Wizard build help? 17th level.

[Mr Beer]

So I've played AD&D before and a bit of 5e but don't have much experience with it. My DM is going to run a high level module in Forgotten Realms and has said we should come up with high-powered builds. I don't know how to go about this.

This is the brief:

1. Random stat rolls, 4d6, discard worst dice, 7 rolls, discard worst roll, assign as desired.

2. 17th level.

3. Any class/race/options with the exception of material not physically published, this apparently excludes Unearthed Arcana.

4. Forgotten Realms setting.

5. Everyone gets 3 magic items, one of which is Legendary and others are weaker.

My personal aims are:

1. High powered / cheesy but not Pun-pun.

2. I like wizards so wizard.

Can anyone please give me a hand with this? Thanks in advance.

[CTurbo]

High Elf or Eladrin Knowledge Cleric 1/ Abjuration Wizard 16

Wear Medium Armor and use Shield. Max Int, Take Alert and Warcaster. Take Wiz 17 at next level and then finish Cleric 3. Win.

[Vorpalchicken]

I'd go pure wizard so you don't have to wait for level 9 spells.

For an item I'd go with a Robe of the Arch Magi, ramping up your DC among other things

I think illusionists would be super fun at high level.

Another approach could be a greedy thief who has a staff of the magi pretending to be a wizard

[Davrix]

Character

Variant Human for the extra feat

You will want to get Int to max and make sure you get a pretty decent con. Other stats to worry about then would be Wisdom and Dex as they are the most common saves. Str and Char are least important for the most part. Especially if this is a very blast end game you are not gonna need much in the way of social skills like early game requires.

Feats to consider

Toughness - its nice at this level its a good chunk of extra HP
Resilience in one or two stats for the extra save bonuses unless you have a paladin with a high Char and then 30ft aura then not as needed.

If this is a very combat heavy game you will want to grab Wish and Meteor as your two level nine spells at 17.

Items

Robe of the archmage for your legendary with a staff of Power if you are also allowed a very rare

The other thing I would suggest then is either a Rod of absorption or a Ring of spell storing.

Unless the DM is letting you have the stat books then forget the rod or the ring and get the +2 Int book


Some things to ask your DM

Do you get any spell scrolls from your time being a wizard?

How your Dm rules the Clone spell, Simulacrum and Wish spells. So you know how you can use them and how NOT to annoy your DM

Wizards can craft magic items pretty easily, see if you cant weasel your way to a few uncommon magic items like a bag of holding or goggles of night if you are a human.

[CTurbo]

I 100% agree with Robe of the Arch Magi

I would go Abjuration all the way. Just SO powerful especially at high levels. Going pure Abjurer would be fine, but I figured Abjur 17 and 3 levels of something else would be a lot of fun too.

Here is another idea.

High Elf or Eladrin Abjur 17/Warlock Fey/Tome 3

Take the At-Will Mage Armor Invocation and spam it, be able to cast every Ritual. Spam the Alarm ritual.

Max Dex and Int and have at least a 16 Cha. Should be easy with rolled stats.

You'd basically keep your Arcane Ward filled up and wreak havoc on the enemies.

[Silkensword]

I would suggest you Read Treantmonks guide to wizards for play as well as build advice, and a personal favourite of mine is Inquisitor Lims excellent guide to bladesingers.

[Rolero]

If you want to mess with your DM and have some fun, go Halfling Diviner 17 and grab Lucky.
You will have three portents, three rerolls per day and can reroll all the 1's you like.

I will keep it pure wizard, since that nets you access to 9th level spells (Wish, Time Stop, Foresigth...)

For your legendary I would pick archmage robes or a staff of power.

[Mr Beer]

Thank you for feedback so far, it's appreciated.

I need to go for max power at the stated level of 17...I get the impression there's not going to be a lot more levelling. It needs to turn up cheesemaxed at the start.

The DM explicitly said that going pure is an advantage because level 9 spells but against that, there may be multiclass cheese. So I'm not sure which way to flip.

Again, very much appreciate the input provided.

[CTurbo]

Thank you for feedback so far, it's appreciated.

I need to go for max power at the stated level of 17...I get the impression there's not going to be a lot more levelling. It needs to turn up cheesemaxed at the start.

The DM explicitly said that going pure is an advantage because level 9 spells but against that, there may be multiclass cheese. So I'm not sure which way to flip.

Again, very much appreciate the input provided.


Have you rolled your stats yet? What are they?


I stand by Abjurer. Just go full Abjur 17. Max Int and Dex. I recommend Ritual Caster. Tough, Alert, and Lucky are all good choices too.

When/If you hit level 18, take Shield and Mage Armor as your Spell Mastery choices.

