Advice on spell picks? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Advice on spell picks? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
pmurray@bigpond.com
10-18-05, 12:21 PM What's a good set of daily spell picks for a 7th level mage? She is drow, no particular specialisation. Int 22 gives her 4/6/5/3/2 spells per day. A Pearl of Power 1 and a PoP 3 allow her to recall a spell of the appropriate level 1/day. She owns a rod of lesser maximise, and a rod of lesser extend, and has "Empower Spell" feat.

Looking through the list, I have spent a lot of slots on defensive melee bufs. Maybe I'm being too cautious. However, most of her attacks are from wands - the party pooled some money and bought a wand of Scorching Ray, which was v. nice of them. Still got 33 charges. Rest of the party is Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Cleric, Rogue.

At present, her spell picks are:
Det Magic 2 - to find magic items
Mage Hand 1 - utility
Read Magic 1 - utility

Mage Armour 2 - extends to 14 hours. 2 just to be safe
Shield 2 - melee buff
True Strike 2 - for wands etc, when it absolutely has to hit

Blur 2 - melee buff, self or fighters
Mirror Image 1 - Help! I don't want to die!
Web 2 - handy attack spell

Fireball 2 - whoomf! maximise for 42 pts of dmg. Pop(3) gives me an extra.
Ray of Exhaustion 1 - haven't tried this yet

Greater Invis 1 - buff for rogue
Stoneskin 1 - buff for rogue (or self in emergency)
solbergb
10-18-05, 12:44 PM Depends on your party.

Of your list, I really dislike "Shield" unless you usually cast it outside of combat, just before you kick in a door or something. In combat it is usually a wasted action. Mirror image is better, again you want to cast it out of combat, but in combat it can get you out of a tight spot when you can't withdraw in a way that shield can't (many things that will kill you won't be phased by a +4 to AC, but reducing a sure thing to a 1/5 chance of hitting the right target is often worth a spell). Blur does stack with mirror image but I'd only rack both when I am fighting something like incorporeals.

You've got 3 "minute per level " defensive buffs - blur can be used on fighters yes, but it isn't that powerful a buff. They might be happier if you just glitteredusted the enemy and blinded half of them.

Ray of Exhaustion is ok, but I'd back it with Ray of Enfeeblement. In situations where you want to use one, you want to use both.

Level 7 is probably too early for Stoneskin. Take some "boom" (Evards Tentacles is very powerful at this level, Shadow Conjuration is very flexible, Ice storm does some damage and restricts movement for a round, wall of fire, wall of ice or solid fog can divide up the battlefield)

So...my take is you have too much defense, not enough offense, party buffs and utility in your standard mix. A wand of scorching ray is ok for single target attacks, so you can go lighter on that for a while.

Here is a mix along the same lines as yours, but with more options.

Cantrips: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Prestidigitation, open/close
(make your divine caster cover some detect magic. Most TK stuff with mage hand can be done almost as well with prestidigitation, for a full hour. Don't underestimate the ability to open or shut a door remotely until you've tried it...in wilderness type settings, I'd swap it for dancing lights, to light up a nighttime ambush)

L1: mage armor, shield, ray of enfeeblement, truestrike, magic missile, <open>

Magic missile, because sometimes truestrike+wand is going to be too slow, and because you need something for incorporeal or blinking enemies. For situations where you can't carry the spellbook around, fill it with enlarge person, probably. The rest of the time, you have a slot for unseen servant or something similar during the day, and if you don't use it you can convert it to Alarm to defend the campsight at night. You have pearls of power, so an open slot can turn into several castings of a spell you didn't know you were going to need.

You do NOT need duplicates of mage armor, truestrike or shield. You have pearls of power, you can get them back if you need them.

L2: Mirror Image, Web, Glitterdust, False Life, <open>

Seriously if you are afraid of death, False Life will do a lot more for you than multiple castings of Shield and Blur. Use the open slot to replace the other 4 between spells if you use one, or to add a spell you didn't think you were going to need that day. If you get to the end of the day without using it, cast False Life before you go to sleep.

L3: Fireballx2, Haste

Ray of Exhaustion isn't as reliable as Ray of Enfeeblement (fort save weakens it a lot), and you will find that your party fighters love Haste far more than they love blur or anything else you've been casting for them. I left fireball, cause at L7 fireball is pretty fun.

L4: Greater Invisibility, Polymorph.

