Low Level Abjurations

[Lord Ruby34]

I've recently started to make a caster (A Warmage using T. G. Oskar's fix), and I've found that I'm rather squishy. I tend to favor melee types, so I need help finding a spell that fits my requirements. I need an Abjuration, Evocation, or Conjuration of of second level or lower. It needs to be able to protect me well, and have a duration of at least ten minutes per level. Thanks.

[Snowbluff]

Shield and Mage Armor.

And since did Warmage need a fix in the first place? Tier 4 is what you'd expect with a blaster class.

[Lord Ruby34]

The fix is supposed to make the class more versatile and powerful, around the level of the ToBers. Here's the link. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131346)

Mage armor is on my list already, and I can wear medium armor. Shield is minutes/level.

[KillianHawkeye]

Considering you can already wear armor, what kind of protection are you looking for exactly?

EDIT: Protection from arrows (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/protectionFromArrows.htm) is nice until you start facing a lot of enemies with magical bows.

[Lord Ruby34]

I've already got it on my list.

What I'm looking for is something to help my survivablity in general. We rolled for stats and I ended up with mostly tens and elevens with a sixteen and an eighteen. I had to put the two highest in my casting stats, which left me with crap for Con and Dex. That means that I barely have any AC or HP, or any modifiers on my saves for that matter. I'm not a melee character, but I expect to be targeted every once in a while. I'm looking for something that lets me not fold over like a blade of grass every time an enemy looks at me funny.

[KillianHawkeye]

If you are Good you can use luminous armor (BoED) instead of mage armor. It's a 2nd-level spell, but it grants a +5 armor bonus and gives melee opponents a -4 to hit you, plus a free daylight spell wherever you go. The downside is its higher level and the fact that it's pretty overt, not invisible like mage armor. Also, you take 1d2 Str damage when the spell ends.

Between that and protection from arrows, my abjurer feels pretty safe from most nonmagical threats, although I'm thinking of getting blur or displacement or maybe mirror image for extra protection.

[Lord Ruby34]

Ahh, that might be exactly what I'm looking for. The strength damage seems pretty irrelevent, given that I don't intend to actually hit things in melee.

EDIT: Except for the fact that it's a sanctified spell and I cast spontaneously. Crap.

[Snowbluff]

The fix is supposed to make the class more versatile and powerful, around the level of the ToBers. Here's the link. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131346)

Mage armor is on my list already, and I can wear medium armor. Shield is minutes/level.

I know what Tier it is, thanks. Warmage is a blaster, being suboptimal is a part of its baggage. Meanwhile, this Warmage retooling does not seem to FIX ANYTHING. The only change I found justifiable was adding some spells the list.

I won't go on here. I might post in the thread later.

[KillianHawkeye]

EDIT: Except for the fact that it's a sanctified spell and I cast spontaneously. Crap.

Oops! Sorry, I forgot about that.

Sadly, there's not too much beyond your basic shield and mage armor spells if you're limited to 1st and 2nd level spells. Too bad you don't have access to illusions, because that's the next best place to look for defensive spells, and there's loads of good low-level ones.

[Corlindale]

If the retooled Warmage still allows you to substitute the Eclectic Learning variant for Advanced Learning, I'd say that might be worth it. At level 7 you could then pick up Mirror Image - even though it would become a third level spell for you, it could still be a real lifesaver throughout your career.

I speak from experience, because I picked it with my Warmage (and it was pretty much my only defensive spell for most of my career), and I cannot tell you just how many times it saved my life between level 6 and 20.

[Seffbasilisk]

There's the Karma chain of spells, they allow a willsave, but anyone targeting you with an attack gets hit with the result if they fail.

IIRC the 2nd level one fatigues the attacker.

Shield doesn't last long enough, and your best bet once a fight starts is to hammer down those attacking you, to cut off the source of the attacks rather than to throw up something like shield.

Mirror image, disguising yourself as helpless (invisible spell and the like), invisibility, and generally avoiding being targeted is probably your best bet.

Glitterdust. It's a conjuration spell of 2nd level, and while it only hits a 10x10 area and lasts for rounds/level, it effectively makes you invisible to those you've just turned into disco-balls.

[Lord Ruby34]

If the retooled Warmage still allows you to substitute the Eclectic Learning variant for Advanced Learning, I'd say that might be worth it. At level 7 you could then pick up Mirror Image - even though it would become a third level spell for you, it could still be a real lifesaver throughout your career.

I speak from experience, because I picked it with my Warmage (and it was pretty much my only defensive spell for most of my career), and I cannot tell you just how many times it saved my life between level 6 and 20.

I think I'll try this. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

[herrhauptmann]

How about a few levels in abjurant champion?
Follow that up with 'researching' an abjuration version of mage armor.
Perhaps a non-sanctified version of luminous armor: Ditch the daylight effect and -4 penalty on enemies. Lose the strength damage. Make it a level higher (3rd and 5th, or 4th and 6th) and only 10 minutes per level, rather than hour per level.

[KillianHawkeye]

Perhaps a non-sanctified version of luminous armor: Ditch the daylight effect and -4 penalty on enemies. Lose the strength damage. Make it a level higher (3rd and 5th, or 4th and 6th) and only 10 minutes per level, rather than hour per level.

But the -4 penalty is the best part! Without that, you might as well just get greater mage armor instead.


Glitterdust. It's a conjuration spell of 2nd level, and while it only hits a 10x10 area and lasts for rounds/level, it effectively makes you invisible to those you've just turned into disco-balls.

Correction: Glitterdust affects a 10-ft.-radius spread.

[Urpriest]

If you really want to spend character resources on it, you can get Sanctified Spells via the Arcane Preparation feat.

[Chronos]

If you really want to spend character resources on it, you can get Sanctified Spells via the Arcane Preparation feat.Which would also make you eligible for Mage of the Arcane Order, which gives you tremendous versatility.

[Lord Ruby34]

Eh, I honestly don't except to level up in this game. It's a Play by Post, and those tend to fail often. Still, I'll check out all your suggestions, and in the event I actually level up I might take some of them.