[3.5] To Specialize or not to Specialize

[Gorbash]

I have a weird DM. His problem is that he doesn't really know rules and mechanics that good, so he can't really judge what's powerful and what's not. For example, he didn't let the druid take Master of Many Forms prestige class because it's too powerful. But he let the party Cleric take Divine Metamagic (Quicken). And he let me take Keen Intellect (Int to Will saves). So, every once in a while he forbids using an ok spell/item/feat, but then he allows someone else to use stuff that's bordering on game breaking, which can be quite irritating.

So, my Batman wizard (in the sig) has problems regarding the choice of his spells, since every once in a while, there pops out a spell I can't use. Howling Chain and Assay Spell Resistance off the top of my mind, but there are (and will be) more.

And, in order to remedy the situation a bit, I asked him if I could change the wizard levels for Transmuter levels, since I won't be using Evocation that much anymore, and here's my question - Is specialization really worth it?

Sure, that extra spell per level sounds nifty, and I've been hearing the talk on this board and gleemax how awesome (Focused) Specialists are, but you lose quite a bit, I'm just not sure that it's worth it to lose access to spells (in my case I'd drop Necromancy and Evocation) such as Ray of Enfeeblement, False Life, Waves of Exhaustion, Bigby's Grasping Hand, Forcecage etc.

I'd like to hear opinions from people who've played Specialists and their experiences regarding the lessened versatility.

[Tempest Fennac]

I've not got that much experience with Wuzards, but I tend to think that losing access to schools isn't a problem if I have no intention of using spells from that particular school. (Eg: I could drop Abjuration with no problems as long as there's a Cleric in the party, and Evocation doesn't have anything that I'd consider to be worth bothering with. I could also do without Necromancy or Enchantment, and possibly Illusion, at a push as well.)

[sonofzeal]

I'm a big fan, not just of Specialist, but of Focused Specialist (which is the same but even more so). The general idea is that being able to potentially cast all sorts of spells is generally worse than actually being able to cast high-level spells all over the place. You give up some good potential spells, but unless you're Schrodinger's Wizard, what matters most is how much magic you're actually using, and Specialist helps there. I consider this post to be required reading for wizards.

[Saph]

I usually find that specialisation's worth it, simply because Wizards have so many spells there's no way you could use even half of them. A generalist might have access to 7000 spells, a specialist only 5000 spells - it's not like you're going to run out either way!

Anyway, if you're using lots of splatbooks there are very few "one-of-a-kind" spells. You can nearly always find something in a different school that gets the job done.

Also, most spellcasters have preferences for types of spells. If you aren't into tricking opponents, you won't miss Illusion much, if you dislike negative energy you can get by fine without Necromancy, etc.

- Saph

[Eldariel]

I have a weird DM. His problem is that he doesn't really know rules and mechanics that good, so he can't really judge what's powerful and what's not. For example, he didn't let the druid take Master of Many Forms prestige class because it's too powerful...

Gave me a mental image of a DM reprimanding Druid in Dog-form: "No! Bad Druid, bad Druid, don't you even think about reining in your power! You are and will stay broken and nothing you say or do can change that!"

I found it quite hilarious.

So, my Batman wizard (in the sig) has problems regarding the choice of his spells, since every once in a while, there pops out a spell I can't use. Howling Chain and Assay Spell Resistance off the top of my mind, but there are (and will be) more.

And, in order to remedy the situation a bit, I asked him if I could change the wizard levels for Transmuter levels, since I won't be using Evocation that much anymore, and here's my question - Is specialization really worth it?

Sure, that extra spell per level sounds nifty, and I've been hearing the talk on this board and gleemax how awesome (Focused) Specialists are, but you lose quite a bit, I'm just not sure that it's worth it to lose access to spells (in my case I'd drop Necromancy and Evocation) such as Ray of Enfeeblement, False Life, Waves of Exhaustion, Bigby's Grasping Hand, Forcecage etc.

I'd like to hear opinions from people who've played Specialists and their experiences regarding the lessened versatility.

Well, it depends. Losing Enchantment is generally rather painless as long as you get by the first levels without Sleep - the school is truly a one-trick pony and while losing access to Charm Person & al. can be annoying, mostly you can work around that stuff, or another party member can do it just as well.

Abjuration is similar although I'd be less inclined to remove that as some protections you'll just be best off dispelling and others can't always be around to do it for you (they may be dead or on another plane or some such). More importantly, it contains stuff like Dimensional Lock, Maw of Chaos et co. - a bunch of stuff integral for dealing with certain types of opponents.

