My first wizard: I'd appreciate any and all advice

[Con_Brio1993]

Yes, I am aware handbooks are out there. I am reading them right now, but have a couple questions and would like some general advice.

1. Is there any actual point in specializing in the divination school? There's an ACF called Spontaneous Divination that lets you take any spell you prepared and turn it into a divination spell you know of equal level. Seems like there's no reason to specialize in Divination now.

2. Is specializing in Transmutation a bad idea? I'm planning on specializing in that school (by far looks the most fun), and banning evocation and enchantment.

2a. If transmutation is a good choice for specialization, are there any suggested feats? Extend Spell, Spell Focus?

3. I'm still confused as to how Wizards deal with Anti-Magic. Apparently something with orb spells, but I'm not really getting it. Is this something I'll even need to worry about in a low level campaign?

4. In general how high do I want my Initiative? I have 16 Dex, and I can probably work in that Combat Wizard variant for a free Improved Initiative. Do I want to take II more than once?

[Gavinfoxx]

I don't think you can specialize in divination.

Transmutation and Conjuration are the two most powerful schools.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10104

You can't take Improved Initiative more than once.

[Con_Brio1993]

I don't think you can specialize in divination.

Transmutation and Conjuration are the two most powerful schools.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10104

You can't take Improved Initiative more than once.

You can specialize in Divination. You just cannot ban it.

edit: Of course I see no reason to specialize when Spontaneous Div. exists as an ACF.

[ArcturusV]

Well, specializing Divination is very powerful. You only ban one school. You get a TON of powerful (But underrated) spells. Knowing the Future means never being unprepared.

[CaladanMoonblad]

Are you the only caster in your group? Depending on group makeup... being a specialist may not be your best choice?

You seem to already be well on your way to educating yourself of all available options...

At low levels... Dispel Magic shouldn't be a major concern unless your GM likes to shut down your spells instead of dealing AoE to the party. Personally I'd rather use a fireball as a GM against my players than using a slot for Dispel Magic. That way I get to damage a lot of people instead of just exasperating one player.

Why use Fireball? A while ago I made laminated cutouts of blast radii for 5', 10', 20', 30', and all the cone effects for our battlemap. All the players groan as I select my first fireball and try to cover as many heroes as possible with 5d6 damage (earliest fireball becomes available is 5th level). The visual really sinks home how important their position really is to one another on the map.

So... it depends on your GM. What kind of person are they? How do they usually use magic in games they've run in the past?

[TuggyNE]

3. I'm still confused as to how Wizards deal with Anti-Magic. Apparently something with orb spells, but I'm not really getting it. Is this something I'll even need to worry about in a low level campaign?

No, you really shouldn't need to worry about it until mid-high levels at the earliest, except in extremely unusual situations or if the DM is being rather a jerk.


4. In general how high do I want my Initiative? I have 16 Dex, and I can probably work in that Combat Wizard variant for a free Improved Initiative. Do I want to take II more than once?

Improved Initiative doesn't stack with itself, so no. But otherwise, initiative is one of the major things you want to boost.

[NOhara24]

In general how high do I want my Initiative? I have 16 Dex, and I can probably work in that Combat Wizard variant for a free Improved Initiative. Do I want to take II more than once?

A Wizard ALWAYS wants to go first. There are spells that will let you do this at will later, but it's best to have the odds in your favor.

[ArcturusV]

Well, the simplest way to deal with Anti-Magic Shells/Fields is usually to be creative with what you got. Remember that something can be caused by magic, but not magical in and of itself, and easily get around it. Which is really the easiest answer I've found, particularly when you have so much battlefield control that just "makes" stuff after all.

[Con_Brio1993]

Well, specializing Divination is very powerful. You only ban one school. You get a TON of powerful (But underrated) spells. Knowing the Future means never being unprepared.

But I'd get those spells with Spontaneous Divination, wouldn't I?

edit: Also I doubt I'd know the future with a great degree of certainty. Our DM doesn't typically plan things out ahead. When he gets an idea he rolls % a little bit before to see if it will happen or not.

[Karnith]

But I'd get those spells with Spontaneous Divination, wouldn't I?
Well, spontaneous divination doesn't give you extra spell slots with which to cast those divination spells, like specializing does, and specializing as a diviner is low-cost because you only need to ban one school. Many divination spells aren't just for seeing the future (or other places), but provide skill bonuses, so the extra spell slots are useful for wizards trying to fill a skill monkey role, in addition to those who enjoy being prepared. There are also alternate class features that only specialist wizards get to use (these (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#divinerVariants) and the immediate magic benefits in the Player's Handbook II come to mind, though there are no doubt others).

