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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gaiden" data-source="post: 1359135" data-attributes="member: 103">I am building a Forgotten Realms Shadovar Arcanist (Wizard 5, Shadow Adept 4) and want to optimize him to kill phaerimm.  The back story behind this guy is that he has been sent to Myth Drannor to survey the number of phaerimm there and their threat level.  A secondary goal is gain information around the surrounding ennvironment - Cormanthor and the Dale Lands.I was originally going to build a noncaster, but the shadovars are all about the arcanists.  Another important thing is that I am using 2E phaerimm (with the added benefit of absorbing or reflecting successfully resisted spells with their SR and I boosted their SR to be +1/sorcerer level, rather than +1/3 sorcerer levels).  The 3E phaerimm is a joke compared to the original, so I buffed it up accordingly.So, as overcoming spell resistance is so important, the character has to first and foremost be optimized to defeat SR.  The spell penetration feat line are no brainers.  I was also thinking the orange ioun stone would be a good choice (as many as he can afford as their bonuses are unnamed).The question is, what other feats should he take and what spells.  I was thinking he ought to be a specialist wizard - either enchanter, necromancer, or illusionist.  I like the idea of taking evocation and transmutation as opposition schools but I still use 3.0 haste and losing that extra spell vs. a phaerimm will be deadly (oh I forgot to mention, the phaerimm also effectively have a split mind, so that they can both attack and cast at the same time - they cannot cast 2x - rather their magic and physical abilities can function simultaneously).Does anyone have any opinions on 3.0 vs 3.5 school specialization.  I am leaning towards 3.0 since I have kept much of the 3.0 spell formats.  If I do go with 3.0 specialization, the character will take evocation as an opposition school.The next thing is spell choice, which would be dependent on specialization.Here is the build I have so far:Specialist wizard 5/shadow adept 4feats: spell casting prodigy (since he is a shadovar) (1st level), shadow magic(human bonus), scribe scroll (wizard 1st level), spell penetration (3rd level), quicken spell (wizard 5th level), greater spell penetration (6th level), insidious magic (shadow adept 1st level), pernicious magic (shadow adept 1st level), tenacious magic (shadow adept 1st level), combat casting.The character will know alot about phaerimm - the equivalent of their entire stat block and descriptive text.  So, he knows that their For and Ref saves suck, knows about the drawbacks of failing a SR roll, and knows about their preference to cast spells, viewing melee combat as base and degrading (used only as a last resort).  He is also familiar with some phaerimm unique spells (like backlash - although 3.0 lists the spell as available to anyone).The max caster level (for SR rolls) I have been able to achieve is 15: 9 levels, +4 GSP, +1 Spell Power (shadow adept), +1 orange ioun stone.  Shadovars as a general rule view red wizards with contempt - so it is doubtful he would have a magic tatoo.The character only has 6K gp left to spend so, his spells will be limited to what he learns each level + only a few.    Here are ones that I was thinking of so far:1st - chill touch, ray of enfeeblement, enlarge person, spirit worm, net of shadows, sleep, identify2nd - resist energy, detect thoughts, see invisibility, false life, spectral hand, claws of darkness, death armor3rd - dispel magic, ray of exhaustion, vampiric touch, haste4th - dimensional anchor, globe of invulnerability, locate creature, phantasmal killer, shadow conjuration, enervation5th - mind fog, shadow evocation, kiss of the vampireAll comments appreciated.</blockquote>

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