What 9th-level spells should any Wizard prepare?

[dcollins]

And here's the big one.

This is a poll in a series I'm trying to use to generate a "baseline" core Wizard's spell list. You can pick as many selections as you like.

Say you have a Wizard of 20th level -- adventuring, PC or NPC, non-specialized, non-multiclassed, core rules only. He or she can likely prepare 4 spells of 9th-level. What spells should he or she prepare in those slots?

You can pick as many selections as you'd like -- I would suggest around 4.

 

[Felix]

1. Open Slot
2. Open Slot
3. Foresight
4. Time Stop

 

[Dark Dragon]

Well, just out of experience, I voted for:

Shapechange. There are dozens of threads about this spell. It is powerful. It can easily destroy a whole story. It can make other classes look weak. It can be fun, though.

Power Word Kill. If you don't want to wait more rounds during the other party members try to finish off a tough but badly wounded guy, this spell is the right choice. For strange reasons, this spell is the only one that combines the enchantment school with a death spell. So high-level arcane casters are safe when they have cast their daily Mind Blank (/rant)

Meteor Swarm. Heavy artillery par excellence. Beware if MS is energy substituted!

Time Stop. Deadly with the Delayed Blast Fireball combo. Nice to summon some monsters. Or recast some lost protections.

 

[Numion]

1. Open Slot
2. Open Slot
3. Foresight
4. Time Stop

Somebody else chose Foresight too

Death in high level D&D has proven IMX to be a matter of round or two - both Foresight and Timestop give you more of those. They are my choices, everything else is situational.

 

[shilsen]

Gate, Shapechange, Time Stop and Wish.

 

[Urbanmech]

Shapechange, so many uses...the ultimate swiss army knife of spells.
Time Stop, get up those buffs in a suprise situation, or drop 2-3 delayed blast fireballs on an area.
Meteor Swarm soften up large groups of bad guys, just make sure you have energy substitution so you can get those fire immune bad guys.
Gate the second great utility spell. A little less functional than shapechange due to the exp cost, but sometimes adding a solar to the fight can really turn the tide of battle.

 

[blargney the second]

I misread Refuge, and thought it said Refudge. My first thought was, "Huh, I didn't realise that was part of the core rules."

-blarg

 

[Lawmage]

Uhmm, I seldom play this high up as I prefer the game experience in the 5th - 15th level range, still....

Wish....the ultimate useful spell, of course the XP cost can be prohibitive.

Shapechange...perhaps one of the most story breaking spells there is, when used by a clever caster.

Gate...Allies, allies, allies

Summon Monster...again, it is never wise to discount the value of a few allies...

and, lastly, going beyond the recommended four,

Timestop...at the higher levels, the importance of reaction time cannot be overstated. Timestop allows one to do the impossible, get out from behind a bad reaction time. Indeed, it allows one to get ahead of an opponent's good reaction time...

 

[Iku Rex]

Shapechange (!), time stop, gate. I can't believe there are people out there who didn't vote for shapechange.

(I also voted for imprisonment - I shouldn't have, since it has a save in 3.5.)

 

[Testament]

Time Stop: FREEZE! Right, up goes a buff or two, delayed blast fireballs, press play and KA-MOTHER*******-BOOM!

Wish: When a crisis hits, here's a solution. Miracle is even more disgusting for the cleric though.

Shapechange: A gamebreaker, that's all I can say. Sooooo cool though.

I also have a lot of love for Power Word: Kill, Foresight, and Weird though.