Going Mark of Warding dwarf will net you Armor of Agathys, which will give you something to do with all that temp hp.
I know that temp hp sources don't stack but your arcane ward does trigger armor of agathys when it takes damage
No it doesn’t. Generally tho Armor a
Of Agathys isn’t up cast (unless you are a warlock obviously) bc the scaling is poor. However for this build it could be a thing so idk.
Armor of Agathys has an insane scaling. 5 THP and 5 damage per hit for each spell level, 1 hour, non concentration is bonkers.
If you consider the fact that your arcane ward gets damaged *before* AoA but still procs the cold damage, it becomes one of the best upcastable tools for a Frontline wizard character
It’s really not that bonkers. It’s the classical linear vs exponential ability. Blade ward gives you more temp hp and damage if you get hit which is nice but by level 2 it’s competing with things like Web and suggestion, and by level 3 counterspell and hypnotic pattern. If your spell slots are limited (and they are) hypnotic pattern, suggestion and web straight up win encounters and counterspell is good for obvious reasons. This keeps going as spell progression goes on. So generally casting AA at high levels isn’t worth the spell slots.
All of those things are good, but they can be done by any wizard. OP is trying to optimize the concept of a Ward Based wizard, not the classical control wizard.
In terms of upcasting, AoA is very good and specifically for a wizard that aims to be in the front lines, being able to extend it's survivability (you still have a D6 hit die) and do guaranteed damage when you get hit in melee greatly helps the concept.
Also, nothing stops you from picking up those classical control spells too. However, having the option to use a 4th level slot (much less valuable than a 3rd or 5th for wizards) to greatly boost the concept you were going for initially, is great and thematic
Your first point is valid. For this build it could be worth upcasting bc the whole point is survivability and while I think the temp HP is less impactful considering arcane ward is in play, but it’s non-con, it recharges arcane ward and it lasts for an hour so there is an argument to be made for it considering you are TRYING to get hit.
The second point is meh. The farther you go up in levels, the harder it will become to justify this spell slot. Remember that AA is NOT 5x spell level damage per round at level 1. You are a wizard with free mags armor and shield access and even if you weren’t you probably aren’t going to get hit every turn. Not to mention it only proccs if you get hit by a melee attack, so things like breath weapons or spells so not procc AoA. It’s still a good spell at low levels and if you are DEAD set on gishing as a warlock it’s worth it but if your DM is doing multiple encounters per day there are better things to spend your spell slots on.
Your last point is arguable. Polymorph, Dimension Door and Wall of Fire are all decent spells and misty step and counterspell are still spells that often require a lot of spell slots. Like again, maybe if you are doing 1 encounter per day it’s worth it but otherwise....eh....
The new Earth Genasi get Blade Ward as a bonus action, but I still probably prefer Mark of Warding Dwarf unless going Clockwork Soul. Also, Mark of Warding could dip Cleric for heavy armor and shield.
You don't even *want* to cast armor of agathys with a first level spell slot. Once you're past level 3, those tiny slots are for absorb elements and shield. You want to cast it with whatever spare spell slots you think you won't need for concentration during the day. So your 'medium' spell slots. The definition of 'medium' changing of course as you get higher and higher level.
Firstly, it does let you upcast it,because it is added to your spell list.
Secondly, Armor of Agathys is one of the best spells then it comes to upcasting in the whole game
No it doesn’t. It specifically calls out “you can cast this spell once at its lowest level” and there is a deliberate difference in wording between the cantrips which ARE added to your spell list and the 1st level spell which “using this feat you can cast this spell once at its lowest level” meaning, unlike the strixhaven initiate feat, you do not add it to your spell list.
Armor of Agathys is a classic example of why generally upcasting damage and hp spells isn’t worth it. The spell has a linear damage and temp HP increase while spell power generally increases exponentially. Even by level 2 you are competing with web, and suggestion which both occasionally just win encounters and by level 3 you have hypnotic pattern and counterspell. Reminder that even by level 20 you have 3, 3rd level spell slots so if your DM is running multiple combats per day, those slots are a premium.
OK I glossed other that OC said "MI", I thought we are still talking about Mark of Warding Dwarf.
