Wizard's guide
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((This is actualy a FULL IC guide that María, my Wizard, elaborated. But I feel it's complete enough for it to be of help to new wizard players. In fact, some of the things mentioned above can be applied to all casting classes.))
Guide to a successful wizard
Prologue: “Successful wizard” stands for a wizard that is alive and is able to grow in power whilst doing so.
The first thing to know when becoming a mage, is deciding what type of mage you want to be. You need to have a plan as to where you want to go, choose a path and follow it. This guide is based on my own personal experience, and as such it may need to be slightly adjusted to each individual if their path is too distant from mine. At any rate, take this guide as only that, and nothing more.~Chapter 1 - Specialization, Focus, and link to a familiar~
~Chapter 2 - How to survive & act in a party~
~Chapter 3 - What spells should I learn? Which should I memorize?~
~Chapter 4 - Counterspell~
~Chapter 5 - Spell Resistance~
~Chapter 6 - Metamagic~
~Chapter 7 - Equipment~~Chapter 1 - Specialization, Focus, and link to a familiar~
Specialization:
There are 8 schools of magic: Abjuration, Divination, Evocation, Enchantment, Transmutation, Conjuration, Illusion and Necromancy. The first decision will be to choose which of these you want to specialize in, if you want to specialize at all. Keep in mind, each school of magic has it’s prohibited school, and so you cannot learn or cast spells that belong to said prohibited school. The schools and their prohibited ones go as follows:
Abjuration - Conjuration
Conjuration - Transmutation
Divination - Illusion
Enchantment - Illusion
Evocation - Conjuration
Illusion – Enchantment
Necromancy – Divination
Transmutation - Conjuration
Why would I specialize in a school then, if I’ll be unable to learn or cast spells from the prohibited school? By specializing in a certain school it gets easier for you to memorize spells from said school and so you can memorize more spells daily. This is something one needs to give consideration before starting their ways with magic. I personaly decided to specilaize in illusionism, and it’s proven to be worthwhile.Spell focus:
Spell focus. While Specializing in one school means adquiring more knowledge on said school, through rigorous studying and deeper understanding, spell focii are the casters most skilled areas of casting. As such, if one focuses on, let’s say, enchantment, that means they’ll try and master this school’s casting, making their enchantment spells more effective than the others. One may focus in different schools, except their prohibited schools of course, and one can focus in different degrees. The more you focus, the more effective your spells from that school become. This goes hand in hand with the path you’ve chosen to follow, as a combat mage will not focus on the same school(s) as an enchanter. From my own experience, there’s two schools that benefit most from this training focus, those being enchantment and evocation. Keep in mind, as I said, I’m a specialized illusionist, and I’m unable to cast spells from the enchantment school, yet I aknowledge their relevance. Why enchantment and evocation? Almost all of the spells that inflic direct damage, elemental damage, belong to the evocation school. Fireball, Firebrand, Flame Arrow, Cone of Cold, etc.
As it is with these spells, there’s a chance the target will be able to dodge them, partially or fully, depending on their own skills, and thus is a good idea to focus the training on this school so it’s more difficult for the target to dodge. Enchantment school includes a lot of useful spells such as Confusion, Hold Monster, Dominate Person, etc. These spells try to breach the targets mind and act on it, and so, strong willed individuals will be able to shrug off the effects of these spells. This is a good reason to focus the training on this school.
It's not that the rest of the schools lack these type of spells that can be resisted, dodged or shrugged off, but certainly their number is very very inferior as within the Evocation and Enchantment schools, as their main use lays in other fields.Link to familiar:
A familiar is a magical creature that is linked to its owner. This link is very strong, and the more powerful the caster becomes, so does the creature. The link is so strong, that if said familiar dies, the caster suffers a great pain, as if a part of themselves had died. It takes a long casting process and ritual with the proper components in order to bring back to life a slain familiar. My familiar, Kitty, is a large black panther, and I think we’d both agree that the success on our relation is that I don’t treat him like a servant or as if I owned him, but as a friend. Even though a familiar is bound to obey their master, this will increase the familiar’s ability to act in every situation, as they’ll get to know you better and can anticipate you even before you mentaly give them orders.
One can choose from very different type of magical creatures, and I believe it’d be wise to choose according to ones needs. Think of it as a way to complement your abilities and skills. If you can’t cast illusion school spells or you don’t know your way with traps and locks, perhaps you should consider the pixie, which is able to cast invisibility spells and is very skilled in those roguish situations.
