The greatest spellcaster class Dungeons & Dragons has ever known, the Wizard. Masters of the arcane, these spellcasters have traditionally been the strongest, or at least the most versatile, of all the classes that can cast spells. Any goon with a set of armor and a big sword can hack and slash their way to glory, but it takes true skill and intellect to commit to the study of the arcane arts.

Being one of the three original classes in Dungeons & Dragons - Fighting-Man, Magic-User, and Cleric - the Magic-User struggled to make it past the first level, and even in 5th edition they have to be very careful during those lower levels. Physically weak in a world full of things trying to kill you, your knowledge of magic quite limited early on. It isn’t until the later levels that the Magic-User becomes a force to be reckoned with. Whether it’s getting that first fireball in AD&D or copying the game-breaking Wish Spell into your spellbook in 5th edition, you knew then that your character was not to be fucked with anymore.

So let’s jump right in and take a look at this iconic character class and see how it has progressed throughout the editions.

OD&D - Magic-User

Key Features

• HP Die: d6
• Can only be human or elf
• Cannot wear armor and can only arm themselves with a dagger
• Can create and sell magic items

Dungeons & Dragons Box Set, 1975 TSR Inc — **Dungeons & Dragons Box Set**, 1975 TSR Inc

Why anyone would want to become a Magic-User in the days of OD&D is beyond us. Sure, a level 16 Magic-User was ridiculously powerful and higher level spells in the earliest editions were incredibly overpowered, but the chances of you reaching even 5th level was microscopic at best.

The Magic-User at first level is pretty much useless. You get one spell per day and beyond that, your ability to contribute to the party is limited. Hopefully, you know how to skin a deer and cook up a nice meal, because if you use your dagger on anything more dangerous, you’re probably dead. First level spells in Dungeons & Dragons are more potent than their 5th edition brethren, and we will get into that in a little bit, but after you burn your only spell slot, it’s time to hide and let the Fighting Men do their thing.

All characters get 1d6 hit dice to determine hit points, so it was possible to have one hit point at the start of the game, though if you were lucky you could max out at 7 hit points if you had a high Constitution score. Since all weapons in this edition did 1-6 points of damage, one hit and any character could die. So why was it so bad for the Magic-User if everyone was in the same boat regarding hit points? If you remember from above, Magic-Users were not allowed to use armor of any sort. This meant that their AC was 9 and that any lowly skeleton had a 50% chance of hitting them, and one good roll for damage and they were dead. In OD&D, once you dropped to zero hit points, that’s it, game over, time to roll a new character. So what does a low-level Magic-User do then? Avoid melee combat at all costs and hide behind your fighter and maybe curl up in the fetal position.

So far, our Master of the Arcane doesn’t sound like much fun at all. Let's take a look at those spells we mentioned earlier and see if any of those can save a 1st-level Magic-User. First, the bad news - You get one spell at first level, two at second level. For someone who is supposed to be a ‘magic user’, having one spell a day is crummy. So you spend first level waiting, hiding and occasionally killing a monster, and lo and behold, you somehow gain a measly 2,500 experience point and you get to the second level and learn one more spell! Problem is, when you reach the 2nd level, the other classes are at least halfway to 3rd. That’s right, the Magic-User has the slowest class progression of all of the races and classes, so while everyone else is getting better at what they do, you are still stuck behind them, saving the only thing you do for the right time once a day.

Now the good news. Let’s talk about those spells. At first level, you need to take Charm Person and Sleep. The other spells are marginally useful, but can you imagine burning your only spell to create a small light source that only lasts for 7 rounds? Or maybe burn your only spell to hold open a door?

