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I went over the core aspects of the Wizard and compiled everything into the same guide here. I made it a point NOT to look at Treantmonk's Guide as I did this so that you could have my undefiled opinion to set against his.
Things I have not done but will do when I get around to it:
1. Edit the guide. I have read my guide a couple of times on mediums that would not let me edit it, and I am aware that there are some very bad grammatical errors existing throughout. Feel free to point them out to me, as it will make it easier for me to find them.
2. Builds. I know people like this, and I may a post a few later. For now there is an open document for people to post their own builds if they so desire. Please be respectful of other people's postings and edits. I will close the document to open editing if it is abused.
And of course, I will have missed things or misinterpreted things, and I always appreciate feedback that will help improve the guide for everyone.
Both microsoft office, and open office allow you to save your files in pdf form. What I would do is save the file as File 1.1 as a word and pdf file.
When people notice errors change the version and upload the new version.
Another idea is to use google docs. You should be able to change it online.
editL:I just noticed that it is in google docs. Did you upload it as a word(text) file or pdf?
Both microsoft office, and open office allow you to save your files in pdf form. What I would do is save the file as File 1.1 as a word and pdf file.
When people notice errors change the version and upload the new version.
Another idea is to use google docs. You should be able to change it online.
editL:I just noticed that it is in google docs. Did you upload it as a word(text) file or pdf?
I created the whole thing in Google Docs.
Making it into a PDF may make it a little easier to read, you're right. I might consider that.
For now, I'm taking a bit of a break :P.
Hi,
I've been looking over your guide, and I love it so far.
one thing. I'm curious why you rated "reduce person" to red status. Maybe it's just the group I play with, but we always have an archer in our midst, and this spell works great, especially at lower levels. A +2 to hit, and a bump in AC are great, especially, when they're trying to rapid shot, at lower levels. The -2 strength is definitely a sacrifice, but I'd think that'd make it lean towards orangish, rather then straight red.
It is very situational.
As an archer most people boost strength also so they can use composite bows. Loosing strength is not a plus, even at low levels. and if the archer is in the back that +2 to AC might never come into play.
I see it as a red spell also.
I actually wouldn't like enlarge person all that much were it not for the reach.
The buff as a standard action has to be compared to other standard actions you could be doing instead, not to mention the limited spell slot resource.
There are just better actions available, in my opinion of course.
fair enough. Actually, it was only recently (on these forums no less) that I was made aware that enlarge person was good at all (and in fact is really good). I always figured the -1 attack and dex penalty offset any tangible bonus.
You make a good point about action economy.
Now that I think about it though, reduce person would be amazing at higher levels on a gunslinger using pistols. They need to be close thereby needing a bump in AC, higher attack ratings are always nice, and the dex will actually add to their damage after lvl 5. Same goes with duelists going the dervish dance route, but in both cases it's very situational and tailored to specific builds.
I very much enjoyed your guide, and while I agree with you on the blasting spells. Nothing beats throwing a fireball in a bad guys face.
Hence the reason I referred to them as a moment of ecstacy... Followed by uselessness.
I love blowing things up too ;)
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I'm in the middle of reading now, and generally agreeing and liking it, hoping to find some gems that I've missed for my wizard in Carrion Crown.
However, in response to your statement that you can't use Spellcraft for Inscribe Magical Tattoo, I wanted to point out that the ISM description says "Magical tattoos follow the rules for magic item creation as though they were wondrous items, except that they can use the Craft (calligraphy, paintings, tattoos) skill." Emphasis mine.
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I only happened to notice this now because one of my players brought it up, even though this was in your other guide too, but Named Bullet has another power not mentioned in your analysis that makes it particularly potent as a prebuff--all normal hits with a Named Bullet become critical threats. While the single touch attack with a damage bonus is not worth your 4th level spell, given that guns are x4 weapons and bows are x3, this spell essentially gives your gunslinger three extra attacks or your archer two extra attacks (now if they are lucky enough to crit on their own, admittedly the spell adds less). If you can prebuff it because you know what you re fighting, it could clearly be worth it, particularly at higher levels when you could spend lots of 4th level slots on several of these (just imagine the havoc of a full attack of auto x4 crits). I'd put it at least at orange with that fact in mind.
