Help me make my first PF Wizard

[Grynning]

Hey everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted here (I've been busy opening up my own game and comic store, which is finally done!), but I've finally been invited to play in a Pathfinder game and the group is lacking an arcane caster, so I volunteered to make a Wizard.

The game is set on a large remote island where the rest of the group was shipwrecked, so for my character to get introduced, I need to be stranded as well. I liked the idea of a long-stranded, crazy wizard living on the island, mostly because I've been watching a lot of "Survivorman" on Netflix lately. I was thinking of having a bonded object and calling it "Wilson" just for the lulz as well.

It's only a level 1 game, but I'm having a lot of trouble picking a specialist school. I really like the idea of an illusionist or a Transmuter. Illusionist would make for lots of fun moments with silent images and the like, and decent combat ability with Color Spray and the blinding ray, but lots of stuff is limited by HD and there's not as much utility/survival stuff in the school. Transmutation makes me a great buffer, and would definitely make him a good survivor. Either way, I'm not sure which schools to ban...I know Evocation/Enchantment is the standard choice, but the party is pretty un-optimized so I may keep Evocation in case they need the blasting. I'm thinking Enchantment and Abjuration.

Anyways, any advice on school and spell selection would be appreciated. Since the party is stranded, it's unlikely I will be able to learn any spell I want as we level. While a Sorcerer might actually be better in this situation, I really like the wizard and the lack of spell knowledge would explain why he's been out there a lot longer than the party but is still level 1.

Edit: I plan to be human. Also, I was wondering if there is a PF feat like Able Learner or some other way to get Survival onto my class skill list.

[Krazzman]

Type into google: Treantmonks Guide to Wizards: Being a God.

Be happy :D

[ThatLovin'Elan]

I personally like the idea of a crazed Wizard who doesn't know if what he sees is real, an illusion created by himself, or the product of his own deranged imagination. Transmutation spells are generally considered more powerful than Illusion spells.

As for getting skills as class skills, first of all realize that skills are bought at a 1 to 1 ratio in Pathfinder; even for non-class skills, one point invested gives you a +1 on checks.

If you're using traits, getting survival as a class skill is easy.

If not, try this feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/hermean-blood) which gets you two skills that share an associated ability score as class skills.

[Analytica]

Having it as a class skill matters a lot less in PF than in 3.5 since all skills cost the same number of skill points and have the same number of max ranks.

[Tokuhara]

One word for ya buddy:


SPELLSLINGER (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/archetypes/paizo---wizard-archetypes/spellslinger)

[Kenneth]

be a Conjurer. then you can take evocation and enchantment as your banned school, becuase as you see here.. if you want to blats just summon something that cna do the blasting for you :)

and i would not get the bonded object tome it is more of a liability than naything.

GET GREASE!!! that spell is amazing at all levels!

[Tokuhara]

be a Conjurer. then you can take evocation and enchantment as your banned school, becuase as you see here.. if you want to blats just summon something that cna do the blasting for you :)

and i would not get the bonded object tome it is more of a liability than naything.

GET GREASE!!! that spell is amazing at all levels!

I would personally drop illusion, since minus 1-2 acceptable spells, the school is garbage in practice (I've run around 7 wizards, including a Spellslinger). Evocation (with the right splatbooks) is a decent school. Sure, it's blasting-focused, but it has the staple damage spells in d&d.

If you can pick up some 3.5 goodies, gonna commit blasphemy here, Be a Grey Elf and take the Elf Generalist Racial Substitution from RotW. Combine with Spellslinger, and the two ACF that gives you essentially a divine domain and you should kick some serious tail and not have to worry about specializing

[Grynning]

Spellslinger, while cool flavor-wise, seems really, really sub-optimal. You give up specializing, cantrips, and have FOUR opposition schools just to have some blasting that's heavily dependent on an unreliable item. Also the DM advised me that while he's not opposed to guns, gunpowder will not be readily available given the whole "crash landed on a remote island" part.

3.5 stuff may be allowed, but I prefer to be Human. My rolled stats (post-racial) are Str 9, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 9.

And yeah, I re-read the bonded object rules, it is garbage. I think instead I'll have a Capybara familiar (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/rodents/rat/donkey-rat) named Speak (http://www.thetick.ws/tvsk.html#speak).

[Demon of Death]

Just a small note here, in Pathfinder you can cast spells from your banned school still, just using two spell slots of that level.
Also, you can make Divination (which really depends on your group if it has any usefulness) an opposition school.
The other school I would pick would be probably Enchantment, which also depends on your group for usefulness in a way.

[Curious]

Just a small note here, in Pathfinder you can cast spells from your banned school still, just using two spell slots of that level.
Also, you can make Divination (which really depends on your group if it has any usefulness) an opposition school.
The other school I would pick would be probably Enchantment, which also depends on your group for usefulness in a way.

Also, you can take a wizard alternate class feature that trades out one of your bonus feats for access to a banned school. And you can take it multiple times.

[Hiro Protagonest]

be a Conjurer. then you can take evocation and enchantment as your banned school, becuase as you see here.. if you want to blats just summon something that cna do the blasting for you :)


I would personally drop illusion, since minus 1-2 acceptable spells, the school is garbage in practice (I've run around 7 wizards, including a Spellslinger). Evocation (with the right splatbooks) is a decent school. Sure, it's blasting-focused, but it has the staple damage spells in d&d.

You're both wrong! :smalltongue:

Ban Enchantment and Necromancy. There are a few good necromancy spells, but if you don't want to double your party count with beatsticks, you can live without it more than you can live without Wall of Force and Invisibility.

Also, why do you need survival as a class skill? PF cross-class skills don't suck.

[The Gilded Duke]

I suppose Spellslinger is useful in boosting your save DCs and getting a higher crit modifier on ranged touch attacks. Doesn't look like it can be used with the attacks of Telekinesis which is too bad. Looks like you gain pretty much everything from Spellslinger at level one, so you are set up well for prestige classes. It doesn't look like Archmage exists in Pathfinder though.

[Grynning]

Also, why do you need survival as a class skill? PF cross-class skills don't suck.

I don't...I was forgetting how PF skills work. I'm just gonna drop a couple points in it and be happy.