The Abjurer: A Treantmonk Guide (Part 3 of 3)

Welcome to my Abjurer guide! In this video I am going to make a unique Wizard, a Wizard who wants to be attacked! This prickly pear punishes those who dare to attack by releasing waves of freezing retribution. This is part 3, for parts 1 and 2 see the links below.
For Part 1 of this build: • The Abjurer: A Treantm...
For Part 2 of this build: • The Abjurer: A Treantm...
Here's the link to the final build: ddb.ac/characters/17317766/G1zuGf

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Welcome to my Abjurer guide! In this video I am going to make a unique Wizard, a Wizard who wants to be attacked! This prickly pear punishes those who dare to attack by releasing waves of freezing retribution. This is part 3, for parts 1 and 2 see the links below. For Part 1 of this build: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5TGaWalabRnfLM For Part 2 of this build: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3iwh2CuhdJgbs0 Here's the link to the final build: ddb.ac/characters/17317766/G1zuGf

[@KhristianBolano]

bUt wHaT aBoUt tEnSeR's tRanSfoRmAtIoN

[@clenzen9930]

Great Video. Not sure I agree with the Arcane Lock due to the cost though: M (Gold dust worth at least 25 gp, which the spell consumes). Maybe at that level you don't worry about gold...

[@wassentme1891]

That seems reasonable. Totally varies by campaign but my last Mines of P ended with almost 1,000 gp.

[@r.downgrade5836]

I wouldn't go for Arcane Lock, not with the gold cost. I'd rather choose 'Mage Armor'. Sure, it disappears since I'm wearing armor but at least it doesn't have a gold cost.

[@mikehalloran93]

Both in this video (talking about improved abjuration) and the monk variant (talking about unarmored defense) Chris mentions proficiency bonus getting to plus 7. Am I missing something? I thought it topped out at plus 6 at level 20?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

No, just a screw up.

[@Samuel_Kabel]

​@@TreantmonksTemple Oi speakin of screw ups, ya coulda had an extra 6th or lower level spell, and an extra 9th or lower level spell. The first mistake started when you only added 3 spells at 7-8 wizard levels in part two of this build. (Is it weird that i'm even bothering mentioning this over a year later?)

[@binolombardi]

Invulnerability would cause the ward to go down. armor of agathys would stay up until invulnerability ends though. If you’re immune to damage then your temp hp doesn’t go down.

[@tyleremery7088]

Assuming your DM in a particular game allows Eberron content, a similar build could be done with a mark of warding dwarf, artificer 1/abjurer X. Boosted CON and INT from race, proficiency in medium armor and CON saves, INT-based casting for both classes with no loss of spell slot progression, armor of agathys added to the spell list for both classes, plus the added bonus of guidance and cure wounds. Unfortunately there's no hellish rebuke for this one, but I'd say that's a pretty small price to pay. Thoughts?

[@theeye8276]

It's good but needing to hold your tools in hand for artificer spells makes a 1 lvl dip far less attractive. I think 1 lvl in cleric to get heavy armor would be better just because of the tool bit.

[@Porphyrogenitus1]

> Maybe I should have called this the porcupine Or "The Skunk" With a suitable superhero costume. Hobgoblin known as "The Skunk." Hangs out in the garbage heap with the other gobbos.

[@ShurikenSean]

found this video while looking at a warlock wizard multiclass idea looking back on this with the new eldritch adept feat from tashas you could get the at will mage armor invocation to do the arcane lock method much earlier to replenish your ward out of combat

[@dcyphermanplays8233]

This build should be called "Did you just hit me!!??"

[@thekinginyellow7777]

Looking forward to the Necromancer! Good building, as usual.

