Best 6th level Spells

[Plane Sailing]

Welcome, fujaiwei - you've picked exactly the right forum to ask this question in!

My Sorcerer has been agonising about potential 6th level spells (getting them shortly) but of course a poor sorcerer only has about 3 total to choose!

I think that Greater Dispel Magic is very useful but can wait for a later occasion. I think that permanent image probably won't be that useful.

Chain Lightning is a fine damage spell that allows you to target a number of foes in the midst of melee - something you can't do with empowered fireballs and lightning bolts.

Contingency is a brilliant spell for wizards to have available - with its huge duration it doesn't have to eat into your daily spell preparation. Get an extra spell just when you need it for free!

True Seeing is comparitively limited compared to See Invisibility. Low duration, expensive material component and limited range don't make up for the ability to see through illusions IMO.

Disintegrate used to be good when it was an instant kill spell, but it has been reduced in power so much that I don't think it is worth it now. Even a failed ST isn't going to kill a fighter of equivalent level (taking the below-par example NPC's in the DMG as an example!).

Acid Fog is an interesting choice - you get the defensive benefits of solid fog plus some nice acid damage - it can work well in conjunction with wall of stone/iron/force/resilient sphere since they probably won't be able to move out of it before you get your next trapping spell up.

Greater Heroism is a good spell, just a shame about the paltry duration compared to normal Heroism.

So perhaps:

Acid Fog (conjuration)
Chain Lightning (Evocation)
Greater Heroism/Mass Suggestion (Enchantment)
Contingency (whatever)

Cheers

 

[fujaiwei]

Thanks

Wow! So many replies. Thanks! Guys and gals. I'm going to have to ponder this some more.

About Permanent Image, we haven't really used illusions so far. We're doing RTTTOE, and I've just been using offensive spells pretty much. It'd be good to branch out a bit, I think. We'll have to work out what happens later I suppose.

I never really put too much thought into Contingency, put I'll probably take that one, since it won't have to be memorized on a daily basis.

Mass Suggestion could work too - our DM has let me effectively use Charm, so Suggestion should be more clear.

Chain Lightning, with the ability to choose targets, less so for damage, sounds good too.

Greater Heroism sounds good, as does Mass Bear's Endurance. I never thought about it as a healing spell - I just pictured using them just before combat.

This is exactly what I was hoping for - spells + advice on when/where to use them.

 

[dcollins]

The top 4 from the last poll I did on the subject:

Dispel Magic, Greater
True Seeing
Disintegrate
Contingency

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93468&page=1&pp=20

 

[fujaiwei]

Ah! A poll, great!

 

[Thanee]

Yep, if you can use enchantments in a decent way, Mass Suggestion is a killer spell. And has selective targets, too.

I wouldn't neglect the power of Mordenkainen's Lucubration. Just one of them prepared effectively "doubles" all your prepared utitility spells (until it is used up ). Need another Fly? Well, there is one. Another Fireball. Another Dispel. Gotcha. And so on.

Adds a lot of flexibility to the wizard's preparation.

Bye
Thanee

 

[nhl_1997]

Question:
What four 6th level spells from different schools would you choose upon reaching 11th level, only selecting from the PHB? I'm playing a wizard who is going for a balanced approach, later to be Arch Mage. FYI, I have Spell Focus: Evocation and Enchantment. I was thinking:

Although you are likely already aware of this, a quick note. Since the one of the prereqs for the archmage prestige class is the ability to cast 7th level arcane spells, the earliest you can take your first archmage level is at character level 14. This means that you also have two "free" seventh level spells to work with in order to fulfill the five different schools requirement.

Depending on what 5th level spells your character knows and what 7th level spells you plan to take at 13th level, it might be okay to double up one or more schools from 6th level spells.

Also, I recommend discussing possible uses of Permanent Image with your GM before selecting it simply to confirm it can do what you expect it to do.

 

[fujaiwei]

Although you are likely already aware of this, a quick note. Since the one of the prereqs for the archmage prestige class is the ability to cast 7th level arcane spells, the earliest you can take your first archmage level is at character level 14. This means that you also have two "free" seventh level spells to work with in order to fulfill the five different schools requirement.

Depending on what 5th level spells your character knows and what 7th level spells you plan to take at 13th level, it might be okay to double up one or more schools from 6th level spells.

Also, I recommend discussing possible uses of Permanent Image with your GM before selecting it simply to confirm it can do what you expect it to do.

I will ask my DM about illusions, since I've never used them before. Any favorite tactics that you have?

 

[mirivor]

I will raise my hand for Disintegrate. Remember that it can solve problems like Wall of Force. Later!

 

[Bauglir]

Geas

No save, very potent effect. One of the best enchantments out there.

 

[the Jester]

Having a way to disintegrate obstacles is essential in high-level play.

I'd take project image if you weren't in a massive dungeon (i.e. nowhere safe to put your body). So you might consider veil- it's a fantastic way to make going through a hazardous area much easier.

Greater dispel magic will be a great choice in a few levels, but as someone else pointed out above, you don't really want to squander a 7th level freebie spell on it. So you might pick it up this or next level.

I'd also throw in true seeing. It's much better than see invisible imho.