[3.5] Aquatic Wizard Build Help

[Zale]

I was wondering about spellcasting and underwater environments. I'm sure some spells would be more useful underwater than above it.

So, I was wondering if any of you who've had experience with Underwater Campaigns could help me with a character build for a Wizard.

Mostly on which race (Leaning towards Aquatic Human. Extra Feats are nice), and the better feats and spells for a spellcasting character who spends most of their time underwater.

I know that Fire Spells don't work very well underwater, but are there any other limitations or restrictions I should know about?

Does this affect spell components, or the Wizard's spellbook somehow?

Any advice is welcome.

[Slipperychicken]

Far as I know, being submerged doesn't affect spellcasting, just melee and movement. Check Stormwrack for confirmation.

Freedom of Movement will be useful, assuming you're a land-dweller in an Aquatic campaign. By extension, Heart of Water will be good when you don't need FOM all day. But then again, buy a Greater Crystal of Aquatic Action and you're pretty much good.

Water-Breathing is a must, although you've probably got some passive means of water-breathing, like the Crystal of Aquatic Action or from your race. Make sure you read the wording carefully; when you're hit by Aboleth Mucus, there's a big difference between "you no longer need to breathe air", and "this device supplies breathable air". One means you continue breathing as normal, and the other means you suffocate. Make sure your workaround is not targetable or easily dispelled, or else you'll die a slow, watery death. Remember that a magic item comes back online within rounds of being dispelled, so don't worry if you find yourself dispelled.

There's a spell in SpC which allows you to breathe water. That can be useful if you're hit with Aboleth Mucus, since that stops you from breathing air. With that, you can start breathing again.

Telepathy may be useful so you can communicate effectively. Mindbender1 + Mindsight is wonderful for this.

Blasty spells will be nice to sunder any scuba-gear worn by someone you don't like, if your melee doesn't feel like following orders that day.

Aquatic summons are strong and big, so take advantage of that.

[Zale]

I was leaning towards an aquatic, water-breathing race (Or simply Amphibious) on the basis that it's easier to slap on Air Breathing for when my character is on the surface.

After all, the Ocean would rarely be far away if you're on a boat or an island.

[JeminiZero]

Certain spells (such as Freezing Fog) explictly state that they don't work under water, so you need to check each of them on a case by case basis.

For spellbooks, the expanded rules in compelte Arcane 140 indicate that default spellbooks designed to withstand rain, but not prolonged immersion. If you want your book to endure that, there are several options:
1. Get Boccob's Blessed Book which is explicitly water proof. Also saves you a pile of gold on ink in the long run.
2. But a Waterproof spellbook (Planar Handbook pg 71) for a mere 30 gp
3. Make your spellbook pages out of something other than paper (refer to spellbook construction in Complete Arcane 140). Ivory can definitely survive total immersion for short durations at least.
4. See if you can combine 2 and 3: have ivory pages with waterproof treatment.
5. But the Waterproof enchantment (Complete Arcane) for 1,000 gp. Waayyyy more expensive than the options above.
6. Complete Arcane 187 also has options for token spell pages.You could engrave all your spells on wooden bolts (try not to use stone or metal, as if you drop them in the water, you will be hardpressed to retrieve them).
7. Eberron Campaign Setting 122 has Wizard Spellshard, which are crystals that can hold 20 pages worth of spells.
8. Eidetic Caster: Dragon Magazine material and usually rarely allowed.

Regardless of which solution you take (except 8), I always recommend that Wizards tattoo a few spells on themselves (Complete Arcane 186). So that in the event they and their book are seperated, they are still better off than being mere commoners with WBL. There is limited space though, so tattoo at most 1 spell of each spell level. And if you do not have eschew materials, your level 1 tattoo should be Summon Component.

[Zale]

Interesting. So how many of the above options would work to allow a Wizard to actually prepare spells underwater?

I guess the Blessed Book would function, but I'm not if some of the Waterproof ones were made with the intention of opening the spellbook while submerged.

EDIT: And is there any listings on how much the Tokens would cost?

[Slipperychicken]

6. Complete Arcane 187 also has options for token spell pages.You could engrave all your spells on wooden bolts (try not to use stone or metal, as if you drop them in the water, you will be hardpressed to retrieve them).

It's only 3lb, so it probably wouldn't fall too quickly. Wood will float upward, probably faster at that weight, and also warps when it gets too humid outside. Ask any string instrumentalist and he can tell you how wood can get messed up in the wrong humidity. Dunking wood in water for exposed periods can't be a good idea, unless it's made of whatever ship hulls were made of (and treated appropriately).