Evocation mostly just costs just Otiluke's Spheres, Bigby's Hands, Walls of Force et co. Greater Shadow Evocation can mimic few of the most important ones (including free Forcecages that could arguably be argued to only have 60% chance of working on a successful Will-save) at least unless DM vetoes those aspects), making it a relatively easy one to give up. Necromancy is a bit harder as you lose the trusty Enervation as your choice offense, Avasculates and eventually Astral Projection, but you can proxy other offense spells rather easily.


Really, especially on lower levels, the extra spell slots are borderline necessary and on level 1, I'd specialize every time and likewise on level 10 (as you aren't really stung by losing enchantment at all and only lose little in evocation/necromancy). On level 20, I'd consider it twice. However, with additional sources buffing specialists (PHBII giving those few awesome ACFs, Unearthed Arcana having its share of options, Complete Mage giving Master Specialist, etc.), I've found it correct to specialize more often than not and just...working around (generally with Conjuration and Illusion - the best schools for replicating stuff) whatever I'm missing.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Generalizing by itself sort of stinks, yes. Generalizing with elven generalist and domain casting, however, is quite competitive with specializing/focusing.

[Gorbash]

I found it quite hilarious.

Me, too.

Well, it depends. Losing Enchantment is generally rather painless as long as you get by the first levels without Sleep - the school is truly a one-trick pony and while losing access to Charm Person & al. can be annoying, mostly you can work around that stuff, or another party member can do it just as well.

Well, I'm swapping 12 levels of Generalist for 12 levels of Transmuter, but losing Otto is a pain in the neck. Not to mention Feeblemind for those sorcerers/wizards who are stupid enough not to cast Mind Blank.

Abjuration is similar although I'd be less inclined to remove that as some protections you'll just be best off dispelling and others can't always be around to do it for you (they may be dead or on another plane or some such). More importantly, it contains stuff like Dimensional Lock, Maw of Chaos et co. - a bunch of stuff integral for dealing with certain types of opponents.

That would really put a dent into my defences, since then I wouldn't have Greater/Superior Resistance or Greater Dispels to put into my Greater Ring of Counterspells.

Evocation mostly just costs just Otiluke's Spheres, Bigby's Hands, Walls of Force et co. Greater Shadow Evocation can mimic few of the most important ones (including free Forcecages that could arguably be argued to only have 60% chance of working on a successful Will-save) at least unless DM vetoes those aspects), making it a relatively easy one to give up. Necromancy is a bit harder as you lose the trusty Enervation as your choice offense, Avasculates and eventually Astral Projection, but you can proxy other offense spells rather easily.

I'd be reluctant to drop Evocation since Contingency + Otiluke makes a great defense mechanism. Also, since I have a reduced spell list, I need to get my hands on as many no save-lose spells I can get, and Bigby's Crushing Hand is one of them.

As for Necromancy, I'm not that of a fan of Enervation and I imagine I'd be forbidden of using Avasculate anyways, so it's not that big of a loss.

I really can't make up my mind. :/

[Eldariel]

Then it's easy: Enchantment and Necromancy go. Enjoy your new occupation as a Transmuter. Yeah, Feeblemind is kinda meh to lose, but it's an anti-spellcaster spell that still offers a Will-save; it tends to have no better chance of success than Your Generic Fort-save-or-die.

Otto's is really...it's a cool spell, but by the time you get it, Mind Blank is everywhere (24-hour touch spell too) and Otto's is a touch spell so it's really much worse than it appears. Normally a spell offers two layers of defense. While it may seem like it only offers SR, the fact that Mind-Affecting is there effectively means it offers two layers of defense and one you can't even pierce.


So yeah, Enchantment doesn't really cost you anything and if you aren't using Enervation, chances are you'll be fine. False Life is annoying, but meh, just don't bother getting hit then. And you may not be quite at good at dealing Str-damage, but that doesn't mean you don't have ways to attack - it just means you'll have to use slightly different ways to attack the same opponents. Given that you're a Wizard, you're unlike to run out of angles there, so just employ little creativity here and you'll be fine.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

All the good Evocation spells can be duplicated with (Greater) Shadow Evocation. Its offensive damage-dealing spells can be replaced with Conjurations and Transmutations, in most cases bypassing SR and just being better spells than what Evocation offers. The only must-have Evocation is Contingency, and you can save on casting time and the spell focus by using Greater Shadow Evocation anyway.

