Wizard

Wizard
Aloth, an elven wizard
General
Role	Mob Ruler
Abilities	Single target damage spells, area of effect damage spells, personal buffs and single target buffs.
Starting Stats
Skill bonus	Lore +2 Mechanics +1
Endurance	36 + 12/level (Very Low)
Health	Endurance x4 (Low)
Deflection	10 (Very Low)
Accuracy	20 (Very Low)
Character
Companion	Aloth
Icon

Typical Wizard Grimoire

“

The masters of academic magic, wizards are students of arcane traditions that stretch back beyond the boundaries of recorded history. Wizards are a highly organized group, often forming academies or guilds devoted to research and development in magical studies, and tend to favor environments where inquiry, experimentation, debate, and the dissemination of knowledge are encouraged. Many accomplished wizards eventually become known for their eccentricity, their egos, and their unquenchable interest in all things arcane and occult.

”

Wizard is one of the playable classes in Pillars of Eternity.

Widely respected in most societies, wizards of Pillars of Eternity are men and women of high education and extreme mental discipline, if not always outright intelligence. Wizards are sometimes called navigators of the mortal soul, charting out and practicing the precise ways in which "ordinary" people can unlock the power inside of themselves. Using their knowledge to truly spectacular ends, wizards rely not only on ancient practices but also their own research to propel them forward. Far from being occult or protected knowledge, most wizards' spells are just so incredibly complex and physically demanding that even practiced wizards cannot invoke them without the use of expensive, specially-enchanted tomes.

And what do the tomes contain? Instructions on ways to use one's soul to alter reality, to warp time around enemies, to make skin as tough as stone, to counter even the most powerful magic, to invoke balls of flame, bolts of lightning, gouts of acid, to conjure nightmares out of thin air. Truly, the possibilities open to wizards seem to exceed even those of what priests can call upon through their faith. And though any wizard may prepare several tomes, an inexperienced caster is not capable of channeling power through the log-thick, anvil-heavy, dog-eared grimoires of wizened archmagi. Such novices must alternate between more modest selections, relying on their less demanding spells and talents when they are unable to call upon their tomes.

Wizards are often assumed to be masters of occult lore. While this certainly applies to their knowledge of spells, many wizards are so narrowly-focused that they are ignorant of outside culture and history. It is also not uncommon for wizards to delight as much in mechanical curiosities as rogues. Because their powers make them targets in battle, a surprising number of wizards are quite fit, even if they aren't particularly strong.

Wizards use grimoires, arcane books made with rare materials that can absorb and temporarily hold fragments of ambient soul energy that are in the world all around them and gather them into their grimoires, like a magical capacitor and then redirect that energy. Unlike priests and druids, wizards do not personally shape the magic that is released. Instead, their grimoires' spell pages do most of the work. The wizard's specialty is in understanding how to help the magic flow in and out of the grimoire without going haywire. As wizards continue to research, more spells are created every year. Some spells remain in the private collections of individual wizards while others see widespread distribution and can be found in grimoires all over the known world.

Attributes

Highly Recommended:

• Might
• Intellect

Recommended:

• Dexterity

Abilities

Wizards have high flexibility and can cast single target damage spells, area of effect damage spells, personal buffs and single target buffs. They have many damage spells, which target different defenses and damage types.

• 1st Level Wizard Spells – Wizards can cast a fixed number of 1st level spells before they need to rest to recover the spells. They can cast any combination of their known spells up to that fixed limit.
• Arcane Assault – Unleashes a bolt of magical energy from the grimoire that inflicts Raw damage and Dazes targets in the area.

Progression

Level	Ability gained	Spell uses per level
		1st level	2nd level	3rd level	4th level	5th level	6th level	7th level
1	Arcane Assault	2 per Rest	none	none	none	none	none	none
	Four spells
2	One spell	3 per Rest	none	none	none	none	none	none
3	Two spells	4 per Rest	2 per Rest	none	none	none	none	none
4	One spell	4 per Rest	3 per Rest	none	none	none	none	none
5	Two spells	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	2 per Rest	none	none	none	none
6	One spell	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	3 per Rest	none	none	none	none
7	Two spells	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	2 per Rest	none	none	none
8	One spell	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	3 per Rest	none	none	none
9	Two spells	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	2 per Rest	none	none
10	One spell	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	3 per Rest	none	none
11	Two spells	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	2 per Rest	none
12	One spell	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	3 per Rest	none
13	Two spells	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	2 per Rest
14	One spell	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Encounter	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	4 per Rest	3 per Rest

Spells

Main article: Wizard spell

They can only cast those spells, which are listed in the equipped grimoire and a single grimoire can only hold four spells of any given level. For any given spell level, wizards have potential access to more spells than any other caster class, but their access at any particular moment is always limited by their current grimoire. You can change the grimoire during combat, but switching grimoires disables spellcasting for a short while. You can rearrange your spells/grimoires whenever you like (outside of combat) and once you have learned a spell, it's available to use in as many grimoires as you'd like.

If Wizards come across a spell in an enemy's grimoire, they can choose to learn that spell for the cost (in copper pieces) required to research it. They also learn one new spell every time they gain a level, but they can't choose to learn unique spells on level up. There are 6 spell level in Pillars of Eternity. On the first level the wizard gain access to the first spell level, on the third level he/she gains access to 2nd spell level and on the 5th level he/she gains access to the 3rd spell level.

About 1/3 to 1/4 of the spells are named after their maker. Concelhaut and Minoletta are wizards that invented the highest number of spells.

Talents

• Grimoire Slam – attacks an enemy in melee with the magically-charged grimoire of a wizard, unleashing a concussive wave of energy on contact. If it hits, the attack knocks the target back, usually far enough to break Melee Engagement in the process.
• Arcane Veil – Conjures a protective shield of magic, dramatically boosting the wizard's Deflection.
• Blast – Generates a Blast on the target when using Wand, Rod or Scepter, doing a modest amount of damage to all enemies in a small area around the target.
• Penetrating Blast – grants DR penetration to a wizard's Blast ability.
• Hardened Veil – Strengthens the wizard's Arcane Veil, providing a particularly high Deflection bonus.
• Lesser Invulnerability Spell Heuristics – Decreases the casting time of Spirit Shield, Bulwark against the Elements, Mirrored Images, and Llengrath's Displaced Image
• Greater Invulnerability Spell Heuristics – Decreases the casting time of Flame Shield, Ironskin, Minor Arcane Reflection, Llengrath's Safeguard, and Arcane Reflection
• Bonus 1st Level Spell – Gain an extra spell cast of level 1 spells.
• Bonus 2nd Level Spell – Gain an extra spell cast of level 2 spells.
• Bonus 3rd Level Spell – Gain an extra spell cast of level 3 spells.
• Bonus 4th Level Spell – Gain an extra spell cast of level 4 spells.

Notable wizards

• Aloth
• Maerwald
• Helig of Thein
• Concelhaunt

Related Items

• Ring of the Selonan
• Telda's Ring

Notes

• Earlier in Developement Wizards had Familiars, but the ability was later removed from the game.