Wizard Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Wizard Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Finger-Poke-O-Doom
03-15-08, 09:09 PM My friends and I are allowing a new player into our game and starting them at our level(8) Their class is Wizard lvl 8. I've helped put together their character sheet and wanted to know if you could help select what feats they should take.

To help those reading this better. Imagine you get to start your game with a level 8 wizard and all the bells and whistles that come with it. What feats would you pick? I need 3 feats plus the bonus. She has choosen not to wear armor.
runestar
03-15-08, 10:42 PM Collegiate wizard at 1st lv to get access to more spells. If elf, go with the elven wiz sub class in races of the wild.

Probably one of the reserve feats from complete mage to give my wizard something to do (and conserve spells) if I feel the situation is not dire enough to warrant casting spells.

Perhaps a metamagic feat like extend spell? You can't go wrong with improved initiative, or consider improved toughness if you want the extra hp.

For the bonus feat, I am tempted to take an item creation feat like craft wands or wondrous item, given its extreme importance (and the auto-correcting nature of xp expenditure).

At 9th lv, look forward to the summon elemental reserve feat.
Kouk
03-16-08, 02:32 AM Good feats for Wizards depends on what kind of Wizard the player wants to be more than anything. There is not really one "best" feat.

Some common ones though are Empower or Maximize Spell Metamagic, and Item Creation Feats such as Craft Wondrous Item.
Baninor
03-16-08, 08:35 AM Aside from General Metamagic and Item Creation feats. Theres always Spell Focus and Spell Penetration (Plus the greater forms of each).
I guess if he wants to aim towards a PrC he should figure out what he needs, since a lot need less than useful feats like Iron Will.

There are all the wand feats from Complete Arcane which can be a blast. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
elyse
03-20-08, 10:31 PM Is s/he a specialist wizard? If so, I'd recommend that they take only 3 levels of wizard and then 5 levels of Master Specialist. If they're not a specialist wizard, they should be an elven generalist from Races of the Wild.

In terms of feats, it depends what you want to do. I would recommend metamagic feats for any wizard (empower being my low level choice and quicken at higher levels).

If the game will go on for awhile, you might want to think about qualifying for PrC-s, like Archmage is always the correct choice and for that you need spell focus in two schools and skill focus (spellcraft). (FYI, Master Specialist 1 gives you the latter)

What kind of caster does your friend want to be? If s/he wants to stand in the back and blow things up, go for metamagic feats. If s/he wants to make illusions and scare people to death (consider Nightmare Spinner, Complete Mage), consider spell focus (there are also some cool flavor feats from complete mage).

Anyway--hard to answer without knowing what kind of caster s/he wants to be...
RobbyPants
03-21-08, 10:35 AM I think runestar and elyse covered a lot of what I'd get. At ninth level and beyond, Quicken Spell is awesome. If you have an open slot at a lower level, it could always be taken then, and saved for later. When using Quicken Spell on a low level spell, you can open up for some nasty crowd control combos, such as:

Black Tenticles & Quickened Web - It takes a full round to move through the web, and a standard action to break the grapple, plus, the tenticles will try and re-establish the grapple on your round. Basically, if they start their turn grappled, they can't move that round.
Black Tenticles & Quickened Stinking Cloud - Similar to above, but if they fail their Fort save, they can't take a standard action to break the grapple that round.
Solid Fog & Quickened Sculpted Grease - With the Grease spell sculpted, it has the same AoE as Solid Fog. To move in the Grease spell, they need to make a Balance check. Even if they succeed, solid fog makes them only move five feet that round.

Anyway, you get the idea.

