Wizard Specialization

[ladditude]

Somewhere, there is a guide about which magic schools to prohibit for whichever school of magic you specialize in. Where can I find this online?

[Rachel Lorelei]

Somewhere, there is a guide about which magic schools to prohibit for whichever school of magic you specialize in. Where can I find this online?

You might be thinking of a previous edition. You get to choose which two schools to prohibit now (one, if you specialize in divination).

Power-wise, you should be banning Evocation and Enchantment.

[CrowSpawn]

Your in luck, actually.

While such was true in earlier versions of the game, specialization only requires you to give up any 2 schools you want, not just 2 schools in particular (an exception exists for Divination, requiring you to give up only 1 school).

This is assuming we're talking 3.5 here...

*Edit*
Bah! beaten to the punch!

[Kyeudo]

Specialize in Divination, give up Evocation. That is one of the best option for specialization out there.

Read the Guide to being Batman for a further discussion of the various plusses and minuses of the different schools.

[ladditude]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear.

I'm looking for something in a 3.5 book, I think Complete Mage. Basically, I says, if you're taking evoker, ban this and this because they overlap. Or if you're going to take illusionist, ban this and this because they overlap.

[Rachel Lorelei]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear.

I'm looking for something in a 3.5 book, I think Complete Mage. Basically, I says, if you're taking evoker, ban this and this because they overlap. Or if you're going to take illusionist, ban this and this because they overlap.

That's probably Complete Mage... the flavor part of which is full of, by and large, terrible advice that you should ignore.

[RTGoodman]

Yep, it's Complete Mage. It's an interesting read, but I'm not sure if it's necessarily the best advice.

[Aerogoat]

That's probably Complete Mage... the flavor part of which is full of, by and large, terrible advice that you should ignore.

You mean all Illusionists shouldn't ban Conjuration and Transmutation without a second's thought?

[Rachel Lorelei]

You mean all Illusionists shouldn't ban Conjuration and Transmutation without a second's thought?

Yes, I do.

In fact, they should probably stick needles into their eyeballs, first.

[ZeroNumerous]

Power-wise, you should be banning Evocation and Enchantment.

Enchantment actually has several rather powerful spells in it, depending on your play style. The 'weakest' schools are Evocation and Abjuration, within Core, assuming you're a Save-or-Die wizard. If you're Batman, then you aren't banning any schools.

Also, you should be aware that Races of the Wild has an Elf wizard racial substitution that removes the choice for specializing in favor of a "generalist" approach that is definitely worthwhile for any elf wizard.

[MeklorIlavator]

The 'weakest' schools are Evocation and Abjuration, within Core, assuming you're a Save-or-Die wizard.

Bwaaah! Ban abjuration? You mean the school that has all of those nice magical defenses/dispel magic? I always place it under the don't ban, ever section due to its general utility. Enchantment has some useful spells, but no much that's really overpowering.

Also, Batman wizards usually specialize in divination, banning evocation.

[ZeroNumerous]

Also, Batman wizards usually specialize in divination, banning evocation.

And lose contingency? Please. Batman does not limit himself. Ever.

Abjuration: It doesn't change the fact that it's still mechanically weaker. A prepared wizard can put it to good use, but if you're just going for the save-or-sucks then it doesn't matter much in the long run.

[Rachel Lorelei]

And lose contingency? Please. Batman does not limit himself. Ever.

Abjuration: It doesn't change the fact that it's still mechanically weaker. A prepared wizard can put it to good use, but if you're just going for the save-or-sucks then it doesn't matter much in the long run.

Greater Shadow Evocation gets you Contingency back.

Abjuration has, oh, Greater Dispel Magic. And Repulsion. And Spell Turning. And Imprisonment. And Disjunction. And Mind Blank.

[Cuddly]

Giving up Mindblank is like cutting off your penis.
****ing crazy.

[Aerogoat]

Abjuration has, oh, Greater Dispel Magic. And Repulsion. And Spell Turning. And Imprisonment. And Disjunction. And Mind Blank.

Not to mention that most of Enchantment's effects can be duplicated by Illusion and Necromancy. Abjuration spells are far more difficult to replace.

[Rachel Lorelei]

Not to mention that most of Enchantment's effects can be duplicated by Illusion and Necromancy. Abjuration spells are far more difficult to replace.

Irresistible Dance is the only truly powerful, irreplaceable one, but let's face it--it's almost unfair, isn't it? As much as I love the spell, I feel a twinge of guilt when I use it.

