Offensive Spells

Offensive spells increase the ability of the caster (or persons of the caster's choice) to inflict damage, or directly inflict damage on opponents in the following ways:

· By attacking specific targets (magic missile)

· By attacking all opponents within a designated area (cloudkill)

· By summoning surrogates capable of attacking (monster summoning)

Schools offering a variety of Offensive spells include conjuration/summoning (flame arrow and Evard's black tentacles,) invocation/evocation (fireball and death fog), and necromancy (spectral hand and death spell.

Spells in the Offensive 1 category are typically cast on either the wizard or on his companions to increase their ability to attack or inflict damage; strength, spectral hand, and enchanted weapon are examples of Offensive 1 spells.

Spells in the Offensive 2 category are typically cast on one or more opponents to inflict damage directly, effectively functioning as weapons for the wizard; flaming sphere, shocking grasp, and finger of death are examples of Offensive 2 spells.

In general, Offensive 2 spells are more effective than Offensive 1 spells, since they inflict damage directly. For instance, a wizard successfully casting an Offensive 1 strength spell on himself must still strike an opponent to inflict damage; a successfully cast fireball inflicts damage immediately. Following are some general situations in which a wizard will find Offensive spells particularly useful:

The party is large or has a number of high-level members. Again, the main consideration is the vulnerability of the armor-less wizard. In larger parties, there are likely to be enough members to supply the wizard with a bodyguard or two (note that this does not mean a bodyguard in the literal sense, but rather a designated member to help protect the wizard from attacks). Likewise, if the party has several high-level members with a lot of hit points and high-quality armor, they will not be as dependent on the wizard for protective spells. A wizard who does not need a lot of Defensive spells is free to arm himself with a high number of Offensive spells.

The party has few warriors. While unusual, it is not impossible for a party to be completely composed of wizards, priests, and rogues. In such a case, a wizard with an arsenal of Offensive spells can make an acceptable substitute for a warrior. But note that even the best-armed wizard must still contend with a low Armor Class, meaning he will still need to rely on one or more of his companions for protection.

The party is making its last stand. When a party is facing its final challenge at the climax of an adventure (presuming the party realizes they have reached the climax of an adventure) or is making a life-and-death stand against an opponent of awesome power, they may need all of the offensive capabilities they can muster. If the wizard genuinely feels he has nothing to lose (or if the wizard is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve the party's goals), he may wish to arm himself with as many Offensive spells as possible to maximize his party's chance of success.

The party anticipates facing an onslaught of enemies. A party may also need heavy offensive capabilities if they anticipate facing a large number of enemies (such as a battlefield filled with hundreds of orcs and goblins) or a few enemies with a lot of power (such as a cadre of giants). Again, unless the wizard is willing to lay down his life for the cause, the party should take the wizard's vulnerability into account when planning their strategy.

The party includes other player character wizards who lack Offensive spells. This principle applies to the use of Offensive spells as well as Defensive spells. If the first wizard in a party has nothing but Defensive spells, and the second wizard has a variety of both Offensive and Defensive spells, it makes sense for the second wizard to arm himself with Offensive spells (unless one of the situations described above suggests a different strategy).

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