Help With A Specialist Wizard [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help With A Specialist Wizard [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Thenameless
02-28-07, 03:15 AM Hi All,

In about a month, our play group will be starting a campaign in the FR. I would like to play one of the three following specialist wizards: Abjurer, Conjurer, or Evoker

I'd like to be a race with a bonus to int so I believe that Sun Elf is an option, but I'm open to ideas. Would prefer LA +0, but again interested in seeing what's out there.

Our DM tends to use high CR encounters, so that's why I find the Abjurer attractive - survivability. Of course, both Conjurer and Evoker look like a lot of fun too. If you have any ideas/experience with regards to both strong and fun builds, please share them. Besides the PHB, I have access to Complete Arcane & Complete Mage (the reserve feats look interesting).

Thanks in advance.
Stigger
02-28-07, 04:24 AM Sun elf seems a very solid choice for the Int boost while avoiding LA, so I'd say go with that. Think Aasimar (not a bad option really if you don't mind the LA) gives a Int bonus, same with drow, but both are LA races and the drow thing has been kinda overdone really. ;)

As to which school... hard to say as they all have a lot of benefits.

Abjurer obviously has a lot of defensive potential, but the barred schools would have to be chosen carefully so as not to damage your offensive potential too much. Abjurers aren't really my style though, so I can't really offer much commentary that would be helpful.

Conjurer has those helpful summoning spells that could help a lot with a high CR encounter, and has the added benefit of supplying at least some decent defensive and offensive options, along with some ability to control the battlefield, depending on your spell selections and level. Off the top of my head though, I don't recall the reserve feats being all that impressive for conjuration for some reason... not sure about it though.

Evoker would probably be my favorite personally, since the boost to save DC's and the extra spell slot would help the fight end a bit faster, or if not, would at least give you another few rounds of having spells to hurl. The reserve feats would help extend that even farther, particularly where evocation was concerned, as I seem to recall some very nice options available there. Add in the increased save DC's from the high Int modifier and evoker will probably help wring the most out of your abilities considering those DC's tend to matter more with evocation than with the other two schools.

Hope that helps a bit. :)
boggler65
02-28-07, 09:17 AM After a few moments with my many and varied sourcebooks I can pretty much confirm that Sun Elves are just about the only thing in the realms that get a +2 INT bonus while still having an LA of +0.
In my opinion specialist mages do not gain significant benefits, for the ability to cast one extra spell a day they are not able to cast any spells from two entire schools of magic... ever. That's a pretty big sacrifice to make. I routinely play mages, some higher and some lower level, regardless of level the only abjuration spell I have ever prepared on a regular basis is stoneskin. Without extensive knowledge of exactly what you're going to encounter and how you could possibly use abjuration against it to better survive well... i mean it's not that useful. If you do go with abjuration I would select Illusion and enchantment as your prohibited schools. You will be forfieting several useful spells... but well you'll be a specialist.
A good race for a wizard in the realms... at least I've always thought, is the Air Gensai; whose stats etc are taken straight out of the FRCS:
Regions: Air gensai are common in Calimshan, for much of that land was long ago ruled by djinn.
Racial Abilities: Air gensai have the following traits:

+2 Dexterity(helps boost AC), +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma (a good mage has no need of these things... unless they cannot cast enchantment spells =) Air gensai are quick of hand and sharp of wit, but are easily distracted and arrogant.
Medium-size.
Air gensai base speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision up to 60 feet.
Levitate (Sp): Air gensai can use levitate once per day as cast by a 5th level sorcerer.
Clerical Focus: An air gensai cleric must choose a deity who grants access to the Air domain and select Air as one of her two domains.
+1 racial bonus on saving throws against all air spells and effects. This bonus increases by +1 for every five class levels the air gensai attains.
Breathless: Air gensai do not breath, so they are immune to drowning, suffocation, and attacks that require inhalation (such as some types of poison).
Outsider: Air gensai are native outsiders.
Automatic Languages: Common, home region. Bonus Languages: Any (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Fighter.
Level Adjustment +1: Air gensai are slightly more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerun. See the Powerful Races sidebar for more information.

