There was a bit of a lull between this and the last one, I will explain that later. But here we are, the final Class Act*! This is my series of re-examining the classes from D&D in order to work on the playbooks for my game, Heroes By Hearthlight.
WIZARDS! The nice thing here is that I almost don't have to say anything here- the idea of wizards is so culturally pervasive that it just IS. The key characteristic of the D&D wizard is that anyone can become one. You aren't blessed or chosen, it doesn't matter who your ancestors were- you just need to hit the books. But by the same token, Wizards aren't people who have had power thrust upon them but instead sought it out. They are innately curious, trying to quantify these vast mystical powers, and have the hubris to believe they can.
In terms of gameplay, they are the most complicated spellcasting class in 3E/Pathfinder. The divine classes (druid and cleric) have access to their entire spell lists and choose which to prepare each day. Sorcerers and Bards are spontaneous casters with a limited pool of spells but can simply spend a spell slot when they choose what to cast- they don't need to have decided beforehand. Wizards also have a limited amount of spells by default, the few spells the keep in their spellbook, and they must prepare all their spells in advance. Being a Wizard is very classically D&D, because preparation is the key to your survival. Figuring out what will be the best use of your resources and divining what dangers you will face. However, Wizards can write any spell they come across into their spellbook, having the potential to learn every arcane spell in the game. This is a goal I've heard many players set out to achieve. Like I said, wizards and hubris.
Casters are all represented by their relationship to power. Sorcerers are power incarnate, raw potential that can be tapped to devastating effect. Warlocks are power achieved, they found a shortcut to being greater than mortals and will suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives. Wizards are power pursued, an unending hunger for greater knowledge. The other were given their keys to the kingdom, but you shall earn it- yours is the journey to see how high you will fly. Icarus watching those around him burn to death and too blind to see them as himself, instead thinking "That won't happen to me, I'm far too clever."
I have a strange relationship with wizards I've played. The first character I ever made was when I was a child and allowed to play a single session with my parents when a family friend got them to try it out. We got ambushed by kobolds and my dad's character got shot by an arrow. Cartoons had taught me to pull it out and the DM surprised me by having me roll damage and I killed him. So that's how I learned that life lesson about traumatic blood loss. Then when my main D&D/Pathfinder group first switched to 3E and I got my first character killed during the first session I got handed a Wizard by the DM. It was an npc that had been introduced and he had a great stat roll so I was essentially being handed a character with training rolls. Unfortunately, after a few sessions we were in some caves fighting monsters and I grew bored and tried to be bold. Our GM had described an opening in a wall with water leading down. I had assumed that was the entrance to the next level and throwing caution to the wind I announced that I jumped down it. And I was asked the question all Gamemasters love and all players fear, "Are you sure?". I figured the worst that would happen is I would be in the front if there were enemies up front but I wanted to be daring and not just cower behind the others, I said "Yeah, I'm sure". And that's how my wizard died- pulled under by the current of an underground river and crushed to death by rocks.
Always fear water in your games, it will always be your greatest enemy. I share this story both because it's very funny but also because it points out a really interesting change we see in table mentality nowadays. I misunderstood the situation, acted on it, and had my character die. If I did that to a player now, they'd riot- players don't want their characters to be made to look foolish. "Well, even if I spaced out and didn't understand- my character is there and wouldn't just do that!" And I don't necessarily want to say that's untrue but I do think people should temper that feeling, because it detracts from a type of storytelling. I recall seeing advice from Arkane about playing Dishonored that you shouldn't reload when you get caught or things don't go your way- instead lean into the hectic joy of running away or having things just blow up in your face. Because that's how you get stories to tell. Not the big overarching campaign stories, but the small ones you tell around the table about this dumb thing that happened that made everyone laugh. In Dishonored you don't get those fun stories about this run where everything went hilariously wrong and what happened if you just reload as soon as things turn south. And the same is true if you try and play your character as perfect and not making mistakes- if you do, lean into it, and just embrace the mess. You might have to make a new character, but you'll also get a tale. And that's what we are here, to find the stories that will emerge from play.
Alright we touched on history, both mechanic and personal, so let's get into the actual playbook.
SPELLBOOK is our power. Spending a charge prepares an extra spell, 1 charge/load of spell. A very uncomplicated ability that gives the Wizard a lovely amount of versatility. They can cast more spells without having increase their loadout and with the FitD "flashback" logic you get to play that you had the right spell prepared for this very moment. Putting in a single upgrade here lets you prepare an extra heavy spell which can greatly increase the overall output of the Wizard. I think this ability is easy to understand, use, and fits the theme. Gold star.