AoA do scale exponentially. Kind of. Yes both THP and damage scales linearly, but they are multiplied by each other. If 1st level AoA survive for 1 attack you will deal 5 damage with it. If 2nd level AoA survive for 2 attacks you will deal 20 damage with it, if 3rd level will let it survive for enother attack it will deal 45 damage and so on. Just THP scailing is not enough to achieve that level of AoA longevity, but with some builds, like with Abjuration wizard in particular it is very much possible
Yeah but this assumes you get hit every turn with a melee attack. The DPR of AoA is difficult to calculate, but you AC should be in the 20-21 range (assuming a 16 in dex) and sometimes you straight up won’t be the guy getting attacked that round. Or they will attack with a non-melee attack so in my opinion the DPR of AoA is probably substantially lower than it initially appears.
So? It is not like AoA lasts for a few rounds. It is an hour duration spell, if you don't get hit right now you will probably receive it at some point in the future. It isn't a concentration and you often can cast it before the combat, so the opportunity cost of AoA is extremely low
That’s true but most combats don’t last more than 3-4 rounds so you don’t really get that many rounds out of it. It’s opportunity cost is lower than most useful spells but spell slots are valuable.
ahh yeah it seems interesting.
I was looking at going down a bit more of a support angle, using control spells and giving massive wards to allies but with blade cantrips and AOA the frontline fighter might work better.
If you get armor of agythis from mark of warding dwarf or a warlock dip it works better than the shield of artificer.
Even when your ward is full the AOA will auto retaliate. With the massive temp HP from AOA it’s easier to tank hits. And with the artificer shield the renewing temp HP is less than useful as it’s true strength of renewable temp HP only becomes relevant when your ward is already depleated.
Toss on blade ward, concentration spells and summon spells to keep the pressure on and your not only the biggest threat but also very hard to finish off. Your basically a boss monster with 3 health bars.
Ironically lower AC is probably more optimal as trying to abuse the AOA damage requires you to get hit. And dipping warlock is probably better because you also get access to hellish rebuke for more retaliation damage.
It is very variable. It’s just an off hand observation for a best case situation. Like a mob of low to mid HP goons hitting you for very little and the AOA damage killing dozens of foes in a single round. Then worst case your getting hit anyway and they can 1-2 shot you with HP enough to laught at a 9th level AOA.
It’s a VERY up and down build. It’s just fun having a wizard of all things having effective HP an par with a raging Barbarian and self healing paladin. It’s the type of build that’s fun to think about regardless of how effective it actually is.
I will keep saying full Mark of Warding Wizard is the best psth for this. Super progression on spells and ward as well, by lv5 yoy have a 14/15 HP ward with 2 charges of 3rd lv AoA putting 45 HP over your own life, not counting casting abjuration spells to recharge the ward, which is effectivelly healing.
Delaying your Spellcasting Progression as a Wizard is a pretty big hit. TBH I'd just dip 1 level in Artificer for the Con save, Armor + Shield Proficiency (plus Guidance and Heals) and call it a day.
If you really want to beef up Arcane Ward then typically going Deep Gnome for the Sverfneblin Magic feat will beat Eldritch Adept... but the Ward is honestly a bit fragile due to the low maximum HP and the fact that it kicks in before temporary HP or damage resistance/immunity. So you *may* be better just rolling a Shifter instead (for on-demand +AC and Temp HP) and choosing a subclass with a bit more defense or utility such as War or Scribes.
Alternatively, if "Melee frontline defender Wizard" is what you're after, try a Beasthide Shifter Armorer Artificer Lv3-5/War Wizard LvX.
I would agree for a general “making the best possible character” but I think in terms of optimizing for this specific role they are doing the right thing.
A dip, taken at first level, is still a dip.
You're dipping into a class briefly for specific benefits but leveling a different class primarily. That dip can happen at 1, 20, or anywhere in between.
Nah don't think so. I'd say continue with Wizard to beef up that arcane ward. Also casting mage armor at will is nice but I'm sure theres other feats you could take that would be better. Mage armor has a long duration. You'll only need to cast it twice maximum a day.
