Gnome Illusionist (Help Build)

I'm needing assistance on the build of a Gnome Illusionist. I'm pretty much wanting to do as much as I can with Illusion/Shadow spells, with some options for versatility.

Somethings I like:
Gnome Illusionist: Racial substitution from "Races of Stone." At least maybe the first one?
Focused Specialist: Character option from "Complete Mage (IF I'm not mistaken)." (maybe not worth it as Specialist and Gnome Illusionist?)
Collegiate Wizard: First level feat from "Complete Arcane."
Alacritous Cogitation:Feat from "Complete Mage." Potentially give me the ability to have a spontaneous spell slot available for when the time presents itself (cause I know it will).
Shadow Veil: Might come in handy if my spells are not any better? Not sure. I guess in my mind it seems to be cool.
Dazzling Illusion: Seems as if it would also come in handy, esp with a huge amount of Illusion spells I plan on having/using?
Reserve Feats: In general I enjoy these as a concept, but not sure exactly how well they would play out.

Ability Stats: 15, 13, 12, 11, 10, and 8. With 8 points to buy with. Max stat can be 18.
DM gave me two things: Bardic Knowledge as well as Armored Mage (Light). So if those help, there ya go.
100gp to start out with.

This character is only going to max out at level 9.

So I'm looking for the basics: advice on initial build, spell selection, tactics, magic item acquisition. etc. What works well, what doesn't, what shouldn't but does, what should but doesn't.

Remember, the above information is just stuff I like, and would like to see in the build. I know its impossible to have everything I want/like, but thats the general concept of the character. So, that stuff is not set in stone!

Thanks in advance.

First off, when you say 8 points to buy with, is it straight addition, or point buy values? The former meaning, for example, it would cost 8 points to go from 15 to 18 (15 costs 8 points, 18 costs 16). Ideally, you want an 18 in the casting stat, but paying all your points for it is too steep. If that's the case, I'd say do a 16 (from 15), 13-->14, 12-->14, 11-->12, and either 10-->12 or 8-->10. By point buy rules, that's be 8 points. Then you'd want Str 8 (or 10), Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, and...Wisdom and Charisma...pick what you like better and asign the two 12's or 12 and 10 as you see fit.

You have a good list of alternates there, it depends how you want to go with it. I like Shadowcraft Mage prestige class from races of stone, but you cannot enter it until level 8, and the MAJOR class feature isn't gained till level 3 in it (level 10). You say the game's capping at 9... If not, or even if you still decide to enter it, you should also look at the Master Specialist prestige class in C.Mage. It can be entered VERY early (level 3, iirc)and shares the main entry requirement with Shadowcraft Mage -- Spell Focus in Illusion.

Gnome Illusionist: Not casting conjuration or transmutation at first level can be rough, but this is a very good variant. Normally, transmutation is the easier one to drop a level in, but with light armor casting, you don't need Mage Armor starting out.

Focused Specialist: It always seemed like giving up WAAAAAY too much for me to like this. Once you hit Shadowcraft Mage 3 (impossible in your game), you can effectively cast 3 schools with just Illusion, so it may be worth it then.

Collegiate Wizard: It makes level 1 much easier to get by. Definitely pick it up if the DM will let you re-train it later on. If not...do you think you can get a blessed book fairly quickly? Once you do, this feat loses value fast, IMHO.

Alacritous Cogitation: Eh, I'm not a fan. Sounds like you want it, though.

Shadow Veil: I don't recall what this is, other than a level 2 spell in Spell Compendium.

Dazzling Illusion: That just dazzles someone for a round, right? I don't think it's worth a feat unless it has some widespread radius of effect I'm forgetting.

