Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Ocule Sep 27, 2014 20:34:15	So i finally get to actually be a player for once and we just hit 6th level. I only joined in like 2 sessions ago switched off the DM role and rolled with a wizard. I imagined myself summoning outsiders and painful environmental effects plus perks of teleporting. So far this hasnt been it and ive been debating on changing my character in favor of another school. Spell levels 1-3 have had very little in favor in terms of decent spells that are part of the conjuration school and most of them are highly situational at best. Flaming sphere has been pretty useful since it can do a decent amount of damage, sleet storm has proved to be extremely situational good for shutting down archers or slowing an onslaught but in most combats is just as annoying to have around as the bad guys. Stinking cloud feels underwhelming for a third level spell and just as hazardous to my team as the enemies. The tradition stuff for class features feels, well not all that useful. I can make any non magical item i have seen that is less than 3 cubic feet and i just got the ability Benign Transposition which i think can be used as either a short ranged teleport or a position swap with another player. In comparison with other schools it still feels underwhelming. So im considering a tradition switch, possibly to enchanter or diviner or possibly just evocation and call it a day. Anyone else have experience playing a wizard? Should i stick with conjuration or ditch it.
#2 Ocule Sep 28, 2014 6:09:21	*bump*
#3 Marley117 Oct 01, 2014 10:12:27	I am making a Wizard right now for the campaign we are starting and I am thinking of going with the Divination school. They have some pretty interesting abilities. It really depends on how you play though. Abjuration gives you that awesome shield. Conjuration's teleportation is nice but if you aren't liking the rest, I wouldn't stick with it just for that. Transmutation has a variety of abilities, some better than others, but it adds some more utility to an already broad class. Evocation is just.....boring to me. That is my opinion though.
#4 Uthrac Oct 01, 2014 11:29:47	Divination is amazing.   You roll two d20 to hand out during the day. Roll high? Some lucky PC will auto-hit or auto-save when it really matters. Roll low? Some unlucky monster will miss ... or fail a saving throw against a key spell. (Aren't save-or-die spells more fun when you know your target will fail?)
#5 2Chlorobutanal Oct 01, 2014 18:20:32	Conjuration is a very strong spell list and set of class benefits in my opinion.   The first two features, at levels 2 and 6, are mostly for exploration and problem-solving in my opinion - but the ability to teleport 30' while exploring is pretty nice.  It also makes a handy escape from grapples, walls, or dangerous terrain effects.  If you can swap yourself with a summoned monster or your party's front-line warrior, all the better.   The level 10 bonus is very powerful and great for "quality of life" - you can no longer fail concentration saving throws for conjurations in most circumstances.   The level 14 feature of 30 temporary hp makes conjure minor elementals pretty interesting- given "bounded accuracy" in the combat math of 5e, you could flood the battlefield with mephits (or something - I  don't have a MM) who each get their own action and are still reasonably hard to kill.   Have you tried fog cloud or grease?  Grease doesn't require concentration, so you can lob it on the field while using another control effect, buff, or summoning spell.  Fog cloud can function similarly to sleet storm (albeit without difficult terrain), but in a lower-level spell slot.   Flaming sphere isn't bad, but I honestly see conjurers as "battlefield manipulators" first and damage-dealers second.  Sleet storm is useful if timed correctly, but you can always end the spell if it is problematic.   For higher-level spells, I always look forward to learning Evard's Black Tentacles as well as the actual summoning/binding spells.  Cloudkill and incendiary cloud can be good conjuration-themed damage and minor control spells, but they're not among my favorites.  Once I can summon monsters with my concentration spells, that's probably where my focus would lie.   Note that you don't have to rely entirely on conjuration spells just because you are a Conjurer.  Personally, I'd look at the suite of class features first and then worry about my spell selection later.   That being said, all the traditions are very interesting to me.  Evocation is probably the most straightforward to use, as it is comprised mainly of bonus stats or very simple abilities.  Divination is also a good general-purpose specialization that will certainly always be useful (given the re-rolls).
#6 awaken_D_M_golem Oct 02, 2014 14:20:11	2nd-ing Grease. It's got a long pedigree in the game.   I "splatted" one out, and talked the 2WF into shoving the bbeg into the grease.  Then the Druid used Thorn Whip dragging another bbeg into it ; 2 stabs ; 2 down.
#7 Treantmonklvl20 Oct 02, 2014 16:04:13	2Chlorobutanal wrote:
#8 FallingIcicle Oct 02, 2014 17:08:13	Ocule wrote:
#9 LongTimeLurker Oct 02, 2014 18:18:46	Uthrac wrote:
#10 StuleBrown Oct 02, 2014 19:26:23	I say stick with it. Conjuration is really useful at higher levels.
#11 Kavrek Oct 02, 2014 20:08:50	Ocule wrote:
#12 Ocule Oct 03, 2014 21:29:20	Thanks for all the great tips. I ended up switching up my spell list and abusing minor conjuration to no end and going to probably try to stick it out a bit longer because the later level conjuration spells look great. It is hard to argue with divination as a solid school but evocation did look a little too straight forward for me. Im usually pretty good with playing a battlefield control role but getting used to the concentration mechanics still. On a second look all the schools looked very well done, enchantment and illusion both looked incredibly deadly as well.