A Brief Explanation

Salomon's fighting style was simply far too orthodox. Low-level D&D wizards were not nearly as glamorous as everyone imagined. They had only a handful of spells, and when the time came, they still had to grab clubs and crossbows and fight people. Even if an attack cantrip hit, it dealt less damage than a bow, crossbow, or club, and they still had to take hits. Even monsters of the same level could easily pin a spellcaster down and kill them.

Since Holy Marks enhanced agility and strength, I based the combat style on a monk + warlock (Vishanti spells, Heavenly Sect Master) + wizard (D&D spells). Even if I were making a character sheet, that was how I would fight.

That was just how miserable it was. It was precisely because I wrote it so by the book that the fight was so difficult. Vampires had 18 Dexterity. The protagonist could not possibly waste a spell that might miss on an attack. Wouldn't it be better to cast it on himself?

Darkvision let him see the surroundings clearly, so it had to be used. Misty Step was a spell for pursuit and escape; it could be used or not used, but I used it to prevent the knockback distance from becoming too great.

Mage Armor basically made AC 13 + its Dexterity modifier, and it was also useful against physical attacks, such as bludgeoning damage.

Protection from Evil and Good was for fighting undead, preventing possession by ghosts and fear.

Nearly every spell was situational. Even if Karthus, with 19 Strength, encountered a vampire at low levels, he would probably fight this way. This would still be the case even in the era of Netheril, when Spell Slots were not an issue.

Those wizards who stood above everything else and could toy with enemies at will were legendary-level characters, not the current ones. Conserving Spell Slots and using spells where they were needed was what low-level wizards ought to do. Do not believe Blade's vampires, where he killed one with every slash. The magical side had not even appeared yet; this was only a minor scuffle.

Then let me explain Barnabas's special nature—I set him up as a vampire transformed by the curse of the Darkhold. Marvel had one and only one vampire like that. That vampire no longer wanted to live, so after giving his power to Dracula, he went into the sunlight and died. Dracula, meanwhile, was immortal; even death could do nothing to him. That should tell you just how high Barnabas's standing was.

It was just that he was only a little over two hundred years old, still far too young.

Therefore, I raised Barnabas's regeneration skill HP recovery from 20 to 30. He was already very difficult to fight, while Victoria's was 25. Every vampire attack consisted of two attacks: Barnabas made one unarmed strike and one bite, while Victoria made one bludgeoning attack and one bite.

It fit the rules perfectly. I even had to roll dice. So there is no need to argue about it anymore. It is unnecessary. I have already greatly strengthened the protagonist's abilities; if I had written him as an ordinary wizard, he would already be dead.

Also, do not think that wizards were robots—cold, emotionless, detached from worldly feelings, with nothing but the arcane in their hearts. How would Elminster survive if that were the case? The man even had fun with a mother-daughter pair. Nor should you assume that wizards always acted with perfect precision. Where would that leave Manson, the leader of the Sons of the Serpent? He made more than eighty copies of himself.

Wizards were not artillery platforms; they were control-oriented classes. Artillery platforms were sorcerers and psionicists. A wizard's true strength lay in casting the right spell in the right situation, not in seeing whose fireball was bigger. Do not use fan-made settings from other works to define wizards, okay? A wizard was only a class, after all.