Most common sorcerer/wizard spells?

[jasin]

3.0 CS, yes. In 3.5 they made it into another Burning Hands.

I don't remember, how was 3.0 color spray different?

In any case, it's not another burning hands. Burning hands just deals damage. Color spray knocks unconscious, blinds, or stuns. No 7th-level opponent is going to worry much about failing a save against burning hands. They might worry about color spray.

 

[Plane Sailing]

and sleep at level 1, for sure.

Ho ho ho!

Seriously? A 1 full round casting time (like summon monster) that affects up to a mere 4H (if they fail their save)?

Sleep is laughable now.

Give me the 1e sleep which gets 4-16 1HD creatures with no save

To my mind, a viable sleep spell should be a standard action to cast and affect 2d4HD of creatures (with a cap of 4HD) - so it could be empowered or maximised or something

 

[green slime]

Ho ho ho!

Seriously? A 1 full round casting time (like summon monster) that affects up to a mere 4H (if they fail their save)?

Sleep is laughable now.

Give me the 1e sleep which gets 4-16 1HD creatures with no save

To my mind, a viable sleep spell should be a standard action to cast and affect 2d4HD of creatures (with a cap of 4HD) - so it could be empowered or maximised or something

Agreed.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I don't remember, how was 3.0 color spray different?

In any case, it's not another burning hands. Burning hands just deals damage. Color spray knocks unconscious, blinds, or stuns. No 7th-level opponent is going to worry much about failing a save against burning hands. They might worry about color spray.

Yes, it was different!

It was a cone with a range of close. Every two levels, you're gaining five feet to the cone! You could enlarge it so it's even bigger and longer!

It's useful!

Sure, it only affected 1d6 creatures in the cone, but you don't have to get as close to the enemy! You've got a good 20' there. You can flank around your tank and spray the mob with it, to deadly effect!

But the new color spray is a 15' cone!

If I'm going to hit an ogre or an enemy tank with a reach weapon, all he has to do is take a 5' step and attack me! I'm a juicy 10' away from people with only 5' reach!

It's smaller--and thus deadly to first level sorcerors and wizards!

An Enlarged, Empowered Color Spray would wreak havoc with a group of six or so creatures at levels seven and eight. You could hit a whole spread out group of enemies with that!

Or you could just Empower it and be hitting 1d6 plus one half rolled result guys with your 35' or 40' cone.

All kinds of nifty things you can do!

Can you tell I'm bitter? Yes, yes I am!

 

[TerraDave]

I agree. Sleep is better in the perfect circumstances, but color spray is much more robust.

These are the spells that immediately come to mind when a spell level is mentioned. That doesn't mean that all arcanists will have all of them, obviously, but almost all arcanists can be expected to have at least one for each level, unless they're making some sort of point:

0--detect magic, prestidigitation, mage hand
1st--magic missile, mage armor
2nd--scorching ray
3rd--fly, fireball, haste
4th--dimension door, improved invisibility, polymorph
5th--teleport, overland flight
6th--distintegrate, superior resistance (if SC is in use)
7th--limited wish
8th--...?
9th--...? I dunno, haven't seen many arcanists at those levels

about right. Regarding Summon Monster: great fun, but clerics also have access (albiet in a more limited form) and Druids have summon natures ally. So not a must for the arcane caster in the party with a limited number of spells.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Why gaseous form, out of interest? The only time we've seen it used by a PC they got cut to ribbons by everyone with a magic weapon (which at 7th level was everyone)

Gaseous Form + Invisibility = low level infiltration combo

It's not so much a combat spell as a spell that gets you into anywhere. Prepare it twice to get in, steal something, and then get out again.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Ho ho ho!

Seriously? A 1 full round casting time (like summon monster) that affects up to a mere 4H (if they fail their save)?

Sleep is laughable now.

Give me the 1e sleep which gets 4-16 1HD creatures with no save

To my mind, a viable sleep spell should be a standard action to cast and affect 2d4HD of creatures (with a cap of 4HD) - so it could be empowered or maximised or something

What Sleep has going for it is a 110 foot range, even at 1st level.

It's a lousy spell for dungeons, but as a "quietly take out the sentry" it has a certain charm.

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

Why gaseous form, out of interest? The only time we've seen it used by a PC they got cut to ribbons by everyone with a magic weapon (which at 7th level was everyone)

Also, an exceptionally cheap way to escape barred forcecages.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Also, an exceptionally cheap way to escape barred forcecages.

Every high level fighter type should keep a potion of Gaseous Form on his person.

 

[mmu1]

Adding to Whizbang's list off the top of my head:

- Haste (at least in 3.0; I still see it in 3.5, but I'm not sure if it's quite as popular now...)

3.5 Haste is, quite probably, the best "pound for pound" spell in the game, and certainly the best 3rd level spell.

While it doesn't help casters any longer, it now affects one creature / caster level, and the extra attacks, movement, and small to hit and AC bonuses add up to a huge boost in the party's combat ability. It helps virtually any party, but in larger ones, with multiple fighter-types, it's just insane.

Oh, and let me throw in another vote for Gaseous Form - it's a bad spell if you're surrounded, because you turn yourself into a very slow target with lousy AC, but it's invaluable for escaping from a number of situations that would otherwise leave the character dead in the water, and has a number of utilitarian uses - slow flight, breaking and entering, stealth - on top of it.