CORE Sorcerer Spell Choices

[ShneekeyTheLost]

It has been the topic of many a discussion, particularly of late, as to a Sorcerer's choice of which magics he may innately know, and which he must rely on devices to cover.

It is a truth that a Sorcerer's power is determined by the wisdom of his spell choices. A well prepared Sorcerer can be every bit as much 'batman' as a Wizard can, and with somewhat better tactical flexability. However, a Sorcerer who is poor in his choices can often times find himself unable to contribute meaningfully to his comrades.

So, here is a treatise on my opinion as to the usefulness of the various choices available to all Sorcerers. There may be advanced sources available to you, however as not all of these advanced sources may be available to every sorcerer, I shall leave that to another to compile and complete.

In brief, these are the criteria you must use when determining your spells known:

1) It must be something you fully expect to use on a daily basis. If it's not something you foresee yourself casting at least this frequently, wand or scroll it.

2) It must be something that your party cannot already accomplish easily. Spells such as Knock fall into this heading. It is better done with a skilled scoundrel and his handy tool kit.

3) It must be something which retains use throughout your career. For example, the humble Magic Missile is constant, never-fail damage, which is always handy for that final blow that absolutely must land. Grease is another good example of a low level spell that retains use throughout your career. Sleep is an example of a spell whose worth rapidly fades to nonexistance.

4) It is handy of the spell is versatile. You have a limited Spells Known list, so it behooves you to choose those spells which are useful in multiple situations. For example, Fireball is a fine spell for dealing damage to crowds, but that's about all it can do. Haste grants an extra attack on a full attack, and will almost certainly out-damage Fireball in any combat, plus providing defensive bonuses to your allies.

5) Get spells that target different weaknesses. This is, ultimately, why Blasting is considered a poor choice to specialize in, because everything targets Reflex saves. Against nimble opponents, you find yourself worthless. Pick up a variety of effects that target a variety of weaknesses. For example, a solid line-up of assault spells would be: Baleful Polymorph, Resilient Sphere, Enervation, and Feeblemind. You have one spell that targets each defense: Fort, Ref, AC, and Will. Each are crippling or removing from combat.

6) Battlefield Control is key. Few classes can do Battlefield Control as well as you can. You must be careful to avoid specializing too heavily and losing flexibility, but there are some spells which can negate entire encounters, properly placed. Such examples would be Stinking Cloud, Slow, and Wall of Force. Stinking Cloud is also a Fort Save or Screwed effect, which few want to get into, so it works double duty. Slow is a rare Will save that is not mind-affecting. Wall of Force limits their maneuverability, literally putting their back against a wall.

With these in mind, here are my viewpoints on the various spells. Keep in mind, these are simply my opinions, others may feel differently.

1st level spells

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Abjur

* Alarm: Situational and not worth it as a spell known
* Endure Elements: Also not worth a spell known
* Hold Portal: Doesn't keep it from being knocked in.
* Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law: Not a bad choice, if you know every single opponent is going to be a specific alignment. Otherwise, just let the Cleric pick this up.
* Shield: Even at Rounds/Level, negating magic missiles and +4 Shield bonus to AC is worth it.

Conj

* Grease: No SR. This spell is useful throughout your career. Worth it.
* Mage Armor: Handy at low levels, not so much once you can afford better.
* Mount: Not really worth it, since you also need the Ride skill to use it
* Obscuring Mist: Not as handy as it looks
* Summon Monster I: Useful for speed bumps and trapspringing
* Unseen Servant: Handy utility spell

Div

* Comprehend Languages: Probably not worth it
* Detect Secret Doors: This is what we have elves for
* Detect Undead: This is what we have eyeballs for
* Identify M: Worst spell to have as Known. Scroll it if you must.
* True Strike: Eats up an action, but sometimes worth it

Ench

* Charm Person: Only affects Humanoids, so use wanes as you find nastier encounters
* Hypnotism: Not really powerful enough to be worth it
* Sleep: Extremely powerful low level. Extremely useless after about 4th level.

Evoc

* Burning Hands: Range is too small, beware friendly fire
* Floating Disk: Most. Worthless. Spell. Ever. Handy Haversack has better cargo capacity.
* Magic Missile: Never Fail Damage. Sometimes, you just feel like hitting something.
* Shocking Grasp: Decent damage, but do you really want to get close to something when you've got a d4 HD?

Illus

* Color Spray: Useful for longer than Sleep... sort of
* Disguise Self: Handy utility, but see next level
* Magic Aura: Fun trick, but not for you. Leave this to Bards and Wizards
* Silent Image: Power only limited by your creativity
* Ventriloquism: Not too useful, generally.

Necro

* Cause Fear: See also: Sleep.
* Chill Touch: See also: Shocking Grasp, only without the damage potential.
* Ray of Enfeeblement: Not a bad choice. I guess. Single-target debuff without save.

Trans

* Animate Rope: This is a toy. Let the Wizards play with toys, you have better things to do.
* Enlarge Person: Handy buff for your tank.
* Erase: See also: Animate Rope
* Expeditious Retreat: Get out of Trouble Quickly. Your first of such.
* Feather Fall: If you're using this frequently enough to be worth a Spell Known, get the Ring.
* Jump: See also: Feather Fall
* Magic Weapon: Greater version is much better, this... not so much
* Reduce Person: It's a cool toy, maybe situationally useful for your scout-type.

2nd level spells

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Abjur

* Arcane Lock M: At $25 a pop, not worth it as Known. See Rope Trick instead.
* Obscure Object: Extremely situationally useful. Scroll it, don't learn it.
* Protection from Arrows: Not worth it.
* Resist Energy: Can be handy if you know you're going to be facing a lot of various energy types ahead of time.

Conj

* Acid Arrow: No Save, No SR. Acid damage is also rare to find. If you're going to get a Blaster this level, this is one of two to get.
* Fog Cloud: Better than Obscuring Mist, but still not good enough.
* Glitterdust: Extremely useful throughout your career
* Summon Monster II: One of these is handy to have. More than one is redundant.
* Summon Swarm: Requires concentration to maintain. Not worth it.
* Web: No SR, and even with save, it is still battlefield control. Very handy spell to have.

Div

* Detect Thoughts: This is a toy. You have better things to do with your spells known. Give the Rogue an amulet, if necessary.
* Locate Object: Scroll it... maybe... I guess. But it's so rarely worth it that you might as well not bother..
* See Invisibility: Glitterdust is better, but sometimes you need to see it to dust it.

Ench

* Daze Monster: By now, few things are under 6HD, so not worth it.
* Hideous Laughter: Will Save or screwed. But also requires a touch.
* Touch of Idiocy: Stat Damage, but again, requires a touch.

Evoc

* Continual Flame M: No. Buy an Everburning Torch, if you feel so inclined.
* Darkness: Again with the Concealment. Again with the 'not worth it'
* Flaming Sphere: 'Great Balls of Fire' jokes aside, not worth it.
* Gust of Wind: Protection from Arrows larger brother. Only pick up if you're actually having problems with archers.
* Scorching Ray: This does more up-front damage, Acid Arrow ignores SR, and does Acid Damge. Choose one, but not both
* Shatter: It's a handy spell, but your friends may get upset about loosing treasure.

