Must have spells for a Shadowcraft Mage

[Aemoh87]

My banned school is necro. I need some sweet spells!

[Tvtyrant]

...In before Shadow Conjuration.

[Acanous]

Only one prohibited school? Is the other Evocation?

Cool spells:
Phantasmal assailants (SC) Lv 2 spell, deals -4Wis/-4 dex damage
Phantasmal Killer (PHB) Kills a living target if they fail will/fort saves.
Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Evocation, related spells (PHB)
Hallucinatory Terrain (PHB)
Shades (PHB)
Sensory Deprivation (SC) Target gets a will save or can't see/hear/feel/taste/smell anything, works on extra senses like darkvision and blindsense. Render them helpless and coup de grace.

Web
Glitterdust
Grease
Dancing Lights
Shatter
Rope Trick (SC)
Feather Fall
Fly
Freedom of Movement
Teleport
Dimensional Anchor
Dimensional Lock
Dark Way
Mirror Image
Mage Armor
Shield
Solid Fog
Add flavour to taste, enjoy.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

...In before Shadow Conjuration.

And why would you need Shadow Conjuration/Evocation on a Shadowcraft Mage?

The Orb spells are alright, as long as you can get around SR. Summon Monster is pretty awesome, and you cast it as a Standard Action (since Silent Image is a Standard Action). Contingency is great (though greater still is Craft Contingent Spell) as is Wall of Force, and if I recall correctly Forcecage is an Evocation as well. If you can finagle it in, Miracle is great as a Shadowcraft Mage, since it shares its XP cost with Silent Image (that is, it is reduced to nothing).

Basically, anything good that's a Conjuration (Summoning or Creation, again if I remember correctly) or anything good that's an Evocation is a good spell for a Shadowcraft Mage. But the best spell for a ScM is by far Silent Image.

[Keld Denar]

You are looking for spells TO Shadow Illusion? Keep in mind that while you can Shadow Illusion 90% of Conjourations, you can't do anything in the Calling and Teleportation subschools, so I hope you didn't ban Conjouration. Plus, Conjourations are great against foes with Magic Immunity. Grease wins vs golems, but Shadow Grease doesn't.

Um, some good ones...

1st
Lesser Orb of X (SpC) - on demand CHEAP damage
Wall of Smoke (SpC) - Obscures LoS very effectively

2nd
Create Magic Tatoo (SpC) - CL12 means a free +1 CL w/ no material component
Incendiary Slime (PHBII) - Grease + FIRE!!!
Force Ladder (SpC) - Utility, why not?!?!
Veil of Shadow (SpC) - MOAR miss chance, also good if you have HiPS

3rd
Blacklight (SpC) - Really dark darkness
Corpse Candle (SpC) - Wierd but effective utility tek vs incorps
Fireball (PHB) - The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." - Long Range is nothing to laugh at sometimes, especially in maritime combat
Glowing Orb (SpC) - Permanent light, but only if you believe in fairies!
Great Thunderclap (SpC) - Lots of status effects. Stun, deaf, prone, oh my!
Greater Mage Armor (SpC) - +6 AC as long as YOU believe its real
Melf's Unicorn Arrows (PHBII) - Bullrush a fool, trigger AoOs, utilize handy cliffs
Phantom Steed (PHB) - THE prefered mode of travel. Casting time is 6 seconds rather than 10 minutes!


4th
BLACK TENTACLES (PBH) - The amped CL makes this spell own
Bloodstar (SpC) - Wierd spell, extra Con damage for your friends.
Defenestrating Sphere (SpC) - OUT THE WINDOW, literally
Orb of X (SpC) - Has SR, but still effective single foe damage + effect
Thunderlance (SpC) - FORM BLAZING SWORD FOR GREAT JUSTICE! Also, kills Walls of Force

5th
Entomb (Frostburn) - Target/level disable w/ Fort save vs suffocate and no material component!
Moonbow (SpC) - 3d6/2 CLs, very nice scaling damage for sheer boom!
Viscid Glob (SpC) - Good single target disable vs medium or smaller foes
Wall of Force (PHB) - Assuming foes have no SR, the unbeatable wall
Wall of Limbs (SpC) - Mini Blade Barrier

6th
Fires of Purity (SpC) - Ally gains +CL to damage PER HIT
Freezing Fog (SpC) - Grease + Solid Fog + (Cold)Acid Fog = Win
Howling Chain (SpC) - Area disable, hillarious
Wall of Gears (SpC) - Blade Barrier

7th
Acid Fog (PHB) - Stack with Freezing Fog or other disable
Radiant Assault (SpC) - AoE Will save vs stun, SHADOW LIGHT!
Stun Ray (SpC) - Single target disable

8th
Deadly Lahar (PHBII) - Drop a volcano, damage + slow

9th
Black Blade of Disaster (SpC) - Disintegrate at will
Instant Refuge (Spc) - No material or XP
Obedient Avalache (SpC) - Damage + disable
SUMMON ELEMENTAL MONOLITH (SpC/CArc) - Requires Concentration - Air wins the game

[Aemoh87]

Totally forgot about Elemental Monolith... So delicious.

[ILM]

Silent Image.


OH YEAH I JUST DID! :smallcool:

Spells to have:
Pretty much your usual list. Some have already been listed, here's a few extra I like:

Benign Transposition (SC)
Nerveskitter (SC) - couple that with an eternal wand of Primal Instinct (DM)
True Casting (CM) - cheaper than Assay SR
Delusions of Grandeur (SC) - debuff
Phantasmal Assailants (SC) - debuff
Control Darkness and Shadow (CoR) - have fun with shadows
Legion of Sentinels (PHB2) - bodyguards!
Shadow Binding (SC) - 10 ft burst that immobilizes everyone around you; useful in a pinch
Celerity (PHB2) - break the game!
Mystic Surge (PHB2) - for when you really need the next one to go through. Keep a Rod of Quicken handy.
Dimension Jumper (CM) - my favourite mobility spell
Shadow Guardians (RoD) - more bodyguards!
Shadowy Grappler (SC) - easiest way I know of taking down a caster
Planar Bubble (SC) - coupled with a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis
Solipsism (SC)


Spells to emulate:

Buzzing Bee (SC) - one of my favourite low-level anti-caster tools
Create Magic Tattoo (SC) - tattoos for free!
Veil of Shadows (SC)
Great Thunderclap (SC) - triple threat, useful when you don't know what you're up against
Servant Horde (SC)
Crushing Grip (PHB2) - no-save debuff to saves, attack, etc.
Forcewave (SC) - when you need some breathing space
Parboil (Sandstorm) - int debuff
Wings of Flurry (RotD) - with the kind of caster level you're likely to have and a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis + Planar Bubble, you'll deal a world of hurt.
Contingency - freeeee!
Howling Chain (SC) - battlefield control
Overwhelming Revelations (MoE) - 1d6 wis damage on a successful save
Amber Sarcophagus (BoED) - freeeeEEE! Also, no-save take-enemy-out-of-the-foght spell. Spam it and deal with them later; the ultimate in D&D procrastination!
Grasping Hand - like shadowy grappler, only better.
Trap the Soul - have I mentioned free?
Detonate (PHB2) - I just like that one, even though it's not fundamentally a game-breaker
Genesis (ELH) - still free
Iceberg (FB) - because it's funny to drop icebergs on people. Especially indoors where it makes no sense at all.
Summon Elemental Monolith (SC) - friends
Summon Golem (PHB2) - more friends


edit: PS: Entomb is Sorc/Wiz 6.