Polymorph is cheaper than stoneskin, and it is a truly amazing offensive and defensive buff...it can be used for disguise, for flight, for piling on a ton of constitution or natural armor or for turning a mild-mannered but high BAB/feat oriented character into a killing machine. Or you can cast it on the rogue when he's in position to sneak attack and give him something with a lot of limbs, or with pounce if the enemy is flatfooted and in charge range.

If polymorph is too complex, Evards Tentacles, Ice Storm (the key to ice storm is not the damage, it is the fact that it has no save, lasts 1 full round and impairs movement - and also anyone "blinking" is gonna get nailed, because he'll be in the damage area half the time. Eventually ice storm doesn't do enough damage, but at L7 it is pretty good), wall of fire, wall of ice and solid fog are decent alternatives. If your save DC's are fairly high, Shadow Conjuration is nice (giving you the option to grease, glitterdust, web, stinking cloud or sleet storm the enemy, or letting you conjure a phantom steed or summon some monsters for utility, all in one spell)

I left greater invis because your rogue will just LOVE you for that spell, especially if you haste him first as he moves into the flank....
pmurray@bigpond.com
10-18-05, 02:14 PM Thanks for you comments. We are currently in the middle of a module, so I won't be able to change my spells around right now. But we are based in Sharn, so getting core spells is just a matter of buying the scrolls.

Ok.

I have a wand of MMis(7) (cost a fortune) and ray of enfeeblement (recovered from opponent). RoE is a really, really handy spell. So having said that, I would not use a spell slot for them. I ought to have said so on the initial post.

Ray of exhaustion is handy in combination with any fear spell - the target will just die from attempting to run while exhausted. But I didn't take a fear spell, so WTF was I thinking?

My party thinks Glitterdust is lame, because I was in love with it for a while back at 3rd level. But they are wrong - it's a great spell. An area effect that blinds, DC 20. Why did I ever not include it?

Haste - damn. Should have taken Haste, which arguably is overpowered for a 3rd level spell. I bought a scroll of displacement instead and learned it. Haste is way better, and the rest of the party will love me for it.

Fireball is very fun indeed. At lev 9, with my rod of maximise, it will do massive damage (54 hp), and I'm looking forward to that. (Arguably, lesser maximise should only maximise 3 damage die, but I ain't compaining). I haven't played a mage before. Last session, an assassin vine very nearly killed our Ranger. There were 2 of them, I was entangled, so rather than trying to break free I just nuked 'em. A waste of a spell, but what a waste!

I'd rather avoid polymorph - it's just too much hassle to DM. Let's have a read of it ... reads ... Holy Cow! A heal spell! Or I can transform our gnome's riding dog into something nasty - a HellHound, or a flying mount. Or I can polymorph my familiar into anything with 7hd! Presumably, it would still get the benefits of being a Mage's familiar (bwahahaha!). To prepare this for the game, I need to pick a couple of monsters and get the stats ready.

Greater invis is a must-have for the rogue. Pity that the rod of lesser extend can't be used with it.

Again - thanks for the comments.
pmurray@bigpond.com
10-18-05, 02:36 PM For instance, I could polymorph my familiar (Momo the spider) into a Girallion. it even makes kind of sense, on the basis that momo has extra arms. If I took stoneskin instead of Greater Invis (sorry, rogue), we are talkig a Girallion with an Int of 9 (smarter than a lot of people), spell resistance, and damage reduction 10/adamantine, and a rend attack. Really, really, nasty.

We could pretend, for game purposes, that the Girallion is kind of insectoid. Hmm. A Huge spider is 8HD. Saaay - how about a seven-headed Hydra? It's a magical beast, so it's all good.
solbergb
10-18-05, 03:06 PM Be prepared for your DM to limit polymorph by inheriting the Alter Self size restriction (the Polymorph spell is silent, but it inherits Alter self except where otherwise specified).

This means most folks are limited to size large, and familiars to tiny or medium size.

It's a great spell, but you'll do better to work with the DM to get an interpretation he can live with rather than risk it being banned by going all out to the most lenient interpretation. Not being able to routinely turn into Hydras, for example, tends to ease acceptance of the spell around most DM's.
smrtgmp
10-18-05, 04:16 PM Since you have a 1st level PoP, I would only prepare mage armor once.

