Post/Author/DateTime	Post
jtgalt 09-19-04, 12:34 AM	I really, REALLY don't like specializing, particularly at high levels. That pretty much ruled out the traditional approaches to an FR 20th level wizard (no Incantantrix, no Red Wizard of Thay). I came up with this - what do you think? Level Class Special 1 Wizard 2 Flaws (Non-Combatant, Vulnerable) 2 Wizard 3 Wizard 4 Wizard 5 Wizard 6 Harper Mage Skill Focus(Know. Arcana) 7 Harper Mage Skill Focus(Spellcraft) 8 Harper Mage 9 Harper Mage Automatic Extend Spell 1+CHA mod/day 10 Harper Mage +2 all saves 11 Alienist PseudoNatural Summoning 12 Mindbender Telepathy 100ft 13 Arcane Devotee 14 Arcane Devotee Automatic Enlarge Spell 1+CHA mod/day 15 Arcane Devotee Free Spell Focus(Enchantment) 16 ArchMage Master of Shaping 17 Archmage Mastery of Elements 18 Archmage Arcane Reach 19 ArchMage Spell Power +2 20 ArchMage Spell Power +3 Feats: 1 Spellcasting Prodigy (FRCS) 1 Education(required for Harper Mage) 1 SpellBook Mastery (Ultimate Feats – grants INT mod free spells/level instead of 2/level) 1 Alertness(required for Harper Mage) 3 Arcane Understanding(Ultimate Feats – grants INT mod free spells/level – stacks w/ above) 5 Extend Spell (required for Harper Mage) 6 Spell Focus(Evocation) 9 Leadership 12 Enlarge Spell 15 Spell Penetration 18 Machine Master (Ultimate Feats – allows mind affecting spells to work on golems/constructs) Base saves come out to: Fort 12 Reflex 7 Will 19 BAB: 7 (sad, but melee really isn’t this guy’s goal in life) Any suggestions/improvements?
wtfpwned 09-19-04, 03:01 AM	Seriously. The Incantatrix is just about the best Prc for any caster that meets the pre reqs to take it. It requires almost no feats to gain, sacrifice one school of magic..( sacrifice illusion which is 98% trash after 10th level or so cause tremorsense/truesight kill the entire school.> and the gains are incredible. An epic feat, 3 or 4 bonus feats, instant meta magic and can apply meta magic to wands. I dont understand why you would want to cut yourself off from such a good prc. PS. Archmange is a lame Prc and a waste of precious feats..since casters have such a limited selection of feats already.
catharz 09-19-04, 03:05 AM	sacrifice illusion which is 98% trash after 10th level or so cause tremorsense/truesight kill the entire school. Dosen't it make more sense to sacrifice evocation which is 98% doable (spontaniously, no less) with illusion? ... As for the build, I would think twice about Alienist. Psudonatural summoning is both a blessing and a curse. You don't need spell penetration, you already get +5 to that (I'm assuming this build is 3.0). All of the +spells per level feats seem excessive. Just pay for them, and get some good metamagic feats. You're missing Chain and Quicken.
Wylycoyte 09-19-04, 10:50 AM	The worst thing I've found after dumping evocation for my incantatrix character is the loss of Contingency at 6th level. Magic Missle is a bit of a bite to lose, but not unsurvivable. I'm very happy I took Snow Savant's (and others, but she was definitely the major contributing influence for both my enlightenment and my DM's headaches) advice and dumped this school above any other, and get a LOT of mileage out of my illusion spells. As for Tremorsense, I'd also argue that a Major Image would fool it. The image puts out sound, scent, and heat. Arguing that it produces tremors (a vibration, as sound is) as well isn't much of a stretch.
jtgalt 09-19-04, 07:58 PM	Maybe I'm missing something, but Illusion seems like a waste of a school. Truesight negates pretty much 80-90% of the school, and as this party is going to head into epic levels, most of whom/what we fight will have epic:reveal type spells permantly on them. How exactly did you propose to spontaneously replace evocation spells with illusions, by the way? Yes, this build is 3.0 (sorry, should have stated that earlier). I do miss not having Quicken Spell, but I honestly don't know if I'll have the higher-level spell slots available to put quickened spells into. Most of my 8th and 9th level slots (the remaining ones after Archmage) will be spent on defensive-type buffs (Screen, etc), and a quickened magic missile, while cool, isn't all that exciting. Of course, at epic levels, I could use 13th level slots to quicken a meteor swarm or wish, but that's quite a ways away. Why do you consider pseudonatural creatures a "blessing and a curse" ?