
In fact, one way to reduce squishiness is to simply give them some armor, and there's all kinds of armors. It should be noted that not every wizard is squishy. This further encourages you to keep them out of the line of fire by making other people better at taking it/dishing it out for them. On the other hand, some Squishy Wizards skip out on the 'cannon' part, providing powerful party utility (by empowering/healing allies, weakening/disrupting enemies, and so on) instead. They can have decent, or even good magical defense, to tank other wizards' (or a monster's) spells, but fall quickly to a single punch. Although the Squishy Wizard is sometimes not completely a Glass Cannon. In game mechanic terms, the Squishy Wizard is usually a Glass Cannon, being able to dole out big hurt but generally dying if a tough monster looks at it funny. This trope is distinct from Disability Superpower, in that the power in question is not necessarily making up for the disability rather, this trope refers to the lack of physical prowess that tends to accompany mystical powers. The Stone Wall, who can withstand aggro and keep it off the others, was created to keep these squishy party members alive during those big battles.Įven when Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards applies, wizards are usually just quadratic in offense, not defense. In addition, in combination with the concept of Drawing Aggro, this was one of the biggest contributors to the standard Damager, Healer, Tank party formation as seen in many MMORPGs - because characters that can nuke the hell out of the opposition and heal allies are usually the squishiest members of the party. Squishy Wizards, because of their fragility, are often paired up with fighters in a Sword and Sorcerer ensemble or part of a full-blown adventuring party. Since Squishy Wizards tend to focus on powerful offensive attack spells ("Nuking"), they are also contrasted by The Medic, a form of Squishy Wizard who focuses on healing and defensive magic to stand in for their frail defense instead note The medic may not necessarily be physically weak, but the Medic is often simply forbidden from even carrying weapons, let alone engaging in combat. In terms of characterization, this trope creates a duality and contrast with the strong, stupid guy. Without their physical weakness there often wouldn't be any reason not to use them. From a Doylist POV, it's about game balance.



note As well as usually very far from being good at weapon usage. or it may be more mundane: rather than go outside or exercise, the magicians spent all their time studying spells, and are thus very weak physically. Alternatively, physical health can sometimes be traded for magical power, be it through a bargain of some sort or the use of very draining magic.

Powerful psychics may suffer from this, as they can do anything with their minds - for what do they need their bodies? It may also be the result of a magical Old Master experiencing the declining health that comes with age. They may be sickly, horribly ill, crippled, or just physically weak and puny in general, people who have reality-bending powers seem to suffer for it in other areas. It seems that many who possess great magical, mental, or otherwise mystical might are also in the worst of shape.
