Building an Imbued Staff wizard, suggestions

[Oxylepy]

So in looking at the alternative class it seems like the main feats to go for would be Craft Staff, Recharge Staff, and Item Familiar. Imbued Defense is potentially nice (with high enough Concentration and Wisdom) and Enchant Staff/Invest Spell are additional options but probably more focused toward higher levels when their return would be better.

I've yet to find a lot other than expanding on crafting to really go with the build. But in item creation it'd end up being Exceptional/Extraordinary/Legendary Artisan to reduce the costs on investing in the staff as I make it more powerful with time.

I'm just wondering if there are feats I'm missing, which I really feel like I am, or tricks other than the spell Siphon to do with the staff. Also not sure if there are any applicable PrCs aside from doing a gnome for Maester or the Human with Able Learner for 2 levels of Chameleon. I feel like with Imbued Staff variant it would be preferable to remain in Wizard, though.

[Fero]

Ancestral Relic to put spells you don't know into the staff and to come online earlier. With UMD this could extend to non wizard spells.

Use the Channel Charge feat to convert your spell slots into staff spells (i.e pseudo spontaneous casting).

Metamagic Spell Trigger feat.

The Siphon spell is not very good in a vacume but can be useful for people who can recharge their staff.

The Hamagess' Staffsprout lets you grow 1 charge wands from your staff at the cost of charges. This is also very good if you have a way to recharge the staff. Combine with Alaunghaer's Triptych to fire three spells every round (1 from staff, 2 from wands).

An intelligent staff may be able to use itself.

Don't forget Instant Summons to recover your staff if lost.

[Oxylepy]

The Hamagess' Staffsprout lets you grow 1 charge wands from your staff at the cost of charges. This is also very good if you have a way to recharge the staff. Combine with Alaunghaer's Triptych to fire three spells every round (1 from staff, 2 from wands).

Are these spells 3.X? It looks like the Triptych is from DR 244, which was '98 and uses Alteration as one of its schools listed, while I'm similarly seeing Alteration as the school for Staffsprout in Part 3 of Mintiper's Chapbook (from realmshelp). I feel like these may be 2e spells, unless they were updated, most of the links to them I find online are dead because seemingly WotC killed the pages.

The rest of it is absolutely top notch, thank you.

[Shinoskay]

Ancestral Relic to put spells you don't know into the staff and to come online earlier. With UMD this could extend to non wizard spells.

Use the Channel Charge feat to convert your spell slots into staff spells (i.e pseudo spontaneous casting).

Metamagic Spell Trigger feat.

The Siphon spell is not very good in a vacume but can be useful for people who can recharge their staff.

The Hamagess' Staffsprout lets you grow 1 charge wands from your staff at the cost of charges. This is also very good if you have a way to recharge the staff. Combine with Alaunghaer's Triptych to fire three spells every round (1 from staff, 2 from wands).

An intelligent staff may be able to use itself.

Don't forget Instant Summons to recover your staff if lost.

they have recharge, Channel Charge feat is a redundancy and a waste.

Siphon is good, its a SPELL that turns your staff into a battery... basically.
theres no reason to not use it.

staff sprout is indeed great, lets you turn extra charges, for if your staff is fully charged and you want to bank MORE charges.
http://www.theworldofnocturne.com/dndtools/feats/complete-warrior--61/quick-staff--2321/index.html can be nice, extra ac for a wizard... but there are better non staff feats, the above post largely covered them and the only real contribution I have is channel charge is a waste and siphon spell is good.

[Oxylepy]

they have recharge, Channel Charge feat is a redundancy and a waste.

Still good before level 15ish when I'd be getting Recharge Staff, so it can just be retrained. The same actually goes for Ancestral Relic which can be retrained to Item Familiar when the staff qualifies as a magic item for the feat (using the fact the character qualifies for the feat at 3rd level, even though the staff wouldn't have been able to be the focus of the feat at that level)


staff sprout is indeed great, lets you turn extra charges, for if your staff is fully charged and you want to bank MORE charges.

I do need a source on that spell, as it stands I'm not seeing a published 3.5e version of it. I've now found some copy pasted versions people have online.

[Fero]

I do need a source on that spell, as it stands I'm not seeing a published 3.5e version of it. I've now found some copy pasted versions people have online.

Both spells were WotC web content, I believe around 2004 (early 3.5). They are discussed more in the following posts on top spells (you may have to dig in the link to the top 6th level spells to find discussion of Staffsprout:


https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?659463-Top-10-level-5-spells-at-ECL-10-amp-20&highlight=Anthrowhale

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660156-Top-10-level-6-spells-at-ECL-12-amp-20&highlight=Anthrowhale

[Oxylepy]

Both spells were WotC web content, I believe around 2004 (early 3.5). They are discussed more in the following posts on top spells (you may have to dig in the link to the top 6th level spells to find discussion of Staffsprout:


https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?659463-Top-10-level-5-spells-at-ECL-10-amp-20&highlight=Anthrowhale

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660156-Top-10-level-6-spells-at-ECL-12-amp-20&highlight=Anthrowhale

Thank you, I was having issues googling for that, not sure why, but the links helped a lot.

I have now become distinctly aware that between Invest Spell and Enchant Staff, Enchant Staff is essentially easily breakable, once you have access to 8th level spells you can just use it on Limited Wish and have a single free LW each day (as spell-like abilities don't have XP or Material costs to them), where-as Invest Spell eats up both a single spell slot and then also costs both XP and materials.

[Fero]

Thank you, I was having issues googling for that, not sure why, but the links helped a lot.

I have now become distinctly aware that between Invest Spell and Enchant Staff, Enchant Staff is essentially easily breakable, once you have access to 8th level spells you can just use it on Limited Wish and have a single free LW each day (as spell-like abilities don't have XP or Material costs to them), where-as Invest Spell eats up both a single spell slot and then also costs both XP and materials.

Cool combo. You will be able to do all sorts of crazy stuff at high levels. The lower levels may prove a challenge though.

[Paragon]

I did a Divine Sorcery (War Domain) (feat from dragon mag) to get the WF (quarterstaff), get TWF somehow (Ranger 2 is a bit of a waste but is full bab and you don't have to meet the prereq) and go into Eilserv school (DotU feat).

Iirc a monk feat lets you consider quarterstaff as being using unarmed strikes. This means that Enlightened Fist would let you cast spells through it.

1) Touch spell (holding the charge) + Deliver touch spell through the staff via the ACF
2) Cast a spell through it once the first hit landed
3) Eilserv School lets you trigger a charge of the staff as a swift.

Can't remember if that worked as explained

[Morphic tide]

It annoys me immensely that Staffsprout is not a Druid spell, to go with Shillelagh, Brambles, Entangling Staff, Spellstaff, and Changestaff. Be the whole agonizingly specially made bludgeoning implement!

For Wizards, Blackstaff is a neat 8th-level spell that lets you turn a nonmagical quarterstaff or magical staff into a +4 targeted dispel on hit plus remove a highest level spell slot, with a round-by-round choice as to whether this is overriding a magical staff's properties. And Entangling Staff is a 2nd-level spell to Grapple on hit (with +8) with a 2d6 Constrict, though it sets its own one size larger limit.

[Glimbur]

Eliservs School might help, though it is a bit more Gish than you really seem to want. Previous thread that might help:

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?316030-3-5-Fighting-with-a-Magic-Staff-How-feasable-is-it

[Bullet06320]

epic destiny, Artifact lord from Dragon 363 would compliment this