Post/Author/DateTime	Post
emperor norton 02-26-06, 08:56 PM	Trying to keep my wizard alive. Any suggestions?
DreganHiregard 02-26-06, 09:09 PM	I suggest a lightning bolt. The best defence is a charred pile of your enamies bones. :cool:
smrtgmp 02-26-06, 09:36 PM	Even if you're going the "best defense is a good offense," route lightning bolt is still a subpar option, IMO. To the op: what level are you? That will play a huge role in any suggestions that might be offered. At low levels, the combination of mirror image and blur/displacement will make you a hell of a lot harder to hit. Mage armor, with its long duration, is a good choice, though once you can afford a twilight mithril shirt, mage armor loses a lot of its appeal. A mithril buckler is a good choice as well. At later levels, elemental body (I think thats what its called) from spell compendium is awesom, with a duration fo 1 hour/level and a slew of defensive capabilities (like immunity to crits and sneak attacks).
emperor norton 02-26-06, 11:26 PM	Right now he's at 8th level, so I've been playing around with Greater Invisibility and Mirror Image. Also using Greater Mage Armor. I haven't seen the elemental spell you mentioned but I will check it out. BTW, what about items? What's the one don't leave home without it item a wizard needs above all else?
Lord shadow35 02-26-06, 11:27 PM	I like the energy immunity's and The scarab of protection.
smrtgmp 02-27-06, 01:30 AM	BTW, what about items? What's the one don't leave home without it item a wizard needs above all else?I like armor that doesnt have an ASF or armor check penalty. You can pick up a twilight mithril chain shirt +1 for 5100gp and a mithril buckler for 1000gp. That will give a +6 to AC, and both can be further enchanted. At the very least I would pick up the buckler, which can then be enchanted with things like fortification to reduce/nullify crits. A cloak or vest of resistance is always a good idea, as they can help bolster weak saves. I also like an amulet of bodily health for wizards, as it shores up two of their greatest weaknesses: a low fort save and meager hp total. Once you have the money, a cloak of displacement is a good buy. Its always nice to have a continuous miss chance in effect. I'm also fond of boots of leveitation. Since they in effect for quite a while with each activation, its not too hard to keep them on at all times, which means you can always take a move action to raise 20ft above the battlefield, which can be quite helpful. Of course, regular use of the fly spell is good for this as well. Keep in mind that Mirror Image doesnt combine with greater invisibility that well, given that the images are also invisible. If you are invisible or an attacker shuts his or her eyes, the spell has no effect.
Iver Gearsham 02-27-06, 01:44 AM	It is not good for direct conflict but a Ring of Sustanance is a huge survival tool. Pearls of Power all levels. Bracers of Enlarge/Reduce person great for sneaking and adds to brute force. Ring of Jump Boots of Striding and Springing. Cloak of Resistance Tanglefoot Bags hard for foes to kill you if you can get distance/cover from them. Caltrops in a scroll case. Belt of Many Pockets Marbles in a scroll case. Shrink Item spelled walls, boxes, spheres, Bonfires, pools of oil all very handy.
gorfnad the shiznit 02-27-06, 03:26 AM	Charm person/monster, Dominate person/monster, summon undead x, summon moster x... meat shields are definitely useful as well Bracers of AC Ring of Protection Otilukes Resiliant Sphere Wall of Force Evard's Black Tentacles Any area affecting combat manipulator can be used for defensive purposes...or at least to keep attackers away from you.
Gnarl 02-27-06, 03:29 AM	Craft Wondrous Items is your best defense :D If you don't mind being half a level behind the rest of the party, at those levels, you'll have something like 2,000 experience points per level to waste on magic items. Boots of Levitation. In wide open fields and caverns, staying out of reach is usualy you're best defense. In tight dungeons, just stay behind the fighter. Vestment of Resistance Gloves of Dexterity Amulet of Health Keep those spell slots for offense! A combat rarely lasts more than 5 rounds and the most important ones are the first 2. If you spend half your rounds casting defensive spells, your party is going to get murdered.
Tali Alia 02-27-06, 04:27 AM	You can pick up a twilight mithril chain shirt +1 for 5100gp and a mithril buckler for 1000gp.What is a +1 twilight mithril chain shirt? I know about mithril, but I haven't come across the twilight special ability.
