Spell Advice for a ToDE Wizard

[dragonsamurai77]

Character I'm making: Pixie Focused Conjurer//Factotum

I've got a Blessed Book, so I have plenty more room for spells, but I'm not sure what else to put. Most notably, I'm a Master Specialist, so I can have a 4th, 5th, and 8th level Conjuration spell from another list.


Level 0: (4 pages)
Caltrops
Detect Magic
Read Magic
Prestidigation
Mage Hand
Mending
Sonic Snap
Stick

Level 1: (12 pages)
Grease
Benign Transportation
Mage Armor
Summon Monster 1
Wall of Smoke
Blockade
True Strike
Disguise Self
Silent Image
Magic Weapon
Golem Strike
Nerveskitter

Level 2: (22 pages)
Glitterdust
Web
Fog Cloud
Alter Self
See Invisibility
Detect Thoughts
Blur
Mirror Image
Knock
Heroics
Wraithstrike

Level 3: (33 pages)
Sleet Storm
Stinking Cloud
Greater Mage Armor
Dispel Magic
Protection from Energy
Displacement
Major Image
Blink
Haste
Greater Magic Weapon
Slow

Level 4: (32 pages)
Orb of Fire
Black Tentacles
Dimension Door
Polymorph
Remove Curse
Solid Fog
Stone Shape
Assay Spell Resistance

Level 5: (50 pages)
Lesser Planar Binding
Wall of Stone
Viscid Glob
Cloudkill
Dismissal
Contact Other Plane
Shadow Evocation
Permanency
Baleful Polymorph
Break Enchantment

Level 6: (60 pages)
Planar Binding
Freezing Fog
Summon Monster VI
Antimagic Field
Greater Dispel Magic
Wall of Iron
Permanent Image
Disintegrate
Move Earth
Stone to Flesh

Level 7: (63 pages)
Choking Cobwebs
Greater Teleport
Stun Ray
Summon Monster VII
Banishment
Greater Scrying
Reverse Gravity
Antimagic Ray
Energy Immunity

Level 8: (48 pages)
Greater Planar Binding
Maze
Summon Monster VIII
Polymorph Any Object
Mind Blank
Greater Shadow Evocation


Also, I need to think of another spell to apply Arcane Thesis to, besides Orb of Fire (or is that not a good Thesis spell itself?)

[NeoSeraphi]

Can you tell us which 3 schools you have abandoned?

Also, I can't help with the Arcane Thesis choice until I know which metamagic feats you have

[dragonsamurai77]

Can you tell us which 3 schools you have abandoned?

Also, I can't help with the Arcane Thesis choice until I know which metamagic feats you have

Schools: Evocation, Enchantment, Necromancy

Metamagics:

Sanctum Spell, Invisible Spell (for Thesis cheese)
Sculpt Spell
Split Ray
Twin Spell
Rapid Spell
Empower Spell

[NeoSeraphi]

Ah, and here we reach the problem. You don't have any way to get around fire immunity, so I strongly suggest replacing Orb of Fire with Orb of Force (Spell Compendium, IIRC).

It only deals a max of 10d6 force damage without a save-or-suck, but it deals force damage, which is far superior to fire damage in that it is a giant middle finger to incorporeal, and also nothing has immunity or even resistance to force damage.

Either way, either Orb is not a ray spell, and in fact from a quick perusal of your chosen spells, the only rays I see are Disintegrate, Stun Ray, and Antimagic Ray.

The thing about ray spells is that the majority of the ones you want to apply Split Ray to are either Evocation or Necromancy spells. I wouldn't waste my time with Split Ray (especially considering your spell list) and would advise you to replace it with Maximize or Repeat Spell for Orb goodness.

I didn't check your spell list that closely, but I see you have Assay Spell Resistance as a 4th level spell. In that case, I suggest also taking True Casting (Divination, 1st level, Complete Mage). Standard action cast time, gives you a +10 bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance for the next spell you cast before the end of next round. Not as good as Assay Spell Resistance, but considering it's 3 spell levels lower than Assay, you might want it.

I also notice you like Polymorph. If you really want to use it, though, you should try Draconic Polymorph from the Draconomicon (Check with your DM, ignore this if you knew about it and thought it was too cheesy). It's just like Polymorph, but it's a 5th level spell that grants your new form a +8 Str bonus, a +2 Con bonus, and has a maximum of 20 hit dice.

Another good 1st level spell is Ray of Clumsiness (Spell Compendium). It's a Transmutation spell that requires a ranged touch but gives a 1d6+1/2 levels (max +5) Dex penalty, no save. Lower Dex means lower AC, which means Orbs hit more often, as well as your friends' attacks. Or you can use it to chop someone's Reflex save before you throw them in a web, or whatever.

[Tvtyrant]

Or you could take energy substitution on the fire orb to something that is blocked less often, or searing spell to bypass resistance.

[dragonsamurai77]

Or you could take energy substitution on the fire orb to something that is blocked less often, or searing spell to bypass resistance.

I think I'll go with Energy Substitution, since it's a +0, which makes Arcane Thesis even more powerful.

[Moose Man]

Force Dragons are Immune to force.

[dextercorvia]

I would replace Split Ray with Searing Spell, since Orbs aren't rays.

Most of the usual suspects are banned to you: Ray of Stupidity, Enervation...

What do you want to accomplish? Some spells are good for Arcane Thesis, even if they aren't made of raw attack power.

[Godskook]

Force Dragons are Immune to force.

Seriously, the amount of optimization that should go into handling force dragons is almost zero. They're barely a blip on the pre-epic radar.

[dragonsamurai77]

What do you want to accomplish? Some spells are good for Arcane Thesis, even if they aren't made of raw attack power.

Primarily battlefield control with some summoning, and I like the ability to blast as well, hence Orb of Fire.

[Maho-Tsukai]

For battlefield control there is all the usual suspects that you can find by basically looking at any wizard guide. In fact, to be nice, I'll even provide the link (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Wizards%27_Handbook_by_Dictum_Mortuum_%283.5e_Opti mized_Character_Build%29) to one of them.

As for summoning your a conjurer, so you have some of best options for having mooks you can call out. Sure, your mooks are not as long-lasting as a necromancer's undead or an enchanter's thralls, but you have some of the best ever mooks at your disposal, outsiders. So use them and use them well, I'd HIGHLY suggest the Planar Binding line of spells as far as getting summons/minions go. Sure, it's not traditional summoning, but via planar binding you have assess to some of the most powerful monsters in the game that have all kinds of useful SLA's and abilities. To use them you WILL need to pick up magic circle as it's required to use the spell, and while not 100% necessary you may want to pick up dimensional anchor to make it even harder for whatever your planar binding to escape your clutches.

Also, if your evil and high level then there IS a conjuration spell(I forget the name) that can allow you to temporarily call an army of evil outsiders to do your bidding, so with sufficient time a conjurer CAN have an outsider army, even if it's only a temporary one....Sadly I don't think there is a good-based mirror to this so if your not a baddie you may not be able to call an army outsiders though I may be wrong on this.

Oh, and of course for more traditional summoning you can't go wrong with the bread and butter Summon Monster line.