Illus

* Blur: See Mirror Image instead, which is in every way superior.
* Hypnotic Pattern: Still not worth it.
* Invisibility: Good to put on the scout for scouting unseen and giving him one full round of sneak attacks.
* Magic Mouth M: This is a toy. You have better things to do
* Minor Image: Use is only limited by your imagination.
* Mirror Image: Most useful defensive spell in Core.
* Misdirection: And how often are you going to get someone using Divination on you?
* Phantom Trap M: Material Component + Toy = Phail.

Necro

* Blindness/Deafness: Fort Save or Screwed, and probably the first good one you get.
* Command Undead: Let the Cleric get this.
* False Life: even at high levels, 20hp isn't very useful compared to Mirror Image.
* Ghoul Touch: Touch AND Fort Save. Too many chances for this to fail, and too risky if it does.
* Scare: See also: Daze Monster.
* Spectral Hand: If you're wanting to use a lot of low-level touch spells, this might be handy. If you're not wanting to limit yourself to a touch spell caster, then probably not worth the extra action to cast

Trans

* Alter Self: As spells go, this is Gouda.
* Bear’s Endurance: The only one of these spells that is worth it, maybe. Probably better to let someone else get it, though.
* Bull’s Strength: Doesn't stack with item bonuses, not worth it.
* Cat’s Grace: See also: Bull's Strength.
* Darkvision: Doesn't let you see in magical darkness, so not worth it.
* Eagle’s Splendor: See also: Bull's Strength.
* Fox’s Cunning: See also: Bull's Strength.
* Knock: Wand it, if you don't have a skillmonkey in the party, and are constantly running into doors that you cannot break down. Otherwise, let the skillmonkey have his fun too.
* Levitate: Not very useful, see Fly next level.
* Owl’s Wisdom: See also: Bull's Strength.
* Pyrotechnics: Only situationally cool. You need more than situationally to be worth it.
* Rope Trick: Grab this. At 8th level and beyond, this is an immunity to being ambushed at night.
* Spider Climb: let the rogue pick up a wand of this, if he wants it so bad.
* Whispering Wind: Toy.

3rd level spells

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Abjur

* Dispel Magic: Very useful. Upgrade to Greater when you get a chance
* Explosive Runes: Toy.
* Magic Circle against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law: See also: Protection from <alignment>.
* Nondetection M: At $50 a pop, not worth your time.
* Protection from Energy: Resist Energy is probably better for you.

Conj

* Phantom Steed: It has some use, but generally not seen as a good one.
* Sepia Snake Sigil M: Toy with Material component. Pass.
* Sleet Storm: No Save, No SR. This is Grease's bigger brother
* Stinking Cloud: Extremely useful Fort Save or Loose Battlefield Control.
* Summon Monster III: See Summon Monster II.

Div

* Arcane Sight: If it wasn't a duration of only minutes/level, it might have been worth it.
* Clairaudience/Clairvoyance: Let the skillmonkey earn his keep.
* Tongues: See also: Comprehend Languages.

Ench

* Deep Slumber: Anything under 10HD is probably a mook, and not worth this.
* Heroism: Beware stacking problems. Morale bonuses are fairly easy to come by.
* Hold Person: Cleric gets this a level sooner.
* Rage: No thanks.
* Suggestion: Very handy out of combat.

Evoc

* Daylight: Let the Cleric grab this one, you won't use it often enough to justify it.
* Fireball: Blasting is not the best choice, but it's a staple for a reason.
* Lightning Bolt: See above.
* Tiny Hut: For those with cheese allergy and didn't grab Rope Trick.
* Wind Wall: Protection from Arrows' bigger brother.

Illus

* Displacement: why bother when you have Mirror Image?
* Illusory Script M: Material component and Toy. Pass
* Invisibility Sphere: Not as handy as you might think. Can YOU stand being that close to the unwashed Barbarian?
* Major Image: If you like Illusions, this one is gold. If you don't, it's a lead weight.

Necro

* Gentle Repose: And how often will you need to preserve a body?
* Halt Undead: Let the Cleric deal with Undead.
* Ray of Exhaustion: Good way to make a charging Barbarian slow down.
* Vampiric Touch: Not as useful as one might think.

Trans

* Blink: Worse than Mirror Image, AND gives YOU a miss chance as well? Pass.
* Flame Arrow: Okay if you're wanting to back up a whole army of archers.
* Fly: Mobility FTW.
* Gaseous Form: Nerfs Somatic and Verbal components. Not worth it.
* Haste: Probably the best party buff around.
* Keen Edge: or just get Keen weapon, or Improved Critical...
* Magic Weapon, Greater: Potent spell. Talk with your Cleric about who is going to handle this before you make your choice.
* Secret Page: Toy.
* Shrink Item: Not generally all that useful, but occasionally handy. Probably better to Scroll it, unless you really are wanting to use it daily.
* Slow: A very rare Will save that is NOT a Mind Affecting ability.
* Water Breathing: Unless you're in an underwater campaign, not useful enough. Scroll it, maybe, but don't learn it.

4th level spells:

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Abjur

* Dimensional Anchor: How often do you run up against teleporting things?
* Fire Trap M: Material Component, and absolute CRAP for damage.
* Globe of Invulnerability, Lesser: And how often do you run up against low-level casters?
* Remove Curse: Let the Cleric handle this.
* Stoneskin M: At $250 a pop, waaaay too expensive to have as a spell known.

Conj

* Black Tentacles: No SR, No Save, although he gets a grapple check. Fun at Anime conventions.
* Dimension Door: Get out of trouble free.
* Minor Creation: Toy.
* Secure Shelter: Tiny Hut probably is enough, if Rope Trick was too cheesy for you, but if you're still wanting something for camping, go ahead and grab it.
* Solid Fog: No Save. No SR. You just suck. This spell is a cornerstone staple for Battlefield Control
* Summon Monster IV: See previous Summon Monster entries.

Div

* Arcane Eye: Or, you could just let the Skillmonkey earn his keep
* Detect Scrying: And how often will someone be trying to scry you?
* Locate Creature: Situationally useful. Scroll it, don't learn it
* Scrying F: If that's what you want to do, go for it.

Ench

* Charm Monster: Charming isn't really that powerful, wait for Dominate.
* Confusion: Will Save or Loose, although it's Mind Affecting.
* Crushing Despair: A Save Debuff with a Will Save or negate. If his save was low enough you could land it, why would you need to cast it?
* Geas, Lesser: Toy.