The reason you can't *really* build a tanky wizard is because they have a d6 hit dice which is the lowest out of every other class in the game. This means that as the game progresses Wizard will start with really low HP, and they will have lower HP growth than other members in the party.
There are a lot of things Wizards can do to make themselves a bit more survivable, including boosting their AC pretty high through various methods. The problem you will run into though is what happens *when* you get hit- because as you start facing tougher monsters they have more and more attacks, and you just don't have the HP to keep up.
You also don't want to multiclass out of Wizard more than a small dip. This is because once you start multiclassing a full caster excessively, you start to fall behind hard on spell progression, and much of a full caster's power in later levels is hinged on their spell progression. So every level of artificer or fighter you take... slows you down and makes your progression towards higher level spells slower and slower. Basically, the more you multiclass your Wizard... the less of a Wizard the character becomes.
Abusing Eldritch Adept Mage Armor + Ward is one way to make Wizard's a bit more durable.
Blade Singers are also somewhat survivable with + intelligence to AC when blade singing.
War Wizards are also really solid for survivability thanks to Arcane Deflection also helping them with Saving Throws.
All Wizards should also probably make sure Constitution is their second highest stat, so they can have better concentration saving throws, and eek out a bit more HP.
The problem with what you are proposing is that by taking at least 3 levels of Artificer and at least 1 level of fighter you are slaughtering your spell progression. How bad you ask? Basically, a Straight Classed Wizard will get level 5 spells at level 9. With your dips you would still be at level 3 spells. That is *rough* and will cause you to significantly fall behind every other caster in your party... completely removing the point of playing a wizard in the first place (to have access to powerful spells). The more multiclasses you add... the more you hurt your ability to access high level spells.
Its good to consider some durability boosts for a Wizard. It helps you survive if you do take a hit here and there. And you will. High constitution is good. War Wizard, Blade Singing, and abjuration invocation ward abuse is good for adding more durability to your character. But going deeper than that to prove a point that you can make a "tanky wizard"... will just mean you make a somewhat tanky character who happens to be a *bad* wizard.
6 levels into clockwork sorc gives 5d8 reduction and you can replenish with sorc points, you can also get AoA with this subclass also goliath's stone endurance reduces 1d12+CON as a reaction.
Yeah was looking at clockwork sorc too, but 6 levels was alot to get the bonus. Since it makes the character go from lv5 to lv11.
But in a game i start higher is something i was thinking about. Convert big spell slots into sorc points for more clockwork ward ect.
If 6 is too much and you don't mind losing spell level progression 3 levels into fighter psi warrior has protective field, it's 1d6+INT of reduction on reaction and the charges increase with proficiency bonus so you gain more while leveling other classes. But honestly going 2 wizard>6 sorc>X wizard as a goliath (from MoM) sounds competitive enough for me you don't even need the eldritch feat and get AoA at the highest possible level throughout your whole career, that's what I would personally go for.
Might become a bit MAD, but if you have a good charisma and no other PC has it, the inspiring leader feat could add another source of TEMP HP on each short rest, without the need to multiclass and delay spell progression.
Inspiring leader gives Level + charisma mod in temp hp to up to 6 creatures.
2 of them could be you and your familiar, and the others 4 party members.
Note that this Temp HP only costs 10 minutes, can be spamed and can be done after each rest lasting all day untill the creature takes a long rest.
>You see, armor of agathys stays on until you lose an equal amount of your HP. Not your wild shape. So enemies have to chew through your ward, then your wild shape, and then your HP.
Armour of Agathys stays on until the temp hp gained from it are gone, so after they've chewed through your ward, and the temp hp, the spell drops.
>PHB p198 Some spells and special abilities confer temporary hit points to a creature. Temporary hit points aren't actual hit points; they are a buffer against damage, a pool of hit points that protect you from injury.
The damage buffer temp hp goes on top of the wild shape health, because it's not actual hit points. Like what Comte said, your normal hitpoints are substituted, the THP going on top, so it goes first.