Obviously it isn't worth your standard action in battle, but as an offensive prebuff for an expected hard battle (entering a known dragon's cave, lich's lair, runelord's domain, etc) it's hard to beat it if you have a dedicated gun person, or an archer to a lesser extent. It's even more devastating if the archer/gunslinger is aware that you are saving her a named bullet and thus starts packing Staggering Critical or something, since that basically gives you the ability to prebuff the archer and give the enemy at least a 1 round stagger regardless of save (assuming the dedicated archer can hit touch AC, which is probably a 95%ish chance, barring SR of course), without spending any of your combat actions. Prep a few of them at higher levels with Staggering Critical and you have a virtually guaranteed stagger lock for a number of rounds equal to the number of Named Bullet prebuffs (if the archer fires only one Named Bullet per round to achieve this effect).
I'm in the middle of reading now, and generally agreeing and liking it, hoping to find some gems that I've missed for my wizard in Carrion Crown.
However, in response to your statement that you can't use Spellcraft for Inscribe Magical Tattoo, I wanted to point out that the ISM description says "Magical tattoos follow the rules for magic item creation as though they were wondrous items, except that they can use the Craft (calligraphy, paintings, tattoos) skill." Emphasis mine.
Fixed this very odd mistake, but I'm glad you pointed it out.
I only happened to notice this now because one of my players brought it up, even though this was in your other guide too, but Named Bullet has another power not mentioned in your analysis that makes it particularly potent as a prebuff--all normal hits with a Named Bullet become critical threats. While the single touch attack with a damage bonus is not worth your 4th level spell, given that guns are x4 weapons and bows are x3, this spell essentially gives your gunslinger three extra attacks or your archer two extra attacks (now if they are lucky enough to crit on their own, admittedly the spell adds less). If you can prebuff it because you know what you re fighting, it could clearly be worth it, particularly at higher levels when you could spend lots of 4th level slots on several of these (just imagine the havoc of a full attack of auto x4 crits). I'd put it at least at orange with that fact in mind.
Obviously it isn't worth your standard action in battle, but as an offensive prebuff for an expected hard battle (entering a known dragon's cave, lich's lair, runelord's domain, etc) it's hard to beat it if you have a dedicated gun person, or an archer to a lesser extent. It's even more devastating if the archer/gunslinger is aware that you are saving her a named bullet and thus starts packing Staggering Critical or something, since that basically gives you the ability to prebuff the archer and give the enemy at least a 1 round stagger regardless of save (assuming the dedicated archer can hit touch AC, which is probably a 95%ish chance, barring SR of course), without spending any of your combat actions. Prep a few of them at higher levels with Staggering Critical and you have a virtually guaranteed stagger lock for a number of rounds equal to the number of Named Bullet prebuffs (if the archer fires only one Named Bullet per round to achieve this effect).
Good catch. That does improve it. Wouldn't bother with the greater version, but it does make it a spell worth considering under the right circumstance.
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Nice guide! I added my piece to the Builds section before I read through all of your spell reviews, and I am dismayed to find that apparently a lot of the techniques that try to Bull Rush the opponent (using your level + Int vs their CMD) have low chances to work. My build relies a lot on pushing foes around the battlefield into environmental hazards and Aqueous Orbs that I've laid out, so this is a problem.
Other than summoning an Earth Elemental to push people for me, what do you think is the best way to get opponents where I want them to be? Right now my other main methods are "get them in an Aqueous Orb" and "fling them with Telekinesis"
Found a typo in your prestige classes page. You have Dragon Disciple twice, I think the second is supposed to be Eldrich Knight. Thanks for the link. More comments to follow...
Thanks for the guide, I'll look into it right now.
stuff
I often read posts without looking at the authors. Halfway through yours I stopped and thought: man, this one really knows what he's talking about. I wouldn't have been surprised if I looked at it from the start. Well, I just wanted to show my appreciation.
That aside, I am another fervent advocate of named bullet, it's really a great pre-combat buff. Situational, of course, but great.
Nice guide! I added my piece to the Builds section before I read through all of your spell reviews, and I am dismayed to find that apparently a lot of the techniques that try to Bull Rush the opponent (using your level + Int vs their CMD) have low chances to work. My build relies a lot on pushing foes around the battlefield into environmental hazards and Aqueous Orbs that I've laid out, so this is a problem.
