What is your favorite Wizard build

[DareTheRogue]

So we all have at least looked at the Wizard. And most agree that they can be if optimized the essential party member. You can play without one, but in personal opinion I have to have one in my party, optimized or not. Well what is your favorite Wizard build, that is not necessarily made for optimization, but for fun, for the party, for play, and all together something you enjoy?

Plz don't say Batman 100 times cause we all know that people like Batman.

[Emperor Tippy]

Cindy with Poke'Balls.

[Innis Cabal]

i dislike batman, it takes the fun out of the game

im really partial to multi-casters for one, wizard/warlock sorcerer/warlock is a build i like playing, wizard/druid/Arch Heriophant is another

[DareTheRogue]

Well now that the topic is up here is mine:

He finished off the campaign at level 14.
Dwarf Wizard 4/Fighter 1/Runesmith 3/Geometer 3/Fatespinner 3
He would put 1 spell per spell level on the back of his shield everyday, all the rest of his spells were prepared for the other party members to cast, using the Runesmith's shared runes ability. tossing out his spin to make the few spells he cast harder to resist and then standing in combat soaking up attacks wearing +5 full-plate and AC boasting items, RoP +4, Amulet Nat armor +4, and his trusted +5 Steel Tower Shield. He rarely ever took anything down in melee but instead watched the other party members cast his spells for him. When he wasn't doing that he would stand with the ranger handing him Smiting arrows, combust or shivering touch. He role played well too, with the whole dumping charisma... wait I dumped an 8 in charisma, now I have a 6, well that will make this so fun. He was not all powerful and not played to optimized results but oh so much fun, Just a little dwarf standing in the middle of combat yelling at everything that they completely suck at hitting things, of course he never did hit back.

[mostlyharmful]

Personally I'm a fan of a straight WizX build. ok, it's not fullbore powerwhoomping PrC fun, but it's quite complecated enough thank you and unarguably core and still more than strong enough to compete vs anything else short of a carefully planned Batman. Maybe a level or two of archmage for fun tweeks and fluff, meh... I've always had fun with the basic mechanic rather than the min-max-ification monster

[DareTheRogue]

Cabal my current wizard is actually going to be taking his first Arcane hierophant level very soon, he is Wizard 5/Druid 4 atm and I don't doesn't Wild Shape ability, more just sling a double spell list and have a big beasty, even if the spell lists dont hit 9th level

[Kurald Galain]

(1) Transmuter / spellthief / unseen trickster

(2) Focused master specialist necromancer / mage of the arcane order / archmage

(3) Conjurer / beguiler / ultimate magus

[Edea]

Sadly I'm one of those entirely unoriginal people who pretty much default into Incantatar and Shadowcraft Mage (when available). Straight Wizard builds are also perfectly acceptable. I love metamagic.

[BRC]

The one with the spells, ya know, and the book, and the preparation stuff.

[Eldariel]

Incantatrix. Without Spellcraft boosters, it's merely überstrong instead of downright in the middle broken. Personal favourite would probably be Whisper Gnome Illusionist 5/Incantatrix 10/Shadowcraft Mage 5. I'll have to say I very much enjoy Wizard 3/Master Specialist 10/Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil 7 too since I get to finish Master Specialist.

Although I do like FS: Conjurer/Nar Demonbinder/Ultimate Magus too (Spontaneous Divination qualification). Also, I like many kinds of gishes, but they really suck before level ~10 or so, and they aren't really Wizards so I'm not listing them here.


Edit: Oh yeah, Enchantresses are awesome too, although they need highish Charisma to work. Enchantress/Incantatrix/Fatespinner (finishing off with a level of Archmage) is an awesome character to play if one can pull off the stats. Occasionally I even enjoy multiclassing for the social skills and taking some Unseen Seer.

[Swooper]

Personally, I like Wiz 5/MotAO 7/Geometer 2/Fatespinner 4/Archmage 4. But that's a bit convoluted I suppose, and not for everyone.

[Draz74]

Right now I'm playing a Rogue 1/Wizard 5, going into Loremaster. He's a pacifist -- no damaging or "violent" spells allowed. (This includes, for example, Enervation or any Death spells.) It's fun, even if the party sometimes gets annoyed with my pacifism.

If I have flexible options from a number of books, I'd actually prefer not to use the Wizard class. I love spontaneous casting, and I'm not a huge Vancian fan either. So I'd prefer Warlock, Dragonfire Adept, Psion, Factotum, or Sorcerer.

If I have to be an actual Wizard, I have a hard time finding PrCs that are neither too powerful (Incantrix, IotSFV, Abjurant Champ, Shadowcraft ...) nor too gimped (Master of Unseen Hand ...). The core options are actually pretty well-balanced, as Wizard PrCs go. Anima Mage could be fun, too, for an evil campaign. Fatespinner looks all right, too.

[marjan]

Unseen Seer is so far the most interesting wizard build I've played (played wizard only 3 times so far). And the one I would like to try is Malkonvoker (I have a feeling i spelled this incorrectly).

[riddles]

focused specialist transmuter

threatening to turn your party members into toads when they irritate you is great fun

[bosssmiley]

I dislike batman, it takes the fun out of the game

It really doesn't if used right. You get to use your ingenuity and game knowledge to make your buddies look cooler and more heroic; how is this not awesome?

Fave build: Wiz7/Loremaster6/Archmage5 (I'm old school like that)
or
Wiz7/Mage of the Arcane Ordern (for Unseen University six large meals a day WIN!)

