L41n
2010-06-20, 10:16 PM
Hello, everyone!
I'm getting into DnD for the first time ever, and was told that our group needed a magic user. I thought I'd play summoner at first because - hey- conjuring up armies to fight for me seems like fun! It worked in that old HP video game FATE, so why not in DnD?
I did some research and asked around and was told that - given our group's schematics (we start at level 8, it's 3.5 edition and the DM is a pretty flexible and easygoing guy), a prestige class called the malconvoker is very solid. The problem is, I'm easily confused by some of the acronyms people use (RAW, PrC, etc. I've figured out some, but trying to google what CR means on a creature makes brings up stock markets and models of cars more than anything)
So far, I've work out this much, but I can't figure out how to fine-tune things, so to speak. I don't know whether I'm min-maxing or not (I just followed the advice I was given), but I'm not sure how to implement things to make this guy "work". Any insights would be really appreciated
Basics
Human - Wizard (level 5) /Malconvoker (level 3) (is this how you do a prestige class split?
Level 8
Neutral Good (My guy - so far nameless - became a Malconvoker because he likes practical jokes and feels that the best way to fight evil it to be an internet troll to it. He either worships Garl Glittergold or Baravar Cloakshadow)
Stats
STR 11
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 17
WIS 13
CHA 16
48 HP
Skills & ranks (Listed as BaseScore (Ability Modifyer)
Bluff - 8 (3)
Concentration - 6 (2)
Handle Animal - 6 (30 - (Don't know if this is good or not, given that,a according to the rules, summons obey me naturally anyhow
Knowledge Arcana - 5 (3)
Knowledge Nature - 2 (3) - A(gain, I don't know about this. it seems like knowing about animals would be a Good Thing, but I don't know if I'd be dealing with mundane wildlife or exotic magical stuff more)
Knowledge Planes - 4 (3) - (No brainer here!)
Listen - 3 (1) - (because it's a good utility skill)
Move Silently - 2 (2) - (Same as Listen)
Spellcraft - 8 (3) - Again, par for the course of a magic user
Spot - 3 (1) - Bread & butter of not dying to commonsense problems
Languages
Common
Gnomic (I was going to make my guy raised in a community with a lot of gnomes, making him familair with (and eventually partial to) Garl Glittergold, God of Good Trickers. Knowing gnomish seems only a natural offshoot of this.)
Celestial
Infenral (both this and the above are vital to being a Malconvoker0
Draconic (Players handbook says my guy should know this. So he knows it now!)
Aquan
Ignan
Terran (Planar languages are useful for summons, IIRC)
Weapons - Light Crossbow and Mace (should I make this a holy mace?)
Items
Tinder twig - (fire is fun!)
Ring of Store Spell Minor (I was told this with Feather Fall, Mass Mage Armor and Summon Monster 1 were amazingly useful. Do I need to know these spells to put them into the ring?)
Robe of Useful Items (because everyone loves having a dagger, rope, and lord knows what else in a garment)
4 vials of holy water - just in a summoning goes wrong
Spell Focuses/ ingredients
Tiny bag
candle
Empty Cucoons (For polymorph. Too bad I don't know how to use this!)
Spell Book - so I can keep track f my old spells and record new ones
Feats
Spell Focus (Conjuror) - (Basic part of the Prestige Class)
Augment Summoning - (Ditto Spell Focus)
Mobile Spellcaster - (My groups says this is good, I think I should agree to this)
Improved Initiative - (Apparently a godsend regardless of class)
Rapid Summoning Variant / Focused Specialist Conjuration - (More advice I got. Apparently Rapid Summoning is excellent for avoiding becoming Fire Giant meat by avoiding getting distracted by being pummeled. Focuses specialist conjuration is also good for reasons I don't completely grasp. I think I can only have 5 feats at level 8, so I'm not sure which one should stay or which one should go. Any pointers?)
Spells
Level 0
Acid Splash - (Hey, let's melt through these chains! Bondage should be between consenting adults, Mister Goblin Slaver!)
Daze - (I'm going to be running away a lot, so this is supposed to help)
Mage Hand - (Apparently telekinesis is handy, if you'll excuse the pun)
Detect magic - (another staple I was told to include no matter what)
Caltrops - (The ability to produce small sharp objects? Hello, combat toys!)
Arcane mark - (Good for marking trails, or proving to people that a familair is really mine)
Level 1
Summon Monster 1 - (Yay! Dudes! Have fun fighting for me, guys! I'm not sure whether this limits me to strictly summoning critters from the basic list, or whether ANY level 1 monster in the game can be called on)
Wall of Smoke - (Effects like this are supposedly good. I hide behind the smoke, my beasties leap out and eat baddies for lunch. It sounds legit to me!)
Featherfall - (So basically this is like Halo when I sue this - No fall damage for me? WHOO!)
