Classic Wizard Spells & Spell Selection

[Everynone]

Hey so I'm about to play a wizard for the first time and I was just wondering what you guys consider to be 'bread and butter' or 'classic' wizard spells I should try out. This is a topic I've always been curious about.

Also, since this is my first time playing a wizard, I wanted to go for a generalist all-around spell selection until I get a handle on playing such a complex and versatile class, at which point I'll do more focusing in my spell selection. I have access to the Spell Compendium, and I was wondering what you guys consider good spells to use in such spell list.

[eggynack]

Have ya checked out Treantmonk's guide to wizards (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=394.0)? That's usually what I look at, when I'm looking for cool spells. It's just about the best spell selection guide out there.

[Everynone]

Have ya checked out Treantmonk's guide to wizards (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=394.0)? That's usually what I look at, when I'm looking for cool spells. It's just about the best spell selection guide out there.

I'm reading it now, thanks! I have also read The Logic Ninja's guide and Dictum Mortuum's guide as well, but they didn't do a good job answering my first question, and my second question was kinda too general for those guides.

But still: what spells do you consider 'classics'? And what should a generalist's spell list ideally look like?

[ericgrau]

Classics IMO. Generally good ones italicized, not that the others can't be good or sometimes better if used right.
1: magic missile, sleep, charm person, feather fall, burning hands.
2: web, invisibility
3: fireball, haste, lightning bolt, hold person

A gnome illusionist is a bit of a classic holdover too. All the good ones in those guides tend to be fun too, not just good. In some sense they're starting to become the classics. But fireball and lightning bolt, man those are from even before basic D&D when Gygax was messing around with houserules on wargames.

I could tell you what kind of generally wizardy tasting wizard I would make without any focus on any particular thing, but it wouldn't be quite the same as anyone else's list.

[CRtwenty]

Not saying anything about how effective these spells are, but these are some of the more classic ones that have shown up over and over again throughout editions and frequently appear in D&D based books.

0: Detect Magic, Light
1: Sleep, Magic Missile, Charm Person
2: Arcane Lock, Invisibility, Shatter, Acid Arrow
3: Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Fly, Dispel Magic, Blink
4: Scrying, Polymorph, Fear, Animate Dead
5: Teleport, Cone of Cold, Baleful Polymorph, Dismissal
6: Legend Lore, Geas, Flesh to Stone
7: Plane Shift, Simulacrum, Control Weather, Finger of Death
8: Mind Blank, Clone, Prismatic Wall, Maze
9: Disjunction, Time Stop, Wish, Meteor Swarm, Gate

[Spuddles]

It's been my experience that blasty spells are actually pretty effective if you can pump your caster level. So a level 5 wizard throwing a caster level 8 fireball can actually lay down some pretty serious hurt. Combine with a TWF rougue & a cleaving fighter, and you can wipe out quite a few enemies a turn.

Great cleave + fireball is actually a fairly effective combo, depending on monsters you face.

Charm Monster & Suggestion are also pretty classic, IMO, as is Knock. There are a handful of "just win spells" that aren't really that efficient, but when you can bust them out, it's super gratifying.

But hot damn, everyone should try out fireball.

[CRtwenty]

But hot damn, everyone should try out fireball.

I agree, especially at higher caster levels. Tossing a giant handful of dice is a great feeling.

[ericgrau]

My red dice with the yellow speckles are my fireball dice, and general fire I suppose. I tried to suggest an automatic die roller to another wizard with a lot of dice. He cried heresy.