3. I'm still confused as to how Wizards deal with Anti-Magic. Apparently something with orb spells, but I'm not really getting it. Is this something I'll even need to worry about in a low level campaign?You shouldn't need to worry about it in a low-level campaign, but the best way to deal with AMFs comes from this line in the spell's description:

(The effects of instantaneous conjurations are not affected by an antimagic field because the conjuration itself is no longer in effect, only its result.)
As you may have seen, the Orb of X spells are instantaneous conjuration spells, they can be cast into anti-magic fields to damage or kill the creature creating the effect. You can also use the Wall of X spells to block the line of effect between you and the source of the anti-magic field, which will stop the AMF from affecting you.

EDIT:
2. Is specializing in Transmutation a bad idea? I'm planning on specializing in that school (by far looks the most fun), and banning evocation and enchantment.No, specializing in transmutation is an especially good idea.

2a. If transmutation is a good choice for specialization, are there any suggested feats? Extend Spell, Spell Focus?Extend Spell is certainly useful if you're going the buffing route, and depending on what sources you have available Spell Focus (Transmutation) gets you into Master Specialist (in addition to its own merits).

It's not a feat, but you may want to look into the spell versatility (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#transmuterVariants) ACF, which makes you give up your 5th level wizard bonus feat, but which is pretty strong on its own.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Transmutation and Conjuration are regarded as the two strongest schools to specialize in, considering their wide range of attacks (Touch Attacks, Fort/Ref/Will DCs, no SR for a good amount of Conj., and "No Save"). Another note is that while Shadow Evocation and Conjuration both exist, the former covers almost the entire school versus a subset of conjuration (Summoning or Creation, but with SR). Enchantment spells, meanwhile, all have that nasty [mind-affecting] tag, giving certain targets bonuses (People with Still Mind, Elves) or outright immunity (Undead/Constructs).

If you're party is full of beat sticks, transmutation helps them shine more so, even without using the core Polymorph line of spells. I like to see low level conjuration spells as a utility line.

Benign Transposition can block enemies charges by replacing your barbarian/fighter with a summoned monster while still allowing them to charge the next turn, depending on where said monster is and how it moves. If you have a druid, then replace "summon monster" with "animal companion." It can also get the cleric (or whoever is using the wand of CLW/Lesser Vigor) to a downed target by either removing the target out of harms way or the cleric into harms way. Or both!

Okay, so I sold conjuration more than transmutation, but I'm that's my personal bias. Although, I do have a good longing for Swiftblades.


EDIT: Spell Versatility sadly means no Spontaneous Divination. I guess there's always Uncanny Forethought for that, though.

[Con_Brio1993]

Well, spontaneous divination doesn't give you extra spell slots with which to cast those divination spells, like specializing does, and specializing as a diviner is low-cost because you only need to ban one school.

But RAW it seems I could take one of my specialized spell slots (for say... Transmutation) and turn that into a Divination on the fly.

[Karnith]

But RAW it seems I could take one of my specialized spell slots (for say... Transmutation) and turn that into a Divination on the fly.
That's true, but you would also need to stick it out in Wizard for 5 levels and want Spontaneous Divination over the bonus feat at that level, neither of which is guaranteed. I'm not saying that it's usually a good idea, but there are builds (theurges, master specialists, and feat-intensive builds) where you may not want to or be able to take Spontaneous Divination.

And even then, if you know that you're going to be casting a lot of divination spells and you don't want to lose access to two schools when you specialize, diviner may be a good choice.

[Squirrel_Dude]

Tips:
- Don't over-think the build. You have plenty of powerful tools at your disposal, and plenty of ways to help the party succeed. When A doesn't work, B and C will, so don't sweat the small stuff.

- Think outside the box. You're at your most powerful when you think of creative ways to use your powers.

- Protect your spell book and keep a second one. The day will come when it's stolen.

- Enjoy the success you provide for other people in the party, and rely on them to help fill in your areas of weakness. There are spells that can do what they do, sure, but don't expend (too many) resources on them if they can help you out. Your job is controlling the battlefield to make your allies stronger, not replace them.

I honestly can't stress this enough. If you're playing a wizard to destroy the enemies with a wave of your hand, summoning swarms of fireballs and lightening typhoons, you're playing the wrong class. If you're casting invisibility on yourself instead of the rogue because you're afraid of being hit, you're playing the wrong class.

[Kilo24]

Yes, I am aware handbooks are out there. I am reading them right now, but have a couple questions and would like some general advice.

1. Is there any actual point in specializing in the divination school? There's an ACF called Spontaneous Divination that lets you take any spell you prepared and turn it into a divination spell you know of equal level. Seems like there's no reason to specialize in Divination now.

2. Is specializing in Transmutation a bad idea? I'm planning on specializing in that school (by far looks the most fun), and banning evocation and enchantment.

2a. If transmutation is a good choice for specialization, are there any suggested feats? Extend Spell, Spell Focus?

