Character by Committee: Looking for a spell list

[Greenfield]

Just for fun, it's Character by Committee time: I'm creating a theoretical character for a theoretical game that has no predetermined game world. His backstory is that he's in hiding, and has taken to the road as an adventurer to avoid having his enemies being able to locate him. He has a Hat of Anonymity to hide him from them. (Haven't yet decided on who or what his enemies are, nor does it matter.)

He's a 9th level Wizard, Human, D&D 3.5, Conjuration specialist, dropping Illusion and Enchantment schools.

He'll have all the Cantrips, of course, because every Wiz has them all (except for the banned schools).

So, what does his spell list look like, if you're making him?

 

[Dandu]

I have a few ideas.

 

[Greenfield]

While that's interesting and insightful, it's a specialist of a different level with different banned schools.

I guess what I'm looking for is more of a commentary: What are your favorite Arcane spells, up to 5th level, and why?

A little commentary on Feats may be appropriate, in that things like Fireball become a lot more interesting when enhanced with the Shape Spell feat (for example).

While I generally don't run specialist wizards, I wanted an excuse to leave off Illusion and Enchantment spells, mainly because their uses are so wide and varied, and there is so much disagreement on exactly what they can do, I didn't want the thread to devolve into a rules argument.

(Besides, a Conjuration specialist gets access to the Sudden Jaunt ACF from PHBII, which is kinda neat.)

 

[Jacob Marley]

I just retired my 16th-level focused specialist Conjurer (banned schools: Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion) a couple of months ago. His final spellbooks contained ~120 spells - I'll hit on a few of the ones I found most useful and/or most enjoyed.

[Note: The campaign that this wizard existed in was largely an exploration-style campaign.]

[Note: Combats in this campaign often contained numerous lesser CR monsters to make up higher EL encounters. My 16th-level wizard actually encountered CR 1/4 kobolds on a regular basis. ]

1st - Utility spells with long durations such as Mage Armor and Mount; utility spells with short durations/instantaneous such as Benign Transposition, Grease, Nerveskitter, and True Casting; and the various "lesser orb" spells for the occasional damage dealing.

2nd - Again, more utility spells such as Baleful Transposition, Create Magic Tattoo, and Dimension Hop; and some limited battlefield control spells, namely Glitterdust, Kelgore's Grave Mist, and Web.

3rd - Mostly used for battlefield control and/or party buffing spells. Dimension Step, Haboob, Haste, Regroup, Slow, Snake's Swiftness (mass), and Stinking Cloud were my regular memorizations.

4th - Evard's Black Tentacles and Solid Fog handled large groups of mooks (or an Aspect of Tiamat, ), while Orb of Electricity (entangle effect) and Orb of Sound (deafen effect) worked against specific NPCs.

5th - Cloudkill, Summon Monster V (to power the Summon Elemental feat), and Teleport were often memorized. I also found Xorn Movement to be extremely useful.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

He has the Mother Cyst feat, granting the list of Necrotic spells from Libris Mortus.

He uses these NOT to burst the internal organs and Dominate his enemies, but to create a srying network. He conjures a Necrotic Cyst in people he meets in passing, the shopkeeper he just put coin in the hand of, the hurried businessman he "accidentally" bumped into walking down the street, the mates he just befriended drinking at the tavern.

he's not doing any harm to them really, what are the odds they'd run into undead?

And so, with a healthy amount of level 2 Necrotic Cyst & Necrotic Scry spells memorized each day, he can produce and peek in on this network of individuals he leaves everywhere he's traveled. After all, a man who's being hunted can't take too many chances.

Having the level 4 Necrotic Dominate option doesn't hurt either. You know, if you reeeeally need that shopkeeper to tell your pursuers you went South instead of West.