You know nothing! The over-specialized wizard.

[MrNobody]

Hello everybody!
I want to share with you a little thought and, obviosly, see if you playgrounders have something to add.

So, these days I was thinking about specialist wizards, possible builds and classes... then something came to my mind, something like pushing specialization to the point of not being an advantage anymore and starting to be a sort of a problem.
The idea is to create (not for an actual game, just for fun) an overspecialized wizard, someone that pushed so far his passion for a school of magic that he totally forgot about the others.

I tried to figure out a build (not a complete one, just the necessary elements) that has the highest possible number of banned school, and that's what came to me.

Human specialist, take the Focused Specialist variant (Complete mage). Ban 3 schools, save abjuration.
Go up to 5th level, taking the pre-requisite to enter Red Wizard at 6th: ban 1 school, save abjuration again.
As soon as you can, enter Incantatix (i'm thinking about the version from Players guide to Faerun that should be the latest): ban one last school.

So we have: 5 banned school, 3 more to go.
Can anyone think about a way to ban even more schools?

[Chronikoce]

This won't ban a school but the variant abjuration specialist wizard can give up his bonus spells per day (the ones you get from specialization) to instead gain some at will dispel magic abilities.

I can't think of any others ways off the top of my head to ban schools though.

Link to variant abjuration specialist: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#spontaneousDispelling

[Zanos]

Restricted Sorcery is a flaw that bans two schools of magic, but it requires being able to cast spells without preparation. There are several ways to meet that qualification on a wizard, though.

[Extra Anchovies]

Do any of the above let us ban Divination? I don't know if that's ever allowed.

Also, what happens if an Incantatrix takes a level of Red Wizard and bans Abjuration?


Restricted Sorcery is a flaw that bans two schools of magic, but it requires being able to cast spells without preparation. There are several ways to meet that qualification on a wizard, though.

Flaws are generally selected after your first class level but before feats, so we'd have to get spontaneous casting at first level through ACFs. Can we do it?

[heavyfuel]

Flaws are generally selected after your first class level but before feats, so we'd have to get spontaneous casting at first level through ACFs. Can we do it?

From the top of my head, Spontaneous Summoning (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm) lets you do that. Though you need to be a Conjurer to get it. I don't think there's any rule that forbids you from forbidding a specialized school

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Flaws are generally selected after your first class level but before feats, so we'd have to get spontaneous casting at first level through ACFs. Can we do it?

I think we can manage it by taking Alacritous Cognition at level one, allowing us to have spontaneous casting and thus qualifying for Restricted Sorcery.

Note that that flaw is a Dragon Magazine flaw, which is unfortunate. It also won't allow us to ban Divination, which means our best best might be to become a specialist Diviner by banning Abjuration after taking our level of Abjuration specialist (which is, I think, oddly RAW legal).

[Aegis013]

If flaws are selected before feats, then Alacritous Cogitation wouldn't work. Since you wouldn't qualify for the flaw at the time in character creation you'd need to. The Conjurer Specialist ACF seems to work though.

So if you were a Spontaneous Summoning Conjurer, banning Enchantment and Necromancy, who takes the flaw Restricted Sorcerery (sadly DrMg item, but the OP never specified we had any banned content), banning Transmutation and Illusion, who enters Master takes Focused Specialist banning Evocation, and then enters Incantatrix banning Conjuration, and then enters Red Wizard and bans Abjuration, he's left only with Divination. Though he's technically not a Diviner specialist.

If we could find one other way to ban a school, we could ban all spells except Universal school spells. The language on Red Wizard never prohibits banning divination, it actually suggests you could voluntarily give up additional schools. So you might be able to give up both Abjuration and Divination upon entering Red Wizard, leaving you with only Universal school Wizard spells. Edit 2: Woops, it references the Player's Handbook Rules for banning, so it can't ban Divination either. You could still be a Diviner/Red Wizard and have everything except Divination banned as Red Wizard lets you ban additional schools if you want.

Edit: Thank you ZamielVanWeber for the correction.

[Kurald Galain]

I take it your character's name is Jon Snow?

[Rubik]

Start off as a changeling and take the changeling double-specialist ACF, then do everything else in the first post, so you end up with a changeling double-focused specialist.

[ZamielVanWeber]

So if you were a Spontaneous Summoning Conjurer, banning Enchantment and Necromancy, who takes the flaw Restricted Sorcerery (sadly DrMg item, but the OP never specified we had any banned content), banning Transmutation and Illusion, who enters Master Specialist banning Evocation, and then enters Incantatrix banning Conjuration, and then enters Red Wizard and bans Abjuration, he's left only with Divination. Though he's technically not a Diviner specialist.
Master Specialist doesn't have you ban schools. That is the Focused Specialist ACF that bans an additional school.

[Aegis013]

Master Specialist doesn't have you ban schools. That is the Focused Specialist ACF that bans an additional school.

You're entirely right, thank you for the correction.

[SinsI]

Do any of the above let us ban Divination? I don't know if that's ever allowed.

Read Magic is mandatory for wizards - and it is Divination, so no, it is not allowed.

[Valwyn]

Here's a build I made. I actually like it, it seems like it the fluff would be interesting. I managed to ban all schools except for Abjuration and Divination:

LN=>LG Focused Abjurer 5/Red Wizard of Thay 2/Wizard of High Sorcery 3/Incantartrix 10

Level 1 (Abj 1): Banned [Enchantment, Necromancy, Evocation], Familiar, Human [Extend Spell], [Tattoo Focus], Wizard [Scribe Scroll],
Level 2 (Abj 2):
Level 3 (Abj 3): [Craft Wondrous Items],
Level 4 (Abj 4):
Level 5 (Abj 5): Spontaneous Divination ACF,
Level 6 (RWoT 1): Enhanced Specialization (Ban Illusion)
Level 7 (RWoT 2): Spell Power +1, *change to LG*
Level 8 (WoHS 1): Banned [Transmutation], Item of Power, Moon Magic, Tower Resources,
Level 9 (WoHS 2): Arcane Research +1, [Iron Will],
Level 10 (WoHS 3): 1st Order Secret (Magic of Resistance),
Level 11 (Inc 1): Banned [Conjuration], Bonus Metamagic (Chain Spell), [Quicken Spell],
Level 12 (Inc 2): Cooperative Metamagic
Level 13 (Inc 3): Metamagic Effect
Level 14 (Inc 4): Bonus Metamagic (Persistent Spell),
Level 15 (Inc 5): Metamagic Spell Trigger, [],
Level 16 (Inc 6): Seize Concentration
Level 17 (Inc 7): Bonus Metamagic (), Instant Metamagic 1/day, [],
Level 18 (Inc 8): Snatch Spell,
Level 19 (Inc 9): Instant Metamagic 2/day,
Level 20 (Inc 10): Bonus Metamagic (), Improved Metamagic,

If I understood the rules correctly (each PrC has different rulings on how banning works, I think), you end up with the following spells:
Enchantment/Necromancy/Evocation: none
Illusion: 3rd
Transmutation: 4th
Conjuration: 5th
Abjurantion+Divination: 9th

[Story]

A wizard can prepare Read Magic without a spellbook. That doesn't mean they have to know it or can't ban it.

[nedz]

Just put all of your skillpoints into Knowledge skills and none into Spellcraft: you will end up knowing very few spells.

[Sith_Happens]

I take it your character's name is Jon Snow?

Sadly not, having Divination as your one accessible school still lets you know a lot. Not a lot of spells, but still.

[Elderand]

could take a level in wizard of high sorcery for one more banned school