Spore
2018-06-17, 04:29 PM
I play an evil Gnome Wizard in an PbP game on this forum (sheet's in my signature). I got exceptionally lucky with my rolls and sport 20 Int already. My backstory consists of an apprenticeship with a Lich (not necessarily a necromancer) and my current arcane focus is a shard of his phylactery.
I can explain almost any spell school, beginning on my old master's arcane tradition, continuing with my affection to tinkering (thanks to the rock gnome's racials). I want early power - so waiting for necromancy's 6th level effects on minionmancy is really not optimal to me - since PbP games rarely survive long enough. This might be an exception, though. In fact I'll consider the 6th level class feature my capstone.
My character is also of the mind set that problems not involving magic are bothersome and boring, and that magic is the only threat and solution to his problems. Let's do a run down. Also the setting is pretty strapped for money. Our starting money was in silver, so I got a wopping 1 gp to my name, but I have also found an apprentice's spellbook containing 9 spells I don't know. Inscribing spells WILL be an issue so the x Savant class feature is actually a live saver.
As an evil party, we will likely plan robberies, kidnappings and other nefarious deeds. So if planned correctly I need a bit of utility. I try to basically be the leader that loves it when a plan comes together (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_%22Hannibal%22_Smith).
Artificer (UA): I requested this and this looks like it meshes pretty well with my concept and group. Infuse Potion is good for utility (our fighter will love the growth potions, the rogue will like the climbing potions, and everyone likes healing (though the 10 minute craft means no saving people from imminent death and the spell slot tax early on is heavy). Scrolls make me more flexible.
Con: This spec is incredibly slow.
Bladesinging does not fit the character nor the requirements.
Lore Mastery (UA): This would actually be right up Wilfred's alley. But it's OP as heck and the DM will likely just shut it down. Lore Master let's me basically use my monster manual as a handy prop for the character as it is unlikely I DON'T know a creature. Combined with spell secrets one can incredibly abuse the save throw feature, directly target the weaknesses. And it just gets better after that.
I'd like the power trip and I would play the character more daring as a result. But I can't think of a thing that would make my DM say: "Oh, that looks properly balanced. Just take it. You won't overshadow anyone."
Abjuration: A solid pick, but somewhat boring without Projected Ward. I have Shield, I cast Mage Armor and I position myself very conservatively. Yes, preventing 6 damage can be crucial, and an explosion hitting my face, dust settling and me standing there without a scratch is very anime-esque (and bad-ass).
Plus, I think my character could very well reverse the stupid-evil trope. "A villain that survives is a villain that has another chance at winning." Plus this is an evil game. I figure a bit of backstabbing and mingling for power will be part of the ride. I will definitely prepare my spells not only for PvE encounters. (a shield spell is good vs. a pissed off fighter, or a backstabbing rogue can be shut down by a shield spell)
Conjuration: mechanically weak. I can do a bit of RP about conjuring demons and the like. But really if I wanted to deal with fiends and the like, I'd have rolled a warlock.
Divination: another good one imho. Knowing what your enemies do is gold. Controlling the strands of fate is exactly what a character made out of hubris, bad mouth hygiene and yelling would love. Expert divination is just gravy, allowing me to divine regularly without suffering a penalty in spell slots.
Enchantment: sounds nice, but it REALLY depends on the DM imho. Plus, we have a very cranky fighter, a duplicious backstabbing rogue and a mean dwarven druid. I am not sure the subtle art of enchantment is our style. (short question: hypnotic gaze works exactly once on a creature. but does that mean I can gaze attack everyone i havent gazed in the last 24 hours?).
Plus my character is the shouty type: I'd shout stuff like: YES SUCCUMB TO THE WILL OF WILFRED THE ALLMIGHTY! when casting this. Yes, it's silly but so is the campaign.
Evocation: Yea standard blasting thing. Honestly, especially in PbP I am looking for ways to AVOID combat because it slow down the game a lot!
Illusion: Yea, a staple for (at least AD&D) gnomes. Sadly I am not as imaginative as other players out there. Plus illusions feel just like exploiting the game system. That doesn't really fly with me as well. Yes I can illusion a wall before the entrance of the alleyway.
The school's fine but unless a very convincing guy posts here, it will not fly with me.
School of Invention: I dont like RNG. I dont want to ask for this UA. Skip it. It is not what an Int 20 guy would do. I mean unless his Wisdom is negative.
Necromancy: Hooo boy. Talk about a screwed up school. Regain health for kills. Nice concept. When you consider you should be out of harm's way as a wizard, it becomes bad. If you see that it only doubles the healing from necromantic spells, it becomes a question of which damaging necromancy you have. It doesn't work on Chill Touch so this becomes triply bad. Yes, ripping out a creature's life force is nice. But you have to actively kill steal as well for this.
It really is about the undead minions. Wilfred wants minions, really really badly. But Animate Dead is just...why would I expend my highest spell slots for mindless servants? I got a group of mindless idiots that stand in melee already!
Transmutation: The feature is slow and cannot be used to generate money. I mean you could trick fences into buying this stolen "silver"ware. But it about stops here.
What are your thoughts? What are clever low level spell combos for the enterprising villain of today? Is there a way to set up a lair with little to no money (we are robbing a good aligned wizard's house at the moment but his lackeys are actually evil and I assume this all is a farce)? Another plot hook is promising "unlimited power". Yes, it is a direct quote. Obviously we should trust this contact instantly.
