Choose your spell list !

[DeathOfRats]

Suppose you had a level 12 wizard with 22 effective intelligence. What spells would you prepare for:

a) Day to day life
b) General adventuring where you don't know what to expect.
c) A battle against 5 party members when you decide to turn evil and kill them all off for their loot.

Thanks

 

[Mista Collins]

c)

Make sure to take magic jar... nothing better than killing 4 party members with the 5th's body...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Suppose you had a level 12 wizard with 22 effective intelligence. What spells would you prepare for:

a) Day to day life
b) General adventuring where you don't know what to expect.
c) A battle against 5 party members when you decide to turn evil and kill them all off for their loot.

Generally, it all depends on your brand of wizard. An evoker has different spells than an enchanter...

Tell us more about the wizard, and we will be able to help you better. (I assume that this is the poor fellow with 32 hp. Refer to your other post for defensive spells)

Some general advice (in addition to the advice above)
a)I assume that you aren't adventuring at this time. So I would prepare a small contigent of those spells you usually prepare when you are adventuring (just in case) and then concentrate on spells that make your life easier (like telekinesis and mage hand, prestidigitation...) or sell well, if you make a living by being a wizard-for-hire. Especially Identify and Analyze Dweomer, but also Minor Creation (and the follow-up spells) and Dispel Magic.

b)Some protections/buffs, and your average combat spells (for evokers, these are fireball, cone of cold etc, while an enchanter has charm person, dominate person, and so on).

c)You know these guys better than we do. Think what their weaknesses are and exploit them. Think of their strengths and counter or downplay them. For example, use dominate person on the fighter (they often have abysmal will saves) and let him grapple the cleric. Use death spells against the rogues, spells with ref saves against clerics and so on. Don't use fireball on the character with that ring of fire resistance. Protect yourself against their strenghts: Even a simple blur will give you concealment, which will foil sneak attacks. Don't use stoneskin when your fighter's main weapon is made from adamantine (you might have a better use for that slot). Use spells like waves of fatigue or touch of idiocy.

And most important: Cast protection from arrows on cour self, for the other players might target you with their dice

 

[DeathOfRats]

Well, the pc in question has adventured far and wide encountering many situations. He has singlehandedly rescued party members from dungeons and fireballed them by mistake many a time yet still he survives by some stroke of luck.

I was always pretty confident in spell selection in 2nd Edition, but many things have changed especially with 3.0 - 3.5 etc. Generally he was an augmenter of party abilities with haste, strength etc but with utility spells such as fly, arcane eye, scry, teleport etc to help out with adventuring. I am working him towards Archmage at the moment, regardless of the decline in spell power from 3.0 - 3.5 I still think the description fits him well and the Mastery of Elements/Counterspelling look damn nice.

His defenses at the moment are some nice bracers +6, ring of protection+2 and cloak of major displacement along with a homebrew misc item of +1 resistances.

I'm pretty confident in my spell selections as follows:

a)
1st
Unseen Servant x2, Sleep x2, Magic Missile x2
2nd
Mirror Image x2, Fog Cloud x2, Invisibility x2
3rd
Dispel Magic x2, Tongues, Fly, Lightning Bolt
4th
Dimension Door, Polymorph, Scrying, Stoneskin
5th
Magic Jar, Teleport x2
6th
Disintegrate, Repulsion

b) Pretty much the same, but sub for all 1st = MM, an Acid Arrow for 2nd instead of a fog cloud, fireball for tongues, ice storm for scrying and a cone of cold for one of the teleports.

c) Got to work with b) but unsure of casting order....perhaps stoneskin followed by magic jar etc.

 

[andargor]

Can any of the other party members fly? If not, then just Fly, Protection from Arrows, nail the cleric (to avoid the Dispel Magic), and bombard...

Andargor

 

[Beholder Bob]

Ohhh, fun fun!! Betray, backstab, and destroy (option C).