[@khazidhea790]

Hey Treantmonk, thanks for your guide! I've been playing a similar build and just gotten to level 6 spells, so it's helpful to see what you would've done and the reasons why. I'm not well versed in higher level play, but if much of the damage with this build comes from AoA would it be worth considering the Elemental Adept (cold) feat so it remains viable as you encounter more enemies with cold resistance? My build for what it's worth: (AL, so PHB + SCAG) Svirfneblin + racial feat; 1 level Fae warlock, 1 lvl Tempest Cleric for heavy armour, spell slot progression, Wrath of the Storm reaction, and as I'm playing through Ghosts of Saltmarsh it's more thematic as a Wizard cleric of Umberlee. BB/GFB, and making efforts to try out spells I don't normally use even if they're not optimal, so alternates to some of your picks include Lightning Bolt, Bestow Curse (upcast to avoid using concentration), Control Water, Cone of Cold, Tenser's Transformation.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Svirfneblin of course works well if you can spam nondetection. Yeah, I suppose Elemental Adept could actually be a good investment here

[@RavenWolfStarcraft2]

Yay Necromancy Kobold next week, great idea on that! Funny that you have a 1 level warlock that spams arcane lock over and over which requires 25 gp of gold dust. It's kinda like a lootbox pay to win feature haha. I would have gone two or three levels (probably 2 and maybe round out with a third later) of Warlock for that Mage Armor spam, but I could see why that wouldn't be desired, and slowing yourself down two levels is really hard to take.

[@keeganmbg6999]

ICEFANG13 as a note if you wear armor your Mage Armor instantly fails and I don’t believe is casted (I could be wrong) so since he’s wearing armor I don’t believe it would work.

[@RavenWolfStarcraft2]

You're correct, I'm just cheap and would tell everyone to take 5 (or whatever time it is) while I take my armor off haha.

[@undrhil]

@@keeganmbg6999 the spell can be cast on someone wearing armor, it just fails. But the spell is still cast.

[@keeganmbg6999]

Ken Livingston I see.

[@N20Joe]

@@keeganmbg6999 Cast it on your Familiar.

[@jonathanmorphew6786]

By taking dark gnome and the feat that let's me cast non detection at will. Would you say I can be a little more lenient on casting armor at higher levels??

[@skullkrusher-dx4kg]

I know raw you cant just spam cast shield but its kinda dumb a wizard can only activate shield while your being attacked.

[@valkemier]

Doing this build with a deep gnome, if you use snirfvebli magic feat you can recharge your ward for free once out of combat.

[@finalfantasy50]

not once, you restore 6 hp per cast of non detection and can use it at will, use it to block damage from traps and in less than a minute, your ward is back up

[@valkemier]

@@finalfantasy50 I’m a noob actually I’m 4 years old 😆

[@jugglejunk]

@@finalfantasy50 I read his ''for free once out of combat'' as ''as soon as you're out of combat'' and than it would still be a factual statement, although I suppose you could also cast it in combat.

[@texteel]

Nice build. Have you ever found any homebrew wizard thing that made you go "I want to use that"?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I haven't really looked at homebrew wizards.

[@keeganmbg6999]

Overall good build. Slightly surprised you didn’t go for 5 or 6 Paladin Oath of Conquest depending on whether you wanted to bump or leave Cha from 13 min. That way you would still get 9th level spell slots. It’s a little M.A.D. but you would get access to heavy armor and you could do it without taking a dump stat. This would also give you AID. But then again I know these are more Wizard builds than anything else. Thanks again Chris!

[@guimi6388]

An Ancestral Guardian Barbarian would be this wizard's best friend.

[@marcdavis4509]

I’d have really liked to have seen a straight Abjurer guide instead of a MC Abjurer.

[@LordMorin]

Another great wizard build. :)

[@undrhil]

When I try to use the link to the final build, D&D Beyond throws an error message.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Try again, D&D Beyond was a bit buggy yesterday.

[@Similacrest]

Arcane Lock is a very strange pick for Spell Mastery, and might seem as metagaming for some DMs. Perhaps Mage Armor instead of Shield could do the trick? You lose at-will defense option - but you want to be hit more, not less, you can increase the AC of all the summons you need, your 2nd-level spell can be a Misty Step, and your full recharge time goes up from 1 minute to 2 minutes, but it usually isn't a difference that matters much.

[@xthebumpx]

Mage Armor feels at least as meta-gamey since it lasts 8 hours, so the only reason to pick it is to charge up arcane ward. Spell Mastery Arcane Lock could actually have additional value in some settings.

[@ben5056]

ShareDVI his character is definitely in magical half plate armor by that level. That would render mage armor useless

[@SystemLordNemo]

One might think that a intelligent wizard understands; in the character; that some spells charges his shields. This is no meta gaming.

