Best School of Magic to take up as a Wizardly Priest?

[Roythebattousai]

My DM said I could become one... so... why not? Can't hurt, right?

So....

Topic.

[SilverClawShift]

Wizardly priest what?

Archivist? Cloistered Cleric? Wizard with house-ruled domain spells?

What? I don't know what the topic is getting at here.

HELP ME, HELP YOU.

[Roythebattousai]

How bout this.


What's the most... useful school of magic.

[Chronicled]

Conjuration is arguably the most useful, followed closely by Transmutation.

[drengnikrafe]

Conjuration is arguably the most useful, followed closely by Transmutation.

I second this, more or less. Conjuration does, after all, contain a rather large base of staple wizard spells, and I might argue that Evocation is second, but I'm a blaster at heart, so my opinion is a bit biased. I can't deny the usefulness of Transmuation, though.
Good thinking, sir-who-posted-this.

[SilverClawShift]

How bout this.


What's the most... useful school of magic.

I could ask more questions, but beh.

As a blanket answer, I'd have to say Illusion. A master Illusionist with a solid plan is probably one of the most dangerous things you can be up against. Of course, an illusionist who doesn't have a clue what they're doing is significantly less threatening.

Transmutation IS darned good too though. Enough transmutations layered on each other, and little else really matters.

Also, I'm gonna toss a bone to Necromancy here. Necromancy is the classic "Haha, I can do magic" school. Experimentation, grave robbing, making the forces of reality dance at your whim (rotting or not), and the ability to snuff stuff with potentially very little effort.
Wail of the Banshee is just a sexy spell. No somatic component, no material focus, nothing but you, a group of swarming enemies, and a violent shrill screech that kills 1 creature per level.

[Chronicled]

As a blanket answer, I'd have to say Illusion. A master Illusionist with a solid plan is probably one of the most dangerous things you can be up against. Of course, an illusionist who doesn't have a clue what they're doing is significantly less threatening.

You are probably correct in theory; and the same goes for the Divination school. The potential power with spells from these schools is enormous. In practice, it depends on the DM. There are definitely DM's who will tone down the power of Divinations/Illusions, as Divination has great ways to interfere with a plot, and Illusions can deny combat to other players.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

If it's a question of what school is the most useful in general, Conjuration takes the cake, because it's just a little more robust than Transmutation, and Illusion can be shut down by mid-level effects and various types of encounters

If it's a question of what school complements your unknown divine caster's spell list best, it's most likely a toss up between Conjuration and Illusion. Throw in Necromancy for druidic caster types (oddly enough).

[Squash Monster]

Illusion is the most useful at level 1. Conjuration takes over at level 2 then is the most useful up until around level 6, then Transmutation starts to take over. By level 9, Conjuration kinda sucks, and Transmutation is the godschool.

Pick whichever one will be appropriate for the level range you're playing (generally Conjuration) unless you have a good reason (gishes usually use Transmutation). If you're actually going to play all levels then take Transmutation: it might not be the best until high levels, but at most levels it's really close.

As for the other schools:
Enchantment is horrible. Tons of creatures are immune, and illusion handles the mind-effecting will-save demographic too, plus has Silent Image and Displacement.

Abjuration is only good at high levels. Illusion and Transmutation can protect you through defensive buffs, and Conjuration can protect you by not letting anything get near you. All you really miss out on is the Dispel line of spells, which are overrated. It's not worth it until Anti Magic Field, Disjunction, and Maw of Chaos show up.

Necromancy is really good for no-save ray debuffs and various aoe fear effects. However, buffs are no-save too, and accomplish the same thing as debuffs. And battlefield control spells are just as crippling as fear spells get. Necromancy is hurt by its best features having to compete with the best features of the two best schools.

Evocation is pretty awful: its specialty is direct damage and it's not even the best school at it. All the serious direct-damagers use orb spells, which are Conjuration, and if you're playing at really high levels Abjuration has the best direct damage spell in the game.



Random question: is this "Wizardly Priest" business that you get to play a Wizard using the Cleric spell list, by any chance? If so, good luck: cure is Conjuration, Righteous Might is Transmutation, and Divine Power is Evocation.

[MeklorIlavator]

Note that while Abjuration isn't the strongest thing out there, never, ever ban it, for one good reason: Dispel Magic. From taking out other caster's defenses to de-buffing a Giacomo monk, this spell is a lifesaver. Make sure not to miss out on its bigger cousins, though be careful with disjunction. Many Dm's won't use it unless the players start to, but if the players start to, they will lose gear.

[Frosty]

Blasphemy! Squash, how can you say Conjuration becomes weak? It has the almighty Orb spells, teleportation spells, MMM, Gate and it allows access to Abrupt jaunt!

[Squash Monster]

Frosty:
I said Conjuration is weak at level 9 spells. Look at the spell list. In core, the only good level 9 Conjuration is Gate, which has a 1000xp cost. On the other hand, Transmutation has Shapechange and Timestop, which are at least as strong, and have no xp cost.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Blasphemy! Squash, how can you say Conjuration becomes weak? It has the almighty Orb spells, teleportation spells, MMM, Gate and it allows access to Abrupt jaunt!Well, he was talking about higher level spells, and Conjuration honestly has fewer good higher level spells than lower level spells. However, Abjuration wins out in the 7-8 level, not Transmutation.