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In Short

The Good: Lots of options. Most mechanical contributions are well balanced and shouldn’t cause a group any particular concern.

The Bad: Some options appear to be a little mechanically imbalanced, typically in the direction of being too good. I want to stress, however, that on the whole the balance is wonderful especially considering how new 4.0 still is.

The Physical Thing

Under the Cover

Easily the weakest part of the book, this chapter focuses on an overview of the wizard class generally and manages to offer only the most generic points and insights. Wizards in different terrain, the role of various races as wizards, and classes wizards work well with are all presented but they are far from helpful. If you can imagine the most stereotypical race and class roles then you can already imagine all that these sections offer.

Somewhat more useful are a variety of character concepts that come with mechanical suggestions so as to enable players who are trying to flavor their wizard to easily do so. Consider, for example, the Arcane Champion which is focused around melee combat and spellcasting. Feat suggestions include light shields and leather armor, suggested skills mix physical and magical skills, and the power suggestions maintain a focus on spells that will be of maximum use in melee combat or while using a weapon. Each of these packages also includes a modestly powerful boost about the equivalent of a Feat+. In the case of the Arcane Champion the character adds Athletics and Endurance to the class skill list and gains a +2 bonus to Athletics and Endurance.

I do like these packages. They inspire players towards specific concepts while supplying mechanical benefits that can assist in building that way. It’s my opinion, however, that the additional mechanical benefits are a bit much at times. If you don’t mind adding a few more bonuses to your game then they’ll work great, but if you’re like me and try to stick closer to the core rules then the additional benefits may be a little more than you want to include. Even then, though, the packages are good enough to help a player who wants to be inspired with a few ideas.

Chapter 2 A Wizard’s Power - 24 pages.

Given the slim pickings offered in the Player’s Handbook new powers are always great to have. A nice mix of powers are included here, hitting all of the core damage types in about equal proportion. Seven new At-Wills kick us off, and while I don’t think they’re all perfect they are good enough to offer a nice mix of variety. Take, for example, Mind Assault. At level 1 it deals 1d6 + Int psychic damage and the target takes a -2 penalty to all defenses until the end of the caster’s next turn. While the damage is a little lower, the defense penalty is beautiful for setting up the target for a hard hitting encounter or daily power.

New Rituals are also included, with classics like Bind Animal Familiar and new ideas such as Pleasant Appearance (bonus to Cha checks for the day). I like them as much as I do the powers, and I’m happy to have more listed rituals to play with.

The powers are good enough that I’m making them available to the wizards in my current ongoing campaign. I tend to be conservative about 3rd party material in D&D, and I always have been, but while there are some powers that feel a little strong or weak on the whole they’re a wonderful addition and I’m excited to have more variety to play with.

Chapter 3 A Wizard’s Path - 30 pages.

Let me run through these quickly for you so you understand what you’re getting.

Arcane Serpent - Uses a magical snake tattoo to gain serpent abilities and summon serpents.

Chronomancer - Has several slow and movement powers to reflect time manipulation.

Cryomancer - Ongoing cold damage and slow effects reflect a mastery of ice magic.

Dawn Disciple - Radiant damage attacks and quasi-healing effects.

Geminus - Spells and abilities focus on creating temporary duplicates.

Geomancer - Increases terrain difficulty and has defensive abilities.

Gloom Necromancer - Gains abilities from slaying foes and fears enemies.

Hypnomancer - Psychic damage, sleep attacks, and a potent power that allows all sleep attacks to be rerolled.

Keeper of the Dweomer - Close combat mage that uses melee weapons.

Minister of Destiny - Sort of a grand adventurer, the path provides a variety of abilities of general use.

Mystic Sage - Bonuses to knowledge rolls and choice of effects from powers.

Occult Seeker - Skill bonuses, trap/riddle bonus, and similar abilities to aid in adventuring.

Pyromancer - Ongoing fire damage and fiery healing.

Vacuist - Damage resistance and Void damage (untyped unresistable damage).

In general I find these paragon paths to be well done. The abilities are interesting and appropriate, and the writers do a good job of avoiding using the same mechanic over and over. Some of the abilities are a little strong, so I would recommend a DM using these paths to take a good look at them and make any necessary adjustments before play.

Each path comes with a two page spread detailing all of the powers and providing an example NPC to drop straight into the game. A nicely evocative picture pulls it all together.

Chapter 4 A Wizard’s Feat - 12 pages.

The new feats are interesting and are wonderful additions to the existing game. I particularly like how the authors implemented Metamagic. Metamagic abilities, such as Energy Substitution which allows the wizard to replace one energy type with another, are fueled by expending healing surges every time they are used. This forces the wizard to carefully balance them and to make certain not to overcharge magic at the risk of not having enough healing later on.

The Feats are split by tiers just like those in the Player’s Handbook and they are balanced accordingly. Many of the Feats focus on Metamagic, often reproducing effects found in 3rd edition. Others boost individual powers, provide extra benefits when using a particular implement, offer more multiclass options, or even step outside the box. I’d happily introduce these to my current campaign and I see fewer balance problems than those found in a very few of the Paths.

Chapter 5 A Wizard’s Tools - 20 pages.

Alternate arcane implements, new magic items, and exceptional mundane items (e.g. star charts) can all be found here. I like what’s here, though a lot of it is only going to be worthwhile for a very specific type of character. A new type of item, the Rune, is introduced which fills its own item slot. This could potentially be unbalancing since it means that wizards potentially have access to an additional bonus, but most runes aren’t so powerful as to cause any upset.

Chapter 6 Organizations - 18 pages.

There are a variety of organizations here, and while many of them are a little generic there are still plenty of solid ideas. By belonging to one of these organizations a character often receives a mechanical benefit. This could be access to a magic item, a new encounter power, or even a ritual. While these abilities aren’t game breaking, though some are quite potent, they at least offer all of the character hooks that come with belonging to a major arcane organization.

These groups won’t be making an appearance in any of my games, but for DMs interested in adding a group of wizards or players that want to belong to something greater it’s a fine resource to turn to.

Chapter 7 A Wizard’s Tower - 12 pages.

Unfortunately, there’s not much here. The suggestions on tower locations are interesting, especially the more exotic ones, but otherwise this short addition is a little dry. It’s certainly a fine reference for the player with far, far too much money, and the ideas can inspire a DM who wants a strange home for a magical hermit, but I doubt many readers will take anything worthwhile from the suggestions on cost and other information included here.

My Take

For substance, however, this book is fantastic. Lots of mechanical options that are well balanced and perfect for any player who wants more options for her wizard. Anyone playing a wizard that isn’t happy with only having a few options each level will love what they find here.

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