Wizard NPCs & How to Use Them for EVERY Tier of Play
If this is your first time reading this series, we’re going through each of the official classes in D&D Fifth Edition and making NPC statblocks inspired by them. They are not intended to be carbon copies, but rather to simplify your NPCs while maintaining the same flavor and familiarity as a full character. I go into more detail about this philosophy in the first article in the series on paladins.
But simply, for each of the tiers of play we’ll make an NPC stat block based on the relevant class. These tiers are a loose way of comparing your NPC’s power level to that of your party. Of course this is far from perfect, but you’ll be able to give the general feel of whether an NPC is over, under, or near the power level of a comparable player character. For reference, those tiers of play are:
Local Heroes (Levels 1-4)
Heroes of the Realm (Levels 5-10)
Masters of the Realm (Level 11-16)
Masters of the World (Levels 17-20)
In addition to creating the statblocks, for each tier of play I will give a few examples of how that NPC can be used in your game. Hopefully that will help get some ideas churning! And of course, feel free to use and modify these suggestions as encounters or adventures for your own party.
With the table set, let’s move into our third round of NPCs: wizards!
How to Use NPC Wizards
Magic and spellcasting are among the hallmarks of D&D. Whether there is an expansive university in your setting or only the rare mage who lives secluded in their tower, a magical world needs magical people. The presence of these spellcasters makes your world feel magical and special, regardless of how common you make them. Oftentimes these spellcasters will be some of your most notable and useful NPCs, as the players search for scrolls, information, or magical assistance.
Wizards can also make for frightening foes. The nefarious necromancer is a commonly used villain in DnD and other media, but there are plenty of other ways the party may come to be at odds with a powerful wizard. Perhaps an enchantment wizard has been mind controlling the local lord, or a transmutation wizard has been scamming merchants with fake gold. Whatever the case, a hostile spellcaster with time and resources is a dangerous enemy for any party.
Tier 1 Wizards
Tier 1 wizards will typically be encountered between levels 1 and 4, although you may use them as allies or henchmen of more powerful beings at later levels. These wizards are still in the novice or apprentice stages of wizardry. They may be under the tutelage of a more powerful mage, a self-taught nomad, or the wizened court wizard of a local lord.
Customizing an NPC. I’m going to treat wizards a bit differently than the other classes we’ve done to this point. Unlike other spellcasting classes, the majority of wizard subclasses are based on a certain school of magic. Thus, the different subclass abilities are relatively dependent on having suitable spells from that school. So, while our tiered NPC wizards will all share most of their spells, each NPC will also have a list of “Specialized Casting” spells to draw from depending on their specialized arcane tradition. That table is below:
To further customize a wizard of this tier, you can do one or more of the following:
Swap out one of the wizard’s spells for another wizard spell of the same level or lower.
Add the 2nd level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Plot Hooks/Use in Your Game. As we have done for the past NPCs, I’m going to give you some potential hooks to place tier 1 wizard NPCs into your game world. As typical, I will also give a subclass that fits that particular hook. However, it is not necessary for you to assign an NPC a subclass, nor is there any reason that an NPC of a different subclass than the one listed can’t be used for a given hook.
A mage lives in solitude on the outskirts of town. She has been known to accept visitors who come seeking aid, but never without a price. Rather than charging a fee, she prefers to wager her assistance against some good or service from the petitioner in a game of cards. Somehow, she always seems to win- even when the petitioner provides the deck. (School of Divination).
A young wizard is attempting to gain entry into a prestigious library (such as Candlekeep in the Forgotten Realms). In order to get in the doors, he needs to provide a rare tome or piece of knowledge. The good news is, he found one. The bad news, it's in the possession of a cult led by a bearded devil. (Order of Scribes).
All along a major roadway, traveling caravans and shops have had dealings with a quiet elf, heavily obscured in long robes. Without fail, shortly after their dealings are complete the silver coins the elf used to pay revert back into worthless wooden discs. Several merchants have banded together to offer a bounty for the capture of this elf, so that they can be paid in full. (School of Transmutation).
