How can I contribute as a wizard at low levels?

Question

I hear that full casters are considered the best in pathfinder, but a lot of campaigns that I seem to play in never make it past level 5 or 6. I'd like to play wizard, but right as I'm about to become useful the campaign fizzles out.

At low levels I feel like I'm more of a hindrance than a help. I fire a magic missile or two, then shoot a light crossbow or something and die in one or two hits from just about anything. At level three, second level spells help the situation a lot, but levels one and two in particular are quite brutal.

How can I build my wizard in such a way that he's useful in combat at all levels, not just once he can cast fireball? Is it futile to expect a wizard to stand up to the fighters, and even clerics, at such low levels?

Answer 1

Low-level wizards measure up fine because…

Low-level combats are incredibly lethal

In a group of brand new, fresh-from-the-core-rules group of PCs, the wizard—with his bad Armor Class, bad weapon proficiencies, low hp, middlin' class features, and 2 or 3 spells per day—will appear to be unable to measure up to the killin'-all-the-time fighter or the I've-spells-and-armor-and-weapons-and-channeling cleric.

But, then, look at this orc. He has AC 13 and 6 hp, but he's attacking at +5 to hit for 2d4+4. His ferocity extraordinary ability gives him sort of, like, 10 extra hp, and that falchion—with its wide threat range—makes a lot of level 1 characters just dead.

There're 3 of those orcs in an EL 1 encounter.

And you can expect 4 encounters each day.

There's a lot of adventurer blood on those falchions, and it's not all wizard blood… although it may feel that way sometimes.

Beginning wizards use crossbows

Most folks who sign up to play wizards think they're going to get to play Raistlin, Gandalf, or Harry Potter, but then, after winning the the day's first and second encounters via the spells color spray or sleep, those beginning wizards are out of spells and stuck with their light crossbows.

You know what that makes them? Crossbowmen. A beginning wizard without spells should act like an archer because he is. An archer stays in the back. An archer delays and readies until he's got a clear shot. An archer lets his party know if someone needs to move. An archer moves if he can't get a clear shot. An archer spends some of his treasure on archery stuff—masterwork bolts just aren't that expensive, and a dozen is probably enough. An archer uses cover. A crossbowman can even drop prone to avoid enemy missile fire and keep firing. Seriously, a beginning wizard can apply his arcane bond class feature to a light crossbow and just start with a masterwork one:

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.

Such a wizard will take crap from theoretical optimizers, but, y'know, it doesn't matter how awesome a character would've been if he's dead.

Low-level combats are supposed to teach everybody how combat—mundane and magical—will be run with that GM in that campaign, and all players and characters need to be on the same page for when they engage in bigger combats with nastier threats later.

A sample shopping list

A starting wizard has an average of 70 gp. Here's a possible shopping list:

• crossbow, light (35 gp; 4 lbs.)
• bolts, crossbow (20) (2 gp; 2 lbs.)
• club (3 lbs.; 0 gp), dagger (1 lbs.; 2 gp), and/or quarterstaff (0 gp; 4 lbs.)
• leather armor (10 gp; 15 lbs.)
• spell component pouch (5 gp; 2 lbs.)
• sacks (6) (6 sp; 3 lbs.) for loot

Rolling well on starting wealth adds to this list the following:

• scroll of cure light wounds (1st-level spell at caster level 1) (25 gp; 0 lbs.) that's then given to a PC who can use it

With this load, the starting wizard casts his 2 to 4 spells per day then dons leather armor and becomes a crossbowman. The wizard should even rest in that leather armor, too, if he's cast all his spells for the day anyway.

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Alternatives

It's understandable that most wizards don't want to be crossbowmen. Here're some ways out of that bind.

Patient wizards contribute more and live longer

Having a beginning wizard in the party is a burden. He needs his beauty sleep to prepare spells. He's got a really wide but very shallow power meter. After one or maybe two encounters the wizard should encourage the party to knock off for the day, reminding the party that—despite their impatience—it's better to have their wizard at full power than have just another crossbowman.

Encourage the GM to start the campaign at a level greater than 1

This might be the real problem. Some GMs never get the idea that campaigns can start at any level the GM wants. Really, there are very, very few pieces of media that simulate a character's growth from Wizard Who Casts Sleep Once Per Day to Wizard Who Casts Wish Thrice Per Day, and, really, most folks want to play something in between anyway. Talk to the GM. See if the GM'd be willing to start a campaign at level 3 or 6 or 10 or whatever instead of always 1. Or start such a campaign yourself—then your bad guys are casting at the PCs the awesome spells you've always wanted your characters to cast (and now those are your characters!), and when those bad guys are defeated, you get to try different bad guys with different spells versus the PCs.