Here’s an example of a spell description found in OD&D for the Sleep spell:

A Sleep spell affects from 2–16 1st-level types (hit dice of up to 1 + 1), from 2–12 2nd-level types (hit dice of up to 2 + 1), from 1–6 3rd-level types, and but 1 4th-level type (up to 4 + 1 hit dice). The spell always affects up to the number of creatures determined by the dice. If more than the number rolled could be affected, determine which “sleep” by random selection. Range: 24”.
Dungeons and Dragons, Men and Magic, page 23

There is one important thing missing from this spell description - all creatures, unless otherwise noted, get to make a save vs. spells. Without going down the rabbit hole and going over all the rules in the booklet a creature has a chance to save against this spell by rolling a dice and then adding any modifiers to it against a set number that is decided in the rulebook. There are no differing difficulties to save against your spells based on your own personal power, but rather on the level and type of creature you are fighting. Magic-Users have a better chance to save against spells than any other class… then again, they also die if you look at them too strongly.

At higher levels, you get more and more powerful spells mixed with… bad options. Well, they aren’t per se, but with the limited number of spells you get, they aren’t going to be the spells you pick at the beginning levels. You want to feel useful and burning your highest level spell to read a creature’s mind isn’t going to be high up on your to-cast list when you could be casting a bolt of lightning or a ball of fiery doom.

Survival is a huge focus for the Magic-User and your ability to survive from level 1 to level 20, and beyond, is a huge feat in and of itself - Unless you are just casting your one spell a day and then going back to the tavern to celebrate your mighty arcane power.

AD&D - Magic-User

Key Features

• HP Die: 1d4
• Two class types: Magic-User and Illusionist
• Must have a minimum Intelligence of 9 and Dexterity of 6; Illusionist must have a minimum Intelligence of 15
• Large variety of magical items only available to this class

Player’s Handbook, 1978 TSR Inc — **Player’s Handbook**, 1978 TSR Inc

Arriving in AD&D the Magic-User gets some much-needed details on how their powers over the arcane works. The Magic-User must study, for only through intense study can you gain the ability to learn spells. The spellbook is their most prized possession, and they will protect it all costs. The ability to memorize and cast spells comes after years of training and, at 1st level, the Magic-User can finally put into the practice all those years of study with their one and only spell slot.

The class is limited to only humans, elves, and half-elves while the Illusionists are restricted to humans and gnomes. Other than humans, the other races have limitations placed on them for the maximum level they can achieve - elves max out at 11th level, while half-elves cap out at 8th. Gnomes definitely get the short end of the stick as they stop leveling as an Illusionist at 7th level! To make matters even worse for the non-human races, the levels listed above require the character to have an Intelligence of 18 or higher. If it is lower than that, so is the max level the character can reach… which means if you are a gnome with an Intelligence or Dexterity below 17… you can never get past a 5th level Illusionist.

Speaking of Intelligence, this ability score is extremely important in determining what spells you can know and how many spells overall you can learn. When you gain a new level of spells, including 1st-level spells when you create your character, you go down the spell list and you have a percentage chance of knowing each spell on the list. You don’t get to pick what spells you know, the dice do. The chance of you knowing a spell is based on your Intelligence, and the maximum, and minimum, number of spells you can know is also linked to that ability.

Now, what does this look like? Well, if you have an Intelligence of 9, there is a 35% chance you will know each spell on the Magic-User spell list, with a minimum of 4 spells and a maximum of 6 spells per level, and you can only learn up to 4th-level spells. If your Intelligence was 18, you have an 85% chance of knowing evey spell on the Magic-User spell list, as well as have a minimum of 9 spells and a maximum of 18 spells per level, AND you must have an 18 Intelligence or more if you ever want to learn a 9th-level spell. Maybe you better find out your DM’s favorite snack and bribe them with it.

Going along with knowing spells, the Magic-User’s spellbook is the most treasured and valuable of all their items. It contains the written words, materials, and hand gestures for the spells that the caster knows. Gaining access to someone else’s spellbook is a time of celebration for a Magic-User, as any potential new spells found in the book might mean more options for our arcane expert. The more spells the caster finds and can understand, as you have to roll a percentile chance of whether you even understand the spell, the more spells they have the potential to cast.

The way the Magic-User casts their spells is that the moment they release their arcane energy, that spell is then gone from their minds unless they prepared that spell multiple times in their minds. This means before you head out into the world and adventure, you must have preselected what spells you wish to cast and once you cast them, they are gone from your mind and can’t cast that spell again until you sit down with your books.