Ryll 02-27-06, 05:01 AM	Some of this has been mentioned, but I use various combinations of the following to keep my Wizard alive: Spells: * Shield spell (have a couple memorized for a quick +4 to AC as well as Magic Missile defense). * Mirror Image * Blur (a missed swing = happy mage) * Greater mage armor (Good duration and AC) * Fly/Levitate (Best to be somewhere you cannot be attacked) * Invis/Imp. Invis. (Best not to be a target in the first place) * Displacement (a missed swing = happy mage) * Haste (Bonus to AC, and the speed to get out of dangerous areas) * Protection from Energy (Your reflex saves aren't THAT good, and fireballs can hurt a little) * Polymorph (Something small, armored, or able to fly out of reach is nice) Items (We cannot normally purchase items in our games, so these are items I hope to find whilst adventuring): * Amulets of Natural Armor. * Rings of Protection. * Cloaks of Resistance and/or Displacement. * Bracers of Armor (Especially if you can get them +6 or better, then you can use something other than Grtr. Mage Armor) * Wands of many of the spells listed above. * Staff of Power (although I generally find it hard to achieve such a staff at low, or even medium levels) * Cube of Force * Pearl of Sirines (sometimes under the river is the safest place to be) * Boots of Striding and Springing These are what I could come up with here at work, with no books, and a strong desire to be someplace else :)
Derren S. 02-27-06, 05:32 AM	What every wizards needs: (Ring of) Freedom of Movement. Never fear grapples and stuns anymore (Ring of) Spell Turning. Send nasty dispells and other targeted spells right back to the caster.
Reis 02-27-06, 05:50 AM	my favorites at high level: Lesser Ironguard/Ironguard Ghostform Energy Immunity Ray Deflection Protection from Spells Contingency (Cast dimension door on self 200' Forward of current location whenever you identify a Greater Dispel Magic or Mordenkainen's Disjunction spell being cast within 160' of self)
smrtgmp 02-27-06, 06:52 AM	What is a +1 twilight mithril chain shirt? I know about mithril, but I haven't come across the twilight special ability.Its a +1 armor enhancement (found in BoED and the Explorer's Handbook) that reduces the ASF by 10%.
emperor norton 02-27-06, 09:44 AM	All excellent suggestions, many of which I will pursue. Thanks. Any others?
SiouLubb 02-27-06, 10:01 AM	False Life is an excellent spell. If you empower it, it's even better. One problem I've had as a mage has been web spells/effects and hold person or paralysis. My solution to this is a prepared Teleport of Dimension door spell with the silent spell metamagic feat applied. Both spells are V only (vocal), so if you have the silent spell and are either entangled or paralyzed, you can get yourself to somewhere safe. I also recommend the Blood Magus PrC for a level or two. It gives you the ability to stabilize automatically, a bigger hit die and puts you on the fortitude saving throw track like a fighter. Yes, of course there are a few prerequisites- the great fortitude and toughness feats. (Personally, I substitute improved toughness). In my current game, I'm going to take it until lvl 4 of Blood Magus.
smrtgmp 02-27-06, 08:41 PM	Both spells are V only (vocal), so if you have the silent spell and are either entangled or paralyzed, you can get yourself to somewhere safe.I'm not quite sure this would work when affected by hold person, due to the following text:It is aware and breathes normally but cannot take any actionsemphasis mine An inability to take any actions seems like it would inhibit componentless spells as well. That being said, I am a big fan of silent dimension door for a wizard, as it will allow you to escape from a multitude of unpleasant situations.
Baptor 02-28-06, 07:05 AM	Best Defensive Spells* Displacment (if not high enough level, blur is good) Mirror Image (excellent spell, unless your DM cheats :P) Blink (most people overlook blink because of its downside, and I wouldnt recommend casting it all the time, but in a pinch, its a great defensive spell and while it has a downside, remember statistically they will still be missing you more than you miss them) Stoneskin (the end all be all of messing with melee. stoneskin costs a bit of cash, but its worth every penny if you know you are going into some rough combat) Wall of Force (ok so its not really a buff spell but it can save your hide in a pinch, because almost nothing can bring down a wall of force) Protection From Spells (incredibly high level, but the insane bonus against spells means you will make most saving throws and the duration is quite long) Protective Magic Items Cloak of Resistance (as a mage, armor is never really a big issue, but saving throws are, best to keep them as high as possible, as often as possible, especially fortitude, your weakest save, sucks to be on the recieving end of a Finger of Death) Robe of the Archmagi (ok, so its hard to get and very expensive, but if you take craft wondrous you can make it yourself for a little over 30k, and that aint bad, it provides good armor bonus, save bonus, spell resistance, and even a boost to spell penetration, hands down I think this is the best all-around robe in the standard game) Vesments of Faith (nothing like always having half a stoneskin spell on you, although you will probably have to find this or have a priest make it for you since I recall its spell req being a divine spell, although I dont have my DMG on hand and may be