3. I'm still confused as to how Wizards deal with Anti-Magic. Apparently something with orb spells, but I'm not really getting it. Is this something I'll even need to worry about in a low level campaign?

4. In general how high do I want my Initiative? I have 16 Dex, and I can probably work in that Combat Wizard variant for a free Improved Initiative. Do I want to take II more than once?

It's been a while since I've played 3.5, but I usually preferred wizards. Here are my tips from memory.

1-2. Yes, there's a point; I personally dislike specialization usually, however. IMO, it can be worth it for the Complete Mage Conjurer or to a lesser extent Transmutation levels. I'd probably only do the former on a character, however.

It's definitely not worth it for Elves if they can take the 1st level substitution level.

2a. In general, Extend Spell is worthwhile. Quicken is good, but only at high levels when you can afford the +4 levels. Beyond that, Twinned Empowered Scorching Ray with Energy Admixture is good for damage if you've got ways to reduce metamagic cost (incantatrix is a very good prestige class), but without class features providing synergy, I'd favor other feats. Direct damage isn't a great technique at higher levels without good tricks behind it, and unfortunately .

3. Antimagic is rather hard to overcome and pretty much will shut you down within its radius; Spell Resistance is a different mechanic and another matter entirely. If you don't pick SR:No spells, you're generally going to have a ~50/50 shot of getting a given spell to work on an enemy with spell resistance. The worst are golems which are completely immune to any spell vulnerable to spell resistance. That's what the orb spells are good for.

4. Initiative is good, but it's not worth prioritizing Dex over Con for. Constitution is (unless you're becoming undead, a construct, or expecting to spend inordinate amounts of time polymorphed) the second most important attribute for a wizard. A Constitution of 14-16 will double your base d4 hit points; Dexterity's +5% chance/2 points of evading attacks is nothing in comparison to that even with the other advantages it gives you. You will be in many situations that a spell can prevent getting attacked but it won't prevent you taking damage (you will get hit by AoE spells, breath weapons and magic missiles).

Improved Initiative is still a good standard feat pick, though; it's just a fairly boring one. I wouldn't take it over Improved Toughness, Extend Spell, or a few others.


Other tips:
-2nd level spells have a wide variety of strong spells. Alter Self is incredible if you use it to its fullest extent (10 minutes/level flight, natural armor, even bonus feats), Rope Trick (Extended if below level 8-9 or so) is awesome for sleeping anywhere, Invisibility is quite useful, Mirror Image, Web, Knock, Glitterdust... the list goes on.

-Buffing the party over harming the enemy has some big advantages. Party members won't resist your spells, it can be done before battle, and it's also good for the party dynamic. 3.5 spellcasters played to (or even near) their capabilities often trivialize encounters; if you generally help the other players out they'll be much more willing to listen to you when you want them to not get in the way of your fireballs or solid fogs (or when you're uncomfortably close to the melee).

-Don't feel the need to cast a spell for every action especially at low levels when you have few. If your party has the situation well in hand, don't waste unnecessary spells on it. Even if overwhelming victory isn't certain, delaying initiative or preparing actions may be better to deal with the changing circumstances.

[Randomguy]

Diviners get as many slots per day as, for example, transmuters, and most transmuters will be casting a divination spell of each level every day anyway, so basically the only difference is that the diviner has 1 less banned school. I'd probably put diviners third in terms of best specialization school, right after conjuration and transmutation (not necessarily in that order).

[Con_Brio1993]

Diviners get as many slots per day as, for example, transmuters, and most transmuters will be casting a divination spell of each level every day anyway, so basically the only difference is that the diviner has 1 less banned school. I'd probably put diviners third in terms of best specialization school, right after conjuration and transmutation (not necessarily in that order).

If I go Conjuration, should I give up my familiar for that feat that lets summons take a Standard instead of full round?

[ArcturusV]

Depends, if you're planning on making a lot of use of Summoning. Though Conjuration has a lot of great things to do other than Summoning.

Familiars are... situational and based on your play style. The two most common uses I see for it is: Free Alertness Feat and +X to a Skill/Stat. And forget I have it. OR... suicide scouting that isn't exactly efficient due to the limited nature of Empathic Link.

It's rare you see a wizard (In my experience) really use a familiar as an extra character, like a Ranger or a Druid would use their animals. When they do, it can get interesting quick. Most familiars have senses, high skill ranks in cross class skills, etc, that make them fairly valuable beyond merely the Fixed Bonus/Alertness.

[Karnith]

If I go Conjuration, should I give up my familiar for that feat that lets summons take a Standard instead of full round?
If you are really into summoning, that would be a good choice; it's the main reason to play a wizard over a cleric if you're summoning things. Otherwise, though, Abrupt Jaunt (from the Player's Handbook II; it's under the Wizard ACFs) is probably a better choice for trading your familiar: it more or less lets you say "no" to attacks several times per day.