Evoc

* Fire Shield: And how often is something going to be chunking fire/cold at you?
* Ice Storm: Come on, fireball has better damage than this.
* Resilient Sphere: Ref Save or Loose. Also handy for protecting fallen allies, or yourself.
* Shout: Friendly Fire Isn't.
* Wall of Fire: Damage is lousy.
* Wall of Ice: Nah, wait a level for Wall of Stone or Force, if you're really wanting a wall

Illus

* Hallucinatory Terrain: I haven't seen much use in it, but YMMV, Illusions are one of those things that either rock hard or suck ass.
* Illusory Wall: See above.
* Invisibility, Greater: Handy for the party rogue.
* Phantasmal Killer: Will save AND Fort save or die. Your first true death spell, but either of the saves negates. Not worth it
* Rainbow Pattern: Not really worth it, you've got better tricks.
* Shadow Conjuration: I know, it looks pretty, but it's really not. It grants SR to the spells that normally don't allow it, and adds a Will Save component.

Necro

* Animate Dead M: Friends don't let Sorcerers learn spells with expensive material components.
* Bestow Curse: You've got too many good choices this level, let the Cleric do this.
* Contagion: By the time it gets around to doing anything, the encounter is long over.
* Enervation: One of the most effective RTA spells in the game.
* Fear: Will Save or Loose. Beware Friendly Fire.

Trans

* Enlarge Person, Mass: Nah, you've got too many other good things to do.
* Mnemonic Enhancer F: Wizard only.
* Polymorph: If you're not allergic to cheese, this is excellent.
* Reduce Person, Mass: See above on Mass Enlarge Person.
* Stone Shape: Depends on how frequent you plan on doing this.

5th level spells

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5th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Abjur

* Break Enchantment: Let the Cleric handle this. Scroll it, don't learn it.
* Dismissal: Depends on how frequent Outsiders with weak Will saves are going to be showing up.
* Mage’s Private Sanctum: Depends on how often you are getting scried on in your sleep.

Conj

* Cloudkill: Even on a save, it still does Con damage. Combine with a way to immobilize, and this is a No Save You're Dead unless it's immune to poison
* Mage’s Faithful Hound: You've got better ways of preventing being attacked at lower levels.
* Major Creation: As minor creation, plus wasting a higher level slot.
* Planar Binding, Lesser: Depends on if you want to cheese it.
* Secret Chest F: Generally only used for Wizards and their spellbooks.
* Summon Monster V: See previous Summon Monster entries.
* Teleport: Extremely handy mobility spell. Party Transportation in a can. Port n Pwn. Lots of uses here. Upgrade to greater that doesn't have a chance of hosing you when you get the chance.
* Wall of Stone: Good battlefield control and some utility as well.

Div

* Contact Other Plane: Lets you play 20 questions with an extraplanar entity.
* Prying Eyes: Still not worth it, let the Skillmonkey do his job
* Telepathic Bond: Don't learn it, get it cast on the party instead.

Ench

* Dominate Person: And how often do you run into Humanoids with weak Will saves?
* Feeblemind: Will Save or Screwed. And Arcane Casters get a -4 on the save. Very good counter-caster spell
* Hold Monster: Another single target Will Save or Screwed.
* Mind Fog: If only it didn't allow a Will save. So if you need to reduce the will save, you need to cast it, only it won't land because you need to reduce the will save.
* Symbol of Sleep M: Friends don't let Sorcerers learn spells with extremely expensive material components.

Evoc

* Cone of Cold: If you absolutely, positively, must have a Ref/Half blast spell, this is a decent choice.
* Interposing Hand: Toy.
* Sending: Scroll it, don't learn it.
* Wall of Force: Battlefield Control.

Illus

* Dream: Toy.
* False Vision M: Situationally Useful *AND* expensive material component. Scroll it, don't learn it.
* Mirage Arcana: As hallucinatory terrain, plus higher level.
* Nightmare: Toy.
* Persistent Image: As major image, but no concentration required.
* Seeming: Extremely situational.
* Shadow Evocation: So now, in addition to Ref/Half, it now has Will/half as well.

Necro

* Blight: And how often will you fight plants?
* Magic Jar F: Toy
* Symbol of Pain M: Expensive Material Component
* Waves of Fatigue: Not worth it for this level, you've got many other ways of slowing them down.

Trans

* Animal Growth: Let the tree-hugging Druid buff his own dang pet.
* Baleful Polymorph: Fort Save or Loose.
* Fabricate: Need a Craft check to do anything with it. Pass.
* Overland Flight: 24 hr Flight.
* Passwall: If you can't batter it down by now, you've got bigger problems. Disintegrate would be better for this.
* Telekinesis: Versatile and flexible spell.
* Transmute Mud to Rock: Toy.
* Transmute Rock to Mud: Toy.

Univ

* Permanency X: Remember what I said about expensive material components? Yea, well spending XP is even worse.

6th level spells:

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Abjur

* Antimagic Field: Very rarely ever worth it.
* Dispel Magic, Greater: Upgrade to the 3rd level version.
* Globe of Invulnerability: As lesser globe of invulnerability, plus eating up a 6th level slot.
* Guards and Wards: Toy.
* Repulsion: You've got better things to do.

Conj

* Acid Fog: Solid Fog + 5d6 Acid Damage.
* Planar Binding: As lesser planar binding, but up to 12 HD.
* Summon Monster VI: See previous Summon Monster entries.
* Wall of Iron M: Unless you want to do infinite gold cheese, avoid it.

Div

* Analyze Dweomer F: Let someone else do this.
* Legend Lore M F: Material AND Focus. Not worth it for you. Let the Wizard or Bard grab it
* True Seeing M: If only it wasn't so expensive to cast...

Ench

* Geas/Quest: Toy.
* Heroism, Greater: See entry on Heroism.
* Suggestion, Mass: Let the Bard do this instead.
* Symbol of Persuasion M: Friends don't let Sorcerers learn expensive spells.

Evoc

* Chain Lightning: Blastermancy.
* Contingency F: No, don't get this. Trust me, you've got a better way to do this.
* Forceful Hand: Ultimately, just another pretty toy.
* Freezing Sphere: Slightly more useful Blastermancy.

Illus

* Mislead: Okay, not too bad, but really... you've got better things to do.
* Permanent Image: If Illusions are your thang.
* Programmed Image M: Warning: Material Component makes this too expensive to learn. Scroll it, if that's what you want.
* Shadow Walk: You already have Teleport, why bother?
* Veil: Just another toy.

Necro

* Circle of Death M: Too expensive, and really, not all that good by now, considering how many HD your opponents are going to have by the time you can get this.
* Create Undead M: Too expensive, and you'd be better off with Summon Monster.
* Eyebite: Fort save or Loose
* Symbol of Fear M: Too expensive to pick up.
* Undeath to Death M: See Circle of Death.

