Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mohrale May 08, 2012 14:11:27	So, my life thus far has been pretty based on pure Melee, mostly Fighters and Barbarians in heavy Hack and Slash Campaigns so magic was subtle, if there at all (Aside from + Something or another magic items)... The world has spun though and my new DM is planning a Campaign which won't be anywhere near hack and slash... Though he hasn't give us much of any details just that it'll take thought and logic to conquer. So, that being said I'm choosing to play something new and have an awesome character concept in mind I just don't know how to pull him off. He's either going to start out Wizard or Sorcerer, I know that much. Here's a tidbit I wrote to describe him (If you can't tell, I myself personally enjoy the roleplay element though knowing this game is going to be diced I can't completely ignore mechanics) Cursebreaker, Moonguide, Riftkeeper, these are the titles of a man who blurs reality bending the line of realms to his will. He calls dark magic from the chaotic planes, magic used only to envelop the world in that of utter destruction. Yet, he uses it for us, not against us. His powers lie in that of the ability to counter their magics, even turn it against them; The minds of his enemies, the feelings, alignments, association are no more friends to them than they are Weapons to Atlas. His hands also garner the skill to tear wholes within the realm able to call forther Demons of the darker planes, elementals, or even to use it as transport. He seeks the stars, explaining that each one must hold a plane to it's own, using their guidence to tred through the planet. The arcane is nothing but a map to him, each rune a road to another path, putting two roads together allowing you to travel someone different entirely. His ability to draw runic circles only matches that of his skill to break down the greatest spells into their basic forms and disperse them. Blue eyes, bright as the sky above yet even brighter in the night, they've obtained an essence of their own shining with energy as he works his magics, trails of energy can be seen from them in the dimmest of places. Tattoos cover his body, across his face are thick bars representing the need for calmed energy around his mind, it then turns to intricate, fine woven runic circles about top of his skull, wider runes covering the rest of his body, as his experience grows so do his runes, getting more and more intricate with each new piece of knowledge. Though often clothed in such robes which allow quick movement and flexability, his garb tries to cover much of what shows, explaining his deeper secrets lie just on the surface of his body, to reveal them would show his weaknesses. Commonly his hood vails over the top half os his face, only the gentle glow of his eyes and faint outline of his sharp features show past it. Running down to a chestpiece well adorned to his frame the made of some kind of leather, or light pseudoleather, the same pattern continues down the rest of his body. along his arms hang traditional robe-like loose cuffs thick enough to hide his arms in often using them as a tool of distraction, the winglike piece flowing through the the air in a mystic entrancing way as he casts his spells. A halfrobe drapes from the waist down hiding his satches and other nesscesities for his trade and even his coinpurse, able to cover what he owns by simple walking and letting the flowing as the skirt of a magician, illusitory in its own right. -A letter to the Magistrate.- With this being written, I have discussed it with my DM and he suggests: 8 - 10 Sorcerer / Wiz Conj. / Evo Circle Spells Per Day, different limit than standard cast as sorcerer. [Spellcraft] 2 - 4 Malconvoker 1 - 2 Bard / Rogue (For skills) 4 - Archmage To accomplish the concept. Going through all the prestiege classes I think of from ye old days of pilphering through my old 3.5 Books, I can't seem to find one which works out for me. I'm okay with the Malconvoker but it's evil summoning mechanics worry me, the character will ultimately be Neutral good, we've also discussed being able to use the runed tattoos as a spontaneous spellcasting mechanic though we haven't gone in depth about that yet. I envision  something similar to the Geometer but... The Geometer class itself is so Meeeeeeh. Not playing a spellcaster I know little to nothing about Metamagic or how it works, so all the threads I've read for suggestions all seem pretty greek to me. He's also said he wouldn't allow any form of planewalking outside of standard spells, which is fine. Reading over Binders the concepts are interesting... But not what I want, I don't think. My focus is to be a heavy control caster, I'm the type of help the party more than nuke the field. I couldn't seem to find a class based on Countering. I've also pondered something like the Mindbender and Nightmare spinner, but both seem to go too heavily in one direction, I'm trying not to limit myself due to my want to have tons of Crowd Management and Control type of things. My main fear is being useless in combat though. XD Remember, I'm use to heavy fighter based campaigns so my experience with magic is magic missle and avoiding fireballs. :P -Any- suggestions are helpful, just lemme know. I'd like to choose a direction before choosing Sorcerer/Wizard, I'll ultimately ask for a guide for one or the other, but not until I choose one.