Other than summoning an Earth Elemental to push people for me, what do you think is the best way to get opponents where I want them to be? Right now my other main methods are "get them in an Aqueous Orb" and "fling them with Telekinesis"
Well, the best way is to have your BSF push people around. Not only does it save you actions, but if he's optimized for it, he'll be good at pushing people - 5' at a time at least.
Force punch is also a decent choice, since it targets fortitude instead of CMD. At level 5 your DC is going to be at least 18 and the enemy's Fortitude is at an average of 7.5 at that point, putting the odds at a little more than 50% instead of Hydrolic Push's odds of just under 50%. More importantly, if Force Push is successful it always pushes them back 5 feet per two caster levels, which if you bullrush something you only get 5 feet on a normal success.
Aqueous Orb is the best positional control since it targets reflex, being 5-10% better than Force punch on average.
The important thing is to keep both in your arsenal for the different types of monsters you'll face. Even targeting CMD isn't horrid if your target is a wussy caster. Remember that these statistics are also based on the bestiary, not necessarily NPCs, which tend to be a little easier for CMD. Battering Blast from Dungeons of Golorion is probably the best CMD targeting spell since if you fire multiple blasts at the same target you get a significant CMB increase.
Writing this makes me think I may have been a little too harsh on the hand spells though. It is true that NPCs are a little more susceptible to them, making it possible that they are a good orange choice for campaigns that use a lot of NPC enemies. Though I think I'd rather recommend a summon in most of those cases.
Thanks for posting a build btw. I'm going to go in and organize that page with bookmarks eventually.
Found a typo in your prestige classes page. You have Dragon Disciple twice, I think the second is supposed to be Eldrich Knight. Thanks for the link. More comments to follow...
Fixed.
Thanks for catching it.
Amazing guide, I've never seen one so complete. I'm not yet halfway through but the quality of this work is staggering. Up to now (feats section) your advice is sound. Thank you for your hard work!
Ah, good - we do tend to face more humans than monsters. Also, while I do like Force Punch, it requires not only a Fort save but also that you connect with a melee touch attack, which brings us a bit too close to the enemy for my tastes.
Huh... I am not sure how I missed the range, but I should probably talk to that too. You can also remedy that with reach spell.
That makes your familiar really awesome if you use him to deliver the attack though. Mighty mouse!
I'll get with shoelessinsight sometime and we will figure out the median CMD for NPCs to get an estimation about how good those CMD targeting spells really are if your campaign is NPC heavy. I will reevaluate those spells once we do that.
I am going to have to disagree with shield. Unless you are at very low levels or you know you have to deal with magic missile it is better as a scroll spell.
The short duration does not help either. It is one color code to high IMHO.
I will look at the 2nd and 3rd level spells a little later.
At very high levels, shield becomes surprisingly useful, lasting for 10-15 minutes at a time, more than that if you use a second level slot with Extend Spell. At high level you have lots and lots of lowlevel slots that are rarely used.
Yes, you could use a +3 mithril buckler instead. But that 9K might be better used to bump your cloak of resistance from +4 to +5
At very high levels, shield becomes surprisingly useful, lasting for 10-15 minutes at a time, more than that if you use a second level slot with Extend Spell. At high level you have lots and lots of lowlevel slots that are rarely used.
Yes, you could use a +3 mithril buckler instead. But that 9K might be better used to bump your cloak of resistance from +4 to +5
At high levels I find that unless you really focus on AC, which most wizards and sorcerers don't you are getting hit with power attacks even if the enemy rolls a 5 or less.
How is shield useful for most caster builds at that level(high level)?
I am going to have to agree with wraithstrike on this one. I was actually surprised to go check to see I rated it green.
I think I was thinking about how at low levels the +4 AC is a potent effect, so then it must be judged whether it is worth the action and the slot. The duration makes it lose to mage armor for sure, and to take both would be spending two slots on buffing the same stat. I think orange is a fair grade.
I'll change it when I get a keyboard as with some of the other things discussed.
