To better highlight the versatility of wizards (and spellcasters in general) I thought I would make a guide to how to be an effective wizard with 6 intelligence as an extreme example. To forestall the obvious, I am by no means saying that this build will be MORE effective than other wizards, simply that despite a severe handicap a wizard is a wizard.
Lenny the Orc Wizard was raised by some well meaning folks who found him abandoned. Despite his obviously monstrous heritage, he was welcomed (mostly) by the village, but wasn't allowed to play with the other kids after an incident in which he broke another child's collarbone playing football. This resulted in Lenny having plenty of "imaginary" friends. The village wizard didn't appreciate lenny's clumsy attempts to learn magic, but Lenny was enamoured by the marvelous things that Mr. Wizard could do.
Level 1. For cantrips, we will take Minor Illusion Message and Light. Lenny needs to be able to see and speak with his imaginary friends, and despite having Darkvision, he is afraid of the dark. We have very few options for spells. We will take Detect Magic, Find Familiar, Mage Armor and Magic Missile. We can only prepare one spell, so lenny is going to be pewpewing some Magic Missiles and then falling back on hitting things with our quarterstaff.
Level 2. We will take the School of Conjuration tradition. We can now make useful day to day items whenever we need them, from the practical manacles to a fancy tophat that makes Lenny feel better about himself. Our new spells will be Shield and Absorb Elements, but we still can't prepare more than one spell.
Level 3. New spells: Alter Self for fitting in better and Cloud of Daggers. Cloud of Daggers works pretty well with Lenny's good strength score and athletics proficiency. Still only one preparation slot though. More Magic Missiles it is.
Level 4. New spells: Misty Step and Rope Trick. And huzzah, we get a second prepared spell! Dont celebrate too hard, its high time we got some Mage Armor up in here. Considering we arent increasing our intelligence, our ASI are kind of open. Health and concentration saves are a good thing, so lets get resilient constitution. Our new cantrip is Friends, because Lenny wants friends.
Level 5. New spells: Counterspell and Summon Lesser Demons (SLD). We will use our new spell preparation to prepare SLD, as it is our best use of the highest spell slot we have at the moment. Remember that while these little blighters are also hostile to the party, these ones disappear when you stop concentration.
Level 6. New spells: Phantom Steed and Leomund's Tiny Hut. Both of these are rituals, so we can use our new preparation slot for Shield. We also get benign transposition, which is great for getting Lenny out of a jam.
Level 7. New spells: Conjure Minor Elementals (CME) and Dimension Door. We will replace SLD with CME and use our new prep slot for Absorb Elements.
Level 8. New spells: Fabricate and Greater Invisibility. Lenny was always good with his hands, and Greater Invisibility is a great utility and combat spell that gets our new Preparation. Our Asi is +2 to Constitution because Lenny is a healthy lad.
Level 9. New spells: Conjure Elemental (CE) and Rary's Telepathic Bond. CE will replace CME and Rary's is a ritual, so we get to prepare one of our other spells, like Counterspell.
Level 10. New Spells: Wall of Force and Passwall. Wall of Force is an excellent battlefield control spell that is a staple for a reason. We also get focused conjuration, so our friends can stay for the entire time. Yay.
Level 11. New spells: Dramijj's Instant Summons and Globe of Invulnerability. Dramijj's is a ritual so Globe of Invulnerability gets the prep slot. If the party ever goes against casters, GoI is invaluable; when upcast you can protect your entire party from magical misfortunes.
Level 12. New spells: Scatter and Soul Cage. Scatter is a great repositioning tool and Soul Cage lets Lenny keep new friends he finds. I'd give the preparation to Soul Cage. Our asi is +2 con again because Lenny is HEALTHY lad.
Level 13. New spells: Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion and Mirage Arcane. I would prep 3M, because Lenny deserves to live in the fancy house.
Level 14. New spells: Forcecage and Teleport. We prep teleport, because Lenny doesnt want his friends to die, so he'll send everyone to the far side of the planet. We also get Durable Summons so our friends can be as HEALTHY as Lenny.
