Rainbow servant/ Wizard

[chardyks09]

So I was looking at a rainbow servant wizard build and the 10th level rainbow servant ability says they gain access to all cleric spells. According to the rules would my wizard have to find a way to add them to his spell book first or would he just know them all.

[eggs]

They're added to your spell list, not spells known or spellbook.

[Alleran]

They're added to your spell list, not spells known or spellbook.
This, incidentally, is what makes the Rainbow Warsnake (Warmage base; not sure what the Beguiler variant is called offhand) so potent. Because a Warmage knows all the spells on their spell list and casts them all spontaneously, and because RS adds the spells to your spell list, the Warmage is suddenly casting the entire Cleric spell list spontaneously (which I think might kick it from Tier 4 right up past Tier 1).

[kardar233]

They're added to your spell list, not spells known or spellbook.

In case it isn't clear, this means that you treat Cleric spells as you would Wizard ones; you still have to scribe them into your spellbook in order to cast them.

[Roguenewb]

It's probably not a great build...but strangely enough, I never heard of anyone trying it with wizard before...is there something in the class that makes that a particularly bad idea?

[jaybird]

It's probably not a great build...but strangely enough, I never heard of anyone trying it with wizard before...is there something in the class that makes that a particularly bad idea?

Action economy, maybe? You can still only fire off 2 spells a turn normally, and the Wizard list is good enough that Cleric spells don't really offer much of an improvement...

[Glimbur]

Also, depending on if you take text or table as primary source (RAW it's text) you lose caster levels, which hurts.

[eggs]

It's probably not a great build...but strangely enough, I never heard of anyone trying it with wizard before...is there something in the class that makes that a particularly bad idea?
Endless shouting matches over caster level progression?

[Roguenewb]

Endless shouting matches over caster level progression?

Especially if you finish off with Mystic Theurge to double boost casting progression.

[Analytica]

Most presumably read it and assume that, yes, it does in fact lose four caster levels, with the text being a copy-paste error. I am sincerely convinced that was designer intent, and I suspect its relative unpopularity stems from others also being convinced that this is the case.

Also, it requires you to be nongood and nonchaotic, and to work as an agent for a particular group of beings.

[Necroticplague]

Most presumably read it and assume that, yes, it does in fact lose four caster levels, with the text being a copy-paste error. I am sincerely convinced that was designer intent, and I suspect its relative unpopularity stems from others also being convinced that this is the case.


Except in reprints they modified the table so it matched the text, so obviously it was meant to be full caster.

[T.G. Oskar]

Also, it requires you to be nongood noneviland nonchaotic, and to work as an agent for a particular group of beings.

Minor nitpick, but a needed one. Regardless of the ethical alignment of couatls, they're all good creatures, so you can't be nongood, specifically if you get the Good domain from them. You also gain the Lawful domain, so you can't be Chaotic either (hence, the nonchaotic restriction).

A Rainbow Servant entering from Wizard is actually not something unreasonable: it's basically getting access to Cleric spells as an Archivist would, so it's Archivist but backwards. I'd think of it as a Wu Jen, because they get less spells than Wizards but a slew of unique ones that mesh well with Cleric spells (Divine Power + Giant Size + Metal Skin come to mind, and then there's the sick combo of Death Pact + Transcend Mortality).

[Alleran]

Except in reprints they modified the table so it matched the text, so obviously it was meant to be full caster.
I've heard this, but never actually seen it. Are you sure?


Also, depending on if you take text or table as primary source (RAW it's text) you lose caster levels, which hurts.
Spellcasting levels, not just caster levels. With Arcane Preparation, however, you can cheese your way into Ultimate Magus and double-stack the spell progression to regain them all by the time you're six levels in (so with early entry tricks: Warmage 1 / Rainbow Savant 10 / Ultimate Magus 6). That's assuming reprints/errata/whatever didn't change it so that the text was explicitly the correct one.

[killianh]

He would have to add them as a wizard doesn't have a known spell list, but rather a list that he can obtain spells for his spell book from.

off topic a simple dual progression caster with archivist would probably make more sense for a wizard build with arcane spells. That or starting with a spontaneous caster with an existing list (bard, warmage, etc) would yield better results if you want a blend of divine with your arcane. If its just to add a touch of divine it would be better to take one of the Divine feats or a PrC from BoED. Sacred Exorcist is always good for flavour.

Or if its just for straight fluff take one level in cleric and grab the feat alternative spell source and you can call all of your arcane spells divine (and use them to hit the spell level prereqs on some divine PrCs)

[killianh]

Spellcasting levels, not just caster levels. With Arcane Preparation, however, you can cheese your way into Ultimate Magus and double-stack the spell progression to regain them all by the time you're six levels in (so with early entry tricks: Warmage 1 / Rainbow Savant 10 / Ultimate Magus 6). That's assuming reprints/errata/whatever didn't change it so that the text was explicitly the correct one.

one such trick (and the only level 1 trick I know of) is DWK with necropolitan and one of the taint feats.

[Alleran]

one such trick (and the only level 1 trick I know of) is DWK with necropolitan and one of the taint feats.
Versatile Spellcaster + Sanctum Spell + Heighten Spell should do it. Earth Sense + Earth Spell can substitute for Versatile Spellcaster.

[Analytica]

Except in reprints they modified the table so it matched the text, so obviously it was meant to be full caster.

I have heard nothing of any reprints - if things changed in the reprints, then presumably it would also be in the errata, which it is not. Someone claimed that the Portuguese translation had it changed, but even if that is true, which I am not convinced of, that is presumably done by a third party company WotC licensed it to, without involvement of the original developers.

Then again, the game is two editions out of print, so at this point everything might as well be homebrew anyway. And as homebrew, I would not mind making it available in a game with fewer caster levels lost.