Trans

* Bear’s Endurance, Mass: Doesn't stack with items.
* Bull’s Strength, Mass: Doesn't stack with items.
* Cat’s Grace, Mass: Doesn't stack with items.
* Control Water: Situationally handy. Scroll this.
* Disintegrate: Extremely useful for a variety of opponents that are otherwise very tough.
* Eagle’s Splendor, Mass: Doesn't stack with items.
* Flesh to Stone: Fort Save or effectively Dead.
* Fox’s Cunning, Mass: Doesn't stack with items.
* Mage’s Lucubration: Wizard only. Plus, sounds too kinky
* Move Earth: Toy.
* Owl’s Wisdom, Mass: Doesn't stack with items
* Stone to Flesh: Let the Cleric deal with this
* Transformation M: You screw over your casting to be able to be half as effective as the tank in physical combat. Next.

7th level spells

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Abjur

* Banishment: How often are you running into Outsiders with poor Will saves?
* Sequester: Toy.
* Spell Turning: Only worth it if you plan on getting into a lot of mage duels.

Conj

* Instant Summons M: No. Wizards use it for their backup spellbooks, but worthless to you
* Mage’s Magnificent Mansion F: Rope Trick's bigger, more luxurious brother.
* Phase Door: Why bother? Disintegrate works just as well
* Plane Shift F: Depends on how much plane-hopping you plan on doing.
* Summon Monster VII: See previous Summon Monster entries.
* Teleport, Greater: Probably the most useful party transportation spell around.
* Teleport Object: As teleport, but with more suck and phail.

Div

* Arcane Sight, Greater: As arcane sight, with the same problem.
* Scrying, Greater: As scrying, but higher level.
* Vision M X: As legend lore, but more expensive and strenuous.

Ench

* Hold Person, Mass: And how many humanoids are you really finding these days?
* Insanity: Will Save or Loose, as long as it's not immune
* Power Word Blind: No save, but mind-affecting.
* Symbol of Stunning M: Too expensive.

Evoc

* Delayed Blast Fireball: Blastomancy, but possibly handy when paired with Time Stop.
* Forcecage M: At $1,500 a pop, not worth it, but see next level.
* Grasping Hand: Toy.
* Mage’s Sword F: By now, you have better things to do.
* Prismatic Spray: Lots of fun, watch for friendly fire.

Illus

* Invisibility, Mass: By now, probably not worth it.
* Project Image: Why spend an action to fool them when you can spend and action to destroy them?
* Shadow Conjuration, Greater: Now we're talking. Any Conjuration spell you didn't pick up? This is them.
* Simulacrum M X: Toy.

Necro

* Control Undead: Let the Cleric grab this one.
* Finger of Death: Fort Save or Die. Too bad it's a touch spell
* Symbol of Weakness M: As with the other Symbols, too expensive to learn.
* Waves of Exhaustion: Gee... I don't think I've seen a spell so underwhelming since Knock. Pass.

Trans

* Control Weather: Let the Cleric/Druid take care of this.
* Ethereal Jaunt: Probably not worth a spell known, unless you've got a lot of Ethereal stuff going on.
* Reverse Gravity: No Save, No SR. Handy for juggling, can be used in combo with some other stuff to be very obnoxious.
* Statue: Toy.

Univ

* Limited Wish X: At 300 xp a pop, do you really want to be casting this enough to be worth having it as a spell known? Keep a scroll or two, but don't learn it

8th level spells:

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Abjur

* Dimensional Lock: Handy when playing with big outsiders that can Teleport at will.
* Mind Blank: Remember all those Will Save or Loose spells that I've been talking about are so good if your opponent isn't immune to mind-affecting? Yea, this makes you immune to them.
* Prismatic Wall: Battlefield Control with interesting effects.
* Protection from Spells M F: Material AND Focus. Pass

Conj

* Incendiary Cloud: Acid Fog is better. More damage, of a less likely to be resisted flavor, without a save, and also slows opponents.
* Maze: Will Save or Gone.
* Planar Binding, Greater: As lesser planar binding, but up to 18 HD.
* Summon Monster VIII: See previous Summon Monster Entries.
* Trap the Soul M F: Seriously, 1k/hd? Too expensive.

Div

* Discern Location: Toy.
* Moment of Prescience: when you absolutely, positively, desperately need to make that check...
* Prying Eyes, Greater: Now THIS one is worth it. True Sight without material components!

Ench

* Antipathy: By now, you have better ways of battlefield control.
* Binding M: Material component.
* Charm Monster, Mass: As charm monster, but sucking an 8th level spell.
* Demand: Toy
* Irresistible Dance: Would be better if it wasn't a Touch spell.
* Power Word Stun: Stuns creature with 150 hp or less.
* Symbol of Insanity M: See previous Symbol Of x spells.
* Sympathy F: Toy.

Evoc

* Clenched Fist: Toy.
* Polar Ray: Decent single-target damage, but Disintegrate is probably better.
* Shout, Greater: too much potential for friendly fire.
* Sunburst: See above.
* Telekinetic Sphere: As resilient sphere, but you move sphere telekinetically. Very handy upgrade

Illus

* Scintillating Pattern: Probably not worth it for you.
* Screen: Really, how often are you being Scried, anyways?
* Shadow Evocation, Greater: Definately worth it. This is Contingency + Forcecage + Force Wall + any other Evocation spell you want to cast.

Necro

* Clone M F: Scroll it, don't learn it.
* Create Greater Undead M: Summon Monster is more powerful, and doesn't have spell components.
* Horrid Wilting: Friendly Fire Isn't.
* Symbol of Death M: It's a Symbol, too expensive for your blood.

Trans

* Iron Body: You've got better defenses by now.
* Polymorph Any Object: If you can stand the Cheese, one of the most powerful spells in the game.
* Temporal Stasis M: Expensive Material Components make Sorcerers cry.

9th level spells:

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Abjur

* Freedom: And just how frequently will you run into Imprisonment?.
* Imprisonment: Will Save or Gone.
* Mage’s Disjunction: Dispels magic, destroys loot...
* Prismatic Sphere: Come on, TRY and hit me, I dare ya...

Conj

* Gate X: Unless you plan on abusing this with infinite chains, the xp cost is too great to be worth it.
* Refuge M: Expensive Material Components make Sorcerers cry.
* Summon Monster IX: See previous Summon Monster spells.
* Teleportation Circle M: Material Components Ahoy! Just use Greater Teleport.

Div

* Foresight: Ironically, you won't know you need to cast the spell until it's already too late to cast it.

Ench

* Dominate Monster: As dominate person, but any creature.
* Hold Monster, Mass: As hold monster, but all within 30 ft.
* Power Word Kill: How often will you really need to do this? If it has under 100 hps, odds are your meat shield is about to grind it up.

Evoc

* Crushing Hand: Toy.
* Meteor Swarm: Blastomancy.

Illus

* Shades: As shadow conjuration, but up to 8th level and 80% real.
* Weird: By now, most things will have either a good Fort, or a good Will, or be Immune to death or mind-affecting, or multiple of the above.

Necro

* Astral Projection M: How often do you really want to go to the Astral Plane?
* Energy Drain: Empowered Ray of Enervation is better and only 6th level.
* Soul Bind F: How frequently do you really see this being useful?
* Wail of the Banshee: Kills one creature/level.