Some other spells that I like:

1st level:

Grease. If you enemy doesnt have 5 or more ranks in balance, they'll be flatfooted while in the area, meaning your rogue can go to town with sneak attacks. Thats just the beginning. It can also be used to get your enemies prone or disarm them (grease the weapon).

Color Spray. A 1st level spell that can stun multiple opponents? Yes please.

Mount. Not necessarily for every day preperation, but great when you're strapped for cash. "Excuse me sir, would you like to buy this fine horse?" Just make sure you're under the effects of some sort of disguise spell so they dont know who to come after when it disapears on them.

Charm Person. Make new friends. Especially nice in a game where you spend a lot of time in a city.

Enlarge. Use this to buff your melee buddies. 10ft reach is a good thing.

2nd level:

Hideous Laughter. If they fail their save, they're out of the fight for 1 round/level. It also makes them prone.

Touch of Idiocy. Great against enemy casters, especially when combined with spectral hand.

Command Undead. Mindless undead dont get a save and are your slave for 1 day/level. Nice.

Spectral Hand. Deliver all those nasty touch spells from a safe distance.

Alter Self. Very versitile. Need to climb something? Turn into something with a climb speed. Need to swim and/or breathe water? Turn into an aquatic humanoid. Need an AC boost? Turn into something with good natural armor, like a trogeldyte (+6).

Levitate. Getting above the melee is very nice, especially for a low hp caster. It will aslo make it easier to line up your ray attacks, as its easy to avoid the soft cover bonus your allies might otherwise provide to your enemies. Not to mention its a great spell for any explorer. I generally get boots of levitation as soon as I can afford them for any caster. Plus, they would be amazingly handy in Sharn. Going up.

Rope Trick. The all purpose escape hatch. Surrounded by enemies with no chance of escape? Drop an obscuring mist, then use rope trick. Foes without spellcasting capabilities will, most likely, have no idea what happened. Plus its nice as a safe campsite.

3rd level:

Dispel Magic. This one is a must, even if you only have a few scrolls. It will save your life.

Nondetection. Slap this on your rogue friend before using greater invisibility.

Stinking Cloud. This is one of my favorite spells. It can be devestating when combined with undead minions. If your have a warforged in the group, it can wade into the cloud without fear of being nauseated.

Suggestion. These arent the droids you're looking for.

Fly. Along the same lines as levitate, but better. Combine this with greater invisibility and become a stealth bomber.

Haste. Extra attacks/movement are great, especially since you have 3 melee guys in the group. By far one of my favorite 3rd level spells.

Slow. Limit your foes to a single move or standard action per round. This is absolutely devestating, especially if your allies are hasted. Your buddies get an extra attack on a full attack while the enemy cant even take a full attack. This combo will ensure victory over nearly any group of melee oriented foes. Very nasty. Very effective.

4th level:

Black Tentacles. This one is a doozie. So save, no SR, and the tentacles cant be damaged. Use it to hold your enemies in place while you blast the crap out of them.

Dimension Door. This is awesome. If nothing else, keep it on a scroll, though I reccomend keeping it prepared when possible.

Solid Fog. This one is nasty. Great for battlfield control or stopping enemy archers. Its also guaranteed to stop a charge.

Charm Monster. Same as charm person, only better

Confusion. Holy crap is this effective. Groups of enemy melee guys wont stand a chance. Next thing you know they'll be hacking eachother to pieces. Its almost guaranteed to take out mounted knights, because even if the riders make the save, the mounts wont.

Resiliant Sphere. Very handy for defense or to contain an enemy.

Animate Dead. Gotta love minions that never sleep, and that dont need to eat or breathe. I prefer skeletons to zombies. Drop a Stinking cloud on your foes and then send in the troops. Dont forget to laugh maniacally.

Enervation. This is easily one of the best spells in the game for its level. 1d4 negative levels on a hit, and negative levels are nasty. Each one drops the victim's hp total by 5 and inflicts a -1 penalty on attacks, saves, and skill checks. Against enemy spellcasters it can be devestating, as they lose one spell/spell slot from their highest level for each negative level they take. If their number of negative levels equals their HD total, they die.

Mass enlarge. Increase the size of all your allies at once.

Polymorph. This was mentioned above, but it bears repeating. This spell is awesome. However, I would reccomend casting in your melee buddies rather than yourself. They will get far more use out of it than you ever will. Turn them into something with a humaniod form (like one of the trolls from MM3) and they'll get to keep all their gear intact in addition to recieving massive boosts to srt, con and natural armor. They'll get way more staying power and their damage potential will increase dramatically. If you're feeling particularly nasty, cast fly on the rogue, turn him into a hydra (as many heads as you can get), then cap it off with improved invisibility. He'll be a sneak attack machine.

