Citizen Jenkins
2008-05-19, 03:10 PM
Why it's okay to drop Abjuration
or "Why you shouldn't be doing the Cleric's job"
1. In a sentence
Given that most of the best abjuration spells also appear in the Cleric's spell list, dropping Abjuration allows you to pick up a bunch of juicy Enchantment spells without limiting the party's access to necessary spells.
Why you shouldn't be casting dispel magic
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/sorcererWizardSpells.htm
Going back to the Logic Ninja's guide, the general consensus on specialization is that you drop Evocation and Enchantment, possibly Necromancy, but never abjuration. Enchantment has a bunch of cool spells but they focus on will saves and both Illusion and Necromancy already focus on that save. You can afford to lose it because it because while it has a whole bunch of cool spells, none of them are necessary. Meanwhile, Abjuration has the absolutely essential Dispel Magic and a host of useful buffs which you just can't afford to lose.
Now go look through most of the best or most iconic abjuration spells (Dispel Magic, Protection from Energy, etc) and you'll notice that almost all of them appear on the Cleric's spell list, if not the Druid's, Bard's, etc. If your party had a Beguiler you'd drop Enchantment without a second thought, if the party had a Warmage you'd drop Evocation even faster. So why, if the Cleric can mimic the best of Abjuration do so many wizards continue to stubbornly hold onto it?
There's also the unfortunate fact that if you have a cleric in your party and you cast Dispel Magic, you're a bit of a sucker and your party is worse off. Consider two examples of a fight against a BBEG who has been properly buffed. In the first example you cast Dispel Magic and the Cleric perform an action. Maybe he buffs, maybe he summons some creatures, maybe he runs forward and tries to hit the BBEG with his mace. In the second example the Cleric casts Dispel Magic and you get to cast any debuff/battlefield control/save-or-die spell you have. Not to belittle clerics, who are quite powerful even compared to wizards, but almost any action the Cleric takes is going to be less valuable than that potentially battle-changing spell a good wizard can cast in the first round. Because of that the party in the second example will almost always fare better than the party in the first example because of the importance of debuffing or setting up battlefield control spells in the first round. In fact, the only time a wizard should cast Dispel Magic is if the Cleric can do something more valuable with his action than the wizard could do with another spell which, despite the Cleric's strength, is pretty rare.
Level by Level in Core
Now let's examine the Wizard-only abjuration spells, since the Cleric should be casting all the others, and weigh them against the Enchantment spell list that most specialists lose out on.
Wizard-only Abjuration----------Enchantment
1st Level Spells
Alarm----------Charm Person
Hold Portal----------Hypnotism
Shield----------Sleep
Sure, Shield is a nice minutes long buff and Alarm covers sleeping security nicely between level 4 and level 9 when Rope Trick takes over but Enchantment not only has the amazingly useful Charm Person but the king of low level offense, Sleep. Enchantment is much stronger at this level.
2nd Level Spells
Arcane Lock----------Daze Monster
Protection from Arrows----------Hideous Laughter
(nothing)----------Touch of Idiocy
Abjuration gives you almost nothing here (Protection from Arrows only works on non-magical weapons) while Enchantment gives you a respectable save-or-lose for the level and a nice debuff. Another clear advantage for Enchantment.
3rd Level Spells
Explosive Runes----------Deep Slumber
Nondetection----------Heroism
(nothing)----------Hold Person
(nothing)----------Rage
(nothing)----------Suggestion
Despite the popularity of Explosive Runes, Abjuration gives you two highly situational spells while Enchantment gives you a powerful save-or-lose, two moderate buffs, and the ever-useful Suggestion.
4th level Level Spells
Fire Trap----------Charm Monster
Lesser Globe on Invulnerability----------Confusion
Stoneskin----------Crushing Despair
(nothing)----------Lesser Geas
Stoneskin makes Abjuration a bit stronger here but Charm Monster, supported by Confusion and the potential shenanigans of Lesser Geas keep Enchantment in the lead.
5th Level Spells
Mage's Private Sanctum----------Feeblemind
(nothing)----------Dominate Person
(nothing)----------Hold Monster
(nothing)----------Mind Fog
(nothing)----------Symbol of Sleep
Enchantment offers a bunch of good spells while Abjuration offers only one situational spell but this is still the first level where I feel you miss something by dropping Abjuration. Mage's Private Sanctum is very situational but it's also pretty much impossible to reproduce that exact effect with another spell. This is also the point where Cleric's start to lose access to the best Abjuration spells and Enchantment starts offering less and less good magic.