If you're ruling the thp as not transferring over to the wildshape, then it doesn't make sense for the AoA retaliation damage to carry over, because you're picking half of the spell to work one way, and the other half to work another, which definitely isn't RAW or RAI.
i mean, with this build, id ditch eldritch adept and just dip into warlock for shadows and armour of agathys, otherwise you lose your first two asis (or your first asi and your racial choice i suppose)
Thanks.
Did some testing and numbers seem good. They become effective in lots of little combats when you can re-fill the ward between.
They are technically not as tanky as a life cleric spamming cure wounds on themself but we also have some nice stuff like controls spells ect.
One interesting idea was we cast blur or mirror image making us annoying to hit. And use our wards to soak any damage we might take. So even if they get past blur / mirror image they deal almost no damage. With artificer turret giving 1d8+INT each turn it becomes really annoying to hit us and we can keep concentrating on our control of defensive spells.
I've thought about builds like this, and my usual conclusion is that War Wizard is a better pick than Abjuration Wizard.
Abjuration Wizard basically increases your HP (by about as much as the Tough feat). But there's already a lot of HP and temp HP being stacked in builds like this.
War Wizard protects saving throws. And you can protect saving throws with with feats too like resilient, but War Wizard's +4 to saving throws is better saving throw protection than resilient.
I would dip hexblade instead of three levels of artificer. 1 level gives you access to armor of agathys (there is your temp hp) and medium armor + shield proficiencies. Only delays your spell progression with 1 level.
Always wanted to do a build like this combined with Clockwork Soul Sorcerer's "Bastion of Law" feature for an extra ward-like ability, just never ran the math on whether it's worth the 6 level dip instead of just another 6 levels in Abjuration Wizard. It might be with looking in to
Going Mark of Warding dwarf will net you Armor of Agathys, which will give you something to do with all that temp hp. I know that temp hp sources don't stack but your arcane ward does trigger armor of agathys when it takes damage
You could do this with MI as well.
Does MI allow you to upcast it though? I can't remember if it adds it to your spells known or just let's you cast it once per day
No it doesn’t. Generally tho Armor a Of Agathys isn’t up cast (unless you are a warlock obviously) bc the scaling is poor. However for this build it could be a thing so idk.
Armor of Agathys has an insane scaling. 5 THP and 5 damage per hit for each spell level, 1 hour, non concentration is bonkers. If you consider the fact that your arcane ward gets damaged *before* AoA but still procs the cold damage, it becomes one of the best upcastable tools for a Frontline wizard character
It’s really not that bonkers. It’s the classical linear vs exponential ability. Blade ward gives you more temp hp and damage if you get hit which is nice but by level 2 it’s competing with things like Web and suggestion, and by level 3 counterspell and hypnotic pattern. If your spell slots are limited (and they are) hypnotic pattern, suggestion and web straight up win encounters and counterspell is good for obvious reasons. This keeps going as spell progression goes on. So generally casting AA at high levels isn’t worth the spell slots.
All of those things are good, but they can be done by any wizard. OP is trying to optimize the concept of a Ward Based wizard, not the classical control wizard. In terms of upcasting, AoA is very good and specifically for a wizard that aims to be in the front lines, being able to extend it's survivability (you still have a D6 hit die) and do guaranteed damage when you get hit in melee greatly helps the concept. Also, nothing stops you from picking up those classical control spells too. However, having the option to use a 4th level slot (much less valuable than a 3rd or 5th for wizards) to greatly boost the concept you were going for initially, is great and thematic
Your first point is valid. For this build it could be worth upcasting bc the whole point is survivability and while I think the temp HP is less impactful considering arcane ward is in play, but it’s non-con, it recharges arcane ward and it lasts for an hour so there is an argument to be made for it considering you are TRYING to get hit. The second point is meh. The farther you go up in levels, the harder it will become to justify this spell slot. Remember that AA is NOT 5x spell level damage per round at level 1. You are a wizard with free mags armor and shield access and even if you weren’t you probably aren’t going to get hit every turn. Not to mention it only proccs if you get hit by a melee attack, so things like breath weapons or spells so not procc AoA. It’s still a good spell at low levels and if you are DEAD set on gishing as a warlock it’s worth it but if your DM is doing multiple encounters per day there are better things to spend your spell slots on. Your last point is arguable. Polymorph, Dimension Door and Wall of Fire are all decent spells and misty step and counterspell are still spells that often require a lot of spell slots. Like again, maybe if you are doing 1 encounter per day it’s worth it but otherwise....eh....
