best wizards armer [Archive] - Wizards Community

best wizards armer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
KBAZZ
02-14-04, 12:59 AM looking for armer my wizard could wear with a very low to non existant spell failure have thought about mithral since it remove 10 % anyone have any ideas?
velocityhead
02-14-04, 01:02 AM just get some bracers of armor......theyre a bit more than real armor, but weight practically nothing, and have no check penalty or spell failure
ElFenrir
02-14-04, 01:04 AM Well, I guess the mithral chain shirt would be your best bet in a pinch(though bracers, rings and the like are the best...ie magical protection.) But for straight up armor, a mithral chain shirt has a +6 dex bonus, no check penalty, doesn't weigh too much and gives +4 AC on top of it. It only has a 10% spell failure chance; so I guess it'd be good(especially if enchanted), to help out in those times where you expect some tough fights and need as much offensive magic as possible. But wearing it all the time, your luck will falter once in awhile with those spell failure rolls.

Of course; I do recall their being a rule that non somatic component spells do NOT have spell failure for armor...thus Still Spell could help with that, as well as simple verbal spells.
ksbsnowowl
02-14-04, 01:06 AM A Mithril Chain Shirt with the Twilight enchantment (BoED) has 0% ASF. Nor does a mithril buckler.

edit: spelling
BlaineTog
02-14-04, 01:07 AM +x Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt. To my knowledge, this is the best type of armor for Sor/Wiz. Above Bracers fo Armor, you get:

--an addition +3 to AC (Chain Shirt is +4, but Twilight, which takes off 10% ASF, is +1)
--only 12.5 lbs.
--your Bracers slot back
--you can also put other stuff on this. My favorites are Glamer and Heavy Fortification.

Note that this also has no Armor Check Penalty, and therefore entails no penalty for wearing it without the normal proficiencies.

Oh yeah: you can also get a +x Twilight Heavy Mithral Shield as well. 0% ASF, 0 ACP, (x+2) to AC, and very light (7.5 lbs).
Nameless One Jr.
02-14-04, 01:09 AM Twilight? Which book does that come from?
BlaineTog
02-14-04, 01:39 AM Sorry. It's from the Book of Exalted Deeds.
NestroEmichae
02-14-04, 01:54 AM In my experience, the best wizard armor is a full plate-wearing orc standing between the wizard and whoever is trying to attack him.
Nameless One Jr.
02-14-04, 01:58 AM Originally posted by BlaineTog
Sorry. It's from the Book of Exalted Deeds.

Thanks. I haven't finished reading through BoED yet, so the term was unfamiliar.
Kaya Kenobi
02-14-04, 04:24 AM Originally posted by NestroEmichae
In my experience, the best wizard armor is a full plate-wearing orc standing between the wizard and whoever is trying to attack him.

LOL!!!!!
Ertai Planeswalker
02-14-04, 04:32 AM There's also the Blended Quartz special material from A&EG. Makes the armor cost +20.000Gp IIRC, it doubles the armor's weight, but it reduces spell failure by 20%. So a Blended Quartz Chain Shirt would have 0% spell failure.
Capn Charlie
02-14-04, 04:32 AM Half orc Thayan Knight/Devoted Defenders with Full Plate and a tower shield are the wizard defense of choice in my game. That and the Half Fiend always casts Gr. Invisibility and flys up 30 feet.
Capn Charlie
02-14-04, 04:37 AM Originally posted by Ertai Planeswalker
There's also the Blended Quartz special material from A&EG. Makes the armor cost +20.000Gp IIRC, it doubles the armor's weight, but it reduces spell failure by 20%. So a Blended Quartz Chain Shirt would have 0% spell failure.

I banned that stuff outright because of it's broken(IMO) nature. And it is just 2k/5k/10k(l/m/h), which makes it 2000 gp and change for what equates to a what, 16k magic item?

No, sir, I didn't like it. *whinny*

(If you get that reference you deserve a cookie)
ElFenrir
02-14-04, 12:55 PM No, sir, I didn't like it. *whinny*

But Mr. Horse! Think of the old thing...if PCs get it...so can enemies! :D ;)
Capn Charlie
02-14-04, 12:57 PM Originally posted by ElFenrir
But Mr. Horse! Think of the old thing...if PCs get it...so can enemies! :D ;)

:cookie:

But that argument also means that any whacked out freakball rule that affects a few classes only, is balanced since enemies get it as well. To balance it out I have to give something similiar to the fighters and clerics. Thus, it is easier to just remove the quartz.
The Simbul
02-14-04, 09:36 PM If the spell lacks a somatic component, however, it can be cast with no chance of arcane spell failure.
STILL SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Benefit: A stilled spell can be cast with no somatic components.
Spells without somatic components are not affected. A stilled spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.

