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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Magus_Jerel" data-source="post: 131272" data-attributes="member: 3940">For the player seeking to play the power wizard:Things to do:Take the mind over body feat - especially because you are going to dump most/all of your int advancement points into this score - thus improving your hit points as you go up in level as well - a nifty side benefit.  I suggest playing an Sun or Moon elf - if you are using FRCS - and setting your lowest stat into con - however see the next paragraph.Dangers:You are going to need to max out your ranks in concentration - to avoid losing spells, and watch your fortitude save.  It may be worth your while to take the "great fortitude" feat which is sort of ironic when you have a low con - depending on how critical your fort save score is.  The biggest danger however, in light of mind over body giving you hp - is poison especially con reducing poisons.  While you won't necessarily see this every adventure, it could be very important.  A spell, class ability, or magic item that makes you resistant to or immune to poisons is good for any character - but it would become much more critical if you had a low con score.Now - for the general combat/utility wizard:I proceed by school in no particular order of importance:Evocation: lots and lots of straight forward damage here.  Energy substitution is ok - but if you have the bucks - just research new spells: some quickies:Iceblast:  As fireball, but cold damage instead of fire damage.Breath of the Dragon: As cone of cold - but fire damageThe spells are very easy for the GM to balanace - and researching them helps keep cash levels low. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  these spells are also the first part of what I call the "Combat triad" of schools.Abjuration:Defense, and dispelling - critical factors for survival.  If things get really nasty - remember - Dispel magic can be used as a Counterspell in a pinch.  Dispelling is also a GREAT way to crack thru the defensive wards of opponents at any level.Being the school with more that 50% of the defensive type spells - unless you are a firm believer in the theory of "the best defense is a good offense" - this school is a must have.  This school is the second part of what I term the "combat triad" of the schools of magic.  If you have an aversion to these spells - just take dispel magic, greater dispelling, and Mordenkainen's disjunction when you get the chance - and see the notes concerning illusion.Divination:See the note on possible specialization belowNecromancy:See the note on possible specialization belowConjuration:The Summon Monster and Planar Ally type spells are nice - but I wouldn't make them My primary choices.  Melf's Acid arrow is cool as well - and you might have a lot of fun with it as a lower level offensive spell.Enchantment:Well - if you are into turning one opponent against another - this is a great and wonderful school.  There are also some very nifty utility spells here:Sleep (a low level mainstay)Charm Person and suggestion (useful for getting your way)Hold Person (a good way to freeze the bad guy)Feeblemind (THE most broken spell in the game as written)Not necessarily your main focus in the way of spells, but some picking and choosing works well.Transmutation:hmmm -Expeditious Retreat, Knock, Stat enhancer spells, Polymorph type spells, Fly, haste, time stop...All sorts of goodies here.  This is a VERY large school - and there are lots and lots of good spells in it.  This is the third part of the "combat triad" of most wizards.  This school is also your number ONE utility school.  For combat - place emphasis on those spells that give you some added mobility and action.  Expeditious retreat, haste, fly, and time stop can add a great deal of punch to any wizard's arsenal.As far as the uses of polymorph self - this is a spell that can do a great deal.  It can get you airborne by giving you wings, as well as turn you into a larger sized creature if the need for hand to hand combat arises- not to mention create a disguise.  It makes an awesome sorcerer spell - freeing up your third level slots for the likes of dispel magic, haste, and fireball (or lightning bolt).However - a dispel magic cast if you are using this spell to fly can be a very bad thing.  It is a great spell - but there are risks to using it extensively when fighting a foe who could bring it to a quick - and untimely end by dispel magic.  If this is not a threat - by all means use it - but forewarned is forearmed.It is often best as a spell of last resort - when you run out of other magic, and must close to hand to hand, resort to a bow, or flee the field.  A scroll of this particular spell - is often a wise precaution.Illusion:Of all the schools of magic - this one is probably the most useful when it comes to utility - next to transmutation.  This school is crucial to successful deception of the foe in or out of combat, as well as stealth.Minor image and its related spells make for a great deal of utility and make for good diversions, especially if you are creative. Invisibility - in all its forms - is perhaps the most vital function of this school for a combat oriented wizard - allowing the wizard and his party to achieve suprise - or even avoid unwanted combat situations by avoiding them and walking by.Since you can't hit what you can't see - this school is also very good for defence - particularly at the higher levels of the game, where the blasting power of magic itself is harder pressed to match some of the wards that are provided by abjuration.  This school very much provides a different type and style of defense - but it is absolutely no substitute for having "hard" wards in place when your opponent manages to see you and throw that fireball or worse - meteror swarm.  