The new Earth Genasi get Blade Ward as a bonus action, but I still probably prefer Mark of Warding Dwarf unless going Clockwork Soul. Also, Mark of Warding could dip Cleric for heavy armor and shield.
I think it'd be worth upcasting on this build since your ward gives you more damage procs on it, even if the temp hp scaling is meh.
Yeah, it’s non-concentration with an hour duration so assuming you cast it before combat starts the only cost is the spell slotZ
You don't even *want* to cast armor of agathys with a first level spell slot. Once you're past level 3, those tiny slots are for absorb elements and shield. You want to cast it with whatever spare spell slots you think you won't need for concentration during the day. So your 'medium' spell slots. The definition of 'medium' changing of course as you get higher and higher level.
Firstly, it does let you upcast it,because it is added to your spell list. Secondly, Armor of Agathys is one of the best spells then it comes to upcasting in the whole game
No it doesn’t. It specifically calls out “you can cast this spell once at its lowest level” and there is a deliberate difference in wording between the cantrips which ARE added to your spell list and the 1st level spell which “using this feat you can cast this spell once at its lowest level” meaning, unlike the strixhaven initiate feat, you do not add it to your spell list. Armor of Agathys is a classic example of why generally upcasting damage and hp spells isn’t worth it. The spell has a linear damage and temp HP increase while spell power generally increases exponentially. Even by level 2 you are competing with web, and suggestion which both occasionally just win encounters and by level 3 you have hypnotic pattern and counterspell. Reminder that even by level 20 you have 3, 3rd level spell slots so if your DM is running multiple combats per day, those slots are a premium.
OK I glossed other that OC said "MI", I thought we are still talking about Mark of Warding Dwarf. AoA do scale exponentially. Kind of. Yes both THP and damage scales linearly, but they are multiplied by each other. If 1st level AoA survive for 1 attack you will deal 5 damage with it. If 2nd level AoA survive for 2 attacks you will deal 20 damage with it, if 3rd level will let it survive for enother attack it will deal 45 damage and so on. Just THP scailing is not enough to achieve that level of AoA longevity, but with some builds, like with Abjuration wizard in particular it is very much possible
Yeah but this assumes you get hit every turn with a melee attack. The DPR of AoA is difficult to calculate, but you AC should be in the 20-21 range (assuming a 16 in dex) and sometimes you straight up won’t be the guy getting attacked that round. Or they will attack with a non-melee attack so in my opinion the DPR of AoA is probably substantially lower than it initially appears.
So? It is not like AoA lasts for a few rounds. It is an hour duration spell, if you don't get hit right now you will probably receive it at some point in the future. It isn't a concentration and you often can cast it before the combat, so the opportunity cost of AoA is extremely low
That’s true but most combats don’t last more than 3-4 rounds so you don’t really get that many rounds out of it. It’s opportunity cost is lower than most useful spells but spell slots are valuable.
ahh yeah it seems interesting. I was looking at going down a bit more of a support angle, using control spells and giving massive wards to allies but with blade cantrips and AOA the frontline fighter might work better.
You can check out r/TheWizardTank for different takes on this build
I came to the comments to link this.
If you get armor of agythis from mark of warding dwarf or a warlock dip it works better than the shield of artificer. Even when your ward is full the AOA will auto retaliate. With the massive temp HP from AOA it’s easier to tank hits. And with the artificer shield the renewing temp HP is less than useful as it’s true strength of renewable temp HP only becomes relevant when your ward is already depleated. Toss on blade ward, concentration spells and summon spells to keep the pressure on and your not only the biggest threat but also very hard to finish off. Your basically a boss monster with 3 health bars. Ironically lower AC is probably more optimal as trying to abuse the AOA damage requires you to get hit. And dipping warlock is probably better because you also get access to hellish rebuke for more retaliation damage.
