Best wizard spells for a Spirit Shaman?

[gadren]

As a quest reward, my elf spirit shaman gets to add one wizard spell of each spell level of 1st-8th level to his class spell list, but the spell level of each is increased by one (so magic missile is 2nd, fireball is 4th, etc).
What spells do you think would be the best picks? Looking for spells that aren't redundant with the druid spell list and that are still worthwhile at +1 spell level.
Any 3.5 WotC book and Dragon is allowed, 3e are maybe allowed if there is no 3.5 equivalent, Pathfinder 1e spells are also a maybe.

[Biggus]

1 Nerveskitter
2 Mirror Image
3 Haste
4 Orb of Force
5 Teleport
6 Contingency
7 Amber Sarcophagus or Simulacrum
8 Greater Celerity

[ciopo]

Is it also "always prepared"", or would it need to be retrieved?

That I would use at +1, and assuming I don't otherwise have access to:

1. Mage armor
3. Displacement
4. Greater invisibility
7. Banishment (lol "free" heigthen)

I'll have to think about the rest, but those are those I'd be happy to even retrieve, right now I can't think of others that I wouldn't mind having access to for +1 level.

I got more envy for the cleric list on my druid actually

[Darg]

Polymorph is a good spell to have depending on how you're built. Fly can also be useful if you don't want to deal with winged watcher or fire wings or find/use another source of flight.

[stack]

Is it also "always prepared"", or would it need to be retrieved?

That I would use at +1, and assuming I don't otherwise have access to:

1. Mage armor
3. Displacement
4. Greater invisibility
7. Banishment (lol "free" heigthen)

I'll have to think about the rest, but those are those I'd be happy to even retrieve, right now I can't think of others that I wouldn't mind having access to for +1 level.

I got more envy for the cleric list on my druid actually

Retrieving mage armor on a class with very limited retrieval slots and light armor proficiency seems like an odd choice.

[ciopo]

Retrieving mage armor on a class with very limited retrieval slots and light armor proficiency seems like an odd choice.yes, It makes 2nd levels be a nice trifecta of barkskin+halo of sand +mage armor, "allows" us to go for/add monk belt, and let us use those "no armor" armors with exotic properties. I'm a fan of ghost shroud personally eventho it competes with halo of sand for deflection.

I admit my perception is colored from playing druid rather than spirit shaman tho, as getting mage armor would be a nobrainer for my shapeshift self

[gadren]

Is it also "always prepared"", or would it need to be retrieved?


It needs to be retrieved still, so it's competing for "space" with druid spells of that level.

[sleepyphoenixx]

There are a lot of downtime and utility spells on the wizard list that the druid list doesn't have a real equivalent for.
Private Sanctum, Planar Binding, Animate Dead, Rope Trick, Smoky Confinement or Simulacrum for example are cast in downtime anyway to being a level higher isn't that big an issue.

I wouldn't bother with in-combat spells or buffs tbh, they're unlikely to be worth it a level higher.
(Greater) Shadow Conjuration/Evocation might be worth it just for the versatility though, as might one of the higher level Summon Monster spells (7 & 8 offer access to a lot of SLA's from the cleric/wizard list).

[ciopo]

Uh, Heroics for the 2nd (so 3rd) level

[Rebel7284]

What does the rest of your party look like?
What do your enemies look like?
Do you have access to persistomancy?

Folks can definitely throw good spells your way, but Wizards have access to a LOT of good spells, so finding niches that need filling would be good.

[Biggus]

I wouldn't bother with in-combat spells or buffs tbh, they're unlikely to be worth it a level higher.


I have to disagree with this. Nerveskitter is +5 initiative, which given how quickly combats tend to be over at level 17+ is a big deal, not to mention the fact that for 14,000GP between them (peanuts at that level) the rest of the party can buy a Lesser Rod of Chain Spell and all get +5 too.

Likewise if there are several party members making full attacks each round, Haste is a huge boost. If several don't have access to flight, Mass Fly is a complete game-changer. Etc.

And that's before we get onto things like the Celerity line of spells...


What does the rest of your party look like? [...]

Folks can definitely throw good spells your way, but Wizards have access to a LOT of good spells, so finding niches that need filling would be good.

This is a good question, I've answered assuming nobody else in the party has access to the Wizard/Sorcerer list, if they do that will make a big difference.

[RandomPeasant]

celerity is worth it even at 5th level. At high levels, the difference between a 1st and 2nd level slot isn't really meaningful, so if we're talking about level 15+ things like nerveskitter are probably fine.

But what spells you should pick depends a lot on the rest of the party. teleport is a fine pick if you don't have a Wizard, but if you do it's probably not worth it as you're not going to need more teleports than your Wizard can prepare more often than you can afford to buy scrolls to cover (if at all). In general, if you have a Wizard you probably do want to pick combat spells, as they can probably cover any utility needs from their list. If you don't have an arcane spellcaster, you'll want to grab key utility options from that list. If you have an arcane spellcaster who isn't a Wizard, work with them to figure out what they can cover and where you need to pick up the slack.

[Anthrowhale]

A Polymorph (or Draconic Polymorph or PAO) seems pretty handy.

[sleepyphoenixx]

I have to disagree with this. Nerveskitter is +5 initiative, which given how quickly combats tend to be over at level 17+ is a big deal, not to mention the fact that for 14,000GP between them (peanuts at that level) the rest of the party can buy a Lesser Rod of Chain Spell and all get +5 too.

Likewise if there are several party members making full attacks each round, Haste is a huge boost. If several don't have access to flight, Mass Fly is a complete game-changer. Etc.

And that's before we get onto things like the Celerity line of spells...

Nerveskitter is a spell for a wand. Making a DC 20 UMD check is trivial at higher levels and 1st level wands are cheap.
Unless you make it a habit to walk around with a metamagic rod in hand you're not going to be chaining it with one anyway.

As for Haste i don't deny that it's powerful but it becomes considerably less so when you're trading one of your in-combat actions for it - Boots of Speed are free action activation and cheap, if you have several party members making full attacks have them get those instead of wasting your actions on covering for them.

Celerity is fine of course but it's one of the few exceptions i'd consider worth casting in combat at a level higher, and even then it's situational without daze immunity.
It's also another spell that's perfectly usable from a wand.

[Biggus]

Nerveskitter is a spell for a wand. Making a DC 20 UMD check is trivial at higher levels and 1st level wands are cheap.
Unless you make it a habit to walk around with a metamagic rod in hand you're not going to be chaining it with one anyway.

As for Haste i don't deny that it's powerful but it becomes considerably less so when you're trading one of your in-combat actions for it - Boots of Speed are free action activation and cheap, if you have several party members making full attacks have them get those instead of wasting your actions on covering for them.

Celerity is fine of course but it's one of the few exceptions i'd consider worth casting in combat at a level higher, and even then it's situational without daze immunity.
It's also another spell that's perfectly usable from a wand.

There are ways of attaching rods to yourself so that you can grasp them at will: strapped to the side of your backpack for example. How many you can do that with without getting in your way in combat is a matter for the DM to decide, but one or two certainly shouldn't be a problem given that many characters carry longbows and other large weapons on their backs without issue.

You have a point about the other two to some extent, but really the point I was making was just that you made a blanket statement that "I wouldn't bother with in-combat spells or buffs tbh, they're unlikely to be worth it a level higher" when actually there are a few which are definitely worth considering.