A few general tactical tips:

I know you're loving your maximized fireball (the damage is certainly impressive), but everyone else in your group is built around doing damage. You can be a more effective team member by doing things they cant. And, since you're the only primary spellcaster, you're the one who's going to have to get them out of miscelaneous jams and the like. I reccomend a good mix of defensive, battlefield control, and utility spells, with a few offensive spells thrown in as needed.

Also, you have scribe scroll. Use it. A lot. Make a scroll of any spell that you think you might need at some point but dont want to prepare on a daily basis. If your buddies chipped in to get you a wand, they'll probably help fund your scroll making as well, especially if you use your spells to buff the crap out of them. By making them more effective at what they do, you will foster good party relations and encourage team work, which is the key to survival in truly rough encounters.

You're probably sick and tired of reading this by now, so I'll shut up.

Best of luck, and happy gaming. :)
pmurray@bigpond.com
10-19-05, 03:34 AM Thanks.

Being a drow, my mage has darkness as a racial ability, so no need for the "obscuring mist" to hide the use of Rope Trick.

Hideous laughter ... not so sure. There's a will save, +4 vs anything not a humanoid, and anything without an Int is immune.

Spectral Hand - the DM has permitted my drow to have a Jumping Spider as her familiar. Pity it doesn't get Spring Attack as a feat, because your familiar can deliver touch attacks for you. I have a spiked chain (used 2 feats: ex wep prof + weap finesse), and a couple of players have suggested that it would be cool to find one/have one made that could deliver my touch attacks. The 10' reach means i can hide behind another character, and all the defensive melee bufs mean that mixing it up in the middle of melee is not so much of a danger.

Suggestion - Our party has acquired the Tooth of At-Tar-Ir, which has Suggestion 1/day (DC 20). Last session, I suggested that an opponent ought to surrender, which he did. Unfortunately, the Cleric's summoned dire ape then proceeded to tear it a new one, which I felt bad about, but they were pirates and were trying to kill us.

Fly/Levitate - Oh yeah. I had Fly in the PoP(3) before I checked the rules and discovered that it was not the same as Spell Storing. We have a ranger. Fly + Flame Arrow is a nice buff, except that the ranger is an elf, and he and my drow mage despise each other on principle. Luckily, drow are practical enough to put survival before interracial spite ... most of the time. Saaay ... the caster can dispel Fly at any time. Why not let the ranger get used to using it, and one day drop him in the lava? That's what I call planning!

Haste/Slow - Both are must-haves. Damn, why did I waste all my spell slots on defensive buffs? So many spells, so few slots :P . Oh well. That's what makes it a game.

There are tons of nice higher-level spells, but I only have 2 slots. Scolls are so damn expensive. And (of course) I always purchase an extra to scribe. Having a book full of fun is what being a mage is all about. Luckily, Spellcraft 10 + {Int 20}+5 + {Headband Int+2}+1 + {K.Arcana Synergy bonus} +2 = Spellcraft 18 - an automatic success to scribe 3rd lev spells.

Hmm - must get hold of "Complete Arcane" and grab those "Orb" spells that everyone always says are way overpowered.
smrtgmp
10-19-05, 04:31 AM Spectral Hand - the DM has permitted my drow to have a Jumping Spider as her familiar. Pity it doesn't get Spring Attack as a feat, because your familiar can deliver touch attacks for you. I have a spiked chain (used 2 feats: ex wep prof + weap finesse), and a couple of players have suggested that it would be cool to find one/have one made that could deliver my touch attacks. The 10' reach means i can hide behind another character, and all the defensive melee bufs mean that mixing it up in the middle of melee is not so much of a danger.Thats a nice familiar, but its a rather dangerous tactic. If it gets squished, (which will likely happen at some point if you keep sending into melee) you lose xp, which is never fun. Besides, spectral hand works at medium range. Obviously, the choice is yours. :)