True Strike - (My guy is an archer. Sniping monsters while they're distracted by my guys and aiding party members in distress? Sounds okay to me!)
Benign Transposition - (Apparently this is fun. My enemies play whack-a-mole with my party! "IMMA KILL YOU! Oh, wait, I hit a dire rat!")
Enlarge person - (I make a party member big. We don't need to disturb the sleeping giant to open the huge door, we do it ourselves!)
Protection from Evil - (in case a summoning goes south and I have ghoulie hungry for my face)
Level 2
Summon Monster 2
Summon Swarm - (Apparently this is the Wicker man remake. NOT THE BEES. Another useful escape spell)
Arcane Lock - (I can sleep in peace without fearing someone stealing my stuff from the hotel - or worse, killing me in my sleep because I'm anti-human sacrifice)
Web - (In case the other guy casts Summon Swarm)
Touch of Idiocy - (apparently this is good against spellcasters)
Spider Climb - (To make the party rogue fall in love with me)
Level 3
Summon Monster 3
Mass Mage Armour - (I make friends with my party members. I can also buff my summons. Win/win, eh?)
Chain of Eyes - (apparently this is great to put on a fmailiar or cheap summon - they play as scout!)
Fireball - (As one guy said - if diplomacy fals, you always have plan B)
Blacklight - (Apparently this is good with spiders or bats - they can see in the dark, but a baddie can't. I can hide in this and let my minions have fun)
Haste - (Make my guys faster. Holy crap, my infernal rats are now zerglings! KEKEKEKEKE!)
Fly - (This is useful, or so I heard. it reminds me of the abiltiy Flying on magic cards, so this strikes me as a Good Thing)
Level 4
Summon Monster 4
Polymorph - (I can have fun with this, or so I heard. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to use this.
Blood Star - (This and tigers are supposed to be good.)
I'm torn for what to have for a familiar. I heard steam mephits are good because they can brew the morning coffee as well as fight, with the added bonus of not making forests burn down should we spend a night with a druid. However, I heard either an imp or quaslit familiar is better for fighting (they can turn invisible and stab people), plus, being a malconvoker, they fit thematically.
My guy is essentially a good internet troll who wants to overcome the forces of darkness by goading them. Having a browbeaten imp with holy symbols Arcane marked onto his face would be too funny for words. Plus the holy symbols might help me be able to dissuade any zealous paladins from smiting my guy's tush.
Anything else I should know and/or do?
I'm getting into DnD for the first time ever, and was told that our group needed a magic user. I thought I'd play summoner at first because - hey- conjuring up armies to fight for me seems like fun! It worked in that old HP video game FATE, so why not in DnD?
I did some research and asked around and was told that - given our group's schematics (we start at level 8, it's 3.5 edition and the DM is a pretty flexible and easygoing guy), a prestige class called the malconvoker is very solid. The problem is, I'm easily confused by some of the acronyms people use (RAW, PrC, etc. I've figured out some, but trying to google what CR means on a creature makes brings up stock markets and models of cars more than anything)
So far, I've work out this much, but I can't figure out how to fine-tune things, so to speak. I don't know whether I'm min-maxing or not (I just followed the advice I was given), but I'm not sure how to implement things to make this guy "work". Any insights would be really appreciated
Basics
Human - Wizard (level 5) /Malconvoker (level 3) (is this how you do a prestige class split?
Level 8
Neutral Good (My guy - so far nameless - became a Malconvoker because he likes practical jokes and feels that the best way to fight evil it to be an internet troll to it. He either worships Garl Glittergold or Baravar Cloakshadow)
Stats
STR 11
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 17
WIS 13
CHA 16
48 HP
Skills & ranks (Listed as BaseScore (Ability Modifyer)
Bluff - 8 (3)
Concentration - 6 (2)
Handle Animal - 6 (30 - (Don't know if this is good or not, given that,a according to the rules, summons obey me naturally anyhow
Knowledge Arcana - 5 (3)
Knowledge Nature - 2 (3) - A(gain, I don't know about this. it seems like knowing about animals would be a Good Thing, but I don't know if I'd be dealing with mundane wildlife or exotic magical stuff more)
Knowledge Planes - 4 (3) - (No brainer here!)
Listen - 3 (1) - (because it's a good utility skill)
Move Silently - 2 (2) - (Same as Listen)
Spellcraft - 8 (3) - Again, par for the course of a magic user
Spot - 3 (1) - Bread & butter of not dying to commonsense problems
Languages
Common
Gnomic (I was going to make my guy raised in a community with a lot of gnomes, making him familair with (and eventually partial to) Garl Glittergold, God of Good Trickers. Knowing gnomish seems only a natural offshoot of this.)
Celestial
Infenral (both this and the above are vital to being a Malconvoker0
Draconic (Players handbook says my guy should know this. So he knows it now!)
