D&D 2e - Your favorite mage kits.

[Cryomancer]

For those who din't played 2e, mages had many "kits" and Warlocks/Witches existed on 2e as a mage kit(page 65 quote bellow - Complete Wizard's handbook - page 65); IDK if there sorcerers kits on 2e, but if sorcerers existed on 2e, they would be a class which requires no scrolls but can only have a small limited amount of spells in his "blood".

A Witch/Warlock can't be abandoned. If she is separated from her/his patron, she loses 2 experience levels and the book states that it requires the power of a wish or similar spell.

Other type of wizard which I love is the shadow wizard.

Quoting a little from the book defilers and preservers - page 60

 

[Bara]

Sadly I still haven't played an actual game with the 2e rule set yet even though I have the books. So I can't say if its mechanically good but from the complete book of necromancer's I enjoyed the idea of the Anatomist.

Mostly because I've always wanted to play something like the Order/Chaos mages of Le Modesitt Recluce novels where neither can really be painted one way or another in terms of morality as they just serve in different functions.

I.e. Order magic can restore a person to their "natural" state if wounded or harmed but that also includes impurities while Chaos magic can target and kill parts of the body and destroy those cancer cells.

The additional saving throws Anatomist's give against poisons and diseases where the closes I could find the mechanically represent something like that. Plus Autopsy could also be a fun ability at times.

Spoiler

Improved Healing: Anatomists make excellent doctors, gaining a +2 on their ability checks for the healing nonweapon proficiency. Patients resting under their care restore damage at an accelerated rate of 3 hp per day (4 hp per day with the herbalism nonweapon proficiency). The healing rate is slowed by 1 hp per day if the patient engages in strenuous physical activity or adventuring. A single Anatomist can care for up to 12 people in this fashion. When treating poisons or diseases (even those of magical origin), their patients are entitled to a second saving throw with a +4 bonus to resist the affliction.

Autopsy: Another useful skill of the Anatomist is the ability to divine the cause and time of death by thoroughly examining a corpse. This involves a careful dissection taking 1-6 turns minus 1 round per level. The wizard has a base 60% chance, plus 2% per level, of learning the specific reason and approximate time of death (90% maximum, one roll required for each check). This autopsy can reveal whether death resulted from normal processes (like old age or natural disease) or foul play (such as a wound, poison, spell, or magical disease). The accuracy of the estimated moment of death decreases with elapsed time since the actual event. For instance, if the subject died an hour before the autopsy, the time of death can be fixed to within 1-4 rounds (after one day, the estimate is only accurate to within 1-4 hours, and so on).

 

[Nathaniel3W]

Wow. I haven't played 2e in over 20 years. The only thing I remember about mages back then is how very limited their daily spells were. At first level the mage has 1d4 hit points and he can cast Magic Missile once a day for 1d6+1 damage, if it hits. So after the first round of combat, he has to use a sling or throw war darts. Then after the fight, everyone heals 1 hp per day until they're healthy enough to go adventuring again.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Sleep and charm person are the two essential 1st-level spells for the low-level mage; not magic missile, where the number of missiles increases by 1 for every two levels of experience gained by the caster (up to 5 missiles at 9th level and higher). The former can determine the outcome of a tough battle, while the latter, if the victim fails a saving throw against being charmed, can alter the entire course of an adventure.

 

[Cryomancer]

At first level the mage has 1d4 hit points and he can cast Magic Missile once a day for 1d6+1 damage,

However, at high level, a mage has tons of spells, can cast deadly spells like stop time and wish...

Also, for low level, CHARM/SLEEP/etc is far better than damaging spells.

 

[sgm]

O/AD&D wizards were called "magic-users" for a reason. The class is based off of Vance's wizards who used magical devices all the time. DM's were supposed to give magic-users opportunities to find minor magical items to "use". Typically scrolls, but the occasional wand with few charges left in it. Take a look at the original LBBs or the 1st edition PHB entry on the class. It's focus is item use. Even the 1st edition DMG with its random magic item generator makes it clear that any magical items a starting character gets/finds will most likely be a sword, or a one-time use item like a scroll or a potion. Warriors got permanent magical items (weapons/armor), casters charged ones that would expire.

 

[Luckmann]

Wild Mage.

 

[Gyor]

Clockworker Mage

 

[Erebus]

Sha'ir (from Al-Qadim). They have some cool abilities related to genies and feel a lot less "mechanical" than the usual D&D wizards.

They're not that great in a fight, as they can't cast spells as quickly as normal wizards. But when time is less of an issue, they're pretty powerful and flexible.

 

[PapaPetro]

Arcanist.
Hands down.