Best use of Wish?

[Shanti]

Tonight my level 11 Sorceress received a Talisman of Reluctant Wishes just before we completed the Tower of Magic in the Ruins of Greyhawk campaign. She succeeded the DC check, so I've still got a few hours left to figure out what to wish for before the talisman turns to a 10k gp diamond (meaning I have until next week), but I'm stumped as to what to wish for.

I'm thinking some kind of beneficial item would be good. I was considering some kind of permanency effect, where I could cast the spell (assuming I would teleport to town and buy a scroll of whatever spell I didn't have) and use the wish to perform the permanency. One of my fellow gamers suggested that a +1 to an ability score would be nice, since I'll be getting another +1 at level 12, and it's a nice straight forward effect that can't be twisted by the DM lol...I'm a bit of a newbie so I'm wide open to suggestions! Thanks in advance!

 

[moritheil]

Welcome to the boards!

Obtaining an inherent bonus is a standard use of a wish that is not open to misinterpretation (unless your DM is old-school or feeling particularly mean.) It should be safe and reasonable. However, it is usually best to get multiple inherent bonuses at once, since they do not stack. You may be better off wishing for an item within the limit (see the Wish spell text.)

 

[roguerouge]

Bah! Ability scores! Items! This is not the stuff of player glory! Go for the gusto! Dream big! Risk failure!

You have a whole week to write up an extremely precise wish.

Some brainstorming questions:
What plot hook would your character like to resolve?

What one thing would make this character happy? Not powerful, not better in combat: happy.

What went horribly wrong recently? How could you fix it without changing the past?

What will your character's life be like when they retire? How could you make that retirement more satisfying?

What is one utterly selfless thing that you could do with this wish, something that benefits someone other than you?

What wish would make you AND your DM happy?

 

[Allegro]

Perhaps I’ve played nethack to much, but I’d love to try to wish for the genocide effect. “I wish all orcs be killed”. I know this is completely outside the scope of the wish spell but… it would be fun to try.

How about wishing for the level of a spell be reduced? “I wish Wall of Force was a 4th level spell when I cast it.”

 

[Nail]

Wishes are crucial to the game after level 17 or so.....to get inherent bonuses to your ability scores. The trick is to get 5 wishes at once, so you can get the max +5 inherent bonus. Figure out a way to "save" your wish (wish for a wish scroll?) until you can get 5 of 'em.

 

[Blackrat]

Perhaps I’ve played nethack to much, but I’d love to try to wish for the genocide effect. “I wish all orcs be killed”. I know this is completely outside the scope of the wish spell but… it would be fun to try.

As long as you're not orc yourself. I still remember that mistake I made in nethack...

 

[Folly]

Perhaps I’ve played nethack to much, but I’d love to try to wish for the genocide effect. “I wish all orcs be killed”. I know this is completely outside the scope of the wish spell but… it would be fun to try.

Talk about alignment shifting actions.

How about wishing for the level of a spell be reduced? “I wish Wall of Force was a 4th level spell when I cast it.”

As a DM, I would think this to be well outside the scope of a wish. Especially because as you get more wishes it would only get worse.

 

[azhrei_fje]

"I wish that whenever I reached into my empty pouch to retrieve payment for something, that the exact amount needed would be there."

Your DM will likely limit it to 25,000 gp as per the spell description, but still -- you're not carrying around 25,000 gp worth of weight, are you?

 

[roguerouge]

If you want to put it entirely in your DM's hands, there's always: "I wish that I made the best wish possible."

 

[Ambrus]

Figure out a way to "save" your wish (wish for a wish scroll?) until you can get 5 of 'em.

One method I once thought of for saving or stacking wishes, so to speak, was to wish "that the next wish I make comes true in the way I imagine." Repeat that wish for the following three wishes (once you get them) and then use your fifth wish (again once you get it) to wish "that my (relevant ability score) be permanently and inherently increased as much as is possible."

Don't know if most/any DMs would allow it, though it's an interesting idea I think.