Help! Out of Ideas for a Wizard Build! Please Assist! [3.5 FR]

[Tokuhara]

It's finally happened y'all. I'm out of clever ideas for a wizard build. I have no concept, no idea what kind of wizard to play, and I've got an oddball party.

So here's the challenge folks: Help me build an Optimized Wizard. I leave this in the playground's capable hands.

Here's the only limits:

I am allowed any 1st party WotC Material, Dragon Magazine, and Web Enhancements (Please cite sources). Homebrew and any non-WotC-authorized books (Green Ronin/3rd party publishers) are a no-go

I have a party with a Human Rogue, a Half-Ogre Fighter, a Human Courtier, a Human Exalted Cleric of Lythander (?), and a Goliath Barbarian that are mostly in the Good Alignment category, so no evil/questionable stuff (Malconvoker is out, mostly on a morality bent)

Very Faerun in theme. I want this wizard to scream "I make sense in the Forgotten Realms"

An inspiration and short blurb of fluff on the PC so I can jot a backstory (DM is giving bonus XP for backstories and good Roleplaying)

Deadline:

Preferably Thursday of this week, but at the latest Friday. I have the game this Saturday.

I kind of want this to be a community project, so if you have ideas, this is an open idea shed. Just try and be constructive rather than destructive.

Thanks y'all in advance, and good luck!

[ksbsnowowl]

Incantatrix.

Alternately, Hathran plus Incantatrix.

[Tokuhara]

Incantatrix.

Alternately, Hathran plus Incantatrix.

Incantrix is a distinct possibility, but Hathran is out (male player playing a female PC = awkward)

[Waker]

Though I'm passingly familiar with Faerun, I can't really think of anything that "screams Faerun". Looking at the party make-up though, I would suggest you consider focusing on Conjuration BFC magic and Utility type magic. The Cleric should be able to handle buffing and healing. The others can handle straight combat and the diplomat encounters.
Mage of the Arcane Order is one of my favorite suggestions for a player who wants a very flexible character, due to the access to nearly any spell at the drop of a hat.


That aside, what do you want to do with this guy? Did you have any particular image in your mind?

[Tokuhara]

Basically, I want the Faerunian equivalent to this (all Video Game Nerds should recognize this class)

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/072/8/3/black_mage_by_jedi_art_trick-d4smmpk.jpg

I know that Faerun is very Wizard-Friendly, so as long as he's a wizard and can fit the image above, I'll be happy.

Minus the image above, I don't have a direct goal. I just want to fit into the party and the setting as best I can.

[Baroncognito]

Incantrix is a distinct possibility, but Hathran is out (male player playing a female PC = awkward)

Why? I mean, you can imagine what it'd be like to be a Thycreen, a centaur, a minotaur. You can put yourself in the mind of an elf, who has a lifespan of centuries. You can identify with a dwarf who has spent his entire life underground, but you can't identify with or even imagine what it'd be like to be a woman?

Fine then, play as a woman who identifies as male. Added bonus: if he has access to alter self, he doesn't need to bind at all.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Edit: I started typing this before you posted that Hathran was out of the question, but it's still a very powerful choice. I'll come up with something else shortly.

Go Hathran (PGtF) for sure, there is no Wizard that's more FR than that.

Get an Acorn of Far Travel (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a) so you're always considered to be standing under a particular oak tree in Rashamen and always get the full benefit from the class. Put Unguent of Timelessness on that acorn and the duration becomes one year per caster level, get one at caster level 20 for only 400 gp per NPC spellcasting fees. Take Sanctum Spell and designate the area under that tree as your sanctum so you get a free Heighten +1 on every spell you cast. With Sanctum Spell you can go Wizard 5 into Hathran.

Dip a single level in Chameleon and you can use Rashemi Spirit Magic to spontaneously cast any arcane or divine spell in the entire game. I'd wait until Hathran 5 before you do that if you want to (ab)use Circle Magic.

Use Simulacrum to make copies of yourself to contribute spell levels to your circle magic. Once you hit level 20 make new simulacri which will be Wizard 5/ Hathran 5 and can lead their own circle. Eight simulacri can each lead a circle with four others, gaining a total of ~18 spell levels each. Every one of them uses those to Heighten a prepared spell to 20th level, and then when you lead the great circle with all eight they cast that 20th level spell and you get 160 spell levels via the circle.

[Darkhope]

To bad no third party books. I want someone to play an item item crafter. I had this concept about two weeks ago and it seems like it could work, but you need to get the Book of Eldritch Might. Its a sword and sorcery book Monte Cook wrote (who also wrote the DMG so your DM may allow it.) He expands on item creation rules, especially intelligent items, and how they can take classes. Well an intelligent item with wizard class levels that takes item creation feats. Now thats just full of flavor imo. An item that creates magical items!

