I'm building a tough front-line Fighter maxed on CON and STR who is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm going with no higher than INT 13 (which I intend never to increase, and would love to let it be even lower), but I want to start by taking a brief dip in an arcane class such as Wizard (probably no more than 3rd level) before going full bore in Fighter. I've got no particular race in mind for the build. I plan to use a versatile martial weapon such as longsword.
My motive is to get a batch of spells where there is no spell attack, no saving throw, i.e. where the low Intelligence doesn't matter (or low Charisma if I go Bard or Sorcerer), but the spell still helps me in combat. (No Eldritch Knight for me; I want to be a Battle Master who uses a bit of magic to be even more of a menace in the trenches.)
Because of my purpose, I want no utility spells. I realize that clever folks can come up with a way for just about any spell to be creatively employed in combat, but I don't want things like Message or Light. For a spell to make my list it has to deal damage, or protect me from taking damage, period. Misty Step makes it in because it lets me escape out of an onslaught.
The list I have so far is:
Cantrips
- Blade Ward
- True Strike
1st level
- Absorb Elements
- False Life
- Magic Missile
- Protection from Evil and Good
- Shield
2nd level
- Mirror Image
- Misty Step
- Shadow Blade
I need a few more. By my reckoning, at Wizard 3 my spellbook will have eight 1st level spells and two 2nd level spells. Are there others that meet my criteria in other published sources? Other classes besides Wizard are OK too. And the more spells I can cast while I'm fighting with a melee weapon, the better.
Best Answer
Don't be a Wizard. Be a Divine Soul Sorcerer.
If you're explicitly not going for any of the utility spells, then you correctly see that there aren't that many good offensive or defensive spells that don't require you to have a good casting stat. My suggestion would be that, rather than going Wizard, you go Sorcerer, with the Divine Soul sorcerous origin (Xanathar's, p 50). In short, this sorcerous origin lets you pick spells from both the Sorcerer and Cleric class lists, as well as giving you an ability to add 2d4 to a save or attack roll once per short rest. You'll have a lot fewer spells, since you're a Sorcerer, but you'll have a lot more versatility in how you cast them.
My suggested spell list up to 3rd level would be:
In addition, you get one more 1st level spell depending on your alignment from the Divine Soul sorcerous origin. Law is a good choice for you, since bless gives you extra bonuses to attack rolls. I'd also suggest taking the Quickened and Twinned metamagic abilities, so you can cast while attacking and buff your allies, respectively.