The elementalist

The elementalist is a 5.1 wizard: Intelligence for spellcasting, Constitution for concentration, no Extra Attack or fighting style, just a spell list and a place to stand. First-level spells on the well, Sculpt Spells (shielding allies from its own blast) on the brushline, scorching-ray damage in the hollow. On the hardest fight it’s still working with second-level spells — there’s no fireball yet.

The job is the back hexes: stay behind the line the warrior is buying, wait for a lane the party can actually see into, and cast from there. Walking forward for a closer look is how a wizard becomes the next casualty.

The player controls the warrior. The wizard acts on its own unless a player takes the reins.

What goes wrong

Walking the brush first out of curiosity — curiosity is how a party earns a puncture. Standing next to the warrior “to be safe,” which blocks the lane and puts two targets in one cell. Saving a slot for “the real fight,” when the fight in front of the wizard already is the real one. Throwing into hexes as if trees and camp kit weren’t there. And forgetting that concentration can break: a hit landing on a caster mid-spell can end the spell before it does any good.