Answer 2

Wizards are not designed to be DPR machines like other combatants.

The wizard's usefulness lies in his versatility. You should be doing things other than casting magic missile.

Magic missile itself is kind of a trap. It does low damage at low levels at the cost of your precious level 1 spell slots. For a slight decrease in damage, you can prep a damage dealing cantrip which you can cast an unlimited number of times. (Generally, I tend to skip prepping any direct damage spells unless I think my wizards might be alone part of the day or I think I will need it to bypass DR.)

Things you should be casting beside magic missile:

Cantrips: acid splash, ray of frost, daze, disrupt undead, detect magic, prestidigitation

Level 1 spells: grease, sleep, color spray, obscuring mist

Answer 3

Expanding on the other answers, in some Pathfinder-specific ways:

1. Familiar. In Pathfinder, the negative consequence of losing a familiar is just not having a familiar for some time (you're not screwed all around). Having something as simple and natural as a Raven familiar makes all the difference between "we walk the road and oops are ambushed" and we "walk the road, Corvus sees the ambush, we [deal with it some smart way]". That's just one example.
2. Bonded object. This is alternative to a familiar. It allows you to cast one extra spell (any spell, as long as it's in your book) each day, for a total of 4 (assuming you are a specialist, because, in Pathfinder, you should be). Note how this number corresponds with recommended number of encounters per day. One real spell per encounter is not bad - you should attempt and expect to disable more than one opponent with a spell, thus being the most effective party member as long as you can arrange things right.

3. Cantrips. In Pathfinder, these are infinite, so you are never really out of spells.

   • Acid splash: with a small sturdy bottle of acid in your pouch to act as an alchemical power component (focus), you can deal 1d3+1 as ranged touch attack all day every day. This does no less than 2 hp damage on a hit, so very useful for finishing off things your party fighter did not quite drop. DM should allow this to ignore DR of objects made from ferrous metals (locks, bars, chains, ...).
   • Daze: you do nothing useful this round, orc does nothing useful this round. Might be just what you want. Once per target.

The key thing here is that, as a wizard, it's not enough that your character is listed as smart. You have much more options than "I swing at them", and are both more fragile and potentially more powerful. You have to play him smart. Just to contrast an otherwise good advice of acting crossbowman: sure, you do that in the hills, but in the dungeon (especially tight dungeon) things are different. Shooting at an opponent engaged in melee with party member, from behind said party member, is done at -8, so you better employ something else, be that Daze or a longspear at -4. This is just an example of things to consider, and the more things you consider, the better off you will be.

Further reading: Treantmonk's Guide to Pathfinder Wizards.

Answer 4

As there's many posts here, I'm just going to try to add stuff that other have not mentioned or provided.

Here's something to take into consideration:

• Ensure Constitution is one of your main stats. This will definitely help early on, allowing you to make it that 1 extra round to get far enough away or to heal. [Not a requirement, but can be really nice]
• Pay attention to the battlefield- Knowing where to be and where not to be can make or break your Wizard (or any character for that matter). If the majority of your attack spells have a decent range, try to stay at that range, (and if you're not using a play-mat, make it clear that your at your max range without any penalties AND that you're taking out any other ranged opponents first so you don't have to worry about them. Use your 5-foot steps, and readied actions whenever possible. [This also ties in with taking cover, but other have mentioned that]
• Know what spells to take- I'm not going to give a review of the '5 best spells' or 'level-1 must have wizard spells', but try to provide you with the knowledge to know what to look for. Early on, don't get too bogged down in utility spells, instead focus on party buffs and attacks. It's always good to have at least 1 offensive and 1 defensive cantrip (level-0) spell on hand, so it doesn't matter how many encounters you face or spells you've cast, you've always got something "Wizardy" to do. [As opposed to being a crossbowmen or archer as described in other answers] You might not have the versatility you normally would, but give it a few levels/encounters and you'll have enough spells copied, that you're not missing anything.
• Least popular answer- Don't get into so many fights.... A band of goblins coming down the road? Ignore them or hide. Bandits? Try to bargain with them. And if you can't skip the fight. Try to do creative things to slow the enemies down or use your environment to your advantage.

Answer 5

The first levels of any caster rely on versatility and filling in roles that the party cannot quite cover. Focus on spells that provide crowd control like: Daze, Hypnotism, Grease, and Sleep. Sleep is a will saving throw, you have a range of 100ft + 10ft per caster level and you effect all creatures, of 4hd or lower, within a 10ft burst radius. If you succeed, your opponents are rendered helpless and your party can coup de grace. Grease is a reflex saving throw else they immediately fall prone, and an acrobatics check for them to navigate over it, you can also cast it on your opponents weapons to force them to drop them or on your allies armor to provide +10 escape artist / cmd against grapples.