wrong.) Ring of Blinking (see Blink) Ring of Spell Turning (preparing spell turning can be a pain, as there are so many good 7th level offensive spells, so this ring is a godsend. With three charges per day, it will get you out of most sticky situations) Ring of Counterspells (until you can get a ring of spell turning, this is the ring for you. Even after you get one, you can always get a hand of glory and wear this too. When you are high enough level, put a disintegrate spell into it, at lower level, a dispel magic) Ring of Evasion (hands down best defensive ring for well...anyone that isnt a rogue or monk, evasion is one of the best abilities in the game) *I draw my spells from the standard list in the PHB, I dont use crazy supplements, so you'll have to look those up yourself, but I recommend Improved Blink if your DM allows it. Nothing better than a blink with no drawback. ;)
Father Dale 02-28-06, 10:34 AM	Defensive Spells: Elemental Body (SC) (Transmutation 7). This might be the best wizard buff spell in the game with the exception of Mindblank. Hour/level so it will last almost all day. Gain many elemental immunities such as immunity to crits, sneak attacks, paralysis, stunning. And gain special benefits depending on the elemental type you choose, for instance the fire elemental form gives you fire immunity and burns anybody who touches you, and the air elemental form lets you fly. Blink and Greater Blink are very good defensively. Not only is there the 50% miss chance that is very difficult to overcome, but you take half damage from area attacks and have only a 50% chance to be affected by individualy targeted spells. Ray Deflection (SC) (Abjuration 4) is a great defense and provides immunity from all ranged touch attacks, such as disintigrate, ray of stupidity, etc.. At lower levels, False Life can be a big lifesaver. And since it gives temporary hitpoints you can lose them and not have to worry about healing them back up, which is so much better than say Bear's Endurance (which realy only gives a temporary buffer zone against dying). Mirror Image can provide a great deal of protection since it essentially gives a miss chance that is usually much better than 50%. For example, if you have 4 images then there is only a 20% chance that you would be hit by any particular attack (at least until the images start dropping). Even with just one image there is a 50% chance. One good safeguard spell is Obscuring Mist (1st lvl). Since it would block line of sight from anybody more than 5 feet away, it will prevent and even stop the effects of many spells that rely on line of sight. No targeted spells can be used against you while in the mist. Plus, many spells must maintain line of sight while they are in effect, so it can stop those as well, such as Spiritual Weapon and Mordenkainen's Sword. Such spells would end up returning to their caster since the caster can't see you anymore. Dimension Door and Greater Dimension Door are very good escape spells for when you get into a spot. If your concentration is high enough you can even cast these in a grapple (Concentration DC=24 and 25, respectively). Any spell granting flight is good for avoiding many combatants. Overland Flight (5th) is great since its an hour per level, even though it only grants 40ft (average) speed. As said before, the Elemental Body spell can be used to grant the Air elemental form and it would give a fly speed equal to your land speed but with perfect maneuverability. But even good ole Fly (3rd) can be great for avoiding the mass of Greatclub wielding Ogres. As a wizard I've found that the best defenses fall in the lines of avoidance, miss chances, and immunities. Striving for a High AC generally is not a good idea; you don't want people swinging at you in the first place! Thus, the benefit of AC boosting spells comes into play only when your already in trouble! A wizard wants to avoid trouble. And AC only protects against attacks and usually offers no benefit against spells. I once took an elf wizard from lvl 1 to lvl 20 over the course of 1 1/2 years and he never had a better AC than 18 (+4 dex, +4 mage armor) since Abjuration was prohibited to him.
Father Dale 02-28-06, 10:53 AM	Defensive Items: The Conscious Effort ability is found in Complete Adventurer. It lets you use your Concentration check in place of a Fortitude save once per day. Very good for most wizards. And its not very expensive. You can add it to a headband of intellect for 6,000gp base price. Scarab of Protection is also good since it provides protection against one of the wizards biggest weaknesses...energy drains. (Nothing worse than losing your highest level spells!) It also protects against death effects too. The drawback is it only protects against 12 such attacks, and its rather expensive (38,000gp) for an item that can be depleted. Anything that boosts your saves is good. Robes/Cloaks of Resistance for example. Although if you use the Resistance line of spells from the SC these won't stack. Superior Resistance grants a +6 resistance bonus for an hour/level and its a 6th lvl spell I think. An amulet of health is good as well, giving a Con bonus that will boost your Fort save, grant extra hps, and boosts your concentration check. Ring of Freedom of Movement is an obvious choice.
emperor norton 02-28-06, 09:36 PM	These are great recommendations. I saw that item in CA, btw. It's a great one-off kind of thing. Enough to get out of danger when it really counts.