Scolls are so damn expensive. And (of course) I always purchase an extra to scribe.FYI: It would be cheaper to buy a single scroll, scribe it into your spell book, and then make your own copies. You'll lose a bit of xp in the process, but the nature of the CR system means you'll never fall too far behind your companions, as lower level PCs get more xp for overcoming any given encounter. IMO, its well worth it, especially if you're strapped for cash.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pmurray@bigpond.com 10-18-05, 12:21 PM	What's a good set of daily spell picks for a 7th level mage? She is drow, no particular specialisation. Int 22 gives her 4/6/5/3/2 spells per day. A Pearl of Power 1 and a PoP 3 allow her to recall a spell of the appropriate level 1/day. She owns a rod of lesser maximise, and a rod of lesser extend, and has "Empower Spell" feat. Looking through the list, I have spent a lot of slots on defensive melee bufs. Maybe I'm being too cautious. However, most of her attacks are from wands - the party pooled some money and bought a wand of Scorching Ray, which was v. nice of them. Still got 33 charges. Rest of the party is Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Cleric, Rogue. At present, her spell picks are: Det Magic 2 - to find magic items Mage Hand 1 - utility Read Magic 1 - utility Mage Armour 2 - extends to 14 hours. 2 just to be safe Shield 2 - melee buff True Strike 2 - for wands etc, when it absolutely has to hit Blur 2 - melee buff, self or fighters Mirror Image 1 - Help! I don't want to die! Web 2 - handy attack spell Fireball 2 - whoomf! maximise for 42 pts of dmg. Pop(3) gives me an extra. Ray of Exhaustion 1 - haven't tried this yet Greater Invis 1 - buff for rogue Stoneskin 1 - buff for rogue (or self in emergency)
solbergb 10-18-05, 12:44 PM	Depends on your party. Of your list, I really dislike "Shield" unless you usually cast it outside of combat, just before you kick in a door or something. In combat it is usually a wasted action. Mirror image is better, again you want to cast it out of combat, but in combat it can get you out of a tight spot when you can't withdraw in a way that shield can't (many things that will kill you won't be phased by a +4 to AC, but reducing a sure thing to a 1/5 chance of hitting the right target is often worth a spell). Blur does stack with mirror image but I'd only rack both when I am fighting something like incorporeals. You've got 3 "minute per level " defensive buffs - blur can be used on fighters yes, but it isn't that powerful a buff. They might be happier if you just glitteredusted the enemy and blinded half of them. Ray of Exhaustion is ok, but I'd back it with Ray of Enfeeblement. In situations where you want to use one, you want to use both. Level 7 is probably too early for Stoneskin. Take some "boom" (Evards Tentacles is very powerful at this level, Shadow Conjuration is very flexible, Ice storm does some damage and restricts movement for a round, wall of fire, wall of ice or solid fog can divide up the battlefield) So...my take is you have too much defense, not enough offense, party buffs and utility in your standard mix. A wand of scorching ray is ok for single target attacks, so you can go lighter on that for a while. Here is a mix along the same lines as yours, but with more options. Cantrips: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Prestidigitation, open/close (make your divine caster cover some detect magic. Most TK stuff with mage hand can be done almost as well with prestidigitation, for a full hour. Don't underestimate the ability to open or shut a door remotely until you've tried it...in wilderness type settings, I'd swap it for dancing lights, to light up a nighttime ambush) L1: mage armor, shield, ray of enfeeblement, truestrike, magic missile, <open> Magic missile, because sometimes truestrike+wand is going to be too slow, and because you need something for incorporeal or blinking enemies. For situations where you can't carry the spellbook around, fill it with enlarge person, probably. The rest of the time, you have a slot for unseen servant or something similar during the day, and if you don't use it you can convert it to Alarm to defend the campsight at night. You have pearls of power, so an open slot can turn into several castings of a spell you didn't know you were going to need. You do NOT need duplicates of mage armor, truestrike or shield. You have pearls of power, you can get them back if you need them. L2: Mirror Image, Web, Glitterdust, False Life, <open> Seriously if you are afraid of death, False Life will do a lot more for you than multiple castings of Shield and Blur. Use the open slot to replace the other 4 between spells if you use one, or to add a spell you didn't think you were going to need that day. If you get to the end of the day without using it, cast False Life before you go to sleep. L3: Fireballx2, Haste Ray of Exhaustion isn't as reliable as Ray of Enfeeblement (fort save weakens it a