[Con_Brio1993]

Alright so thanks to the advice in this thread I have a better idea of what I want to do now:

Thinking

Human Wizard 10 (campaign probably won't get further than this)
Specialized School: Conjuration
Banned: Evocation, Enchantment

Level 1 Class Features: Scribe Scroll. Abrupt Jaunt.

Level 1: Improved Initiative
Human: Extend Spell

Level 3: Spell Focus (Conjuration)

Level 5: Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration)

Level 6: Sculpt Spell

Level 9: ???

For spell selection: My DM is letting me have access to every.single.spell from the PHB, PHBII, and Spell Compendium. Probably from the Complete Series as well. Best part? I don't need to keep track of the spells in my spellbook. My spellbook somehow comes with ALL of these spells. Every single last spell in existence.

[Gavinfoxx]

Yea, you don't wanna take Wizard to 10. You take it to 3 or 5, and then Prestige Class out.

Which prestige class(es?) have you looked at so far?

[Karnith]

For spell selection: My DM is letting me have access to every.single.spell from the PHB, PHBII, and Spell Compendium. Probably from the Complete Series as well. Best part? I don't need to keep track of the spells in my spellbook. My spellbook somehow comes with ALL of these spells. Every single last spell in existence.
If your DM is serious about that and sticks with it, then you will benefit greatly from taking Uncanny Forethought (from Exemplars of Evil) or Alacritous Cogitation (from Complete Mage), both of which allow you to spontaneously cast spells that you know from open spell slots. Uncanny Forethought requires Spell Mastery and is usable a number of times per day equal to your intelligence modifier, and you cast the spells at a reduced caster level (-2 CL). Alacritous Cogitation doesn't require any other feats, but is only usable once per day.

[Gavinfoxx]

Also, Wizard 5 has an ACF that lets you spontaneously cast any divination spell you know in slots, and there is a feat in a dragon magazine that makes summon monster spontaneous as well.

[JohnDaBarr]

Just two advice

Grease

and

Glitterdust

[Con_Brio1993]

Also, Wizard 5 has an ACF that lets you spontaneously cast any divination spell you know in slots, and there is a feat in a dragon magazine that makes summon monster spontaneous as well.

Yes I know about that ACF. I am considering it, but I am thinking Greater Spell Focus + Spell Focus might provide more combat use.

Eh, I'll just take GSF at level 9 I guess.

Dragon Magazine isn't allowed.

As for prestige classes, I looked at a few of them but my DM is unlikely to approve of some of the odd ones because he's never seen them before.

Is Wizard 10 really so bad? The rest of my party is Tier 5.

[Karnith]

Wizard 10 isn't bad, per se, it's just that it really doesn't offer much at all. After 5 (when you can easily prestige out), the class only offers you familiar advancement (which isn't relevant to you) and a bonus feat at 10. That's really not a lot compared to what prestiging out can get you. Generally speaking, a prestige class that offers full casting with any other class features will be better than Wizard levels 5-10.

If the rest of your party is playing tier 5s and not optimizing heavily, though, Wizard 10 will serve you fine.

You should be aware, by the way, that as a conjuror a lot of your best spells won't offer saving throws, so Greater Spell Focus is going to be of dubious use.

[Con_Brio1993]

Wizard 10 isn't bad, per se, it's just that it really doesn't offer much at all. After 5 (when you can easily prestige out), the class only offers you familiar advancement (which isn't relevant to you) and a bonus feat at 10. That's really not a lot compared to what prestiging out can get you. Generally speaking, a prestige class that offers full casting with any other class features will be better than Wizard levels 5-10.

If the rest of your party is playing tier 5s and not optimizing heavily, though, Wizard 10 will serve you fine.

You should be aware, by the way, that as a conjuror a lot of your best spells won't offer saving throws, so Greater Spell Focus is going to be of dubious use.

In that case, GSF will be replaced with Spontaneous Divination. Should I also get rid of Spell Focus?

What prestige class would you recommend?

[Flickerdart]

If you're not trading out your familiar, Hummingbird is very solid (+4 initiative, stats of a Thrush from the back of the DMG). Nerveskitter (immediate action, 1st level spell, +5 initiative) is another staple of init boosting.

[JohnDaBarr]

If you really want to be of good use to your party (silly me, you are a Wizard so you are always useful to your party unless you are braindead, but any way...) you can always take Create wonderus items feat and Create wands feat. That way you and your party will have a nice gear and you will have a wand or two if you run out of spell slots, also if you have a Rogue in the party he too can use wands. If you have a free feat for one of those crafting cost reducing feats you'll even be able to start a lucrative business.

As for the prestige, well you will be fine as a pure Wizard but If you are interested try the Unseen Seer (Complete Mage).

