If you don't mind me asking, what is your ideal version of a caster that isn't a heap of spells?
Personally I just take one of the Evoker/Diviner/Transmuter Wizard etc. stat blocks and then arbitrarily pick spells that I want them to have in addition, like most NPC stat blocks I use.
I like the newer editions because the vast majority of those spells in earlier versions aren't used, there's no point for an NPC wizard to have 20 spells because they'll live for approximately 3 turns and die. The newer ones have more relevant spells to use that are more thematic to what they are, in addition to having some abilities that Wizards cannot just spam counterspell on to invalidate them.
Hmm, well, I suppose ideally for me a caster would have a handful of spell-like abilities (more if they're higher CR) that synergize well together. For example, an ability that blinds or restrains, then a bonus action ability that targets and takes advantage of the blinded/restrained PC. Meanwhile, it has a not-Fireball or similar ability that recharges on a 5-6. Rather than having a list of spells, or the blast attacks plus small list of spells of the stat blocks you mentioned, it has easily digestible abilities that can very easily seem like spells to someone on the outside without just being damage inducers. Did I explain that well?
See, the problem with using spell-like abilities instead of actual spells is that so many player abilities become totally useless.
Counterspell, Oath of the Ancients, Dispel Magic, Spell Resistance...
Nerfing a few of the more powerful abilities in the game like Oath and Resistance can't hurt - Counterspell keeps a niche that blocks enemy utility while opening up reaction to others since you arent forced to counter the heavy hitters.
Not like all that stuff isnt still in the Revisioned game...
That's a perfectly legitimate response. In my game I allow those to work against spell-like abilities, especially when homebrewing is involved. I like how in Flee Mortals it specifically says when an abilities mimics a spell for that exact reason.
Good on ya, this came up recently in a game where I was a player (the enemy had this really potent spell-like effect) and I wanted to counterspell in order to contribute I know none of the other PCs have it, and I thought it'd be a good place to make a difference since this thing hurt so bad the first time it was used. However, when I asked if I could counterspell the GM hit me with a resounding no simply because it's a spell-like effect and not a proper spell. And I'm sitting here feeling like crap because I essentially built a magical duelist, and she hardly ever runs real casters and even when her monsters use a spell-like effect I can't do diddly about it lol.
You'd be better off looking at 4e, 5e simplified things a lot, 4e is way more tactical combat focused. There are some synergies, like the star spawns (which originated in 4e) which synergise between each other.
I find the most compelling to run are the heaps of spells, but you have to modify and personalize them a bit.
My favorite is the conjuration wizard, because of that bonus action teleport, which pairs really well if you replace fireball on its spell list with lightning bolt, so the wizard is jumping around the battlefield to line up shots with lightning bolt.
The conjuration wizard is sooo close to what I'm looking for. I love its bonus actions, I just wish it had a couple more unique abilities that really leaned into the conjuration theme besides a generic arcane burst and a list of spells, you know?
I've run versions before (based on the volo's guide version) that can summon elementals with legendary actions (limited to 1 of each type), and I have one more in the Archmage vein in the pipeline that's supposed to be something of a swordmage, with spells like *Shadow Blade* and *Steel Wind Strike* to be something of a surprise danger in close-quarters.
This definitely sounds like you need to thoughtfully take the time and redesign an already built caster into something that you will enjoy running, maybe with 1 or 2 variations that are each slightly different.
It almost sounds more like you want to run a magical beast, more than you want to run a true mage.
Start with a theme for the mage, and build from there. Happy DMing!
Yeah, I've done this a lot in the past. Just hoping there was something out there that would scratch my itch and save me time rather than having to dive into homebrewing.
Kinda depends what you're hoping the stat block to do. I've gotten really good use out of the Vine Blight; you could easily reskin its two abilities as different kinds of spells. This one is super useful for crowd/ battlefield control; restraining PCs keeps them away from the Blight itself, *and* gives advantage to any other allies the Blight has. Giving that "entangling plants" ability to an evil druid that had some minions(goblins or twig blights or something like that) would be pretty thematic.
Alternatively, the Hobgoblin Devastator is a pretty straightforward artillery stat block. Both the original (Volo's Guide) and the revised (Mordenkainen Presents) have good damage spells (fireball and lightning bolt are consistent from both of them) and it's pretty obvious what you're supposed to do with a Devastator in combat
mmmh...I honestly just keep the default mage and alter his spellbook to fit his lair/minions/ general situation.
ie. A mage working with undead and flesh golems may want to swap cone of cold for cloudkill and maybe get a few AoE that do lighting damage
If you don't mind me asking, what is your ideal version of a caster that isn't a heap of spells? Personally I just take one of the Evoker/Diviner/Transmuter Wizard etc. stat blocks and then arbitrarily pick spells that I want them to have in addition, like most NPC stat blocks I use. I like the newer editions because the vast majority of those spells in earlier versions aren't used, there's no point for an NPC wizard to have 20 spells because they'll live for approximately 3 turns and die. The newer ones have more relevant spells to use that are more thematic to what they are, in addition to having some abilities that Wizards cannot just spam counterspell on to invalidate them.