TIME STOP is our alternate power use, spending a charge of SPELLBOOK to slow time and make the wizard's next roll in a controlled position. I really love the notion of turning some powerful spells into special abilities rather than spells, and I love how this came together. This is an iconic spell and it creates such a simple but powerful effect. In a controlled position, you are at minimal risk to yourself and if you fail- you can reroll by increasing your position to risky. Versatile enough to work in about any situation- the one limitation here is that it applies only to the Wizard, which I like. No notes
THE MIDNIGHT OIL gives you an extra downtime action to spend on crafting or long-term projects. Perfect for the wizard who is regularly thought of brewing potions and crafting spells. The theming is also broad enough to be something that is suitable for any other night owl characters who wanna pick this up.
DIVINATION let's you assist an ally twice without spending any stress. A great support ability and one the reinforces the Wizard having prepared for everything. The ability could be rewritten to clarify the fact that it's the first two times you assist someone, not that you can assist each ally for free twice. Also that this resets each adventure. Personally, I feel like that's a pretty basic inference but clarity will help other tables run smooth. I also think the name could be more evocative- still divinatory but maybe broader and more appealing to non-wizards as well.
ACADEMY-TRAINED and BOOKWYRM are our smarty-pants Lore abilities. Academy-Trained lets you speak a multitude of languages and gives you a broad education, as well as +1d when you roll Lore during downtimes. I really like those allowances because they are useful things you can point to in order to gain leverage or bypass some rolls. Bookwyrm is another FitD staple- letting you spend stress to roll your Lore rating while performing a different action. There's a couple different versions of this going around, and I'm still somewhat torn whether I prefer the stress cost or making this a 1/session trick. I'll keep it as is for now.
META-MAGIC is our push ability. Whenever you push you can either shift a spell's elemental type or range, or you can cast the spell covertly showing no signs that you were the one who did it. This covers a pretty wide swath of meta-magic concepts from D&D and I like how it can broaden the versatility of rotes and cantrips. Not to mention you can switch elements on the fly as need be for your heaviest attack spells.
WONDERS NEVER CEASE is one of my favorite little abilities. Whenever you encounter something strange, wondrous, or arcane for the first time you can gain 1 xp or clear 1 stress. It paints that curiosity in a fun light and creates a really nice engine for gaining xp and clearing stress- I could see it being abused but I also think it's something that will be tempered by players forgetting to trigger it all the time. It is also a great one for any adventurer.
AZURE MYSTICISM is my send-up to blue magic from Final Fantasy. Whenever you see an unknown spell cast, you can attempt to learn it with a Lore roll and if successful you create a clock as though you started a Spellcraft project. It doesn't let you immediately clone a spell but it gets the Wizard immediately started on deconstructing what they saw. It creates the possibility of the wizard running around with a bunch of half-deciphered spells and that's very fun and creates fun choices during downtime of what research to pursue.
Hell yeah, that's the Wizard and I am good with these across the board. One or two small changes but nothing major. Glad, I saved it for last because I honestly need the brain power to update the game pdf. Speaking of which, when will I get around to doing it?
Yep, if you are reading this, then the Heroes by Hearthlight pdf has already been updated with all the changes from this series. I wish I could say I was smart and updated as I went but in honesty, this is what I spent the last few days doing instead of writing up the wizard.
Okay let's finish off with some comic recommendations for the Wizard.
**JED MACKAY'S DOCTOR STRANGE - MacKay continues to hit it out of the park with weird, mystic heroes. This is a story that's switched between series so it begins with THE DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE continues into STRANGE and is now just DOCTOR STRANGE. It starts off with Dr Strange needing to solve his own murder, leads into his wife taking over as Sorcerer Supreme and trying to resurrect him, and now the two of them working together. It's a fun and wild time and I love Clea so fucking much and those two are starting to approach Gomez/Morticia level couple goals moments.
**FULLMETAL ALCHMIST - I feel like I am maybe cheating a tiny bit here because this is such a known quantity but if people haven't read it then fucking get on it. You've got a whole militaristic order of wizards pursuing forbidden knowledge that they shouldn't. An all time classic and often called one of the best anime and manga ever made, and I won't dispute that.
*Until we get to the expansions