Tier 2 Wizards
Tier 2 wizards are most likely to be encountered in between levels 5 and 10, although they may be introduced earlier as a potential patron, mentor figure or future antagonist. You may also use them at later levels as allies or lieutenants of even more powerful creatures. At tier 2, these wizards could be traveling researchers, keepers of important libraries/hubs of knowledge, or reclusive hermits conducting their experiments .
Customizing an NPC. To customize a wizard of this tier, you can do one or more of the following:
Swap out one of the wizard’s spells for another wizard spell of the same level or lower.
Add the 2nd level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 6th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Plot Hooks/Use in Your Game.
As the party travels through the forest they hear the sounds of some sort of music, unlike any instrument they have ever heard. The music is immediately followed by an animalistic bellow and the sounds of steel on steel. If they investigate, they see an elven man wielding a singing sword as he dodges out of the way of a charging gorgon. (Bladesinger).
An ancient burial site has been defiled by a necromancer. The tomb is the resting place of a powerful spellcaster, the necromancer may be after a magic item or the spellbook of the deceased. (School of Necromancy).
A wizard has been sealed away in her tower for weeks. The rumor around town is that she is distraught after her last journey ended poorly. While traveling in the frozen wastes to the north, the wizard lost her set of marvelous pigments in an ill-advised deal with a bheur hag. She would pay handsomely for their return. (School of Conjuration).
Tier 3 Wizards
Tier 3 wizards are most likely to be encountered from levels 11 to 16, although you may insert them earlier as a potential patron or mentor figure. They may be used at later levels as allies or lieutenants of even more powerful creatures. Unless your setting has uniquely powerful NPCs, tier 3 wizards should be very rare. These high level spellcasters may lead secluded lives, controlling things from the shadows, or they could be well-known and politically powerful figures. Whatever their approach, tier 3 wizards are important players in the world.
Customizing an NPC. To customize a wizard of this tier, you can do one or more of the following:
Swap out one of the wizard’s spells for another wizard spell of the same level or lower.
Add the 2nd level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 6th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 10th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Plot Hooks/Use in Your Game.
One of the Imperial Mages led a group of soldiers to investigate reports of fire giants raiding the villages near the mountains. Rather than stealing supplies, the giants have been stealing people. The mage set out over a month ago and has not yet returned, there is a reward for any mercenaries willing to investigate the giant raids and learn the whereabouts of the mage and soldiers. (War Magic).
A wizard is attempting to develop an improved version of the guards and wards spell. In order to test their theory, they need a special type of brimstone found only in the Nine Hells. (School of Abjuration).
An important political figure has been acting strangely. They have given illogical commands and done things that clearly conflict with their previously stated beliefs. No one is sure if he’s gone mad or if there is something else at work. In actuality, he is under the effects of a geas spell placed on him by a mage from a rival kingdom, weakening the area for an attack. (School of Enchantment).
Tier 4 Wizards
Tier 4 wizards will probably be encountered by PCs from levels 17 to 20, if at all. A tier 4 wizard is comparable in many respects to a level 20 adventurer, there may only be one or two such figures in your entire setting. Wizards of this renown may be seeking to beat death through lichdom, may have lived thousands of years under different aliases with the aid of the clone spell, or could be the leader of the powerful magocracy.
Customizing an NPC. To customize a wizard of this tier, you can do one or more of the following:
Swap out one of the wizard’s spells for another wizard spell of the same level or lower.
Add the 2nd level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 6th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 10th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Add the 14th level ability from your chosen Arcane Tradition.
Plot Hooks/Use in Your Game.
A cult devoted to elemental fire has been rampaging through the region, burning towns, farmland, and forests in the name of their patron. The leader of the cult is able to create devastating explosions that somehow leaves him and his followers untouched. (School of Evocation).
A small section of land is constantly changing its geography. One week it is a frozen wasteland, the next it's a stinking swampland. Local legend has it that an extremely powerful, if chaotic and unpredictable, entity lives within the anomaly. (School of Illusion).
Up next week: NPC druids to serve as the protectors of wilderness and other important natural features.
