Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sareld Mar 22, 2008 18:50:33	Hefty houserules regarding armor has made any tank or tank like class completely unplayable, so I am trying to come up with an alternative way of providing meat shields for the party. Ive decided to go for a silvanesti elf character (read: basically a grey elf, but not quite as good), and Ive decided to specialize in conjuration/transmutation spells. Im not too familiar with pure casters, so any advice would be great, but my general strategy is to focus on calling creatures to the field while also providing buffs/debuffs to improve their chances agaisnt the foe. The party already includes a TWF ranger, a rogue who might benefit from the flanking oppotunities my creatures provide, and another wizard specialized in necromancy and evocation. The build: Race: silvanesti elf. Stats (inc modifiers): Str: 8 Dex: 16 (14+2) Con: 14 (16-2) Int: 18 (16+2) Wis: 8 Cha: 8 (10-2) School Focus: Conjuration Forbidden Schools: Evocation, Enchantment 1: Conjurer 1 Feat (Spell Focus: Conjuration) 2: Conjurer 2 3: Conjurer 3 Feat (Augment Summoning) 4: Master Specialist 1 5: Master Specialist 2 6: Master Specialist 3 Feat (Spell Focus: Transmutetion) 7: Master Specialist 4 8: Master Specialist 5 9: Master Specialist 6 Feat (Cloudy Conjuration) 10: Master Specialist 7 11: Master Specialist 8 12: Master Specialist 9 Feat (Greater Spell Focus: Transmutation) 13: Master Specialist 10 14: Arcmage 1 15: Arcmage 2 Feat (Split Ray) 16: Arcmage 3 17: Arcmage 4 18: Arcmage 5 Feat (Spell Penetration) 19: Conjurer 4 20: Conjurer 5 Bonus Feat (Quicken Spell) Thank you for your time.
#2 CantripN Mar 22, 2008 18:53:45	What is this Dual Specialization, exactly? In any case, what books can you use? Feats you'd want: Uncanny Forethought (+Spell Mastery), Sculpt Spell (+Twin Spell).
#3 sareld Mar 22, 2008 19:12:12	Perhaps I worded it wrong, Im not a specialist of two schools. I merely concentrate on conjuration and transmutation by selecting feats that benefit my ability to cast spells of either school, hoping to achieve some synergy between them. Books allowed: Heroes of X series, Complete X series, dragonlance campaign setting and the SRD minus PHBII.
#4 CantripN Mar 22, 2008 19:18:21	Take Spontaneous Divination with your 5th level of Wizard. It's in Complete Champion.
#5 pryor Mar 23, 2008 1:34:27	If you are allowed to use the Conjurer variants in Unearthed Arcana (and included in the SRD), then I'd suggest taking the Rapid Summoning (replaces your Familiar, allows you to summon creatures as a Standard Action rather than a Full Round Action) and the Enhanced Summoning (replaces Scribe Scroll with Augment Summoning) variants. Cheers, Pryor
#6 sareld Mar 24, 2008 16:48:20	I checked with the DM, and I am not allowed to sell my familiar for any neat abilities. Nice idea though. I am unfamiliar with spontaneous divination, and i dont have comp champion ready, can you elaborate its effects? Ive updated the build and fleshed it out, here it is: 1: Conjurer 1 Feat (Spell Focus: Conjuration), Bonus Feat (Scribe Scroll) 2: Conjurer 2 3: Conjurer 3 Feat (Augment Summoning) 4: Master Specialist 1 Bonus Feat (Skill Focus: Spellcraft) 5: Master Specialist 2 6: Master Specialist 3 Feat (Empower Spell), Bonus Feat (Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration) 7: Master Specialist 4 8: Master Specialist 5 9: Master Specialist 6 Feat (Split Ray) 10: Master Specialist 7 11: Master Specialist 8 12: Master Specialist 9 Feat (Spell Focus: Transmutation) 13: Master Specialist 10 14: Arcmage 1 High Arcana (Arcane Reach) 15: Arcmage 2 Feat (Quicken Spell), High Arcana (Mastery of Shaping) 16: Arcmage 3 High Arcana (Spell Power) 17: Arcmage 4 High Arcana (Spell-Like Ability: Time Stop) 18: Fatespinner 1 Feat (Repeat Spell) 19: Fatespinner 2 20: Fatespinner 3 Will I be better off with Fatespinner 4 or Archmage 4? Or should I drop Master Specialist 10 and take both?
#7 kanenfawder Mar 24, 2008 19:23:48	If you want a meatshield and want to focus on summoning, why not go Druid and get both? No armor required.
#8 archerpwr Mar 24, 2008 19:37:41	Malconvoker (complete scoundrel) much?
#9 ninjarabbit Mar 24, 2008 19:42:19	Archamge is a better choice than fatespinner since you already have SF: Conjuration and SF: Spellcraft via Master Specialist. I'd recommend focused specialist: conjuration and dump necromancy since the other wizard is specalized in it for extra spell slots to help pay for the archmage abilities.
#10 arminel Mar 24, 2008 19:45:32	^That was going to be my suggestion. Feats including Spell Focus: Conjuration, Cloudy Conjuration, Augment Summoning, Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration (CMage), and Imbued Summoning (PHB2). If you don't like the Conjuration-feat choices, dip a level into Cleric and take the Summoner Domain (SC) for +2 caster level on your Conjurations. I thought there was one that gave you Augment Summoning for free, but I can't find it.
#11 sareld Mar 24, 2008 21:05:13	Hmm.. focused specialist sounds good, I´ll definately take a look at it. I really want to keep necromancy though, as I need Enervation and Ray of Clumsiness to kill things. Illusion would also be a choice wirth considering, but that means that I loose shadow evocations. And as for the immediate need of meatshields, I dont think that I need to go as far as joining the malconvokers. Battlefield control, sometimes in the form of big roaring monsters for the enemies to beat instead of me will be a vital part of my strategy, but I think that battlefield control is a better general use of my conjuration focus, I just wanted to make the summoning aspect a useful weapon as well. I am aware that archmage is an obivous choice here, and Im not trying to choose between archmage and fatespinner here, just that 4th level of them. Is the 4th level fate abilities the best thing, or is it the 4th level high arcana? I think the time stop SLA is pretty neat, but so is forcing the enemy to re-roll succesful saves. Side Note, my expanded spellbook choices: lvl 5: Lesser Restoration lvl 8: Raise Dead lvl 11: What is the most useful Conjuration spell of 6th level or lower not on the wizards spell list? Heal?
#12 sareld Mar 27, 2008 12:16:19	I feel like Im beating a dead horse bringing this thread up again, but I need this guy to rock at what he does, and I figured that this was better than a new tread. The campaign is rumored to keep rolling until level 17, at which point the party are free to roam the world as they please and possibly dig up the big T. To better know what feats and abilities to gun for, I decided to plan my spell selection in advance just to make sure that I get the value for my spell focuses, metamagics and and agument summoning. Here is the latest build version, including the spells I plan on selecting, feel free to criticize them as well: School Focus: Conjuration Forbidden Schools: Evocation, Enchantment 1: Conjurer 1 Feat (Spell Focus: Conjuration), Bonus Feat (Scribe Scroll) 2: Conjurer 2 3: Conjurer 3 Feat (Augment Summoning) 4: Master Specialist 1 Bonus Feat (Skill Focus: Spellcraft) 5: Master Specialist 2 Expanded Spellbook (Lesser Vigor) 6: Master Specialist 3 Feat (Empower Spell), Bonus Feat (Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration) 7: Master Specialist 4 8: Master Specialist 5 Expanded Spellbook (Raise Dead) 9: Master Specialist 6 Feat (Split Ray) 10: Master Specialist 7 11: Master Specialist 8 Expanded Spellbook (Heal) 12: Master Specialist 9 Feat (Spell Focus: Transmutation) 13: Master Specialist 10 14: Arcmage 1 High Arcana (Mastery of Shaping) 15: Arcmage 2 High Arcana (Spell Power), Feat (Quicken Spell) 16: Fatespinner 1 17: Arcmage 3 High Arcana (Spell-Like Ability: Time Stop) 18: Fatespinner 2 Feat (Improved initiative) 19: Fatespinner 3 20: Fatespinner 4 Wizard Spells (Until lvl 17): 1st: Grease Mage Armor Obscuring Mist Identify Enlarge Person Alarm Ray of Clumsiness (Spell Compendium) True Casting (Complete Mage) Shield 2nd: Summon Monster II Rope Trick Glitterdust Alter Self 3rd: Dispel Magic Haste Stinking Cloud Phantom Steed 4th: Solid Fog Enervation Summon Monster IV Polymorph 5th: Teleport Contingent Energy Resistance (Draconomicon) Baleful polymorph Shadow Evocation 6th: Summon Monster VI Antimagic Field Freezing Fog (Complete Arcane) Disentegrate 7th: Spell Turning Drawmij´s Instant Summons Planeshift Ethereal Jaunt 8th: Greater Shadow Evocation Polymorph any object Summon Monster VIII Maze 9th Time Stop Gate Summon Elemental Monolith (Complete Arcane) Prismatic Sphere