AUTOMATIC STILL SPELL [EPIC]
Prerequisites: Still Spell, Spellcraft 27 ranks, ability to cast 9th-level arcane or divine spells.
Benefit: The character may cast all 0-, 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level spells as stilled spells without using higher-level spell slots.
Special: A character can gain this feat multiple times. Each time a character takes the feat, the spells of his or her next three lowest spell levels can now be stilled with no adjustment to their spell slots. This feat doesn’t increase the casting time for those spells that normally become full-round actions when cast in metamagic form.

If you are willing to spend the feat slots on either of the above, as well as either the three armor proficiency feats or a level in Fighter or a similar class, then you can wear whatever type of armor you want.

In the Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark DM Toolset, there is an item property in the Item Creation Wizard that allows you to remove up to 45% of the spell failure from a suit or armor or a shield, although IIRC it does increase the items base price.
Nameless One Jr.
02-15-04, 02:37 PM Originally posted by Capn Charlie
No, sir, I didn't like it. *whinny*

(If you get that reference you deserve a cookie)

I weel not rest until the whole world knows the joy of my neeples!

AEG's Feats book does contain feats that allow for armored casting at a reduced percentage. Catch is, a standard action spell becomes a full-round spell.
ardalor
02-15-04, 03:38 PM I was about to suggest mithral leather armor. But then I realized that you can't make leather out of mithral. Or, if you can, no one's been able to figure out how yet.

I'd go with the chain shirt, maybe add in the Twilight ability. Really, though, I'd rather take everyone else's idea and make sure I'm not in the melee.

Sorcerer (with high bluff check): "Grog! I'm about to cast fireball! Quick, hold back the dragon for a minute!"
Barbarian (with really low intelligence and wisdom): "Uh....'k."
Mith
02-15-04, 03:50 PM A twilight mithril chain shirt, as has been mentioned, is the way to go. It's far better than bracers of armor, with the possible exception of defense against ethreal attacks. For 5k GP, you get +5 AC (same as bracers of armor that cost 25k), no ACP (so proficiency doesn't matter), +6 maximum dexterity bonus to AC, and you can also add special abilities like fortification for far less than you can with equivalent bracers.

Same deal with a twilight mithril heavy shield - no ACP, +2+enhancement to AC, no ASF at all.

It can be even nicer if you get spellsword 3, if you intend for the character to be at all gish-like, and if you think you need armor you probably do. Spellsword 3 costs you 2 caster levels (need a level of fighter or paladin to get in, and the second level of SS doesn't give caster progression), and in return you get to wear mithril chain shirts and use a mithril heavy shield with no ASF or ACP, without buying the twilight enhancement. You could even use mithril full plate with the twilight enhancement, and have no ASF.
Youshallkneelatmyfeet
02-15-04, 04:12 PM Depending on the level of your campaign....check out Armor of the Cellestial Battalion. +7 Chainmail, with a max dex of +10, no check penalty, 10% arcane spell failure, fly spell at will, and magic circle against evil. Its in the epic level handbook....check it out.
Gandilas
02-15-04, 06:08 PM Along with the Bracers, don't forget that you can simply enchant the AC of a robe (which is AC 0). Cost comes up to the same as Bracers of Armor.
Aramas
02-15-04, 08:12 PM A cheaper alternative to the Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt would be Elven Leafweave Padded Armor.
+1 AC (without magical enhancement), Max Dex bonus of +10, no ASF, and no ACP.
A suit of Elven Leafweave Padded Armor would cost 755 GP.
Kaya Kenobi
02-16-04, 10:32 AM Even better, Mage Armor and Shield permamently cast on the wizard.
niesl
02-16-04, 02:31 PM Originally posted by Kaya Kenobi
Even better, Mage Armor and Shield permamently cast on the wizard.

A permanent shield would be very cool, it also blocks magic missiles!
Darklion
02-16-04, 02:39 PM In Monte Cook's Book of Eldritch Might II, there are two armor enhancements that affect ASF. The first, at a cost of +2, eliminates up to 20% ASF (and also requires limited wish as a prerequisite). The second, at a cost of +4, eliminates all ASF (and requires wish as a prerequisite).

