War mage

War Mages are a mutant sub-type of the Wizard profession.

War Mages generally rely on moderately strong physical attacks in combination with high damage factor weapons and the utility Haste (506). Due to the low cost of Spell Aiming, War Mages are generally (but not always) capable of bolt attacks, although not at the same strength of as a pure wizard.

Stat Placement and Race Selection

As the primary Wizard statistics, Aura and Logic remain extremely important for training point purposes.

Unlike a bolt-casting Wizard, Strength is a more important statistic than Dexterity. Since a War Mage will never be able to reach the physical attack strength (AS) of a Square, it is important that a War Mage maximize their AS however possible. For this reason, it is highly recommended that a War Mage select a race with a neutral or positive strength modifier.

Although not as important as Strength, Dexterity remains an important statistic, especially if the War Mage intends on training in Spell Aiming to supplement their physical attacks. Additionally, a moderate to high Constitution is useful for improving hitpoints and encumberance, since a War Mage is more likely to be successfully hit than a bolt-casting Wizard.

Primary Training Recommendations

War Mages train roughly equally in both physical and magical skills. Important skills include Two-Handed Weapons or Polearms, Armor Use, Combat Maneuvers, Physical Fitness, Arcane Symbols, Magic Item Use, Spell Aiming, Harness Power, Elemental Magic Control, Spell Research, and Elemental Lore.

Two-Handed Weapons or Polearm Weapons

This is a War Mage's primary attack skill, and should thusly be singled in for life. War Mages rely on weapons with a high damage factor (DF) to make up for their lack of AS. Two-Handed Weapons have a generally higher DF than Polearms, but lack the ability to use the combat maneuver Trip.

Armor Use

War Mages take more of a beating, and cast less spells than pure Wizards. Leather Breastplate (27 skill points) or Cuirbouilli Leather (35 skill points) offer the best combination of protection, spell failure, and skill point value.