What 9th-level spells should any Wizard prepare?

[Iku Rex]

Really ain't as good a tactic as you seem to think.

To everyone under you, you do 20d6. Granted no save, but this doesn't seem too extreme for a 9th level spell. Especially when you consider the drawbacks.

First, you have to be in optimal conditions. Low ceilings or flying foes? Best of luck. (And if you're not flying while in open areas, what the #^$& are you doing in a high level encounter?)

Check the falling rules again. You do 1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen and 1d6 damage for every 200 pounds of weight. 200 feet above ground: 20d6. 125 tons: 1250d6. You don't actually need those extra 20d6 from falling distance.

 

[Thanee]

Coincidentally, I'm surprised so many people are saying "Wish". Not to sound munchkinny, but isn't Gating in a Solar very much the same thing for 20% the XP?

Nope.

But while I think Limited Wish is a spell, which can be used regularily, Wish is far too expensive to hog up a valuable 9th level slot IMHO.

A scroll of Wish would be handy, tho, in times of emergency.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Patlin]

shapechange, foresight, and disjunction.
shapechange because... it's shapechange. be a 200'x200'x200' block of adamantium and fall from 400 feet up. do it. that's lame but it has very good effects.

Ought to do as much damage to the mage as to anything he lands on... if I was DM, this wouldn't be a good trick twice. (Even if it was still a legal maneuver.)

 

[Li Shenron]

I voted:

Shapechange
Really the most versatile spell around... and lasts quite long after all.

Shades
Also seem very versatile to have one prepared each day. Replicates conjurations up to 8th level and 80% real. It's like a minor wish for replicating effects (obviously it doesn't have that many options) but for free.

Dominate Monster
20 days duration and no HD limit (IIRC) means that regular use of this spell may provide quite a backup army. The problems could be in the time necessary to give orders to more than one creature, and that it is dispellable. Plus, every day you're not using it to get a new slave, I think it's within the rules to cast it again on one of your current and make it quasi-permanent.

I thought the poll was limited to 3, otherwise I would have chosen Foresight as the last one, although it depends a lot on the DM how it works

 

[Plane Sailing]

I didn't include wish because although every wizard should have it in his spell books as soon as possible it is definitely NOT a spell worth preparing every day. The 5000xp hit is too great. Seems stupid that clerics can get pretty much the same effects for free with miracle at no cost though...

My list was shapechange, timestop & gate

 

[Li Shenron]

I didn't include wish because although every wizard should have it in his spell books as soon as possible it is definitely NOT a spell worth preparing every day. The 5000xp hit is too great.

Seems stupid that clerics can get pretty much the same effects for free with miracle at no cost though...

Absolutely. Twice.

 

[Dark Dragon]

Gate is nice, but burning 1500 XP for summoning a tough ally hurts. Seems to be more a NPC spell. Hm, the summoned creature may come back later and ask the guy who summoned it for a little favor

Wish was never used IMC, although the party wizards have the spell in their books. Losing 5000 XP for a simple copy of another arcane spell? Nonsense. Copying divine spells like resurrection may be costly, smae for changing reality.

 

[Thanee]

Well, Gate also allows to travel without the XP cost, and it's "only" 1000 XP IIRC.

Bye
Thanee

 

[dcollins]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Here's the current ordered results after 75 votes (those within 50% of top in bold):


61 Time Stop
47 Shapechange
30 Wish
23 Gate
22 Mage's Disjunction
16 Meteor Swarm
11 Power Word Kill
10 Dominate Monster
9 Foresight
7 Wail of the Banshee
6 Imprisonment
5 Energy Drain
5 Prismatic Sphere
5 Summon Monster IX
3 Astral Projection
3 Hold Monster, Mass
3 Shades
3 Weird
2 Crushing Hand
2 Teleportation Circle
1 Etherealness
0 Freedom
0 Refuge
0 Soul Bind

 

[Falling Icicle]

Gate, Shapechange, Time Stop and Wish.

Amen. Those are the 4 best Wizard spells, right there.