Most people will pick Enchantment as a second prohibited school, which is perfectly understandable considering how limited its spell selection is. The fact that nearly half the creatures in the game are outright immune to the entire school is another reason to just ignore it.

Necromancy is a common choice as well due to its utter lack of utility/buffing spells. Despite that, its offensive spells tend to be better than those of the Evocation and Enchantment schools, so it's sometimes a hard choice.

When specializing, you need to keep in mind that you'll have a spell slot of each level in your chosen school, so be sure to pick a school that has at least one spell of each level worth preparing at all character levels. Conjuration is the first choice of most people due to its versatility, plus you get low-level spells like Benign Transposition, Mage Armor, Glitterdust, Web, Greater Mage Armor, Bands of Steel, Dimension Door, Solid Fog, etc. that will be useful even at level 20. On top of that, you get variants like Abrupt Jaunt from PH2 and Enhanced Summoning and Rapid Summoning from UA/SRD. Transmutation is another good choice, you have low level utility spells like Nerveskitter, Rope Trick, and Haste, plus Spell Versatility will allow you to gain spells from prohibited schools.

Focused Specialist gives you almost as many spells/day as a Sorcerer, at the cost of versatility in both spells available and spells prepared. Three of your spell slots at each spell level are reserved for your chosen school, so carefully picking your school is even more important. With careful spell selection a focused specialist will always have a useful spell at the ready for any given situation, and doesn't really need to worry about conserving spells for later on since he has so many.

[Gorbash]

Otto's is really...it's a cool spell, but by the time you get it, Mind Blank is everywhere

I think this is a misconception. Just because it's available at that level, it doesn't mean that everyone and everything will have a friendly neighborhood wizard willing to cast on them all the time. And with Archmage's Arcane Reach, it's not that complicated to land it, all you have to do is pass SR (if any).

But, I guess you're right... It's only one spell after all.

[Eldariel]

I think this is a misconception. Just because it's available at that level, it doesn't mean that everyone and everything will have a friendly neighborhood wizard willing to cast on them all the time. And with Archmage's Arcane Reach, it's not that complicated to land it, all you have to do is pass SR (if any).

But, I guess you're right... It's only one spell after all.

By "everywhere", I mean "the really tough opponents you'd really, really want that no-save die spell against". I mean, if someone has the capability to cast a 24-hour immunity-spell, chances are they are going to. And of course, Mind-Affecting has other weaknesses too.

[sonofzeal]

The question is not "am I losing spells I'd use", the question is "are there other spells that I could use instead?" Feeblemind is great against enemy casters, no doubt about it, but given the sort of situation where you'd normally cast Feeblemind - are there any Conjuration/Transmutation spells that you could use effectively in the same situations?

[Gorbash]

True. As someone before you suggested, I think it would be the same as casting Flesh to Ice on a caster. So, I'll make peace with losing Ehchantment, but for the life of me, I can't decide between Necromancy and Evocation.

Necromancy is debuffing extravaganza (the said Waves of Exhaustion is a tide-turner in combat), while Evocation without blasting still offers some versatility. Walls, Otiluke, Bigbys, Contingency (I know I can get it through Greater Shadow Evocation, but that's 3 levels away and we level up slowly)

[Gerion]

In Lost empires of faerun is a feat that gives you back a prohibited school.
maybe worth a look

[Kurald Galain]

It depends what level you're on.

Personally, I'd go for Focused Specialist for a veritable plethora of additional spells per day (including of your highest level, whichever that is). It's definitely worth it.

The biggest reason for keeping abjuration is Dispel Magic. But as you've got both a cleric and a druid, the party has that covered, so it is a safe drop. Then the question is whether you like illusion all that much, because some wizards don't. Enchantment + Illusion + Abjuration is certainly a viable drop, you'll have plenty of debuffs left in Necromancy (and in Conjuration if you play it creatively - being blinded by fog or ensnared by tentacles certainly sounds like a debuff in my book).

[mostlyharmful]

In Lost empires of faerun is a feat that gives you back a prohibited school.
maybe worth a look

It's a chain of three feats, which while fairly intensive makes focussed specialist a whole lot easier, I've run a necromancer with them that only lost illusion which was really fun.

[Gorbash]

It depends what level you're on.

I'm 12th lvl.