The Schools of Magic

Starting in the 2nd edition, the Schools of Magic, which aren’t literal places but a type of magical discipline, now have an importance that wasn’t there in the previous editions. Each school has its own unique approach to magic and what types of spells that discipline focuses on. The nine schools of magic in AD&D are Abjuration, Alteration, Conjuration/Summoning, Enchantment/Charm, Greater Divination, Illusion, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy, and Lesser Divination. These will change through the editions, but the schools listed are the original schools found in 1st and 2nd edition. Eventually in 3rd edition, the schools of Greater Divination and Lesser Divination will be combined and Summoning, Charm, and Invocation will be dropped off of their schools of magic.

2e - Wizard

Key Features

• HP Die: 1d4
• Two subclasses, Mage & Specialist
• Able to create new magic items and spells

Player’s Handbook, 1995 TSR Inc — **Player’s Handbook**, 1995 TSR Inc

The 2nd edition Magic-User gets a new name, the Wizard! With the release of the 2nd edition, which contains minor changes from AD&D and rules clarifications, TSR removes the term ‘Magic-User' and the class is now and forever the Wizard. No reason is given, though it’s probably because calling yourself a Wizard is way cooler than some generic term like ‘Magic-User.’ We also have, for the first time, true subclasses with the Mage and Specialist Wizard - while the Illusionist still exists, it just an example given for how a Specialist Wizard would work.

Once again, the Wizard is the character who lacks in physical prowess but more than makes up with it through study. The Wizard cannot wear armor and continues to be very limited in the types of weapons they can use. Spells are the weapons and armor of the wizard, and at higher levels, they can be more powerful than the strongest fighter. Plate mail and swords are no match for the person that can invade your mind, disappears from sight and of course, shoot a ball of magical fire at your face. Getting the Fireball spell still takes a while, as the Wizard still levels up much slower than the other classes.

2nd Edition does improve upon the Wizard in a number of ways, even if most of it is just copied and pasted from AD&D. At 1st level, the Dungeon Master’s Guide (1989) lists a few ways for the Wizard to know what spells they might have in their spellbook. One way is for the player to roll on all the first level spells to see if they know them, like how it was in AD&D. If they roll and can know the spell, then they have it written in their spellbook and they keep rolling until they have gone through the entire list or reach the maximum number of spells they can know based on their Intelligence. The DM’s Choice method calls for the DM to give the player Read Magic, Detect Magic and then four spells of their choice. No rolls need to be made as these spells are assumed to have been mastered through their years of studying and apprenticeship. The Collaboration Method has the player rolling 3d4 and starting with that number of 1st level spells in their spellbook. Read Magic and Detect Magic are once again automatic, and the remaining spells are chosen either by the player or DM. No matter which method you choose, your Wizard should start with a decent selection of spells from which to memorize.

The Wizard gets access to a lot of magic in the form of spells, but they are also able to use more magic items than any other class. All potions, rings, wands, rods, and scrolls are available to the Wizard, as are most miscellaneous magical items with even a few magical weapons if they are meant for Wizards. Wizards also have the ability to create new magical items and spell once they get powerful enough, which is great and all, but it takes forever. It’s far easier to just go out into a dungeon fire a few fireballs and then loot whatever doesn’t burn up in the blaze. Creating magical items is not cheap, and the ingredients and tools are hard to find.

To even write a scroll, you have three things you have to think of and, probably, go on a quest for. You need a new quill that has never touched parchment, except it can’t be a common quill. No, this quill must be of the finest make, be from something very magical and has something to do with the spell you want to write about. If you want to make a Flesh to Stone spell scroll, find a cockatrice and rip out its feathers. Or, you want a Growth/Enlarge spell scroll? Find a roc and rip out its feathers.

Next, you need paper of the finest quality. While you don’t really need to go on a super involved quest for this, it is suggested that you only use paper, not parchment or papyrus. Paper is more expensive and harder to find, so you might have to journey to a large city to find some-which is a type of quest right?