Not all of the magical creatures are as helpful as the others. Some are more helpful when the caster is still learning their ways with magic (like the mephits), others are more helpful later on (like the panther), and others are equally helpful all around (like the pixie). You can break your ties to a familiar and start a new link with another one, but then keep in mind whatever positive things you achieved thanks to the relationship with them, will be lost. The most common magical creatures to link with are: Pixie, black panther, pseudodragon, phaerydragon, and mephit. A brief description of their abilities follow:
Pixie: Able to cast invisibility spell, skilled with roguish things, resistant to some magic.
Black Panther: Sneaky scout, an excelent flanker in combat situations, furry.
Pesudodragon: as being part dragon, it has true sight, poisonus bite, tough scales.
Phaerydragon: able to cast invisibility spell, sneaky, and able to confuse the enemy with their pretty color ray.
Mephit: Regenerative abilities, resistant to physical damage and elemental damage, depending on the type (fire or cold).
Remember, do not make this choice lightly, they’re a part of you.
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~Chapter 7 - Equipment~
The last chapter, but not less important, is about the equipment a wizard should wear and carry in their adventures, appart of course of the spell components.
Equipment to wear (When possible):
Intelligence boosting items: This will not only make you think more clearly, but also will help you memorize more spells daily, and make your spells harder to evade.
Focus items: Items that will improve your focus while you memorize spells, allowing you to increase the number of spells you can memorize daily. Have this clear, the more spells you can cast, the more versatile you can be, and the more good you can do alone or in a group.
Piercing Resistance items: A belt or a cloak that can block the damage caused by piercing weapons, such like arrows, bolts, daggers and shortswords. Why precisely against piercing weapons? Read again the list of piercing weapons. Those are the weapons a wizard should fear most. Daggers and Shortswords of assassins and sneakers they can’t see comming, and arrows and bolts that can kill them from afar, even if they are at the rear of the group.
Anything that improves your knowledge of magic: Remember, the more you know about magic, the easier is for you to resist it’s effects.
Equipment to carry (When possible):
Healing: At least one potion that will restore you to full health, and then a stack of potions that will be able to restore you fully twice if you drink them all.
Scrolls: Carrry scrolls along that will be useful once your own spells have faded and you find yourself in a place were resting is imposible. (Bulls strengh, Mage Armor, Protection From Aligment, Endure elements, etc.) Also bring scrolls of spells that you’d rarely need to cast, but when they are needed you can resort to the scrolls. (Knock, Find Traps, invisibility, clarity). Scrolls of offensive spells often result in wasted scrolls.
Balms: Even if your role in a group shouldn’t be the healer, you can still apply some balms here and there, even from invisibility. This can be done when you notice your contribution to the party with spells won’t be of use, and that this way you can ease the burden of the group’s priest.
Miscellaneous: Potions and items that are of obvious use. Such as remove fear potion or items that can activate spells of use. Carry always at least 1 spare invisibility potion and one haste potion.
I can’t stress enough that the success of the party will be your own success. Do not feel down if at some points of an adventure you can’t contribute at all to the party, remember your spells are vital to the party, and if you need to save them until the right moment, then so be it. Even when you are out of spells, you are still able to think, while the others fight, you can observe from the back and call out tactics, we are smart, we can do that. Even if they need not your advice on tactics, don’t desperate, tag along, and you can still have that brilliant and necessary idea on how to overcome an obstacle, magical in nature or not. Do not think because you are not actively shooting or casting at something, you are of no use. You already gave your –necessary- spells to the fighters, and you still have your brain and knowledge.
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~Chapter 6 - Metamagic~
As a spellcaster’s knowledge on magic grows, they can learn to cast spells in a slightly modified way. They can empower them, extend them, maximize them, still and silence them. This variations of the spells are called “Metamagic”. It’s evident that this versions of the spells are superior to the normal versions, and that’s why it takes more power to memorize them. Let’s go one by one and explain exactly what they do.
Extended Spell: This will make your spells last twice the normal amount of time, be them offensive or defensive spells. It’s only slightly more powerful than the normal version of the spell, and will only require you to give up a spell of one higher circle. This Metamagic is very useful, specialy for long adventures.Empowered Spell: This will make your spells more powerful, approximatedly 50% more powerful. It’s more powerful than the normal version (obviously) and will require you to give up a spell of two higher circles. It can be used on spells like bull’s strengh, as well as offensive spells like fireball.
