Grey Elf Wizard Optimisation 3.5

[ThatHobbitGuy]

I am playing a Grey elf Wizard for a campaign, and want to make it pretty powerful as thats what everyone else is doing. Our DM is allowing a low-level magic item at the start of the campaign. I understand that this is pretty vague, but feats, magic item or spell selection choices would all be appreciated, for low levels and future choices. Thanks in advance!

[Celestia]

Apply the unseelie fey template giving you total racial mods of -4 str, -4 con, +4 dex, +2 int, and +2 cha. Then tank your constitution as low as possible and slap on necropolitan to become undead and erase your terrible constitution. Then, grab up the faerie mysteries initiate feat so that you can key your bonus hit points off of intelligence, and now you're a wizard with d12+5 HP/level and a nice initiative bonus. Sure, your carrying capacity sucks but that's what the fighter or a mule are for.

[Anthrowhale]

What is the starting level?

[ZamielVanWeber]

Any guidance on what a "low level" magic item means? What is low to one person is insanely expensive to another given how rapidly expected WBL scales.

[Elves]

Apply the unseelie fey template giving you total racial mods of -4 str, -4 con, +4 dex, +2 int, and +2 cha. Then tank your constitution as low as possible and slap on necropolitan to become undead and erase your terrible constitution.

While str8/dex16/con8/int18/wis14/cha8 is the obvious preadjusted array for this, dex15/wis15 could be better in the long run so that they even out once you get +5 inherent.

[Asmotherion]

I am playing a Grey elf Wizard for a campaign, and want to make it pretty powerful as thats what everyone else is doing. Our DM is allowing a low-level magic item at the start of the campaign. I understand that this is pretty vague, but feats, magic item or spell selection choices would all be appreciated, for low levels and future choices. Thanks in advance!

Define low-level item...

Technically all you need is a cheap candle of invocation.

As for how to be a Wizard 1-0-1 read some guides. There are plenty of great guides in this forum.

Figure out how magic opperates as a whole (each school separetely). The more you understand the fundemental principles (and for example the diferance between an instantaneus conjuration (creation) spell and one with a listed duration to provide an example) the better you'll be able to select great spells and avoid trap options.

Then get access to spells that synergise with each other (for example that give diferent type of bonuses or that grant you variant imunities... some spells give you SLAs or allow you to use their attacs each round. if you want to dubble in blasting value those spells over instantaneus ones (minus orb spells; they are great). Never focus your build on Blasting: you can do much greater things... it's acceptable to blast as a seccondary solution but most of the time you're just using up spell slots that could do much greater things.

Become able to determine Value of a spell slot and if the investment is worth it in a particular scenario. Casting a spell such as Dissintergrate for example is considered a terrible spell slot investment except if you reliably are aware that your target has no spell resistance (or you can reliably overcome it-as in baring a natural 1) and a terrible Fortitude Save. A metamagic'd Orb spell is a far superior choice in all other instances (SR:No/no save/ranged touch attac (targets a low AC most of the time)) And that's if you even intend to blast wich is entirelly optional.

As for some really great PrCs incantatrix and archmage are the standard.

[Particle_Man]

Elf generalist wizard substitution level plus domain wizard from unearthed arcana gives you more spell slots and no banned schools.

[Efrate]

Spontaneous divination is not terrible at 5, and it qualifies you for versatile spellcaster which is not bad at all. Item familiars especially if you start with a magic item already are amazing. Have to be level 3 though.

Improved familiar ideally for an imp or a quasit once you qualify is great. With item familiar that's giving you triple actions in a round without anything else crazy. Take a raven until then for free wand usage, or a hummingbird for initiative.

Leadership if allowed is great giving you effectively an extra pc.

Eidetic spellcaster from dragon 357 makes you give up familiar and scribe scroll but eliminates the need for a spellbook. You can take obtain and improved familiar later. Or Dark chaos shuffle/psy reform your granted alertness or Elven weapon proficiencies to get them or something else back.

You should turn those proficiencies into something useful anyways when you can afford to because free feats might as well be useful.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use the fighter bonus feat variant in UA to get Improved Initiative instead of Scribe Scroll, and use the domain power ACF in CC for the Planning domain power to get Extend Spell at 5th. Get a hummingbird familiar, with the Elf Wizard substitution levels in RotW which should double the bonus it gives.

Combine the Elf Generalist substitution level with the Domain Wizard variant in UA as others have suggested. Get Iron Will from the Otyugh Hole in CS instead of spending a feat on it, and take Incantatrix in PGtF. Take Item Familiar in UA and invest as many skill ranks as possible into it to put a bonus on Spellcraft equal to your ranks at a given level. Take ten on the check to use Metamagic Effect to add Persistent Spell to your buffs.

[gorfnab]

Grey Elf Wizard with Eidetic Spellcaster, Domain Wizard, and Elf Generalist are basically the foundation of my Easy Bake Wizard setup. Check out the Easy Bake Wizard Handbook in my signature below.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Note that the hummingbird familiar from Dragon Magazine is conjurer only and is thus not compatible with elf generalist or domain wizard.