lot), and you will find that your party fighters love Haste far more than they love blur or anything else you've been casting for them. I left fireball, cause at L7 fireball is pretty fun. L4: Greater Invisibility, Polymorph. Polymorph is cheaper than stoneskin, and it is a truly amazing offensive and defensive buff...it can be used for disguise, for flight, for piling on a ton of constitution or natural armor or for turning a mild-mannered but high BAB/feat oriented character into a killing machine. Or you can cast it on the rogue when he's in position to sneak attack and give him something with a lot of limbs, or with pounce if the enemy is flatfooted and in charge range. If polymorph is too complex, Evards Tentacles, Ice Storm (the key to ice storm is not the damage, it is the fact that it has no save, lasts 1 full round and impairs movement - and also anyone "blinking" is gonna get nailed, because he'll be in the damage area half the time. Eventually ice storm doesn't do enough damage, but at L7 it is pretty good), wall of fire, wall of ice and solid fog are decent alternatives. If your save DC's are fairly high, Shadow Conjuration is nice (giving you the option to grease, glitterdust, web, stinking cloud or sleet storm the enemy, or letting you conjure a phantom steed or summon some monsters for utility, all in one spell) I left greater invis because your rogue will just LOVE you for that spell, especially if you haste him first as he moves into the flank....
pmurray@bigpond.com 10-18-05, 02:14 PM	Thanks for you comments. We are currently in the middle of a module, so I won't be able to change my spells around right now. But we are based in Sharn, so getting core spells is just a matter of buying the scrolls. Ok. I have a wand of MMis(7) (cost a fortune) and ray of enfeeblement (recovered from opponent). RoE is a really, really handy spell. So having said that, I would not use a spell slot for them. I ought to have said so on the initial post. Ray of exhaustion is handy in combination with any fear spell - the target will just die from attempting to run while exhausted. But I didn't take a fear spell, so WTF was I thinking? My party thinks Glitterdust is lame, because I was in love with it for a while back at 3rd level. But they are wrong - it's a great spell. An area effect that blinds, DC 20. Why did I ever not include it? Haste - damn. Should have taken Haste, which arguably is overpowered for a 3rd level spell. I bought a scroll of displacement instead and learned it. Haste is way better, and the rest of the party will love me for it. Fireball is very fun indeed. At lev 9, with my rod of maximise, it will do massive damage (54 hp), and I'm looking forward to that. (Arguably, lesser maximise should only maximise 3 damage die, but I ain't compaining). I haven't played a mage before. Last session, an assassin vine very nearly killed our Ranger. There were 2 of them, I was entangled, so rather than trying to break free I just nuked 'em. A waste of a spell, but what a waste! I'd rather avoid polymorph - it's just too much hassle to DM. Let's have a read of it ... reads ... Holy Cow! A heal spell! Or I can transform our gnome's riding dog into something nasty - a HellHound, or a flying mount. Or I can polymorph my familiar into anything with 7hd! Presumably, it would still get the benefits of being a Mage's familiar (bwahahaha!). To prepare this for the game, I need to pick a couple of monsters and get the stats ready. Greater invis is a must-have for the rogue. Pity that the rod of lesser extend can't be used with it. Again - thanks for the comments.
pmurray@bigpond.com 10-18-05, 02:36 PM	For instance, I could polymorph my familiar (Momo the spider) into a Girallion. it even makes kind of sense, on the basis that momo has extra arms. If I took stoneskin instead of Greater Invis (sorry, rogue), we are talkig a Girallion with an Int of 9 (smarter than a lot of people), spell resistance, and damage reduction 10/adamantine, and a rend attack. Really, really, nasty. We could pretend, for game purposes, that the Girallion is kind of insectoid. Hmm. A Huge spider is 8HD. Saaay - how about a seven-headed Hydra? It's a magical beast, so it's all good.
solbergb 10-18-05, 03:06 PM	Be prepared for your DM to limit polymorph by inheriting the Alter Self size restriction (the Polymorph spell is silent, but it inherits Alter self except where otherwise specified). This means most folks are limited to size large, and familiars to tiny or medium size. It's a great spell, but you'll do better to work with the DM to get an interpretation he can live with rather than risk it being banned by going all out to the most lenient interpretation. Not being able to routinely turn into Hydras, for example, tends to ease acceptance of the spell around most DM's.
