Which 9th-level spell do you recommend to a 18th-level Sorcerer?

[Shin Okada]

One of a PC in my current campaign likely to hit 18th-level in the next session. More precisely, Sor 10/Ruathar　3/Abjurant Champion 5.

Do you have good reccomendation?

Many of the 9th-level spell looks cool but I doubt if they can be truly useful or strong.

Time stop seems to be useful. But in 3.5e that is basically only to get re-buffing/healing/summoning time.

Wail of the Banshee is a strong spell. But the combination of short range and 40 ft-radius could be problematic. Also, though she has Cha bonus of +9, DC 28 fort save is often beaten easily by monsters of this level.

Meet Swarm is largely nerfed down in 3e/3.5e. And what is worse, she will meet a lot of fiends and red-dragons. Most of them will be either immune or highly resistant to fire.

Black Blade of Disaster and Sphere of Ultimate Destruction will likely to end up causing only 5d6 damages per round.

Wish is great of course. But 5,000 XP per casting is a big burden.

Gate? Summon monster IX? Maybe. But cleric can just do the same thing.

The party is rather big and also have a Warmage, 1 PC cleric and 1 NPC cleric (combat medic). So I would like to suggest her something which allows her Sorcerer to do things other casters in the party cannot.

 

[Noir le Lotus]

Energy Drain is a nice spell : no ST, nerf the target's attacks et next STs, which allow the sorcerer to use then lower lever spells efficiently. The only drawback is that it's useless on undeads and constructs.

Mordenkainen's Disjunction is a great debuffer but has a few drawbacks : unless your player is able to reshape it, he may affect his mates.

Time Stop is useless for a sorcerer (you usually don't have so many spells to buff yourself).

Gate or Prismatic Sphere may be secondary choices.

 

[Iku Rex]

Shapechange. No contest.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Shapechange. No contest.

QFT.

Not only is it really powerful, it's very versatile, a boon to the sorcerer.

 

[Asha'man]

Agreed, Shapechange is probably your best bet. Energy drain is also good, and very spammable, which is a plus for a Sorcerer. But Shapechange is immeasurably more versatile. (Chronotyryn from Fiend Folio is a great form by the way.)

However, I'm almost positive you're undervaluing Time Stop, unless you have a very idiosyncratic Spells Known list. I might not take it first (Shapechange is a really strong contender, and if your DM doesn't rein it in it some it gets downright broken) but certainly second. "Only" healing/rebuffing/summoning time, you say, but that's a pretty expansive "only". It's not even true, if you have Delayed Blast Fireball, Forcecage, Solid Fog, Cloudkill or Wall of X spells you can lay on some pretty staggering damage or battlefield control. And if the really hits the fan, you have a surefire way to get some breathing room.
And actually, if you just got to level 18... you can take the Delay Spell feat. Combined with Time Stop, as a sorcerer, it's downright mean.

 

[Thanee]

Yep, Shapechange. Accept no substitutes.

Gate is also a good choice, and Dominate Monster can be very good, too.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Ebony Dragon]

Shapechange is easily the most powerful wizard spell. Its so powerful I actually refuse to take it on my high level caster characters because it flat out breaks the game.

With that said, some of my other favorites, in the order that I would take them:
Time Stop
Maw of Chaos (from spell compendium)
Freedom

 

[Falling Icicle]

One of a PC in my current campaign likely to hit 18th-level in the next session. More precisely, Sor 10/Ruathar　3/Abjurant Champion 5.

Do you have good reccomendation?

Many of the 9th-level spell looks cool but I doubt if they can be truly useful or strong.

Time stop seems to be useful. But in 3.5e that is basically only to get re-buffing/healing/summoning time.

It's also very useful for escape, hiding or repositioning.

Wail of the Banshee is a strong spell. But the combination of short range and 40 ft-radius could be problematic. Also, though she has Cha bonus of +9, DC 28 fort save is often beaten easily by monsters of this level.

Indeed. Save or dies are largely useless at high levels because of high fort saves and death ward.

Meet Swarm is largely nerfed down in 3e/3.5e. And what is worse, she will meet a lot of fiends and red-dragons. Most of them will be either immune or highly resistant to fire.

Energy Substitution (Sonic) is your friend.

Black Blade of Disaster and Sphere of Ultimate Destruction will likely to end up causing only 5d6 damages per round.

Actually, these spells deal 2d6/level damage (max 40d6), not 5d6! It's only if they save that the damage is reduced to 5d6. And besides, this damage is untyped, so you don't have to worry about resistances. Both of these spells are great for that reason.

Wish is great of course. But 5,000 XP per casting is a big burden.

Yes. I'd say every sorcerer should strongly consider picking Wish, but not as their first 9th level spell. You can save it for last.

Gate? Summon monster IX? Maybe. But cleric can just do the same thing.

Just because another class can do something doesn't mean you should shy away from it. Who knows, maybe the Cleric would love you for picking those spells, since it would free him up to choose something else instead.

The party is rather big and also have a Warmage, 1 PC cleric and 1 NPC cleric (combat medic). So I would like to suggest her something which allows her Sorcerer to do things other casters in the party cannot.

As others have said, Shapechange is a good choice. Replicate Casting can be alot of fun and can give a Sorcerer some nice versatility.

 

[Thanee]

Energy Substitution (Sonic) is your friend.

"Choose one type of energy (acid, cold, electricity, or fire)."

Bye
Thanee

 

[Runestar]

I am personally more worried about the hassle of implementing shapechange more than its power level. The polymorph line of spells are notorious for slowing down gameplay to a grinding halt because no one really knows exactly what sort of bonuses they confer. Not to mention that shapechange allows you to change form 1/round...

Maybe shades, to expand your repertoire of spells?