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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Empirate" data-source="post: 6269333" data-attributes="member: 78958">Note at start: I'm arguing from a "what's good" standpoint here, not from a "might fit your character" standpoint.For sheer versatility, which a Bard's small spells known list might lack, there is and there always will be Shapechange (as you pointed out yourself), and I'd much rather use that on myself than PAO! Unlimited options at your fingertips. Decide with your DM beforehand whether you'd gain a Planetar's spellcasting, though...Also, Shades is rather better than many people give it credit for. It isn't limited to the Summoning and Creation subschools (like Shadow Conjuration is), so you can use it to replicate e.g. planar binding, maze, acid fog... and all the neat Conjuration splatbook spells. Even with teleport spells out of the picture, Shades is an OK choice.Gate is the obvious powerhouse option. Nothing matches this spell in sheer power. It's rather ridiculous, actually, even with the XP cost. A thousand XP is OK to afford for the additional firepower it can give you in boss battles.Wish is mostly a plot device IMO, even though it can be a (costly) way to gain more options. If you really, really, desperately need some thing or piece of knowledge that you couldn't otherwise obtain at the time, Wish will help you out, but as I said, this is often just as a way to further the plot. Don't spend your resources to do the DM's job for him! You can also use it to increase the whole party's ability scores (if you have a bit of downtime and Scribe Scroll, that is, since you normally can't cast the spell five times in quick succession), but that's super expensive and not really worth it IMO. I'd shy away from Wish for the expectations it will engender in your fellow players and certain kinds of DM.Time Stop is fine if you have other stuff that just has to happen in the first round of combat. Otherwise, overrated. Strictly a combo spell, not that great on its own.Foresight is a bit like Time Stop, except it actually begs for Time Stop, as well. Good if your game is already rocket tag. Less good if you don't really have a way of winning the battle outright in the surprise round.Astral Projection has horrible gamebreaking potential. If that is not used in full, the spell doesn't do much Plane Shift couldn't, and should never be considered.You might want Wail of the Banshee for crowd control - although it's a bit hit-or-miss. Weird is strictly weaker than this.Disjunction is for when you don't like treasure. Do you like treasure? Don't take.Those are the big ones in my book. The rest of the PHB spells sucks and is highly overrated in level. Similarly, few non-PHB 9th level spells even merit spending thought on them. Summon Elemental Monolith is OK, but do note that you want either the Sonorous Hum spell or the Familiar Concentration feat with it, otherwise controlling that monolith is what you do for the rest of the battle. SEM brings a combat monster to the fight and eats up all your actions doing it. Shapechange can change you into a combat monster while still allowing you to cast, should you require it. It also runs for hours on end, unlike SEM. SEM is much overrated for these reasons, IMHO.</blockquote>

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