Trans

* Etherealness: Unless you plan on a lot of plane-hopping, probably not worth it.
* Shapechange F: Ultimate in Cheese Smack-o-Mancy.
* Time Stop: If you can't set up a Win in 1d4+1 rounds, you need to go play something else.

Univ

* Wish X: As limited wish, but waaay too expensive in XP to cast it often enough to be worth a spell known.

[imperialspectre]

Nicely done. Quite a handy tool for Core sorcerers; almost as good for sorcerers with other options provided they take a good long look at Spell Compendium and Dragon Magic too.

I wonder, though, about this bit:

3) It must be something which retains use throughout your career. For example, the humble Magic Missile is constant, never-fail damage, which is always handy for that final blow that absolutely must land. Grease is another good example of a low level spell that retains use throughout your career. Sleep is an example of a spell whose worth rapidly fades to nonexistance.

Doesn't the sorcerer's ability to swap out spells every few levels mean that at low levels, something that's really good for the short term might be worthwhile? Sleep or Color Spray, for example, are really solid options for the first few levels (especially Color Spray), and you can always change it for something else at 4th level, when they stop being good.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Nicely done. Quite a handy tool for Core sorcerers; almost as good for sorcerers with other options provided they take a good long look at Spell Compendium and Dragon Magic too.

I wonder, though, about this bit:



Doesn't the sorcerer's ability to swap out spells every few levels mean that at low levels, something that's really good for the short term might be worthwhile? Sleep or Color Spray, for example, are really solid options for the first few levels (especially Color Spray), and you can always change it for something else at 4th level, when they stop being good.

Yes, and this has been addressed in the individual spell description.

[Nohwl]

theres a spell that fixes broken objects, its same level as shatter. i cant remember its name and dont feel like looking. whatever its called, you would want to take it if you were going to be using shatter a lot. maybe its not core.

i disagree with a few of the curses, wall of iron, and phantom steed, but i like those spells.

other than that good job.

[Keld Denar]

Done before?

Maybe?

Still, good points to address!

[Malacode]

I gotta say, I agree with pretty much everything you've said. Burning Hands, however, can be useful at lower levels (With two castings of this, I took out more enemies in two than the four other (melee) characters did for the rest of the combat) and you can swap it out when it becomes useless. Same for Sleep and Colour Spray. Remember, Sorc's can change spells known whenever they gain new ones

[ShneekeyTheLost]

theres a spell that fixes broken objects, its same level as shatter. i cant remember its name and dont feel like looking. whatever its called, you would want to take it if you were going to be using shatter a lot. maybe its not core.

If there's a 2nd level wiz/sorc spell that fixes things, then it's not core, which is what this covers. There's Mending which is a 0 level spell, which I didn't bother listing because you get most of them anyways (and for space reasons), but that's about it.

i disagree with a few of the curses, wall of iron, and phantom steed, but i like those spells.

Curses are good, don't get me wrong, but you've got other things at 3rd level that you need to pick up, not duplicate something the Cleric picked up three levels ago.

Wall of Iron isn't good for a Sorcerer, because of the 50gp material component. If you're casting it constantly, that's going to drain your bank account, unless you're using it for infinite wealth cheese. It has no mechanical advantage over Wall of Force, which is immune to physical damage, or a Wall of Stone, which also has utility in making bridges.

I said that Phantom Steed had some use, but generally wasn't seen as useful. You've got a lot of other mobility spells at that level. Fly lets you get airborn quicker. It's not a bad spell, but with a very limited spell selection, you're probably better off choosing something with a bit more utility.

In other words, it's not that the spells are bad, it's that it would be unwise for a Sorcerer to pick them up as Spells Known

other than that good job.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[Nohwl]

i was thinking of a cleric spell. whose name i looked up and then forgot already. so the cleric could fix everything you hit with shatter.

at higher levels phantom steed is better than fly.

and if youre not casting any spells with material components, what exactly are you going to be spending money on?
--------
make whole.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

i was thinking of a cleric spell. whose name i looked up and then forgot already. so the cleric could fix everything you hit with shatter.

Yea, shatter is a handy spell, if the cleric is willing to crank out that many Make Whole spells to repair everything.

at higher levels phantom steed is better than fly.

Overland Flight is better still, and available by the time Phantom Steed gets Wind Walk, and doesn't require ranks in Ride to avoid taking a fall.

and if youre not casting any spells with material components, what exactly are you going to be spending money on?

Scrolls for those 'once every so often, it can save a party' type spells, wands for the lower level spells you plan on using frequently, but just don't have the spells known space to include, and better gear like Ioun Stone of +1 CL, Cloak of Charisma +6, and other fun toys.

[Toliudar]

This is a GREAT list, Shneeky. Smart, fun to read and very useful. Thanks!

A couple quibbles:

I think you were thinking of Wind Wall when you described Gust of Wind.

I'd say that Protection from Evil's alignment-based protection is the least useful of its three facets. The "ignore summoned creatures for free" and "no, he's not dominated, actually" aspects are way more interesting. Plus, it's a multi-faceted defensive buff.

[Nohwl]

overland flight is 2 spell levels higher than phantom steed for the same duration, and phantom steed moves faster.

[ericgrau]

Overland Flight is better still, and available by the time Phantom Steed gets Wind Walk, and doesn't require ranks in Ride to avoid taking a fall.

Both have the same duration and manuevarability (average, which has its problems). Phantom steed is a 3rd level spell, overland flight is a 5th level spell. You get phantom steed flight at level 14, overland flight comes at level 9. Phantom steed grants a speed of up to 240 feet, overland flight grants a speed of 40 feet. It is a DC 5 (FIVE) ride check to stay in the saddle if you take damage. Otherwise there is no check involved. Phantom steed can be destroyed with damage, while overland flight can't. Phantom steed can be given to allies, while overland flight is a personal spell.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

This is a GREAT list, Shneeky. Smart, fun to read and very useful. Thanks!

A couple quibbles:

I think you were thinking of Wind Wall when you described Gust of Wind.

True, although gust of Wind CAN be used as such

I'd say that Protection from Evil's alignment-based protection is the least useful of its three facets. The "ignore summoned creatures for free" and "no, he's not dominated, actually" aspects are way more interesting. Plus, it's a multi-faceted defensive buff.

Unfortunately, it only works against things that are... EVIL. If you're not facing evil things, it's worthless. Also, as a Sorcerer, you have to choose each alignment as seperate and individual spells known. And again, the Cleric has this spell, it's better that he take care of it, which frees you up to be able to have a broader selection of spells known.

[Nohwl]

i would like to point out that a cleric isnt designed to get every spell you dont feel like getting.

[Lycanthromancer]

Unfortunately, it only works against things that are... EVIL. If you're not facing evil things, it's worthless. Also, as a Sorcerer, you have to choose each alignment as seperate and individual spells known. And again, the Cleric has this spell, it's better that he take care of it, which frees you up to be able to have a broader selection of spells known.

