What feats would you choose for an all caster party in a magic fearing setting?

[Wiggins]

The baseline rules;

All party members must be full arcane spell casters for their base class. Wizards, or sorcerers.
Multiclass penalties are not in force, but players may take only up to 3 levels that don't advance their spell casting, and never more than half of their current levels.

There are 4 players.

The campaign begins at level 3.

They must not be suspected of using magic by any humanoid npc, except to create magic items.

They should complete most encounters without revealing magic, preferably without using magic except as last resort.

They should find ways to avoid detection.

They should have an explanation for their survival and success.

What feats, attributes and eeuipment?

What should they do, in order to survive in these less than optimal conditions?

[JaronK]

A Binder/Wizard/Anima Mage can use Binder abilities in combat, and eventually can use Persistant spells (which shouldn't be too obvious without enemies using Detect Magic) to deal with tougher encounters. So... there's that. Consider also adding in Runesmith too and being a Dwarf, so you can run around in full plate. They'll never expect that from a caster.

JaronK

[Amnestic]

Invisible Spell (Feat, Cityscape) and Conceal Spellcasting (Skilltrick, Complete Scoundrel) are probably top of the list.

[Gavinfoxx]

Why no psionic casters?

I'd go full easy bake wizard, for only Wizard types... Cleric and cloistered cleric types need worldly focus... eschew materials, invisible spell, and similar.

[Shining Wrath]

The baseline rules;

All party members must be full arcane spell casters for their base class. Wizards, or sorcerers.
Multiclass penalties are not in force, but players may take only up to 3 levels that don't advance their spell casting, and never more than half of their current levels.

There are 4 players.

The campaign begins at level 3.

They must not be suspected of using magic by any humanoid npc, except to create magic items.

They should complete most encounters without revealing magic, preferably without using magic except as last resort.

They should find ways to avoid detection.

They should have an explanation for their survival and success.

What feats, attributes and eeuipment?

What should they do, in order to survive in these less than optimal conditions?
{scrubbed}
Delay Spell lets you cast and have the magic occur when you aren't there.
Deceptive Spell lets you cast and have it appear someone or something else was responsible.
The combination of "Silent Spell" and "Still Spell" lets you cast without being too obvious about it - no words, no gestures, just effect.

[Zaq]

Aside from the obvious Eschew Materials, Invisible Spell, and so on, I submit Wild Cohort. It provides something to do when you don't want to use magic, and it does so well.

Also, Able Learner. I don't know if they're able or willing to dip out of Wiz/Sorc to get an expanded skill list, but still, being able to buy skills at the normal cost will be a big help, I think. Bluff, Disguise, Hide, and so on seem like they're going to be lifesavers. (Assuming humans, anyway.)

[Randomguy]

1. Wizard 1/Cloistered cleric 2, with precocious apprentice, pretending to be a single classed cloistered cleric or an archivist. Next level will be cleric and after that it's going into Mystic Theurge and then Dweomerkeeper.

2. Sorcadin gish pretending to be a full paladin.

3. Beguiler or a skillgish pretending to be a rogue.

4. Gnome god wizard with max ranks in craft (alchemy) with the Somatic weaponry feat. He'll have a bunch of differently labelled wands and staves and use them as a "weapon" when casting (A wand's about the same size as a dagger so it should work), so it looks like he's using the wands/staves as magic items. At higher levels, he'd take item creation feats. Overall, he'd be pretending to be an artificer. The wands will be real wands with only 1 charge left in them, so they'd still have a magic aura of being a wand.

[Wiggins]

All awesome tips, thanks!

(No psionic casters because they're already near extinct, though not quite, and now arcane powers are following)

From a DM perspective, I know what I should and shouldn't throw at them as far as humanoid and RP situations, but I suspect that, at least at first, I'll need to go easy with monster encounters.

Can you think of any fun situations you'd add in this scenario?

Edit. Oh forgot to mention, what binds the 4 together is that to their knowledge, they're the only ones who can cast detect magic without one of the few rare eternal wands of it. However travelling and/or adventuring will certainly bring them to the attention of those with them.