Those seem on the cheap side; if it were up to me, I'd ratchet those costs up another +1, making them +3 and +5 respectively.
Kaya Kenobi
02-16-04, 03:33 PM Originally posted by Darklion
In Monte Cook's Book of Eldritch Might II, there are two armor enhancements that affect ASF. The first, at a cost of +2, eliminates up to 20% ASF (and also requires limited wish as a prerequisite). The second, at a cost of +4, eliminates all ASF (and requires wish as a prerequisite).

Those seem on the cheap side; if it were up to me, I'd ratchet those costs up another +1, making them +3 and +5 respectively.

But it costs a wish, and that's a 10K XP cost alone... ;) Not to mention the fact that wish is very hard to come by anyways
halfdrow
02-16-04, 04:08 PM I know that is no the poit of discussion, but I was playing the game Icewind Dale II and there was a feat called armored arcana.
That feat allow the caster who takes it to reduce the chance of interference in his magic by 5%, this feat culd be taken 3 times, stacking, obviously.
Anyone more think that it was a great contribution to the game if something like that was in the corerules?
Orcish Fury
02-16-04, 05:09 PM Scroll of Mage Armor: +4 armor bonus to AC. Costs 1 Xp and a handful of gold to make. Lasts 1 hour per level. No wizard should leave home without a few.
ksbsnowowl
02-16-04, 05:19 PM Actually Orcish Fury, the scroll you described will only last one hour. It'll cost you +12.5 gp and +1XP for every additional caster level you want to craft it at.
anglar
02-16-04, 07:37 PM If money isn't a problem, I find Crystalleaf Scale Armor to be fantastic. It's in a book called "Pocket Magica" (by AEG I think). It costs about 190,000 GP, but it's worth it unless you get MDJ'd. IT start as Scale armor +3. After you put it on, you can concentrate for 10 minutes and it absorbs into you skin. This changes the Armor bonus into a Natural Armor type of +7 and frees up you armor slot. So you could go with any suggestion here and add another +7 Natural Armor on top of that.
Kaya Kenobi
02-16-04, 08:48 PM I've seen that in Spells and Magic by Bastion Press.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
KBAZZ 02-14-04, 12:59 AM	looking for armer my wizard could wear with a very low to non existant spell failure have thought about mithral since it remove 10 % anyone have any ideas?
velocityhead 02-14-04, 01:02 AM	just get some bracers of armor......theyre a bit more than real armor, but weight practically nothing, and have no check penalty or spell failure
ElFenrir 02-14-04, 01:04 AM	Well, I guess the mithral chain shirt would be your best bet in a pinch(though bracers, rings and the like are the best...ie magical protection.) But for straight up armor, a mithral chain shirt has a +6 dex bonus, no check penalty, doesn't weigh too much and gives +4 AC on top of it. It only has a 10% spell failure chance; so I guess it'd be good(especially if enchanted), to help out in those times where you expect some tough fights and need as much offensive magic as possible. But wearing it all the time, your luck will falter once in awhile with those spell failure rolls. Of course; I do recall their being a rule that non somatic component spells do NOT have spell failure for armor...thus Still Spell could help with that, as well as simple verbal spells.
ksbsnowowl 02-14-04, 01:06 AM	A Mithril Chain Shirt with the Twilight enchantment (BoED) has 0% ASF. Nor does a mithril buckler. edit: spelling
BlaineTog 02-14-04, 01:07 AM	+x Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt. To my knowledge, this is the best type of armor for Sor/Wiz. Above Bracers fo Armor, you get: --an addition +3 to AC (Chain Shirt is +4, but Twilight, which takes off 10% ASF, is +1) --only 12.5 lbs. --your Bracers slot back --you can also put other stuff on this. My favorites are Glamer and Heavy Fortification. Note that this also has no Armor Check Penalty, and therefore entails no penalty for wearing it without the normal proficiencies. Oh yeah: you can also get a +x Twilight Heavy Mithral Shield as well. 0% ASF, 0 ACP, (x+2) to AC, and very light (7.5 lbs).
Nameless One Jr. 02-14-04, 01:09 AM	Twilight? Which book does that come from?
BlaineTog 02-14-04, 01:39 AM	Sorry. It's from the Book of Exalted Deeds.
NestroEmichae 02-14-04, 01:54 AM	In my experience, the best wizard armor is a full plate-wearing orc standing between the wizard and whoever is trying to attack him.
