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I posted this yesterday on the stress test boards but I haven't gotten a conclusive answer yet.
My current campaign is coming to a stopping point (possibly to be resumed later) and somebody else will be taking up the GM duties for a while. So, I'm in the process of creating a character for the new campaign.
I'm making a Gnome Illusionist. One of the things I hope to accomplish with this character is to have him be effective in combat without always using the most common of combat spells. One idea I have is to focus a bit on summoning stuff and use my ability to make illusions to make my foes ask themselves, "Is that a real critter that I should be worried about, or just another illusion?"
Anhow, to make a long story short, I am having a hard time picking a 1st level feat. Spell Focus - Illusion seems like an obvious choice, but there are relatively few illusion spells that require a saving throw besides the "Image" spells. While I do intend to cast them with a fair bit of regularity, I am having a hard time justifying putting the feat there. For the moment, I am strongly considering Improved Initiative and I have also thought about Point Blank Shot or proficiency with repeating crossbow (because it just seems Gnomish).
A few criteria to consider: The feat must come from the core books or any of the WotC suppliments (in fact, there may be something obvious in Tome & Blood but my copy is currently loaned out to one of my players). The Faerun books are not an option. Also, we have a house rule that Wizards don't get to pick new spells to add to their spell books when they level (in exchange, scribing spells into spellbooks is much cheaper) so I can't count on having any particular spells besides those I choose at the start of the game. My GM has indicated that he will take into consideration what spells I'd like to obtain, but I won't have carte blanche to build my spell selection. That is fine by me (I'm the one who wrote this house rule, so I can hardly complain about it.)
So, what do you think?
I got three responses before I had to log off the Stress Test boards. They recommended Augment Summoning, Toughness and Spell Focus - Illusion. Below is my reply to them.
I'm definately taking Augment Summoning as soon as possible. Problem is you gotta be caster level 2. So the earliest I can get it is 3rd.
I'll probably make 2nd level by the third session of the campaign and so the utility of Toughness is probably low.
As I mentioned, Spell Focus - Illusion is one that I'm considering pretty hard. At first level, it would be useful for Color Spray and Silent Image. My other illusion spell is going to be Change Self which involves no saving throw. As I go up in levels, the other Image spells are ones that I'll be trying to pick up, but many of the other spells don't involve saving throws. At 2nd level, most of the spells don't involve saves except for Hypnotic Pattern. At 3rd, Major Image is the only one that requires saves. Looking beyond that seems pointless because I want this feat to be useful through my first 5 levels.
So is Spell Focus a good pick when it will likely be useful only for Color Spray, Silent Image, Minor Image and Major Image?
My current campaign is coming to a stopping point (possibly to be resumed later) and somebody else will be taking up the GM duties for a while. So, I'm in the process of creating a character for the new campaign.
I'm making a Gnome Illusionist. One of the things I hope to accomplish with this character is to have him be effective in combat without always using the most common of combat spells. One idea I have is to focus a bit on summoning stuff and use my ability to make illusions to make my foes ask themselves, "Is that a real critter that I should be worried about, or just another illusion?"
Anhow, to make a long story short, I am having a hard time picking a 1st level feat. Spell Focus - Illusion seems like an obvious choice, but there are relatively few illusion spells that require a saving throw besides the "Image" spells. While I do intend to cast them with a fair bit of regularity, I am having a hard time justifying putting the feat there. For the moment, I am strongly considering Improved Initiative and I have also thought about Point Blank Shot or proficiency with repeating crossbow (because it just seems Gnomish).
A few criteria to consider: The feat must come from the core books or any of the WotC suppliments (in fact, there may be something obvious in Tome & Blood but my copy is currently loaned out to one of my players). The Faerun books are not an option. Also, we have a house rule that Wizards don't get to pick new spells to add to their spell books when they level (in exchange, scribing spells into spellbooks is much cheaper) so I can't count on having any particular spells besides those I choose at the start of the game. My GM has indicated that he will take into consideration what spells I'd like to obtain, but I won't have carte blanche to build my spell selection. That is fine by me (I'm the one who wrote this house rule, so I can hardly complain about it.)
So, what do you think?
I got three responses before I had to log off the Stress Test boards. They recommended Augment Summoning, Toughness and Spell Focus - Illusion. Below is my reply to them.
I'm definately taking Augment Summoning as soon as possible. Problem is you gotta be caster level 2. So the earliest I can get it is 3rd.
I'll probably make 2nd level by the third session of the campaign and so the utility of Toughness is probably low.
As I mentioned, Spell Focus - Illusion is one that I'm considering pretty hard. At first level, it would be useful for Color Spray and Silent Image. My other illusion spell is going to be Change Self which involves no saving throw. As I go up in levels, the other Image spells are ones that I'll be trying to pick up, but many of the other spells don't involve saving throws. At 2nd level, most of the spells don't involve saves except for Hypnotic Pattern. At 3rd, Major Image is the only one that requires saves. Looking beyond that seems pointless because I want this feat to be useful through my first 5 levels.
So is Spell Focus a good pick when it will likely be useful only for Color Spray, Silent Image, Minor Image and Major Image?