Depends on what you're up against. Main enemies, no. Mooks and secondary/tertiary attacks, maybe. The point is you have a lot of low-level slots that aren't being used, so you can use them for this sort of thing. There might be better choices, of course.
And if you are focusing a bit on AC this is one way to get a decent shield bonus.
Even mooks can hit a wizard's AC. A mook at high levels might be a CR 11 with a +20 to hit. Most level 15 wizards don't even sport an AC of 30 or 26(AC before shield).
Thank you for another guide (and up to date, thank god).
I've only read the opening and stats section, but it's refreshing to get the less talked about Knowledge skills. Many people leave things out because a DM might be green, or let you get away with things.
At least your guide is written with a 'competent and quality' GM in mind, thus using them for tactical advantage and meta-game conversion.
Will keep reading, thanks.
Side note: I agree on the AC, it's a dump for Wizards.
I'll get with shoelessinsight sometime and we will figure out the median CMD for NPCs to get an estimation about how good those CMD targeting spells really are if your campaign is NPC heavy. I will reevaluate those spells once we do that.
I think it would be pretty rare to see more than a 60% miss chance on combat maneuvers from spells against NPCs, and more likely it's going to fall into the 20-40% miss range. This is because the most important scaler on NPC CMD is BAB, and casters match that progression on maneuver spells with their caster level. It's not unlikely for NPCs to be a little higher level than the party, but not all NPCs are going to have 1:1 BAB progression (especially when you consider that villain NPCs are often mighty wizards or evil clerics).
Ability scores sort of scale with level, but NPCs usually have lower wealth-by-level progression than PCs, so they probably won't scale their strength or dexterity any faster than the wizard is scaling his intelligence. And not every NPC focuses Str or Dex (again, evil wizards and clerics).
The size modifier will usually be 0, though you may run into the occasional enlarged barbarian or the wild shaped druid. And the miscellaneous modifiers are partially wealth-based (rings of protection and the like), so those won't scale strongly either. You will see some small bonuses here from spell buffs, like the +1 dodge from Haste or the deflection bonus from Shield of Faith.
In a game heavily populated with NPC antagonists, maneuver spells would probably be as, if not more, effective than your typical saving throw spell. (And on that note, saving throws are probably even weaker against NPCs than most monsters because of how easy resistance bonuses are to obtain)
Even mooks can hit a wizard's AC. A mook at high levels might be a CR 11 with a +20 to hit. Most level 15 wizards don't even sport an AC of 30 or 26(AC before shield).
Wraithstrike is right, and here's some data to back him up.
This is a chart of the AC needed at each level to give monsters a 10% miss chance against you. In other words, it is the point at which your AC actually starts doing something, and any AC lower than that value might as well be no AC at all.
The chart is based off the median attack roll modifier on the first melee attack for each challenge rating.
CR AC for 10% Miss
1 6
2 7
3 9
4 10
5 13
6 14
7 16
8 17
9 19
10 20
11 23
12 24
13 25
14 27
15 28.5
16 30
17 33
18 35
19 36
20 35
21 37
22 41.5
23 39
24 40
25 43.5
Assuming you have a dexterity of 16 (reasonably high for a wizard), then that means a Shield spell stops doing anything for you (on average) once you start facing CR 9 monsters (or CR 11 if you also keep Mage Armor running at all times).
Even if you run heavy AC buffs, you'll find it harder and harder to keep up as you rise in level. At a certain point, you have to decide whether it's worth spending a large amount of your resources and actions just to break even, or if you should just give up and run around naked (while spending your wealth on metamagic rods and tomes of intelligence).
At low levels, though, it's a different story. AC buffs are wonderful then, though Professor Q is right about the issues of spending two spell slots on just buffing your own AC (remember, this is at low levels where those slots are still valuable).
Rather than me re-rating all the CMD based spells, I'm going to have to go with some colored Asterisks on such spells.
I'll be adding a section about targeting different defenses as well.
Not doing it tonight, but I'll get around to it before this next monday.
one thing. I'm curious why you rated "reduce person" to red status. Maybe it's just the group I play with, but we always have an archer in our midst, and this spell works great, especially at lower levels. A +2 to hit, and a bump in AC are great, especially, when they're trying to rapid shot, at lower levels. The -2 strength is definitely a sacrifice, but I'd think that'd make it lean towards orangish, rather then straight red.