Actually, the only vs-evil-only effects of protection from evil/magic circle against evil are the following:

First, the subject gains a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures.

Everything else applies regardless of alignment, if you'll read the spell.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

i would like to point out that a cleric isnt designed to get every spell you dont feel like getting.

I would also like to point out that almost all of the spells I designated as Clerics get this were things mostly pretaining to Undead (which you should let the Cleric handle anyways), or things that clerics get sooner (like Cursing).

It's not a matter of 'don't feel like getting', it's a matter of "I have five spells total that I can ever have as spells known at this spell level, so I need them all to variously apply in many circumstances". While Curse is good, even as a 3rd level spell, so is Enervation, DimDoor, Black Tentacles, Confusion, Fear, and Solid Fog.

Since the Cleric CAN do it, and do it easier than a sorcerer, it stands to reason that the Sorcerer should allow the Cleric to pick it up, since the Cleric can sac spells for healing anyways, he has the spell slots available to get it, wheras you don't.

Also, spells like Remove Enchantment, Remove Curse, and the like are (hopefully) not so frequently required as to need one as a spell known, making them in the 'occasionally handy, scroll it but don't learn it' category.

[Eldariel]

Frankly, I'd say Pro Opposing Alignment is strong enough to get for just about any campaign that isn't entirely about wild animal hunting, simply for the "protection from mind-affecting" clause. By far the easiest way to make your Big Stupid Fighter fight for the right team (the guys using mind control-magic tend to be of the evil alignment anyways; neutrals rarely bother and it's assumed PCs are the Good Guys - of course, it's less useful for evil PCs as evil fights evil as much as it fights good). Also, out of the options available, evil summons are likely by far the most common to be used against PCs (well, those and true neutral, but that's a moot point as there's no protection from neutrality).

With that said, I'll take a stab at making a generic core-only list (can't hope to make a comprehensive one for non-core) for a high-level (I'll make a level 20 Sorc-list, but similar choices would probably apply for 14 up) Sorcerer:
Level 1:

Spoiler

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Enlarge Person
Grease
Protection from Evil
Shield
Magic Missile

In Core-only, without Sorcerers being able to use Quicken Spell, True Strike is easily Wanded, at 1st level with no level-based variables.

Level 2:

Spoiler

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Glitterdust
Mirror Image
Scorching Ray (most damage for the buck; you already have guaranteed damage in Magic Missile which frankly beats Acid Arrow in usefulness often; due to Concentration-rules, casters rarely fail their saves vs. Acid Arrow anymore)
False Life
Rope Trick

Web is a great spell, but between Grease, Solid Fog and Resilient Sphere, you shouldn't need it that often. Of course, it has advantages overa ll those spells, and could be traded for Rope Trick which is a daily spell anyways; you could Wand it, but that's expensive.

Level 3:

Spoiler

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Phantom Steed
Stinking Cloud
Major Image
Slow/Greater Magic Weapon (depending on whether you're the only caster in the party or not)

Once again, Wind Wall can easily be Wanded, although it gets expensive already.

Level 4:

Spoiler

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Enervation
Solid Fog
Greater Invisibility
Resilient Sphere

This leaves Charm Monster (unfortunate, really wanted to include it, but 4 spells you can't really say "no" to), Black Tentacles (enough control-spells already) and Dimension Door (this of course assumes you'll be using a higher level slot for movement; Teleportation effect is necessary)

Level 5:

Spoiler

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Baleful Polymorph
Teleport
Contact Other Plane
Cloudkill

Feeblemind not included because of the "mind-affecting"-stamp, Wall of Force is largely redundant to e.g. Solid Fog in many scenarios. Cloudkill finally gives you an easy toy to break masses with while also improving e.g. Resilient Sphere.

Level 6:

Spoiler

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Greater Dispel Magic
Disintegrate
Anti-Magic Field if Archmage, otherwise Acid Fog

Level 7:

Spoiler

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Greater Teleport
Greater Scrying
Limited Wish

Level 8:

Spoiler

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Mind Blank
Greater Shadow Evocation
Greater Prying Eyes

Moment of Prescience is the next spell on the list; unfortunately, the options are just kinda better. If Mind Blank or True Seeing isn't needed, Moment is an awesome spell to have.

Level 9:

Spoiler

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Time Stop
Prismatic Sphere
Foresight (10 min/level on CL22 [trivial to have in Core] means that with a Greater Rod of Extend, you'll easily make this last 6 hours)

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Interesting choice. Couple of questions on it, though:

1) at 2nd level, why False Life? 20 hps is not going to save you if something falls on you, particularly not at 20th level. You're better off to not be there when the attack lands, such as with Mirror Image. That would free up for Summon Monster II, which can be used to summon a small pack of wolves for trapspringing and speedbump purposes.

2) At 7th, why lesser wish? 300 xp adds up pretty quick, if you're going to be using it enough to be worth the price of a spell known. MMM would be a nice upgrade from Rope Trick, which would free up your 2nd level spell slot for Web or something more useful. Or, if you prefer something else, Reverse Gravity is always good for a few laughs. DBF, while blasty, is pretty good with Time Stop, lets you dump a BUNCH of them on someone. It's a 'nova' effect, but deals out enough damage (barring Evasion) to be worth it.

Those are the only two that are really making me scratch my head

[Eldariel]

1) at 2nd level, why False Life? 20 hps is not going to save you if something falls on you, particularly not at 20th level. You're better off to not be there when the attack lands, such as with Mirror Image. That would free up for Summon Monster II, which can be used to summon a small pack of wolves for trapspringing and speedbump purposes.

Well, I've found that you've got your Rogue for trapspringing and for speedbumps, surely e.g. Solid Fog works better. As for False Life, it's just that over an adventuring day, you'll probably be taking hits from god-knows-what over day. Maybe someone tried to blow you up with a Fireball, maybe you got caught in a breath weapon, maybe some summon hit your face (they don't really hit that hard), etc.

At least in my experience, while you certainly can avoid most of such sitiuations, the damage adds up and absorbing the first 20 points of it can actually lead to a relevant amount over encounter or adventuring day. Of course, you've got Wand for downtime healing and those will be pretty trivial to afford, but with many high level monsters, such as Dragons, having sort of wear-down tactics, and with Mirror Image giving opponent that Little In X-chance of hitting you, I've found that it pays to have a contingency for that. Effectively, it's like having +2 Con (assuming starting Con and no Wishes, that puts you at 171 HP on level 20). Also, having the temporary HP does add to your resistance to Power Words (which admittedly fall under Mind Blank too). But yea, it's mostly there for the lower levels, but even on 20, when not Astral Projecting yourself from Genesis-plane and Planeshifting each day, it does add to your survivability (and the aforementioned mechanisms are cumbersome for Sorcerer's spells known).