6th Level Spells
Antimagic Field----------Geas/Quest
Globe of Invulnerability----------Greater Heroism
Guards and Wards----------Mass Suggestion
Repulsion----------Symbol of Persuasion
Both Antimagic Field and Repulsion show up on the Cleric spell list but at higher levels. Enchantment is still offering some decent stuff and I'd still take the Enchantment stuff over Abjuration but the gap is closing.
7th Level Spells
Sequester----------Mass Hold Person
Spell Turning----------Insanity
(nothing)----------Power Word Blind
(nothing)----------Symbol of Stunning
Abjuration doesn't really offer you anything here but while I think the showing from Enchantment is stronger, I can't see myself actually preparing any of these spells.
8th Level Spells
Mind Blank----------Antipathy
Prismatic Wall----------Binding
Protection from Spells----------Mass Charm Monster
(nothing)----------Demand
(nothing)----------Irresistible Dance
(nothing)----------Power Word Stun
(nothing)----------Symbol of Insanity
(nothing)----------Sympathy
Sure, Protection from Spells and Prismatic Wall aren't bad but the real loss here is Mind Blank. Still, not only do you pick up Irresistible Dance but a host of respectable save-or-loses and some decent situational spells. Still, losing Mind Blank sucks and I'm tempted to put this as a tie between one high quality Abjuration spell and a large quantity of good Enchantment spells.
9th Level Spells
Freedom----------Dominate Monster
Imprisonment----------Mass Hold Monster
Mage's Disjunction----------Power Word Kill
Prismatic Sphere----------(nothing)
Prismatic Sphere and Mage's Disjunction are very strong while Enchantment really only offers Dominate Monster. On the other hand, Mage's Disjunction is very rarely used in actual play and Dominate Monster last for weeks at this level. Still, Abjuration is probably the stronger of the two at this level.
Overall:
For the first ten levels I think Enchantment has a lot of good spells to offer while Abjuration is really limited. As the levels progress, however, Enchantment's offerings keep getting weaker while fewer and fewer Abjuration spells fall onto the Cleric's spell list. At high levels you probably won't be using most of the Enchantment spells anyway and the lost Abjurations will hurt a bit. Still, besides Mind Blank I don't feel that Abjuration is all that strong at the higher levels either and there's enough decent Enchantment spells that there's still a marginal advantage to keeping Enchantment.
Two Clerical domains are worth special note. The Protection Domain will net your Cleric Antimagic Field at level 6, Mind Blank at 8, and Prismatic Sphere at 9. If your Cleric has this then you lose almost nothing by dropping Abjuration and for higher level play it's worth talking to your Cleric about taking this. The Magic Domian will also pick up Antimagic Field at level 6, Protection from Spells at level 8, and Mage's Disjunction at level 9. If your Cleric takes both Protection and Magic then drop Abjuration as fast as possible.
Beyond Core
In general, splatbooks tend to exacerbate the trend we observed in Core of Enchantment being strong at the low levels and then gradually puttering out at the high levels. There are less Enchantment spells in splatbooks than any other school and while there are still a few good Enchantment spells to find out there, Abjuration picks up a variety of cool spells without half as much work. The spells Abjuration picks up, however, tend to be just that: cool. With one exception Abjuration just picks up a bunch of neat spells which you like but aren't really necessary, a lot like Enchantment in fact. And at the end of the day the Enchantment spells like Charm and Dominate are just cooler/more useful than what Abjuration has to offer in splatbooks.
That exception I mentioned is Anticipate Teleport and it hurts to lose it almost as much as Mind Blank. Teleporting enemies are just nasty and this is the best and simplest way to deal with them. At lower levels you probably won't have the spare spells to keep this up daily but at higher levels (again) missing this is going to get more and more painful.
Conclusion
If you don't plan on playing past level 12, drop Abjuration and Evocation. Enchantment has too much good stuff to lose and just about every good Abjuration spell is also on the Cleric's spell list. At higher levels you'll be losing a bunch of nice protective buffs, most notable Anticipate Teleport and Mind Blank, for a variety of fairly decent offensive spells including the no-save Irresistible Dance. Whether to drop Abjuration at that point depends on your DM. For most DMs you'll want to drop Abjuration because the marginal increased effectiveness of Enchantment (a Charmed monster is better than a Feared or dead one) is worth leaving a dew holes in your defense which probably won't be exploited. For more lethal DMs it's probably better to play it safe.
or "Why you shouldn't be doing the Cleric's job"
1. In a sentence
Given that most of the best abjuration spells also appear in the Cleric's spell list, dropping Abjuration allows you to pick up a bunch of juicy Enchantment spells without limiting the party's access to necessary spells.