Based on numbers I've run in the past, I believe that archers tend to break even on damage when Reduce Person is cast on them. They hit more, but they deal less damage.
Most melee characters do less damage with reduce, but the exception is rogues. Because sneak attack damage isn't affected by size, rogues actually see an appreciable damage boost under the effects of reduction (and actually see a damage drop under the effects of Enlarge Person). However, it's probably not so much of a difference as to justify the wizard using a spell slot or a standard action on the buff.
That said, a wand of Reduce Person or some other magic item with a similar effect could be worth it for pre-battle buffs.
On familiars: I was under the impression that silvanshee (and others, possibly) could take advantage of the fact that they count as having hit dice equal to your wizard level for their lay on hands ability. There was a thread about it somewhere. That would make them much better.
EDIT: you also don't mention the telepathy ability of the pseudodragon, which is one of its most attractive features. I'd rate it green.
On PRCs:
the mystic theurge works a bit better mixxing wizard and cloistered cleric: you give up a few spells from the cleric but you cast all using INT. Still red for me, orange at best.
On familiars: I was under the impression that silvanshee (and others, possibly) could take advantage of the fact that they count as having hit dice equal to your wizard level for their lay on hands ability. There was a thread about it somewhere. That would make them much better.
EDIT: you also don't mention the telepathy ability of the pseudodragon, which is one of its most attractive features. I'd rate it green.
I actually knew about the whole lay on hands thing, not sure why it's not mentioned. Lay on hands is nice, especially for your familiar to come with it, but the Sylvanshee lacks the raw potential any of the UMD familiars have. I really like the Nosoi Psychopomp too, but he lacks probably the best thing about getting an Improved Familiar. Because of the lack of UMD I can't really say that Sylvanshee deserves a higher rating. I think it's definitely a good pick, but is it the most optimized pick? Base rules considered, probably not.
As far as telepathy on the Pseudodragon, I don't think that's a factor worth bumping him up to green. I'll mention it, but most of the antics you can pull off with telepathy would require the Pseudodragon to be a middle man, which makes me think it would take too much time. It's a neat feature, I just don't think it's enough to categorize an otherwise very vanilla UMD option as a green option.
On PRCs:
the mystic theurge works a bit better mixxing wizard and cloistered cleric: you give up a few spells from the cleric but you cast all using INT. Still red for me, orange at best.
Are you talking about the UM Cloistered Cleric? I looked it up on the OGC and I'm only seeing wording that suggests you still use Wisdom.
Are you talking about the UM Cloistered Cleric? I looked it up on the OGC and I'm only seeing wording that suggests you still use Wisdom.On PRCs:
the mystic theurge works a bit better mixxing wizard and cloistered cleric: you give up a few spells from the cleric but you cast all using INT. Still red for me, orange at best.
I think you are suggesting Empyreal Sorcerer + Cloistered Cleric (for additional domain powers) which is still kinda red... Y would much prefer Pathfinder Savant.
I think you are suggesting Empyreal Sorcerer + Cloistered Cleric (for additional domain powers) which is still kinda red... Y would much prefer Pathfinder Savant.Are you talking about the UM Cloistered Cleric? I looked it up on the OGC and I'm only seeing wording that suggests you still use Wisdom.On PRCs:
the mystic theurge works a bit better mixxing wizard and cloistered cleric: you give up a few spells from the cleric but you cast all using INT. Still red for me, orange at best.
No, no, I was simply thinking about the 3.5 cloistered cleric I think. Really, I was sure there was a INT-based cleric somewhere but it's apparent I was wrong.
About familiars: I probably have a skewed perception about how good UMD is for a familiar, since in our games this usage is frowned upon (and will quickly lead to a dead familiar)
About spells:
magic missile is one of the few things that you can use effectively against non corporeal enemies at low levels. Probably better for a sorcerer though, since a single instance will not have much effect.
enlarge persone: you said "Give your BSF +1 damage and to-hit", that's not true, you give a +1 to damage (possibly two with a 2-h weapon and odd starting STR) but no bonus to hit (since you suffer the penalty from size). You also increase the damage of your weapon.
burning hands: not impressive, I agree, but it still saved us a couple of times at really low level against swarms.