smrtgmp 10-18-05, 04:16 PM	Since you have a 1st level PoP, I would only prepare mage armor once. Some other spells that I like: 1st level: Grease. If you enemy doesnt have 5 or more ranks in balance, they'll be flatfooted while in the area, meaning your rogue can go to town with sneak attacks. Thats just the beginning. It can also be used to get your enemies prone or disarm them (grease the weapon). Color Spray. A 1st level spell that can stun multiple opponents? Yes please. Mount. Not necessarily for every day preperation, but great when you're strapped for cash. "Excuse me sir, would you like to buy this fine horse?" Just make sure you're under the effects of some sort of disguise spell so they dont know who to come after when it disapears on them. Charm Person. Make new friends. Especially nice in a game where you spend a lot of time in a city. Enlarge. Use this to buff your melee buddies. 10ft reach is a good thing. 2nd level: Hideous Laughter. If they fail their save, they're out of the fight for 1 round/level. It also makes them prone. Touch of Idiocy. Great against enemy casters, especially when combined with spectral hand. Command Undead. Mindless undead dont get a save and are your slave for 1 day/level. Nice. Spectral Hand. Deliver all those nasty touch spells from a safe distance. Alter Self. Very versitile. Need to climb something? Turn into something with a climb speed. Need to swim and/or breathe water? Turn into an aquatic humanoid. Need an AC boost? Turn into something with good natural armor, like a trogeldyte (+6). Levitate. Getting above the melee is very nice, especially for a low hp caster. It will aslo make it easier to line up your ray attacks, as its easy to avoid the soft cover bonus your allies might otherwise provide to your enemies. Not to mention its a great spell for any explorer. I generally get boots of levitation as soon as I can afford them for any caster. Plus, they would be amazingly handy in Sharn. Going up. Rope Trick. The all purpose escape hatch. Surrounded by enemies with no chance of escape? Drop an obscuring mist, then use rope trick. Foes without spellcasting capabilities will, most likely, have no idea what happened. Plus its nice as a safe campsite. 3rd level: Dispel Magic. This one is a must, even if you only have a few scrolls. It will save your life. Nondetection. Slap this on your rogue friend before using greater invisibility. Stinking Cloud. This is one of my favorite spells. It can be devestating when combined with undead minions. If your have a warforged in the group, it can wade into the cloud without fear of being nauseated. Suggestion. These arent the droids you're looking for. Fly. Along the same lines as levitate, but better. Combine this with greater invisibility and become a stealth bomber. Haste. Extra attacks/movement are great, especially since you have 3 melee guys in the group. By far one of my favorite 3rd level spells. Slow. Limit your foes to a single move or standard action per round. This is absolutely devestating, especially if your allies are hasted. Your buddies get an extra attack on a full attack while the enemy cant even take a full attack. This combo will ensure victory over nearly any group of melee oriented foes. Very nasty. Very effective. 4th level: Black Tentacles. This one is a doozie. So save, no SR, and the tentacles cant be damaged. Use it to hold your enemies in place while you blast the crap out of them. Dimension Door. This is awesome. If nothing else, keep it on a scroll, though I reccomend keeping it prepared when possible. Solid Fog. This one is nasty. Great for battlfield control or stopping enemy archers. Its also guaranteed to stop a charge. Charm Monster. Same as charm person, only better Confusion. Holy crap is this effective. Groups of enemy melee guys wont stand a chance. Next thing you know they'll be hacking eachother to pieces. Its almost guaranteed to take out mounted knights, because even if the riders make the save, the mounts wont. Resiliant Sphere. Very handy for defense or to contain an enemy. Animate Dead. Gotta love minions that never sleep, and that dont need to eat or breathe. I prefer skeletons to zombies. Drop a Stinking cloud on your foes and then send in the troops. Dont forget to laugh maniacally. Enervation. This is easily one of the best spells in the game for its level. 1d4 negative levels on a hit, and negative levels are nasty. Each one drops the victim's hp total by 5 and inflicts a -1 penalty on attacks, saves, and skill checks. Against enemy spellcasters it can be devestating, as they lose one spell/spell slot from their highest level for each negative level they take. If their number of negative levels equals their HD total, they die. Mass enlarge. Increase the size of all your allies at once. Polymorph. This was mentioned above, but it bears repeating. This spell is awesome. However, I would reccomend casting in your melee buddies rather than yourself. They will get far more use out of it than you ever will. Turn them into something with a humaniod form (like one of the trolls from MM3) and they'll get to keep all their gear intact in addition to recieving massive boosts to srt, con and natural