[Gavinfoxx]

The Easy Bake wizard, for an item-independent game...


Ingredients:
1 Gray Elf (SRD, MM1)
1 Wizard Class (PHB, SRD)
1 Elf Wizard Racial Substitution Level (Races of the Wild)
1 Eidetic Spellcaster Alternative Class Feature (Dragon Magazine #357 -- the core of the build!)
1 Spontaneous Divination Alternative Class Feature (Complete Champion, be sure to check out the errata online!)
1 Collegiate Wizard Feat (Complete Arcane)
1 Aerenal Arcanist feat (Player's Guide to Eberron, optional)
1 Eschew Materials feat (PHB, SRD)
1 Domain Wizard variant, Transmutation or Conjuration domain (SRD, Unearthed Arcana, optional)
Flaws, to taste (SRD, Unearthed Arcana, optional, but necessary if you want all those feats by level 3)

Mix in bowl, and be sure to top with any one of these feats:
Acidic Splatter, Winter's Blast, or Fiery Burst (all from Complete Mage)

Makes one item independent character.

And yes, I would second Invisible Spell, Delay Spell, Deceptive Spell, Silent Spell, Still Spell, and Conceal Spellcasting...

[Con_Brio1993]

Beguilers have build in class features (i forget at which levels) that allow them to cast spells ignoring both the somatic and verbal components. Useful for casting in public.

Also a Bard could take Glibness as a spell (or get someone to craft potions of Glibness) and cast magic openly and then just lie about it. "No no, my friends didn't cast a spell. You are seeing things. Swamp gas..." Of course with your rule they'd have to multiclass.

[Morph Bark]

The Easy Bake wizard, for an item-independent game...


Ingredients:
1 Gray Elf (SRD, MM1)
1 Wizard Class (PHB, SRD)
1 Elf Wizard Racial Substitution Level (Races of the Wild)
1 Eidetic Spellcaster Alternative Class Feature (Dragon Magazine #357 -- the core of the build!)
1 Spontaneous Divination Alternative Class Feature (Complete Champion, be sure to check out the errata online!)
1 Collegiate Wizard Feat (Complete Arcane)
1 Aerenal Arcanist feat (Player's Guide to Eberron, optional)
1 Eschew Materials feat (PHB, SRD)
1 Domain Wizard variant, Transmutation or Conjuration domain (SRD, Unearthed Arcana, optional)
Flaws, to taste (SRD, Unearthed Arcana, optional, but necessary if you want all those feats by level 3)

Just one?


Is only arcane magic feared, or all magic?

[Wiggins]

Not an easy question to answer.

Magic was accepted a few generations ago, and then the gith and gish races and the few human psions all mysteriously died, sorcerous bloodlines began to birth fewer and fewer with power, and spell books pages began to fade.

There are rumours that the more powerful clerics can't draw on spells that once came easily to them, but these rumours are probably just spiteful.

The arcane order dedicates itself to finding and preserving as many spells as it can, writing and rewriting all unfaded text, and collecting all the spell research documents they can get hold of, new and antique.

But in the wake of this waning power, comes a tide of fear from the populace, and a political atmosphere of persecution begins to take hold.

[Shining Wrath]

As for DM advice - it seems like a mission to rescue someone who has been arrested for using magic would come up. You don't want one of the few remaining casters to go the way of the Dodo.

And then, perchance, the person rescued turns out to be Not Nice. Or part of The Problem with Magic.

[Zetapup]

I'd most likely go for a warlock and take all day buffs for most of my invocations. Beguiling influence + maxed out bluff should go a long way towards helping convince others of the party's normality. Once the warlock reaches lesser invocations, it could take the invisibility one, which would be quite handy for evading detection. I'm not sure what feats I'd take in such a setting.

[Chilingsworth]

I'd go for a beguiler/wizard/ultimate magus. Though I think that's becoming my new answer to everything(tm).