[@undrhil]

@@ben5056 useless but can still be cast for the Arcane Ward

[@ben5056]

Ken Livingston of course, but arcane lock can do it faster and might be useful in certain situations unlike mage armor

[@theshadowbadger]

So in your preview video where you went over all the wizard builds you were going to cover you specified that you would not be taking a second level of warlock for the mage armor loop because it’s campy and a RAW exploit and you wanted to avoid that, but at level 19 you turn and get at will arcane lock, which is about as campy and exploitative. Would you argue that the delay in spell progression is not worth free ward charges between combat? If not, when would be more opportune to pick up warlock 2?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Fair enough. I'm not sure if it's worth it for the 2nd level of Warlock or not. If I was to do it, I guess I would go Warlock/Wizard 2/Warlock/Wizard X

[@Adurnis]

Arcane Lock isn’t quite as campy either, it does have a material component cost. It’s like trading cash for hit points.

[@anthonynorman7545]

It's also waiting until tier 4 where power levels are super high

[@aureliomanalo]

Commenting for visibility algorithm. Thanks for the video!

[@ImranKhan-ty9ij]

guess ill do the same

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Always appreciated!

[@rhbama13]

I like swapping Globe of Invulnerability for Investiture of Stone . You aren't recharging your Ward, but resistance to non-magical BPS and other benefits will be useful more often than the GoI. Overall it depends on your campaign but in mine I will get more mileage out of IoS.

[@Canadian_Ry]

I've seen something similar to this using the Svirfneblin race instead. The innate spellcasting is abused in order to replenish the shield. Any thoughts?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Yep, I discussed them in the races video and the build preview vid.

[@Canadian_Ry]

@@TreantmonksTemple I must have missed that video! Thanks for the heads up - I'll go check it out. Edit: Turns out I did see that video a quite some time ago. Sorry for not staying on top of things. It's a lot of information to keep track of.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@Canadian_Ry Now that I look, I don't think it was in either of those 2 vids, or if it was, I can't find it. Though I would use the same reasoning as why I didn't do 2 warlock for armor of shadows.

[@kestrel1234]

If a player finds a wand that can cast abjuration magic, that should not count as the Wizards special ability since it is from a magic item right?

[@TedSroka]

Just re-watched this. Great build I hope to play some day. Plus with Tasha's out, there is more flexibility with race.

[@texmame]

Awesome fun build. I love the idea of a cup of water being more important to this character than their sword! (Check material components for AoA to get this)

[@anthonynorman7545]

I'll probably never be high enough to know, but could taking the 2nd level of warlock at 20 be worth the feat? I know they get invocations and can duplicate the arcane lock spamming.

[@odedsayar4345]

I dig this character concept, I think I'd consider replacing Lucky with Sentinel feat, especially if the DM doesn't send the guys at you. I'd take it earlier if I find I'm often not being attacked and my punishments aren't taking place, even though it has some diminishing effect on our Booming Blade

[@on_certainty]

i love this class, great build! i like the idea of svirfneblin magic with nondetection at will for +6

[@austintacius]

running into the middle of enemies and dropping fireballs at your own feet is super viable with an abjurer... at worst you take 1/4 damage on a failed save with absorb elements.. more likely 1/8th

[@Samuel_Kabel]

resistances dont stack. worst would be half.

[@oscariaanvergara6301]

This build sounds really fun, I am a noob and my question is What happen if the enemy does not want to hit us? or we fight another range character. what is the plan b ?

[@DAEDRICDUKE1]

Firebolt!

[@HaloFTW2408]

There is a slight issue with casting Arcane Lock over and over, and that is the fact that the spell requires 25gp worth of Gold Dust each casting. Also, I believe the ward is it's own "creature" per say, so it doesn't gain any resistances/immunities you have. Personally, I'd go Abjuration Wizard 18/Hexblade Warlock 2. Here's my AL Legal build (V. Human). Str 8 -1/-1 Dex 12 +1/+1 Con 14->15->16 +3/+9 Int 15->16 ->18->20 +5/+5 Wis 10 0/+6 Char13 +1/+7 Feats: Res(Con), +2 Int, +2 Int, War Caster, Tough AC: 18 (Half Plate, Shield) HP: 185 Ward Health: 41 Invocations wise, I'd obviously grab Armor of Shadows (Allowing you to cast Mage Armour at will, thus being able to replenish you ward between combats). 2nd one doesn't matter as much, but Devil Sight is always nice.

