3.5 half elf wizard looking for a prestige class

[ValkyrieHanali]

Hey everyone! I'm currently in a campaign playing a half elf wizard. About to level up to 6 and am considering prestige classes (for the future). My school of choice is Divination, as it is a rare commodity for the Nerullians my party works for. My banned school is Necromancy. As of yet I haven't picked a god to follow. Just teetering on that blissful edge of Chaotic Neutral.
I'm leaning towards Archmage. I would like more input since this is the first time playing a wizard. Thank you for your opinions and insight.

[A_S]

The most important question when picking a prestige class (or, really, any character option): What do you want to be good at? What can't your character do, that it would be awesome if they could do? Or, what can you already do that you think is pretty rad, and would like to become better at?

There are a million good PrC's for wizards. Unless you're playing in a very high-power game, you probably don't care which one is the "best." So you should pick one that makes your character good at something that you think is super cool.

Some thoughts (based on the little info that's in your OP, and some other random PrC's):

My favorite Divination-themed PrC is Unseen Seer (Complete Mage), which combines Divination with Illusion and mundane stealth for an espionage-focused caster. It has some harsh skill prerequisites that pretty much require a level in Rogue or similar, though.
If you want your PrC choice to reflect your character's adoption of a religion, you could go with Divine Oracle (Complete Divine), which gives pretty cool Divination-themed bonuses.
Master Specialist (Complete Mage) has very easy-to-meet prerequisites, and its bonuses are okay for a Diviner.
Incantatrix (Player's Guide to Faerun) is amazing if you use metamagic. Do you use metamagic?
Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil (Complete Arcane) is good for becoming immune to everything, ever, as an immediate action. How do you feel about not dying?
Archmage is...okay. Pick it if one of the High Arcana options will make a trick you like to use a lot better (e.g., if you use the Counterspell action a lot, then Mastery of Counterspelling is really good). Otherwise the prerequisites aren't usually worth it.
Dread Witch is awesome if fear spells are your thing.

[ValkyrieHanali]

The most important question when picking a prestige class (or, really, any character option): What do you want to be good at? What can't your character do, that it would be awesome if they could do? Or, what can you already do that you think is pretty rad, and would like to become better at?

There are a million good PrC's for wizards. Unless you're playing in a very high-power game, you probably don't care which one is the "best." So you should pick one that makes your character good at something that you think is super cool.

Some thoughts (based on the little info that's in your OP, and some other random PrC's):

My favorite Divination-themed PrC is Unseen Seer (Complete Mage), which combines Divination with Illusion and mundane stealth for an espionage-focused caster. It has some harsh skill prerequisites that pretty much require a level in Rogue or similar, though.
If you want your PrC choice to reflect your character's adoption of a religion, you could go with Divine Oracle (Complete Divine), which gives pretty cool Divination-themed bonuses.
Master Specialist (Complete Mage) has very easy-to-meet prerequisites, and its bonuses are okay for a Diviner.
Incantatrix (Player's Guide to Faerun) is amazing if you use metamagic. Do you use metamagic?
Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil (Complete Arcane) is good for becoming immune to everything, ever, as an immediate action. How do you feel about not dying?
Archmage is...okay. Pick it if one of the High Arcana options will make a trick you like to use a lot better (e.g., if you use the Counterspell action a lot, then Mastery of Counterspelling is really good). Otherwise the prerequisites aren't usually worth it.
Dread Witch is awesome if fear spells are your thing.


So I took a good look at all of the suggestions. I really like the Divine Oracle. I am also considering (depending on where my party takes me, and what happens to my delicate alignment status) Ur-Priest (because stealing energy from the gods is fun).

I found Alienist intriguing, but definitely not for the evil-ish campaign I am in.

[Inevitability]

So I took a good look at all of the suggestions. I really like the Divine Oracle. I am also considering (depending on where my party takes me, and what happens to my delicate alignment status) Ur-Priest (because stealing energy from the gods is fun).

I found Alienist intriguing, but definitely not for the evil-ish campaign I am in.

If you go Ur Priest, I suggest only taking two levels (or one if you have Alternate Source Spell or something similar), then switching to mystic theurge. There's no reason to cripple your wizard spell progression just because you took some cleric casting!

[Troacctid]

I was also going to suggest Divine Oracle. It's a generally good prestige class that fits well on a diviner.

Urban Savant, from Cityscape, is also a personal favorite of mine. You get a bunch of extra skill points and you can peek at the DM's notes. It's pretty nifty.

Another neat option is the Master Astrologer from Dragon #340. You have to dump a bunch of resources into Profession (Astrologer), and you lose a little casting, but thematically speaking it's pretty cool.

In my signature, there's a giant list of every spellcasting prestige class in 3.5, so you can check that out if you want an exhaustive list of your options. The best ones offer full or close to full casting progression.