But, Focused Specialist isn't allowed, nor have I considered it, seeming that I can't make up my mind which 2 schools should I forego, let alone 3.

And I don't have feats to spare. Taking 2 prestige classes (Earth Dreamer and Archmage) is kinda feat intensive...

Does Mind Blank makes me immune to enchantment buffs also?

[Keld Denar]

Um, if its [Mind Affecting]. I know Heroism is [Mind Affecting], as is Good Hope and Rage. Check each individual buff, it'll be right there next to the spell's school.

But yea...most Enchantment buffs are gonna be [Mind Affecting].

I'd suggest dropping Abjuration. Necromancy is just TOO good, IMO. Even if you aren't using Enervation, Ray of Enfeeblement is amazing simply because its so low level, meaning you can Metamagic the crap out of it. Illusion + Transmutation covers the best protections with Greater Mirror Image and such, all you really lose is Superior Resistance and Shield. Granted, Anticipate Teleport is really awesome, but I like using Teleport effects in combat, and AT doesn't discriminate friends from foes, so that kinda kills that.

[Fenix_of_Doom]

From my personal experience I can say specialisation is definitely worth it, there are simply too many good spells to prepare in any 5 schools that losing two is pretty much always worth it.

Which ones to lose is always a tough choice, but if you're keeping evocation and conjuration than losing illusion is also possible. So I'd go for illusion and enchantment then, but maybe that's just me.

[Animefunkmaster]

Here is how I approach the problem (for my focused specialist).

Evocation is the first to drop. When one spell (shadow evocation) can mimic the entire spell list of another school there is no reason to even think about that school. Also Conjuration can deal damage, while summoning is much better in the long run.

Next one is enchantment. Unless you dominate/charm alot and/or no one in the party is good at social interactions, this is a fair choice to go. Lots of creatures are immune and while there is some good spells in here, they are comparable to the other classes.

Lastly is either Necromany or Illusion. I personally love the necromancy school in any campaign setting where I won't be stoned to death for saying I know necromancy magic. Minions are good and these stick around (at a cost), and debuffs are frighteningly powerful in the necromancy school (Shivering touch is especially painful to lose). Illusion is really two schools in one, considering shadow conjuration and the various glamor effects (invisibility) which can help with stealth or social interactions... Sadly evocation, even when combined invisibility and other great illusions, doesn't hold a candle to necromancy debuffs. However these two can be equally removable, if you drop necromancy but want dead minions, grab fell animate, want a quick debuff for your spells, grab cloudy conjuration.

I would consider, though, focusing on conjuration rather than transmutation. While having great buffing capacity, its best uses are personal (polymorph and the like).

Edit: If you don't specialize you should surely become a domain wizard, most of the benefits from specializing without ANY draw backs... quick, go to srd or UA right now and look at it.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

If you're going to (focused) specialize in Transmutation get Spell Versatility, at Wizard 5 you can get Ray of Exhaustion or Shivering Touch or whatever else you'd want, at Wizard 10 you can get Enervation, at Wizard 15 take Waves of Exhaustion, and take Archmage 5 for the rest of the build and you've got all the worthwhile necromancy debuffs.

[Riffington]

I'm just curious how broken the "broken" things have ended up being for you so far?

For example, Int to Will saves seems good but not broken for a character that already has Will as his good save.
And Divine Metamagic (Quicken) would certainly be broken if he allows nightsticks... does he, and if not how amazing has it been?

[Gorbash]

For example, Int to Will saves seems good but not broken for a character that already has Will as his good save.

It's not broken... It's just ridiculously good! When your will save jumps by +7 with one feat, I consider that awesome (my wis is 13, int 27). Great Fortitude and the like give +2, this one has almost 4 times the better effect. And when you're targeted by Feebleminds often, you learn to appreciate its bonus.

And Divine Metamagic (Quicken) would certainly be broken if he allows nightsticks... does he, and if not how amazing has it been?

He allows a nightstick, which is still pretty awesome. And he's good, but not as good as he could be, since he usually first casts buffing stuff on the party - Recitation, Shield of Faith, Convinction (mass versions of course) and then starts with the holy trinity (rightous might, divine power, divine favor), and perhaps heals someone, but then the fight's almost over, so he ends up not being as awesome as he could.


In the end, I made up a Pros/Cons list for Necromancy, Evocation, Illusion and Enchantment, and I dropped Illusion (I can't afford to keep a whole school just because of Mirror Image, Invisibility and Project Image) and Enchantment (even if it does have good buffs, I'll be immune to them once I start casting Mind Blank).