[Tokuhara]

Why? I mean, you can imagine what it'd be like to be a Thycreen, a centaur, a minotaur. You can put yourself in the mind of an elf, who has a lifespan of centuries. You can identify with a dwarf who has spent his entire life underground, but you can't identify with or even imagine what it'd be like to be a woman?

Fine then, play as a woman who identifies as male. Added bonus: if he has access to alter self, he doesn't need to bind at all.

Well, I'm not sexist. It's just weird for me to do that. Personal issue, not anything like that.

That, and I usually play near-humans (I don't play monstrous races much anymore since my roleplaying tanks, though I still try to have fun)

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

You could go with the standard Killer Gnome build: Wizard 3/ Master Specialist 4/ Shadowcraft Mage 5/ Shadowcrafter 8, Heighten Spell, Earth Spell, Residual Magic, Signature Spell: Silent Image, Enhanced Shadow Reality, Ability Focus: Silent Image, etc. Possibly include a Shadow Adept dip, especially if you can use early qualification shenanigans and only take two Wizard levels before Master Specialist.

Edit: Hathran could actually work for you, it requires Leadership and your cohort has to be a female with Ethran or a male with at least one Barbarian level. It would be like Minsc and Dynaheir from Baldur's Gate, you could just play Minsc the cohort like he's your PC and the Hathran like she's the cohort.

[Tokuhara]

Killer Gnome is a possibility as well. Again, I'm not too picky (Hathran is the only one I'm a little screwy about unless I can shift the fluff and kill a prerequisite) and really, it's all about Black Mage: Faerun Style

[Waker]

Why? I mean, you can imagine what it'd be like to be a Thycreen, a centaur, a minotaur. You can put yourself in the mind of an elf, who has a lifespan of centuries. You can identify with a dwarf who has spent his entire life underground, but you can't identify with or even imagine what it'd be like to be a woman?

Fine then, play as a woman who identifies as male. Added bonus: if he has access to alter self, he doesn't need to bind at all.
Well of course he can't! Who could possibly understand how a woman's mind works?!


You want to play a Black Mage huh? I'm only vaguely familiar with the Black Mage from earlier games, so what I suggest is colored by that limitation. Conjurer, Evoker, Sorcerer or Warmage all fit the role of a blastomancy kinda guy. Spellwarp Sniper is a PrC to consider for focusing on damage. You could try mixing Conjurer with Warmage using Ultimate Magus for a spellcaster with a focus on damage, but still having other options.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

That would actually be perfect, a Hathran with a Fear build (http://web.archive.org/web/20120520034053/http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3809.0) Barbarian cohort. The cohort would be charismatic, loud, and the one you actually role play the most, while the Hathran would be very reserved and mostly tell her cohort to tell things to people for her.

[ericp65]

Consider having the character from the land of Halruaa, with either the Arcane Schooling, Magical Training, or Spellwise regional feat.

[ericp65]

Why? I mean, you can imagine what it'd be like to be a Thycreen, a centaur, a minotaur.

Or a Thri-Kreen for that matter ;)

[Tokuhara]

And as a small note: My PC will meet up with the party in Baldur's Gate

[Waker]

How about a Conjurer/Warlock/Eldritch Theurge? Would that be Black Magish enough for you? You'd have some spooky magic going for you, spammable blasting if needed and you play by no one's rules (since you can't be good and lawful as a Warlock.)

[Tokuhara]

How about a Conjurer/Warlock/Eldritch Theurge? Would that be Black Magish enough for you? You'd have some spooky magic going for you, spammable blasting if needed and you play by no one's rules (since you can't be good and lawful as a Warlock.)

That could be fun. How can we Faerunify it?

[Waker]

I have no idea how to Faerunize it, since I don't know what constitutes a Faerun flavor. Umm, did you want to be a cast-out from Thay? Even though you dabbled with some of the naughty magic (Warlock), you ultimately had morality issues with the place. You might have inherited your natural affinity for magic from Mystra like Elminster did (I think that's where he got it from) and you serve as sort of a mortal avatar for her without all the religious dogma. I can't really remember anything else about Faerun that could be applied to the concept.

[Tokuhara]

Well, Faerun is inherently magical (the weave and all), and Wizards are pretty much top of the food chain. Warlocks are outcasts to an extent (connection with darker powers commonly) and tend to try and hide their gifts (if they can)

[Waker]

Well, I suppose one question you could ask is where did your Warlock powers originate? Were they inherited from an ancestor or were you the one who established the pact? You could say that you started out as a Warlock as part of a rash decision to learn magic the easy way, but got off the dark path and applied yourself to some book learnin'.

[Baroncognito]

Or a Thri-Kreen for that matter ;)

In my gaming group we tend to just end up calling them thigh creme.