[Gralamin]

Plus, abjuration is needed to qualify for some of the best Wizard Prestige classes (IoTSV, or Incantrix anyone?)

[Farmer42]

Dispel Magic and Disjunction are both nearly irreplaceable in the games I've played. They're some of the best battlefield control spells in the game. Sure, they can mean a lot of rolling, but being able to turn off enemies' magic items can really change a battle.

[Chronicled]

The best Batman wizard I've ever played used the Focused Specialization option (give up an additional school and one spell/day from each level to get 3 total bonus spells of your specialized school at each level. All you nay-sayers ought to read this: Focused Specialist is Better Than You Think) from Complete Mage, specializing in Conjuration and giving up Evocation, Enchantment, and Abjuration.

Abjuration was the only banned school I missed, but I'd spoken with the party cleric during character creation, and he was fine with picking up the slack there. I took a huge majority of spells known from Conjuration and Transmutation, and Illusion/Necromancy/Divination easily covered everything else (I was primarily a debuffer and buffer). I still had more spells known than I could really use, but didn't have to worry so much about running out of spells and spending all my WBL on scrolls/wands. I may not have been able to draw quite so many spells from Conjuration if the SC hadn't been available, but I still think it would have been viable.

In fact, while LN's guide is quite well done, most people take it as gospel without looking at some of the assumptions he makes (which may not be applicable in every game); namely, over-abundant time and money. I recommend Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards for an alternative opinion on wizard optimization that I've found to work quite well.

[Leon]

Giving up Abjuration huh, may aswell make a new PC now

Even if its not the "end All of Schools" its not a weak school by a long shot - its the home of the very good defensive magics

[Chronicled]

Giving up Abjuration huh, may aswell make a new PC now

Even if its not the "end All of Schools" its not a weak school by a long shot - its the home of the very good defensive magics

As I mentioned in the post, the cleric in my party handled the Abjuration. It worked out just fine, and I didn't die during the campaign.

I never said Abjuration was a weak school. In fact, I mentioned that it was the "only banned school I missed" -- since its effects are difficult to reproduce with other schools (unlike Evocation, for example), and are quite effective. It was a difficult decision between banning it or banning Necromancy; since I was focused more on the debuffing role than the buffing, I decided Necromancy was more important for that character. If I'd been focused more on buffs, then I'd have banned Necromancy instead.

[Tempest Fennac]

What was the justification for Illusionists dropping Conjuration and Transmutation? This realy proves that WotC lack credability.

[RTGoodman]

What was the justification for Illusionists dropping Conjuration and Transmutation? This realy proves that WotC lack credability.

I think it's something like, "You prefer to work with the figments and false images of the Illusion school, so you don't care to summon real things with Conjuration or change physical things with Transmutation." That's basically how most of the 'suggestions' are laid out.

[Fiery Diamond]

Maybe I'll just get frowned at by everybody, but I honestly never saw the point in specializing at all. You get what?-a bonus spell per level and a teeny bonus to save DC for that school or something like that. Truthfully, neither of those, not even both of those combined, seems to be enough of a benefit to give up even ONE school. Unless the DM forces wizards to specialize (and I've never run into a DM that does that, thankfully) it seems meaningless to restrict what available spells you have. Heck, even when I'm playing a sorcerer I have spells from almost every school.

-Fiery Diamond

[Tempest Fennac]

Thanks for telling me (that really doesn't sound useful, especially since I can't imagin a real person thinking like that). In regards to specialisation, some people may think it's worth the bonus spell if they aren't bothered about 2 of the schools. Playing a Domain Wizard could be a good option for you being as they don't give up any schools.

[Chronicled]

Maybe I'll just get frowned at by everybody, but I honestly never saw the point in specializing at all. You get what?-a bonus spell per level and a teeny bonus to save DC for that school or something like that. Truthfully, neither of those, not even both of those combined, seems to be enough of a benefit to give up even ONE school. Unless the DM forces wizards to specialize (and I've never run into a DM that does that, thankfully) it seems meaningless to restrict what available spells you have. Heck, even when I'm playing a sorcerer I have spells from almost every school.

-Fiery Diamond

A bonus spell per level is huge. A wizard's spells are the only thing seperating them from a commoner with a high will save and magic items--running out means that you're nigh-worthless in combat.