[Karnith]

What prestige class would you recommend?
Mage of the Arcane Order (from Complete Arcane) is usually a good choice, because the spell pool ability is so useful. If your DM lets you know every spell you have available, though, you can replicate the best ability with Uncanny Forethought (or almost do so with Alacritous Cogitation). It would still be worth taking, just slightly less powerful than usual.

Master Specialist (from Complete Mage) is very easy to qualify for (you can enter it at level 4, if you wish), and doesn't really have a downside, with some minor upsides for spells of your specialty school. It gives GSF in your chosen school as a bonus feat, as well, if you still want it but don't want to spend a bonus feat on it. It also eases your entry into Archmage, but from what you're saying it seems unlikely that you'll get to that point in your campaign.

Divine Oracle (from Complete Divine) has always been a favorite of mine; it makes you more survivable and gives you bonuses to your divination spells.

If you're still interested in summoning, you can take the Rapid Summoning ACF from the SRD and go into Malconvoker (Complete Scoundrel), which is probably the best summoning PrC in the game.

Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil (from Complete Arcane) has some really awful feat prerequisites, but gives you some of the most powerful defensive abilities in the game, essentially shape-able Prismatic Walls, useable a few times per day.

The go-to game-breaking PrCs for wizards are Incantatrix (from Player's Guide to Faerun) and Red Wizard, both of which make you give up access to a third spell school in exchange for insanely powerful abilities. Even if you scale back the broken things (Circle Magic, for example, is very simple to not use), the classes are still all right.

Honestly, though, you'll be fine with any full-casting PrC; even something like Alienist (Complete Arcane; its big class features are Toughness with a downside and making your summon monster spells crappy) is fine.

[Story]

Eh, I'll just take GSF at level 9 I guess.


At level 9, you'll want Summon Elemental. Unless you already got it at level 8 via Loremaster. Infinite elementals are just too useful.

[Deathra13]

Alright, so this is probably a little bit of cheese, not sure, havent gotten a clear definite on this. But if at earlier levels you would like to avoid becoming the guy with the crossbow etc, when out of spells, I reccomend either a human or if flaws are allowed use those. Grab Precocious apprentice and then a reserve feat to give you theoretically infinite firepower. Complete arcane for precocious apprentice, and complete mage for reserve feats. I tend towards fiery burst on that one. Of course theres a feat under precocious in the complete arcane sidebar that will increase your spells per level which is always useful, moreso if your gm is stingy with spellbooks as loot.

[Con_Brio1993]

If you really want to be of good use to your party (silly me, you are a Wizard so you are always useful to your party unless you are braindead, but any way...) you can always take Create wonderus items feat and Create wands feat. That way you and your party will have a nice gear and you will have a wand or two if you run out of spell slots, also if you have a Rogue in the party he too can use wands. If you have a free feat for one of those crafting cost reducing feats you'll even be able to start a lucrative business.

As for the prestige, well you will be fine as a pure Wizard but If you are interested try the Unseen Seer (Complete Mage).

Crafting feats simply won't do in the current campaign. We haven't found a place to trade any loot since we started at level 1 (now level 8). We've only found a few magic items and most of it is gear useful for our meleers. We've found maybe... 500 gp total.


edit: Mage of the Arcane Order probably won't be allowed. I'll see about Master Specialist as a prestige class.

edit:
At level 9, you'll want Summon Elemental. Unless you already got it at level 8 via Loremaster. Infinite elementals are just too useful.


I'll consider it. Thanks. :)

[Gavinfoxx]

Crafting feats simply won't do in the current campaign. We haven't found a place to trade any loot since we started at level 1 (now level 8). We've only found a few magic items and most of it is gear useful for our meleers. We've found maybe... 500 gp total.

Ohhh a low wealth campaign.

That totally changes advice. You NEED to build very specific stuff to get a Wizard to work in a Low Wealth campaign!

Here's the recipe for one of my favorite ways of playing D&D, an Easy Bake Wizard. Put the Sorcerer to shame (well, at anything except metamagic-heavy blasting...sorcerer has a ton of ACF's for that, which you don't get...)! And it works extremely good for low/no wealth games!

Easy Bake No "Worries" Wizard

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)
Extra bits, optional, see later instructions!

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)

Notes: if it doesn't turn out right when playing it in a zero wealth game, you picked bad spells. Be sure to look at the various wizard handbooks for how to pick solid, powerful, versatile spells. And it is very thematic that you can do stuff like leave a slot open to spend 15 minutes preparing the correct spell you need in it, or take Uncanny Forethought or Alacritous Cogitation, or Nexus Method, consider taking those later. And you automatically just 'get' spells like a sorcerer... no need for scrolls or anything. This Wizard idea relies on exactly zero found scrolls and zero need for items to scribe things into his spellbook, and with Eschew Materials and the right spells chosen, doesn't even need a Spell Component Pouch (just don't take any spells with focuses or components more than 5 gp)! Also, some people might think that this trading out the ability to specialize three times, but that isn't what is going on. Due to differing language between the various options, that isn't what's happening. Some of the stuff says that 'if you don't specialize, you can do this', some of the stuff says 'by removing the ability to specialize entirely, you gain this ability.' Order in which the abilities are taken matters.