Maximize Spell: This will make your spells to always give the best of their possibilities. Meaning that, if casting a fireball you can burn someone a bit, quite some, and a lot, it will be always be “a lot”. The difference with the empowered version, would be that empowered it could -surpass- the usual limits of the spells, but it could also happen it doesn’t reach the usual limit. This Metamagic can be used with the same type of spells as empowered ones, and will require you to give up a spell of three higher circles. I personaly don’t find it all that useful.
Silent Spell: This will allow you to cast spells without the need to pronounce alloud the verbal component of the spell. This is useful when you are gagged, or under a silence spell. This version of the spell is only slightly more powerful as the normal one, and as such will require you to give up a spell of one higher circle.
Still Spell: This will allow you to cast spells without the need of the somatic component of the spell. This is useful when you are tied, or wearing a heavy armor or shield. This version of the spell is only slightly more powerful as the normal one, and as such will require you to give up a spell of one higher circle.
Quicken Spell: This will allow you to cast a spell at twice the normal speed. This is useful when you need to cast a spell that at no cost has to be counterspelled, as a non hasted caster won’t be able to match your speed. Note that when you are hasted, quickening a spell will result in no changes from the original version of the spell. Eventhough I don’t consider this to be extremly useful, it takes a lot more of power to cast this variation of the spell, thus requiring you to give up a spell of four higher circles.
To me, the most important and useful ones are extended and empowered metamagic, being the ones that I’ve noticed other magicians used more as well.
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~Chapter 5 - Spell resistance~
What is spell resistance? Spell resistance it’s the ability of some creatures or individuals to resist magic. Be it via an enchanted item, training, or innate abilities. The spell resistance (SR) is natural of creatures such as Dragons and Outsiders. Innate SR and SR gained through enchanted items can be reduced temporarily with spellbreaches.
How can I overcome the SR of a creature? Well, that depends on two things. First, how powerful their SR is, and second, how powerful you are, or if you have purposedly trained to breach through the SR. Basicaly, if you are far too weak in comparison, your spells won’t work. If you are vastly more powerful, they’ll work most of the times, and if you are powerful alike, then it’s got fair chances. An illustrative example: A wizard able to cast sixth circle spells, will go through SR granted by most enchanted items. A wizard able to cast only sencond circle spells, won’t go through a quasits SR. You’ll need a wizard capable of seventh or even eight circle spells to have a chance to go through a Balor's SR.
Note that it is possible to perform special training that is based solely on the art of penetrating the spellresistance of creatures. This training is often called “Spell Penetration” training, though it’s not practiced by many.
What to do when I can’t bypass a creature’s SR? RUN!!!! No, I’m kidding. If you are on your own, then you have two options. You either run, or if you can cast tenser’s spell, you may try to kill the creature physically. If you are with someone, you may want just to wait and aid them with spells that will make them more efficient. Do not just waste spells on something you clearly can’t harm. You may need those spells later.
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~Chapter 4 - Counterspell~
What is counterspelling? Counterspelling is the ability to neutralize the opponent spell as it’s cast, with your own spell. To do this, you have to be able to accomplish all of the following conditions:
1- Identify the spell correctly.
2- Match the opponents casting speed. If he’s hasted, and your not, won’t work.
3- Know and have prepared the porper spell that allows countering. Be it as a dispel, the same spell, or natural counters. Examples to this will be given later.
You need to concentrate on the opponent and stay focused on them, soon as they start chanting or doing the hand gestures, you need to identify it, then think quickly on the proper countering spell, and cast it at the same time they cast theirs. The reason this won’t work if you cant match their speed, is because by the time you’ve started casting the counter spell, they’re already done with theirs. Any spell works to counter the same spell being cast by the opponent. This means, if you can cast the same spell they’re trying to cast, you can counter it. With dispels, it’s more complicated. With lesser dispel you can only counter up to second circle spells, with normal dispel up to third circle spells, and with greater dispel up to sixth circle spells. Mordenkainen’s disyunktion will counter -any- spell.