As for feats level by level, I might do something like:
Human: Improved Initiative
Wizard 1: Scribe Scroll
Level 1: Extend Spell
Level 3: Firey Burst
Wizard 5: Sculpt Spell
Level 6: Quicken Spell

If you wanted Collegiate Wizard, you could take it at level 1, and drop either Improved Initiative or Sculpt Spell. This feat is good if the wizard either lacks the money or downtime to scribe new spells. If the conditions are in the wizard's favor, Collegiate Wizard is probably not necessary.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Finger-Poke-O-Doom 03-15-08, 09:09 PM	My friends and I are allowing a new player into our game and starting them at our level(8) Their class is Wizard lvl 8. I've helped put together their character sheet and wanted to know if you could help select what feats they should take. To help those reading this better. Imagine you get to start your game with a level 8 wizard and all the bells and whistles that come with it. What feats would you pick? I need 3 feats plus the bonus. She has choosen not to wear armor.
runestar 03-15-08, 10:42 PM	Collegiate wizard at 1st lv to get access to more spells. If elf, go with the elven wiz sub class in races of the wild. Probably one of the reserve feats from complete mage to give my wizard something to do (and conserve spells) if I feel the situation is not dire enough to warrant casting spells. Perhaps a metamagic feat like extend spell? You can't go wrong with improved initiative, or consider improved toughness if you want the extra hp. For the bonus feat, I am tempted to take an item creation feat like craft wands or wondrous item, given its extreme importance (and the auto-correcting nature of xp expenditure). At 9th lv, look forward to the summon elemental reserve feat.
Kouk 03-16-08, 02:32 AM	Good feats for Wizards depends on what kind of Wizard the player wants to be more than anything. There is not really one "best" feat. Some common ones though are Empower or Maximize Spell Metamagic, and Item Creation Feats such as Craft Wondrous Item.
Baninor 03-16-08, 08:35 AM	Aside from General Metamagic and Item Creation feats. Theres always Spell Focus and Spell Penetration (Plus the greater forms of each). I guess if he wants to aim towards a PrC he should figure out what he needs, since a lot need less than useful feats like Iron Will. There are all the wand feats from Complete Arcane which can be a blast. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
elyse 03-20-08, 10:31 PM	Is s/he a specialist wizard? If so, I'd recommend that they take only 3 levels of wizard and then 5 levels of Master Specialist. If they're not a specialist wizard, they should be an elven generalist from Races of the Wild. In terms of feats, it depends what you want to do. I would recommend metamagic feats for any wizard (empower being my low level choice and quicken at higher levels). If the game will go on for awhile, you might want to think about qualifying for PrC-s, like Archmage is always the correct choice and for that you need spell focus in two schools and skill focus (spellcraft). (FYI, Master Specialist 1 gives you the latter) What kind of caster does your friend want to be? If s/he wants to stand in the back and blow things up, go for metamagic feats. If s/he wants to make illusions and scare people to death (consider Nightmare Spinner, Complete Mage), consider spell focus (there are also some cool flavor feats from complete mage). Anyway--hard to answer without knowing what kind of caster s/he wants to be...
RobbyPants 03-21-08, 10:35 AM	I think runestar and elyse covered a lot of what I'd get. At ninth level and beyond, Quicken Spell is awesome. If you have an open slot at a lower level, it could always be taken then, and saved for later. When using Quicken Spell on a low level spell, you can open up for some nasty crowd control combos, such as: Black Tenticles & Quickened Web - It takes a full round to move through the web, and a standard action to break the grapple, plus, the tenticles will try and re-establish the grapple on your round. Basically, if they start their turn grappled, they can't move that round. Black Tenticles & Quickened Stinking Cloud - Similar to above, but if they fail their Fort save, they can't take a standard action to break the grapple that round. Solid Fog & Quickened Sculpted Grease - With the Grease spell sculpted, it has the same AoE as Solid Fog. To move in the Grease spell, they need to make a Balance check. Even if they succeed, solid fog makes them only move five feet that round. Anyway, you get the idea. As for feats level by level, I might do something like: Human: Improved Initiative Wizard 1: Scribe Scroll Level 1: Extend Spell Level 3: Firey Burst Wizard 5: Sculpt Spell Level 6: Quicken Spell If you wanted Collegiate Wizard, you could take it at level 1, and drop either Improved Initiative or Sculpt Spell. This feat is good if the wizard either lacks the money or downtime to scribe new spells. If the conditions are in the wizard's favor, Collegiate Wizard is probably not necessary.