The last thing you need for this scroll is the ink. Maybe your DM is being nice and you can use simple ink… then again, where’s the fun in that? Going on a single quest for that roc feather wasn’t enough, now you need to go find special ingredients for ink, maybe it’s just a few tears from a crocodile or maybe a drop of water from the bottom of the ocean. Real simple things to find, and remember, this is only for spell scrolls - potions have just as much complexity in finding their ingredients as spell scrolls.

Creating magical scrolls and potions require a lot of effort, a lot of pressuring your party to help you, and at the end of it all - was it really worth it so you could write that one spell scroll for later? Maybe not, but hey, the fighter can’t do it so why not drag your meatshield across the world so you can rub it in their face that you can create magical items?

Going back to the base Wizard class, 2nd edition has two subclasses for the Wizard, the Mage and the Specialist. The Mage is the most versatile of all the subclasses and have access to all of the schools of magic, and while they may not have access to some of the more specialized spells found in each of the schools, they have a much wider selection overall to choose from, allowing them to deal with a wide variety of situations. A Mage must have a minimum Intelligence of 9 and can be Human, Elf or Half-Elf.

A Specialist Wizard is someone who focuses on a single school of magic and each school of magic has an additional minimum Ability Score that is required. The chances of a Specialist Wizard to know a spell from their school are greatly increased, but in turn, they have a smaller chance of knowing spells outside of their school, and if the spell is from a school opposite of their own, they can never learn those spells. The number of spells that a Specialist can cast is more than that of a Mage, however, they are limited mostly to their own schools for those extra spells. There are even more limitations by race regarding which school a Wizard may specialize in, humans can specialize in any school, while elves can only specialize in the Greater Divination and Enchantment schools of magic, and gnomes are still the only other race other than human that can become illusionists.

3e/3.5e - Wizard

Key Features

• HP Die: d4
• All races can now become a Wizard
• Familiar play a much more prominent role
• Introduction of level 0 spells starting at 1st level

Player’s Handbook, 2003 WotC — **Player’s Handbook**, 2003 WotC

The Wizard in 3rd edition is the purest of all the casters and the list of classes that can actually use spells has grown quite a bit. In this edition, the following classes all have access to spells at some point in the game: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer and Wizard. The Wizard is by far the most powerful spell caster on this list and once they reach higher levels, it has been argued by many that they are the most powerful class in the game. Much like in 2nd edition, the Wizard can choose to specialize in a school of magic if they wish, this prohibits them from ever casting spells from two schoosl of magic, but does mean they get additional spells of their specialization per day.

The Wizard still only has a d4 Hit Die, they cannot use armor and have access to very few weapons, but once again it is the power of the spells they gain that makes them such a formidable foe. In this edition, there are a few changes to the learning of spells, they don’t go through the entire spell list rolling percentile trying to figure out what spells they know, rather they can pick what spells they start out with. They are still limited by the power of spells they can cast by their intelligence, only able to cast spells if the spell level + 10 is equal to or less than their Intelligence score, and they are still restricted by Wizard level for their spell slots. This means if a Wizard has an Intelligence of 16 and they are level 18, they can only cast up to 6th level spells but they still have access to 9th level spell slots… they just can’t cast spells of 7th to 9th level.

When the Wizard starts out, they have on them a spellbook containing all 0-level Wizard spells, like light, mage hand, or prestidigitation, they also get access to up to three 1st-level spells of their choice. Because the designers still aren’t sure on the perfect number of starting spells to give the Wizard, you also get additional spells for each point of Intelligence bonus you have, meaning if you have a 16 Intelligence, you’d have a +3 Intelligence bonus and you get 3 additional spells to add to your spellbook. After that, every time you level up, you get to pick out two new spells to add to your book, so long as they are of a spell level you can cast. That’s a lot better than dredging through every dungeon trying to find a scrap of paper with a spell written on it, though you can still do that if you want.