Reserve Feat: Some are ok, and they are very good at the early levels, generally crapping out around level 8-9 (except Minor Shapechange, which never goes out of style). In other words, perfect for your game. My favorite is Acidic Splatter because of the combination of uncommon resistance, no save, and no SR. Just a simple touch attack. Fiery Burst is also amazing because you can get it at level 3 (or 1 with a dirty trick) and the nature of how it works. Unlike the acid, lightning, and cold attacks, Fiery Burst does not start from your space. As a Su ability, it has no somatic or verbal components. In other words...it's great for being sneaky or covert. The elemental summoning one can also be excellent, especially for trap-finding.


What kinds of spells and schools do you want to focus on? What schools are you going to ban? Oh, one last initial suggestion: Ask the DM if you can swap Bardic Knowledge for Bardic Knack (PHB2). Although, with int as your casting stat, if the DM allows Bardic Knowledge frequently, it may actually be worth keeping anyway.

StreamOfTheSky said:

First off, when you say 8 points to buy with, is it straight addition, or point buy values? The former meaning, for example, it would cost 8 points to go from 15 to 18 (15 costs 8 points, 18 costs 16). Ideally, you want an 18 in the casting stat, but paying all your points for it is too steep. If that's the case, I'd say do a 16 (from 15), 13-->14, 12-->14, 11-->12, and either 10-->12 or 8-->10. By point buy rules, that's be 8 points. Then you'd want Str 8 (or 10), Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, and...Wisdom and Charisma...pick what you like better and asign the two 12's or 12 and 10 as you see fit.

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Good Point. I'm not 100% cause that does sound extremely week if its the buy system.. Thanks for pointing that out.

You have a good list of alternates there, it depends how you want to go with it. I like Shadowcraft Mage prestige class from races of stone, but you cannot enter it until level 8, and the MAJOR class feature isn't gained till level 3 in it (level 10). You say the game's capping at 9... If not, or even if you still decide to enter it, you should also look at the Master Specialist prestige class in C.Mage. It can be entered VERY early (level 3, iirc)and shares the main entry requirement with Shadowcraft Mage -- Spell Focus in Illusion.

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I also like Shadowcraft Mage a lot, but since its really likable later in the game / end of our campign, its kinda sad. I'll probably pass. Might take up Master Specialist though.

Gnome Illusionist: Not casting conjuration or transmutation at first level can be rough, but this is a very good variant. Normally, transmutation is the easier one to drop a level in, but with light armor casting, you don't need Mage Armor starting out.

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Thats something I'm afraid of. Will I be able to make do without it for a level? Overall opinion? Also, does the sooner to cast the other spells out weight the loss? Seems interesting though.

Focused Specialist: It always seemed like giving up WAAAAAY too much for me to like this....

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You think so? I think it may actually help me (limit my choices of spells) because I try to over think EVERYTHING. But would I still have enough versatility? Probably, right?

Collegiate Wizard: It makes level 1 much easier to get by. Definitely pick it up if the DM will let you re-train it later on. If not...do you think you can get a blessed book fairly quickly? Once you do, this feat loses value fast, IMHO.

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True. I've never played a Wizard before (or actually played with a good one at my table), so I never really thought about the cost. I've played, and enjoyed, a Warmage... but we need someone who can offer help in other places. So yeah. Hmmm...

Alacritous Cogitation: Eh, I'm not a fan. Sounds like you want it, though.

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I guess the idea here is always have spells prepared that will be useful, eh?

Shadow Veil: I don't recall what this is, other than a level 2 spell in Spell Compendium.

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[Taken from Complete Mage Shadow Veil; Reserved Feat: Benefit: As long as you have a darkness spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can obscure the vision of a subject within 30 feet as a standard action. If the subject fails a Will save, it treats all other creatures and objects as though they had concealment and takes a -5 penalty on Spot checks for 1 round. As a secondary benefit, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your caster level when casting darkness spells.

I figured giving my group a 20% chance to miss (although from only one creature) might very well be worth it? But I don't know application / practicality.

Dazzling Illusion: That just dazzles someone for a round, right? I don't think it's worth a feat unless it has some widespread radius of effect I'm forgetting.

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Benefit: When you cast an illusion spell, you can choose to render all enemies within 30 feet dazzled for 1 round. Blind creatures are immune to this effect. Special: An illusionist can select this feat as a wizard bonus feat.

Every enemy -1 attack? Would happen quite a lot I'd assume? Worth it? Probably not'eh?

Reserve Feat: Some are ok, and they are very good at the early levels, generally crapping out around level 8-9 (except Minor Shapechange, which never goes out of style). In other words, perfect for your game. My favorite is Acidic Splatter because of the combination of uncommon resistance, no save, and no SR. Just a simple touch attack. Fiery Burst is also amazing because you can get it at level 3 (or 1 with a dirty trick) and the nature of how it works. Unlike the acid, lightning, and cold attacks, Fiery Burst does not start from your space. As a Su ability, it has no somatic or verbal components. In other words...it's great for being sneaky or covert. The elemental summoning one can also be excellent, especially for trap-finding.

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Sounds interesting... dirty trick??

What kinds of spells and schools do you want to focus on? What schools are you going to ban? Oh, one last initial suggestion: Ask the DM if you can swap Bardic Knowledge for Bardic Knack (PHB2). Although, with int as your casting stat, if the DM allows Bardic Knowledge frequently, it may actually be worth keeping anyway.

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I was told by my DM, it would be good to get rid of Enchantment and Necromancy for our game.. Although, some necromancy looks good. I'm actually up for losing anything, as long as I can still help out when I need to (Only spell caster, minus a Cleric). I considered Just ELF Wizard Generalist (if I'm correct) variant, and with my armored mage, think that could be better going a different way with it?

I'm open to all suggestions.. I like the idea of specializing in something, but being able to do all/most wizardy things when the time arrives. Any good variants for Sorcoer maybe? Race is truely unimportant to me (but has to be standard). I'm not really familiar with Bard Knack...

Hi there fellow gnomes,

the one thing us illusionists hate most is standing in the open and performing a complicated spell procedure having our hand around and shouting an invocation. Nothing ruins the art of a good illusion like an enemy wizard yelling to his buddies that the wall of ghostly figures that's coming towards them is just an illusion. The gods did not give us our small posture for nothing. That's why hiding is our friend. I would recommend looking up the alternative illusionist feats in complete mage. Chain of Disbelieve is well worth it but I personally believe in the shadow feat that makes hide a class skill and at fifth level lets you add your int to your hide in exchange for your bonus wizard feat. It does not sound like much but if your constantly out of harms way and your illusions keep springing up out of the shadows, you'll think differently. You will be beter at hidding then your parties thief and able to sneak up on any enemy. Ofcourse the shadowcraft mage PRC hide in feature makes it all the more nasty.

Zanticor

After boosting my casting stat, my next stat would be Dex. Bonus HP from Con are all well & good, but they're an ablative resource- once used, they're gone until replenished. In contrast, a Dex bonus to AC almost never goes away, and you'll have bonuses on your evasive skills and ranged attacks. You're not planning on wading into combat, are you?

Generally speaking, if I'm playing a Wizard and have the option of taking Focused Specialist, I'll take it every time.

For an illusionist, I'd probably give up Necro, one of Abjuration or Enchantment, and one of Evocation or Conjuration.

I love the Reserve feats, but you'll have to be careful- not many really supplement Illusion, as I recall. Shadow Veil is OK, but not great as far as ResFeats go.

Were I you, I'd plan on taking one of the offensive ones- say, Invisible Dagger (or whatever its called)- and have that 3rd level Force spell sitting around while I fling little bolts of pure force at will.

If, OTOH, you augment your Illusion with Conjuration (Summoning)- not a bad tactic, since it will keep your enemies guessing about what is real and what isn't- there are SEVERAL ResFeats that augment summoning.

Dex may be somewhat overrated. I recall a poster named Tempest Stormwind describing his experiences with a shadowcraft mage some time back at the gleemax forums and he was mentioning how his AC11 gnome was hit only 3 times over 10+ levels, and between careful positioning, mirror image and miss chances, had an effective AC that was much better than the fighter's.

Dayvid Thales Dalawann: (Smoke) Gnome Illusionist / Shadow Adept
/ Geometer / Shadowcraft Mage
Yeah, he does fit the bill as far as a wizard goes. The difference? He's banned Evocation and Necromancy, and has zero ranks in Concentration, and yet it has been his contributions to the game that often secure victory for the team. Proper application of enchantment and illlusion lead to enemies being confused out of their wits, debilitated, sealed off from combat, or worse. Furthermore, Dayvid's a skilled liar and manipluator, quite capable at leading people on even without magic if he needs to, while still providing the party knowledge base. Dayvid also has untold versatility as a vancian wizard: he's able to use shadow magic and various spells to mimic the effect of other spells on a spontaneous basis. The normal drawbacks of shadow illusions are mitigated (and in a few levels, will be completely reversed once he starts casting shadow spells more real than the real thing!). Despite his low defenses (I don't think his AC's ever beat 11), he has been hit *twice* in the entire campaign to this date. He's also as likely to spend a round cleaning his nails as casting a spell, given how many combats he's reduced to waiting for the foes to succumb to his powerful lasting battlefield control effects. Blasting and worrying about preparation is for suckers - Dayvid's options are so versatile he's practically a role unto himself.

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I think that the value of AC fluctuates depending upon the sophistication (and relative positions) of your enemies.

One of the great things about being an illusionist is that your PC is much less likely to attract attention from the party's foes. His spells are not as flashy or obvious as Conjurors or Evokers, so right off the bat, he's simply not going to be as obvious a threat as the guys slinging MMs, Orbs and Fireballs.

OTOH, a sophisticated opponent may recognize the funny gestures the gnome is making are some kind of spellslinging, and target him (or cause him to be targeted), even if the foe has no ranks in Spellcraft.

I really have a hard time believing that part of said palyer's illusionist's ability to avoid harm was not also the DM. It's great he put up effects to gain a miss chance and image clones... he could still get fireballed, foes should still statistically hit, some monsters have built-in abilities like tremorsense and true seeing... Probably the biggest part of him surviving was the DM barely going after him because he was keeping "low key" as Danny states.

Also, that build doesn't help the OP. Said build gained most of its versatility from Shadow Illusion, an ability the OP's character can never have (or if it does hit level 10, not till end-game).

To the OP: If you're wide open for race and whether to specialize or not, think it over more then. I personally always liked generalist wizards (and check out domain wizards from UA or d20srd.org to get some extra spells per day in that case). If you want to do a speciliast, in general the UA variants are fun and Master Specialist is powerful, with some exceptions (Evoker UA variants are bland, and Master Specialist for them is a flaming pile of garbage). The PH2 variants can be a good trade for a familiar. The conjuror one, abrupt jaunt, is disgustingly broken, so I'd say don't do that just out of common curtesy for the DM. Focus Caster from dragon magazine (also on crystalkeep.com under base classes) is good if you don't take a prestige class.

Oh...and Complete Champion has this crazy variant for wizards that lets you spend one of your bonus feats for the ability to spontaneously cast any divination spell you know, may want that at level 5.

The Wizard's Handbook - Wizards Community
Shadowcraft Mage Handbook - Wizards Community
(A bit more cluttered: Shadowcraft Illusionist = Killer Gnome! - Wizards Community )

Max out INT and DEX at 1st level and DEFINITELY take Improved Initiative as a Feat. Take advantage of Racial bonusses by taking plenty of Skills such as Alchemy, Craft: Gemcutting and the like. The Badger makes a great Familiar for a 1st lvl Gnome Illusionist. Also, Constitution is probably the next most important Ability score due to d4 hp.