[Vorpalchicken]

Abjurers are very strong. One slight consideration is that you likely already have advantage versus spells due to your legendary item. Someone should have probably brought up Diviners since they have the classic godlike wizard ability.

I'm still a huge fan of illusionists but it's power could suffer from certain DMs and the greater incidence of true sight etc at high levels. There are lots of great illusion spells that aren't simple "see through and ignore" spells however.
I also agree that toughness and lucky are great feats for a wizard (and their simulacrum!)

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Pure Bladesinger or Abjurer is extremely potent at this level thanks to their synergy with Shapechange. Say hello to the bladesinging Pit Fiend or the one with a pile of ablative hp.

Illusionist is also pretty fancy thanks to Illusory Reality.

Regardless of Tradition choice, however, at 17th level pure wizard > everything else, simply thanks to access to 9th level spells. Speaking of which, True Polymorph and Shapechange should be your go-to options for 9th level, along with maybe Foresight - the benefits from them are simply so much more wide-ranging and lasting than blowing it on Meteor Swarm or something. The only real rival to them is Wish, simply for its versatility and usefulness as a get-out-of-jail-free card. (That said, never cast an unsafe wish if you can possibly avoid it. Dying is generally preferable as long as you have a clone backup or your body can be recovered.)

When you hit 18th level, Shield should absolutely be your 1st level pick for Spell Mastery. 2nd level is a bit more open, though Misty Step is my personal recommendation.

For your legendary item, the best choices are probably Robe of the Archmagi, Staff of the Magi, and maaybe the Ring of Three Wishes. Of the three i'd personally go for the former. As to other items, the first thing to ask is whether Tomes are allowable, in which case a good choice would simply be as many Tomes of Clear Thought as you can get. Other good options include a Staff of Power, an Amulet of Health (combined with sticking your worst stat roll into con) or a Belt of Fire Giant Strength (helpful for Bladesingers, and also for TP/Shapechange - remember, magic items generally resize/reshape to fit the owner, and pretty much anything can wear a belt). Overall, my item choices would probably be: Robes of the Archmagi, Staff of Power and Tome of Clear Thought (replaced with Belt of Fire Giant Strength if Tomes aren't OK).




When/If you hit level 18, take Shield and Mage Armor as your Spell Mastery choices.

You can't do that. Spell Mastery only lets you take a 1st level spell and a 2nd level spell, not two first level ones.

And frankly Mage Armour seems a very poor choice anyway, given its extremely long duration. If you just want a spell you can repeatedly cast to restore Arcane Ward, your best option (well, your only one without giving up Shield) is taking Arcane Lock and making sure to carry around a small box or something.

[Domere]

Regardless of Tradition choice, however, at 17th level pure wizard > everything else, simply thanks to access to 9th level spells.
No, Not even close.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

No, Not even close.

Even if anyone cared to listen to your soon-to-be-rebanned trolling, LordDrako, OP specified that they wanted to play a Wizard, so the choice is not between Wizard and something else, but between Wizard and multiclass Wizard (and so between 9th level spells and not 9th level spells, which 9th level spells wins). So kindly take your evangelism for your beloved Sorcerer Kings somewhere else for the short time you remain here.

[Domere]

OP specified that they wanted to play a Wizard, so the choice is not between Wizard and something else, but between Wizard and multiclass Wizard (and so between 9th level spells and not 9th level spells, which 9th level spells wins)
Ok, fair enough

[Davrix]

trrrryyyyyy to butter up your DM, take him out to a nice dinner. Get him some flowers and then show him the Lore wizard UA write up and ask pretty pretty pretty please if you can have that one.

[Fire Tarrasque]

Ignore Domere. He's a troll.

Anyhow, if you just want to kill all the things, take a Robe of the Archmagi or Staff of Power and go Evo Wiz. Simple, yet effective and fun. Or do the same but take Divination instead. Portent is amazing.

[Davrix]

I've gotten to play a lv 20 lore wizard in a one shot.... it was amazing and soooo broken but oh god so much fun having a DC 25 on my spells (He had a staff of power and ROTAM)

[Mr Beer]

OK lots of good stuff here. Seems to be pretty strong consensus on what magic items I should be going for and looks like pure wizard is a decent choice. Will check into treantmonk's guide when I get a chance.

Thanks all for the feedback.

[CTurbo]

Diviners and Abjurers are probably the strongest schools. Diviner is probably best at mid levels because Portent is just awesome, but I really think Abjurerers are best after level 14.

Illusionists and Enchanters are possibly the most fun from a RP standpoint, but they're also somewhat DM dependent on what you'll be able to get away with.