Why you shouldn't be casting dispel magic
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/sorcererWizardSpells.htm
Going back to the Logic Ninja's guide, the general consensus on specialization is that you drop Evocation and Enchantment, possibly Necromancy, but never abjuration. Enchantment has a bunch of cool spells but they focus on will saves and both Illusion and Necromancy already focus on that save. You can afford to lose it because it because while it has a whole bunch of cool spells, none of them are necessary. Meanwhile, Abjuration has the absolutely essential Dispel Magic and a host of useful buffs which you just can't afford to lose.
Now go look through most of the best or most iconic abjuration spells (Dispel Magic, Protection from Energy, etc) and you'll notice that almost all of them appear on the Cleric's spell list, if not the Druid's, Bard's, etc. If your party had a Beguiler you'd drop Enchantment without a second thought, if the party had a Warmage you'd drop Evocation even faster. So why, if the Cleric can mimic the best of Abjuration do so many wizards continue to stubbornly hold onto it?
There's also the unfortunate fact that if you have a cleric in your party and you cast Dispel Magic, you're a bit of a sucker and your party is worse off. Consider two examples of a fight against a BBEG who has been properly buffed. In the first example you cast Dispel Magic and the Cleric perform an action. Maybe he buffs, maybe he summons some creatures, maybe he runs forward and tries to hit the BBEG with his mace. In the second example the Cleric casts Dispel Magic and you get to cast any debuff/battlefield control/save-or-die spell you have. Not to belittle clerics, who are quite powerful even compared to wizards, but almost any action the Cleric takes is going to be less valuable than that potentially battle-changing spell a good wizard can cast in the first round. Because of that the party in the second example will almost always fare better than the party in the first example because of the importance of debuffing or setting up battlefield control spells in the first round. In fact, the only time a wizard should cast Dispel Magic is if the Cleric can do something more valuable with his action than the wizard could do with another spell which, despite the Cleric's strength, is pretty rare.
Level by Level in Core
Now let's examine the Wizard-only abjuration spells, since the Cleric should be casting all the others, and weigh them against the Enchantment spell list that most specialists lose out on.
Wizard-only Abjuration----------Enchantment
1st Level Spells
Alarm----------Charm Person
Hold Portal----------Hypnotism
Shield----------Sleep
Sure, Shield is a nice minutes long buff and Alarm covers sleeping security nicely between level 4 and level 9 when Rope Trick takes over but Enchantment not only has the amazingly useful Charm Person but the king of low level offense, Sleep. Enchantment is much stronger at this level.
2nd Level Spells
Arcane Lock----------Daze Monster
Protection from Arrows----------Hideous Laughter
(nothing)----------Touch of Idiocy
Abjuration gives you almost nothing here (Protection from Arrows only works on non-magical weapons) while Enchantment gives you a respectable save-or-lose for the level and a nice debuff. Another clear advantage for Enchantment.
3rd Level Spells
Explosive Runes----------Deep Slumber
Nondetection----------Heroism
(nothing)----------Hold Person
(nothing)----------Rage
(nothing)----------Suggestion
Despite the popularity of Explosive Runes, Abjuration gives you two highly situational spells while Enchantment gives you a powerful save-or-lose, two moderate buffs, and the ever-useful Suggestion.
4th level Level Spells
Fire Trap----------Charm Monster
Lesser Globe on Invulnerability----------Confusion
Stoneskin----------Crushing Despair
(nothing)----------Lesser Geas
Stoneskin makes Abjuration a bit stronger here but Charm Monster, supported by Confusion and the potential shenanigans of Lesser Geas keep Enchantment in the lead.
5th Level Spells
Mage's Private Sanctum----------Feeblemind
(nothing)----------Dominate Person
(nothing)----------Hold Monster
(nothing)----------Mind Fog
(nothing)----------Symbol of Sleep
Enchantment offers a bunch of good spells while Abjuration offers only one situational spell but this is still the first level where I feel you miss something by dropping Abjuration. Mage's Private Sanctum is very situational but it's also pretty much impossible to reproduce that exact effect with another spell. This is also the point where Cleric's start to lose access to the best Abjuration spells and Enchantment starts offering less and less good magic.
