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Koji
2007-06-18, 04:52 AM
I'm met with dismay at the choice one of my players has made for his character--not by any means for his part in the matter, but for my own.

Our party is level two, and this player has chosen to play a super-specialist abjurer with the barred schools illusion and evocation. While he is a completely serviceable character (after all, conjuration and necromancy do fair amounts of damage at low levels, and he can buff with transmutation), I am met with a roadblock--what kind of challenges are best faced by an abjurer? I understand that at later levels, he can completely shut down enemy casters, but that's a ways off.

I am concerned primarily because the bard and the rogue function as the face of the party, and they do an excellent job (the characters are gnomes, and brothers), and the warblade and monk shine in combat. The cleric is constantly saving people from the brink of death, and it just sort of seems like the abjurer casts mage armor on himself and uses a crossbow.

What sort of low-level encounters can challenge and engage the abjurer that would allow his talents with the abjuration school to shine? Are there useful supplements for him? simple strategies we're overlooking? It's starting to wear on his nerves, and I'd hate to see him just dump the character.

Ulzgoroth
2007-06-18, 05:23 AM
As far as actual abjurations go, Protection from Evil (or whatever) can be golden. But it's a very short list with only first level spells. Even the Spell Compendium doesn't add much. Ectoplasmic Armor might be a lifesaver at the right time, but I don't know if a level 2 party has any chance against incorporeal enemies.

Duff
2007-06-18, 06:10 AM
The Abjeration school really is about turning up to work every battle to not die and help the others a little bit.

Maybe a mystery/puzzle which his skills are crucial too?

lord_khaine
2007-06-18, 06:39 AM
well im sure the monk would be happy for a mage armor?
at that lv he can mostly use his abjuration spells to buff the party a bit, but what about all the other wizard spells he has access to, fx sleep?

Pestlepup
2007-06-18, 07:12 AM
This may sound like a counter-productive idea, but bear with me. Do you think he would be willing to consider Abjurant Champion prestige class? That's not the stupid part though, that would be keeping him still as a full caster. It'll be a total waste of the alternative caster level ability, true, which makes it somewhat hard to digest. I'll have to check the requirements for AbC, as my memory doesn't really serve me in this case, but it may be necessary for him to sacrifice a level or two of spell advancement. Not really exhilirating idea, I know, but I'm rather enamored by the Champion's ability to quicken abjuration spells. Buffing the party and still having an action left to counterspell sounds like a real treat to me. Or just casting two spells in the same round. True, it only works on the lower end abjurations, but it might be worth it.

But then again, this idea might just be a colossal waste of time. That, though, depends on the realities of the prestige class, which I'll have to check once I get home.

TheDon
2007-06-18, 07:26 AM
Well meeting a non corporal creature would definitivly make him the only one who can harm it, between protection from evil, mage armor and magic weapon, he has everything he needs. Personaly I'd do like Duff said and build a puzzle arround it. Heck, if he doesn't have one of those 3 spells, drop clues in the form of those scrolls..

Citizen Joe
2007-06-18, 07:31 AM
Endure Elements can be a critical spell in the right situation. So a desert or tundra adventure would give him a chance to shine, or make everyone miserable. Scribe Scroll feat becomes important as well in any kind of extended battle.

Human Paragon 3
2007-06-18, 07:57 AM
Does he have access to dispell magic? If he does, you can have an enemy with a super status effect that can be nuetralized with that spell. Or maybe have an order of Rogue/Sorcerer hitmen that are all armed with high-powered wands of magic missile like they're guns. The abjurer can give you all shield spells rendering the enemy's most powerful weapons useless.

Ikkitosen
2007-06-18, 07:59 AM
Even with his barred schools he's still Batman - make sure he uses his advantages like leaving spell slots empty to fill with puzzle solving spells as needed and uses scribe scroll to carry those occasional use combat spells (like ectoplasmic armour).

The first time he's the one to solve a puzzle by memorising a spell mid-adventure or saves the whole group with an occasional scroll he'll be happy :smallsmile:

Citizen Joe
2007-06-18, 08:13 AM
The abjurer can give you all shield spells rendering the enemy's most powerful weapons useless.
Shield is a personal spell, i.e. caster only.

Lost Outrider
2007-06-18, 08:33 AM
Our party is level two,

Well, that is the first problem there. It is really tough to make the mage feel like a special little butterfly at the lower levels. Your combat PCs in the party are just pure manly studs compared to the thwang-ricochet of that crossbow bolt punctuating the round. Outside of combat, someone else gets to be Mister Personality - in your group the gnomish duo, in mine the dang cleric. And even those guys get in a good whallop every now and then in combat.

I know your question is how to make that particular specialist stick with the game, but really I see this as how to make any low level arcane caster feel like more than comic crossbow relief.

Here are a few suggestions that have helped me get through those first 5 levels of being third-string:

1. Be generous with non-damage-dealing wands/scrolls. The first time I cast Enlarge Person on our raging barbarian, it didn't really matter that I spent most of the combat sitting down watching them go at it. At the end of the session, that is what they talked about.

2. Encourage creative use of his limited spells. Nurture the creative side of your group's mage. If he wants to use a spell in an unorthodox way - and can explain it to you - then go for it. Chances are, the twink min-maxer in your group isn't the one playing a low level wizard. He's more likely to be the one with some kind of damage bonus machine yodeling into combat. Even if . . . no . . especially if his idea hamstrings your planned encounter, then let him work it.

3. Allow "between-session" time for him to scribe scrolls. The limited number of spell slots mean that he is about as useful as a red-shirt NPC after the first serious encounter. Give him the chance to prepare several back-up scrolls.

4. If he has a desire for research, indulge it. Pepper the campaign with cryptic warnings written in whatever strange languages only he understands. Toss in a captured spellbook once in a while. Let him autopsy for components. Allow his knowledge skills to - if not save the day - then definitely propose an easier way to do it.

5. Unless you just shovel gold down onto them, make a House Rule that reduces the 100 gp material component for the Identify spell. Either eliminate it completely or scale it down depending on the level/bonuses of the item you identify. Only give details about found magic items to the one casting Identify. I guarantee you that alone will make him feel like a valued addition to the group.

Citizen Joe
2007-06-18, 08:41 AM
Poison crossbow bolts + Scrolls of True Strike = expensive win

Rad
2007-06-18, 09:50 AM
all wizards fire their crossbow a lot at low levels, he should know that. If you allow retraining the feats that allow some low level spell-like abilities, or some reserve feat taken at third level could make him drop it, but he will have to wait a bit before shining. Beware that those feats are really not that good at mid-to-high level and he will never stop complaining having taken them if he is stuck with them then.

The second way is to make magic crucial to the plot; make a lot of spellcraft or knowledge checks and have important NPCs talk to him because he is the wizard (many other wizards tend to be classist over time).

PlatinumJester
2007-06-18, 11:29 AM
Become an Intiate of The SevenFold Veil. Super good for Abjurers. It's in Complete Arcane.

PlatinumJester
2007-06-18, 11:31 AM
As for good spells I recommend - Dispel Magic, Prismatic Wall and Protection from Evil.

Koji
2007-06-18, 03:39 PM
I like the idea about the incorporeal enemy.

As for PrC, he's probably going to become a Vremyonni or a Red Wizard, depending on how his character develops during the campaign (He's a Rashemi from Thay), and regardless, that's months away.

He actually did singlehandedly save someone from an evil nymph with protection from chaos, and our main enemy is fey, so he's probably set up very well to deal with upcoming challenges, it's just hard to keep everyone engaged all the time, I think.