The introduction of level-0 spells, also known as cantrips, now makes the Wizard a viable class to play at lower levels. At first level, wherein the previous editions the Wizard had only one spell slot to cast before being completely useless for the rest of the day, they now… still only have 1! But it’s OK as they have their cantrips which, while not very powerful, they do provide the Wizard with the ability to do a little damage during a battle or bring utility to the party during the downtime.

This edition also brings us to the Wizard’s familiar, the familiar is an important piece of the Wizard’s arsenal, though it can be devastating if anything ever happens to it. The familiar and Wizard are magically linked to each other, with some saying they are an extension of the Wizard themselves. Spells that can only be cast on the Wizard, can also be used on the familiar and have the same effect on the creature as it would on the Wizard. While a familiar is a normal animal, it does gain a few new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by the Wizard. The familiar gains a few new abilities thanks to its link to their arcane master, and they get stronger and more powerful as their master levels up, though it isn’t only the familiar that is changed by this relationship. The Wizard is granted a special ability by their familiar, depending on the animal that has been summoned and as long as the creature and master are within one mile of each other. These special abilities are buffs or bonuses to skill checks, like being better at moving silently or climbing up ropes, or the Wizard gets bonuses to their saving throws, making them better able to shrug off spells and the like.

One major downside of having a familiar though is that if they are ever killed, the Wizard definitely is punished for it. The Wizard, unless they can succeed on a Constitution saving throw, loses 300 experience points per Wizard level, or only half the experience if they make the check. That’s just brutal and is a good way to really destroy a Wizard at earlier levels when that experience is a lot more meaningful. To get from 1st level to 2nd level, every class needs 1,000 experience points, if you run into a string of bad luck, as a familiar only ever has half your max hit points for its own hit points, you can really cripple yourself at the beginning of the game and keep yourself from leveling up when you need too. Plus, if the familiar dies, you don’t get another familiar for one year and a day after your first one dies… which is really like rubbing salt into the wound and kicking you while you are already crushed you lost your furry best friend.

4e - Wizard

Key Features

• Hit Points: 1st level 10 + Con modifier, 4 hp per level afterward
• Role: Controller. You exert control through magical effects that cover large areas
• Build options include Control Wizard or War Wizard
• Introduction of Implements through which the Wizard channels their powers

Player’s Handbook, 2008 WotC — **Player’s Handbook**, 2008 WotC

The 4th edition Wizard brings us a variety of changes, as it usually does. Wizards have a wide range of powers, more so than many of the other classes in the 4th edition, and thus their versatility is even stronger than in some of the previous editions. There are two primary types of Wizard builds in 4th edition, the Control Wizard and the War Wizard. Every Wizard relies on Intelligence for attack powers and, depending on what path you go down, you either choose Wisdom for a Control Wizard or Dexterity for a War Wizard, and then every Wizard relies on a strong Constitution.

Before we get into the different specializations for the Wizard, let’s talk about what separates this class from the others, and it just isn’t that they get to cast pretty explosion spells. In 4th edition, each class has access to what are known as Powers, these are special abilities they can use at-will, once per fight, or once per day. These powers are all built around a set progression level that all classes share and keep the classes uniform in their power levels. The Wizard gets access to a spellbook, which allows them to learn effectively twice as many of these powers and each day they get to choose which powers they will know for that day, giving them great versatility when it comes to planning out their abilities and being able to adjust for complicated issues ahead of them.

The Control Wizard focuses less on dealing damage and more on controlling the opponents, and even their allies, across the battlefield. The War Wizard gets to blow things up and does as much damage as they possibly can. Each Wizard picks powers to complement their focuses, though it isn’t restricted. You can just as easily create a Wizard with a few damaging powers as well as a few controlling powers, or create a Wizard that can switch their entire powers for others to change how you approach each encounter… Sometimes you deal massive damage, sometimes you are manipulating the battlefield in such a way that your party members can easily wipe out your enemies.

