Point blank and precise on wizard

[EarFall]

I'm making a conjuration specialist wizard, 3.5, and I was wondering if these two feats are worth it. If the DM allows flaws, I think these are the two I'll pick up, but if not I'm considering ignoring them. Thoughts?

[Keld Denar]

Does your DM allow retraining (via retraining rules in the PHBII)? If so, take em. If not, don't. At low levels, the +5 to hit for shooting a ray or lesser orb into combat help a TON. Your attack bonus will only be about +2 (assuming a 14 dex) at level 1. Shooting into combat, you'll have a -2 to hit. With the feats, you'll have a +3 to hit. Thats a big swing.

When you gain more levels, your AB will go up, and most things touch AC will go down. Then the feats aren't as strong as they could be, and its a good time to retrain them for other stuff.

[EarFall]

Does your DM allow retraining (via retraining rules in the PHBII)? If so, take em. If not, don't. At low levels, the +5 to hit for shooting a ray or lesser orb into combat help a TON. Your attack bonus will only be about +2 (assuming a 14 dex) at level 1. Shooting into combat, you'll have a -2 to hit. With the feats, you'll have a +3 to hit. Thats a big swing.

When you gain more levels, your AB will go up, and most things touch AC will go down. Then the feats aren't as strong as they could be, and its a good time to retrain them for other stuff.

I was kind of thinking that. I've never made a caster like this before, he's going to be master specialist/archmage and the last two levels are question marks. I will take obtain familiar so I can imbue it at higher levels (I replaced for abrupt jaunt, obviously). I probably don't need quicken spell thanks to the conjuration specialists capstone...

So really, in addition to my former question, what feats are appropriate?

[Keld Denar]

Cloudy Conjourations (CMage) is good for low levels. Sculpt Spell (CArcane) + Metamagic School Focus (CMage) is a pretty awesome combo as well. Empower Spell is solid for things like Ray of Enfeeblement, and Split Ray (CArcane) is nice if you do use a lot of rays.

Here is my Focused Specialist Conjourer for a game I'm in.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetvie...sheetid=103401

Check out his feats and spells. He's headed into Wayfarer Guide for 1 level next, then Archmage.

[Zergrusheddie]

As stated above, only take the ranged feats if you can retrain. At lower levels, most AC comes from Size Bonuses and Dexterity and at higher level most creatures get bigger so Touch AC is not a problem. Feats you may want to consider are Sculpt Spell (For Battlefield Control, this feat is pure awesome), Heighten Spell, and maybe even Arcane Thesis at higher levels when you can obtain the higher level Orb spells. If your DM is someone who is likely to have you lose your spell book, than Spell Mastery is excellent in the event where the monsters beat you unconscious and throw you in a cell without your book.

Best of luck
-Eddie

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I would say don't take them. At low levels you don't have many good Ranged Touch attacks in Conj, so I'd ignore them until ~7.

As for good Conj feats, Sculpt Spell, Cloudy Conjuration, maybe a Reserve Feat, Augment Summoning if you plan to summon, and whatever is a prerequisite for your PrC.

[EarFall]

I would say don't take them. At low levels you don't have many good Ranged Touch attacks in Conj, so I'd ignore them until ~7.

As for good Conj feats, Sculpt Spell, Cloudy Conjuration, maybe a Reserve Feat, Augment Summoning if you plan to summon, and whatever is a prerequisite for your PrC.

Yeah, beautiful synergy on the pre reqs. I need to take SF Conj for the first, and that class GIVES me the other reqs for archmage (DM allowed GSF to count as my second SF feat for archmage). Of course, I probably won't get that high. Cloudy conjurations definitely seems like the way to go at level 1. I'm sure I'll regret no PB or precise shot until mid levels, but eh...\

Edit: Thanks! I play casters all the time, so I knew what spells, I just wasn't sure on the feats, but that's a good selection you've got ;)
Only one question: No ray of stupidity to automatically kill EVERY animal two shot every barbarian?

[derfenrirwolv]

Not for a conjuration specialist in 3.5

in 3.0 all of the flaming arrow and summon and throw spells were conjuration, so it was a good pick (it also made you decent with a heavy crossbow at low levels.)

Get school focus conjuration and augment summoning. you'll have to make a binder or character sheets for your summoned critters , but believe me, its a lot of fun and you get a ton of versitility out of summon monster.

Also, take infernal and celestial as languages at least. Summoned critters have an int of at least 3, so they understand at least one language. That way you can give them more commands then "attack or stay"

[EarFall]

Not for a conjuration specialist in 3.5

in 3.0 all of the flaming arrow and summon and throw spells were conjuration, so it was a good pick (it also made you decent with a heavy crossbow at low levels.)

Get school focus conjuration and augment summoning. you'll have to make a binder or character sheets for your summoned critters , but believe me, its a lot of fun and you get a ton of versitility out of summon monster.