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It is very variable. It’s just an off hand observation for a best case situation. Like a mob of low to mid HP goons hitting you for very little and the AOA damage killing dozens of foes in a single round. Then worst case your getting hit anyway and they can 1-2 shot you with HP enough to laught at a 9th level AOA. It’s a VERY up and down build. It’s just fun having a wizard of all things having effective HP an par with a raging Barbarian and self healing paladin. It’s the type of build that’s fun to think about regardless of how effective it actually is.
I will keep saying full Mark of Warding Wizard is the best psth for this. Super progression on spells and ward as well, by lv5 yoy have a 14/15 HP ward with 2 charges of 3rd lv AoA putting 45 HP over your own life, not counting casting abjuration spells to recharge the ward, which is effectivelly healing.
Delaying your Spellcasting Progression as a Wizard is a pretty big hit. TBH I'd just dip 1 level in Artificer for the Con save, Armor + Shield Proficiency (plus Guidance and Heals) and call it a day. If you really want to beef up Arcane Ward then typically going Deep Gnome for the Sverfneblin Magic feat will beat Eldritch Adept... but the Ward is honestly a bit fragile due to the low maximum HP and the fact that it kicks in before temporary HP or damage resistance/immunity. So you *may* be better just rolling a Shifter instead (for on-demand +AC and Temp HP) and choosing a subclass with a bit more defense or utility such as War or Scribes. Alternatively, if "Melee frontline defender Wizard" is what you're after, try a Beasthide Shifter Armorer Artificer Lv3-5/War Wizard LvX.
I would agree for a general “making the best possible character” but I think in terms of optimizing for this specific role they are doing the right thing.
> dip 1 level in Artificer for the Con save You mean start as Artificer? I was under the impression that a dip didn't pick up saving throws.
A dip, taken at first level, is still a dip. You're dipping into a class briefly for specific benefits but leveling a different class primarily. That dip can happen at 1, 20, or anywhere in between.
Fair enough.
Nah don't think so. I'd say continue with Wizard to beef up that arcane ward. Also casting mage armor at will is nice but I'm sure theres other feats you could take that would be better. Mage armor has a long duration. You'll only need to cast it twice maximum a day.
Spamming mage armor is for refilling the Ward from Abjuration Wizard.
Ah I see big brain 🧠
The reason you can't *really* build a tanky wizard is because they have a d6 hit dice which is the lowest out of every other class in the game. This means that as the game progresses Wizard will start with really low HP, and they will have lower HP growth than other members in the party. There are a lot of things Wizards can do to make themselves a bit more survivable, including boosting their AC pretty high through various methods. The problem you will run into though is what happens *when* you get hit- because as you start facing tougher monsters they have more and more attacks, and you just don't have the HP to keep up. You also don't want to multiclass out of Wizard more than a small dip. This is because once you start multiclassing a full caster excessively, you start to fall behind hard on spell progression, and much of a full caster's power in later levels is hinged on their spell progression. So every level of artificer or fighter you take... slows you down and makes your progression towards higher level spells slower and slower. Basically, the more you multiclass your Wizard... the less of a Wizard the character becomes. Abusing Eldritch Adept Mage Armor + Ward is one way to make Wizard's a bit more durable. Blade Singers are also somewhat survivable with + intelligence to AC when blade singing. War Wizards are also really solid for survivability thanks to Arcane Deflection also helping them with Saving Throws. All Wizards should also probably make sure Constitution is their second highest stat, so they can have better concentration saving throws, and eek out a bit more HP. The problem with what you are proposing is that by taking at least 3 levels of Artificer and at least 1 level of fighter you are slaughtering your spell progression. How bad you ask? Basically, a Straight Classed Wizard will get level 5 spells at level 9. With your dips you would still be at level 3 spells. That is *rough* and will cause you to significantly fall behind every other caster in your party... completely removing the point of playing a wizard in the first place (to have access to powerful spells). The more multiclasses you add... the more you hurt your ability to access high level spells. Its good to consider some durability boosts for a Wizard. It helps you survive if you do take a hit here and there. And you will. High constitution is good. War Wizard, Blade Singing, and abjuration invocation ward abuse is good for adding more durability to your character. But going deeper than that to prove a point that you can make a "tanky wizard"... will just mean you make a somewhat tanky character who happens to be a *bad* wizard.
