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Segev
2022-05-10, 09:17 AM
You are a 20th level Necromancer (Wizard) who has found his way to 20th or 21st century Earth. You've decided you're going to keep your magical advantages secret, for now, at least from the world stage, and have hooked yourself up to the evil and unscrupulous government of your (OOC) choosing to get funds and manpower to support a research laboratory to advance the evil regime's nefarious goals and your own malevolent magical studies. Being evil, you know better than to trust your employer with your safety, but you do provide quid pro quo service in terms of keeping them happy with your results while they keep you happy with materiel and manpower, and both sides have developed a healthy working respect even if both are ready for the inevitable betrayal at SOME point.

Assuming Pathfinder spellcasting and preparation rules, what is your usual spell loadout? Assume 36 intelligence, unless you can give a good reason why you'd manage to have more than +5 inherent, +5 level-up, and +6 enhancement to it as a steady baseline. (I'm assuming 20 starting intelligence; you ARE an evil wizard who managed to find his way to modern Earth, so you've probably been brilliant your entire life.) This gives you 4 cantrips, 9 spells of each level 1, 8 spells of each level 2-5, and 7 spells of levels 6-9 to prepare each day. Assume Evocation and Enchantment are your opposition schools (so you can prepare them only with double slot investment). You may assume that, while you don't have literally every spell in your spellbook, your spellbook will contain whatever spells you decide are in your loadout. (i.e., don't worry about spellbook limitations here) You may use any wizard spells in 3.5 or PF. If you have spell choices that you feel need a class feature or feat, please say what those are; wizard 20 is my baseline assumption, but I am open to PrCs if the spell loadout is best suited for them. But this is less about "build" than just about spell selection.

This is an exercise in both plumbing the brain trust of the optimization hivemind, and in "fair play" because I know more about the scenario than the wizard should on a "typical" day, and I want to see what those with his level of knowledge of things would have prepared on a "typical" day.

For convenience, here's a blank list:

Cantrips
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1st level spells
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2nd level spells
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3rd level spells
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4th level spells
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5th level spells
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6th level spells
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7th level spells
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8th level spells
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9th level spells
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Thanks for any input and discussion!

redking
2022-05-10, 10:28 AM
Animate Dead I guess. Put them on the street with signs to protest whatever my employers want protested. They'll wear black coloured outfits so they'll look like members of the Black Bloc. If they need to get violent, I can arrange that too. If the cops kill them, then it will be police brutality and any autopsy that says that the zombies have been dead for weeks will look like a cover-up.

Not having enchantment is unfortunate since this would be one of the most useful schools in the top down modern society. Still, there are other options. Oh wait, this is Pathfinder, so I guess we can use enchantment.

With the existence of the stock market, divination is strong. Very strong. With divination you become an inside trader, but there is nothing linking you to inside trades, so you can get away with it. Within 5 years you should be a billionaire starting at almost zero.

Transmutation is also strong. There are people out there mutilating themselves with surgery that is primitive by the standards of magic. Your transmutations work perfectly and deliver the desired result every single time.

I don't have a whole list for you. These are things that I can think of off the top of my head.

Jack_Simth
2022-05-10, 05:28 PM
Posting from mobile, so not doing a full loadout.

However, some keynotes:
Get a Ring of Continuation (PF item) asap. Gives Foresight a 24 hour duration. Also a periapt of proof against poison.
Make sure to have a few Celerity spells (3.5) prepped at all times.
Also Emergency Force Sphere.
Life Bubble (PF) means I don't cae about someone trying to gas me.
An extended and empowered greater false life and an extended protection from arrows to cover surprise bullets.
Mind Blank, because I don't trust that I am the only one.
Fabricate, Blood Money, Create Greater Demiplane, and Permanency... once, not regularly (except Blood Money; that spell is nice).
Greater Shadow Evocation (Contingency(Celerity)) to get back to my hidey-hole. Keep Plane Shift and Greater Teleport prepared.
Astral Projection to have not actually left it in the first place.
Blood Money and Limited Wish (in case we're using PF's Astral Projection).

That has defense reasonably well covered.