Also, take infernal and celestial as languages at least. Summoned critters have an int of at least 3, so they understand at least one language. That way you can give them more commands then "attack or stay"

I'll be a grey elf, so it would also help with my bow at low levels... I was thinking more for the orb spells. Augment summoning is likely, as it goes nicely with the extra hp per caster level from master specialist. I don't think summoning will be my shtick, but I'll probably always have one prepared, anyhow. I don't think I'm going to focus specialize, because I might be the party dispeller. (Thus I need abjuration, and banning necro is completely out, since almost half the spells I want at lower levels are from that school).

[Keld Denar]

Only one question: No ray of stupidity to automatically kill EVERY animal two shot every barbarian?

This spell is one of very very very few that I enter into a gentleman's agreement with my DM about. I don't cast it, and he won't cast it. It doesn't bring any fun to the game.

That, (Lesser) Shivering Touch, Holy Word (and friends), Disjunction, and Gate. Those spells should never have been written, and don't exist as far as I'm concerned. Even Polymorph isn't as dumb as these spells.

[EarFall]

This spell is one of very very very few that I enter into a gentleman's agreement with my DM about. I don't cast it, and he won't cast it. It doesn't bring any fun to the game.

That, (Lesser) Shivering Touch, Holy Word (and friends), Disjunction, and Gate. Those spells should never have been written, and don't exist as far as I'm concerned. Even Polymorph isn't as dumb as these spells.

I agree with you except disjunction. (I probably won't have ray of stupidity, I definitely won't do the shivering touches). Is your beef that it blows up magic items? I house-ruled that part away when I DMed... although you could target a specific item and try to ruin ONE item, but if you failed, you could never attempt it on that item again, unless you gained a level of experience. In any case, it never worked on artifacts, minor or otherwise.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I agree with you except disjunction. (I probably won't have ray of stupidity, I definitely won't do the shivering touches). Is your beef that it blows up magic items? I house-ruled that part away when I DMed... although you could target a specific item and try to ruin ONE item, but if you failed, you could never attempt it on that item again, unless you gained a level of experience. In any case, it never worked on artifacts, minor or otherwise.

So you house-ruled out the problems. Good for you. Not everyone does. RaW, though, there are a bunch of issues with it. First off, it destroys character power. Losing 760,000 GP hurts, and you aren't making that back anytime soon, since you don't have any gear to earn it back with. It's essentially Save-or-screwed without the save. Yes, the gear gets a save, but that doesn't keep you from losing a huge chunk of your power, and introduces the second issue, that now you not only have to roll a save for every single one of the magic items(7-8 slots, magic weapon, magic armor, bag of holding, HHH, wands, scrolls, backup items, unslotted stuff, probably a total of 20+ saves), but you can use the item's will save. That means you now are trying to remember which book all of them came from, dig it out, then calculate the bonus just to decide which save you roll. One spell shouldn't take 2 hours just to figure out what happens, or 2 months to recover from. Death is more forgiving than being Disjoined.

[Curmudgeon]

roll a save for every single one of the magic items(7-8 slots, magic weapon, magic armor, bag of holding, HHH, wands, scrolls, backup items, unslotted stuff, probably a total of 20+ saves)

Try 200+ saves. That was for a 19th level Rogue character I had. He had maximum ranks in UMD, and tried hard to have a scroll/wand/staff/wondrous item for every occasion. Rogues have poor Will saves, so it made sense to look up each item to see if it had a better save. That one spell was cast early in the 6 hour game session, and it took all the remaining time to adjudicate the consequences -- including time spent arguing over what order in which to check items, and what happens to items in a disjoined container.

Our group finished all this bookkeeping and left. And none of us ever played with that DM again. Mordenkainen's Disjunction really is game-breaking.

[EarFall]

Try 200+ saves. That was for a 19th level Rogue character I had. He had maximum ranks in UMD, and tried hard to have a scroll/wand/staff/wondrous item for every occasion. Rogues have poor Will saves, so it made sense to look up each item to see if it had a better save. That one spell was cast early in the 6 hour game session, and it took all the remaining time to adjudicate the consequences -- including time spent arguing over what order in which to check items, and what happens to items in a disjoined container.

Our group finished all this bookkeeping and left. And none of us ever played with that DM again. Mordenkainen's Disjunction really is game-breaking.

Aye, I wanted to make sure the item thing was his beef with it. My houserule had one unfortunate side effect though. Every wizard cast it as his first spell, if it wasn't celerity/time stop.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

If you can use the Fighter bonus feat Wizard variant from UA, and you're playing an Elf or another race that's proficient with bows, and you can get a stack of +1 Spell Storing arrows, then they may be worth having for your entire career.

[Kyace]

If you can use the Fighter bonus feat Wizard variant from UA, ...

I would be remiss to not mention the Heroics spell from Spell Compendium. 2nd level, 10min/lvl, grants subject knowledge of Fighter Bonus feat to which they meet the prerequisites. /Great/ for Gishes as a Swiss-Army-Feat, handy for anyone. :P