2) At 7th, why lesser wish? 300 xp adds up pretty quick, if you're going to be using it enough to be worth the price of a spell known. MMM would be a nice upgrade from Rope Trick, which would free up your 2nd level spell slot for Web or something more useful. Or, if you prefer something else, Reverse Gravity is always good for a few laughs. DBF, while blasty, is pretty good with Time Stop, lets you dump a BUNCH of them on someone. It's a 'nova' effect, but deals out enough damage (barring Evasion) to be worth it.

Well, DBF is decent, but generally you can set up some kind of hell for them without it. I felt like, given that you've already got all necessary stuff, having access to emergency Heals (level 5 on Adept-list), Revivify (non-core, but revives a guy who has been dead for less than 1 round; for when your Cleric gets knocked cold - admittedly, in Core this is limited to Raise Dead-function), Restorations, or in general divine spells, this solves it. Of course this also grants you access to Druid-spells and lower level Wizard-spells (some of which might randomally come in handy; expensive swiss army knife is still a swiss army knife, just one you don't want to use on trivial issues), but mostly for the Cleric-access.

I simply didn't feel like any other level 7 slot would contribute enough to pay for those Limited Wish-scrolls; they're still 3775gp a pop, and sometimes in a tight fight, you may need more than one, but at that price, you don't want to haul a truckload with you. The other alternatives are pretty much:
-Reverse Gravity: only works on those who don't fly! Who doesn't fly on these levels, and more importantly, why would you care about them?
-Prismatic Spray: random effect; might only deal 40 damage! I'd rather skip this.
-Finger of Death: we just got Disintegrate. This doesn't require Ranged Touch Attack (oh pullleaaaze), but is a Death-effect and therefore doesn't work on anyone worth killing.
-Plane Shift: I admit, this is tempting, but you shouldn't need to be hopping planes so often as to need this as a spell known (unless you're a planeswalker). I feel this won't be needed as urgently as Limited Wish.

the rest are ehh. I just feel the Get Out Of The Jail For Free-card is handier than the alternatives. DBF I just find to be too much effort to be worth it. Some variety of Fog would really be better in that job, unless you actually need to kill it.


Now that I think about it, I'd really want Charm Monster in there as the social trump with some combat uses. Puts your vast Charisma into use too. Planar Bindings and Polymorphs are obviously skipped for...well, obvious reasons. And Moment of Prescience. Blehh...

[Nohwl]

I would also like to point out that almost all of the spells I designated as Clerics get this were things mostly pretaining to Undead (which you should let the Cleric handle anyways), or things that clerics get sooner (like Cursing).

It's not a matter of 'don't feel like getting', it's a matter of "I have five spells total that I can ever have as spells known at this spell level, so I need them all to variously apply in many circumstances". While Curse is good, even as a 3rd level spell, so is Enervation, DimDoor, Black Tentacles, Confusion, Fear, and Solid Fog.

Since the Cleric CAN do it, and do it easier than a sorcerer, it stands to reason that the Sorcerer should allow the Cleric to pick it up, since the Cleric can sac spells for healing anyways, he has the spell slots available to get it, wheras you don't.

Also, spells like Remove Enchantment, Remove Curse, and the like are (hopefully) not so frequently required as to need one as a spell known, making them in the 'occasionally handy, scroll it but don't learn it' category.

command undead, control undead, and halt undead arent on the cleric spell list. so no, a cleric cant get those spells easier than a sorcerer. with those spells, it is a matter of i didnt feel like getting them.

remove enchantment, remove curse, and stone to flesh arent worth preparing every day as a cleric either. they dont belong in the have the cleric get this spell pile, they belong in the i should carry around a few scrolls of this spell pile.

[Fixer]

2) At 7th, why lesser wish? 300 xp adds up pretty quick, if you're going to be using it enough to be worth the price of a spell known.

One of the things I have found sorcerers often use Lesser Wish for is to get temporary access to a spell that they do not know. The effect is similar to the Mage's Lucubration spell, which is 6th level.

This requires a bit of GM approval, but given your sorcerer would have to pay 300xp for EACH spell they would want, and that would be available only temporarily, most GMs I know don't mind allowing it. It is costly enough to not be abused, but even if used cannot be made to break things.

[valadil]

4) Fireball is a fine spell for dealing damage to crowds, but that's about all it can do. Haste grants an extra attack on a full attack, and will almost certainly out-damage Fireball in any combat, plus providing defensive bonuses to your allies.

While haste is a better spell, I still think fireball can be worth taking. Why? You can cast it round after round. 2 hastes in a row buys you nothing. As a sorc you want spells that you can cast every single round. While damage is rarely optimal, it's rarely useless either.

Of course, fireball vs haste depends on the type of game. If you're playing the kind of game that has one huge combat between every fight, haste might be better left to the wizards. You'll cast it once and then rest. If the game has several combats between rests, having 4 or 5 hastes available might be beneficial.

Anyway, my point is that you want one or two spells on your list that you can cast every single round of every single combat and still contribute, even if it's not the most optimal contribution. Fireball or scorching ray can be a good choice for this type of spell (especially if you plan on metamagicking them up).

[Starbuck_II]

I disagree with Expendious Retreat is favored over Mount:
#1: DC 5 checks to stay in saddle, assuming 14 Dex (not uncommon for caster) you need to roll a 3. You can get cross-ranks of at least 1.0 or 2.0easily. Meaning 90-95% of time you stay in saddle.

Once you make those Cross skills up to 3.0 or have a higher Dex bonus: you can't fail staying in the saddle.

#2: Lets compare Duration, Speed covered, and the fact that mount's move action doesn't use up yours.

Mount: 2hrs/level, Speed: 60 ft (light horse,) 40 (pony) ft, Doesn't use your move action.

Expendious Retreat: 1 min/level, +30 on land speed. Uses yoiur move action to move.

[Keld Denar]

command undead, control undead, and halt undead arent on the cleric spell list. so no, a cleric cant get those spells easier than a sorcerer. with those spells, it is a matter of i didnt feel like getting them.

Nah, but if the cleric is really hellbent on having undead minions, they'd pimp out their rebuking and take control of them for free, or animate/create them themselves. Otherwise, you are usually best off just smashinating them.

remove enchantment, remove curse, and stone to flesh arent worth preparing every day as a cleric either. they dont belong in the have the cleric get this spell pile, they belong in the i should carry around a few scrolls of this spell pile.

Those spells fall under the "morning after pill" spells, where, if one of your normal protective measures fail, you hole up in your rope trick till el divine-o gets his mojo back and you undo it and get on with your life. Unless time is critical, this way requires 0 resource expenditure by either of you. Remove Blindness and Disease also.

[Saph]

Level 4:

Enervation
Solid Fog
Greater Invisibility
Resilient Sphere

I'd actually take Charm Monster over Enervation. The reasoning is: you already have plenty of spells that kill things. Charm Monster gives you options, and when you're a Sorcerer, more options are good.

Besides, negative levels are a pain to track and whenever I use them in games, I always find that the player in charge of whatever's hit by them (either a PC's player, or the DM) tends to forget about the penalties, making the spell effectively useless.