Here’s a list of some of the natural counter spells:
Any Negative Energy Spell&Negative Energy Protection
Light&Darkness
Haste&Slow
Grease&Freedom
Ray of Efeeblement&Bull’s Strengh
Invisibility&See invisibility
Web&Freedom
Ghoul Touch& Cure Light Wounds
Invisibility Sphere&Purge Invisibility
Clarity&Charm Person
Clairaudience&Blindness/deafness
Fear&Remove Fear
Contagion&Remove Disease
Bestow Curse&Remove Curse
Lesser Spell Breach&Lesser Spell Mantle, Minor Globe of Invulnerability
Lesser Mindblank&Confusion
Animate Dead&Sunbeam
Feeblemind&Heal
Dismissall&Gate
Planar Bindings&Dismissall
True Seeing&Greater Shadow Conjuration
Stone to Flesh&Flesh to Stone
Power Word: Stun&Clarity
Control Undead&Sunbeam
MindBlank&Mass Charm
Premonition&Feeblemind
Weird&True Seeing
Power Word: Kill&Deathward
Wail of the Banshee&Silence
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~Chapter 3 – What spells should I learn? Which should I memorize?~
This is a tricky one. There’s so many different spells that it would be impossible for me to give advice on all of them. Regardless, one should learn spells as they come, a thick spellbook makes for a better prepared wizard. Which spells to have memorized? That depends much on the situation, but as with anything, there’s always better all-around spells. Here, I’ll name 5 spells per circle, that I consider to be most important and useful, and I’ll explain why, roughly.
First circle:
Mage Armor: A spell that is useful for everyone at any stage of their adventuring career. One of the most essential defensive spells. Can be cast on others.
Protection From Aligment (Evil): Protection against, charming or dominate spells casted by evil creatures, and a resistance boost to ones ability to resist all type of spells casted by them. Immunity to confusion spells.
Shield: Another important defensive spell, that protects not only against physical blows, but also against Magic Missile. The protection stacks almost entirely with Mage Armor. Only self cast though.
Shelgarn’s persistant blade: It can resist most blows dealt by non-magical weapons. It can hold off dire creatures such as dire animals or dire Hook Horrors even. Excelent choice to produce a chance to scape.
Endure Elements: It’s a basic spell to resist elements, yet it will save your life more often than not, specialy in cold days. Can be cast on anyone.*** Second Circle:**
Bull’s Strengh: To be casted on the group’s frontliners, this spell will give them the extra accuracy and strengh to their blows.
Ghostly Visage: Protection against all first circle and countrip spells, some resistance to non-magical weapons, and makes the caster slightly blurry, granting them some concealment.
Invisibility: Will make you invisible to others, except some creatures, specialy underground creatures, that can see through this. Ideal to flee, spy, save a stunned ally, retrieve something unnoticed. Any hostile action while invisible, will break the spell.
Fox’s Cunning: Will increase the target’s intelligence. Cast on self to give your spells that extra push to effectivity. Cast on a rogue to give them a that extra push to deal with traps.
See Invisibility: Counter-spell for Invisibility, this spell will allow you to spot invisible creatures or spellcasters trying to pass through or approach you unnoticed, as well as fleeing.*** Third Circle:**
Haste: Very useful spell, will increase the targets speed, making him attack faster, dodge better or cast at a higher speed, as well as granting them speed for running. Can determine the outcome of a battle.
Greater Magic Weapon: Spell that increases in power with the caster. This spell will make a weapon enchanted. Specialy needed to fight creatures with strong physical resistances, such as skindancers, iron golems or the like.
Gust of Wind: Underused spell. This spell can be used for three different things: Knock down a large number of enemies with a strong wind, open or close doors/gates from afar, and disperse cloud/gas-like spells.
Dispel Magic: Useful to strip the enemy from protections, to break a summoning circle, or to counterspell an enemy spellcaster on their third circle and lower spells. Sometimes your best card is not casting, but preventing the enemy from doing so.
Fireball/Scintilanting Sphere: This spell can be cast from afar and will explode in a large radius, hurting many targets at once. One has to be wary to not cast it when allies are engaged in close combat, unless one has mastered their aim with it.*** Fourth Circle:**
Improved Invisibility: This spell doesn’t only serve the same purpose as the second circle invisibility. The effect doesn’t completly break when a hostile action is made, but the blurriness of the target remains, granting it a notable concealment.
Lesser Spell Breach: probably a spell that will not be used often, but certainly necessary to have prepared. When confronting a creature with magical wards, like stoneskin, shadowshield, premonition, and so on, this spell will strip up to two magical wards, regardless of power. Specialy useful in fighting mage vs mage, to strip spellmantles.