For an additional 2k, you can have your Blessed Book made of Riverine (Stormwrack); basically, it's made of Walls of Force. That's extremely resilient, as only Disintegrate and Disjunction can destroy it. Also, no-one expects a spellbook to be made of Riverine, so stuff it in a bag or something and title it something silly and hilarious, like "The Invisible Book of Invisibility". Keep a fake spellbook heavily locked, made of metal, and enchanted out the wazoo in a chest next to it, in case someone decides to be a **** and only take your spellbook. Riverine also lets you fill it with Explosive Runes, to blow anyone who isn't you straight to hell.

[Zale]

Awesome.


So, does anyone have any choice spells to suggest?

[Mithril Leaf]

I'd have to imagine avoid anything that has fire of air as a component for a rule of thumb. Black Tentacles are just as good as always, possibly even better since everyone has flight by default which it denies.

As far as general aquatic campaign advice, see if you can convince a melee character in your party to be Shalarin, +4 strength and dexterity, from Monsters Of Faerun, updated to +0 LA in Player's Guide to Faerun. Technically it could benefit you if you decide to gish it up, but it's great for warblades and the like.

[JeminiZero]

Interesting. So how many of the above options would work to allow a Wizard to actually prepare spells underwater?

I guess the Blessed Book would function, but I'm not if some of the Waterproof ones were made with the intention of opening the spellbook while submerged.

All of them should function normally actually.


EDIT: And is there any listings on how much the Tokens would cost?

Same as normal spellbook pages, 100 gp per page equivalent.


So, does anyone have any choice spells to suggest?

Heart of Water keeps you from being grappled to death. (It also provides water breathing and swim speed, but you have those already).

[Darrin]

I was leaning towards an aquatic, water-breathing race (Or simply Amphibious) on the basis that it's easier to slap on Air Breathing for when my character is on the surface.


Amphibious template (Stormwrack) + Human or Azurin (Magic of Incarnum) probably works best: you keep the Human bonus feat, and just take a -2 penalty on your Dex attribute.



There's a spell in SpC which allows you to breathe water. That can be useful if you're hit with Aboleth Mucus, since that stops you from breathing air. With that, you can start breathing again.


Air breathing appears in multiple sourcebooks, but the most recent version is in the Spell Compendium. There's also the deep breath spell, which is only 1st level, but does absolutely nothing against aboleth mucus: filling your lungs full of air when you can't breathe air will still kill you.



Telepathy may be useful so you can communicate effectively. Mindbender1 + Mindsight is wonderful for this.


You can qualify for telepathy via Hidden Talent: Mindlink or Shape Soulmeld: Shedu Crown + Open Least Chakra: Crown.


It's only 3lb, so it probably wouldn't fall too quickly.
[...]
For an additional 2k, you can have your Blessed Book made of Riverine (Stormwrack); basically, it's made of Walls of Force. That's extremely resilient, as only Disintegrate and Disjunction can destroy it.


"Other objects" made out of riverine cost 2000 GP per lb. So a riverine spellbook would cost 6000 GP. I would also assume that you can't write on riverine pages, so the pages would most likely have to be made of something else. Vellum is actually waterproof, so you could use that, but bone, ivory, or metal plates would work fine.



So, does anyone have any choice spells to suggest?

The usual advice should work fine. Just be aware that if everyone has a swim speed, then everyone's movement has a vertical component and is essentially flying (use dice next to the miniature to designate vertical height). "Kiting" via fly spells doesn't work the same way, the best way to kite now is to make sure you have the highest swim speed: wings of the sea, quickswim, swim, scales of the sealord.

Battlefield control spells, particularly wall spells and those that only affect a horizontal surface (such as grease), may no longer be effective. The metamagic feat Sculpt Spell (Complete Arcane) may be able to salvage some of these, particularly with the four 10' cubes option. But remember that cones, cylinders, and bursts still have a vertical dimension.

The fog-based spells seem to be the ones most likely to not work underwater... even most fire-based spells don't have any "doesn't work underwater" clauses: Scorching ray and fireball, for example, work just fine (so long as your DM doesn't consider the water around you to be a "material body or solid barrier"). You'll want to ask your DM how he wants to handle electrical attacks, since water is a much better conductor of electricity than air... lightning bolt doesn't say anything about not working underwater, but it may be best to handwave this as "works the same as in air", since there's no easy way to model how it propogates through water (and from what I can tell, no serious scientific research on this either).

[crimsonqueen]

I know that Fire Spells don't work very well underwater, but are there any other limitations or restrictions I should know about?


Actually with a feat you can make fire spells work underwater its called Steam Magic here it is.

STEAM MAGIC
You are skilled at casting fiery spells into the water, causing terrible gouts of scalding steam.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Benefi t: You need not make a Spellcraft check to successfully cast spells or use spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor targeted on water (see page 93 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
Normal: Casting a fi re spell or using a spell-like ability targeted on water successfully normally requires a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level).