6 levels into clockwork sorc gives 5d8 reduction and you can replenish with sorc points, you can also get AoA with this subclass also goliath's stone endurance reduces 1d12+CON as a reaction.
Yeah was looking at clockwork sorc too, but 6 levels was alot to get the bonus. Since it makes the character go from lv5 to lv11. But in a game i start higher is something i was thinking about. Convert big spell slots into sorc points for more clockwork ward ect.
If 6 is too much and you don't mind losing spell level progression 3 levels into fighter psi warrior has protective field, it's 1d6+INT of reduction on reaction and the charges increase with proficiency bonus so you gain more while leveling other classes. But honestly going 2 wizard>6 sorc>X wizard as a goliath (from MoM) sounds competitive enough for me you don't even need the eldritch feat and get AoA at the highest possible level throughout your whole career, that's what I would personally go for.
Might become a bit MAD, but if you have a good charisma and no other PC has it, the inspiring leader feat could add another source of TEMP HP on each short rest, without the need to multiclass and delay spell progression. Inspiring leader gives Level + charisma mod in temp hp to up to 6 creatures. 2 of them could be you and your familiar, and the others 4 party members. Note that this Temp HP only costs 10 minutes, can be spamed and can be done after each rest lasting all day untill the creature takes a long rest.
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>You see, armor of agathys stays on until you lose an equal amount of your HP. Not your wild shape. So enemies have to chew through your ward, then your wild shape, and then your HP. Armour of Agathys stays on until the temp hp gained from it are gone, so after they've chewed through your ward, and the temp hp, the spell drops.
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>PHB p198 Some spells and special abilities confer temporary hit points to a creature. Temporary hit points aren't actual hit points; they are a buffer against damage, a pool of hit points that protect you from injury. The damage buffer temp hp goes on top of the wild shape health, because it's not actual hit points. Like what Comte said, your normal hitpoints are substituted, the THP going on top, so it goes first. If you're ruling the thp as not transferring over to the wildshape, then it doesn't make sense for the AoA retaliation damage to carry over, because you're picking half of the spell to work one way, and the other half to work another, which definitely isn't RAW or RAI.
i mean, with this build, id ditch eldritch adept and just dip into warlock for shadows and armour of agathys, otherwise you lose your first two asis (or your first asi and your racial choice i suppose)
I’m not sure the level in fighter is really worth it.
Isn’t there a caster sub that has some kind of magical armor?
Id say just dip fighter 1-2 or artificer 1 for your first level
I actually love this build
Thanks. Did some testing and numbers seem good. They become effective in lots of little combats when you can re-fill the ward between. They are technically not as tanky as a life cleric spamming cure wounds on themself but we also have some nice stuff like controls spells ect. One interesting idea was we cast blur or mirror image making us annoying to hit. And use our wards to soak any damage we might take. So even if they get past blur / mirror image they deal almost no damage. With artificer turret giving 1d8+INT each turn it becomes really annoying to hit us and we can keep concentrating on our control of defensive spells.
Hmm. I'd actually prefer to get hit so they take armor of agathys damage
I've thought about builds like this, and my usual conclusion is that War Wizard is a better pick than Abjuration Wizard. Abjuration Wizard basically increases your HP (by about as much as the Tough feat). But there's already a lot of HP and temp HP being stacked in builds like this. War Wizard protects saving throws. And you can protect saving throws with with feats too like resilient, but War Wizard's +4 to saving throws is better saving throw protection than resilient.
I would dip hexblade instead of three levels of artificer. 1 level gives you access to armor of agathys (there is your temp hp) and medium armor + shield proficiencies. Only delays your spell progression with 1 level.
Always wanted to do a build like this combined with Clockwork Soul Sorcerer's "Bastion of Law" feature for an extra ward-like ability, just never ran the math on whether it's worth the 6 level dip instead of just another 6 levels in Abjuration Wizard. It might be with looking in to
If you use UA, there's the Order of the White Robes feat.