Should a "specialist" wizard be demoted?

[KingOfChaos]

Okay..

Spell Focus (Divination) would be a waste of a feat since most Divination spells DO NOT affect a target other than the caster themselves so there isn't really a reason for the DC for Divination spells to be raised.

I am playing a Soul Mech Abjurer in a Dragonstar PBP game at my forums and you know what? I have Spell Focus (Evocation) and Greater Spell Focus (Evocation) as feats. Why? Taking Spell Focus (Abjuration) would simply be a waste of a feat because Abjurations affect you and your party and not enemies. That character will still need to deal damage to enemies as well as being able to protect himself and his allies. I would probably take spell focus for EVER school my character had access to because generally, a wizard is going to want to make ALL the spells he or she knows more potent against a foe and not just for one school of magic, no matter how specialized they are.

My advice, lay off the player and let him develop his own character the way HE sees fit. If he is playing the part, then I don't really see why you would need to force him to change his character. Please note the his part of that sentence.

 

[Bugaboo]

KingOfChaos, thanks for the feedback. Your wisdom definitely helped me make up my mind...

The player is obviously wrong, and I'm going to declare his wizard is no longer a "specialist." It's obvious now.

Thanks!

 

[Gumby]

KingOfChaos, thanks for the feedback. Your wisdom definitely helped me make up my mind...

The player is obviously wrong, and I'm going to declare his wizard is no longer a "specialist." It's obvious now.

Thanks!

I hope the player paid you up front...

 

[Crothian]

I hope the player paid you up front...

I'd hope the opposite, for the player's sake

 

[pogre]

KingOfChaos, thanks for the feedback. Your wisdom definitely helped me make up my mind...

The player is obviously wrong, and I'm going to declare his wizard is no longer a "specialist." It's obvious now.

Thanks!

Hmmm...so this was a troll, right?

 

[Gumby]

Hmmm...so this was a troll, right?

Bugaboo is a known troll (harmless) who in the past has stated he charges his players for the privilege of having him DM for them. Usually a pretty funny guy, though.

 

[Staffan]

Re: Re: Should a "specialist" wizard be demoted?

That is, he has to have at least one divination spell known per caster level - of the two he gains on a level-up, one has to be a divination.

And that causes problems for Enchanters early on, and for Diviners, Abjurers, Necromancers and Illusionists a bit later. All schools except the Big Three have at least one spell level where there's only one spell available, at least if you're restricted to PHB spells.

 

[incognito]

Bugaboo is a known troll (harmless) who in the past has stated he charges his players for the privilege of having him DM for them. Usually a pretty funny guy, though.

a good troll is both disguised and highly inflamatory. this is well deisguized, but not quite inflamatory enough.

 

[jmucchiello]

Re: Re: Re: Should a "specialist" wizard be demoted?

And that causes problems for Enchanters early on, and for Diviners, Abjurers, Necromancers and Illusionists a bit later. All schools except the Big Three have at least one spell level where there's only one spell available, at least if you're restricted to PHB spells.

Right, when your diviner hits 16th level and already took discern location at 15th level, he should take whatever 5th and 6th level Divinations he missed a few levels back. (And at 20th level he can take detect secret doors finally )

 

[Benben]

If it were any school other than divination...

Initially I was going to say revoke the specialization then I reviewed the divination spell list:

Number of Spells Available by level:
Cantrips: 1
First: 5
Second: 3
Third: 2
Fourth: 4
Fifth: 3
Sixth: 3
Seventh: 2
Eigth: 1
Ninth: 1

Total: 25

Divination is a really thin spell list, and supplementary materials don't help expand it much at all. Just knowing one divination per level means the character knows 50% of the material of his school. This would take 24-25 spells if he were a Conjuror. Knowing 25 divinations would be knowing *every* spell of his school in the core books.

Divination shines outside of combat. Does you campaign have a lot of potential for scrying and researching lore? The other two schools with only 25 spells in their entirety are Enchantment and Necromancy, which are useful both outside and during combat. The player might just be shaping his character to the environment of the campaign.

Also divination spells tend to upgrade themselves as they progress through levels (e.g. Comprehend Languages->Tongues) so your player might just be planning a head.

Finally, as a DM have you given him access to enemy wizards with divination scrolls or spells in their spellbooks? If not that would explain why he doesn't have a lot of divinations in his spell book.