[@HaloFTW2408]

I also came up with a dumb idea for a character based off the premise of this one. Totem Barbarian 5/Hexblade Warrior 2/Abjuration Wizard 13. Race is Hill Dwarf Str 15 ->16->18 +4/+4 Dex 10 0/0 Con 13->15 ->16 +3/+3 Int 13 +1/+1 Wis 9->10 0/+6 Char 13 +1/+7 Feats: +1 Con +1 Str, Tough, +2 Str, Great Weapon Master AC: 15 (Half Plate) HP: 220 Ward HP: 27 Again, invocation wise, armor of shadows is a must. 2nd one doesn't matter as much. Basically, cast a high level armour of Agathys on yourself, then rage. Contingency wise, make it such that when your 1st armour of Agathys ends, another 5th level immediately appears.

[@HaloFTW2408]

​@@thenightowldude Wizards have a D6 as a hit dice. Both of these builds use average HP, since they are AL Legal Builds. The first build 13 (8 from max of 1d8 hit die + 3 from con + 2 from tough) - From taking your fist level in Hexblade 10 (5 from average of 1d8 hit die + 3 from con + 2 from tough) - From the 2nd level of Hexblade. 162 (72 from average of 18 d6 hit die + 54 from 18* con mod of +3, 36 from 18 * 2 from tough) - From 18 levels of Wizard. Total 185 The second build 14 (8 from max of 1d8 hit die + 3 from con + 2 from tough + 1 from Mountain Dwarf) - From taking your fist level in Hexblade 11 (5 from average of 1d8 hit die + 3 from con+2 from tough + 1 from Mountain Dwarf) - From the 2nd level of Hexblade 65 (35 from average of 5 d12 hit die, +15 from 5*con mod of +3 + 10 from 5*2 from tough + 5 from Mountain Dwarf) - From 5 levels of Barbarian 130 (52 from average of 13 d6 hit die + 39 from 13*con mod of +3 + 26 from 13*2 from tough + 13 from Mountain Dwarf) - From 13 levels of Wizard. Total 220 (1 more than my initial 219).

[@toms7693]

Can you put spells into Contingency that you can cast only on yourself? I was under the impression that the spell you put in needed to have a target.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

If you cast a spell on yourself, then you are the target.

[@masoncox4140]

How are you casting Armor of Agathys at higher levels if you're only 1st level warlock? You can't take a 1 level dip for a single spell and cast it with higher level wizard spells.

[@masoncox4140]

Never mind, that DOES work with pact magic hahaha.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@masoncox4140 I was about to say, yes you can!

[@AnaGomez-ci9bs]

Hey! I'm starting to play D&D 3.5 with my bf and a few of his friends and I want to make a great wizard! Do u have some points for me to start? The DM only uses Player's Handbook 1 and 2 and the DM Guide so I am kind of limited! Hope you help me! Thanks

[@TreantmonksTemple]

www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?569912-Treantmonk-s-Guide-to-Wizard-Spells-(as-seen-on-BGO-restored-by-Uvexar)

[@AnaGomez-ci9bs]

@@TreantmonksTemple Thank you! I want to wow my bf with my knowledge of D&D and now thanks to your awesome guide I will blow his mind! THANK YOU!! Greetings from Argentina

[@ChristnThms]

Love the build, as usual. I know you're focused on wizard stuff with these build. But with this one in particular, did you play around with the concept of different wiz/WL splits? While the wiz obviously gets more total slots, it seems that the Hexblade in particular would be a tempting MC to split somewhat evenly between the classes. The loss of high level slots wouldn't be inappropriate, if you view the sum of the build to be more like a paladin or ranger than a full caster.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Generally with MC, I tend to find that you are better putting weight on one class or the other over an even split, though I haven't done any actual build playing with a 50/50 Wiz/WL split

[@ChristnThms]

@@TreantmonksTemple I've played with it some on character builders, and there are some very promising stopping points. But everything I've looked at seems to go through an awkward phase or two. That's actually why I asked, as your build suggestions tend to be very playable at every level.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@ChristnThms To me, one of the main differences between a character that is optimized practically and theoretically is how playable they are from level 1.

