What's the weakest wizard specialty?

[Corsair]

Death effects destroying the soul have a fine tradition in D&D pre 3E.

Even with the design choices made to thin out transmutation, it still gets way way too many spells.

"Changing stuff into other stuff" is a pretty wide catchall, to be sure.

 

[blargney the second]

Vaarsuvius would certainly disagree with you...

Doilies!

 

[humble minion]

"Changing stuff into other stuff" is a pretty wide catchall, to be sure.

True. But many transmutation spells could fit perfectly well into another school with only a slightly different way of looking at the 'fluff' of the spell. Haste, slow, Bull's Strength and the various other physical buffs could easily be necromancy, for instance. 'Manipulation of life force' and all that. Transmutation seems to get all the borderline cases though, as I'm sure has been extensively discussed in a million threads before now...

 

[frankthedm]

"Changing stuff into other stuff" is a pretty wide catchall, to be sure.

It gets more than that.

Feather fall feels like an abjuration to me.
Magic weapons register as evocation, though the Magic weapon spell is Trans.
I can't be the only one who thinks Fox’s Cunning should be Enchantment [Mind Affecting]
Blinking back and forth between two planes sounds more conjuration to me.

 

[Andor]

Half-Orc Wizard (Necromancer with barred transmutation & Abjuration) 4/Sorcerer 1.

That way all your class abilitys overlap, you have a penalty to both casting stats, and you take an XP penalty for unbalanced classes.

Gimptastic.

 

[Corsair]

I'll give you blink. I don't like the idea of making the mental buffs enchantments because that means no-no for the liches.

 

[Sejs]

I'll give you blink. I don't like the idea of making the mental buffs enchantments because that means no-no for the liches.

Yeah, but if there's anyone who would research a personal version of the buffs that work for them... it'd be liches. I mean they've got the time and the inclination.

 

[Nightfall]

Diviners and Illusionists suck in my book.

Then again I allow people to bar divination in 3.5...

 

[The Human Target]

I'd say Nercomany at all levels.

Evocation does get more and more useless as you level in most ways.

Divination, Transmutation, Conjuration, and Abjuration are the only specialties that to me are worth it.


As to the class combo, it really all depends.

 

[Nightfall]

Human,

Bah. You've yet to see the TRUE power of Necromancy! It's way more fun and interesting than those blasters or diviners.