I suggest this class because there's an easy way to resolve your LA +1 hang up. The only two powers/traits which really unbalance the Air gensai are thier levitate ability, and thier breathless ability. The bonuses to dexterity and intelligence are balanced out by the penalties to wisdom and charisma. The bonuses to saving throws among the gensai races are so specific that they are not unrealistic for a class with LA +0, nor is the darkvision ability.
So just talk to your dm, ask them if you found some way to spread out the overly powerful bonuses of breathless and levitate you could play the character as normal, and suggest that you not gain the ability to levitate once per day until 4th level, and likewise that you not gain the breathless immunity until 8th level. This concept is put down in writing in the Savage Species source book, and in Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved campaign setting.

Assuming the use of Air Gensai; Abjurer 15/Archmage 5, prohibited schools: Enchantment, Illusion.
Again assuming Air Gensai, but not Abjurer; Wizard 10/Arcane Devotee 5/Archmage 5, diety Akadi.

The great thing about the archmage and Arcane devotee classes is that neither sacrifices any spellcasting advancement... mixing and matching these classes works best.
by 14th level you'd be able to take a level in archmage, which will be a great help in future encounters, since you can take a high arcana to alter the elemental descriptor of a spell, ensuring that no evocation spell will ever again be useless...

all PrC's used can be found in the FrCS, which I'm sure your dm has access to.

hope that helps, oh, a sun elf character with the same build would be good.
Diffan
02-28-07, 10:18 AM Also, if your going to be a mage, I would recommend taking the feat Alacritous Cogitation. It allows you to keep one of your spell slots open so that you can cast any spell you know of that level or lower spontaenously(Sp?) as a full-round action. It's in the Complete Mage, so take a gander at it. Also, alot of the feats that apply to a certain school of magic are good as well and you only need Spell Focus, so you might want to consider that as well.
20102000
02-28-07, 10:22 AM The sun elf is a good choice of race. You also get bow prof, so if you have a decent dex, you've got some combat options.
With a conjurer, taking extend at some point is very helpful. A lot of the spells are a lot more useful with a longer duration. And extend is only +1 spell level.
Abjurer can be hard at low levels. If I we're to go that direction , I'd be a an elf and rely on the bow for offence. And use my spells as buffs. One of my players used a elven abjurer , and was pretty effective with a bow. Frequently using protection from arrows, and trying to turn encounters into ranged attacks duels.
Evoker , you want to try and boost your DC, as most of the spells have ST. Especially if your DM likes high CR monsters.
I used a an evoker on one campaign, and used the shadow mage PrC. Which was an excellent built. However we we're using spontanous metamagic rules, which helped the evoking somewhat.
Sir_Wolfgar
02-28-07, 12:44 PM If you are going to play a specialist wizard, make sure you look into complete mage, complete arcane, and unearthed arcana, as all of them have optional rules or class substitutions that can really improve a specialist wizard. I DM for an evoker/red wizard, and during sessions he would only be able to contribute until his spells ran out, and he also limited his character to a very small spell selection, preparing multiple magic missles, acid arrows, and fireballs, and that's about it. Now we are remaking his character with the reserve feats from complete mage, so he can finally make it through a session and be useful the whole time.

Also, if you decide on evoker, look at a warmage and see if it would fit your style better. They are different in many ways, but they both serve the primary blaster role.
Mad Mage
02-28-07, 12:58 PM Think Aasimar (not a bad option really if you don't mind the LA) gives a Int bonus, same with drow, but both are LA races and the drow thing has been kinda overdone really. ;)