Level 15. New spells: Antimagic Field and Mind Blank. Antimagic Field is for situational use because Globe of Invulnerability allows a similar use but lets you still cast; that said, sometimes you need to put an end to magical effects other than spells, and antimagic field is a good one stop shop. We prep mind blank, so that the rest of the party can experience the glorious zen state of mind that Lenny experiences daily.
Level 16. New spells: Simulacrum and Tenser's Transformation. Simulacrum will give Lenny the ultimate friend, and we prep Tenser' Transformation so that if he wants to, Lenny can SMASH. As our con is maxed, we take Tough, cus Lenny is a H E A L T H Y lad.
Level 17. New spells: Wish and Foresight. Now all of Lenny's lifelong wishes, like knowing what rainbows tastr like can come true. Prep wish.
Level 18. New spells: Invulnerability and Shapechange. Our Spell Mastery picks are Magic Missile and Misty Step. Magic missile is essentially our cantrip anyway. Prep Mirage Arcane
Level 19. New spells: whatever Lenny pleases. Asi: whatever Lenny pleases, as he ate all his vegetables and can have his dessert now. Prep scatter
Level 20. New spells: whatever Lenny pleases. Signature spells: Counterspell and SLD. This also frees up a preparations slot for whatever you want.
There. The journey of Lenny the 6 Intelligence wizard.
I did similar, but I went with all the armored feats so I could wear plate and max strength. And with Transmutation I can get resistance if I need it, or Proficiency in Con Saves. Not nearly as healthy, but Tenser’s gives you a nice temp HP each time.
I think it's just silly. Sure, casters with low int or whatever can work, but 6 int is silly. Your save DC is -2 and so someone can see through illusions with an 8. I don't mind doing a half orc with just 15 int or at least 12. I don't think that this character would be much fun in combat.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I think it's just silly. Sure, casters with low int or whatever can work, but 6 int is silly. Your save DC is -2 and so someone can see through illusions with an 8. I don't mind doing a half orc with just 15 int or at least 12. I don't think that this character would be much fun in combat.
You don’t choose Save vs spells. Luckily, the Wizard has a TON of spells that don’t need saves. That’s kind of the point ya know?
Yes, but with minor illusion I was stating. Because they specifically chose it. I mean, go ahead, play what you want. I can't tell you what you like, but if a wizard is bad at spellcasting, and in melee you can only use a quarterstaff at best, and your ac and hp are low or middling. I would not find this character fun, but I guess it's not about me.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
Its a challenge. Beyond that, playing the "grog" of wizards would be a total mixup from playing a standard wizard. Rp-wise i think this concept would be quite interesting to play.
If you notice, every spell i suggest does NOT rely on intelligence (or at least if a spell i suggest has a saving throw it is for an alternate casting, such as scatter). The main thing is the lack of a damage Cantrip, which especially hurts at low levels.
As for minor illusion in particular, it depends on how your table rules illusions. Technically, while they do only need an 8 perception, they still need to use their action to do the skill check. Wasting an enemy turn is not useless.
I completely agree. Take fjord from critical role. Using standard array, and starting at level one with nothing else, he would have 15 charisma. For me, that is fun. I play a high elf lore bard, who started off with 15 charisma. I took my charisma to 17 at level 3. Lore bard is about spells, and so I am set back marginally. But you have a big gap. I hope you enjoy playing as them!
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
Its a challenge. Beyond that, playing the "grog" of wizards would be a total mixup from playing a standard wizard. Rp-wise i think this concept would be quite interesting to play.
If you notice, every spell i suggest does NOT rely on intelligence (or at least if a spell i suggest has a saving throw it is for an alternate casting, such as scatter). The main thing is the lack of a damage Cantrip, which especially hurts at low levels.
As for minor illusion in particular, it depends on how your table rules illusions. Technically, while they do only need an 8 perception, they still need to use their action to do the skill check. Wasting an enemy turn is not useless.