Polymorph: Allows the caster to change into different creatures. Depending on the situation, one or another will be of use. The most useful ones are the Umberhulk, for it’s digging and tremorsense; the Troll, for their regenerating abilities; and the pixie, for it’s ability to fly and shrug off third circle spells and lower.
Fear: It’s one of the crowd control spells. It will allow you to neutralize for a considerable period of time a large number of targets, as long as they are crowded. This is specialy useful when you are expecting a small army of goblinoids or orcs, as they have a weak will.
StoneSkin: This spell gives the target a strong resistance to weapons, even magical ones, until all of the skin is bashed away. Careful, strong hits will dent the skin AND go through it, resulting in wounds on the target’s side. You are not invincible. It can be cast on others.*** Fifth Circle:**
Firebrand/Ball lightning: It’s like an improved fireball. It inflicts more damage, and it will target only those you wish to target, hence not hurting your own allies.
Lesser Mind Blank: This spell will protect the target from any mind-affecting spell or ability, and will clear some of the ill effects that already are affecting the target. It’s very useful when dealing with spellcasters, illithids and creatures with strong auras that may cause fear, like dragons.
Lesser Spellmantle: Makes you virtually untouchable by enemies’ spells while it’s up. Unvaluable when dealing with balors.
Mestil’s Acid Sheath: This spell perse and alone, will do nothing for you, but combined with ethereal visage or shadowshield it will give the caster the opportunity to cast surrounded by a large number of creatures, which won’t be able to pierce through the defense and still will get damaged from the Acid from staying too close. Note this won’t work with iron golems.
Bigby’s Interposing Hand: This spell will make your target as accurate at aiming their blows as you would be with a Great Axe. This will be useful when you’re facing something massive that can tore appart through your companions. A Dragon, an Iron Golem, etc.*** Sixth Circle:**
Mass Haste: Like haste, but affects a large radius of allies. -VERY- usefull.
True Seeing: Allows the target to see hidden, invisible or ethereal creatures. Specially useful when in the underdark, where quagoths or drow are known for their sneakyness.
Tenser Transformation: The spell won’t make you as strong as a spelled up frontliner, the spell though will make you able to hurt creatures that resist your magic. Keeping one prepared is never a bad choice.
Greater Dispelling: As dispel, but more chances of striping spells from the enemy, and it will counterspell any sixth circle spell or lower.
Ethereal Visage: Absorbs blows twice as efficiently as stoneskin, though duration is short. Read on Mestil’s Acid Sheath for proper usage.*** Seventh Circle:**
ShadowShield: probably the most complete defensive spell. Protection from necromancy spells, absorbs blows as good as stoneskin – and doesn’t run out. On the top of this, it offers natural defense greater than the shield or mage armor spell, and stacks with those. Duration is mid.
Mordenkainen’s Sword: This requires a component, a miniature platinum sword that can be bought in peltarch or found in the barrows or the Norwick crypts, sometimes. The summon is powerful and will tear appart trough many creatures.
Greater Thunderclap: This spell is an excelent one. It doesn’t affect the caster, and it has a large radius. The spell ignores spellmantles and spellresistances, and pushes through the mind, the fortitude and the reflexes of the targets, all at once. The duration is short, but it’s good to get the upperhand in an encounter with a good number of opponents.
Delayed Blast Fireball: This is the very most improved version of the fireball. It grows in power as long as the caster grows in power, and it will ignore the magical resistances gained through knowledge of spells. It can easily defeat a dozen of bugbears in one shot.
Bigby’s Grasping Hand: A non-lethal spell that guarantees almost always that the target will be held in place. This is specialy useful to capture specific individuals without killing them. Note that a freedom spell on them will allow them to move their hands, cast and attack, but not move from the spot.*** Eighth Circle:**
Sunburst: This spell will create a sun-like sphere that on exploding will blind any hostile creature in a large radious, causing special harm to undead, and destroying vampires in a single shot.
Horrid Wilting: The spell has to be used with caution, as it affects the caster itself if not propertly warded from it (Spellmantle or ShadowShield). The spell will cause heavy injuries of magical nature to everyone that is touched by it.
Premonition: This is the defensive spell that will absorb most blows. It foresees where the strike is comming from, and blocks it entirely, for the most part anyways. The duration is short, similar to the shadowshield.