Allright, I move on to level 2. Great work by the way, I'm recommending this guide to all of my fellow players, this is my favorite guide ever.
About familiars: I probably have a skewed perception about how good UMD is for a familiar, since in our games this usage is frowned upon (and will quickly lead to a dead familiar)
About spells:
magic missile is one of the few things that you can use effectively against non corporeal enemies at low levels. Probably better for a sorcerer though, since a single instance will not have much effect.
enlarge persone: you said "Give your BSF +1 damage and to-hit", that's not true, you give a +1 to damage (possibly two with a 2-h weapon and odd starting STR) but no bonus to hit (since you suffer the penalty from size). You also increase the damage of your weapon.burning hands: not impressive, I agree, but it still saved us a couple of times at really low level against swarms.
Allright, I move on to level 2. Great work by the way, I'm recommending this guide to all of my fellow players, this is my favorite guide ever.
Heh, well after writing this guide, all my DMs who have read it have banned both Dazing Spell (or at least nerfed it into uselessness) and Wands entirely. I don't necessarily agree with the Wands thing, but they banned it specifically because they don't think that the Familiar should be like an extra character when it comes to actions, which with the right wands the Familiar essentially becomes. It's expensive, but could you imagine if you gave your Familiar a wand of Enervation? Or how about Telekinetic Charge? Your BSF wouldn't ever have to worry about positioning for a full round of attacks because your Familiar would have him taken care of every round he's not already in position. Expensive, but circumventing the action economy is so powerful it might even be worth it.
Magic Missile is my favorite level 1 damage spell, and indecently I think it'd make a fine wand for a Familiar (Might be worth the extra 6,000 to make it a five missile wand too.)
Fixed Enlarge Person.
Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know people are getting something good out of this.
Added a section regarding the different defenses you can target. I was actually surprised to find out that Will was a great thing to target at lower levels, and makes me think that an Enchanter might have some enjoyment during that first 10 level streak assuming the DM isn't using a lot of mind-affecting immune creatures.
My first comments to you are ones of formatting.
This is quite difficult to parse through. You've got the guide broken up into way too many pages, and the font sizes are unnecessarily huge. Even just scanning through it, jumping around from link to link is jarring, especially since you have to jump back to the main document to move on to the next section. You could save lots of space by reducing the font sizes and then consolidating things into fewer pages. I also strongly recommend setting links to all of the pages as a footer on each page.
It looks as though you have a wonderfully thorough guide... That a lot of people won't use because it's very clunky to read through.
Just my two cents... For now.
My first comments to you are ones of formatting.
This is quite difficult to parse through. You've got the guide broken up into way too many pages, and the font sizes are unnecessarily huge. Even just scanning through it, jumping around from link to link is jarring, especially since you have to jump back to the main document to move on to the next section. You could save lots of space by reducing the font sizes and then consolidating things into fewer pages. I also strongly recommend setting links to all of the pages as a footer on each page.
It looks as though you have a wonderfully thorough guide... That a lot of people won't use because it's very clunky to read through.
Just my two cents... For now.
I'm glad you brought this up, but I have to ask, what are you using to read the guide? (iPad, PC, Mac, and if a Computer, then what browser?)
If I could, I would remove the page breaks entirely, because I know they are a bit jarring, but the new version of google documents seems to dislike the idea of that since that's how it used to be, but we can't seem to figure out how to get rid of the page breaks now.
I currently have the document set to landscape to try and fit as many spells on the same screen as possible in the spell section of the guide. The general font size is 10 in Verdana right now, I think if I made it any smaller it'd blur together for most folks.
I may do as Wraithstrike Suggested and move the guide into a PDF file so it's read only (Making it load faster) and I can just upload it online.
The page breaks are not a problem. You link to over a dozen different google documents without easy navigation between them.
The page breaks are not a problem. You link to over a dozen different google documents without easy navigation between them.
Ah.
Well, the reason for that is because it would otherwise take five minutes to load any time someone opened it, mostly because every spell is linked to the OGC on the spells page.
The PDF thing will fix that.
Alright, Google Docs will make it into a PDF, but I'm not sure if I have the program I need to insert bookmarks into the PDF.
