Best Sorcerer/Wizard Spells to Snag For Non-Sorcerer/Wizards?

[JerichoPenumbra]

So recently I've been seeing and thinking about builds that get small handfuls Sorcerer/Wizard spells for other classes like Witch, Oracle, Cleric, etc. My question to the playground is simply this: what are the best (or simply just your favorite) Sorcerer/Wizard spells to pick up for other classes?

[Kurald Galain]

So recently I've been seeing and thinking about builds that get small handfuls Sorcerer/Wizard spells for other classes like Witch, Oracle, Cleric, etc. My question to the playground is simply this: what are the best (or simply just your favorite) Sorcerer/Wizard spells to pick up for other classes?


Spells
Cantrips
Touch of Fatigue (damage) - An option for spell combat that gives you an extra attack and tacks on a minor debuff. Works best on an int Magus.

First Level Spells
Dazzling Blade (debuff) - Blinding an enemy is a swift action is a very good use of your action economy.
Ear Piercing Scream (debuff) - A nice pick for an int Magus, it disables any target for one round on a failed save, while you whack them in spell combat. This works on almost any enemy, and the damage is icing on the cake.
Touch of Gracelessness (debuff) - The main point of this is reducing an enemy's AC in combat, and it does a decent job at that, albeit with a save for half.
Protection from Evil (defense) - This is not such a good investment, since its defense and saving throw bonuses don't stack with magic armor and ring of protection, respectively. If you're worried about possession, carry a potion.
Face of the Devourer (offense) - Gives you a sizeable bonus to intimidate, and a primary bite attack. A nice boost for builds that rely on these.
Charm Person (toolbox) - One of the classic social spells, magically making friends has many practical purposes.

Second Level Spells
False life (defense) - Frankly, I'd rather use Bear's Endurance or Defending Bone, both of which are already on your spell list.
Ghoul Touch (debuff) - Given its duration, this is basically a save-or-lose effect at level two, which is awesome. It only works on humanoids though.
Hideous Laughter (debuff) - More versatile than Ghoul Touch and only slightly less devastating if it connects. Decent for an int Magus.
Touch of idiocy (debuff) - The main goal here is reducing a spellcaster's stats enough so he can't cast his best spells any more, but the spell doesn't reliably do that. For instance, a cleric with 4th level spells will commonly have 20+ wisdom, meaning that unless you crit on this spell, it won't accomplish too much.
Resist Energy (defense) - Situationally useful, but it can potentially turn a difficult fight into a cakewalk. Or you could use a potion.
See Invisibility (toolbox) - You already have Glitterdust on your spell list, which does the job well enough.

Third Level Spells
Call the Void (debuff) - Prevents adjacent enemies from casting spells, which is amazing. They get no saving throw, and take some damage too. Combine this with the Step Up feat to prevent them from leaving the effect.
Greater Stunning Barrier (debuff) - While the defense bonuses don't stack with common items, stunning every creature that attacks you is a very useful effect.
Resinous Skin (debuff) - A hilarious way of disarming anyone who hits you with a weapon, by having it stick to you. This spell is actually better on a Magus than on a wizard.
Burrow (mobility) - This spell lets you move underground through dirt and rock, which you can't do with shapeshifting until you get 5th level spells.
Heroism (offense) - A very good and long-lasting buff spell.

Fourth Level Spells
Bestow Curse (debuff) - One of the nastier debuffs available at this level, and as a touch attack it works well with spell combat. Hexcrafters get this for free, and arguably get it as a third-level spell since it's third level on the witch's list.
Enervation (debuff) - Level drain your enemies to give a rather nasty set of debuffs. This is best used with the Close Range arcana, since its effect is doubled on a crit.
Lesser Globe of Invulnerability (defense) - A decent defensive spell, but by the time you get it, your enemies will likely have spells high enough to bypass it.
Named Bullet (offense) - A decent buff if you're using thrown weapons, particularly if you know in advance who you're going to fight.
Stone Shape (toolbox) - One of the most versatile spells in the book, it basically lets you reshape caves and dungeons to your liking.

Fifth Level Spells
Feeblemind (debuff) - Shuts down enemy spellcasters, hard. That said, you already have Baleful Polymorph and Flesh to Stone on your list.
Hostile Juxtaposition (debuff) - A fun way of forcing an enemy to take an attack for you.
Echolocation (offense) - A good sensory spell to counter darkness, stealth, invisibility, and displacement; with a duration of several hours.
Geas (toolbox) - If you want to send young Magus trainees on a special quest, here's how. One of the classic plot spells.
Permanency (toolbox) - One of the more unique effects from the wizard list, if you want to do some long-term building and enchanting you can use it as well. Alternatively, you can permanently enlarge yourself, if you're so inclined.

Sixth Level Spells
Contingency (defense) - A very powerful defensive option, every spellcaster should consider this as a trump card to get them out of trouble. Dimension Door and Teleport are good contingent spells.
Greater Heroism (offense) - Twice the buff of the Heroism spell, albeit at a much shorter duration. Probably not worth the higher level spell slot as such.
Planar Binding (toolbox) - Gain the services of an extraplanar creature of your choice, or at least bargain for them. These creatures can have very powerful and useful abilities.