[ValkyrieHanali]

Oh cool! I will have to make another character sometime with one of those prestige classes.

I decided to go with Master Specialist and start with maxing out Divination. Then Evocation., and probably something else cool after. I like that you can stack that prestige class. Eventually I will take the Archmage class after maxing out some Master Specialist stuff.

[schreier]

Another fun option, depending on DM interpretation, is the Rainbow Servant. The table shows 6/10 caster progression, but the table says 10/10. The rule of text over table would indicate that you go with 10/10. That being said, the fact that the 4 non-CL gaining levels have other abilities favors the 6/10 interpretation.

If it is 10/10, it's a way to add the complete list of cleric spells to your class list (so Heal, Resurrect, etc ... become wizard spells for you). If it is 6/10, it's less attractive.

You can also look at loremaster - a great 1 level dip at least, particularly if you can use Frog God's Fane to get Skill Focus(Knowledge(Religion) without spending a feat (that's good for Divine Oracle BTW) -- Frog God's Fane is in Complete Scoundrel

[ValkyrieHanali]

Another fun option, depending on DM interpretation, is the Rainbow Servant. The table shows 6/10 caster progression, but the table says 10/10. The rule of text over table would indicate that you go with 10/10. That being said, the fact that the 4 non-CL gaining levels have other abilities favors the 6/10 interpretation.

If it is 10/10, it's a way to add the complete list of cleric spells to your class list (so Heal, Resurrect, etc ... become wizard spells for you). If it is 6/10, it's less attractive.

You can also look at loremaster - a great 1 level dip at least, particularly if you can use Frog God's Fane to get Skill Focus(Knowledge(Religion) without spending a feat (that's good for Divine Oracle BTW) -- Frog God's Fane is in Complete Scoundrel

Rainbow Servant sounds cool. I am asking my DM about it now.

[Manyasone]

Rainbow Servant sounds cool. I am asking my DM about it now.

Well, you did say you were chaotic which rainbow servants can't be. They also can't be evil, and you did say you were in an evilish campaign. And since couat'l are good outsiders I really don't see them working with Nerull

[Calthropstu]

Entropomancer is kinda fun if you can get your hands on a sphere.

"Flail of annihilation" anyone?

[schreier]

Well, you did say you were chaotic which rainbow servants can't be. They also can't be evil, and you did say you were in an evilish campaign. And since couat'l are good outsiders I really don't see them working with Nerull

If you read the adaptation - you can put it with other outsiders:
"The couatl aspect of this prestige class in inextricable from the rest of it, but you could develop similar prestige classes .... It's also easy to reverse the class's alignment and come up with a similar "striped servant" class connected to the rakshasa for example."

[ValkyrieHanali]

Well, you did say you were chaotic which rainbow servants can't be. They also can't be evil, and you did say you were in an evilish campaign. And since couat'l are good outsiders I really don't see them working with Nerull

My DM changed some stuff around to fit in his world and stuff that would make it work for an evil campaign.

"Some relativity accurate in from the forgotten relms storyline, meaning i would change the background info and god to fit my world


"Deep in the jungles lie magically hidden ziggurats where the winged serpents known is couatls teach their secrets to arcane spellcasters eager to gain a measure of divine power. Those who have learned what the couatl temples have to offer are known as rainbow servants, because they agree to further the couatl's agenda of virtue and hope no matter how far they stray from the jungle in exchange for the knowledge they've received.
Most rainbow servants are sorcerers and wizards, with the occasional bard making the jungle trek. More sorcerers than wizards take on the mantle of the rainbow servant, because access to cleric domains is a compelling goal when spells known are otherwise so limited. Rainbow servants spend much of their time traveling on quests to make right some wrong. The couatls have a potent information network, so when they appear to direct a rainbow servant, they often have information the forces of evil thought they kept secret. But rainbow servants don't spend every moment at the beck and call of their serpentine masters; the couatls recognize that their servants have agendas of their own. A rainbow servant needs only be mindful that at any time a couatl could suddenly appear in her life describing a terrible evil that must be thwarted.
NPC rainbow servants travel the world - not to mention most of the Outer Planes - fighting evildoers and inspiring hope and mercy wherever they go. Unless they're traveling incognito, rainbow servants identify themselves with a prominent feathered plume on their headgear. Rainbow servants who've completed several quests for their couatl benefactors receive a feathered cape of the couatls as a mark of distinction.
Adaptation: The couatl aspect of this prestige class is inextricable from the rest of it, but you could develop similar prestige classes with other good outsiders such as lammasus, eladrins, or archons. It's also easy to reverse the class's alignment and come up with a similar "striped servant" class connected to the rakshasa, for example. And the couatl's jungle temples are rich with possibilities for creating your own organization - anything from secretive monks to weird spellcasters to friendly barbarian tribes could be living in the temples or nearby."