Illiterate Wizard - 80 spells

[weckar]

So I am playing a Wizard who is illiterate. Dm approved the Geometer's spell geometry as not counting as writing for the purpose, so I can use those. I am also using the tattoo spellbook.
This means that over my whole career I can effectively keep 80 spells. Currently I am one level away from 7th level spells, so by ratio I should have about 58 spells of 6th and below. Only banned school is enchantment.

Any clues on how to make these 80 slots go furthest?

[ryu]

Well for starters planar binding is the savior of anyone with a limited number of spells, or anyone with a limited number of actions per turn, or really lets be honest pretty much everyone.

Toolbox spells like polymorph are also musts.

Teleportation is just generally something you want as well as plane shifting.

Some action economy manipulation like celerity, contingency, nervseskitter and similar are also great.

Beyond that just load up on various useful things from conjuration, transmutation, and a few illusions.

If the number of spells is limited the correct answer is to pick spells that solve entire swaths of problems.

[EdRed]

Shadow Conjuration for variability.

Also, while you did not ask for it, you might be interested in the Eidetic Wizard ACF.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Look up the Easy Bake Wizard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?325933-Easy-Bake-Wizard-Handbook) to get the most possible spells without a spellbook.

[weckar]

Well for starters planar binding is the savior of anyone with a limited number of spells, or anyone with a limited number of actions per turn, or really lets be honest pretty much everyone.

Toolbox spells like polymorph are also musts.

Teleportation is just generally something you want as well as plane shifting.

Some action economy manipulation like celerity, contingency, nervseskitter and similar are also great.

Beyond that just load up on various useful things from conjuration, transmutation, and a few illusions.

If the number of spells is limited the correct answer is to pick spells that solve entire swaths of problems.
Planar binding and calling spells are unfortunately banned for cosmological reasons.

What's the source for celerity? Doesn't seem to be PHB (not to say I'm limited to PHB, but I cannot find it).

Regarding the Easy Bake (and similar suggestions I'm sure are coming): Build is set, I really only need spells.
Build is Metamagic Specialist/Overcharge Wizard, if it matters.

Eidetic is unfortunately out. And it wouldn't help much in learning new spells anyway, as I still need to read them from a spellbook and all.

[ryu]

The celerity line is players handbook 2 under transmutation levels 2 4 and 8. All are immediate action casts that allow you to take actions out of turn. The 4th celerity allows a standard action and is the most commonly used version. Greater at 8th allows a full round action or a standard and a move. Downside is that after taking your alloted action(s) you're dazed for your next turn. Plenty of ways around that or to just mitigate it though.

[weckar]

Thank you. That certainly does sound useful. I have no budget for any daze preventing items, though. I literally have 53GP on hand.

That said, it seems like a powerful option to have, if a slightly complicated one to use properly. I'll certainly give it my due consideration.

I'm also thinking of adding some scaling evocation and conjuration spells to the mix to make use of my metamagic/overcharge specialisation. Fireball is a given (AoE (18+1d6)d6 + prone? Yes please), as are a couple of orb spells; but are there any real gems I have missed?

[ryu]

Thank you. That certainly does sound useful. I have no budget for any daze preventing items, though. I literally have 53GP on hand.

That said, it seems like a powerful option to have, if a slightly complicated one to use properly. I'll certainly give it my due consideration.

I'm also thinking of adding some scaling evocation and conjuration spells to the mix to make use of my metamagic/overcharge specialisation. Fireball is a given (AoE (18+1d6)d6 + prone? Yes please), as are a couple of orb spells; but are there any real gems I have missed?

Well if you're looking for AoE ruin someone's day spells the various fog spells are necessary as is stinking cloud and evard's black tentacles of forced penetration. Using all three together gets you you whatever enemy you were dealing with screaming epithets at you unable to do much else unless they were immune to the various things used.

It's actually pretty common to put celerity inside your contingency and use that free action to either get away, completely swing the situation, or at higher levels timestop for even more shenanigans. It's actually one of the reasons wizards are so terrifying even among other casters. They natively get buttons that say No, shut up I go first. Even then. Especially then.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Find ways to get the sorcerer-only spells on your spell list. Wings of cover and wings of flurry both are fantastic spells, the former to protect you from basically any one-shot effect that can't ignore 100% cover, and the latter to whack enemies with little chance of retaliation.

