stressed over and over and over in this extremely silly thread, a high-level wizard has many other options available to them that they can cast well before the fight even begins. Is this battle even taking place with the wizard right from the jump, or is their simulacrum thinning the ranks of the army first?
The whole "no favorable preconditions" thing is a de facto acknowledgment that the wizard would win if they are actually allowed to do what a wizard is capable of doing
Active characters:
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Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Set contingency aside. Apparently the 14th level wizard, despite being able to literally do their own enchanting, is apparently not allowed any magical gear at all, since that would be 'pre-preparation'.
As for contingency 'My teleport contingency transports me to convenient safe, out of range of the army, staging area. Then, knowing where the army is and it being limited to army strategic movement limitations, I take a day and do all the setting up of favorable pre-conditions the DM told me I was not allowed.'
Again, an army just suddenly appearing, catching the wizard unawares, how is that not a pre-condition favoring the army? But then, Army and Wizard suddenly appear. Wizard sees an obviously threatening army. Army sees.... some lone traveler. Wizard continues to look like a simple traveler, while getting out of the army's way, then can do all the pre-prep they feel they need and engage when they are ready.
If you're ever engaged you've made a mistake; the whole point is to attack in ways where they have no viable options for retaliation. But no, you probably aren't going to kill the army in a single day (unless they're unprepared for severe weather, in which case two castings of control weather will do the job), but, well, armies aren't very fast. If you kill a hundred people a day without taking any damage in return, it's not going to take that long for it to cease to function as an army. Even faster if you can identify and target the command staff.
Druid would be my top pick.
Druid with storm of vengence if we are talking any player of any level instead of the 14th level the OP suggested way back when would put a massive dent in a 2000 person army, large enough suspect they could just fight them straight after that.
Unless for some bizarre reason the army is so spread out that doesn't work, in which case they are so spread out the I get 2000 long bow shots will hit enougn thing kind of falls apart. and they are just never hitting the Druid, wizard etc.
That is what you call an 'ambush' - and I personally guarantee you there is ample historical evidence this has happened again and again, over and over, unto nigh-infinity.
I can only restate: No advantageous preconditions for either side. And we do not need to agree here. I'm perfectly happy with a draw or indefinite ceasefire =D
I wanted to comment on this though. I've set the bar as low as humanly possible: My mooks are classless goons with a bow and a sword. This is deliberate, my point is that enough attack rolls will kill any opponent, including a high level character, all but instantly.
Everything else is beside the point. Everything. Maybe the wizard is flying, maybe the troops then get ballistas, maybe the wizard has magic items, maybe the troops do too, maybe this and that and the other thing: All ... beside the point.
If there is an actual fight between 2000 troops, using intelligent tactics, and any character - that character dies. Or I'm wrong. Storm of Vengeance does give me some pause. But hey, I'll take that too: If I'm wrong in just one instance, I still consider myself to be right. And I'm not 100% on Storm of Vengeance.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
On the scale of armies, 'ambush' means the defenders have minutes of warning, instead of the hours to days they would normally have. Armies are incapable of stealth on the small unit tactical scale D&D generally operates in.
That is only relevant if attack rolls are possible; there are a decent number of options for attacking while remaining unattackable.
pick a lane. Either they are spread out so far massive aoE spells only hit 20 or less or they get enough attack rolls to kill anyone. You can't have both, as if you are spread out even close to as far as you suggest only a handful will have an attack on the person a round.
I finally settled on Druid.
I think the best class is actually a Bard specifically built for the task because they can have any of the big spells for mass damage (Meteor Swarm, Storm of Vengeance, Earthquake, and Tsunami are obvious higher choices), but I also think Mirage Arcane is a solid spell against an army of fodder in other ways.
Bards also have the skill support for hiding and evading forces in a long battle over time like that.
The issue with Bards is I never take most of those spells. If they haven't taken those spells it's obviously not going to work.
Wizards have a similar issue as Bards. While Wizards have more spells in their Spellbooks than Bards prepare those selections of higher level spells tend to be a lot more limited because of the rarity of finding them on scrolls or in other places.
Wizards often don't take them and there is no guarantee that they found and scribed them. Wizards also lack that skill support and are more restricted in self-healing options.
Druids have a good assortment appropriate spells and are guaranteed to be able to have them prepared at the first rest after finding a place to lay low if they don't already have them, and Wild Shape to support skills and mobility.
I doubt the army would be attacking every spider in the vicinity in case it's a spellcaster.
The wizard knows the range of balista, though. And can make their own items and only needs to equip themselves. The army has what they are given and are an army. If they are the army of an empire supported by a level 14+ wizard, then the wizard in the scenario likely has a friendly army somewhere *they* can call on, too.
If you set a scenario that favors the army, of course the army wins.
Meteor Swarm would literally destroy a condensed army.
At level 14, I'm not sure if it's possible. I think bugbear drunken master monk where he uses hit and run strategies:
He keeps spamming Dash bonus actions every turn.
Falls prone behind some cover if available.
This would keep the close ranged ones from reaching him unless they are super fast, and the ranged ones would be heavily disadvantaged.
The real strat:
Either Monk or Barb, find 5 tome of understanding(for Monk) or5 manual of bodily health and 5 manual of quickness of action. Your Armor class could either be 30 or 32, and if you take the Dual Wielder feat, a +1 for monk holding two weapons (so 31), then take the Warforged race (+1 bonus to AC, so 32 for Monk and 33 for barb). Put on some Adamantine armor too, to negate the ato hit effect/extra damage of criticals.
Unless you have some soldiers with freaking +12 to hit at least, they won't win.
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It's not really a large enough area; it's probably only going to hit in the hundreds. That's why you use tsunami or storm of vengeance; they don't do as high damage but they cover an absurd area. At level 14, there's decent options for slowing them down by turning terrain nearly impassible with spells like plant growth, transmute rock, move earth, and mirage arcane, but actually killing the army is probably going to require things like wind wall to avoid arrows, lobbing a few damaging spells, and using some sort of escape spell, and might well require weeks of killing a hundred people a day.
Circle of death would wreck a lot, 60 foot radius is pretty huge, over double the size of meteor swarm. 11,000+sq feet(I do not square the circle) vs tsunamis 15,000. For tsunami though even though its slower than a full retreat in practicality a army wont be able to maneuver well enough to turn around and run away en masse and many more would get killed as it moved. But circle of death is only a 6th level spell. And a 60 foot radius will put most of the survivors in the disadvantage on a shot ranges vs the wizard. Its main flaw is its range is fairly short.
Both though would technically only kill a few hundred unless you got a lot while tsunami moved. My money is still on the caster as most of the army even if they can target the caster will be at disadvantage due to range given how much of a area you clear with a single spell which will give them plenty of opportunity to flee and kill more another day if needed. With storm of vengeance i don't think they need to flee. plant growth to hedge them in and then tsunami would also wreck them. A wizard would probably need hit and run over a couple days though.