Using the Wizard Character Design Rules

In case you aren’t familiar with point-based character design, here’s how it works: You get to decide which class abilities and which hindrances your character will have during his adventuring career. For example, if you want your wizard character to have the hit points and fighting ability of a priest, you can select the appropriate abilities to do so—but chances are good that your character will have to make serious sacrifices elsewhere in order to get this advantage.

When you custom-design a wizard, your character begins with 40 character points. Each ability you select for your character costs character points, but you can gain extra points by choosing limitations. Unless you spend points on special powers or select special limitations, your wizard character uses a four-sided Hit Die, uses the wizard’s THAC0 and saving throw charts, gains the ability to cast wizard spells as noted in the PHB on Table 21 : Wizard Spell Progression, may use any magical item normally usable by wizards, may not wear armor, and is limited to the following weapons: dagger, dart, knife, sling, or staff. Note that your customized wizard character must spend points to gain schools from which he can cast spells.

Under these rules, you are under no obligation to build your character as a mage or a specialist wizard. Your character’s powers and spell schools will be determined entirely by your choices here. However, for your convenience you may want to use these basic wizard classes as starting points. If you decide to begin the customizing process with a mage or specialist wizard, your character receives no character points to choose new or optional abilities. Since the mage or any specialist wizard is already a complete character class, the only way to add new powers is to compensate for them by selecting new limitations for a net point cost of zero.

The School of Universal Magic: All wizards have full access to this school at a cost of zero character points. This school contains spells basic to any wizard’s studies.

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