You can take Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade is you kept your strength up. And if you get a moderate attack bonus and a bonus action attack (PAM or Dual Wielder), Tenser’s Transformation becomes one of the most consistent damaging combinations in the game.
i like it, the challenge would make a very memorable player character. I started playing D&D 30 years ago and i don't remember any of my characters who had 18-20+ stats...not one. Of all the characters i've had that i DO remember, the one i remember most fondly was my rogue who started with a dex of 5. he was epic.
To better highlight the versatility of wizards (and spellcasters in general) I thought I would make a guide to how to be an effective wizard with 6 intelligence as an extreme example. To forestall the obvious, I am by no means saying that this build will be MORE effective than other wizards, simply that despite a severe handicap a wizard is a wizard.
Lenny the Orc Wizard was raised by some well meaning folks who found him abandoned. Despite his obviously monstrous heritage, he was welcomed (mostly) by the village, but wasn't allowed to play with the other kids after an incident in which he broke another child's collarbone playing football. This resulted in Lenny having plenty of "imaginary" friends. The village wizard didn't appreciate lenny's clumsy attempts to learn magic, but Lenny was enamoured by the marvelous things that Mr. Wizard could do.
The build.
Stats (pointbuy): 16 stength, 14 Dexterity, 15 Constitution, 6 Intelligence, 12 Wisdom, 10 Charisma
Background: Uthgardt Tribe Member
Skills: athletics, survival, insight, medicine, intimidation
Level 1. For cantrips, we will take Minor Illusion Message and Light. Lenny needs to be able to see and speak with his imaginary friends, and despite having Darkvision, he is afraid of the dark. We have very few options for spells. We will take Detect Magic, Find Familiar, Mage Armor and Magic Missile. We can only prepare one spell, so lenny is going to be pewpewing some Magic Missiles and then falling back on hitting things with our quarterstaff.
Level 2. We will take the School of Conjuration tradition. We can now make useful day to day items whenever we need them, from the practical manacles to a fancy tophat that makes Lenny feel better about himself. Our new spells will be Shield and Absorb Elements, but we still can't prepare more than one spell.
Level 3. New spells: Alter Self for fitting in better and Cloud of Daggers. Cloud of Daggers works pretty well with Lenny's good strength score and athletics proficiency. Still only one preparation slot though. More Magic Missiles it is.
Level 4. New spells: Misty Step and Rope Trick. And huzzah, we get a second prepared spell! Dont celebrate too hard, its high time we got some Mage Armor up in here. Considering we arent increasing our intelligence, our ASI are kind of open. Health and concentration saves are a good thing, so lets get resilient constitution. Our new cantrip is Friends, because Lenny wants friends.
Level 5. New spells: Counterspell and Summon Lesser Demons (SLD). We will use our new spell preparation to prepare SLD, as it is our best use of the highest spell slot we have at the moment. Remember that while these little blighters are also hostile to the party, these ones disappear when you stop concentration.
Level 6. New spells: Phantom Steed and Leomund's Tiny Hut. Both of these are rituals, so we can use our new preparation slot for Shield. We also get benign transposition, which is great for getting Lenny out of a jam.
Level 7. New spells: Conjure Minor Elementals (CME) and Dimension Door. We will replace SLD with CME and use our new prep slot for Absorb Elements.
Level 8. New spells: Fabricate and Greater Invisibility. Lenny was always good with his hands, and Greater Invisibility is a great utility and combat spell that gets our new Preparation. Our Asi is +2 to Constitution because Lenny is a healthy lad.
Level 9. New spells: Conjure Elemental (CE) and Rary's Telepathic Bond. CE will replace CME and Rary's is a ritual, so we get to prepare one of our other spells, like Counterspell.
Level 10. New Spells: Wall of Force and Passwall. Wall of Force is an excellent battlefield control spell that is a staple for a reason. We also get focused conjuration, so our friends can stay for the entire time. Yay.
Level 11. New spells: Dramijj's Instant Summons and Globe of Invulnerability. Dramijj's is a ritual so Globe of Invulnerability gets the prep slot. If the party ever goes against casters, GoI is invaluable; when upcast you can protect your entire party from magical misfortunes.
Level 12. New spells: Scatter and Soul Cage. Scatter is a great repositioning tool and Soul Cage lets Lenny keep new friends he finds. I'd give the preparation to Soul Cage. Our asi is +2 con again because Lenny is HEALTHY lad.