[Gorbash]

Well, since this is the first time I've seriously played a wizard (ie. more than 3 sessions), I guess this is my favourite build. Gnome Wizard 7/Earth Dreamer 3, and eventually he'll be Wizard 10/Earth Dreamer 5/Archmage 5. I just love the Earthly feel about him, and it fits well in the background. Although, now he's starting to be power-hungry in the desire to find/kill the Bone Devil who killed him.

[Moak]

Something core,and very linear...

Wizard/Loremaster/Archmage

Preferibly Grey Elf with the generalist sub level...

[Illiterate Scribe]

Erudite 20 with spell to power.

What?

[Roderick_BR]

My favourite caster thus far was a specialist wizard (evocation)/blood magus, with tons of scrolls, wands, and even some spells written on his own skin, plus some magic itens that allowed him to store spells for others in his group to use. He was the group's heavy artilhary.
And yes, he was highly unoptimized, being an evoker and taking a PrC that loses caster levels At first I didn't think about getting that PrC, but after some events in-game, I thought it would fit pefectly.
He still managed to break the game a few times, since my DM didn't knew how to use magic and special abilities from monsters well at the time. He wisened up since then.

[NephandiMan]

For core-only games, Wizard 7/Loremaster 10/Archmage 3. I find I can get the powers I want with just three levels of Archmage, and there's something intrinsically amusing about someone even geekier than an average wizard. Ten levels geekier, in fact - but when the party needs some obscure bit of lore and can't find a bard, it feels like ten levels of sheer badass.

If we're going outside of core, I like Wizard 4/Sorcerer 1/Ultimate Magus 10/Wizard 5. Sure, it loses ninth-level spells, but with all its powers, I don't fracking care. Metamagic out the wazoo, almost all the versatility of the pure Batman, the same number of feats you would get as a 20th-level wizard (sure, you don't have the option of taking craft feats, but I've never crafted anyway), and for only one hard level in sorcerer, I can cast up to 5th-level sorc spells. Oh, and my CL is 15 for sorc and 20 for wizard before any item bonuses.

*sits back and waits for people to tell him how he's gimped himself by not taking full caster progression*

[SamTheCleric]

Wizard 5/Divine Oracle 2/Loremaster 10/Archmage 3

or

Abjurer 3/Master Specialist 10/Iot7FV 7

:)

[Ecalsneerg]

Wizard 3/Psion 3/Cerebremancer 10/Wizard 2/Archmage 2?

[Leon]

I'd very much like to try out a Druid/Conjurer (Rapid Summon variant)/Arcane Hierophant

or a Archivist/Wizard/Mystic Theurge

[Telonius]

Wizard10/Loremaster10. I like playing know-it-alls.

[FMArthur]

Enfeeblemancer.

[inthesto]

Anything that includes War Weaver.

[ahammer]

i like may favor soul/sorcerer mistic theage

with pacticed spellcaster just as cast same power spells just 2 spell level lower then if I had on class

worked well for my group as no one wanted to play

spell casters or healers

[Temp.]

If we're going outside of core, I like Wizard 4/Sorcerer 1/Ultimate Magus 10/Wizard 5. Sure, it loses ninth-level spells, but with all its powers, I don't fracking care. Metamagic out the wazoo, almost all the versatility of the pure Batman, the same number of feats you would get as a 20th-level wizard (sure, you don't have the option of taking craft feats, but I've never crafted anyway), and for only one hard level in sorcerer, I can cast up to 5th-level sorc spells. Oh, and my CL is 15 for sorc and 20 for wizard before any item bonuses.

*sits back and waits for people to tell him how he's gimped himself by not taking full caster progression*

If you take Practiced Spellcaster on your spontaneous side before entry, you only lose two Wizard levels. That means keeping 9th level spells on top of the other stuff.


My favorite build is a pretty standard Rogue 1/Focused Transmuter 5/Unseen Seer 10/Arcane Trickster 4, banning Enchantment, Evocation and Necromancy. Wizard level 5 is used for the Destiny, Fate, Inquisition or Luck Domain ability. (AT Levels and Wizard 5 arranged within US levels to pick whichever non-Wizard Divinations strike my fancy at the time.)

The key here, in my experience, is the familiar. The shared skill ranks bit is invaluable for apparent reasons. I'm also a fan of using Improved Familiar for an Imp. (The Polymorph uses are justification enough, in my mind. The handy racial abilities and that Imps sharing my UMD ranks is more acceptable for other players than Ravens doing the same are just gravy.)

And I know Master Spellthief is an option these boards fancy, but I find it wholly unappealing. Because Unseen Seers are obligated to take Practiced Spellcaster, the caster-level boost is irrelevant. Because reducing the number of 2nd-level spells enemy casters have available is a joke, that doesn't influence my decision. And because Mithral Twilight Chain Shirts are cheap, I see no need to blow a feat on armor. I much prefer the improved skills granted by the Rogue class.

[ahammer]

[QUOTE=Temp.;4362430]If you take Practiced Spellcaster on your spontaneous side before entry, you only lose two Wizard levels. That means keeping 9th level spells on top of the other stuff.
[\QUOTE]

does not work that way you only get the power to cast the spell as if it was 4 level higher. ie spells that depend on level like fireball

you still can only cast the same spells you had before you got the skill.

[Temp.]

does not work that way you only get the power to cast the spell as if it was 4 level higher. ie spells that depend on level like fireball

Sorcerer becomes the casting class in which you have the most effective levels (5 vs. 4 upon entry to the class). This means 9/10 Ultimate Magus levels improve your Wizard casting instead of the 7/10 which would without Practiced Spellcaster.