Great to see in practice how the you embodied the guide. Many interesting things to think about:
a) Prodigy into Stealth & disguise kit
b) Did you go Alert > ASI > Tough > Prodigy ?
No. OK, so this is how it went down. This is a campaign that the DM is converting on the fly from a previous edition. Usually that works fine, but at level 7 my halfling bard took over 100 points of damage from an enemy in one round, killing him outright. I decided the replacement character better have toughness if he's a D6 HD wizard, so that was the level 1 feat.
Prodigy came as a DM reward. He decided to give us all racial feats if we wrote backstories for our characters.
Alert was my level 12 feat.
c) 2 damage cantrips vs for instance Prestidigitation
I normally take prestidigitation with my wizards, I deliberately avoided it with this character as the campaign is a more gritty, dirty feel, and I didn't think this was the kind of character to clean themselves, flavor their food or similar effects with a snap of his fingers.
I use Toll of the Dead as my primary damage cantrip. Frostbite is probably getting switched out each level, though necrotic immunity is not uncommon in this campaign, so I could see switching it out for a Firebolt.
d) Did you start the character at higher level?; questions is coming from not seeing the usual suspects in lv1 spells for early game (silent image, sleep, tasha, grease, etc.)
Yes, 7th level, to replace dead halfling
e) Lv3 picks: Magic Circle/Hypnotic Pattern over Major Image?
Read back a couple pages and you'll know why I'm not preparing Major Image (I have permanent major images I alter with malleable illusions). I would never take Hypnotic Pattern off my prepared list. It's been the most successful spell this character has had. Hypnotic Pattern is a monster. Even with all the different campaigns I've used it, I still get DM's asking me when those affected get a new saving throw, and glee when I tell them that they don't.
f) Lv4 picks: Dimension door? What's the synergy I'm missing?
This is a cautious character. Dimension Door is my escape spell. We often end up running in this campaign, as often challenges are way above our level.
g) I don't understand your lv5 picks
I guess seeming has to do with going stealth/disguise kit. Synaptic static I am not sure.
Seeming: We are currently infiltrating an evil city. There are no humans, elves or dwarves in this city except us. Seeming is very important.
Synaptic Static is a great Debuff/Blast that targets Int. I don't use it a lot, but I still think it's a good choice.
Bigby's Hand is also a lovely spell, with some great versatility. I couple sessions ago it grabbed a dragon and prevented it from flying away while the party gronks killed it. Very
HANDY!
I should mention that Animate Objects is a spell I specifically avoided, because it's ALWAYS my level 5 spell. Just wanted to give some different spells a try. Now if you haven't seen an overuse of Animate Objects, it should be your first level 5 pick for your wizard or bard.
Thanks again for the guide which I've been using for over a year now.
Thank you!