Level 13. New spells: Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion and Mirage Arcane. I would prep 3M, because Lenny deserves to live in the fancy house.
Level 14. New spells: Forcecage and Teleport. We prep teleport, because Lenny doesnt want his friends to die, so he'll send everyone to the far side of the planet. We also get Durable Summons so our friends can be as HEALTHY as Lenny.
Level 15. New spells: Antimagic Field and Mind Blank. Antimagic Field is for situational use because Globe of Invulnerability allows a similar use but lets you still cast; that said, sometimes you need to put an end to magical effects other than spells, and antimagic field is a good one stop shop. We prep mind blank, so that the rest of the party can experience the glorious zen state of mind that Lenny experiences daily.
Level 16. New spells: Simulacrum and Tenser's Transformation. Simulacrum will give Lenny the ultimate friend, and we prep Tenser' Transformation so that if he wants to, Lenny can SMASH. As our con is maxed, we take Tough, cus Lenny is a H E A L T H Y lad.
Level 17. New spells: Wish and Foresight. Now all of Lenny's lifelong wishes, like knowing what rainbows tastr like can come true. Prep wish.
Level 18. New spells: Invulnerability and Shapechange. Our Spell Mastery picks are Magic Missile and Misty Step. Magic missile is essentially our cantrip anyway. Prep Mirage Arcane
Level 19. New spells: whatever Lenny pleases. Asi: whatever Lenny pleases, as he ate all his vegetables and can have his dessert now. Prep scatter
Level 20. New spells: whatever Lenny pleases. Signature spells: Counterspell and SLD. This also frees up a preparations slot for whatever you want.
There. The journey of Lenny the 6 Intelligence wizard.
I did similar, but I went with all the armored feats so I could wear plate and max strength. And with Transmutation I can get resistance if I need it, or Proficiency in Con Saves. Not nearly as healthy, but Tenser’s gives you a nice temp HP each time.
https://ddb.ac/characters/30827204/8AzEB4
I think it's just silly. Sure, casters with low int or whatever can work, but 6 int is silly. Your save DC is -2 and so someone can see through illusions with an 8. I don't mind doing a half orc with just 15 int or at least 12. I don't think that this character would be much fun in combat.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
You don’t choose Save vs spells. Luckily, the Wizard has a TON of spells that don’t need saves. That’s kind of the point ya know?
Yes, but with minor illusion I was stating. Because they specifically chose it. I mean, go ahead, play what you want. I can't tell you what you like, but if a wizard is bad at spellcasting, and in melee you can only use a quarterstaff at best, and your ac and hp are low or middling. I would not find this character fun, but I guess it's not about me.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Its a challenge. Beyond that, playing the "grog" of wizards would be a total mixup from playing a standard wizard. Rp-wise i think this concept would be quite interesting to play.
If you notice, every spell i suggest does NOT rely on intelligence (or at least if a spell i suggest has a saving throw it is for an alternate casting, such as scatter). The main thing is the lack of a damage Cantrip, which especially hurts at low levels.
As for minor illusion in particular, it depends on how your table rules illusions. Technically, while they do only need an 8 perception, they still need to use their action to do the skill check. Wasting an enemy turn is not useless.
I completely agree. Take fjord from critical role. Using standard array, and starting at level one with nothing else, he would have 15 charisma. For me, that is fun. I play a high elf lore bard, who started off with 15 charisma. I took my charisma to 17 at level 3. Lore bard is about spells, and so I am set back marginally. But you have a big gap. I hope you enjoy playing as them!
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
You can take Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade is you kept your strength up. And if you get a moderate attack bonus and a bonus action attack (PAM or Dual Wielder), Tenser’s Transformation becomes one of the most consistent damaging combinations in the game.
i like it, the challenge would make a very memorable player character. I started playing D&D 30 years ago and i don't remember any of my characters who had 18-20+ stats...not one. Of all the characters i've had that i DO remember, the one i remember most fondly was my rogue who started with a dex of 5. he was epic.
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