armor. They'll get way more staying power and their damage potential will increase dramatically. If you're feeling particularly nasty, cast fly on the rogue, turn him into a hydra (as many heads as you can get), then cap it off with improved invisibility. He'll be a sneak attack machine. A few general tactical tips: I know you're loving your maximized fireball (the damage is certainly impressive), but everyone else in your group is built around doing damage. You can be a more effective team member by doing things they cant. And, since you're the only primary spellcaster, you're the one who's going to have to get them out of miscelaneous jams and the like. I reccomend a good mix of defensive, battlefield control, and utility spells, with a few offensive spells thrown in as needed. Also, you have scribe scroll. Use it. A lot. Make a scroll of any spell that you think you might need at some point but dont want to prepare on a daily basis. If your buddies chipped in to get you a wand, they'll probably help fund your scroll making as well, especially if you use your spells to buff the crap out of them. By making them more effective at what they do, you will foster good party relations and encourage team work, which is the key to survival in truly rough encounters. You're probably sick and tired of reading this by now, so I'll shut up. Best of luck, and happy gaming. :)
pmurray@bigpond.com 10-19-05, 03:34 AM	Thanks. Being a drow, my mage has darkness as a racial ability, so no need for the "obscuring mist" to hide the use of Rope Trick. Hideous laughter ... not so sure. There's a will save, +4 vs anything not a humanoid, and anything without an Int is immune. Spectral Hand - the DM has permitted my drow to have a Jumping Spider as her familiar. Pity it doesn't get Spring Attack as a feat, because your familiar can deliver touch attacks for you. I have a spiked chain (used 2 feats: ex wep prof + weap finesse), and a couple of players have suggested that it would be cool to find one/have one made that could deliver my touch attacks. The 10' reach means i can hide behind another character, and all the defensive melee bufs mean that mixing it up in the middle of melee is not so much of a danger. Suggestion - Our party has acquired the Tooth of At-Tar-Ir, which has Suggestion 1/day (DC 20). Last session, I suggested that an opponent ought to surrender, which he did. Unfortunately, the Cleric's summoned dire ape then proceeded to tear it a new one, which I felt bad about, but they were pirates and were trying to kill us. Fly/Levitate - Oh yeah. I had Fly in the PoP(3) before I checked the rules and discovered that it was not the same as Spell Storing. We have a ranger. Fly + Flame Arrow is a nice buff, except that the ranger is an elf, and he and my drow mage despise each other on principle. Luckily, drow are practical enough to put survival before interracial spite ... most of the time. Saaay ... the caster can dispel Fly at any time. Why not let the ranger get used to using it, and one day drop him in the lava? That's what I call planning! Haste/Slow - Both are must-haves. Damn, why did I waste all my spell slots on defensive buffs? So many spells, so few slots :P . Oh well. That's what makes it a game. There are tons of nice higher-level spells, but I only have 2 slots. Scolls are so damn expensive. And (of course) I always purchase an extra to scribe. Having a book full of fun is what being a mage is all about. Luckily, Spellcraft 10 + {Int 20}+5 + {Headband Int+2}+1 + {K.Arcana Synergy bonus} +2 = Spellcraft 18 - an automatic success to scribe 3rd lev spells. Hmm - must get hold of "Complete Arcane" and grab those "Orb" spells that everyone always says are way overpowered.
smrtgmp 10-19-05, 04:31 AM	Spectral Hand - the DM has permitted my drow to have a Jumping Spider as her familiar. Pity it doesn't get Spring Attack as a feat, because your familiar can deliver touch attacks for you. I have a spiked chain (used 2 feats: ex wep prof + weap finesse), and a couple of players have suggested that it would be cool to find one/have one made that could deliver my touch attacks. The 10' reach means i can hide behind another character, and all the defensive melee bufs mean that mixing it up in the middle of melee is not so much of a danger.Thats a nice familiar, but its a rather dangerous tactic. If it gets squished, (which will likely happen at some point if you keep sending into melee) you lose xp, which is never fun. Besides, spectral hand works at medium range. Obviously, the choice is yours. :) Scolls are so damn expensive. And (of course) I always purchase an extra to scribe.FYI: It would be cheaper to buy a single scroll, scribe it into your spell book, and then make your own copies. You'll lose a bit of xp in the process, but the nature of the CR system means you'll never fall too far behind your companions, as lower level PCs get more xp for overcoming any given encounter. IMO, its well worth it, especially if you're strapped for cash.