One of my players is running a level 3 wizard with an abysmal 11 hp. We just started, so he hasn't been put in a lot of danger yet, but we all seem to like him and I'm afraid he'll die early. How can I boost his chances of survival fairly?
The Aid spell is a great way to improve the survivability of very low-HP creatures, and two other party members can benefit from it as well.
Other than that, tell the wizard to cast Mage Armor daily, learn Shield if they don't already know it, stay out of melee range, hide behind other party members, and consider taking the Dodge action if he's being targeted.
You could also examine why they have such extremely low HP and allow them to reconsider their build. Even with +0 CON, they'd have 14 HP at that level if they took the fixed HP increase (which I highly recommend.) They either chose to roll HP or have 8 CON. CON is important for every class, and doubly so for a spellcasting class (it's needed for concentration) that already has low HP.
Just keep the combat pressure on other players that can take hits better and remember to make sure the party is stocked up on at least two or three healing potions. Sprinkle those in with the treasure often. Eventually he'll be able to do better by picking up stuff like Mage Armor and the Shield spell to help keep him safe.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
What you should do, is have the wizard hide behind (like said above) other players. This is especially helpful when the party is in a tunnel, and the enemy/enemies can't get to said wizard unless they fight through the player wall. Example: If the party is going to clear out cave infested with blood-thirsty orcs, have the other characters form a wall. Tanks in front (i.e. barbarians, fighters, paladins, etc.) Rangers behind them (druids, rangers, archery-focused fighters). Behind them, your other spell casters (wizards, sorcerers, clerics). Lastly, your ridiculously weak wizard.
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In this position though, particularly in tunnels, bear in mind that a PC can't cast a ranged spell past two targets.
I read somewhere that if you don't hit the AC of the creature you were trying to hit, but do hit the AC of one or more of the intervening creatures, then you hit the nearest one you hit the AC for instead. This includes allies. For spells that specify targeting a location or creature ‘that you can see’, you can cast past one or two creatures, but not past three or more.
In this position though, particularly in tunnels, bear in mind that a PC can't cast a ranged spell past two targets. ... For spells that specify targeting a location or creature ‘that you can see’, you can cast past one or two creatures, but not past three or more.
That's not a rule.
I read somewhere that if you don't hit the AC of the creature you were trying to hit, but do hit the AC of one or more of the intervening creatures, then you hit the nearest one you hit the AC for instead. This includes allies.
That's an optional rule in the DMG, but you only hit the creature providing cover if 1) the attack roll misses the target, 2) the attack roll would've hit the target if they didn't have cover, and 3) the attack roll would hit the creature providing cover. That means the creature providing cover will only get hit at most 10% of the time, and will never be hit if their AC is higher than the target by 2 or more.
The real question is how do you kill the wizard. They're damn near immortal at high levels.
Any way the smart tactic for a squishy wizard is to cast a big spell like say web then focus on maintaining concentration by taking the dodge and keeping out of the way. It's the most spell slot efficient and effective tactic.
Now if he wants to burn the slots there are things to help his defense;
I would first of all look at why the wizard HP is so low, if you are letting the layers roll for HP instead of taking the average I suggest using the following house rule
ReRoll 1s for hit points and the first 2, alternatively I have also run games where players can roll the dice and then decide to take the average (so the average will always be the minimum taken).
But really as a DM it is not your place to go out of your way to keep a player alive, the party needs to work together to negate his low hit points for the benifit he can give to them in combat.
Misty Step is incredibly necessary. It lets you get out of all sorts of restraints and traps, run away from the bad guy, and in general keeps you alive.
I have found blink not to be that useful. When it works, you are immune, but then they just attack someone else, when it doesn't you got nothing. When you are blurred, they still attack you, wasting half their attacks and it is almost as effective (though some are immune to it).
Protection from Evil and Good is incredibally useful in rare circumstances. Works great against Ghosts for example. But many a day it is just a waste of a spell prepared.
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One of my players is running a level 3 wizard with an abysmal 11 hp. We just started, so he hasn't been put in a lot of danger yet, but we all seem to like him and I'm afraid he'll die early. How can I boost his chances of survival fairly?
The Aid spell is a great way to improve the survivability of very low-HP creatures, and two other party members can benefit from it as well.
Other than that, tell the wizard to cast Mage Armor daily, learn Shield if they don't already know it, stay out of melee range, hide behind other party members, and consider taking the Dodge action if he's being targeted.
You could also examine why they have such extremely low HP and allow them to reconsider their build. Even with +0 CON, they'd have 14 HP at that level if they took the fixed HP increase (which I highly recommend.) They either chose to roll HP or have 8 CON. CON is important for every class, and doubly so for a spellcasting class (it's needed for concentration) that already has low HP.
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Just keep the combat pressure on other players that can take hits better and remember to make sure the party is stocked up on at least two or three healing potions. Sprinkle those in with the treasure often. Eventually he'll be able to do better by picking up stuff like Mage Armor and the Shield spell to help keep him safe.
What you should do, is have the wizard hide behind (like said above) other players. This is especially helpful when the party is in a tunnel, and the enemy/enemies can't get to said wizard unless they fight through the player wall. Example: If the party is going to clear out cave infested with blood-thirsty orcs, have the other characters form a wall. Tanks in front (i.e. barbarians, fighters, paladins, etc.) Rangers behind them (druids, rangers, archery-focused fighters). Behind them, your other spell casters (wizards, sorcerers, clerics). Lastly, your ridiculously weak wizard.
I love roleplaying, message me so we can set something up.
I talk everything D&D, message me for questions, chat, arguements, or roleplay!
Thanks, all.
In this position though, particularly in tunnels, bear in mind that a PC can't cast a ranged spell past two targets.
I read somewhere that if you don't hit the AC of the creature you were trying to hit, but do hit the AC of one or more of the intervening creatures, then you hit the nearest one you hit the AC for instead. This includes allies. For spells that specify targeting a location or creature ‘that you can see’, you can cast past one or two creatures, but not past three or more.
Can't remember where I read this though.
This is a variant rule in the DMG.
That's not a rule.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
The real question is how do you kill the wizard. They're damn near immortal at high levels.
Any way the smart tactic for a squishy wizard is to cast a big spell like say web then focus on maintaining concentration by taking the dodge and keeping out of the way. It's the most spell slot efficient and effective tactic.
Now if he wants to burn the slots there are things to help his defense;
If you want to be nice you can also give him scrolls or the time and money to make them but like I said earlier, he should just blow stuff up an run !
I would first of all look at why the wizard HP is so low, if you are letting the layers roll for HP instead of taking the average I suggest using the following house rule
ReRoll 1s for hit points and the first 2, alternatively I have also run games where players can roll the dice and then decide to take the average (so the average will always be the minimum taken).
But really as a DM it is not your place to go out of your way to keep a player alive, the party needs to work together to negate his low hit points for the benifit he can give to them in combat.
The spells that kept me alive at low levels are:
Misty Step is incredibly necessary. It lets you get out of all sorts of restraints and traps, run away from the bad guy, and in general keeps you alive.
I have found blink not to be that useful. When it works, you are immune, but then they just attack someone else, when it doesn't you got nothing. When you are blurred, they still attack you, wasting half their attacks and it is almost as effective (though some are immune to it).
Protection from Evil and Good is incredibally useful in rare circumstances. Works great against Ghosts for example. But many a day it is just a waste of a spell prepared.