There you go :smallcool:

[(Un)Inspired]

Planar binding. Each planar binding spell is a treasure trove of additional spells.

[Sagetim]

So recently I've been seeing and thinking about builds that get small handfuls Sorcerer/Wizard spells for other classes like Witch, Oracle, Cleric, etc. My question to the playground is simply this: what are the best (or simply just your favorite) Sorcerer/Wizard spells to pick up for other classes?

I won't claim for them to be optimized choices, but I've always been a fan of the prestidigitation cantrip and once pathfinder came out and I saw them, the Youthful Appearance and Age Resistance spells. It's nice that there are now rules that exist officially within the game that allow someone to not keel over from old age and not have to be a liverspotted old person just because they're a liver spotted old person. Sure, Alter Self could arguably make you look young again, but it does nothing for your stats, so you'll look all young and possibly bishounen but you'll still be as weak as a frail old person.

Stone Shape, Fabricate, and Greater Fabricate all appeal to me because they let you accomplish stuff on a fast time table instead of taking the normal amount of time (years in some cases) to get stuff built. I'm a powerful wizard, I don't have time and money to waste on stone masons to build my wizard tower, I'll just raise it out of a mountain side in a few days and move on with my life. This also opens up the possibility of wandering through some woods and leaving mysterious villages deep in the middle of 'uninhabited' woods to freak people out.

[Psyren]

There you go :smallcool:

This seems like it's aimed at Magus, which isn't one of the classes the OP mentioned, but it could come in handy regardless.

[ericgrau]

There you go :smallcool:
Nice. Though false life seems severely underrated. It's hour/level so you can put it up 24 hours on top of whatever other buffs you may want without spending any combat time. Bear's endurance can't do that and is usually a waste of time. False life can be combined with defending bone plus defending bone is weak against non-physical damage and single big hits.

If you get high level sor/wiz spells I'd grab the versatile and powerful battlefield control because other casters tend to lack that. If you get low level I'd get hour/level spells like false life. Mage armor is also nice on druids. Anything else low level for combat you can do better with your high level spells, and anything low level for utility you can get in cheap item form.

[marphod]

Planar binding. Each planar binding spell is a treasure trove of additional spells.

IFF you have access to Dimensional Anchor and Magic Circle spells.

A planar binding without Dimensional Anchor or Magic Circle is asking for trouble. Without both is mostly pointless.

[(Un)Inspired]

IFF you have access to Dimensional Anchor and Magic Circle spells.

A planar binding without Dimensional Anchor or Magic Circle is asking for trouble. Without both is mostly pointless.

Trouble can be fun too

[Kurald Galain]

This seems like it's aimed at Magus
But of course :) Why did you think I had such a nicely formatted list lying around


Nice. Though false life seems severely underrated.
Good point, I'll rate it up a bit. That said, it does prevent less damage per day than Defending Bone does (it caps at 15, whereas DB caps at 50). Yes, they stack, but generally casting DB twice strikes me as a better deal.

[Psyren]

DB doesn't do a thing to spell damage or bludgeoning damage though, whereas false life does. I think both are good buffs to throw up in the morning.

[Kurald Galain]

DB doesn't do a thing to spell damage or bludgeoning damage though, whereas false life does. I think both are good buffs to throw up in the morning.

Sure, but for the Magus, DB prevents over three times as much damage, and is already on your spell list; whereas you have to spend limited resources to get FL on your list.

[ericgrau]

Sure, but for the Magus, DB prevents over three times as much damage, and is already on your spell list; whereas you have to spend limited resources to get FL on your list.
You are unlikely to get hit 10 times in a fight with weapon damage and if you do you're probably unconscious before the last hit. And you can recast between fights. On sor/wiz I am usually trying to stop 1 hit, though on a divine caster I suppose I could be tanking 3 or 4 hits in a fight (hits not attacks btw). So often DB doesn't give more hp, and sometimes it doesn't even work at all . To save your bacon you want reliability; having a fight where it doesn't work sucks. And since they're stack-able it isn't one or the other and you can add on the full benefit of FL on top of all your other buffs.

Yeah stack them both.

If you're limited on 2nd level spells per day then maybe I'd say "Well I better pick up something else besides FL and settle for DB".

[Kurald Galain]

If you're limited on 2nd level spells per day then maybe I'd say "Well I better pick up something else besides FL and settle for DB".

Practically speaking, at most levels people play at, most casters that aren't a sorcerer or wizard are indeed limited on 2nd level spells per day, yes.

[ericgrau]

Practically speaking, at most levels people play at, most casters that aren't a sorcerer or wizard are indeed limited on 2nd level spells per day, yes.
Well about when I get 4th level spells I start spamming 2nd levels and switch them over to hour/levels, swifts, etc. to burn them up without eating combat rounds. Cleric, druid and oracle get plenty of spells per day too. Partial casters could also switch over once they get 4ths, it just takes them longer to get there. Before that I budget my 2nd level spells. Many games I play seem to go from level 5 to level 11, sometimes starting earlier and sometimes going further. So this is about halfway through my campaigns.

A 3,000 gp lesser rod of extend spell is helpful, though not as necessary on oracle or sorcerer.