6th Level Spells
Antimagic Field----------Geas/Quest
Globe of Invulnerability----------Greater Heroism
Guards and Wards----------Mass Suggestion
Repulsion----------Symbol of Persuasion
Both Antimagic Field and Repulsion show up on the Cleric spell list but at higher levels. Enchantment is still offering some decent stuff and I'd still take the Enchantment stuff over Abjuration but the gap is closing.
7th Level Spells
Sequester----------Mass Hold Person
Spell Turning----------Insanity
(nothing)----------Power Word Blind
(nothing)----------Symbol of Stunning
Abjuration doesn't really offer you anything here but while I think the showing from Enchantment is stronger, I can't see myself actually preparing any of these spells.
8th Level Spells
Mind Blank----------Antipathy
Prismatic Wall----------Binding
Protection from Spells----------Mass Charm Monster
(nothing)----------Demand
(nothing)----------Irresistible Dance
(nothing)----------Power Word Stun
(nothing)----------Symbol of Insanity
(nothing)----------Sympathy
Sure, Protection from Spells and Prismatic Wall aren't bad but the real loss here is Mind Blank. Still, not only do you pick up Irresistible Dance but a host of respectable save-or-loses and some decent situational spells. Still, losing Mind Blank sucks and I'm tempted to put this as a tie between one high quality Abjuration spell and a large quantity of good Enchantment spells.
9th Level Spells
Freedom----------Dominate Monster
Imprisonment----------Mass Hold Monster
Mage's Disjunction----------Power Word Kill
Prismatic Sphere----------(nothing)
Prismatic Sphere and Mage's Disjunction are very strong while Enchantment really only offers Dominate Monster. On the other hand, Mage's Disjunction is very rarely used in actual play and Dominate Monster last for weeks at this level. Still, Abjuration is probably the stronger of the two at this level.
Overall:
For the first ten levels I think Enchantment has a lot of good spells to offer while Abjuration is really limited. As the levels progress, however, Enchantment's offerings keep getting weaker while fewer and fewer Abjuration spells fall onto the Cleric's spell list. At high levels you probably won't be using most of the Enchantment spells anyway and the lost Abjurations will hurt a bit. Still, besides Mind Blank I don't feel that Abjuration is all that strong at the higher levels either and there's enough decent Enchantment spells that there's still a marginal advantage to keeping Enchantment.
Two Clerical domains are worth special note. The Protection Domain will net your Cleric Antimagic Field at level 6, Mind Blank at 8, and Prismatic Sphere at 9. If your Cleric has this then you lose almost nothing by dropping Abjuration and for higher level play it's worth talking to your Cleric about taking this. The Magic Domian will also pick up Antimagic Field at level 6, Protection from Spells at level 8, and Mage's Disjunction at level 9. If your Cleric takes both Protection and Magic then drop Abjuration as fast as possible.
Beyond Core
In general, splatbooks tend to exacerbate the trend we observed in Core of Enchantment being strong at the low levels and then gradually puttering out at the high levels. There are less Enchantment spells in splatbooks than any other school and while there are still a few good Enchantment spells to find out there, Abjuration picks up a variety of cool spells without half as much work. The spells Abjuration picks up, however, tend to be just that: cool. With one exception Abjuration just picks up a bunch of neat spells which you like but aren't really necessary, a lot like Enchantment in fact. And at the end of the day the Enchantment spells like Charm and Dominate are just cooler/more useful than what Abjuration has to offer in splatbooks.
That exception I mentioned is Anticipate Teleport and it hurts to lose it almost as much as Mind Blank. Teleporting enemies are just nasty and this is the best and simplest way to deal with them. At lower levels you probably won't have the spare spells to keep this up daily but at higher levels (again) missing this is going to get more and more painful.
Conclusion
If you don't plan on playing past level 12, drop Abjuration and Evocation. Enchantment has too much good stuff to lose and just about every good Abjuration spell is also on the Cleric's spell list. At higher levels you'll be losing a bunch of nice protective buffs, most notable Anticipate Teleport and Mind Blank, for a variety of fairly decent offensive spells including the no-save Irresistible Dance. Whether to drop Abjuration at that point depends on your DM. For most DMs you'll want to drop Abjuration because the marginal increased effectiveness of Enchantment (a Charmed monster is better than a Feared or dead one) is worth leaving a dew holes in your defense which probably won't be exploited. For more lethal DMs it's probably better to play it safe.