#2 Fireclave May 08, 2012 21:01:29	For your first arcane caster, I would suggest going with wizard over sorcerer.  On the plus side, sorcerers cast spontaneously, which is certainly attractive to a beginner.  It's always nice to have all of your tools available to you when you really need them.  However, sorcerers are extremely limited by their spells known.  You get relatively few choices, obtain them slowly, and are very limited ability to change your spell choices once made.  A sorcerer really needs to have a solid grasp of all their potential options (or spend some personal time with the Spell Compendium) since a few wrong spell choices can follow you for the rest of your character's career.  Wizards, with their spell books, simply don't have this problem.  Wizards also use Int as their primary ability score, which means more skill points.  Combine this with feats like Skill Knowledge or Able Learner from Races of Destiny and you'll have plenty enough skills and skill points to go around without needing to multiclass.  Which leads me to my next point. Avoid multiclassing whenever possible.  Spells are everything to an arcanist.  Every level you spend not becoming a better caster forever puts you further behind where you would otherwise be.  And very few things are ultimately worth losing spell progression over.  So you have to ask yourself if its really worth it.  Prestige classes that grant full casting progression are, of course, the exception. Your combat role is going to be decided more by your choice of spells than your choice of (prestige) classes.  For crowd control, you'll want to gravitate towards spells that allow you to manipulate the battlefield and force your opponents to fight on your terms.  Select spells like Obscuring Mist, Grease, Web, as well as any summon or wall-type spells. As for a specific build, I unfortunately don't have much advice.  I will say that you could do far worst than a straight-classed wizard because, again, your power lies mostly in your choice of spells.  However, there are a few guides on caster optimization.  Treantmonk's Being A God guide is one of my favorites.
#3 mohrale May 09, 2012 0:10:02	I was also pondering this, staying a mono class rather than classing out elsewhere. I've been a roleplay at heart though and don't really know many of the spells like the back of my hand, after going over them a bit more today I realized as you were saying, the variety there is enormous and I'm thinking I can build exactly what I want based on spell choice alone if I play my cards right, of course working with my DM on specialties, but that's the fun of Roleplay, right? :D I'll definitely give the guide a look over when I've got some more free time, in the meantime any other suggestions or guides would be incredibly helpful.
#4 Krusk May 10, 2012 15:12:40	The main advantage a wizard has over a sorcerer for new players is his spell selection is more forgiving. You both get two for free, but a sorcerer can change his very rarely. A wizard can buy/find a scroll and just learn a new one whenever he realizes that he shouldn't have learned fireball. A sorcerer is stuck with it as one of his X spells ever.  So the wizard punishes you for being unfamilar with spells less than a sorcerer, even if a sorcerer is "easier" for actual in game play. "I only know 2, I don't bother prepping each day" vs "I learned some crappy spells, I will prep good ones tommorow instead".
#5 Fireclave May 11, 2012 10:22:28	If you do decide to go with sorcerer, there are a few basic guidelines which will help.  Because you're limited in spells known, you need to make every spell count. Gravitate towards utility-knife spells.  These are spells that are flexible enough to fill more than one function, especially with a little creativity.  Polymorph is an excellent example.  You can use polymorph to disguise yourself, fly, swim, burrow, make yourself small to benefit from concealment and size bonuses to AC and hide, buff yourself to smash foes and obstacles, or buff your party members with all the same.  That's at least 5 different spell effects.  Wall of Stone is another good example.  You can use it to trap creatures, block paths, as well as build battlements, makeshift fortresses, bridges, dams, and even homes for the needy. As well, look for spells that degrade gracefully or are especially useful for their level.  For example, Burning Hands sucks for a sorcerer.  The range is small, the damage is low, and it allows a save which will become painfully easy for higher level monsters to make, and there are simply better options at that level.  If you need a straight damage spell, you could do worse than the 2nd level Scorching Ray, which is very good for its level (as far as straight damage goes).  Touch spells typically get more accurate at higher levels, and eventually Scorching Ray will do more max damage than Fireball, which makes it a good go-to damage spell even at higher levels when you just need to drop a few HPs of damage.  Glitterdust, however, is a good example of a spell that degrades gracefully.  The blinding effect is devastating when you first get access to the spell (devastating enough to possibly warrant Heighten Spell).  And the spell still remains useful even at higher levels since it negates invisibility and forcing a huge penalty to hide checks. Each spell you know should do something significantly different than the rest of your spells or other fit into some greater strategy.  Avoid selecting spells that do the same or similar things.  For example, Dimension Door is good, but Telelport is just one level higher and does everything it can do and a bit more.  So if you have one, you probably don't need the other.  And finally, avoid spells that are very niche in use.  For example, Break Enchantment is a wonderful spell, and when you need it, you'll really need it.  Unfortunately(?), you'll rarely use it, and your cleric has easier access to it.  Definitely a good spell to keep as a scroll for emergencies, but not one you'll typically want to devote your spells known to. You your DM allows, the Magic Item Compendium introduces Rune Staves.  They work similar to staves, but instead of having charges, you use your own spell slots to power the staff, which is inexhaustible.  Effectively, Rune Staves can increase a sorcerer's spells known.  And if your DM allows you to get a custom one crafted, you'll be able to really increase your sorcerer's flexibility.http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireball.htm