Nameless One Jr. 02-14-04, 01:58 AM	Originally posted by BlaineTog Sorry. It's from the Book of Exalted Deeds. Thanks. I haven't finished reading through BoED yet, so the term was unfamiliar.
Kaya Kenobi 02-14-04, 04:24 AM	Originally posted by NestroEmichae In my experience, the best wizard armor is a full plate-wearing orc standing between the wizard and whoever is trying to attack him. LOL!!!!!
Ertai Planeswalker 02-14-04, 04:32 AM	There's also the Blended Quartz special material from A&EG. Makes the armor cost +20.000Gp IIRC, it doubles the armor's weight, but it reduces spell failure by 20%. So a Blended Quartz Chain Shirt would have 0% spell failure.
Capn Charlie 02-14-04, 04:32 AM	Half orc Thayan Knight/Devoted Defenders with Full Plate and a tower shield are the wizard defense of choice in my game. That and the Half Fiend always casts Gr. Invisibility and flys up 30 feet.
Capn Charlie 02-14-04, 04:37 AM	Originally posted by Ertai Planeswalker There's also the Blended Quartz special material from A&EG. Makes the armor cost +20.000Gp IIRC, it doubles the armor's weight, but it reduces spell failure by 20%. So a Blended Quartz Chain Shirt would have 0% spell failure. I banned that stuff outright because of it's broken(IMO) nature. And it is just 2k/5k/10k(l/m/h), which makes it 2000 gp and change for what equates to a what, 16k magic item? No, sir, I didn't like it. whinny (If you get that reference you deserve a cookie)
ElFenrir 02-14-04, 12:55 PM	No, sir, I didn't like it. whinny But Mr. Horse! Think of the old thing...if PCs get it...so can enemies! :D ;)
Capn Charlie 02-14-04, 12:57 PM	Originally posted by ElFenrir But Mr. Horse! Think of the old thing...if PCs get it...so can enemies! :D ;) :cookie: But that argument also means that any whacked out freakball rule that affects a few classes only, is balanced since enemies get it as well. To balance it out I have to give something similiar to the fighters and clerics. Thus, it is easier to just remove the quartz.
The Simbul 02-14-04, 09:36 PM	If the spell lacks a somatic component, however, it can be cast with no chance of arcane spell failure. STILL SPELL [METAMAGIC] Benefit: A stilled spell can be cast with no somatic components. Spells without somatic components are not affected. A stilled spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level. AUTOMATIC STILL SPELL [EPIC] Prerequisites: Still Spell, Spellcraft 27 ranks, ability to cast 9th-level arcane or divine spells. Benefit: The character may cast all 0-, 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level spells as stilled spells without using higher-level spell slots. Special: A character can gain this feat multiple times. Each time a character takes the feat, the spells of his or her next three lowest spell levels can now be stilled with no adjustment to their spell slots. This feat doesn’t increase the casting time for those spells that normally become full-round actions when cast in metamagic form. If you are willing to spend the feat slots on either of the above, as well as either the three armor proficiency feats or a level in Fighter or a similar class, then you can wear whatever type of armor you want. In the Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark DM Toolset, there is an item property in the Item Creation Wizard that allows you to remove up to 45% of the spell failure from a suit or armor or a shield, although IIRC it does increase the items base price.
Nameless One Jr. 02-15-04, 02:37 PM	Originally posted by Capn Charlie No, sir, I didn't like it. whinny (If you get that reference you deserve a cookie) I weel not rest until the whole world knows the joy of my neeples! AEG's Feats book does contain feats that allow for armored casting at a reduced percentage. Catch is, a standard action spell becomes a full-round spell.
ardalor 02-15-04, 03:38 PM	I was about to suggest mithral leather armor. But then I realized that you can't make leather out of mithral. Or, if you can, no one's been able to figure out how yet. I'd go with the chain shirt, maybe add in the Twilight ability. Really, though, I'd rather take everyone else's idea and make sure I'm not in the melee. Sorcerer (with high bluff check): "Grog! I'm about to cast fireball! Quick, hold back the dragon for a minute!" Barbarian (with really low intelligence and wisdom): "Uh....'k."
