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codexgigas
2007-01-23, 07:06 PM
I just got Complete Mage, and I was thinking about drawing up a Focused Specialist Illusionist for a campaign that's about to start. I know I want to keep Necromancy, and Evocation's an easy drop, but I'm not sure about the other two schools. Any suggestions?

shaka gl
2007-01-23, 07:34 PM
I would go with Evocation & Enchantment, since ilusion is quite similar and it aint THAT great, but Necromancy would be my 2nd choice surely.

Ikkitosen
2007-01-23, 07:58 PM
If you're keeping Nec then lose Evoc, Ench and Abj - rely on your illusions to keep you safe I guess. Oh, and be a gnome ;)

Ramza00
2007-01-23, 08:33 PM
If you have access to Tome of Battle, and are planning to go the Shadowcraft Gnome route, and are near Shadowcraft Mage 3 (ecl 8) you might want to ban Conjuration. Yes you lose your precious teleport spells :smalleek:

But with the Shadow Jaunt, Shadow Stride, and Shadow Blink acting as "dimension doors" you can survive. How do you access these maneuvers without multiclassing and losing caster levels you may ask? Why page 149-150 of Tome of Battle, and the "Shadow Hands" (gloves that allow you access to one shadow hand maneuver). At 3,000 (up to 3rd lvl manuevers), 15,000 (up to 6th lvl manuevers) and 45,000 gp each they are a bargain. If you really want to you can double the cost and make the items slotless.

Ramza00
2007-01-23, 08:37 PM
Another option if you want to give up conjuration and are doing the Shadowcraft Mage, but don't want to give up teleportation is Spell Reprieve from Lost Empires of Faerun. This feat will allow you to learn one spell from a prohibited school. Pick Greater Teleport or some similar spell to allow you the ability to return home to your base. Then use the reserve feat from Complete Mage to allow you to teleport at will around the battlefield while still keeping that one spell you were going to use anyway at the end of the encounter to return to your base.

codexgigas
2007-01-23, 11:23 PM
I was thinking about PrCing as a Master Specialist and Nightmare Spinner. I'll probably be a Grey Elf for the Intelligence bonus. Evocation and Enchantment seem solid choices for the first two banned schools, but I'm not so sure about losing any of the others. Abjuration has dispel magic and other useful anti-caster spells, while Conjuration allows another route for damage. Transmution is one of the largest schools, and the most useful, but I can almost see myself doing without it the easiest. I lose access to rope trick and fly, but alarm will help protect camps, and darkway substitutes fairly well for fly. I don't mind losing most of the buffs in Transmuation, and I'm not fond of shapechanging. Still, banning Transmutation feels wrong. Are the benefits of the focused specialist worth the cost of the third school?

Ramza00
2007-01-24, 12:01 AM
Banning Transmutation is always wrong!!!

Edit: And please other posters that aren't codexgigas don't give me the "flavor" perspective. Banning transmutation is cutting the wizard in half. Its like removing all armor profiencies for fighter, or taking away monk's unarmed damage progression and flurry.

Ikkitosen
2007-01-24, 06:14 AM
But, just like removing all armour from a fighter, you can compensate. In teh fighter case get a Monk's Belt and a good wis, or become an Invisible Blade or Duelist. You can make up for it! Yes, you'll miss Transmutation, but you'll have lots of extra illusions :)

cupkeyk
2007-01-24, 02:41 PM
Banning transmutation might not be a bad idea if you are taking shadow weave magic and happen to be worshipping Shar(*snicker* otherwise you lose 2 wis which is an okay dump stat for a wiz anyway). Banning conju gives you options of getting the lost spells back, since summoning is just like creating illusory monsters anyway and the neat conju ones like glitterdust actually emulate illusion effects and evetually you get shadow conju at level 7. If you are playing FR, be Deep Imaskari, medium humanoid(human), +2 Int, -2 Dex, lowlight vision, you have the ability to recall any single first level spell that you previously cast(like a pearl of power level 1). But the fact that you are human, you can say your region is Thay and get Tattoo Focus, joining the Red Wizards and being evil is not in the feat prerequisite. Illusion spells are save or suck or save or lose, getting the DC as high up as possible is always a priority.