I can explain almost any spell school, beginning on my old master's arcane tradition, continuing with my affection to tinkering (thanks to the rock gnome's racials). I want early power - so waiting for necromancy's 6th level effects on minionmancy is really not optimal to me - since PbP games rarely survive long enough. This might be an exception, though. In fact I'll consider the 6th level class feature my capstone.
My character is also of the mind set that problems not involving magic are bothersome and boring, and that magic is the only threat and solution to his problems. Let's do a run down. Also the setting is pretty strapped for money. Our starting money was in silver, so I got a wopping 1 gp to my name, but I have also found an apprentice's spellbook containing 9 spells I don't know. Inscribing spells WILL be an issue so the x Savant class feature is actually a live saver.
As an evil party, we will likely plan robberies, kidnappings and other nefarious deeds. So if planned correctly I need a bit of utility. I try to basically be the leader that loves it when a plan comes together (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_%22Hannibal%22_Smith).
Artificer (UA): I requested this and this looks like it meshes pretty well with my concept and group. Infuse Potion is good for utility (our fighter will love the growth potions, the rogue will like the climbing potions, and everyone likes healing (though the 10 minute craft means no saving people from imminent death and the spell slot tax early on is heavy). Scrolls make me more flexible.
Con: This spec is incredibly slow.
Bladesinging does not fit the character nor the requirements.
Lore Mastery (UA): This would actually be right up Wilfred's alley. But it's OP as heck and the DM will likely just shut it down. Lore Master let's me basically use my monster manual as a handy prop for the character as it is unlikely I DON'T know a creature. Combined with spell secrets one can incredibly abuse the save throw feature, directly target the weaknesses. And it just gets better after that.
I'd like the power trip and I would play the character more daring as a result. But I can't think of a thing that would make my DM say: "Oh, that looks properly balanced. Just take it. You won't overshadow anyone."
Abjuration: A solid pick, but somewhat boring without Projected Ward. I have Shield, I cast Mage Armor and I position myself very conservatively. Yes, preventing 6 damage can be crucial, and an explosion hitting my face, dust settling and me standing there without a scratch is very anime-esque (and bad-ass).
Plus, I think my character could very well reverse the stupid-evil trope. "A villain that survives is a villain that has another chance at winning." Plus this is an evil game. I figure a bit of backstabbing and mingling for power will be part of the ride. I will definitely prepare my spells not only for PvE encounters. (a shield spell is good vs. a pissed off fighter, or a backstabbing rogue can be shut down by a shield spell)
Conjuration: mechanically weak. I can do a bit of RP about conjuring demons and the like. But really if I wanted to deal with fiends and the like, I'd have rolled a warlock.
Divination: another good one imho. Knowing what your enemies do is gold. Controlling the strands of fate is exactly what a character made out of hubris, bad mouth hygiene and yelling would love. Expert divination is just gravy, allowing me to divine regularly without suffering a penalty in spell slots.
Enchantment: sounds nice, but it REALLY depends on the DM imho. Plus, we have a very cranky fighter, a duplicious backstabbing rogue and a mean dwarven druid. I am not sure the subtle art of enchantment is our style. (short question: hypnotic gaze works exactly once on a creature. but does that mean I can gaze attack everyone i havent gazed in the last 24 hours?).
Plus my character is the shouty type: I'd shout stuff like: YES SUCCUMB TO THE WILL OF WILFRED THE ALLMIGHTY! when casting this. Yes, it's silly but so is the campaign.
Evocation: Yea standard blasting thing. Honestly, especially in PbP I am looking for ways to AVOID combat because it slow down the game a lot!
Illusion: Yea, a staple for (at least AD&D) gnomes. Sadly I am not as imaginative as other players out there. Plus illusions feel just like exploiting the game system. That doesn't really fly with me as well. Yes I can illusion a wall before the entrance of the alleyway.
The school's fine but unless a very convincing guy posts here, it will not fly with me.
School of Invention: I dont like RNG. I dont want to ask for this UA. Skip it. It is not what an Int 20 guy would do. I mean unless his Wisdom is negative.
Necromancy: Hooo boy. Talk about a screwed up school. Regain health for kills. Nice concept. When you consider you should be out of harm's way as a wizard, it becomes bad. If you see that it only doubles the healing from necromantic spells, it becomes a question of which damaging necromancy you have. It doesn't work on Chill Touch so this becomes triply bad. Yes, ripping out a creature's life force is nice. But you have to actively kill steal as well for this.
It really is about the undead minions. Wilfred wants minions, really really badly. But Animate Dead is just...why would I expend my highest spell slots for mindless servants? I got a group of mindless idiots that stand in melee already!
Transmutation: The feature is slow and cannot be used to generate money. I mean you could trick fences into buying this stolen "silver"ware. But it about stops here.
What are your thoughts? What are clever low level spell combos for the enterprising villain of today? Is there a way to set up a lair with little to no money (we are robbing a good aligned wizard's house at the moment but his lackeys are actually evil and I assume this all is a farce)? Another plot hook is promising "unlimited power". Yes, it is a direct quote. Obviously we should trust this contact instantly.