Shadowcraft Mage looking for tips what school should I ban?

[Zephonim]

I can take flaws and my gm has a custom rule stating you can forsake 5 skillpoints to get a feat. If you don't get a feat that level that is.

Going wizard.

Starting level 7 with School Mastery acf dropping my familiar for +cl on illusions and 10% to shadow spells if disbeleived.

Arcane Gnome Illusionist Wizard 3/Shadowcraft Mage 4 with 21 int(before items). I'm going to use earth spell and easy metamagic(heighten) to get in at 4th level. I kind of wanted to a do a bit of debuffing as well but i'm unsure.

I had been thinking of taking illusion mastery and lose the specialist slot for being able to prepare all my illusion spells without a spellbook and get 2 illusion spells a level on top of 2 generalist spells. Then taking Focused specialist for the 2 specialist slots but that means if i took Incantrix I would have to ban 4 schools.

I know i'm definitely dropping evocation, probably enchantment? But mind fog is pretty good.

So far my feats are

1st: Heighten Spell
Flaw: Earth Sense
Flaw: Earth Spell
2nd(Spent 5 skill points): Easy Metamagic(Heighten Spell)
3rd: Spell Focus(Illusion)
4th: Arcane Thesis(Silent Image)
6th: Extend Spell (For quadruple duration illusions... sweet sweet quadrupled Greater invis) Also with arcane thesis i can make every one of my spells extended. Also for persist once im an incantrix.

I was thinking of getting Signature spell to spontaneously cast minor image but then casting it with metamagics is a full round action isn't it? Or get ability focus shadowcasting to boost the saves on my illusion evocation and conjurations

Will purchase iron will via otyugh hole

This character's made for a political intrigue campaign(possibly gonna be assassinating political figures and ****) so he's gonna be focusing on silent entries but if **** hits the fan going all the **** out with Heightened silent image and creating walls of iron to block guards and **** like that. It's a 2 person campaign me and a factotum dwarf.

[Rebel7284]

First of all, just a quick sanity check, early entry shadowcraft mage casting spells several levels above what is typically allowed is too powerful for many groups even before Incantantrix. Make sure this is appropriate for yours.

If you are going all out though, you should probably take more feats. Your int is high enough that you can spend the 5 skill points at every level that you're allowed.

For banned schools, I would go with (in order):
Evocation
Enchantment
Necromancy
Conjuration

Typically banning conjuration is a terrible, terrible idea, but you have access to a good 85%-90% of the school with Shadow Illusion.

I will say that giving up the specialist slots for one ACF and then getting them all back with another feels cheesy to me.

[Zephonim]

First of all, just a quick sanity check, early entry shadowcraft mage casting spells several levels above what is typically allowed is too powerful for many groups even before Incantantrix. Make sure this is appropriate for yours.

If you are going all out though, you should probably take more feats. Your int is high enough that you can spend the 5 skill points at every level that you're allowed.

For banned schools, I would go with (in order):
Evocation
Enchantment
Necromancy
Conjuration

Typically banning conjuration is a terrible, terrible idea, but you have access to a good 85%-90% of the school with Shadow Illusion.

I will say that giving up the specialist slots for one ACF and then getting them all back with another feels cheesy to me.

Im playing a hulking hurler in the gms other game. Ally is going frenzied berserker. Oh and the guy made 30k off hemp and hadnt even sold 5% of his stock. I spent the whole time digging a 3 mile tunnel with a wrecking ball to smuggle **** out of the city.

My clan weaved hemp bags. Its uh rather unorthodox game. The frenzied is using a sizing sword with fleshgrinding for massive damage.

[Stealth Marmot]

Typically banning conjuration is a terrible, terrible idea, but you have access to a good 85%-90% of the school with Shadow Illusion.


The problem really is that the remaining 10-15% includes teleport, thus removing the best way of travel in the game.

[Zephonim]

The problem really is that the remaining 10-15% includes teleport, thus removing the best way of travel in the game.

Well i can always use Phantom Steed and Shadow Walk.

Essentially he does not like teleportation spells.

[Rebel7284]

Between arcane gnome's access to UMD (even with the hit to skillpoints) and Arcane Disciple for teleport via Miracle, I think teleport is within easy reach.

[Zephonim]

Between arcane gnome's access to UMD (even with the hit to skillpoints) and Arcane Disciple for teleport via Miracle, I think teleport is within easy reach.

Uh... i can't use any scrolls of banned schools.


I mean those 2 extra spell slots would be amazing... but maybe i shouldn't ban conjuration.

[Rebel7284]

Uh... i can't use any scrolls of banned schools.

Hmr? That's an interesting houserule. UMD typically allows getting around all these limitations.

[Zephonim]

Hmr? That's an interesting houserule. UMD typically allows getting around all these limitations.

Description on the srd for wizard says you cant even cast scrolls of your banned school

[Silva Stormrage]

Description on the srd for wizard says you cant even cast scrolls of your banned school

Wizards can defaultly use scrolls of wizard/sorc spells even if they haven't learned them yet. What that line is referring to is that a wizard can not defaultly use a scroll of his barred school. It's effectively the same as trying to use a scroll of a spell from the cleric's list a wizard isn't able to do that.

UMD bypasses that though, a wizard with UMD could use a scroll of a spell from his barred school or a divine spell from the cleric spell list.

Or at least thats how I always saw it.

[ryu]

Wizards can defaultly use scrolls of wizard/sorc spells even if they haven't learned them yet. What that line is referring to is that a wizard can not defaultly use a scroll of his barred school. It's effectively the same as trying to use a scroll of a spell from the cleric's list a wizard isn't able to do that.

UMD bypasses that though, a wizard with UMD could use a scroll of a spell from his barred school or a divine spell from the cleric spell list.

Or at least thats how I always saw it.

And if you want to argue on some RAW ground that UMD doesn't bypass this just hand the object to your familiar and share your ranks. There's no rule preventing the familiar from doing anything like that. This is how I react to people attempting to use fiddly details to say I can't do a particular thing. I could argue their actual wording/intent/whatever else, or I could simply show their limitation to be pointless and inconsequential.

[Zephonim]

And if you want to argue on some RAW ground that UMD doesn't bypass this just hand the object to your familiar and share your ranks. There's no rule preventing the familiar from doing anything like that. This is how I react to people attempting to use fiddly details to say I can't do a particular thing. I could argue their actual wording/intent/whatever else, or I could simply show their limitation to be pointless and inconsequential.

Gave up familiar for illusion mastery. But i can totally get a follower

[ryu]

Gave up familiar for illusion mastery. But i can totally get a follower

I mean if you can spare a feat you can still get one, and unlike normal familiars it'll scale with any caster PRCs you take. I know you can't get a hummingbird for +4 initiative, but you can still get his pretty cool little brother that gives +3.