Take an aoe spell like Burning Hands to handle swarms, and use spells like Mage Armor or Shield if you feel your character is getting hit too much. Magic Missile is mostly useful when against opponents that have damage reduction or elemental resistances, it is good to have, but not something you want to rely on 100% of the time. Under Transmutation check out the spell Enlarge Person, and Expeditious Retreat. Expeditious retreat is self cast, but will allow you to maneuver, reposition or even escape from combat much easier. Enlarge Person increases the target one size category and gives them a +2 size bonus to strength, -2 size penalty to Dex, -1 to atk and ac, but also gives the target 10ft reach and increases their weapon size! (Spell is on page 278, the weapon size increase is found on page 145 of the CR). Your fighter was once wielding a greatsword (2d6), they are now wielding a greatsword (3d6) with 10ft reach!

Aside from spells, taking toughness as a feat early on is a good option, especially if your character is lacking in Constitution. Some of the most helpful wizard spells are ones that are used out of combat such as: Comprehend Language, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Mending, Unseen Servant, etc.

Answer 6

Look for spells with long durations or whose effects will last a long time. Color spray is, of course, good, because it is basically a level 1 cone save-or-die for any encounter you'll be facing before you get level 2 spells. Any other spell, then, needs to be doing something better than winning a single encounter by itself (which is a pretty tall order). Consider taking two-world magic as a trait for access to create water (if your party has no cleric) which is an amazingly useful level 0 spell precisely because its duration is unlimited. Stop focusing on combat because you are NOT a blaster at level 1 (assuming you are a universalist wizard); you are a support character. You are basically the best support ever, but still support. Learn Rope Trick (to hide from pursuit while on the run from an encounter gone wrong- with the rest of the party), Tenser's Floating Disk (to carry everything ever, and also for first-level psuedoflight. Also grants cover against attacks from below (your GM may, reasonably, make this partial cover if the attacker is not directly below you (in which case you have total cover))), detect secret doors (much better at level 2 than level 1, since 20 rounds is enough to scour a huge portion of dungeon while 10 feels kinda small), Undine's Curse (situational save-or-die that doesn't involve telling everyone that you're a mage and you are here), etc.

If you take the life specialization, you're a better healer than a Cleric out of battle, as you can burn you cantrips (which count as 1/2 level for all purposes despite being '0-level' spells) to heal everybody up to full health all day every day, 1/2 hp at a time. You may not want to do this, as you will have to put up with all the stuff that the party cleric normally has to put up with.

If you want to be a blaster at level 1, play a fighter. Note, however, that the low level advantage is overcome sometime around level 2-3.

If you REALLY want to be a blaster and you are sure you're mostly gonna play levels 2-5, consider being a multiclass mage. Multiclass casters get a lot of crap because at high levels higher level spells are way more important than spell volume. However, at level 4 a Wizard/Sorcerer/Witch/Oracle can pump out about 20 level 1 spells a day, something like half of which are spontaneous. You will also never fail a Will save, ever, even against dedicated casters twice your level, which is kinda nice. Unfortunately, you have no second-level spells and no future, which sucks. Take leadership if the game hits level 6 and hire one of those single-classed optimized mages as a cohort. He can share in the bounty of your low-level superiority.

Answer 7

I've been running a sandbox Pathfinder game with OSR sensibilities for some time. Characters are between 1st and maybe 6th level (it is not really my business to know what level the characters are). The following are observations about how low-level characters, including spellcasters, have been useful in the game, where there typically is a mix of character of different levels in play at once. A wizard without spells is essentially a character of lower level than its companions, so I feel this is relevant.

The question does not describe the style of play of the group in any way; if you are on a railroad, or facing a set number of balanced encounters, then some of this advice is likely to not be useful, and might even be disruptive. Discuss the style of play with your game master, if necessary.

Before combat, prepare and predict

This is the most important step. You have intelligence and presumably knowledge skills, and maybe even divination spells. Ask questions like: What kinds of dangerous animals live here? What kind of terrain are we moving into? Are there any humanoids around here? What kinds of slimes and molds prefer limestone dungeons? Are such dungeons prone to having hidden pits or structural weaknesses, or are there fragile walls there? What legends are there about Magnififex and did they have particular servants when alive? What gods did they worship and what are the symbols, servant animals, and signature architecture of them?