Further, some more possible ingredients to take include:

-Alacritous Cogitation feat at level 6 (Complete Mage)
-Another Great option for race is a Lesser Fey'ri (Players Guide to Faerun and Races of Faerun) with LA Bought off (the LA buyoff option is in the SRD and Unearthed Arcana; choose the powers to get the minimum LA for that race). This lets you make use of that Alter Self at will; read the handbook on the uses of Alter Self, it's fantastic.
-Get the Nexus Method feat from Dragon Magazine #319! This lets you spontaneously cast the summon monster line, and apparently adds all the spells to your spellbook! If you do this, you probably want the Transmutation Domain rather than the Conjuration Domain, to maximize spells known.
-Another option is Lesser Celadrin. You combine the rules in Player's Guide to Faerun and the rules in Dragon Magazine #350 to get Lesser Celadrin.
-Also, Fire Elf (UA/SRD) works well too.

-If you ask for houserules, consider these two:
-Permission to house rule that you can take Uncanny Forethought (Exemplars of Evil) at level 9, with the Alacritous Cogitation (Complete Mage) and the Eidetic Spellacster ACF taking place of the Spell Mastery prerequisite, without access to the 'spell mastery' capability from that feat
-Hopefully permission to house rule for the character to count Autohypnosis (XPH, SRD) as a class skill, to describe the character's eidetic memory being useful for things other than spellcasting (assuming the GM uses Autohypnosis in his game!)

Some numbers:

Basic Wizard: Start with 3+Int mod L1 spells, +2 each level as baseline
Elf Generalist Wizard: +1 wizard spell at start, +1 each level beyond baseline
Collegiate Wizard: Instead of 3+int and +2 each level, baseline is set at 6+int and +4 each level
Aerenal Arcanist: +1 each level beyond baseline, including L1 if you take it then
Domain Wizard (Transmutation or Conjuration): One specific extra spell of each spell levels; +9 spells over career (cantrip is already known)
Nexus Method: Apparently automatically gets you the entire Summon Monster line!

So at level one, with a 20 int (cause Grey Elf or whatever, or 21 if you start at middle aged...) you know:
13 level one spells, plus mage armor or expeditious retreat automatically
At level 2, you gain six new L1 spells
At level 3, you gain 6 spells of up to spell level 2, and levitate or web, depending...

Essentially, you end up with a more versatile Sorcerer, who has access to a TON of spells, and can always get the right spell for the job... even with no gear whatsoever. And no Vow of Poverty needed to be useful without wealth!

Finally, if you want to gain access to even MORE spells, the Mage of the Arcane Order prestige class can be useful. Also, some good prestige classes is (like always) Incantatrix, but any full casting Wizard prestige class that you can qualify for is fine.

[Con_Brio1993]

My character has to be human I'm afraid. I just checked with my DM and grey elf is a big NO.

[Gavinfoxx]

Well you can still do:

-Human
-Spontaneous Divination ACF
-Collegiate Wizard (feat, to improve your spells known)
-Nexus Method (feat, again to improve spells known)
-You can specialize! Go Focused Specialist Conjurer!
-Rapid Summoning ACF OR Abrupt Jaunt ACF
-Fiery Burst or Acid Splash (reserve feat)
-Summon Elemental (reserve feat)
-Mage of the Arcane Order, to be able to get access to 'other' spells!

[eastmabl]

A problem with that build, Gavinfoxx, is that Dragon Magazine is not allowed per his DM.

[Gavinfoxx]

Show your GM this:

http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4189.0

specifically,

9. Magic items are as much a part of your character's abilities as their class features. Moreso, in fact, since apart from exotic races and the occasional obscure feat, they're the only way non-casters can gain vital abilities like flight and immunity to those instant-death effects (summary here). The game isn't balanced around characters who have only half their abilities, so if you want to run a "low magic" campaign then make sure you use only non-caster NPCs as enemies (no monsters) so that everyone is penalised equally. Because without a magic sword, a level 100 fighter will lose to a level 2 allip every time.

"Here" links to:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851

Talk to him about those sorts of abilities as well.

And show him the Weath By Level chart on page 135 of the DMG. Tell him that the game expects the characters to have that much wealth in useful equipment in order to hit the numbers that the enemies expect them to be able to hit.

