The Quintessential Wizard

by Mike Mearls, Anne Stokes

The wise old sage, stooped and walking with a staff, good-natured and kindly yet terrifying if angered. The lean, wily battle wizard, festooned with bandoliers of magical throwing daggers and wands. The tribal magician, feathered rattle in hand, tatoos shimmering with magical force. The vile necromancer, lurking in his subterranean lair, plotting to rule the land. All these are examples of the wizard, the character class without which no game could be considered high fantasy. The Quintessential Wizard is a sourcebook that will greatly expand the class, fleshing out the wizard from his typical role as a source of magical artillery to a character with more options and variants than any other in the game. Of all the character classes depicted within the d20 system, the wizard is the most versatile. With reasonably comprehensive spellbooks, the wizard can be more dangerous than the fighter, more sneaky than the rogue, or a better all-rounder than the cleric. Responsibility for success and even survival of the entire party often rests on the wizard's shoulders - if he wastes a spell or memorizes the wrong one, disaster can ensue for the whole group, whereas by selecting just the right spell at just the right time he can deal with almost any situation successfully, however dire.

Genres: Dungeons and Dragons

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2002

About the author

Mike Mearls is the dark hope of chaotic evil: young, handsome, well endowed in abilities and aptitudes, thoroughly wicked, depraved, and capricious. Whomever harms Mearls had better not brag of it in the presence of one who will inform the Demoness Lolth! Has been sent into this area to rebuild a force of men and humanoid fighters to gather loot and restore the Temple of Elemental Evil to its former glory. Of course, Mearls is but one of many so charged, but he is looked upon with special favor and expectation. He and his minions have been careful to raid far from this area, never nearer than three or four leagues, traveling on foot or being carried in wagons of the traders from Hommlet. None of the victims are ever left alive to tell the tale, and mysterious disappearances are all that can be remarked upon, for no trace of men, mounts, goods, wagons, or draft animals is ever found.

Evil to the core, Mearls is cunning, and if the situation appears in doubt, he will use bribery and honeyed words to sway the balance in his favor. He is not at all adverse to gaining new recruits of any sort, and will gladly accept adventurers into the ranks, but he will test and try them continually. Those who arouse suspicion will be quietly murdered in their sleep; those with too much promise will be likewise dealt with, for Mearls wants no potential usurpers or threats to his domination.

(Major points to anyone who gets the above reference)

When not cribbing the bios of well known AD&D 1st edition villains, I'm a game developer at Wizards of the Coast. I work on the Dungeons & Dragons paper and pencil RPG and the Dungeons & Dragons miniatures game.

Reviews

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

great d20 book about wizards!