[@ChristnThms]

@@TreantmonksTemple amen to that. If we're not having fun, what's the point?

[@ChristnThms]

@@sharkforce8147 while all of that is true, it has nothing to do with the build currently in discussion. The interplay between Abjurer and WL isn't gained anywhere else.

[@RenaissanceManchild856]

I love this build! :)

[@mantis3669]

As a request, would you do a Swashbuckler build about getting more then one sneak attack? maybe few levels in battle master with, riposte, sentinel, mage slayer ? I bet you have a better take on it. or something with the gloom stalker/assassin. love your builds!

[@theeye8276]

3 lvls into berserk barbarian and be a strength based swashbuckler. take advantage of reckless attack and use you frenzy bonus action to get sneak attack on your turn and ready your action to attack during someone else's turn.

[@ecmpinho]

I suggest to combine the feat sentinel with the warcaster feat in that build. Very effective.

[@birthdayzrock1426]

Sentinel offers nothing to a caster.

[@ecmpinho]

When combined with the warcaster feat, offers a spell attack of opportunity to anyone who dare run from you in the battlefield. To a wizard who will put himself in the frontline and force others to attack him and be damaged because of that, its gold.@@birthdayzrock1426

[@ecmpinho]

They can't disengage or even attack another ally of yours in your reach or you can deliver them the hell.

[@birthdayzrock1426]

@@ecmpinho The sentinel feat only allows you to make a melee attack against an enemy who attacks your ally. It doesn't allow Warcaster to take over and let you cast a spell. Further, even with Sentinel, the enemy can still disengage, but it will provoke an opportunity attack. However, how often do you see an enemy disengage? I bet it rarely happens. This is why spending an ASI for this is a really poor investment.

[@ecmpinho]

I agree it works in very specific conditions, but depending on how much you will expose yourself and get surrounded by mobs, that "Creatures within your reach provoke opportunity attacks even if they took the Disengage action" part can make the difference. You can avoid them to escape from you.

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

I find it funny that with a 1 level dip Abjurer is a vastly better frontline wizard than the Bladesinger could ever be.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Bladesinger can do decently at lower levels because you can boost your AC and Concentration saves a lot. At higher levels, you want armor and temp hp if you are going in front.

[@austintacius]

you don't even need the dip with a hobgoblin. just take medium armor at 4 and you're ready to roll.

[@manlykilt]

Clever and interesting build. I do think a little more warlock (3 level dip) might be effective for a few reasons. Two invocations could be handy depending on which we take, pact of the chain seems really useful for this character, but most importantly two 2nd level pact slots for AoA. If you were to do this, when do you think it would be best to take warlock 2 and 3? After wizard 5, 9 or 12 seem good to me.

[@M0ebius]

On a Wizard I think you’re always better off just keep taking high level spells.

[@QuiescentPilot]

Why would you want Pact of the Chain? You already get Find Familiar from being a Wizard, and you can’t have more than one Familiar. Delaying your Wizard Progression just for the slight upgrade of turning your Familiar into an Imp doesn’t seem worth it to me...

[@martingoldschmid]

Love the build ! Thank you very much. I was wondering if this same build would be viable with Spirit Guardians up, so instead of going warlock, going tempest cleric or divine soul sorcerer. What is your take on that? Cheers !

[@ianroberts6437]

With Spirit Guardians, it's a 3rd level spell, meaning you'd need at a minimum of a 5 level dip in Cleric to get it. I'd say it's not worth putting you back effectively 4 levels minimum for your wizard. A single level dip is already pretty backbreaking. So if you did, and went your first 5 levels in Cleric, you'd have to wait until at least level 10 before you got spells like counterspell, slow, etc. As well as you'd be running on a less than ideal situation for a minimum of 5 levels with your Cleric spells spellcasting ability being a wisdom. His build also requires the look of AoA and Arcane Ward stacking. So you'd dip even further with Warlock on a 3rd ability for your spellcasting. Could it be effective at level 20? Sure. Mid levels you'd really suffer compared to the rest of the party 9/10 times though.