Replicating the earlier AD&D illusionist

[Psion]

So, has wotc made a Dread Necromancer / Warmage type for illusion yet? Those classes get a lot for sacrificing other spell schools.

You can use the alternate specialist abilities for illusionists in Unearthed Arcana (summarized here), or you can try The Illusionist: The Core Specialist Wizard or School of Illusion.

 

[Driddle]

Driddle,

Why don't you just play AD&D?!

Ah, the presumption of intent. Dangerous thing, that.
I didn't say I wanted to *play* AD&D, Nightfall. I simply asked if anyone had the old spell list.

 

[Driddle]

re OSRIC: How 'bout 2nd edition sources? Any available online?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Illusionist with the Specialist PrC from Complete Mage is pretty good, too, as a 3.5 replication. It's an early-entry PrC, at that.

 

[Whimsical]

For third edition, the best way to make a highly focused specialist wizard is by using the sorcerer class. Limited spell selection, but versatility on how the selected spells are used.

And I'm running a beguiler in a camapign now. Doesn't help that almost everything we fight has a high will save.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

re OSRIC: How 'bout 2nd edition sources? Any available online?

There doesn't seem to be as much activity around 2E. Dragonsfoot has some 2E resources, including an adventure and some new kits. There's also a 2E section on their forums.

 

[Driddle]

Thanks for the OSRIC link. Sheesh, I had forgotten how goofy some of that material could be.

 

[Voadam]

For third edition, the best way to make a highly focused specialist wizard is by using the sorcerer class. Limited spell selection, but versatility on how the selected spells are used.

And I'm running a beguiler in a camapign now. Doesn't help that almost everything we fight has a high will save.

That's better than fighting lots of things immune to will saves. Vermin, Undead, Plants, Constructs, etc.

 

[Lanefan]

One of the first (and by far the most successful) 3e characters I rolled up was specifically intended to try and use the 3e system to create a 1e-like illusionist. I'd have crashed and burned before starting were it a 1e campaign; while she had a 15 to stick into intelligence, she didn't have anything *near* a 16 to put on Dex. Banned evocation.

10 levels later, not a perfect result, but not bad...

Lanefan

 

[Driddle]

I know this is going to sound silly to a lot of folks here, but I sorta miss a couple of elements associated with the 1e illusionist: clarity and simplicity -- your spells were clearly illusion-centric instead of getting to pick through all the other schools, and fairly distinct from the standard magic-user.

The "specialist" wizards in 3.5e aren't really specialist enough compared with each other -- for example, a transmuter and illusionist could operate from the same personal list of spells except for that one piddly little bonus spell tacked on at the end. How "specialist" is that?

Just a grumbly observation. Nothing important.