Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ivrob 11-13-06, 03:23 PM	The arcane arts is one of variety. With the Complete Mage, Unearthed Arcana and Complete Arcane out, what would be some of the specialist wizards/arcane users which are different from the norm and that have worked out sitting at the table. IE- killer-gnome, illusionist seen on this CO board. A run down of the 9 different specialist wizards seen in 3.5 would be cool. Thanks
PhoenixInferno 11-13-06, 03:38 PM	If you think Unearthed Arcana is primarily about spellcasters, I suggest you actually read the book.
ravenkith 11-13-06, 03:45 PM	Well, it does have some Caster-specific stuff in there....but you're right, it's more of a DM/worldbuilding product...maybe he's thinking of Arcana Unearthed, which while not an 'offical' wotc product, and very confusingly named, does seem to be more relevant here.... Then again, maybe not. <shrug>. Thinking about it, off the top of my head (and away from book), there are a couple of ideas that have been bouncing around in my skull. THey may not work, but I'll throw them out there anyways. With Complete Mage's Master Specialist PRC, lots of things become possible, some more optimised than others. I haven't playtested/crunched it yet, but I'm toying with the idea of an Abjurer 3/Master Specialist10/Initiate of The Sevenfold Veil 7 build, which seems to fit perfectly with the master specialist class. Elemental Savant seems like a no-brainer for the Evocation based caster, of course... Mindbender for the Enchanter... Believe it or not, dual progression casters make for some very powerful summoners (conjurers), especially combined with some of the early entry tricks currently available...an Ultimate magus could be highly effective, although a mystic theurge/warweaver, strictly speaking, is better, especially with the potential for divine metamagic fun. Alienist, of course, is an option, albeit a very stange one. Master Transmogrofist seems purpose-built for the transmuter, although, to be honest, I've been miffed at the class (transmuter) ever since they nerfed polymorph, and while the tricks are neat, the cost is a bit high, IIRC. The killer illusionist is just plain sick. I don't think I can do better. Necromancers...true necromancer, dread necromancer and master of shadows (most from libris mortis) make for the best necromancers in my opinion... Diviner...urm. Yeah. Diviners. <Sigh>. Not my cup of tea. In terms of sheer flexibility and longevity( the key characteristics of a universal caster, IMHO), there are really only two builds that stand out: Warlock 20 and Sorceror 6/Mage of The Arcane order 1-4/Incantantrix 1-10.
Vikjunk 11-13-06, 04:54 PM	Another build for Abjurer is Abjurer 5/Master Specialist 10/Archamage 5. With Master Specialist’s Major School Esoterica Abjuration and Archmage’s Arcane Reach allows you to make Antimagic Field into a touch spell with a range up to 60 feet. This way you can take away a creature’s ability to use spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities unless they have Iron Heart Surge, Initiate of Mysta, or have someone cast Morenkainen’s Disjunction. I’ll admit that the Initiate of the Seven Veils is probable the stronger build since it has more survivability but Archmage build seems like it would help out the group more since you can take out abilities from creatures. Also has the added benefit of making the warrior types in your group feel important since there are few spells that can use to attack inside of the AMF from the outside so it would be more up to them to take those creatures out. But you will have to watch out for spell resistance though so you would have the normal problems with Golems and other creatures with Spell Immunity as were the Initiate of the Seven Veils abilities wouldn't have to worry about them.
ivrob 11-13-06, 09:22 PM	your right , i did get it mixed up. Great ideas though, thanks and after skimming through the Unearthed Arcana, it does have different varients for classes and alternate spellcasting systems.
Endarire 11-14-06, 03:23 AM	Vikjunk, your build should end in archmage5. -EE
Hanniball 11-14-06, 03:30 AM	Diviner...urm. Yeah. Diviners. <Sigh>. Not my cup of tea. Something simple like Div 5/Divine Oracle 10/Archmage 5 or Div 5/Divine Oracle 5/Loremaster 10 makes for a great Divination expert. The problem with trying to find quintessential arcane school-specific builds is that the Incantatrix probably does it better. Then again, I don't own Complete Mage... Either way...just my 2 cp
Vikjunk 11-14-06, 03:33 AM	Vikjunk, your build should end in archmage5. -EE Oops, thanks. I guess I wasn't really paying attention when I was posting that. All that is really needs is the first level of Archmage to pick up Arcane Reach to pull the trick off, so you can pick up 4 to 6 levels of any other prestige class if you don't want to pick up other Archmage abilities or extra Abjurer levels.
Gahread 11-14-06, 06:02 AM	Something I'm considering for one character is sun elf Wizard 5/Master Specialist 2/Geometer 2/Fatespinner 4/Loremaster 2/Archmage 5 Progression is as follows: Wizard 1-3 MS 4-5 Wizard 6-7 Geometer 8-9 Fatespinner 10-13 Loremaster 14-15 Archwizard 16-20 1st open feat 3rd spell focus (school) 4th (skill focus, spellcraft) (from Master Specialist) 6th metamagic or craft (free from Wizard) 6th metamagic or craft 9th skill focus, knowledge 12th metamagic or craft 14th spell focus (second school) (Loremaster secret) 15th open feat 18th open feat That leaves three feats to be filled with whatever's tasty including the extremely valuable 1st level feat slot. Repeated dips get you a free 4th level feat from Master Specialist that's also a prereq further up, 100 gp/1 spell per page spell scribing from when it really starts to get expensive from Geometer, great bonuses to save DCs and save or die spells from Fatespinner, bardic lore equivalency from Loremaster (and the feat buy-back), before Archmage 5 finally takes you home.