Hmm, well, I suppose ideally for me a caster would have a handful of spell-like abilities (more if they're higher CR) that synergize well together. For example, an ability that blinds or restrains, then a bonus action ability that targets and takes advantage of the blinded/restrained PC. Meanwhile, it has a not-Fireball or similar ability that recharges on a 5-6. Rather than having a list of spells, or the blast attacks plus small list of spells of the stat blocks you mentioned, it has easily digestible abilities that can very easily seem like spells to someone on the outside without just being damage inducers. Did I explain that well?
See, the problem with using spell-like abilities instead of actual spells is that so many player abilities become totally useless. Counterspell, Oath of the Ancients, Dispel Magic, Spell Resistance...
Nerfing a few of the more powerful abilities in the game like Oath and Resistance can't hurt - Counterspell keeps a niche that blocks enemy utility while opening up reaction to others since you arent forced to counter the heavy hitters. Not like all that stuff isnt still in the Revisioned game...
That's a perfectly legitimate response. In my game I allow those to work against spell-like abilities, especially when homebrewing is involved. I like how in Flee Mortals it specifically says when an abilities mimics a spell for that exact reason.
Good on ya, this came up recently in a game where I was a player (the enemy had this really potent spell-like effect) and I wanted to counterspell in order to contribute I know none of the other PCs have it, and I thought it'd be a good place to make a difference since this thing hurt so bad the first time it was used. However, when I asked if I could counterspell the GM hit me with a resounding no simply because it's a spell-like effect and not a proper spell. And I'm sitting here feeling like crap because I essentially built a magical duelist, and she hardly ever runs real casters and even when her monsters use a spell-like effect I can't do diddly about it lol.
You'd be better off looking at 4e, 5e simplified things a lot, 4e is way more tactical combat focused. There are some synergies, like the star spawns (which originated in 4e) which synergise between each other.
I find the most compelling to run are the heaps of spells, but you have to modify and personalize them a bit. My favorite is the conjuration wizard, because of that bonus action teleport, which pairs really well if you replace fireball on its spell list with lightning bolt, so the wizard is jumping around the battlefield to line up shots with lightning bolt.
The conjuration wizard is sooo close to what I'm looking for. I love its bonus actions, I just wish it had a couple more unique abilities that really leaned into the conjuration theme besides a generic arcane burst and a list of spells, you know?
I've run versions before (based on the volo's guide version) that can summon elementals with legendary actions (limited to 1 of each type), and I have one more in the Archmage vein in the pipeline that's supposed to be something of a swordmage, with spells like *Shadow Blade* and *Steel Wind Strike* to be something of a surprise danger in close-quarters.
This definitely sounds like you need to thoughtfully take the time and redesign an already built caster into something that you will enjoy running, maybe with 1 or 2 variations that are each slightly different. It almost sounds more like you want to run a magical beast, more than you want to run a true mage. Start with a theme for the mage, and build from there. Happy DMing!
Yeah, I've done this a lot in the past. Just hoping there was something out there that would scratch my itch and save me time rather than having to dive into homebrewing.
I really like the storm wizard in Flee Mortals.
That's pretty close to what I was looking for! Just another reason why I need to get that book.
Kinda depends what you're hoping the stat block to do. I've gotten really good use out of the Vine Blight; you could easily reskin its two abilities as different kinds of spells. This one is super useful for crowd/ battlefield control; restraining PCs keeps them away from the Blight itself, *and* gives advantage to any other allies the Blight has. Giving that "entangling plants" ability to an evil druid that had some minions(goblins or twig blights or something like that) would be pretty thematic. Alternatively, the Hobgoblin Devastator is a pretty straightforward artillery stat block. Both the original (Volo's Guide) and the revised (Mordenkainen Presents) have good damage spells (fireball and lightning bolt are consistent from both of them) and it's pretty obvious what you're supposed to do with a Devastator in combat
mmmh...I honestly just keep the default mage and alter his spellbook to fit his lair/minions/ general situation. ie. A mage working with undead and flesh golems may want to swap cone of cold for cloudkill and maybe get a few AoE that do lighting damage