This stratagem is best for dealing with two things:Opponents who do not have access to magic at all -and magic users who are very "one dimensional" - the unsophisticated blaster mage or battle tank that can be an arcane or divine spell user who does not face wise magic using opponents as a matter of routine.The Combat Triad:Between Evocation, Abjuration, and Transmutation - many players can become virtual "spell tanks" when it comes to battle - which is a very important part of the D and D game. It is these three schools from which you will derive the vast majority of your spells - your offense being focused in evocation - your defense provided by abjuration - and your mobility being provided by transmutation.  All else - is utility.To understand illusion in combat - there is a simple saying.  You cannot strike that which you cannot see.  Great mages understand the destructive power of magic - and what can happen when wards fail.  They not only make blows miss, but keep up their wards for when their opponent manages to hit.Conjuration is good for fast "allies" in battle - but as an adventuring wizard - you have allies eager to fight alongside you.  Repeated use of summoning magics - when you are of sufficent level can also hinder "lesser" wizards, by simply giving them too much to fight.Enchantment is great at turning one opponent against another - and this may work quite well, until it is just you - and a single enemy.  Each school holds some utility spells as well - but a great deal depends upon the foe you are facing.There is no better way to shut down an enemy spellcaster than sucessfully subjecting him or her to a feeblemind spell - and this spell is particularly potent against enemy wizards.  Many an aprrentice wizard has also used the sleep spell to disable - and then kill goblins, orcs, kobolds - and all sorts of  weaker, annoying, but potentially deadly monsters.  A friendly monster brought in at just the right time - and in just the right place has felled many a key foe.  Dispelling spells are the greatest tool one can use agains the battle tank that the enemy with magic can be;  And knowing where your opponent is - is the art of Divination.This school - arguably, is the most crucial function of the utility mage - as you must know your opponent to determine what spell to prepare to do battle.  You must also communicate effectively - and this school aids you in that capacity, by enabling you to speak the tounge of those you may deal with.-------------------------------------------------------------------------You might even consider taking specialization in divination, and dropping necromancy. Why? Well, there are primarily only four things necromancy really does well.1. Healing - and you are a wizard - so you have no need to worry about this at all - as the fact is you never use these spells.2. Animating and dealing with undead - and since you are the good guy, you don't animate dead.  You will have plenty of umph to fight them anyway - fireball, cone of cold ect, and this is where the cleric and the paladin get to shine - not so much the wizard.3. Level drain magic. - Enveneration and Energy drain are two VERY potent spells, but (with the noted exception of horrid wilting) are about the only "power offense" spells that you have around - except for something in the fourth category.4. Death Magic - as in save or die spellsIf you are looking for an "insta kill spell" my reccomendation is Phantasmal Killer - an illusion spell.  If you also take the heighten spell feat and "bump it up" - the only real downside to this spell is the two saving throws it awards will then fortitude - instead of the one fortiitude save for most necromantic magics.Nota Bene - this isn't a death spell - so you can, quite literally - scare the undead to death <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Also - if you have a lot of evocation spells around - what difference does it matter if your opponent dies from taking umpteen dice of damage or gets to save or die?As far as your actual divination spells:True Strike at comprehend languages at first levelSee invisibility and detect thoughts at second levelClairaudience/Clairvoyance and Tounges at third levelScrying and detect scrying at fourth levelContact other Plane and Rary's Telepathic bond at fifth levelTrue Seeing and Analyze Dweromer at 6th levelGreater Scrying and Vision at 7th levelDiscern Location at 8th (thou shalt NOT hide from ME evil thing...)Foresight at 9th.Now, there are a few problems with this when it comes to levels 15-20, most noteably that you will have to write some divination spells, as you will very likely have most - if not all the divination spells in the PHB, and in need of some higher level spells to take as your required "specialist spell" upon andvancement.  It is because of this requirement - that I reccomend you do NOT take more than your one required divination spell on odd levels when advancing.  Once you have fulfilled your "obligation" for the second spell at the even level- this is no longer a problem.  The school is narrow - but that narrowness leaves a certain "lack of numbers" with regard to spells.  If you are using FRCS - you may have a few more upper level divination spells around; I'm not sure as I don't own the book.From a sophistication standpoint - this is perhaps the most "munchkinizeable" type of wizard - especially when you understand the four elements of necromancy you ARE giving up.  The first two - healing and undead creation - are something the good guy doesn't do - it is ooc for him.  The second two - level drain and death magic, as I see it - aren't needed - as there are far more ways to kill.</blockquote>

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