Level 6:
Greater Dispel Magic
Disintegrate
Anti-Magic Field if Archmage, otherwise Acid Fog

You aren't a fan of Greater Heroism either? +4 to saves and +4 to attacks plus temp HP and fear immunity is pretty useful. Dropped on a fighter, it'll usually do more damage than Acid Fog. Heroism is also one of my long-term favourite buffs, with a Lesser Rod of Extend Spell.

Granted, Heroism/Greater Heroism aren't much use if you have a Bard in the party, but most parties don't have one.

- Saph

[Lycanthromancer]

Explosive runes is actually a great spell for a sorcerer to learn.

1.) You can make as many per day as you like (up to your highest spell-slot limit), and they're permanent until used or dispelled, meaning you can have hundreds of these things in your haversack after only a couple of weeks. Spend today's resources for tomorrow's needs, without draining tomorrow's resources? Yes plz!

2.) It's only detectable by rogues/factotums/artificers that can make the Search DC to find traps, or via detect magic. If you're smart, you'll place explosive runes in such a way as to go off before this occurs (see #3). Adding explosive runes to an obviously magical book, for instance, negates detect magic, etc.

3.) Extremely useful, portable trap that, with a bit of forethought, can easily be used to damage unsuspecting foes. You can even bypass #2 if you think about it a bit (writing huge letters in phosphorescent chalk on a banner stuck to the dungeon wall, for instance; note that anyone within reading distance automatically takes damage, and that if written large enough, can affect someone on the moon).

4.) Can be sold to make money, and it costs you virtually nothing to make, and while it's not an uber moneymaker like, say, flesh to salt, a bit of extra cash can definitely come in handy.

5.) It can be metamagic'd to the abyss and back, meaning its damage output scales better than a surface inspection would seem. A Twinned, Maximized, Empowered, Explosive explosive runes is nothing to sneeze at when you consider that you can cast them beforehand, and that you can set several off at the same time, with no save (if you're cunning enough).

6.) It can be used to substantially increase the damage output of any archers in your party, if paired with dispel magic. Just scribe "I prepared explosive runes this morning!" on some strips of paper that you impale on some arrows, and after your archer companion Rapid Shots or Manyshots a bunch of arrows for his turn, just hit them all with a minimum-caster-level area dispel. This will be virtually guaranteed to fail to dispel at least one of the runes, which then explodes rather violently. If you're lucky, the dispel will knock a buff off of one or more creatures, as well.

7.) #6 is also great if you can prepare the battlefield beforehand (even for just a round or two, littering handfuls of paper onto the ground, which you then back away from before dispel- spamming the lot of it in a huge concussive blast of tasty force-based goodness.

8.) Really, its only weak point is illiterate creatures (but see #6 and #7). So, for instance, a horse or barbarian couldn't set it off. However, frequently such creatures are paired with an intelligent, literate companion; this means they're subject to the damage whether they can read or not.

Really, explosive runes is an awesome spell for sorcerers, if they use their admittedly inferior Int score to their advantage. :D

[Eldariel]

I'd actually take Charm Monster over Enervation. The reasoning is: you already have plenty of spells that kill things. Charm Monster gives you options, and when you're a Sorcerer, more options are good.

Besides, negative levels are a pain to track and whenever I use them in games, I always find that the player in charge of whatever's hit by them (either a PC's player, or the DM) tends to forget about the penalties, making the spell effectively useless.

The reason I picked Enervation though is that it's the most powerful attack spell in the game that also acts as a debuff. It's really not so hard to take a categorical -Negative Levels to every roll, and that makes it horribly efficient. If anything, I'd love to trade Scorching Ray (SR yes damage spell) for Charm Monster, but that's not obviously possible.

You aren't a fan of Greater Heroism either? +4 to saves and +4 to attacks plus temp HP and fear immunity is pretty useful. Dropped on a fighter, it'll usually do more damage than Acid Fog. Heroism is also one of my long-term favourite buffs, with a Lesser Rod of Extend Spell.

Granted, Heroism/Greater Heroism aren't much use if you have a Bard in the party, but most parties don't have one.

Meh, there're lots of sources for morale bonuses in items and on the Cleric-list. I I like Greater Heroism, but I feel 6th level slot is a bit high for it. Besides, Acid Fog can be quite useful, although often it's just Solid Fog in a higher level slot. Meh. I could see going either way, honestly. First choice = AMF though.

[thegurullamen]

Actually, putting a lot of abjurations in the same area makes them very visible. You can't stack runes like that without someone saying, "What the Dickens? A magical aura? Surely, something runish is afoot."

[ShneekeyTheLost]

While haste is a better spell, I still think fireball can be worth taking. Why? You can cast it round after round. 2 hastes in a row buys you nothing. As a sorc you want spells that you can cast every single round. While damage is rarely optimal, it's rarely useless either.

Of course, fireball vs haste depends on the type of game. If you're playing the kind of game that has one huge combat between every fight, haste might be better left to the wizards. You'll cast it once and then rest. If the game has several combats between rests, having 4 or 5 hastes available might be beneficial.

Anyway, my point is that you want one or two spells on your list that you can cast every single round of every single combat and still contribute, even if it's not the most optimal contribution. Fireball or scorching ray can be a good choice for this type of spell (especially if you plan on metamagicking them up).

Personally, I like to follow up Haste with an Enervation, if it's a single big opponent, or a Slow, if we're dealing with several serious threats, or perhaps something like Stinking Cloud if there's a bunch of things standing off and doing ranged attacks. I've got a lot of options as a well thought out sorcerer, I don't need to do damage, that's why I have a meat shield.

I'm not saying that a Fireball is a bad spell. There are very few truly bad spells in the book, they all have some use. I'm just saying that, as a Sorcerer, you have extremely limited number of spells known, so you must choose very carefully. Yes, Fireball is a good spell. So is Haste, Slow, Stinking Cloud, Dispel Magic, Suggestion, and others.

My opinion, and as I said at the beginning of the post, this is only my opinion, is that a Sorcerer needs to find spells that are variously useful. Fireball does damage. That's all it does. Haste grants allies an extra attack, extra AC, extra movement, and bonuses to attack rolls and reflex saves. This does a LOT for my party. Odds are, my party, as a whole, will be doing more damage than I would have been able to do with the fireball in the first place. And, unlike in a Fireball, they can keep doing it every round while I focus my attention on locking down hot spots or providing support where necessary.

So yes, Haste isn't a spell you can spam every round. Haste is a spell you don't need to spam every round, which frees you up to do other things which might be more useful.

[valadil]

Shneekey,

Agreed. Fireball was probably a poor choice, but the sorcerer should have something that he can do round after round if the GM has trumped all else. I'd hesitate to use a 3rd level slot for this in actual play, I was just going with the example you'd left up there. Core only I can usually spare a second level slot so I like taking scorching ray as my damage spell. Outside of core, an Orb, Melf's Unicorn Arrow, or Wings of Flurry makes for a better choice, albeit at a higher slot.