Wizard

They're pretty much like this.

This, too.

For the /tg/ homebrew, see WIZARD (system)

Wizards are magic-wielding people who use their knowledge of magical arts to cast spells and lay down charms and such. The wizard often requires much planning and preparation before using magic, and usually cannot perform magic trivially. Wizards are powerful and intelligent individuals, taking on the role of the scientist or alchemist in fantasy settings. They also are known for being squishy. The preferred class of people who hate to lose.

Wizards are the can-all, do-all guys of pretty much all systems. You want something done? There's a spell for it. It may not be quite as effective as the 'hands-on' method, but it's close enough (and sometimes better). In most cases though, wizards are simply reduced to casting Fireball or any spell of the same effect in mass quantities over and over again (until they run out of spells per day). For that matter, it should be noted for new players that the only thing weaker than a level one wizard is a level one wizard who just cast magic missile.

Players should be advised to ignore the hell out of spells that do damage, and look for spells that remove the ability for enemies to act against the party, or spells that significantly improve the performance of their party. Wizards are not about dealing damage, they are about buffing, debuffing and controlling the battlefield at the same time. Or alternatively they are about explosive runes and save-or-die spells but that's a story for another page. The wizard is capable of essentially beating any encounter with a few spells and can be prepared for anything - thus being a Batman[1]. They can also focus on spells which cause an enemy to effectively lose if they fail a save, starting early on with Color Spray and Grease - and Grease never stops being good.

4e has several different archetypes for wizards. The Control wizard is how you should be playing them: based on INT and WIS they cast spells that hinder enemies, render them unable to attack the party or do other things that you do not want them to. The War Wizard instead is designed to cast fireball after fireball until the enemy drops via a combination of firepower from INT and accuracy from DEX. Only use him if your party has limited long-range firepower. The Illusionist Wizard is what you play if your DM does not allow you to play as a Psion: befuddling, confusing and dominating your enemies with a combination of high INT and CHA. Finally there is the Summoner Wizard who, as you might guess, summon creatures. Because they are linked to your Healing Surges and your Bloodied Value you will be needing high CON for them to be effective, as well as high INT.

At this point the more astute reader might have noticed that this means that there is a speciality fit for anyone who gets a bonus to both their INT and another stat, except for STR. This means that if you wish to roll a Muscle Wizard you might want to pick up a Swordmage instead. Or pick all of Bigby's spells if you want to CAST FIST.

Wizards are known to put on a robe and wizard's hat every morning, and especially before being intimate.

In 5e

Wizards changed only slightly from the conventional mold in 5e, but the changes they underwent are some of the more contentious; in older editions, while spells were divided into eight schools, wizards were assumed to be "generalists" by default, and instead specialised in a given school only for extra skill. In 5e, a wizard has to specialise in a school at level 2, which gives various school-related bonuses. Fortunately, there's no forbidden school approach like there was in the old editions, so it's not really so bad.

5e wizards get the Arcane Recovery class ability to start with (once per day, you can regain a small number of spell slots with just a short rest), free points to their ability scores (either +2 to one score, or +1 to two scores) at levels 4/8/12/16/19, and gains the abilities Spell Mastery (can freely pick one 1st level and one 2nd level spell and can cast these mastered spells at their lowest level without burning up a spell slot once/day, takes 8 hours to replace these) at level 18 and Signature Spells (pick two level 3 spells; you always have them prepared, they don't count towards your number of spells prepared, and each can be cast at its basic level without using up a spell slot once before needing a short rest to recharge) at level 20.

All specialists also get the "[Tradition] Savant" feature, which halves the time and gold it takes to copy a spell of their tradition into their spellbook.

Abjuration

Spellcasters who don't like that other spellcasters can also do cool stuff too, so their specialty is blocking or negating spells. As a side-effect, they're not too bad with blocking or negating other kinds of attacks, either, making them the shieldy spellcasters too.

Arcane Ward: Your level 2 ability, which lets you create a magical shield that sucks up damage for you and heals when you cast abjuration spells once per long rest. To create it, you gotta cast an abjuration spell of at least level 1 first.

Projected Ward: When you hit level 6, you can use Arcane Ward as a reaction to protect a creature within a 30ft line of sight.

Improved Abjuration: From level 10 on, you add proficiency bonus to any ability checks required when casting abjuration spells.

Spell Resistance: Finally, at level 14, you have advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance against spell damage.

Conjuration

Spellcasters who like to pull shit out of their sleeve. Only it's not pigeons that shit everywhere or juggling balls, but snarling demons and clouds of fire and all sorts of nifty shit.

Minor Conjuration: You can create any non-magical item that weighs ten pounds or less and is no more than 3ft long at will, materializing it in your hand or on the ground in line of sight. This is your level 2 ability.

Benign Transposition: At level 6, you can teleport 30 feet, or tele-trade places with a creature within 30 feet. You can only do this once, then you need to either take a long rest or cast a Conjuration spell (level 1 or higher) to recharge it.

Focused Conjuration: From 10th level on, taking damage isn't enough to break your concentration whilst you are concentrating on a conjuration spell.

