[RPG] How to a 13th-level wizard get a 17th-level wizard to fail a will save

dnd-3.5esaving-throwspells

I am planning a plot that involves

  1. an evil wizard who reached lichdom,
  2. was defeated by another (good) wizard (his phylactery was also destroyed),
  3. was resurrected by a resurrection spell (he wasn't a lich for too long),
  4. awakened with a Helm of Opposite Alignment already on his head.
  5. He failed the saving throw.

The result is a good wizard, remembering his old life until he reached the lichdom, but nothing after that. (As we know, resurrecting undead results in the person who once lived, and not the same undead this time in a living form.)

The main problem with the story that this Helm allows a saving throw and such a high level wizard probably wouldn't fail it. I am looking for a way to negate or significantly worsen his chances to his saving throw.

My current best idea if the effect of this Helm had been "boosted" by another spell: by a limited wish. Unfortunately, I can't find any canon reference about its efficiency.

I prefer the in-game solutions on canon rulebooks, because he will be an NPC manipulating the evil/neutral party to help him to investigate what happened. The party will be much happier if they are investigating things grounded in the rules, because it makes much easier for their roleplay. If there is no written rule about this, then analogy based on the canon is also acceptable.

The action should be doable by a level 13 wizard capable for limited wish, but without external help. (He is an outcast, and can't simply call his high-level cleric friend to help. The resurrection spell is coming from a stolen magic item.)

Best Answer

You are overthinking this especially since it's backstory, not a real situation in play.

A 17th level wizard has a +10 Will save base. (He loses a level from the rez, but it's still +10.) That's a 25% chance to fail the DC 15 Will save, assuming he's not super wise (most wizards that embrace lichdom aren't). So... He failed it! Done and done.

You're depicting a past event, so why does it matter? How does it change things if his chance to fail is 25%, or 50%, or 95%? It's never zero or 100% (since 1 always fails and 20 always succeeds) so you are trying to push precision into something that doesn't need it.

If you're looking for background color, then sure he "cast various spells to lower his Wisdom/Will save/resistances/whatnot," though it's mostly impossible RAW to land them while he's dead (readied action or quickened before slapping on the helm, perhaps). Or slapped another cursed item on him to that effect (vary something like a robe of powerlessness to hit Wisdom instead of Int). But in the end, it really doesn't matter what the real number is - you are as the GM just saying "he failed," whether he had an effective +20 Will save or a -10 Will save.

It's easy to get stuck in a rabbit hole as a GM - you have a lot of more important things to prep, a lot of things that will make real different to your players' enjoyment of the game, than this kind of obsessive detail. You are effectively making your game worse by choosing to spend your time in the hole. Pull yourself out, write the backplot, and move on.