I think I'll set the PDF up GameFAQs style and have CTRL-F search items to jump around the document with for now.
Once I'm done converting it into a PDF I'll link the upload into the main document.
I think you are suggesting Empyreal Sorcerer + Cloistered Cleric (for additional domain powers) which is still kinda red... Y would much prefer Pathfinder Savant.Are you talking about the UM Cloistered Cleric? I looked it up on the OGC and I'm only seeing wording that suggests you still use Wisdom.On PRCs:
the mystic theurge works a bit better mixxing wizard and cloistered cleric: you give up a few spells from the cleric but you cast all using INT. Still red for me, orange at best.
No, no, I was simply thinking about the 3.5 cloistered cleric I think. Really, I was sure there was a INT-based cleric somewhere but it's apparent I was wrong.
About familiars: I probably have a skewed perception about how good UMD is for a familiar, since in our games this usage is frowned upon (and will quickly lead to a dead familiar)
If you take the improved share spell feat the the familiar and caster will have the same defenses so that should help out.
About familiars: I probably have a skewed perception about how good UMD is for a familiar, since in our games this usage is frowned upon (and will quickly lead to a dead familiar)
About spells:
magic missile is one of the few things that you can use effectively against non corporeal enemies at low levels. Probably better for a sorcerer though, since a single instance will not have much effect.
enlarge persone: you said "Give your BSF +1 damage and to-hit", that's not true, you give a +1 to damage (possibly two with a 2-h weapon and odd starting STR) but no bonus to hit (since you suffer the penalty from size). You also increase the damage of your weapon.burning hands: not impressive, I agree, but it still saved us a couple of times at really low level against swarms.
Allright, I move on to level 2. Great work by the way, I'm recommending this guide to all of my fellow players, this is my favorite guide ever.
Heh, well after writing this guide, all my DMs who have read it have banned both Dazing Spell (or at least nerfed it into uselessness) and Wands entirely. I don't necessarily agree with the Wands thing, but they banned it specifically because they don't think that the Familiar should be like an extra character when it comes to actions, which with the right wands the Familiar essentially becomes. It's expensive, but could you imagine if you gave your Familiar a wand of Enervation? Or how about Telekinetic Charge? Your BSF wouldn't ever have to worry about positioning for a full round of attacks because your Familiar would have him taken care of every round he's not already in position. Expensive, but circumventing the action economy is so powerful it might even be worth it.
Magic Missile is my favorite level 1 damage spell, and indecently I think it'd make a fine wand for a Familiar (Might be worth the extra 6,000 to make it a five missile wand too.)
Fixed Enlarge Person.
Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know people are getting something...
Wand are ridiculously expensive. It is better to give the familiar scrolls. There is also a feat in ultimate magic which gives your familiar 1 evolution point as if it was an Eidolon. I would use that to give it the Eidolon "skilled" ability. IIRC that gives a +8 to any one skill. UMD gets better for the familiar a lot faster.
edit:I think a 4th level wand is about 20000 gp.
Alright, Google Docs will make it into a PDF, but I'm not sure if I have the program I need to insert bookmarks into the PDF.
I think I'll set the PDF up GameFAQs style and have CTRL-F search items to jump around the document with for now.
Once I'm done converting it into a PDF I'll link the upload into the main document.
IIRC I think you need adobe acrobat, not adobe reader to do that. I would ask the guys at D20pfsrd if one of them can do the bookmarking for you.
I may be wrong about the needer adobe acrobat, but that is what I was told once. I could not find any 3rd party pdf programs that could do it. If you find one let me know though.
Alright, Google Docs will make it into a PDF, but I'm not sure if I have the program I need to insert bookmarks into the PDF.
I think I'll set the PDF up GameFAQs style and have CTRL-F search items to jump around the document with for now.
Once I'm done converting it into a PDF I'll link the upload into the main document.
IIRC I think you need adobe acrobat, not adobe reader to do that. I would ask the guys at D20pfsrd if one of them can do the bookmarking for you.
I may be wrong about the needer adobe acrobat, but that is what I was told once. I could not find any 3rd party pdf programs that could do it. If you find one let me know though.
I'll talk to Shoelessinsight too. I'm sure he knows of a good open source program for it.