You might want to look into the conjuror's abrupt jaunt ACF, from the PHBII. If you don't want to specialize, then once you have a bit of money available, invest in some shadow cloaks, from Drow of the Underdark. They're cheap (5,500 gp), and they give you either a nice miss chance for a round or the ability to teleport 10' as an immediate action 3/day. They don't have an attuning requirement, so you can swap one out for a second, third, or fourth one when you've used all the charges.

[weckar]

Build and budget were expressed above as being rather stuck, Maxi. Certainly things to look at down the line career wise though.

[ShurikVch]

How about the content from Dragon magazines?

#344 have Anagakok - wild and illiterate variant of Wizard, and the "spellbook", in that case is "just a piece of bark." (Belkar (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0132.html) :smallsmile:), or stone tablets, or some other easy-accessible-in-natural-environment stuff, and spells in it are written in made-up language (invented by the Anagakok in question)


I still need to read them from a spellbook and all.Just Read Magic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/readMagic.htm) :smallwink:

[weckar]

I considered Anagakok, but the banned schools didn't sit well with me.

Actually, relevant point: A domain Wizard's domain spells; do those still need to be written into a spellbook or do I just 'know' them the same way I know Read Magic?

[Vizzerdrix]

Get extra body space. Extra arms and wings should be easy to get and provide some more space.

[weckar]

Easy? I'd disagree with that. Plus, I don't want to look like a monster.

[Chronikoce]

I don't recall where exactly (complete arcane or mage maybe?) but I thought there were rules for alternate "spellbooks" somewhere. For something like a goblin wizard who carries pieces of bone with awkward stick figure drawings on them and uses that to prepare their spells.

Found it, pg 186-187 in complete arcane has rules for alternate spell storage including tattoos, paintings, structures, and small carved objects. You'd have to talk to your DM but perhaps letter you use the carved objects rules is something you could do.

[Necroticplague]

There are a few spells that are basically a bunch of spells smashed into one. The shadow conjuration+evocation line, polymorph line, the Image line....

[Extra Anchovies]

In case you actually want to stick with just 80 spells, I'll toss together a list. Wizards automatically learn four of each spell level below 9th, plus all cantrips, plus 1+Int 1st-level spells, plus four of whatever level they want, so I'll try to hold to those numbers.

Core only
0: Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Light, Message, Read Magic (not scribed)
1st: Color Spray, Protection from [alignment], Comprehend Languages, Feather Fall
2nd: Alter Self, Knock, Invisibility, Resist Energy
3rd: Dispel Magic, Slow, Fireball, Stinking Cloud
4th: Polymorph, Dimensional Anchor, Dimension Door, Black Tentacles
5th: Break Enchantment, Overland Flight, Wall of Force, Teleport
6th: Greater Dispel Magic, Acid Fog, True Seeing, Disintegrate
7th: Limited Wish, Plane Shift, Greater Teleport, Banishment
8th: Mind Blank, Discern Location, Polymorph Any Object, Polar Ray
9th: Shapechange, Time Stop, Astral Projection, Wish

It's a bit light on divinations and buffs, but it's got most of the really good utility spells and the scattered damage/control spells should be enough to get you through combat.

[Vizzerdrix]

Easy? I'd disagree with that. Plus, I don't want to look like a monster.

At least 2 feats grant wings. And we are all in a monster manual someplace.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Core only
0: Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Light, Message, Read Magic (not scribed)Needs moar prestidigitation. And outside of Core, the no light, sonic snap, and launch bolt cantrips are amazing if you apply some resources to them. The first, add a ring of the darkhidden and darkvision for a poor man's greater invisibility; the second, use metamagic like fell drain for a no-save debuff that will quickly kill almost anyone not immune to negative levels; and the third combines well with Huge or larger crossbow bolts for an early level telekinesis that deals a huge amount of potential damage, even at level 1.

[Vizzerdrix]

Really good cantrip recomendations

Launch bolt is great! You can do some silly stuff if you optomize around it and use enchanted bolts.

Id like to mention caltrops. Not amazing on its own, but a shaped, invisable, fell drained caltrop spell can blanket a huge area with all sorts of nasty debuffs for cheap. Even just invisable caltrops can put a stop to charging enemies.

[weckar]

Great suggestions all around. I am a huge fan of how metamagickable Caltrops is.

Still, in case anyone missed it: Are magic domain spells added to the 'spellbook', or do you just know them?