Durable Summons: Upon hitting level 14, all summoned or conjured creatures of yours gain +30 temporary hit points.

Divination

The nosy wizards, the ones whom DMs hate for ruining their plotlines with their ability to seek out info the DM doesn't want them to have.

Portent: When you finish a long rest, roll two D20s and record the numbers; if you want to, you can automatically forgo making an attack roll, saving throw or ability check to instead use one of these recorded rolls. You can only do so once per turn, and you can only use each portent result once; you lose any unused ones the next time you take a long rest. You gain this ability at level 2.

Expert Divination: From level 6 on, divination spells come easier to you, and so you regain a spent spell slot of at least one level lower (max level: 5) whenever you cast a divination spell that requires at least a level 2 spell slot.

The Third Eye: From level 10 on, when you complete a rest, you can choose to gain either darkvision 60 feet, ethereal sight 60 feet, the ability to read any language, or the ability to see invisible 10 feet.

Greater Portent: Upon hitting level 14, you get to roll 3 D20s for Portent instead of only 2.

Enchantment

The creepy ass wizards who can take control of peoples' brains and make them into drooling zombie slaves.

Hypnotic Gaze: Starting at level 2, you can try and hypnotise a creature within 5 feet and make them a shambling zombie for as long as you concentrate on controlling them.

Instinctive Charm: At level 6, you can the ability to try and bewitch a target into swapping targets for its attack in mid-swing.

Split Enchantment: At level 10, you can target two creatures with an enchantment spell that would normally only target one creature.

Alter Memories: From level 14 on, you can make a charmed creature unaware it's charmed, and try to blank out its memories of some of the time it spent under your control.

Evocation

Practitioners of the ancient art of Blowing Shit Up Real Good.

Sculpt Spells: At level 2, you learn how to make safe pockets in your evocation spells to avoid blowing up your allies or non-coms who get in the way. Or, well, at least ensure they only get singed instead of fried.

Potent Cantrip: You're so blasty at level 6 that even cantrips get to do half damage against critters that make their saving throws against them.

Empowered Evocation: From 10th level on, add Intelligence modifier to the damage roll of your evocation school wizard spells.

Overchannel: At level 14, you know how to get the best bang for your buck. Once per long rest, you can cast an evocation spell of level 5 or lower and automatically do max damage. Once you've done so, if you do it again without resting, you take 2D12 necrotic damage PER level of the spell you're casting like this. And if you're dumb enough to keep casting overchanneled spells? You keep taking necrotic damage, only the damage goes up by another 1D12 per time (so your third overchannelled spell is 3D12 damage per level of the spell, your fourth is 4D12, etc).

Illusion

The wizards who make you see and hear things that aren't there.

Improved Minor Illusion: At level 2, you gain the Minor Illusion cantrip (if you didn't have it already; if you did, you gain another of your choice), and you can make sounds and images in a single casting, rather than needing one for each effect.

Malleable Illusions: At level 6, you gain the ability to reshape your own illusion effects on the fly.

Illusory Self: At level 10, once per rest, you can use your reaction to make an enemy's attack miss by creating a one-shot illusory double to take the blow for you.

Illusory Reality: At level 14, you can actually make your illusions real for a short time - like making an illusion of a bridge over a chasm that you and your buddies can actually use to cross the chasm.

Necromancy

Wizards who play with the dead, though traditionally they actually kind of stunk at it compared to Clerics.

Grim Harvest: From level 2 on, you regain hitpoints equal to 2 times the spell's level (3 times, if it's a necromantic spell) whenever you use a spell to kill an enemy, though this doesn't work on constructs or the undead.

Undead Thrall: At level 6, automatically gain the Animate Dead spell and when you cast Animate Dead, you can raise +1 zombie/skeleton and your zombies/skeletons have maximum hitpoints increased by + your level and they add your proficiency bonus to their weapon damage rolls.

Innured to Undeath: From level 10 on, you're resistant to Necrotic damage and you are immune to any effects that lower your hit point maximum.

Command Undead: The ability that traditionally shafted necromancers in favor of death priests, this ability, gained at level 14, lets you attempt to enslave undead creatures that you can see within 60 feet, though smarter ones have the ability to break free eventually.

Transmutation

Shapeshifters and alchemists.

Minor Alchemy: You can temporarily transmute wood, stone, iron, copper or silver into any one of the other elements listed here.

Transmuter's Stone: You can spend 8 hours to create a magical stone that will grant darkvision, +10 to speed whilst unencumbered, proficiency in Constitution saving throws, or resistance to one of five elemental damages (fire, ice, acid, lightning, thunder) to whoever holds it.

Shapechanger: You gain Polymorph as a bonus spell and cast it as a slotless spell to turn yourself into a challenge rating 1 or lower Beast.

Master Transmuter: You can destroy your Transmuter's Stone to transform one object into another object, completely heal (restore to full health + remove all curses, diseases and poisons) one creature, cast a free Raise Dead spell, or decrease a target's physical age by 3D10 years.

The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition
Core Classes:	Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard
Advanced Player's Guide:	Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch
Advanced Class Guide:	Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest
Occult Adventures:	Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist
Ultimate X:	Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante