I've put together my build for my character, and would like a reccomendation for feats in particular.
FYI, I'm not allowed to take Abrupt Jaunt, so if you guys know another good Alternate Class feature, let me know. I'm not particularly interested in keeping my familiar (Yes I know familiars are awesome, It's a character background decision.)
Here's the build as it stands (I'm only level 3 at the moment, so I have wiggle room)
Stats:
Show
All based on assigned stats of 18,16, 14, 14, 10, 10:
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 16
INT: 18
WIS: 10
CHA: 14
All based on assigned stats of 18,16, 14, 14, 10, 10:
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 16
INT: 18
WIS: 10
CHA: 14
I say you don't need Illusion if you have Conjuration. Sure, Shades is nice. But think about how economic it is spell-wise. And I am not insulting the uses of Invisibility. But can't you just Planar Bind something with that same capability or teleport if you need the escape? And if MiC is allowed, an Eternal Wand of Invis or two will suffice, as even if you banned Illusion you can use it.
Illusion is the school a smart player can use to practically break the rules. Evocation and abjuration aren't as sexy.
Moving the rest into my Original Post
Longshot that your DM will allow it, but maybe make Cloudy Conjuration your "free" third level feat and in it's place put Collegiate Wizard? Helps out on the spells known and makes choosing spells at each level a little less painful.
Sorry, where's Collegiate Wizard From?
Do not ban illusion. Silent Image can look like any kind of cloud or wall. Invisibility is the best 2nd level spell in the game. Mirror Image is a fantastic defensive spell.
Illusion is the school a smart player can use to practically break the rules. Evocation and abjuration aren't as sexy.
I beg to differ. All figment spells are easily circumvented simply by walking through them. I do not doubt the power of Invisibility, however Suppress Magic is about on par with MJD, except that it leaves the items usable after the fight is over. For a 2nd level spell to be a targeted equal to MJD is disgusting. Chain it, and you effectively have a 5th level debuff that will win the fight. The fact that it is uncapped makes it potent.
This is also why I said Necromancy too. If the OP doesn't need Necromancy, and from the looks of his feats he isn't going to be focusing on debuffs much. It probably would be the better choice to dump, as Abjuration has several spells to work off of (Maw of Chaos, Dispel Magic, etc).
@OP: Drop Sculpt Spell. Replace it with Spell Mastery. Then take Uncanny Forethought at 6th. This makes you able to spontaneously cast any spell in your spellbook, -2 CL be damned. Exemplars of Evil is where the feat is located. Strictly speaking, it is better than Alacritous Cogitation due to being usable more than 1/day.
All figment spells are easily circumvented simply by walking through them.
Hobgoblin 1:"Yep, looks like a cloudkill."
Hobgoblin 2:"Bet it's an illusion. Why don't you walk into it and see?"
Hobgoblin 1:" No, why don't YOU walk in and see?"
Who in their right mind tries walking into an unnatural fog, or a wall of fire, or a blade barrier... or into a plain old wall, for that matter?
It's a good feature that I only begrugingly give up for Abrubt Jaunt...
It's in the SRD here:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistwizardvariants.htm
Here's a link to the feat.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20041114a
I definitely see the benefiet... However, scrolls just cost money, it's much harder and more expensive to get +4 to Inititave.
Am I just nuts or is the Improved Inititave more irreplaceable in terms of long-term payoff?
Also, I second banning Necromancy rather than Abjuration. If you want Necromancy, get a Runestaff for no-save or late-save (like enervation) debuffs. That should work since prohibited schools do not remove from spell-list, right?
SO I'm seeing an overall belief that Collegiate Wizard is believed to be better than Improved Inititave?
I definitely see the benefiet... However, scrolls just cost money, it's much harder and more expensive to get +4 to Inititave.
Am I just nuts or is the Improved Inititave more irreplaceable in terms of long-term payoff?
MIC prices feats on items at a tentative 10000 gp, I think. That doesn't seem too expensive compared to higher level spell scrolls. It will require DM approval, I guess. Also, Initiative is counted as a Dex check, right? There should be items that add to dex checks - probably even cheaper than 10000gp.
[edit]Ack, hit post by accident. Didn't want to double post.[/edit]
MIC prices feats on items at a tentative 10000 gp, I think. That doesn't seem too expensive compared to higher level spell scrolls. It will require DM approval, I guess. Also, Initiative is counted as a Dex check, right? There should be items that add to dex checks - probably even cheaper than 10000gp.
Very true... I think I'm on board with Collegiate Wizard. Editing OP to reflect changes.Edit: Dropped Necromancy as well in favor of Abjuration :/Edit
The DM said I could take an Air elemental as a familiar if I wanted to, which is consistent with my character background.
If I'm not dropping my familiar, would this be worthwhile? If So, where do I jam in the Improved Familar Feat? Is is worth swapping for one of the other feats?
New development guys-
The DM said I could take an Air elemental as a familiar if I wanted to, which is consistent with my character background.
If I'm not dropping my familiar, would this be worthwhile? If So, where do I jam in the Improved Familar Feat? Is is worth swapping for one of the other feats?
With the limited Wizard levels, no. If the DM also rules that its abilities are based on your Caster Level (or Character Level) instead of actual Wizard levels, then by all means, make him regret those words.
I'm playing a level 10 conjurer right now (actually an ultimate magus/focused conjurer, but it plays pretty well the same), and I'm finding that the level 5-9 non-summoning conjuration list isn't nearly as good as the level 1-4 one. There are a TON of good spells, but I've definitely noticed an upswing in my desire to summon monsters rather than, say, cast glitterdust or solid fog. My level 5 focused-conjuration slots are currently vitriolic sphere / SM-V / SM-V, but I'm going to swap in wall of stone next level (not having collegiate wizard stinks at high levels, I have to wait to get some of the best spells).
Being able to summon monsters as a standard action means you get an extra round of attacks out of each one, essentially. There are other ways to do this too - the Robe of Mysterious Conjuration, for example. But it's definitely something to consider.
"Rocky ground, stone floors, and similar surfaces shape themselves into long, sharp points that blend into the background."
Rock is rock even if it is animated in the form of an elemental.
That's about the easiest exploit for summon monsters I know of.
Also you can summon a wall of iron so it will fall on people too, depending on where you do it they might not even get a save throw.
Be a sorc. You'll need the many spell slots and flexibility, especially if you want to leave room to buff your party. Need 3 greater invisibilities today? 3 solid fogs tomorrow? I'm sorry, you only prepared one of each both days.
If you must be a focused specialist, I'd dump different schools. Ya, you dumped the most unpopular ones, good for you. But you need to keep the schools that mesh best with conjuration & battlefield control. Necromancy is 100% dumpable. Evocation is good for the rare but essential battlefield control spells. And as long as you're keeping it, you might want to hang on to 1 or 2 direct damage spells just in case (probably fire or lightning). Enchantment is likewise great for sleep and heroism. That means you'll have to dump the ever-powerful transmutation ("noooo!"). Ya, it's great by itself, but it won't mix well. I'd be tempted to dump abjuration, if it weren't for dispel magic. I'd say it's a toss-up between enchantment and abjuration.
I'm assuming you want to focus on battlefield control (i.e., THE way to go). If you want everything, don't buy the hype and don't be a focused specialist. Be a generalist or just a regular specialist.
Items add to this- runestaffs, magic missile gloves, etc give you flex, and if you pick up UMD, overcomes school forbidding issues ad well.
Frankly, the nail in the coffin for the sorcerer to me is the stat array. Int as a casting stat and All Knowledges means you always know something about what you're fighting. Thats critical, unless you make player knowledge character knowledge (e.g., cheat) when you try to hit the weaknesses of your foes. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out about unexpected SR or immunities the hard way.
I will grant that focused specialist gives up a lot. But they get a lot too: thats why they're popular, they're good.
Way to buy in to all the popular fads.
Be a sorc. You'll need the many spell slots and flexibility, especially if you want to leave room to buff your party. Need 3 greater invisibilities today? 3 solid fogs tomorrow? I'm sorry, you only prepared one of each both days.
I know the strengths of a sorcerer, I'm just not particularly interested in playing one. The weaknesses don't gel with either my character concept (The parts not on the character sheet) and my intent with his role in the party.
If you must be a focused specialist, I'd dump different schools. Ya, you dumped the most unpopular ones, good for you. But you need to keep the schools that mesh best with conjuration & battlefield control. Necromancy is 100% dumpable. Evocation is good for the rare but essential battlefield control spells. And as long as you're keeping it, you might want to hang on to 1 or 2 direct damage spells just in case (probably fire or lightning). Enchantment is likewise great for sleep and heroism. That means you'll have to dump the ever-powerful transmutation ("noooo!"). Ya, it's great by itself, but it won't mix well. I'd be tempted to dump abjuration, if it weren't for dispel magic. I'd say it's a toss-up between enchantment and abjuration.
I think what you're saying in all of this is Ban the following:
1) Necromancy
2) Transmutation
3) Enchantment or Abjuration
If I'm correct, all you're really saying is keep Evocation and drop Transmutation instead, since I'm already banning Necromancy and Enchantment. If that's how you'd do it, more power to you, but I can think of dozens of reasons not to do this.
I'm assuming you want to focus on battlefield control (i.e., THE way to go). If you want everything, don't buy the hype and don't be a focused specialist. Be a generalist or just a regular specialist.
You're entitled to your opinion and I appriciate your feedback, but based on the logic in this thread(which I tend to agree with) I'm going to go Focused Specialist, and I think I'll stick with Evocation, enchantment, and necromancy as my banned schools.
With the limited Wizard levels, no. If the DM also rules that its abilities are based on your Caster Level (or Character Level) instead of actual Wizard levels, then by all means, make him regret those words.
You get all the familiar abilities that you actually care about by wizard level 5, anyway.