Also show him this encounter calculator:

http://www.d20srd.org/extras/d20encountercalculator/

Specifically, the fields 'encounter distance', 'difficulty', 'treasure value'. Put in your character levels and some enemies of what you should be going up against, show him how it actually works...

[Con_Brio1993]

Honestly most of the enemies are not a huge threat. We've had a couple close calls with character death, but I feel even a poor wizard would have been able to help with those encounters.

Or if I am falling behind because I can't afford materials my DM will probably throw me a bone.

[Gavinfoxx]

Well, low wealth also means that the GM can't throw any interesting enemies with interesting abilities that the game expects to throw at you, and play monsters to the range of their tactical acumen and intelligence...

In other words, he is limited to making monsters with the training wheels on.


For example...

how would you all fight a creature that is flying all the time, invisible all the time, and has a ranged attack that can harm you?

[Con_Brio1993]

Well, low wealth also means that the GM can't throw any interesting enemies with interesting abilities that the game expects to throw at you, and play monsters to the range of their tactical acumen and intelligence...

In other words, he is limited to making monsters with the training wheels on.


For example...

how would you all fight a creature that is flying all the time, invisible all the time, and has a ranged attack that can harm you?

Well it is mostly a game geared towards new players. So yeah, we sadly won't be facing that most of the time.

[Gavinfoxx]

See, I see this sort of thing as a disservice to new players. It robs them of actual meaningful learning experiences, and trains them in skills that aren't actually useful and teaches them wrong things.

[Con_Brio1993]

Going to bump this thread to ask a really dumb question:

Where is is stated that I can prepare "blank" spell slots that can later be filled in 15 minutes? I've seen this referenced multiple times, but it seems like a wizard must fill all his spell slots during the preparation phase.

[Karnith]

Going to bump this thread to ask a really dumb question:

Where is is stated that I can prepare "blank" spell slots that can later be filled in 15 minutes? I've seen this referenced multiple times, but it seems like a wizard must fill all his spell slots during the preparation phase.
You can find it in the Arcane Spells (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#preparingWizardSpells) section of the SRD, in the "Preparing Wizard Spells" section.

Until she prepares spells from her spellbook, the only spells a wizard has available to cast are the ones that she already had prepared from the previous day and has not yet used. During the study period, she chooses which spells to prepare. If a wizard already has spells prepared (from the previous day) that she has not cast, she can abandon some or all of them to make room for new spells.

When preparing spells for the day, a wizard can leave some of these spell slots open. Later during that day, she can repeat the preparation process as often as she likes, time and circumstances permitting. During these extra sessions of preparation, the wizard can fill these unused spell slots. She cannot, however, abandon a previously prepared spell to replace it with another one or fill a slot that is empty because she has cast a spell in the meantime. That sort of preparation requires a mind fresh from rest. Like the first session of the day, this preparation takes at least 15 minutes, and it takes longer if the wizard prepares more than one-quarter of her spells.

[Con_Brio1993]

Thanks :)

Anyway I decided to go with a Focused Specialist Conjurer.

Banned Schools: Evocation, Enchantment, Necromancy

Feats/Abilities = Abrupt Jaunt, Scribe Scroll, Improved Initiative, Extend Spell, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spontaneous Divination, Sculpt Spell, Metamagic School Focus.

This should get me through the campaign that I am currently in, and provide a lot of fun. At level 6 I plan to go into Master Specialist.

[Story]

You're taking Extend Spell but not Persist Spell?

Metamagic rods of Extend are pretty cheap you know.

[Con_Brio1993]

You're taking Extend Spell but not Persist Spell?

Metamagic rods of Extend are pretty cheap you know.

I'm taking Extend because it is useful for some Conjuration spells. Sculpt spell is also insanely useful for battlefield control.

Persist is far too costly, and my DM would never let us obtain the wealth needed for Metamagic Rods.

[Gavinfoxx]

Swap Scribe Scroll for Improved Initiative...

[Story]

Oops, I forgot that your DM refuses to give you any items. I take it that pointing out the necessity of WBL didn't work?

[Gavinfoxx]

Oops, I forgot that your DM refuses to give you any items. I take it that pointing out the necessity of WBL didn't work?

This! How did that go?

[Con_Brio1993]

Swap Scribe Scroll for Improved Initiative...

Doing so would actually allow me to take Metamagic School Focus sooner. So I'll probably do that. Not like Scribe Scroll will help my party's broke ass.


Oops, I forgot that your DM refuses to give you any items. I take it that pointing out the necessity of WBL didn't work?

Basically he says he'll fine tune the difficulty of the game, and if we request some magic item he "may" let us find it in the wild. If he sees a character falling behind he'll have the party stumble upon a magic item that will improve them.

This makes up for WBL in his mind.

