Assuming you don’t have any good combat magic items that you want to use…
10. Make a ranged attack with a sling or other weapon you (the wizard) can use. If you are in the front a melee attack is possible instead, but hopefully you stayed in the back of the party. (Don’t worry, the list gets better! This is a basic action that has to be mentioned first.)
9. Hold the torch/lantern. Having a character hold and move the light source allows the light to be moved as the combat moves. Otherwise, the torch has to be dropped on the ground and the light may not reach part of the combat area.
8. Heal a comrade. If another character is dying, you can move (if the path is safe) to the other character and try to use your healing skill to stop the other character from dying.
7. Dole out potions. This action requires some planning but if the you are holding on to a bunch of potions you can move and give one to whichever character can best use it.
6. Put on some armor. Heck, you’re out of spells anyway so the arcane spell failure doesn’t matter. Even if you’re not proficient in any type of armor the penalties don’t matter because you’re unlikely to jump or climb in the middle of battle and it isn’t like your attacks had a decent chance of hitting, so why not? (This probably would take too long to do in the middle of combat.)
5. Move to flank an opponent. Once in a while this might only be a slightly bad idea. Both you and your comrade will get a bonus to hit.
4. Throw some acid or alchemist’s fire at an opponent. This is slightly better than flinging a stone with your sling because it only takes a ranged touch to hit.
3. Finish off a foe. Maybe you put someone to sleep or held them earlier in the battle when you still had spells left. Now is the time to finish that foe off.
2. Hide. Don’t simply try to hide in shadows. Duck completely behind some furniture or move around the corner ensuring you’ll have 100% cover.
1. Be the first to loot the bodies of the foes who fell early in battle!
I’d add
#11 Be the first to loot the bodies of the your comrades who fell early in battle!
Magic ring? Torak had a magic ring? I do not recall magic ring?
[...] Continued… This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 11:55 am and is filed under combat, player tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]
You forget the Taunt skill! I prefer crossbows to slings, myself; be careful not to launch friendly fire on an ally. Caltrops are useful, be sure to lay them nearby if you retreat from melee. Watch to target enemy spellcasters with your missile attack, as even a rock can disrupt concentration. See if your GM/DM will allow you to do some kind of intelligence/knowledge check to figure out the weaknesses of your enemy; perhaps he’ll even allow you to carry a book that would give you a bonus! Or just track the effectiveness of various attacks, so you might notice that Jo would be better off using her axe than her warhammer.
If you’ve the strength, carry extra spears, arrows or bolts. If the party archer runs out, you might do better giving her yours! Giving your arrows an effective +4 to hit by giving them to a more skilled archer would be a move worthy of Merlin.
See if you can understand the speech of the enemy. You may be able to recognize a command, giving your allies an extra round to react! Or even discover WHY they are attacking and save yourself the trouble, And if you do happen to speak the language of the enemy, you could very easily be able to spread confusion. Or just try repeating what the enemy boss said a minute ago!
Smoke screens and other MacGuyverisms. Perhaps you could topple a broken pillar on an enemy, forcing him to retreat, or con him into charging you when you stand in front of a pool of acid. (Be sure to dodge well and early; klutzes should leave this one to the party rogue.)
If you are well defended from enemy fire, pretend to cast spells to confuse the enemy. Especially useful against enemy spellcasters who love to counterspell!
Bamsmacks: I first heard about these in “Aurora’s” (a Dungeon’s and Dragon’s version of the Sears Catalog.) They are noisemakers, like little firecrackers, that can be used to distract and confuse an enemy.
Let loose the enemy’s horses. This one gets them every time!
You forgot the most obvious one – RUN!!!
And the second most obvious one. Die.
I thought this was going to be a comic strip… come on, spells aren’t the only thing wizards have. Here’s my (better) list:
10- Pull out your Greatsword of Marital Bliss (a cursed item) and strike your enemies with the slow death of marriage
9- Jab enemies in the eyes like you learned at the academy of the great archmages Laurel and Hardy
8- Scream like a sissy and rely on the sympathy and/or disgust of others
7- Do cartwheels around the battlefield drawing enemy fire as comrades kill without remorse
6- Stab yourself in the leg, earning you a ticket home and the title of “Nutless Wonder”
5- Scream “WAIT, I’M ON YOUR SIDE!!” and then run away amidst confusion
4- Rip off your shirt like a martial artist and flex as enemies die from laughter
3- With great theatrical skill, pretend like the worst spells have yet to come and watch as enemies run in fear
2- Pull out the “Red Button” scroll and cast it, only to discover it’s a male enhancement spell
1- Realize you aren’t a wizard, laugh silently, and continue braining opponents like the savage you are
[...] Alternate Rules/Ideas for Spellcasters out of Spells? I’ve been kicking around ideas for some alternate rules or something for spellcasters who run out of spells early in an adventuring day. I’ve thought about this issue before and even put together a tongue-in-cheek top 10 list on the subject. [...]