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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Treantmonklvl20" data-source="post: 5634377" data-attributes="member: 55582">OK, point by point.First off, it is debatable if bonded item is the best arcane bond.  Personally, I take the familiar and then improved familiar.  I max UMD for my character and take an improved familiar with hands (my current character has a dust mephit).  Then I use my familiar to use alchemical items or wands to basically get a free action every round.Secondly, "greatest ability a wizard has?" *double facepalm*  Bad choice of words dude.I figured that you didn't mean what you just implied, but then you actually suggest the following: Here's the math: The recommended wealth level for a 10th level character is 62,000 gp.  There are 80 5th level spells alone available to wizards (just counted them).  A 5th level spell scroll costs 1,125 gp for wizards.If EVERY dime you had went into 5th level scrolls you would get 55 of the 80 5th level spells (not counting the freebies at level up).  You would buy zero spells of levels 1-4, you wouldn't have the extra spellbooks to scribe all these spells, you have no haversack to carry them, you have no cloak of resistance, rings of protection, wands, staves, rods...Specialist wizards can spend every dime they make on scrolls and spellbooks (you would need lots of spellbooks) and not buy every spell that isn't in their opposition schools, not even close.  (they should ABSOLUTELY NOT do this of course)I have nothing against a wizard buying spell scrolls for those "once in a campaign - will never memorize" kind of spells, but you don't scribe them!!!Scribe those spells that cover a large range of uses, then memorize them.  Versatility is power, but that versatility is already built into many spells, and many spell schools.I should point out at this time that the spell schools are poorly designed.  If I make evocation an opposition school for example, I can mimic most of the things I could do with evocation spells with a spell from either the conjuration or illusion school.However, as pointed out and proved above, a specialist wizard can buy just as many non-opposition spells as a universalist can buy, so what's the big advantage of the universalist again?every specialization gets neat powers.  That point was easy to counter.So in summary, we've established that buying and scribing every spell in the game simply isn't feasable.  You can't even come close.Specialist wizards and universalist wizards will have approximately the same amount of spells available to their bonded item (if that is the arcane bond they selected), so there really is no advantage to playing a universalist over a specialist in this regard.We've also established that all wizards, regardless of their specialty, or lack thereof, get abilities specific to that specialty, or lack thereof.  Universalists do not have an advantage in this regard either.I didn't establish this, but I think I implied pretty well that a bonded item isn't the most powerful ability a wizard has.  The most powerful ability a wizard has is the ability to cast spells.  Obviously.For this most powerful ability, universalist wizards can expect to use this ability about 20% less than a specialist. This percentage INCREASES the closer you get to the highest level spell you can cast.  For your ability to cast your highest level spells (the most powerful aspect of the wizards most powerful ability), universalists can expect anywhere from a 25% to 50% reduction.That kind of power restriction is palpable, and someone once said</blockquote>

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