Optimized Enchanter help

[Deadkitten]

Alright. All the guides were not super helpful on playing an enchanter in 3.5 because, naturally, it's less than ideal.
But let's just say that I have a way around mind affecting immunity.
What do you guys think are the best enchanter builds?
Any ideas are appreciated.

[Particle_Man]

Do you mean wizard enchantment specialist only?

Otherwise Beguiler is pretty good right out of the box.

[Deadkitten]

Do you mean wizard enchantment specialist only?

Otherwise Beguiler is pretty good right out of the box.

Heh. Any form of optimization us helpful. Guides are naturally lackluster 🤣

[Particle_Man]

What books are allowed? What level ranges will you play at?

Anyhow this guide might be helpful for a beguiler. A gray elf would be great. You can either prestige class out or stick around for a nice “ignore SR” capstone ability at level 20.

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=363.0

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Use the Beguiler class in PH2, it's definitely good enough to stay almost single-classed in. Ideally you'll go Beguiler 5/ Mindbender 1/ Beguiler 14, gaining your advanced learnings one level later allows you to pick higher level spells with those. Take Versatile Spellcaster in RotD and you can (arguably) gain early access to the next higher level of Beguiler spells, if your DM disagrees that this feat alone accomplishes that also take Heighten Spell and it definitely works. If you can accomplish that at 1st level (Human, or use flaws (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm)) your Advanced Learning spells can be 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 9th level. For those I'd get Ray of Stupidity, Shadow Form, Greater Shadow Evocation, Greater Shadow Conjuration, and Superior Invisibility.


Alternatively, you could go Illumian in RoD (Krau and anything else for your sigils), Beguiler 1/ Wizard 4/ Ultimate Magus 10/ Wizard-advancing PrCs 5. You'll need to be able to use flaws, but take Able Learner (Illumians have the human subtype and qualify), Versatile Spellcaster, any metamagic feat, and Practiced Spellcaster: Beguiler all by 3rd level. Ultimate Magus at the 1st, 4th, and 7th level advances whichever class has the lower caster level, that's caster level for determining your spell effects, not spellcaster level for determining spells/day. With the Krau sigil and Practiced Spellcaster, both classes will have equal caster levels until after you've gained UM 7, so all ten UM levels will be advancing your Wizard spellcasting.

At level 15, you'll have Wizard 14 and Beguiler 8 spellcasting, with a caster level of 19 for Wizard and 18 for Beguiler. After that your Wizard spellcasting and caster level will each continue improving by one per level gained, but your Beguiler caster level and spellcasting will remain the same. With Versatile Spellcaster you can spend two Beguiler spell slots of the same level to cast "any spell you know" of one level higher, which gives you spontaneous access to your Wizard spells of up to 5th level. Plus you've got 4th level Beguiler slots for Augmented Casting things like Quicken and Twin Spell. This is actually my favorite Wizard build due to how much versatility it has, though I'd typically prefer to specialize in Conjuration for the PH2 ACF and drop Evocation and Enchantment. If you want to specialize in Enchantment, drop Evocation and probably either Necromancy or Abjuration. Remember your prohibited school doesn't affect your Beguiler spellcasting, and if you take Incantatrix you can apply the extra prohibited school to your Beguiler class for no drawback if you pick a school the class doesn't even get any spells from.

With Able Learner and a high Int score you'll be able to keep up your ranks in all your favorite Beguiler skills. Your last five levels can include any of the following: one more Wizard level for a Wizard 5 ACF; or Incantatrix 4; Paragnostic Apostle for as many levels as the number of abilities you want to gain; Mindbender 1; Master Specialist; etc. Speaking of Master Specialist, with Versatile Spellcaster you can start out Beguiler 1/ Wizard 1/ Master Specialist 3/ UM if you can somehow gain one more bonus feat for Spell Focus. Or make the character a Human, go Beguiler 1/ Wizard 1/ Spellthief 1/ Master Specialist 2/ UM and take Master Spellthief at 3rd instead of Practiced Spellcaster. That can do some absurd caster level stacking shenanigans. Then after maxing out UM take two more Master Specialist with any of the above filler levels.

[tiercel]

There is actually at least one specific Enchanter Handbook (https://www.enworld.org/threads/enchanter-handbook-d-d-3-5-zarzak-cantripn.471594/) (because you are aiming a little different than your typical wizard, especially since “drop Enchantment” is a common refrain for most every other kind of wizard specialist).

Beguiler is certainly the easy option for making an enchanter/divination skillmonkey, but actual specialist wizard means you can still straight up teleport and polymorph and suchlike without UMDmancy. Master Specialist’s minor esoterica is pretty much “yes” if you are ever planning on using charm spells (and if you’re not, why be an enchanter?).

If you can break [Mind-affecting] immunity generally (and your DM won’t go apoplectic because of that), then you might as well consider going all-in with Focused Specialist and pour on the Enchantments (since you’re probably going hard on DC boosting anyway), and treat your non-Enchantment spells almost like domain slots.

[Asmotherion]

Generally dominating anything not immune and playing kind of a pokemon game is how I personally played my enchanter. Backed up by some conjuration like Summons and Planar Binding it's not that bad, as you always have something to do.

For lower levels, suggestions and Charms work like... a charm.

Naturally, like the Necromancer, the Enchanter works best in a non-good party; Good characters don't usually stand by as you collect mind slaves.

[SangoProduction]

Make sure you take spells that deal with otherwise mind-immune creatures. Like Fireball.

[Particle_Man]

Make sure you take spells that deal with otherwise mind-immune creatures. Like Fireball.

OP apparently has a way around mind immunity.

[Asmotherion]

OP apparently has a way around mind immunity.

About that, I can't help but wonder what this is; I'm not aware of a RAW way to bypass mind immunity, so this is interesting.