Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Preview #12

Pathfiner Roleplaying Game Preview #12

The last base class preview is reserved for what can be one of the most complicated class to play since 3.x. Let's take a look at the wizard with Ezren, 10th level male human wizard.

Ezren
Male human wizard 10
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +12
Defense
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +2 deflection, –1 Dex)
hp 57 (10d6+20)
Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +11
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +3 club +8 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks hand of the apprentice (9/day, +11 ranged), metamagic mastery (2/day)
Spells Prepared (CL 10th)
5th—cone of cold (DC 21), teleport, wall of force
4th—dimension door, enervation, ice storm, stoneskin
3rd—dispel magic, fireball (DC 19), fly, haste
2nd—bull's strength, invisibility, mirror image, scorching ray (2), web (DC 18)
1st—alarm, magic missile (3), ray of enfeeblement, shield
0—detect magic, light, mage hand, read magic
Statistics
Str 11, Dex 9, Con 12, Int 22, Wis 15, Cha 9
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 21
Feats Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Defensive Combat Training, Empower Spell, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell
Skills Appraise +19, Fly +12, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Knowledge (engineering) +19, Knowledge (geography) +19, Knowledge (history) +19, Knowledge (planes) +19, Perception +12, Spellcraft +19
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Orc
SQ arcane bond (cane), cantrips
Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds, scroll of dispel magic, wand of magic missile (CL 9th, 50 charges); Other Gear ring of protection +2, cloak of resistance +2, bracers of armor +4, cane (treat as a club), bead of force, blessed book, headband of vast intelligence +2 (Perception), pearl of power (3rd level)

Some slight changes to the wizard class features, spells and feats.

• Specialist wizards gain bonus spells as in 3.x but universalist wizards now gain a couple of powers; Hand of the Apprentice and Metamagic Mastery.


• Hand of the Apprentice allows a wizard with a standard action to make a thrown weapon attack with a melee weapon within a range of 30 ft. The wizard uses his Intelligence modifier instead of his Dexterity to make the attack roll but still uses Strength modifier to determine the damage. It cannot perform a combat maneuver and can only be used 3+intelligence modifier times per day.


• At 8th level, a universalist wizard gains metamagic mastery which he can use 1/day and gains an additional usage for each 2 levels beyond that. With metamagic mastery, the wizard can augment a spell he has prepared with a metamagic effect without increasing the spell level. The wizard must spend one usage of his mastery for each level increase the metamagic feat would normally cost. A wizard cannot use metamagic mastery to augment a spell that would normally become beyond his highest casting spell level.


• Specialist wizards can still cast spells from their prohibited schools but it cost an additional memory slot to memorize the spell.


• The Scry & Teleport combo is now much riskier since Scry only counts as 'view once' for the purpose of teleportation which means there is a 25% chance of something going wrong.


• Wall of Force (and other force barrier spells) have 30 hardness and 20 hitpoints per caster level.


• Fly comes with a bonus to the Fly skill which means that untrained flyers won't be performing aerial acrobatics.


• Web grapples any target within the area of effect if they failed their saving throw. Those that succeed can only move if they make a successful Grapple or Escape Artist check. Those who enter the area of effect are grappled and stopped on the first square they enter if they failed their saving throw and those that succeed move through the area as difficult terrain.


• Ray of Enfeeblement allows the target to make a Fort save to reduce the Strength penalty by half.


• Arcane Bond allows a wizard to get a familiar or to bond with a weapon. A bonded weapon allows the wizard to cast one spell that he knows and capable of casting without preparation, once per day. He can also enchant the weapon as if he has the feats as long as he meet the minimum prerequisite level of the feat.


• However, the wizard must make a concentration check to cast spells if he does not have his bonded weapon in hand.


• Combat Casting gives a +20 bonus to Concentration check.


• Arcane Strike uses a swift action to give +3 enchantment bonus to his bonded weapon for one round and it stacks with Hand of the Apprentice.


• Defensive Combat Training uses the character's level as the base attack bonus to calculate his CMD.

Although most of the arcane spells in Pathfinder seems to have been nerfed for the most part but I think this gives a better fighting chance for PCs and NPCs by removing the one-spell kill deadliness.

I like the balance they have done for the universalist and specialist wizard which makes both of them an equally powerful options for anyone who is playing as a wizard.

What do you think about the Pathfinder wizard?