Dungeons and Dragons has a variety of spellcasting classes with their own range of strengths and drawbacks, but few have quite the range of options that comes with a wizard. What they make lack in physical prowess, wizards make up for in their numerous spell slots and a wide range of spells that can have various effects. The different subclasses can help a wizard specialize in a particular type of magic, but even then they can serve a variety of needs that will no doubt be valuable to the party.
For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as "utility casters" because they can fill several roles. But for all the obvious cool things a wizard can do, there are some more obscure achievements one can make if they develop the right skills. Some available subclasses make it possible to do some very strange things that players might not expect.
5 Create A Zombie Army
The school of necromancy gives wizards powers over life and death — literally. In its simplest form it can involve the wizard being able to suck the life out of their enemies. But necromancy comes with some interesting opportunities for more ambitious wizards. Wizards in this school get access to the spell animate dead, which allows them to create a zombie slave out of any corpses they happened to find, provided they are of humanoids of small to medium size.
When reanimated, they can be commanded as a bonus action and will follow any orders without question, including combat. Wizards can control this undead servant for up to 24 hours, but can extend that time by recasting the spell.
But, things get really cool at higher levels. After level 3, each additional spell slot lets the wizard produce two more undead when they use animate dead (provided there are bodies present to reanimate). This means that, given a sufficient number of bodies, a necromancing wizard can produce more than one undead simultaneously. The higher the level, the more undead they can create, and send into combat. Given a high enough level and the right number of cadavers, they can build up a small army and launch them into a combat encounter.
4 Mess With Gravity
There are eight main schools of wizardry, but other options are available for players interested in moving outside the players' handbook. The school of evocation may offer power over the natural forces of wind, fire, water, or ice; but what about a different, more unique natural force — like gravity? Enter graviturgy, an arcane tradition focused on the exploitation of Newton's laws. A graviturgital wizard can become a human singularity, using their spells to help or hinder others by playing with the existing gravitational forces — for instance, by using them to speed up an ally or slow down an enemy.
At level 2, wizards of this tradition get adjust density, a spell that takes advantage of Newton's second law (that the impact of an object's force is determined by its mass and acceleration). Using this spell increases a creature's mass, which in turn makes them heavier and slower, though it comes with the trade-off that they take less damage and get advantage on saving rolls. At level 6, they get gravity well, which makes it possible to quickly move targets up to five feet. They can weaponize gravity at level 10 with violent attraction, and finally the level 14 spell event horizon.
3 Develop Some Epic Fighting Skills
Wizards have a reputation for being less durable than other classes. They have fewer health points than other classes and are unable to wear armor. The upside, of course, is they get access to a wide range of spells and a lot more spell slots than most classes, making them excellent support.
In combat, ranged spells can be a good way to deal damage or at least tip the odds in the players' favor, and spells can have a variety of uses in other situations. Depending on the wizard's chosen school, they can perform a variety of skills that may have unexpected practical applications. Usually, fighting is not one of them — unless they choose the bladesinger subclass.
Bladesingers are a unique brand of wizards, often but not exclusively elves, trained in a highly-disciplined fighting style that combines magic with swordplay. Wizards who practice this tradition are often described as displaying elegant dance-like movements, with a "song" coming from their blade, hence the name.
They get access to several advantages not present in other classes. Bladesingers can actually wear armor, and get proficiency in a single-handed melee weapon such as a sword or ax. They can also activate their bladesong in combat, which offers a major stat boost.
2 Manipulate Time
For those wizards who want to tap into reality like Dr. Strange, there is an arcane tradition known as chronurgy. This tradition gives a wizard power over time... sort of. They cannot actually use this magic to time travel or alter the past, but they can use it to produce specific localized effects. For example, they can speed up, slow down, or freeze time around a particular person or object.
The first big spell they get is chronal shift at level 2, which forces a target to reroll, overriding the effects of their first attempt. At 6th level they get momentary stasis, which can incapacitate a target by freezing it in time.
Things get crazier at higher levels. Arcane Abeyance is available at level 10. It allows the wizard to cast a spell, freeze it, encase it in a bead, and then release the spell at a convenient moment — or they can hand it to another party member that can then use the spell instead.
But, for those who really want to be like Dr. Strange, there is convergent future at level 14. This one makes it possible to look a few minutes into the future and not only see multiple outcomes, but also pick the one that is most favorable. This can effectively skip a die roll at a crucial moment and guarantee success or failure.
1 Make Friends With Their Spellbook
Wizards are known to be bookish and scholarly types. They are often stereotyped as being extremely nerdy, often hanging out in dusty old libraries searching through old books. This is hardly surprising, because the wizard class is literally defined by their interest in studying magic unlike a sorcerer (who gets their power naturally), or a warlock (who gets their power from an otherworldly being).
This means that the spellbook is a key piece of equipment for any wizard. Should a wizard lose their spellbook for any reason, they would effectively be rendered useless. A spellbook is a wizard's best friend — figuratively of course — but what if there was a way that could be made literal, too?
Enter the Order of Scribes, a subclass focused on the scholarly aspects of wizardry: researching and recording major discoveries. But this goes well beyond simply producing volumes for future wizards to read. At level 2, a wizard in the order of scribes gets Wizardly Quill, which makes it possible to summon a quill with infinite ink at any time.
But, even more exciting is awakened spellbook. This makes the spellbook come to life. Some details of how this plays out are up to the players and the DM — for instance, if and how the spellbook communicates with the wizard or the rest of the party.
At level 6, the spell manifest mind can produce a spectral image with a telepathic link sort of like a familiar, which can even be used to nullify damage at level 14.