If you're going to (focused) specialize in Transmutation get Spell Versatility

No ACF allowed. :/

[valadil]

Wizards have enough spells that a school or two can be spared. I'd advise ditching enchantment or illusion over necro though.

[Bayar]

It's a chain of three feats, which while fairly intensive makes focussed specialist a whole lot easier, I've run a necromancer with them that only lost illusion which was really fun.

3 feats for casting prohibited schools. Kinda feat intensive. A diviner could (ab)use it. Heh, focused specialist diviner with only evocation barred.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Wizards have enough spells that a school or two can be spared. I'd advise ditching enchantment or illusion over necro though.

Never ditch illusion. It has some of the best defensive spells in the game (mirror image and the Greater version thereof) and can cover your behind when you ban Evocation (shadow and greater version thereof).

Honestly, the only thing I'd miss out of Necromancy is Enervation. But I'd miss that a whole bunch. I wouldn't miss anything out of Evocation, although the extra two or three levels to get Greater Shadow Evocation for Contingency (and free-of-charge Forcecage) sucks.

Honestly, Enchantment is a one-trick pony. It does mind-affecting. As you begin running into more and more immune to mind-affecting critters, it stops being as useful. It's got some handy buffs (heroism and greater), but by and large, eminently droppable.

[Gorbash]

Well, to finalize this. I chose Illusion and Enchantment as prohibited.

And here's my wizard:

Gnome Transmuter 7 / Earth Dreamer 12

Str 11
Dex 14
Con 18
Int 27
Wis 13
Cha 13

Feats:

1. Spell Focus (Conjuration)
3. Earth Sense (Prerequsite for Earth Dreamer)
5. Spell Focus (Transmutation) (Bonus Wizard feat instead of metamagic feat, by DM's approval)
6. Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation)
9. Keen Intellect
12. Skill Focus (Spellcraft) (Prerequisite for Archmage)
+
Scribe Scroll (free)
Alertness (familiar)

Skills: Maxed out Concentration, Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion, Planes), Spellcraft and 5 ranks in Listen.

Saves (Greater Resistance included):
Fort +15
Ref +8
Will +20

Items:
Heward's Handy Haversack, Headband of Intellect +6, Boccob's Blessed Book, Amulet of Health +2, Ring of Counterspells, Lesser Rod of Silent Spell, Leser Rod of Extend Spell, Tunic of Steady Spellcasting, Goggles of Minute Seeing, Pearl of Power I.

Spells:

1st: Benign Transposition, Enlarge Person, Grease, Nerveskitter, Ray of Enfeeblement, Protection from Evil, Wall of Smoke

2nd: False Life, Glitterdust x2, Heart of Air, See Invisibility, Web, Fog Cloud

3rd: Dispel Magic, Greater Resistance, Haste, Melf's Unicorn Arrow, Phantom Steed, Slow, Anticipate Teleportation

4th: Call of Stone, Crushing Grip, Evard's Black Tentacles, Hearth of Earth, Fear, Solid Fog

5th: Channeled Lifetheft, Flesh to Ice, Mass Fly, Lighting Leap, Wall of Stone

6th: Disintegrate, Fleshiver, Freezing Fog, Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability

[mostlyharmful]

3 feats for casting prohibited schools. Kinda feat intensive. A diviner could (ab)use it. Heh, focused specialist diviner with only evocation barred.

Yeah, except you now have to find three divinations you want to prepare every day. for every level.

[Godskook]

Ok, could someone explain to me the rules on a focused specialist?

I've got:
Lose three schools.
One less general spell per day, per spell level.
3 school spells per day, per spell level available.

Is there anything else?

[Keld Denar]

You got most of it. The way its really works is that you take the normal wizard progression, and you subtract 1 spell per day off the numbers presented. Then you ADD 3 special slots that can only be used for your specialty school. Net gain of 2 spell slots per level, although you have to memorize your favored school in 3 slots. Best case, that leaves you with ~2-3 non-specialty spells per day per spell level.

And Gorbash...no Heart of Water? Thats the BEST ONE! Freedom of Movement is hard for a Wizard to obtain short of bying the 40,000g ring or the 37,000g Mithril Buckler...Granted, I HATE discharging my Heart spells, but between death and discharge, Heart of Water is the BEST.