Buy, and encourage others to buy, relevant equipment. Prepare spells accordingly. Make notes and consider anything strange you meet during the adventure.

In combat, consider all your options and be flexible

Many dedicated combat characters have a large opportunity cost to doing things in which they are not specialized. You do not have this "problem" - you roll pretty much everything at around +0 when trying to make any test in combat, and deal modest damage. This gives you half a chance of succeeding at any DC 10 test (or attack against AC 10 target), one fourth a chance at DC 15 tests, and desperate chances at DC 20 tests. Estimate the expected benefit of your action and act accordingly.

Whereas the barbarian is usually inefficient if they do not attack someone, you might try aiding that barbarian, tripping their target (with a reach weapon or after they no longer have attacks of opportunity available), bull rushing someone down a cliff, throwing caltrops on someone's way, etc. You are not that effective anyway, so there is room for using all the fun, but rarely used, tools.

Ranged attacks

Consider a crossbow.

Attack where the enemy is weak

Grab a familiar and take them hostage. Grapple the enemy wizard. Attack the goblin servants and stay clear of the ogre boss.

Reach weapons and melee

In addition to using ranged weapons, you might also consider a reach weapon. This allows you to attack into melee from some measure of safety, and also discourages enemies approaching you. If you can set the weapon against charge, it is even better. Also consider readying an attack against the first enemy to approach you. This should deter many opponents with only 1 HD, as many of them do care for their life.

Also recall that you can try to use combat maneuvers with reach without suffering an attack of opportunity (unless the enemy has reach, too). This might be useful against small or weak targets, such as other spellcasters.

Aiding another only requires a DC 10 attack roll and gives +2 to an ally. This is particularly useful against enemies with high armour class. Dress modestly, and many an enemy might ignore the feeble henchman that you are, and instead focus on the actual threat in front of them.

Do something useful besides attacking

If characters in your group have grenade-like weapons, caltrops, scrolls, potions, etc., volunteer to carry and use them. If someone is down, consider first aid to stabilize them, so that your allies can focus on the melee. Look around you (a move action) to spot enemy reinforcements, pertinent details, traps, etc. Carry a tower shield and use it to restrict enemy movement. Load crossbows for a more skilled archer. Interrogate or guard a prisoner. Intimidate. Carry the torch or the lantern.

You can, during a single round, move your speed and set a tower shield to act as a wall. If facing entrenched archers, move to protect one of you allies and set the shield. You will get total cover from the shield and your ally will get cover from you.

Use the environment

Burn, topple and snatch things. Pull the lever or push the button, if things look desperate. Consider bull rushing someone down the cliff if they have already used their attack of opportunity. Set things on fire, or extinguish them. Throw the strange powder into the campfire close to the enemies and hope it does something interesting.

Pulling it together

Prepare for combats by trying to get useful equipment and positioning yourself, and your allies, in a clever way. Climb into a tree if wolves are approaching and kill them with the crossbow.

During combat, if your team is doing well, main the status quo and use reliable maneuvers - aid another, attack low AC targets, try first aid if an ally is down so that the cleric can finish an enemy.

During a combat, if a TPK is imminent, figure out what would be enough to turn the tide and do whatever gives the largest chance for that to happen. Cause as much chaos as possible.

Answer 8

If gold/xp/time are available, try scribing (or just buying) some first level scrolls. They will greatly expand the number of available spells as well as saving headspace by storing utility spells for when they might be needed.

Answer 9

Craft: Alchemy! A wizard without ranks in Alchemy is like a fighter without armor. With alchemical creations at low levels you can deal damage, blind, freeze water, slow and/or stick enemies to the ground, climb, avoid falling damage, heal (while resting), stabilize dying team members, provide smokescreens (like obscuring mist), debuff enemies, provide light and maybe other things I can't remember.

Answer 10

If you want to carry your party in battle by just dealing damage, you may want to try out the Warmage.

Warmages studied in military academies and they are specialized in dealing damage during battles and finding the most useful strategy to tear their enemy down. In fact, they (almost) only have Evocation spells.

They also can wear light armors and shields without penalties in casting spells (you may want to get a buckler to be able to cast spells with somatic components), and their hit die is d6. This grants you more survivability in battle;

Oh, and you add your Int modifier to your spells' damage! While this feature does not scale well in late game, in early levels it's pretty good.

Unfortunately, AFAIK there is not an official Warmage conversion from 3.5e to Pathfinder, but you could use one of the unofficial conversions if your GM allows you to do it. You can find one here.

Alternatively you could try a Magus which IS a Pathfinder class, albeit the class only gets up to 6th level spells, not 9th.