3.5/PF Seeking Spell Advice (Conjuration, Divination, and Transmutation)

[Talothorn]

From Conjuration, Divination, and Transmutation, what spells should no wizard be without?


(Background: I'm playing a focused specialist necromancer gestalted with cleric. My three main focuses are undead hordes, debuffs, and religious proselytizing. My forbidden schools are illusion, enchantment, and evocation. I am looking over my wizard spell lists, I want to make sure I haven't missed any critical spells.)

[Ramza00]

(This is always true but especially true for gestalt with another spellcaster.)

Spell Mastery Feat

Uncanny Forethought Feat (Exemplars of Evil but accessible to anyone, requires Spell Mastery.)

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Leave up to Int Modifier Spell Slots open.

Aka you are your own Mage of the Arcane Order (but better in most ways) where you can spontaneously cast any spell you have in spell mastery in those empty spell slots as a standard action. (Something Mage of the Arcane Order Can't Do.)

Or as a full round action you can cast any spell that you have knowledge of even if you did not prepare that spell today. Wizards know all spells they have scribed in their spell books even if the book is not on hand (clerics know all cleric spells period.) This is actually faster than the spell pull for a full round action to cast the spell is shorter than 1 full round action to retrieve the spell and you do not get the spell until next round and then you have to use your normal casting time to cast the spell. In addition this method of spellcasting takes -2 on the caster level but the standard action spell mastery option does not have a caster level decrease.

Uncanny Forethought has no spellpool debt, but you do have to leave spell slots option but is this really a downside when you get to fill these spells up and cast a spell almost as normal?

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Now this gives you so much freedom of spellcasting but you may still want some spell help just for your "defaults." But to help you with the defaults we need to know what level you are starting and what level do you expect to end up with?

[Talothorn]

But to help you with the defaults we need to know what level you are starting and what level do you expect to end up with?

So, I'm already epic level. 25th on each side, with some prestige classes on the wizard side. Cleric side is straight cleric 20 then High Proselytizer (librum eternia, not ELH)

We run at a high level of optimization, not quite TO, but definitely high. (Its gestalt, with some extra feats.) Epic spellcasting and undead leadership.

I have a really good compliment of spells, with cleric (death and war domains) filling in nicely for the 3 barred schools. The only thing I feel like I missed out on was some of the shadow spells, but that wasn't too bad.

My feats are filled, with arcane thesis on enervation and some nice boosts (black lore of moil, fell drain, etc). I also have DMM persist, which has been handy. (Blackfire is my favorite persisted spell right now.)

Master of necromancy let's my necro spells blow through death ward, and extended necromancy (from crypt lord) let's me count some transmutation spells as necromancy spells.

I just got access to a spell library, and want to take the opportunity to make sure I haven't missed any great spells from the other schools. The rest of the build is kinda locked, unless I start retraining feats when I level up. I dont plan to take regular feats in epic feat slots.

[Eldariel]

Well, there's the obvious "broken" list:
- Planar Binding/Greater Planar Binding/Gate (best underling generation in the game, relevant well into the epics)
- Draconic Polymorph/Polymorph Any Object/Shapechange (gain all the abilities in the game and any stats you want)

Then, for utility, Contact Other Plane, Foresight, Moment of Prescience, Time Stop and company. Also arguably Nerveskitter, though you probably have better use for your Immediate Actions by this point. Such as Celerity/Greater Celerity, which just so happen to be transmutation. Combine with Quick Recovery [Lords of Madness], Favor of the Martyr [Spell Compendium] (Miracle and persist it) or similar for free actions at any point.

That's it for the bare essentials off the top of my head (you're missing out huge with Illusion though; Ice Assassin, Simulacrum, Shadow X, etc.). Of course the game is chockful of great spells but, well, Treantmonk's God Wizard Guide does a pretty good job of giving you tips on those.