Aquan
Ignan
Terran (Planar languages are useful for summons, IIRC)
Weapons - Light Crossbow and Mace (should I make this a holy mace?)
Items
Tinder twig - (fire is fun!)
Ring of Store Spell Minor (I was told this with Feather Fall, Mass Mage Armor and Summon Monster 1 were amazingly useful. Do I need to know these spells to put them into the ring?)
Robe of Useful Items (because everyone loves having a dagger, rope, and lord knows what else in a garment)
4 vials of holy water - just in a summoning goes wrong
Spell Focuses/ ingredients
Tiny bag
candle
Empty Cucoons (For polymorph. Too bad I don't know how to use this!)
Spell Book - so I can keep track f my old spells and record new ones
Feats
Spell Focus (Conjuror) - (Basic part of the Prestige Class)
Augment Summoning - (Ditto Spell Focus)
Mobile Spellcaster - (My groups says this is good, I think I should agree to this)
Improved Initiative - (Apparently a godsend regardless of class)
Rapid Summoning Variant / Focused Specialist Conjuration - (More advice I got. Apparently Rapid Summoning is excellent for avoiding becoming Fire Giant meat by avoiding getting distracted by being pummeled. Focuses specialist conjuration is also good for reasons I don't completely grasp. I think I can only have 5 feats at level 8, so I'm not sure which one should stay or which one should go. Any pointers?)
Spells
Level 0
Acid Splash - (Hey, let's melt through these chains! Bondage should be between consenting adults, Mister Goblin Slaver!)
Daze - (I'm going to be running away a lot, so this is supposed to help)
Mage Hand - (Apparently telekinesis is handy, if you'll excuse the pun)
Detect magic - (another staple I was told to include no matter what)
Caltrops - (The ability to produce small sharp objects? Hello, combat toys!)
Arcane mark - (Good for marking trails, or proving to people that a familair is really mine)
Level 1
Summon Monster 1 - (Yay! Dudes! Have fun fighting for me, guys! I'm not sure whether this limits me to strictly summoning critters from the basic list, or whether ANY level 1 monster in the game can be called on)
Wall of Smoke - (Effects like this are supposedly good. I hide behind the smoke, my beasties leap out and eat baddies for lunch. It sounds legit to me!)
Featherfall - (So basically this is like Halo when I sue this - No fall damage for me? WHOO!)
True Strike - (My guy is an archer. Sniping monsters while they're distracted by my guys and aiding party members in distress? Sounds okay to me!)
Benign Transposition - (Apparently this is fun. My enemies play whack-a-mole with my party! "IMMA KILL YOU! Oh, wait, I hit a dire rat!")
Enlarge person - (I make a party member big. We don't need to disturb the sleeping giant to open the huge door, we do it ourselves!)
Protection from Evil - (in case a summoning goes south and I have ghoulie hungry for my face)
Level 2
Summon Monster 2
Summon Swarm - (Apparently this is the Wicker man remake. NOT THE BEES. Another useful escape spell)
Arcane Lock - (I can sleep in peace without fearing someone stealing my stuff from the hotel - or worse, killing me in my sleep because I'm anti-human sacrifice)
Web - (In case the other guy casts Summon Swarm)
Touch of Idiocy - (apparently this is good against spellcasters)
Spider Climb - (To make the party rogue fall in love with me)
Level 3
Summon Monster 3
Mass Mage Armour - (I make friends with my party members. I can also buff my summons. Win/win, eh?)
Chain of Eyes - (apparently this is great to put on a fmailiar or cheap summon - they play as scout!)
Fireball - (As one guy said - if diplomacy fals, you always have plan B)
Blacklight - (Apparently this is good with spiders or bats - they can see in the dark, but a baddie can't. I can hide in this and let my minions have fun)
Haste - (Make my guys faster. Holy crap, my infernal rats are now zerglings! KEKEKEKEKE!)
Fly - (This is useful, or so I heard. it reminds me of the abiltiy Flying on magic cards, so this strikes me as a Good Thing)
Level 4
Summon Monster 4
Polymorph - (I can have fun with this, or so I heard. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to use this.
Blood Star - (This and tigers are supposed to be good.)
I'm torn for what to have for a familiar. I heard steam mephits are good because they can brew the morning coffee as well as fight, with the added bonus of not making forests burn down should we spend a night with a druid. However, I heard either an imp or quaslit familiar is better for fighting (they can turn invisible and stab people), plus, being a malconvoker, they fit thematically.
My guy is essentially a good internet troll who wants to overcome the forces of darkness by goading them. Having a browbeaten imp with holy symbols Arcane marked onto his face would be too funny for words. Plus the holy symbols might help me be able to dissuade any zealous paladins from smiting my guy's tush.
Anything else I should know and/or do?