KmartKommando 03-02-06, 03:23 AM	Cast Blur... ...on the Meatshield in front of you. :D Then Expeditious Retreat, and keep the Meatshield between you and the enemies' sharp pointy things.
elemental evil 03-02-06, 11:08 AM	I'm surprised no one has tried to sell you on improved invisibility. Sure, it doesn't protect you from area effect spells (a simple cloak of elemental protection would shave off enough of that damage, though), but it does prevent you from being targeted by ray attacks, arrows, melee attacks, and anything else that requires that you to be seen to take damage. Even a 7th level wizard has a half dozen rounds to reak havoc before casting another defensive spell. DMs don't give their creatures or NPCs See Invisibility all that often, either. What's more, any spell you cast while invisible gives you a +2 attack bonus and denies any target its dex bonus (assuming it can't see you). Let's assume your target has a dex of at least 14 and that's a total of +4 to your range touch attacks right there.
Father Dale 03-02-06, 02:09 PM	Yeah Improved Invis is nice, but generaly speaking Greater Blink is superior. A lot of things can either see invisible creatures, or have some other location ability such as blindsight, termorsense, etc. A big benefit is the ability to interact with creatures on the etheral plane. So Greater Blink realy helps when dealing with ghosts and other such creatures. Plus the half damage from area attacks, the ability to move through objects (can attack and take total cover fairly easy), the ability to ready an action to negate an attack (works good with quickened spells at higher levels), and the fact that blind-fight, true strike, and other things that would negate concealment won't help. But Imp Invis is insanely good when coupled with a good flight ability, and you can fly around and rain death from above.
Jherid 03-02-06, 02:40 PM	Two items I'm rather fond of are Golden Orbs of Siluvanede (LEoF) which are basically slotless once-a-day use Effulugent Epurations, and a Spellblade (PGtF) weapon of some sort that is keyed to Greater Dispel Magic (which will let you absorb targeted ones cast at you and redirect it next round).
smrtgmp 03-02-06, 05:41 PM	I'm surprised no one has tried to sell you on improved invisibility. Sure, it doesn't protect you from area effect spells (a simple cloak of elemental protection would shave off enough of that damage, though), but it does prevent you from being targeted by ray attacks, arrows, melee attacks, and anything else that requires that you to be seen to take damage. Even a 7th level wizard has a half dozen rounds to reak havoc before casting another defensive spell. Emphasis mine. None of those things require you to see your intended target in order to harm them. You just have to attack the right square, at which point you have a 50% chance of missing. Labeling ray's as targeted spells is a very common mistake. They are effect spells, not targeted spells (with a few wonkey exceptions, and it is my belief that those who created said spells are not as familiar with the rules as they should be). Here's the relevant quote for those of you who dont believe me:Ray Some effects are rays. You aim a ray as if using a ranged weapon, though typically you make a ranged touch attack rather than a normal ranged attack. As with a ranged weapon, you can fire into the dark or at an invisible creature and hope you hit something. You don’t have to see the creature you’re trying to hit, as you do with a targeted spell. Intervening creatures and obstacles, however, can block your line of sight or provide cover for the creature you’re aiming at. Dont get me wrong, greater invisibility is a fantastic spell, but it doesnt provide the kind of protection you are alluding to.
Linkrulesx10 03-05-06, 03:22 AM	Ive found silent Image to be a great defensive spell, even better when you can use it as a cantrip... ( :D gnome racial sub) you create illusions of shadows that cover you and your allies, requires concentration but your allies and you are covered with total concelment, they can see through if they make their saves. Which they should do automatically if you inform them what your gonna do... It also allows rogues and ninja's their extra damage as well as denying opponents dex... all for a level 1 spell (Or a cantrip in my vase)
runestar 03-05-06, 05:20 AM	Stoneskin. Even at low lvs, its duration is still long enough to weather multiple encounters. At lv8, the mage still does not really have that many spell slots to be able to continously refresh short-duration buffs like concealment/blur etc. The cost is well worth the protection it affords, IMO. Mage armour is a long-time favourite, unless you are wearing a mithril shirt.
Psifon 03-05-06, 11:10 AM	Whenever possible try not to get targeted with attacks in the first place. I find that the combination of Fly and Greater Invisibility works great. Cast a spell, fly to a new location, cast a spell, fly to a new location. This makes it hard to even target you with a dispel magic. Ranks in move silently help with this tactic, and many DM's will grant a circumstance bonus to the roll since you are not touching the ground. The conbination of Incantatrix and Persistant spell allows for some great high-level defenses. Persistant ghostform, persistant shield, etc. Craft an item that gives you a +10 or +20 on your spellcraft checks, will obviously help a lot here. Contingency: Remember that your familiar can also wear a contingency. This means that he can have his own contingency of a dimension door to teleport away, and he can carry you with him. Very handy! I like to put a contingency of Greater Invisibility on myself that activates when I cast a fly spell. This allows me one extra defense early in the first round of combat. I then have my familiar have a dimension door go off when he bites his tail.