Aasimar have +2 to Wisdom and Charisma.
Stigger
02-28-07, 04:46 PM Heh, you're right there, I was getting them confused with tieflings. oops... thanks for catching that one. Still, not a bad option in tiefling either... and you get cute little horns, and possibly a tail and hooves. :D
Alediran
03-01-07, 12:04 AM The Master Specialist PrC is a good option for specialist wizards.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thenameless 02-28-07, 03:15 AM	Hi All, In about a month, our play group will be starting a campaign in the FR. I would like to play one of the three following specialist wizards: Abjurer, Conjurer, or Evoker I'd like to be a race with a bonus to int so I believe that Sun Elf is an option, but I'm open to ideas. Would prefer LA +0, but again interested in seeing what's out there. Our DM tends to use high CR encounters, so that's why I find the Abjurer attractive - survivability. Of course, both Conjurer and Evoker look like a lot of fun too. If you have any ideas/experience with regards to both strong and fun builds, please share them. Besides the PHB, I have access to Complete Arcane & Complete Mage (the reserve feats look interesting). Thanks in advance.
Stigger 02-28-07, 04:24 AM	Sun elf seems a very solid choice for the Int boost while avoiding LA, so I'd say go with that. Think Aasimar (not a bad option really if you don't mind the LA) gives a Int bonus, same with drow, but both are LA races and the drow thing has been kinda overdone really. ;) As to which school... hard to say as they all have a lot of benefits. Abjurer obviously has a lot of defensive potential, but the barred schools would have to be chosen carefully so as not to damage your offensive potential too much. Abjurers aren't really my style though, so I can't really offer much commentary that would be helpful. Conjurer has those helpful summoning spells that could help a lot with a high CR encounter, and has the added benefit of supplying at least some decent defensive and offensive options, along with some ability to control the battlefield, depending on your spell selections and level. Off the top of my head though, I don't recall the reserve feats being all that impressive for conjuration for some reason... not sure about it though. Evoker would probably be my favorite personally, since the boost to save DC's and the extra spell slot would help the fight end a bit faster, or if not, would at least give you another few rounds of having spells to hurl. The reserve feats would help extend that even farther, particularly where evocation was concerned, as I seem to recall some very nice options available there. Add in the increased save DC's from the high Int modifier and evoker will probably help wring the most out of your abilities considering those DC's tend to matter more with evocation than with the other two schools. Hope that helps a bit. :)
boggler65 02-28-07, 09:17 AM	After a few moments with my many and varied sourcebooks I can pretty much confirm that Sun Elves are just about the only thing in the realms that get a +2 INT bonus while still having an LA of +0. In my opinion specialist mages do not gain significant benefits, for the ability to cast one extra spell a day they are not able to cast any spells from two entire schools of magic... ever. That's a pretty big sacrifice to make. I routinely play mages, some higher and some lower level, regardless of level the only abjuration spell I have ever prepared on a regular basis is stoneskin. Without extensive knowledge of exactly what you're going to encounter and how you could possibly use abjuration against it to better survive well... i mean it's not that useful. If you do go with abjuration I would select Illusion and enchantment as your prohibited schools. You will be forfieting several useful spells... but well you'll be a specialist. A good race for a wizard in the realms... at least I've always thought, is the Air Gensai; whose stats etc are taken straight out of the FRCS: Regions: Air gensai are common in Calimshan, for much of that land was long ago ruled by djinn. Racial Abilities: Air gensai have the following traits: +2 Dexterity(helps boost AC), +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma (a good mage has no need of these things... unless they cannot cast enchantment spells =) Air gensai are quick of hand and sharp of wit, but are easily distracted and arrogant. Medium-size. Air gensai base speed is 30 feet. Darkvision up to 60 feet. Levitate (Sp): Air gensai can use levitate once per day as cast by a 5th level sorcerer. Clerical Focus: An air gensai cleric must choose a deity who grants access to the Air domain and select Air as one of her two domains. +1 racial bonus on saving throws against all air spells and effects. This bonus increases by +1 for every five class levels the air gensai attains. Breathless: Air gensai do not breath, so they are immune to drowning, suffocation, and