One of the most interesting things that 4th edition introduces for the Wizard, and all the other classes, are Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies. Paragon Paths are akin to the subclasses introduced in 5e, though these don’t take place until 11th level, for the Wizard you are given the following options: Battle Mage, Blood Mage, Spellstorm Mage, and Wizard of the Spiral Tower. The Battle Mage is focused on war and dealing damage, the Blood Mage uses their own life force to hurt their enemies even more, the Spellstorm Mage is about chaos of magic and striking down your enemies, and as a Wizard of the Spiral Tower you gain a badass longsword from the Feywild and you are a gish!

After you choose a Paragon Path, you also gain an Epic Destiny at level 21 and these are what makes your character special as opposed to any other adventurer out in the world. This is about the Wizard going on an epic quest to fully realize their potential and destiny and include things like becoming an Archmage, a Deadly Trickster, a Demigod or an Eternal Seeker. Each of these details powerful new abilities you can use, like casting greater magic or becoming the exarch of a divine being, and then gives examples as to how your Wizard retires and their lasting impact upon the world at large.

5e Wizard

Key Features

• HP Die: d6
• Versatile spell list and greater power upfront
• Choose from one of the Schools of Magic at 2nd level

Player’s Handbook, 2014 WotC — **Player’s Handbook**, 2014 WotC

Our Wizard makes it into 5th edition and as they are starting out they are a lot stronger than in previous editions. Not only do they lose that horrible d4 for their hit dice, but they get more weapons they can use as well as start out with two level-1 spell slots at 1st level instead of only one! Technically... they start out with three level-1 spell slots, but we’ll get to that.

Like all real ‘magic users,’ the Wizard has a spellbook and it’s highly important to them. It is where they store all their spells, except for cantrips, and is what keeps them powerful. Every day when they wish to prepare their spells, they need their book or they just can’t remember those spells. Speaking of remembering spells, 5th edition introduces a new concept for the Wizard and that is that you don’t lose access to a spell after you cast it. In previous editions, once you cast that spell, it’s gone from your mind until you sit down with your book and remember it again, now you can cast it as many times as you have spell slots for, which provides a lot more flexibility for the Wizard.

Speaking of spells, the Wizard knows 6 spells at 1st level and 3 cantrips. They can pick their spells, they can choose which ones to prepare and then they cast a level-1 spell twice a day - wait, no three times a day because they have a class feature called Arcane Recovery that allows them to recover expended spell slots equal to half their level once per day. This means that from a lowly mage who can barely cast magic missile to even an all-powerful level 20 archmage who shoots lightning from his fingertips all find it important to take an hour and reflect on life and regain that sweet arcane energy. They then can go back to shooting even more lightning and being extremely terrifying! This is a great edition to be a Wizard as you are no longer just the sniveling coward in the back with your single spell and then you have nothing else, now you can be an all-powerful Wizard shooting out spells and using your cantrips from the safety of the back of the group.

Apart from being more powerful at even the weakest of levels, Wizards also now have several ways they can augment their magic by selecting an Arcane Tradition to follow. This is a subclass at level 2 that allows you to augment spells of a certain school of magic, and increase the abilities of the Wizard. One of the biggest things about this, as opposed to earlier editions, is that you don’t need a Dexterity of 15 to be an Illusionist, you can have a Dexterity of 3 and still cast those illusion spells like a master, and on top of that, you aren’t stopped from casting magic from an opposite school either! Maybe the Illusionist can be a viable class option in 5th edition.

The Schools of Magic available to the Wizard are the School of Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation. These subclasses allow you to blast your enemies with elemental spells, raise the dead to be a better meatshield than your fighter, transform lumps of wood to pure gold, and so much more. Each school has unique abilities that can really make your Wizard feel like a badass throughout their entire career instead of just the end of it.

Our Almighty Wizard has had a pretty rough go of it at the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons with their horrible hit dice, their once-a-day usefulness, and in-ability to wield anything more deadly than a kitchen knife. Much like their class progression, as the editions continued to evolve and change, the Wizard changed and evolved with it to provide better play experiences at lower levels and to make you feel like a true arcane master.

Got something you’d like to see a Deep Dive on? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoy our Deep Dive series consider
supporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter!