Help me design a 12th level wizard!

[Nellisir]

I'm trying to come up with a few good ideas to buff up a 12th level wizard. He's a generalist, and I don't want to give up any caster levels - I did that with my last character, a warmage, and it stank. I've looked through the Complete books, the FR campaign book, Races of FR, and PG2FR, BoED, Frostfell, Stormwrack, and Sandstorm, and not come up with anything really cool, except -possibly- taking Celestial Familiar (which is an exalted feat) and getting a coure eladrin familiar, which would give me some interesting personalities to play with.

The wizard, Toad, is your typical snarly, every-man-for-himself, misanthrope with a hidden heart of gold. He's a middle-aged human make, with Str:7 (no melee for this guy!), Dex 12, Con 16, Int 22, Wis 17, Cha 8. He's rude, inappropriate, and hasn't bought new clothes in a few decades (bathes regularly, though). I like the dichotomy between him and the coure eladrin.

Possible feats include Combat Casting, Jack-of-all-Trades, Celestial Familiar, and Extraordinary Concentration.

Suggestions for feats, prestige classes, magic items, and more?

Thanks
Nell.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Is he human?

Also, I'm not that familiar with Exalted feats, but don't you need to be super duper goody two-shoes to pick those?

AR

 

[Nellisir]

Is he human?

Sorry, yes.

Also, I'm not that familiar with Exalted feats, but don't you need to be super duper goody two-shoes to pick those?

Basically. There aren't any mechanical restrictions on exalted feats, you just have to have to be intelligent and of the "highest moral standards". It's a DM's call after that. I still have to clear this with the DM, but I think I can pull that off. I figure the guy might not always be courteous, but that doesn't mean he's not good.

Or I can skip the coure and indulge in the fiendform spell, much to the paladin's consternation.


Nell.

 

[Fieari]

The standard to which you have to be in order to be considered "Exalted" is fantastically high. Mercy over justice. Kindness throughout. Steadfastness, NEVER wavering. Have you ever seen the movie "A man for all seasons"? Exalted is practically asking for perfection in all ways.

It's not just having a "Good" alignment. Exalted is, in my estimation, actually a step ABOVE merely "Good".

 

[Rackhir]

Well, I've always been fond of Alienist and this was BEFORE reading Sepulchrave's story hour and being introduced to Mostin the Metagnostic. Then you could have a pseudonatural coure eladrin. It is always cool, being in touch with forces beyond the ken of mortal man.

Have you considered going the specialist wizard route. An extra spell per level is certianly nothing to sneeze at. Spell focus is always a good one, your DCs can never be too high.

Combat casting is not a good choice for a feat. You will have more than sufficient ranks in concentration that its irrelevent.

Summon monster VI is where you start to get the really effective creatures. Augment Summoning bumps the con and str by +4, which will get you an extra 2 Hp per die. Poison DCs are also Con based, so any summoned creatures with poison will get the DC for that boosted by +2 as well.

 

[Nellisir]

Well, I've always been fond of Alienist and this was BEFORE reading Sepulchrave's story hour and being introduced to Mostin the Metagnostic. Then you could have a pseudonatural coure eladrin. It is always cool, being in touch with forces beyond the ken of mortal man.

Heh. I just reread the alienist, and I think it might be a bit -too- far out for this guy.

Have you considered going the specialist wizard route. An extra spell per level is certianly nothing to sneeze at. Spell focus is always a good one, your DCs can never be too high.

Yeah, I'm still mulling that one over. I've had alot of fun playing an illusionist before, but this guy will be the only serious arcane caster in the party, and I'm thinking I want the broadest number of options possible.

Still, the extra spells are sweet.

Combat casting is not a good choice for a feat. You will have more than sufficient ranks in concentration that its irrelevent.

Good point. Consider it dropped.

Summon monster VI is where you start to get the really effective creatures. Augment Summoning bumps the con and str by +4, which will get you an extra 2 Hp per die. Poison DCs are also Con based, so any summoned creatures with poison will get the DC for that boosted by +2 as well.

Oh, nice tip. I'll take one of those, please.....

Thanks!
Nell.

 

[Nellisir]

The standard to which you have to be in order to be considered "Exalted" is fantastically high. Mercy over justice. Kindness throughout. Steadfastness, NEVER wavering. Have you ever seen the movie "A man for all seasons"? Exalted is practically asking for perfection in all ways.

It's not just having a "Good" alignment. Exalted is, in my estimation, actually a step ABOVE merely "Good".

OK, well, that's something my DM and I will work out. I'm not a bloodthirsty player (but combat-happy,yes) -- I can (and do) play good characters. Even VERY good characters.

But there's no Charisma requirement for "exalted", so he can still be called Toad and he still doesn't have to dress pretty. Nor does exalted mean "acts just like a paladin" - the eladrin, after all, are chaotic.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[mzsylver]

Definitely ditch Combat Casting - if you want, take Skill Focus Concentration (+3 all the time vs. +4 with restrictions). If you took SF Concentration... you may want to consider Mobile Spellcaster. Nothing like move cast move.

Jack-of-all-Trades is a neat feat.

If you want pure power... go Seven Fold Veil & Fatespinner. Alienist, like other people suggested - is a great option with neat roleplaying ties. I personally have been a big fan of Wild Mage. It's a fun little class with great roleplaying ability.

With your high wisdom, you may want to consider Arcane Disciple - this can help specialize and focus your character.

If you ditch the celestial thing and go with Fiendform, also look at Kiss of the Vampire (Libris Mortis). It is another good way to terrify your paladin

Good luck! =)

 

[Thanee]

Combat Casting is unnecessary. Buy a tunic of steady spellcasting [Complete Adventurer].
Jack of All Trades is nice, but Able Learner [Races of Destiny] is nicer for you.
Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration are good feats for a pure wizard.
Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus can be good depending on spell selection.
Spell Focus (conjuration) + Augment Summoning is great, if you plan to summon monsters.
Extraordinary Concentration is very cool with some illusions and with Telekinesis.
Arcane Disciple is worth a look for sure with your Wis score.
Sudden Silent can be a life-saver in some situations. Sudden Maximize is good, if you use evocations.
Quicken Spell is a good metamagic feat at this level.
As a wizard there is almost no point in not picking up a prestige class, there are plenty, which give full casting ability and have no huge prerequisites.

If you dont necessarily need to be human, the elven wizard substitution levels [Races of the Wild] are pretty neat for a generalist.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nellisir]

I' pulling a blank on Arcane Disciple; is it a prestige class or a feat, and where can I find it?

I'm leaning towards Sevenfold Veil right now, which requires Spell Focus & GSF (Abjuration), and Skill Focus (Spellcraft). I'm considering Augment Summoning & Spell Focus (Conjuration), but that'll basically exhaust my feats, leaving no room for Able Learner (which probably isn't a really necessary feat for me anyways). Add in Celestial Familiar, and I can't take Craft Staff (except, if I take wiz 9/sfv3 now, and a 10th level of wizard next level, I'll get the bonus feat at 13th caster level and qualify for Craft Staff).

The Races books are about the only ones I don't own, but I'll check out elven substitution levels & Able Learner this week at my game.

I have an email out to my DM regarding the coure familiar; I'm pretty certain he'll go for it. That'll take up my 9th-level feat.

What do people think about Item Creation feats? The DM is pretty lenient about giving us time to make stuff (the cleric spends all his time upgrading party magic items); I'm wondering if I should take Craft Wand or Craft Staff.

Argh! Too many choices!!

Feats:
Bonus - Scribe Scroll
1-Spell Focus (Abjuration)
1(human)-Greater Spell Focus (Abjuration)
3-Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
5(wiz)- ?
6- Spell Focus (Conjuration)?
9-Celestial Familiar
12- Augment Summoning?

Thanks
Nathan