1st: set it up. Going bonkers in the middle of the group will get you killed real fast, you need to cast your longterm spells (stoneskin) when you are still considered an ally.
2nd: they consider you a friend - start off with a contingency of being touched on the forehead, diminsion door (choose a real safe spot). now tell the priest your going to cast a spell on him (one he likes, bull strength, stoneskin, whatever - so long as its believable. Set it up so it makes sense!). Cast magic jar instead (or better yet, a couple good spells such as bull strength, prot vs arrows, fly, then the magic jar) now you are inside the guy that does the dispel magic spells, has a good armor class and fighting ability. Wage your war on your friends (that armor kills any chance of casting somatic, so prepare with still spell or memorize non-somatic component spells. Consider darkness, followed by area of effect goodness (stilled, of course). You (the priest) will die shortly, 3 against one is just to tough a fight. Return to your body (make sure your diminsion door does not take you out of range) and continue, or take over the rogue or fighter and repeat.

spells: depends on your meta magic skills. summoned monsters are great for creating diversions, and turning evil allows a wider selection then enjoyed prior. Ice storm is a good anti-rogue spell, as is magic missiles. Focus on their save weaknesses. Pick the fight while camping for the night (and you do the gaurd duty). Cover yourself with an illusion so you are not considered the bad guy initially. Also, can you get a PC alone with you and do the magic jar trick? Then when they are done fighting him, show up "unaware" of what occured or with a good story. Now 1 less to kill. Then do the magic jar with the priest. Attack the PC's with nightmare over several days. If group used to you doing mass spells, what about an area effect meta hold person or hideous laughter. All you need is a group not resisting your spells long enough to make them helpless. Save the damage spells for when they get no saves.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

This assumes that they don't recognize that spell and save nonetheless. As soon as they see that you aren't actially casting bull's strength or whatever (and clerics do have spellcraft usually).

 

[andargor]

And clerics have pretty good will saves, maybe the best in the group...

Andargor

 

[Beholder Bob]

This assumes that they don't recognize that spell and save nonetheless. As soon as they see that you aren't actially casting bull's strength or whatever (and clerics do have spellcraft usually).

Most true. This is why the caster needs to be damn sneaky. Provide a diversion (have your familiar knock over something to create a loud noise, cast the magic jar or big nasty spell with still spell or silent spell so now its missing part of what makes it possible to spot). imagine the area laughter spell cast with silent or still spell and by a fellow with eschew components, not easy to figure out in time. As a DM, as long as no one is concerned / watching, I'd make it damn hard to figure out what spell is being cast unless some unusual stuff was required (must sodomize a goat while yelling the alphabet backwards would be easier to notice then a wizard muttering quitely and covering the material component in his hand). Also, tell them your casting a spell from the same school (say heroism while casting the laughter spell, both enchantments) should make it harder to figure out. Mostly though, keep them busy.

Spellcraft identify spell being cast: DC =15 + spell level, Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.) No action required. No retry.
Italics mine. If they are distracted (not watching you) and you cast it w/silent meta, or create a loud distraction w still, no roll. Still best if no one is watching you. My preference would be for my familiar to 'accidently' knock over a tent pole or push over one of my thunderstones. Also, an accomplice who talks to the fellow with spellcraft while I'm busy casting would make your life easier, depending on prep time (cast a summon monster VI while not in view, while friends go to fight new monster, yell out "I'm casting mass heroism, don't fight it" while they are ahead of you). As a player, the monster summoned, its actions, and the real spell I'll cast would be told to the DM before the 'event'.

 

[rkanodia]

As a player, the monster summoned, its actions, and the real spell I'll cast would be told to the DM before the 'event'.

This is probably the best tip of all. If you have to have a 'secret conference' with the DM during the event, that will instantly give away your plan. Make sure he's got it all written down; maybe even include a few 'code words' so that you can tell your DM 'I explode the monster with Fireball' and he actually has you dominate the rogue - whose actions you have already written down and given to the DM in private. Act surprised, but not too surprised, when your 'spells' fail. Maybe ask the DM to act like he's making Spell Resistance rolls on the monster's behalf.

Even after they realize what's going on, it will be better if as much stuff is pre-scripted as possible. Your fellow players are likely to be upset with you, and that will only get worse if you keep pulling the DM aside to whisper spell names in his ear. On the other hand, they may have a fair amount of grudging respect if you've got the whole consipiracy laid out with the DM beforehand and pull it off in a super-slick style, where nobody gets it until too late, like in a good heist movie.