[Norin]

Not too familiar with "black mage", but if you want something thematic to Faerûn and be sort of a dark wizard type, you can look into Shadow Adept.

To avoid the Evil/Shar prereq you have to have at least wis 13 and have any none-good alignment.

It's a shadow-weave user and has a tendency to focus on illusion, enchantment and necromancy spells.

You could of course run in to a few conflicts with the exalted cleric of Lathander though. He could have some issues with Shadow Weave users. :smallamused:

Edit:

Another idea for a more long-term very Faerûn-y character, could be a Sun Elven High-Mage (from Evermeet or Evreska?).

The PrC itself would be available near or in epic levels (afb now, so can not check the prereqs). But until then you can go for something like a sun elf generalist wizard, with maybe domain wizard, going into archmage and/or Loremaster?

More thematic than amazingly powerful, like the Hathran or Incantantrix. You are still a full casting wizard with some nice extras though.

[Tokuhara]

For the record: Black Mage isn't evil. Black Mage is a sort-of blaster with a slight control bent.

[morkendi]

Looking at pic, my first thought was killer gnome build with dark template. Whisper gnome is 0 and dark only +1. Dark would work well with shadow craft mage, especially if LA buy off is allowed.

[Tokuhara]

Killer Gnome is a special case for me. I'd rather avoid templates if necessary

[Norin]

For the record: Black Mage isn't evil. Black Mage is a sort-of blaster with a slight control bent.

I need to find out more. That pic was awesome!
*goes to Google a bit* :smallbiggrin:

[Incanur]

I'd recommend either of the following:

Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 3/Incantatar 10/Archmage 4 - Here you do the battlefield control thing at lower levels, then go develop your blasting potential with crazy metamagics on orb spells (orb of fire or orb of force).

Illusionist 5/Incantatar 10/Shadowcraft Mage 5 - Here you pull typical illusion shenanigans at the lower levels and then become a potent blaster with Shadowcraft Mage plus metamagic nonsense.

Note that both can pull of your standard Persistent Spell cheese, especially with a little help from Guidance of the Avatar (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20010504a).

[Tokuhara]

I'd recommend either of the following:

Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 3/Incantatar 10/Archmage 4 - Here you do the battlefield control thing at lower levels, then go develop your blasting potential with crazy metamagics on orb spells (orb of fire or orb of force).

Illusionist 5/Incantatar 10/Shadowcraft Mage 5 - Here you pull typical illusion shenanigans at the lower levels and then become a potent blaster with Shadowcraft Mage plus metamagic nonsense.

Note that both can pull of your standard Persistent Spell cheese, especially with a little help from Guidance of the Avatar (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20010504a).

I actually like the first option, but could it get a tweak to look something like this:

Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 4/Incantrix 10/Halruaan Elder 3?

[ksbsnowowl]

I actually like the first option, but could it get a tweak to look something like this:

Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 4/Incantrix 10/Halruaan Elder 3?

That would work well.

[Incanur]

Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 4/Incantrix 10/Halruaan Elder 3?

Having to take Halruuan Adept at level one is awkward because it delays Incantatar by a level unless you find yourself in an Otyugh Hole at exactly the right time. But that's not a big deal and you don't even need to go Incantatar first. The bonus on Spellcraft checks is nice too.

[Tokuhara]

Now I'm trying to punch out the feats/spells/stuff like that. That, and Race is floating as it sits

[Incanur]

You have to be human to be a Hulruaan Elder because of the regional feat.

[Tokuhara]

Well, a Human with 2 flaws has 3 feats to play with (One spent on Halruaan Adept) and I will always take Improved Initiative on a Wizard, so what feats do I need to roll with 1-20

[Mithril Leaf]

Well, a Human with 2 flaws has 3 feats to play with (One spent on Halruaan Adept) and I will always take Improved Initiative on a Wizard, so what feats do I need to roll with 1-20

Uncanny Forethough is always nice. Exemplars of Evil (but it's far from an evil feat).

[Tokuhara]

Uncanny Forethough is always nice. Exemplars of Evil (but it's far from an evil feat).

So I have to blow a feat on Spell Mastery for that. When should I buy Spell Mastery for optimum effect

[Incanur]

You need Spell Focus: Conjuration for Master Specialist and it's a good first-level feat to boot. You'll need Iron Will unless you using the aforementioned Otyugh Hole. You need Spell Thematics for Halruaan Elder. Beyond that, just grab whatever metamagic feats you desire: Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, Sculpt Spell, etc. At some point you probably want Arcane Thesis on orb of fire or orb of force. I prefer the latter because of the damage type and longer range, but you can use Searing Spell on the former.

[Tokuhara]

So level 1,

Spell Focus: Conjuration, Improved Initiative, Halruaan Adept, Iron Will

And level 3 I grab Iron Will

[Tokuhara]

I typo'd. I meant a Spell Thematics. What other feats should I grab?