smetzger said:
Feats: Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell, Energy Substitution (Sonic), Improved Initiative, Spell Penetration, Leadership (14th lvl Monk Cohort)
Ok this seems to be a design at 15th so my observations will be based on that premise.
The lack of empower is IMO criminal. it makes your fireball "worth it" doing effectivly the same damage as 15d6. That reduces the need to take higher slots on spells that are 'like fireball but not capped at 10. heck, as a 7th level spell, a fireball double empowered does 10d6x2 (effectively 20d6.)
take empower, your enemies will curse you for it.
Also, chain spell from TnB is very potent at high levels.
smetzger said:
1st(5): Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Protection/Evil, Feather Fall
need one more
endure elements is good. You can easily have it up five ways from spells cast at night before bedtime using extend that lasts for days. Sure, 5 points is not a lot, but taking 5 off every energy attack after saves adds up.
message is also very useful for subtle tactical communications.
smetzger said:
2nd(5): Rope Trick, Alter Self, Shatter, Invisibility, Flaming Sphere
Ok you have no openings here but allow me to say that i would drop shatter and flaming sphere in a heartbeat.
Flaming sphere looks good, because it allows you to use your move action to do some damage round after round. At high level though, your move action will be used empowering spells or using other metamagic. You will often be much better served using an empower to boost your fireball for an extra 5d6 or so than using it to move your little 2d6 sphere around. At high levels its critical to make everyhting work quickly.
The first choice i think i would take is fog cloud. Its effects a pretty strong and it provides a "control battlefield" aspect thats hard to beat. Enemy archers behind cover... fog cloud them. Ambush from all sides, fog cloud you. 1001 uses for a ranged concealment platform.
See invisibility, Glitterdust (double uses), magic mouth (alarms and more), and of course ENDURANCE are all IMO much better choices.
smetzger said:
3rd(4): Fireball, Dispel Magic, Haste, Summon Monster III
GMW is obscenely potent. So are fly, gaseous form, and others. i would not take Sm3 since you can get its effects with a higher level spell.
smetzger said:
4th(4): Polymorph Other (what should I polymorph my Monk Cohort to?), Stoneskin, Charm Monster
Need one more
OK, improved invis is great for support role. The combo of stoneskin and 505 miss chances on your monk will be wonderful.
With a high Dc i find confusion to be one of my first choices. its area and TARGETS and droppd into a mess of fighters tends to take most of them out. PO is already there for a 'take single enemy out" spell. Drop confusion into an enemy fighter swarm and you will likely see 1-2 of them squaring off against each other anyway.
smetzger said:
5th(4): Wall of Force, Summon Monster 5, + 2 more
Teleport is world altering. It means distance is no longer an issue, knowledge is. it is almost always my first spell. If you have empower, then fireball is still your good blaster, so you do not need to worry about cone of cold. I would suggest something equally door opening like SENDING. if your world is populated by good, well designed NPCs, then sending allows for all those people you met and helped to be resources, for knowledge if nothing else. My sorcerer was always using his good social ability to make friends, staying in the plus column in the favor bank, and planned to use sending to contact sage here or magician there or so and so the cleric when he needed advice or help. if your Gm runs a rich game, the combo of sending and teleport is extremely potent.
smetzger said:
Not in any order... disintigrate, contingency (teleport, or endurance, or stoneskin or improved invis), and probably greater dispelling.
if you chose chain... chain haste = even better than mass haste.
If you chose chain and GMW... you can now zap some 16 weapons and ammo sets to +5 each lasting for 15 hours.
smetzger said:
power word stun is really good. (imagine as your hasted turns... double-empowered fireball followed by PWS on the bigbad.)
limited wish is a wonderful addition since it allows for such a wide range of spell options. Sure, it costs Xp so you wont use it often but when you need it, you will need it bad. You will find plenty of metamagic uses for 7th level slots, so having it as 'only when needed' is fine.
if you chose empower, double empowered fireball does really weel for 10d6x3 damage.
if you chose chain... chain PO works very well.