Let's look at the number of spells per day of a level 9 wizard with an Int of 22 (fairly standard for that level):
Generalist Wizard castings/day

• Level 1: 6
• Level 2: 6
• Level 3: 4
• Level 4: 3
• Level 5: 2

Specialist Wizard castings/day

• Level 1: 7
• Level 2: 7
• Level 3: 5
• Level 4: 4
• Level 5: 3

A specialist wizard has almost 24% more daily spells than a generalist wizard, and 50% more of their highest-level slot. What does this mean? It means that while the generalist must either be very stingy with their spells (and be less effective), suppliment them with scrolls/wand charges/etc (expensive), or run out (and be near-worthless until the next day), the specialist can contribute more throughout each day without dipping severely into their WBL, or being as likely to run out.

The increased caster level to your school's spells can be far better than you give it credit. For example, a Transmutation specialist's Greater Magic Weapon spell not only lasts an hour longer, but gets the increased enhancement bonus a level sooner. Evocation specialists () and Conjuration specialists (when using orbs) deal damage as if they were an entire level higher than a generalist--free damage dice are very nice.

Finally, losing a school of magic hurts a lot less than you'd think, if chosen wisely. Evocation has almost nothing that can't be duplicated or replaced by other schools. Abjuration and Enchantment can often be left to the cleric and bard, respectively. Furthermore, even if you have access to every school possible, that doesn't mean that you can take advantage of all those schools. You still have a limited amount of spells/day--even more so if you're a generalist. Unlimited potential (from spells known) doesn't mean unlimited power (from spells usable).

[Saph]

I'll second what Chronicled says: a bonus spell per level is a big, big deal.

I played an Enchanter with Necromancy and Evocation as barred schools from levels 2-12. Originally it was a flavour choice (the character hates killing things) but it worked out just fine. The only spells I really missed were Ray of Enfeeblement from Necromancy, and Contingency/Defenestrating Sphere from Evocation, but, honestly . . . I had over a hundred spells in my spellbook. There was always something else I could do instead.

Very few spells are actually essential (as in, "you must cast this or your life will suck"). You can usually accomplish the same result some other way if you put a bit of thought to it.

- Saph

[Chronicled]

Saph touched upon my favorite reason for specialization--flavor. A specialist wizard, in my eyes, has a lot more flavor and roleplaying opportunities than a generalist. In the campaign where I used the focused specialist, I was initially going to try out the elf wizard generalist substitution level (which I found later to actually be pretty overrated optimization-wise), but it felt really bland without any focus to it. My interest in the focused specialist was intially simply for the flavor; once I realized how I could practically afford to toss spells around like a sorcerer, it was a no-brainer.

[sikyon]

In theoretical optimization, you'll want to specilize in Divination. This is because Divination is HUGELY useful. Wizards are powerful because they can meet any threat given time, and Divination gives them the information they need to make it happen. Now, I'm not saying to specilize in Divination for a Focused Specialist. This would be totally wrong, and in fact, Divination is the one school they should not specialize in, ever. It plays totally against their strengths. In fact, I might even consider banning Divination if I was a Focused Specilist and it were possible.

Focused Specialist suffers from the problem that he is moving away from batman and towards superman. He can carry a whole lot of spells with him around at any moment, which is nice. However, can he beat a threat 5 CR above him? Without access to all the schools he needs, he may not be able to.

The focused Specialist does something like this:

"Ah, a challenge! I'll use my repitoire of magic to destroy it!"

Then, he proceeds to maybe destroy it.


Batman wizard does this:

"Ah, a challenge! I'll teleport away and come back so that the odds are stacked 110% in my favor! I know I can do this for sure because I can pick and choose any spell I need."

The Batman wizard will win every encounter. The Focused Specialist may not be able to use the required spell.

Focused Specialist guide also talks about using party members to emulate what he needs. Emulate a roll he is missing. Anybody can do that. Any class benifits from that. Saying that "my holes can be filled up by other members of the party" means nothing.

[valadil]

An illusionist could conceivably drop conjuration, if he plans on making extensive use of the shadow conjuration line of spells. Transmutation is irreplaceable though.

My wizard that I've played since the start of 3.0 (meaning I was a nub at the time) specializes in illusion at the cost of enchantment and necromancy. Dropping enchantment was wise. I miss having Irresistible Dance, but the other Will or suck spells wouldn't really have added anything to the character. Losing Necro hurts a lot though, and I'd love to swap it back in for Evocation.