Greater Sanctuary: Ability to disappear into the ethereal plane, making you totally undetectable by creatures on the material plane, unless they cast a true seeing spell. As such, you can’t be attacked by them directly. Careful, smart casters can still cast spells with radius that -will- harm you.
Mindblank: As Lesser Mind Blank, but it affects all of the people inside a large radius.*** Ninth Circle:**
Time Stop: You make yourself move way faster than with a haste spell. You move so fast that for the rest of the world is as if the time had stopped. Useful to scape, save someone bleeding to death, or to cast that extra spell that gives you the upper hand in a battle.
Shapechange: Different shapes, each with their own special traits. Red Dragon, Fire Giant, Death Slaad are a few of the most useful ones.
Black Blade of Disaster: A blade that can’t be hurt, only dispelled, and which everytime it hits opens a rift that may just get the enemy killed if they are not resistant enough.
Wail of the Banshee: Mass death spell that will only target those who you wish, so allies are safe.
Mordenkainen’s Disyunktion: Strips most of the defensive spells of the target, destroys magical items, etc.
To note: Is highly recommended that you, as a wizard, have always some spells that you know you probably -won’t- end up casting, but that in some unexpected scenarios would mean the difference between life and death. Examples: Lesser Spell Mantle, See invisibility, Tenser, Lesser Spellbreach, etc.
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~Chapter 2 - How to survive & act in a party.~
To survive in the early steps of becoming a successful mage you have to assume you are a weakling. You need to be aware of this, and seek companions to adventure. Do not bother with offensive spells at this point. It’s a waste of magic. Focus on your companions. A well placed Mage Armor will allow your companion to defeat a dozen of goblins without trouble, but a Magic Missile will kill only one of them. It's simple as that.
We wizards are not known for our ability to take hits, an unlucky shot can make us pay a high toll. Stay in the back of the group or companion. No one expects the wizard to take any front line position, nor them to engage combat or to actualy be useful in dealing physical damage. Get yourself a crossbow or other ranged weapon, and use it. If you hit something, consider yourself lucky and happy, If you don’t, don’t worry, no one expects you to hit. The success of the party, will be your own success. If the party can go deeper in a dungeon, means you are getting deeper too. If they have to retreat sooner, means you will have to retreat too. Keep that in mind, and do the best for your party, not what you believe it’s more fun.
When you start learning your way through magic, you’ll have acess to more spells, and you will be able to start casting other type of spells that will become useful, instead of only casting spells on the melee of the group. For example, you have at the third circle two very useful offensive spells: Scintinating Sphere and Fireball, which can determine the outcome of a battle. Or invisibility, second circle, which can not only be used to flee a deadly situation, but can also be crucial to save someone that has been feared or paralized. At fourth circle, you should learn polymorph self spell to increase the variety of things you can do for the group. Never know when you’ll need a tiny pixie to fly somewhere, a tough Umberhulk to dig a way out or an ugly, smelly troll to slowly heal your wounds.
When you’ve already attained some power, and you are able to cast at least fifth circle spells, things are different. You’ve reached a point where you don’t need to devote yourself entirely to cast spells on the group’s members and toss a fireball or two. Instead, now you have the possibility, and responsability, to pick a wide selection of useful spells, including offensive spells, emergency spells, defensive spells for yourself, and spells for the group. This is, so to speak, the inflexion point of the wizard’s career.
Now, it's equally important to know what spells to prepare as it is to know when to cast them. This is not something you learn from a book. This is something you learn from experience, so go out there and adventure and find out. How do I find this out? Easily. When you reach a point in a trip where you say to yourself “Damn, I should’ve not cast that firebrand on those goblin runts, I need it now against this real threatening bugbears”, then you’ve found out. Simple as that. Okay, maybe I could give you a more detailed guideline on this one… I will:
When you observe and you think the situation can be handled by the rest of the group without you using that spell, taking them only a bit more of time and no serious injuries, then is best you keep your spell. If you observe and you predict they’ll be overwhelmed, probably causing someone to die or the group being unable to deal with the situation without resorting to many consumables, then cast it.
Two important things to note: One, if there’s more casters in the group. Talk to them before preparing spells. Try to not overlap in what you prepare, and try to stay communicative during the adventure, so both dont cast the same spell at the same moment, resulting in a wasted spell. And two, don’t think that because you have an invisibility spell you are safe. Some creatures see past invisibility, a haste or expeditious retreat spell is always handy.