[Gavinfoxx]

Basically he says he'll fine tune the difficulty of the game, and if we request some magic item he "may" let us find it in the wild. If he sees a character falling behind he'll have the party stumble upon a magic item that will improve them.

This makes up for WBL in his mind.

Did you show him the entire 'mistakes beginners make' thread, and talk through all of the points?

[Gavinfoxx]

Oh, and the list of necessary magic items, and explain WHY those capabilities -- which generally only come from magic items in a useful way (or some spells... but often range: personal), exist and are important?

Also show him the stats of 'Pixie' and 'Allip'. Explain why, without wealth, most parties would die to those. Without a TRUE magic weapon, you can't touch an allip (counting as magic for purposes of DR doesn't count), and Pixie... well, it's a flying, invisible creature with a ranged attack. Hell, point out 'Mummy' and explain about negative energy, and diseases, and all this stuff that the game expects you to have particular spellcasters, or 'bottled' spellcasters (ie, items!) to address.

[Gavinfoxx]

Did you also sit down and read this?

http://antioch.snow-fall.com/files/members/Endarire/DnD/Challenging%203.5%20and%20Pathfinder%20Parties%202 %2017%2013.doc

And then go over it with your GM?

So, that link.

and this link:

http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4189.0

and this link:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851

[Con_Brio1993]

My GM honestly doesn't find it to be a problem. He has a different philosophy and doesn't see what he is doing as crippling. He thinks it increases the "fun factor" of his game.

He also has critical success and failures on skill rolls for that reason. And the other players don't seem to care.

[Gavinfoxx]

Take 10 on every skill you ever do, then.

Remember, you can Take 10 in exactly the same time it takes to roll, even if there are penalties for failure (like falling to your death on a climb check). You can only NOT Take 10 in things like combat and high wind, which count as big enough that you can't Take 10.

[Karnith]

My GM honestly doesn't find it to be a problem. He has a different philosophy and doesn't see what he is doing as crippling. He thinks it increases the "fun factor" of his game.
Just for reference, how often do flying enemies come up? Incorporeal ones? And how about enemy spellcasters? Those are all pretty difficult to deal with without magic (though I'm sure that you being a wizard puts the odds more in your favor), and if your DM doesn't know about it now, you should probably let him know so he doesn't accidentally murder your group.

Also, if your DM isn't fudging the rolls, any enemy that is remotely level-appropriate should be hitting your party members about 95% of the time outside of low levels. One of the big problems with low-wealth campaigns is that armor bonuses don't really scale to match attack bonuses without magic.

[Gavinfoxx]

Does he add funny fumbles on attack rolls that roll a 1, without a confirmation roll, like dealing full damage to yourself of someone in your party?

[Con_Brio1993]

Just for reference, how often do flying enemies come up? Incorporeal ones? And how about enemy spellcasters? Those are all pretty difficult to deal with without magic (though I'm sure that you being a wizard puts the odds more in your favor), and if your DM doesn't know about it now, you should probably let him know so he doesn't accidentally murder your group.

Also, if your DM isn't fudging the rolls, any enemy that is remotely level-appropriate should be hitting your party members about 95% of the time outside of low levels. One of the big problems with low-wealth campaigns is that armor bonuses don't really scale to match attack bonuses without magic.

Very few flying enemies. No incorporeal or magic ones.

Gavin: No damaging yourself, mostly just missing on natural 1's.

Also he said "no" to Abrupt Jaunt. :(

[Karnith]

Also he said "no" to Abrupt Jaunt. :(
Not terribly surprising, given the what you've said about the group's power level. You can always fall back on summoning, as you'd suggested earlier in the thread, and take the Rapid Summoning ACF. I would probably go with a Hummingbird familiar for the initiative boost if I were you, but honestly you'll probably be fine either way.

[Con_Brio1993]

Not terribly surprising, given the what you've said about the group's power level. You can always fall back on summoning, as you'd suggested earlier in the thread, and take the Rapid Summoning ACF. I would probably go with a Hummingbird familiar for the initiative boost if I were you, but honestly you'll probably be fine either way.

Hummingbird is dragon magazine right?

I'll just go with a Raven. At least that gives me something to Transposition with. Like a really weak Jaunt.

[Karnith]

Hummingbird is dragon magazine right?
Dragon Magazine #323, to be precise.

[Sith_Happens]

[Easy Bake Wizard pitch]

I think you missed the post where the OP's spellbook automatically contains ALL the spells.

[Gavinfoxx]

I think you missed the post where the OP's spellbook automatically contains ALL the spells.

Yea, I totally did... lol... I think I read it once and just forgot it, because I didn't believe it, because that is absolutely insane.

Anyway... you should consider asking the GM, "So... with all this weirdness.... why aren't we playing D&D? We are playing a weird d20 system, rather than D&D. I would suggest we either play D&D, or we find some other system entirely that fits better."