3.5 Level 12 Wizard Build Help. Please.

[Taoofbalance]

Hello everyone!

I'm in a campaign where the DM is letting me create a level 12 Wizard. The character will be human, for story reasons. I am also getting a hefty amount of gold for a level 12 character, 148,000 gold pieces.

The party has damage and heals, it sorely is lacking in the control department though. There are so many spells and magic items out there that I am overwhelmed, not sure where to start or what's 'best'. All source books are open for use, provided I can supply the book it came from.

Any help is appreciated. I'm particularly looking for aid in the spells and magical items.

I'm looking at Wizard into Mage of the Arcane Order and then Archmage. Think this is good? Or would something like Wizard into Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil be better?

Thanks in advance.

-Tao

[Blu]

Depends on the route you wanna follow.
If you intend on focusing on Metamagic, Incantrix and Ultimate Magus are your way to go.
For covering more bases, Mage of the Arcane order is very solid
Initiate of the sevenfold veil is also a insteresting PrC with it's unique abilitys.
Master Specialist is also interesting if you wanna look at it.

Archmage is a very strong choice for your last levels, since it's abilitys put a lot on the table.

What is the party composition and what type of wizard are you thinking on doing?

[Taoofbalance]

As of now we have a Battle Cleric, a bard, dulist/swashbuckler and a rogue/soul knife. It's not a very optimized group, but works fairly well.

I want to avoid using summons, for simplicity. I was thinking of being a generalist, and use my spells to shape and control the battlefield.

I'm open to advice.

[Gusmo]

If it's not an optimized group, I think you're on the right track with battlefield control and buffing. The war weaver prestige class from Heroes of Battle might interest you.

[Blu]

Generalist is also a good choice. It's also nice if you strap Elven generalist and Collegiate wizard with it. You could fill very roles or change them frequently.

[ATHATH]

Have a handbook: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=394.0

[Taoofbalance]

Should have mentioned that I've read the wizards guide, the one about wizards being God and Batman.

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate it.