[Elves]

And EGW+DW aren't necessarily compatible anyway, cf that recent thread. But Abrupt Jaunt is too good to forgo so you'll have to take Obtain Familiar anyway, whether because of AJ or eidetic.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Abrupt Jaunt is also conjurer only. Conjuration got so many goodies that elf generalist accidentally developed a downside. Also conjuration... sheesh.

[ThatHobbitGuy]

Okay, so we are starting at level 1, but the DM is pretty lax when it comes to this as I have seen with other players, so something around there. Also, suggestions for magic items I could save up for would also be nice. I am looking into everything I have already seen and am liking it a lot. Thanks!

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Note that the hummingbird familiar from Dragon Magazine is conjurer only and is thus not compatible with elf generalist or domain wizard.

It says that it’s usually chosen by conjurers, not that it’s exclusive to them.

[Elves]

Abrupt Jaunt is also conjurer only. Conjuration got so many goodies that elf generalist accidentally developed a downside. Also conjuration... sheesh.

Sorry Zamiel, playtesting has shown that Conjuration is extremely weak because my celestial dog from Summon Monster I only does 1d4+1 damage on a hit while Magic Missile does 1d4+1 damage automatically and can shoot twice as far as the dog can run. The math doesn't lie. Love, Monte.

[ThanatosZero]

Okay, so we are starting at level 1, but the DM is pretty lax when it comes to this as I have seen with other players, so something around there. Also, suggestions for magic items I could save up for would also be nice. I am looking into everything I have already seen and am liking it a lot. Thanks!

If you are interrested into making your Grey Elf Wizard into a gish, which also increases his odds of suriving, I have this quick build for you.

Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 3/Dragonslayer 1/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight +5 (8)
or
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Dragonslayer 1/Spellsword 1/Eldritch Knight +5 (8)

At the 1st level, you take the Militia feat, which grants you profiency in all martial weapons, which qualifies you for Eldritch Knight and Abjurant Champion.
From the 3rd level on, you can visit the magic location, the Otyugh Hole, to gain Iron Will as a Bonus Feat.
And once you take a level in Eldritch Knight, you take Dodge as the Fighter Bonus Feat offered by the PrC.

Those two feats qualifies you for Dragonslayer, which gives you immunity to fear,+1 BAB, continued Spellcasting and profiencies in all armors and shields, which in turn qualifies you for Spellsword.

With these and the levels taken in Abjurant Champion and Eldritch Knight, you will have 17 BAB and 19/20 Wizard Spellcasting, alongside with way more Hit Points and higher Saves.

[BaronDoctor]

Find out what the rest of your party is playing.

Rogues will really love Invisibility, for example. Fighters love getting baddies funnelled to them, preferably weakened into punching bags. Other full-casters might take certain spells preferentially so you might not need to cover them as much (Sorcerer that loves blowing stuff up? You can take more utility stuff. Cleric that loves casting protective buffs? You can lean more on the offense side of things.)

Generally? Wizards do well being "players" instead of "pieces". Ranged damage, melee tripping, etc. are all "pieces". They move into a place and do their thing. You can start doing this with first level spells, even. Buffing (Enlarge Person on a big hitter will let them hit harder and with reach), debuffing (Color Spray and Sleep can turn early encounters into experience pinatas), and battlefield control (Grease, because who puts points into Balance?) with the odd spell to handle weird stuff that other characters can't do (Magic Missile, as a Force effect, can hit stuff that's otherwise tricky to handle with steel; Silent Image has a ton of uses; Alarm reduces one's need to keep watch in the night).

Elven Generalist comes highly recommended, of course.

Collegiate Wizard to get more free spell picks is a pretty good call (and provide a bit of "scholar" flavor to go with the assorted knowledge skills you'll no doubt be taking because the wizard skill list has them.)

Far as the magic item? I'm thinking Anklet of Translocation. Relatively cheap (1400 gp; potentially a family heirloom sort of thing) on-your-turn (or a readied action) "Be Somewhere Else". This has multiple applications, from getting up to a higher vantage point (rooftop in a city, tree limb in a forest) to getting away from whatever Big Scary Thing has decided they want to cave in your skull and preferably putting someone more armored between you and them.

[RatElemental]

Sorry Zamiel, playtesting has shown that Conjuration is extremely weak because my celestial dog from Summon Monster I only does 1d4+1 damage on a hit while Magic Missile does 1d4+1 damage automatically and can shoot twice as far as the dog can run. The math doesn't lie. Love, Monte.

Was this meant to be blue? Conjuration gets to break action economy and teleport.

[Efrate]

Monte cook was a designer for 3.5. He likely would have said that in all seriousness because devs do not understand their own game. Blue may have helped but Monte would have said and believed that.

[Endarire]

Easy Bake Wizard (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=12336.0).

As for items, I like more spells for m' spellbook, more scrolls/wands, Anklets of Translocation, metamagic rods, Chronocharms, Healing Belts, magical storage (Haversacks), Warbeast creatures as pets, and expensive spell components. There are probably more.

If you're feeling cheesy/bold, ask your GM about this combo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?597394-Viability-of-Elf-Generalist-Wizard-Domain-Wizard-quot-Leapfrog-quot-combo-(cont-from-2016)).

[Doctor Awkward]

Elf generalist wizard substitution level plus domain wizard from unearthed arcana gives you more spell slots and no banned schools.

Those two variants both modify a wizard's school specialization and are therefore mutually exclusive.