attacks that require inhalation (such as some types of poison). Outsider: Air gensai are native outsiders. Automatic Languages: Common, home region. Bonus Languages: Any (except secret languages, such as Druidic). Favored Class: Fighter. Level Adjustment +1: Air gensai are slightly more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerun. See the Powerful Races sidebar for more information. I suggest this class because there's an easy way to resolve your LA +1 hang up. The only two powers/traits which really unbalance the Air gensai are thier levitate ability, and thier breathless ability. The bonuses to dexterity and intelligence are balanced out by the penalties to wisdom and charisma. The bonuses to saving throws among the gensai races are so specific that they are not unrealistic for a class with LA +0, nor is the darkvision ability. So just talk to your dm, ask them if you found some way to spread out the overly powerful bonuses of breathless and levitate you could play the character as normal, and suggest that you not gain the ability to levitate once per day until 4th level, and likewise that you not gain the breathless immunity until 8th level. This concept is put down in writing in the Savage Species source book, and in Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved campaign setting. Assuming the use of Air Gensai; Abjurer 15/Archmage 5, prohibited schools: Enchantment, Illusion. Again assuming Air Gensai, but not Abjurer; Wizard 10/Arcane Devotee 5/Archmage 5, diety Akadi. The great thing about the archmage and Arcane devotee classes is that neither sacrifices any spellcasting advancement... mixing and matching these classes works best. by 14th level you'd be able to take a level in archmage, which will be a great help in future encounters, since you can take a high arcana to alter the elemental descriptor of a spell, ensuring that no evocation spell will ever again be useless... all PrC's used can be found in the FrCS, which I'm sure your dm has access to. hope that helps, oh, a sun elf character with the same build would be good.
Diffan 02-28-07, 10:18 AM	Also, if your going to be a mage, I would recommend taking the feat Alacritous Cogitation. It allows you to keep one of your spell slots open so that you can cast any spell you know of that level or lower spontaenously(Sp?) as a full-round action. It's in the Complete Mage, so take a gander at it. Also, alot of the feats that apply to a certain school of magic are good as well and you only need Spell Focus, so you might want to consider that as well.
20102000 02-28-07, 10:22 AM	The sun elf is a good choice of race. You also get bow prof, so if you have a decent dex, you've got some combat options. With a conjurer, taking extend at some point is very helpful. A lot of the spells are a lot more useful with a longer duration. And extend is only +1 spell level. Abjurer can be hard at low levels. If I we're to go that direction , I'd be a an elf and rely on the bow for offence. And use my spells as buffs. One of my players used a elven abjurer , and was pretty effective with a bow. Frequently using protection from arrows, and trying to turn encounters into ranged attacks duels. Evoker , you want to try and boost your DC, as most of the spells have ST. Especially if your DM likes high CR monsters. I used a an evoker on one campaign, and used the shadow mage PrC. Which was an excellent built. However we we're using spontanous metamagic rules, which helped the evoking somewhat.
Sir_Wolfgar 02-28-07, 12:44 PM	If you are going to play a specialist wizard, make sure you look into complete mage, complete arcane, and unearthed arcana, as all of them have optional rules or class substitutions that can really improve a specialist wizard. I DM for an evoker/red wizard, and during sessions he would only be able to contribute until his spells ran out, and he also limited his character to a very small spell selection, preparing multiple magic missles, acid arrows, and fireballs, and that's about it. Now we are remaking his character with the reserve feats from complete mage, so he can finally make it through a session and be useful the whole time. Also, if you decide on evoker, look at a warmage and see if it would fit your style better. They are different in many ways, but they both serve the primary blaster role.
Mad Mage 02-28-07, 12:58 PM	Think Aasimar (not a bad option really if you don't mind the LA) gives a Int bonus, same with drow, but both are LA races and the drow thing has been kinda overdone really. ;) Aasimar have +2 to Wisdom and Charisma.
Stigger 02-28-07, 04:46 PM	Heh, you're right there, I was getting them confused with tieflings. oops... thanks for catching that one. Still, not a bad option in tiefling either... and you get cute little horns, and possibly a tail and hooves. :D
Alediran 03-01-07, 12:04 AM	The Master Specialist PrC is a good option for specialist wizards.