Mith 02-15-04, 03:50 PM	A twilight mithril chain shirt, as has been mentioned, is the way to go. It's far better than bracers of armor, with the possible exception of defense against ethreal attacks. For 5k GP, you get +5 AC (same as bracers of armor that cost 25k), no ACP (so proficiency doesn't matter), +6 maximum dexterity bonus to AC, and you can also add special abilities like fortification for far less than you can with equivalent bracers. Same deal with a twilight mithril heavy shield - no ACP, +2+enhancement to AC, no ASF at all. It can be even nicer if you get spellsword 3, if you intend for the character to be at all gish-like, and if you think you need armor you probably do. Spellsword 3 costs you 2 caster levels (need a level of fighter or paladin to get in, and the second level of SS doesn't give caster progression), and in return you get to wear mithril chain shirts and use a mithril heavy shield with no ASF or ACP, without buying the twilight enhancement. You could even use mithril full plate with the twilight enhancement, and have no ASF.
Youshallkneelatmyfeet 02-15-04, 04:12 PM	Depending on the level of your campaign....check out Armor of the Cellestial Battalion. +7 Chainmail, with a max dex of +10, no check penalty, 10% arcane spell failure, fly spell at will, and magic circle against evil. Its in the epic level handbook....check it out.
Gandilas 02-15-04, 06:08 PM	Along with the Bracers, don't forget that you can simply enchant the AC of a robe (which is AC 0). Cost comes up to the same as Bracers of Armor.
Aramas 02-15-04, 08:12 PM	A cheaper alternative to the Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt would be Elven Leafweave Padded Armor. +1 AC (without magical enhancement), Max Dex bonus of +10, no ASF, and no ACP. A suit of Elven Leafweave Padded Armor would cost 755 GP.
Kaya Kenobi 02-16-04, 10:32 AM	Even better, Mage Armor and Shield permamently cast on the wizard.
niesl 02-16-04, 02:31 PM	Originally posted by Kaya Kenobi Even better, Mage Armor and Shield permamently cast on the wizard. A permanent shield would be very cool, it also blocks magic missiles!
Darklion 02-16-04, 02:39 PM	In Monte Cook's Book of Eldritch Might II, there are two armor enhancements that affect ASF. The first, at a cost of +2, eliminates up to 20% ASF (and also requires limited wish as a prerequisite). The second, at a cost of +4, eliminates all ASF (and requires wish as a prerequisite). Those seem on the cheap side; if it were up to me, I'd ratchet those costs up another +1, making them +3 and +5 respectively.
Kaya Kenobi 02-16-04, 03:33 PM	Originally posted by Darklion In Monte Cook's Book of Eldritch Might II, there are two armor enhancements that affect ASF. The first, at a cost of +2, eliminates up to 20% ASF (and also requires limited wish as a prerequisite). The second, at a cost of +4, eliminates all ASF (and requires wish as a prerequisite). Those seem on the cheap side; if it were up to me, I'd ratchet those costs up another +1, making them +3 and +5 respectively. But it costs a wish, and that's a 10K XP cost alone... ;) Not to mention the fact that wish is very hard to come by anyways
halfdrow 02-16-04, 04:08 PM	I know that is no the poit of discussion, but I was playing the game Icewind Dale II and there was a feat called armored arcana. That feat allow the caster who takes it to reduce the chance of interference in his magic by 5%, this feat culd be taken 3 times, stacking, obviously. Anyone more think that it was a great contribution to the game if something like that was in the corerules?
Orcish Fury 02-16-04, 05:09 PM	Scroll of Mage Armor: +4 armor bonus to AC. Costs 1 Xp and a handful of gold to make. Lasts 1 hour per level. No wizard should leave home without a few.
ksbsnowowl 02-16-04, 05:19 PM	Actually Orcish Fury, the scroll you described will only last one hour. It'll cost you +12.5 gp and +1XP for every additional caster level you want to craft it at.
anglar 02-16-04, 07:37 PM	If money isn't a problem, I find Crystalleaf Scale Armor to be fantastic. It's in a book called "Pocket Magica" (by AEG I think). It costs about 190,000 GP, but it's worth it unless you get MDJ'd. IT start as Scale armor +3. After you put it on, you can concentrate for 10 minutes and it absorbs into you skin. This changes the Armor bonus into a Natural Armor type of +7 and frees up you armor slot. So you could go with any suggestion here and add another +7 Natural Armor on top of that.
Kaya Kenobi 02-16-04, 08:48 PM	I've seen that in Spells and Magic by Bastion Press.