If a wizard (evoker) casts a spell with a bonus action cast time, then is there anything they can do with their action (excluding cantrips) to produce a reasonable damage output (preferably single target) without concentration? Wands, staffs, etc. treat the wizard as the caster of any spells, so leveled spells cannot be used. Not sure if there are other non-legendary magic items that could be used in place of casting a spell.
Thanks! Circlet of Concentration is something I was not aware of. The main issue is the rule that leveled spells cannot be cast in the same turn when a spell with a bonus action casting time is cast. The circlet would not address this problem directly. I think Griffon's Saddlebag has a similar item, the Ring of the Split Mind.
In perusing the list of magic items available on DnD Beyond, things like Bead of Force, Ring of the Ram, Staff of Thunder and Lightning (lightning strike), Horn of Blasting, and Necklace of Fireballs would address the problem since they do not require the casting a spell action. However, none of these would exceed the expected damage from a cantrip (Fire Bolt) at level 17+, and Fire Bolt's damage at that level would be paltry.
They can take the dodge action. Get some defense going. Or they can dash, or disengage. Get some repositioning. You don't have great options.
You could attack with cantrips, sure. And their damage output is pretty moderate. But 4d10+5 isn't really bad, either. Avg of 27 damage.
This is sorta why it is important to have good spell selection. BA cast spells aren't always as great as they might seem at first glance. Better to weaponize your BA with non-spells, which is why the Telekinetic feat is such an ideal pairing with wizards.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
If you take 2 Fighter Levels, that gives you Action Surge, so 1/Short Rest, you can cast two leveled spells as Actions, as long as you don't cast a spell with your Bonus Action. If you win initiative, a double fireball on the clustered enemy could end a lot of battles before they start, either by killing everything, or making them surrender out of pain and surprise.
There are plenty of concentration spells that - once cast - let you use your bonus action to attack, eg blade of disaster, bigbys hand, flaming sphere, crown of stars. You can cast any other spell that doesn’t require concentration while using these bonus actions (ie on your next turn). If you also have an offensive “reaction” spell like hellish rebuke, you can cast that as well, as long as the triggering event happens. A wizard could make, say, two bonus action attacks with blade of disaster, plus five attacks with steel wind strike, plus a rebuke, for a total of eight “attacks”.
That’s a crazy example but wizards can deal A LOT of damage, even at quite low levels.
Honestly play School of Necromancy if you know you're going into combat you can prepare to the point were your making more atk rolls than the fighter at lv20.
Animate dead, create undead, simulacrum, crown of stars, fateful hound, tiny servant, contingency's, wish, conjure minor elementals only one of those spells requires concentration,you don't have to cast them all in the same day and some last 8 hours you also have arcane recovery.Also as a necromancer, you might be able to gain perm control over a mummy lord or a nightwalker of course if a necromancer is in the party most dms will not put those 2 monsters in the campaign for that very reason. True polymorph is another spell to consider because at lv20 you can become a ancient dragon with multi-attack, breath weapons and legendary actions and resistances..
Also, don't sleep on mind control spells your foe's henchmen can become your minions. Also if your going to do this I strongly suggest you cast your mind blank on yourself so the bad guys can't control your mind
Of course, sadly not many DMS run games high enough level to cast some of those spells.
If a wizard (evoker) casts a spell with a bonus action cast time, then is there anything they can do with their action (excluding cantrips) to produce a reasonable damage output (preferably single target) without concentration? Wands, staffs, etc. treat the wizard as the caster of any spells, so leveled spells cannot be used. Not sure if there are other non-legendary magic items that could be used in place of casting a spell.
Since Wizards dosen't have the 2nd attack option in their feats, I guess this class is a bit difficult to manage.
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
There is the circlet of concentration, but I think it is a critical role item.
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Thanks! Circlet of Concentration is something I was not aware of. The main issue is the rule that leveled spells cannot be cast in the same turn when a spell with a bonus action casting time is cast. The circlet would not address this problem directly. I think Griffon's Saddlebag has a similar item, the Ring of the Split Mind.
In perusing the list of magic items available on DnD Beyond, things like Bead of Force, Ring of the Ram, Staff of Thunder and Lightning (lightning strike), Horn of Blasting, and Necklace of Fireballs would address the problem since they do not require the casting a spell action. However, none of these would exceed the expected damage from a cantrip (Fire Bolt) at level 17+, and Fire Bolt's damage at that level would be paltry.
They can take the dodge action. Get some defense going. Or they can dash, or disengage. Get some repositioning. You don't have great options.
You could attack with cantrips, sure. And their damage output is pretty moderate. But 4d10+5 isn't really bad, either. Avg of 27 damage.
This is sorta why it is important to have good spell selection. BA cast spells aren't always as great as they might seem at first glance. Better to weaponize your BA with non-spells, which is why the Telekinetic feat is such an ideal pairing with wizards.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
If you take 2 Fighter Levels, that gives you Action Surge, so 1/Short Rest, you can cast two leveled spells as Actions, as long as you don't cast a spell with your Bonus Action. If you win initiative, a double fireball on the clustered enemy could end a lot of battles before they start, either by killing everything, or making them surrender out of pain and surprise.
There are plenty of concentration spells that - once cast - let you use your bonus action to attack, eg blade of disaster, bigbys hand, flaming sphere, crown of stars. You can cast any other spell that doesn’t require concentration while using these bonus actions (ie on your next turn). If you also have an offensive “reaction” spell like hellish rebuke, you can cast that as well, as long as the triggering event happens. A wizard could make, say, two bonus action attacks with blade of disaster, plus five attacks with steel wind strike, plus a rebuke, for a total of eight “attacks”.
That’s a crazy example but wizards can deal A LOT of damage, even at quite low levels.
Honestly play School of Necromancy if you know you're going into combat you can prepare to the point were your making more atk rolls than the fighter at lv20.
Animate dead, create undead, simulacrum, crown of stars, fateful hound, tiny servant, contingency's, wish, conjure minor elementals only one of those spells requires concentration,you don't have to cast them all in the same day and some last 8 hours you also have arcane recovery.Also as a necromancer, you might be able to gain perm control over a mummy lord or a nightwalker of course if a necromancer is in the party most dms will not put those 2 monsters in the campaign for that very reason. True polymorph is another spell to consider because at lv20 you can become a ancient dragon with multi-attack, breath weapons and legendary actions and resistances..
Also, don't sleep on mind control spells your foe's henchmen can become your minions. Also if your going to do this I strongly suggest you cast your mind blank on yourself so the bad guys can't control your mind
Of course, sadly not many DMS run games high enough level to cast some of those spells.
Staff of Frost