[3.5] need help for conjurer / battlefield controller with restrictions..

[animewatcha]

This is first time using point buy. 32 points. Starting at level 1. If I do this game also first experience with arcane caster. Setting is faerun.

The restrictions...

No Evil. No exalted. No flaws. No traits. DM controls loot, xp, levels. Prestige classes must be approved by DM. Setting is faerun. Multiclass available at 3rd. Multiclass penalty is enforced. Regional feats that are taken count as first level. Rolled for social class. Craft or profession is required. No initial templates and LA buyoff is a no. -edit1- No bonus equipment. -edit 2- No item familiar.

Allowed base classes that were available to choose from..


bard
cleric ( not cloistered )
druid
urban druid
factotum
favored soul
fighter
Paladin
Rogue
Ranger
Urban Ranger
scout
swashbuckler
Wizard
Sorceror
Marshall


Banned books.

Book of exalted deeds. Book of vile darkness. Elder evils. Tome of 9 swords. oriental adventures. Dragon and Dungeon except for Dragon compendium.

Allowed races.


human normal
normal elf
the +2 int -2 con elf
normal half elf
shield or gold dwarf
regular halfling or strongheart halfling
regular gnome
Half-orc regular
Spellscale

Rest of party is low-mid OP that has mindset of the 4-role-system and that spell damage is main way casters ( unless something like enchanter ) 'do their thing'. They are mainly either druid ( 2 people 2 different types of druid ) or flanker/sneak attacker. Their definition of tanking is the hitpoint kind versus spiked chain trip everything kind.

So what I had in mind is conjurer for summoning monsters 'like beatsticks' with a hybrid of battlefield control without relying on direct damage spells ( unless it's something like disintegrate ). This is mainly through spells and feats and minimal reliance on magic items. Kinda like 'being batman/God' and educating the group, but not 'going overboard too much' unless I gotta nova.

What spells, summoned monsters, prestige classes, acfs, etc. can help me with this? I know of abrupt jaunt already. Which two schools to give up?

-edit - edited for clarification on bonus equipment and item familiar.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Keep in mind that every FR character gets bonus equipment based on their region (PGtF p8). Be either a Sun Elf (the +2 Int, -2 Con elf) from Evereska for that free 20-charge Wand of Color Spray, or be a Human from Sembia, Turmish, or Waterdeep and take Mercantile Background. Stats can go Str 8, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 8 before racial adjustments.

Trade your Familiar for Abrupt Jaunt in PH2. Use this variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#wizard) from UA to get Improved Initiative instead of Scribe Scroll. At Wizard 5 trade your bonus feat for Spontaneous Divination in Complete Champion. Prohibited schools should be Evocation and Enchantment, if you go for Focused Specialist in CM then ban Necromancy as well.

Druids are better at summoning stuff than Wizards are, hands-down. They can get Greenbound Summoning (LEoF) and their minions will absolutely trivialize encounters with Wall of Thorns and Entangle. Druids have tons of open feats anyway, so Augment Summoning and Rashem Elemental Summoning should be easy for them to get. If you're not convinced yet, check out the Ring of the Beast in Complete Champion. You shouldn't need to do any summoning at all, though Planar Binding is pretty good later on. A Conjurer's greatest strength is in crowd controls, Grease and Wall of Smoke, Web and Glitterdust, Stinking Cloud, Black Tentacles, Freezing Fog, etc. No need for meat shields if the opponents aren't even attacking.

Any FR wizard should try to get into Incantatrix. See if you can gain Iron Will via the Otyugh Hole in Complete Scoundrel without having to spend a feat on it. Get Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm) at 3rd, which should probably be a ring so you can wear a glove/gauntlet over it and it can never be sundered, slight of handed, or otherwise targeted. Item familiars are intelligent items which are treated as constructs, and constructs cannot be disabled or destroyed by dispelling or disjoining and continue to function in antimagic and dead magic areas. You should invest every skill point you get into your item familiar for the greatest return, which should all be dumped into Spellcraft. Incantatrix 2 and 3 allows you to Persist your buffs with a Spellcraft check, and you can take ten on it and always succeed if your bonus is high enough. Note that cooperative metamagic can be used on your own spells outside of combat as the action economy system only exists during initiative.

[animewatcha]

Edited to indicate no bonus equipment or item familiar.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

For Summoned Monsters and Battlefield Control, it's hard to go wrong with just straight Druid.

Other than that, if you want to go Arcane, you've got some options.

If you think this is going to be a long-running game in which you will get to 11th level and beyond, you may wish to consider Warlock.

You can start off with Darkness, then graduate up to Beshadowed Blast at level 6. At that point, you are shooting a Save or Blind effect at will. Toss Eldritch Chain on at level 7, and you'll be doing multi-target Save or Lose effects. Damage is just the icing on the cake.

When you hit 11, though, you really start taking off. Chilling Tentacles, Hindering Blast, Nauseating Blast. Now you've got a save or lose conditional you are throwing around at-will for every saving throw.

If you go Human, pick up a two-level dip in Chameleon. In combat, it's an extra Invocation. Otherwise, it combines with Warlock12 to make you the Magic Item Mart of the party. It doesn't matter if the GM lets you have access to it, you just make it yourself.

Otherwise, just stick with one of the usual standards... Incantatrix or Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil.

[sleepyphoenixx]

If you're willing to play a gnome or your dm lifts the race restriction Shadowcraft Mage can do both BFC and standard action summoning with nearly unmatched versatility, in addition to all the other illusion stuff.
Taking Earth Spell eventually makes your illusions "more real than reality" so your spells work even if your enemy saves.

[HalfQuart]

While Abrupt Jaunt is awesome, I'd seriously consider taking the Rapid Summoning (SRD) ACF instead, as it's really annoying that Summon Monster spells have a 1 round casting time.

Also, I think the Enhanced Summoning (SRD) ACF is worthwhile.

The problem with summoning-focused conjurers starting at level 1 is Wizard summons don't really take off until SM3. SM1 has some good utility monsters for setting off traps, flanking, etc., but the combat value is pretty limited. (Not useless, but not "wow" either.) And SM2 is pretty lousy. I'd say focus on the other tactics like grease, web, glitterdust, cloud of bewilderment, etc. until you can summon a Celestial Bison or Fiendish Monstrous Centipede/Ape.

And I'd say Master Specialist (CM) is pretty much a given at level 4... and then maybe Malconvoker (CS)? Paragnostic Apostle (CC) is also good, if the fluff doesn't cause problems in FR.