I've got a wizard who's just hit 10th level, and I'm doing some revamping to make him an Air Wizard. Because of this, I've needed to make a few feat changes and noticed the impressive possibility of Preferred Spell.
The beauty I'm seeing is that once I hit 15 I can take Spell Perfection and basically cast it as a 8th/9th level spell no matter what slot I cast it in, since heighten spell will essentially be free as long as I don't need to apply other metamagics.
So, ignoring blast spells, what's a good preferred spell for a Wizard? I've been mulling over some of the more interesting enchanments, as well as Break and Slow. I'd prefer the spell to be on the low end, as to benefit the most from the free Heighten, but I'm flexible.
Ideas? Thanks in advance.
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A few ideas:
Dispel Magic--use "disruptive spell" and it's good for dispelling magic THIS turn and NEXT turn. "Bouncing spell," "reach spell," and "enlarge spell" can make it more effective; "quicken spell" would also work because then you can cast an offensive spell to follow it up. (So you could negate magical energy resistance and then blast your enemy with a fireball.)
Web--You could use "ectoplasmic spell" to catch incorporeal creatures, "focused spell," "heightened spell," or "persistent spell" to increase the DC to escape, or "reach spell" to catch your enemies long before they get close enough to charge you. Having Web as a "selective spell" would be great too, so your allies could walk into the area and hit the entangled creatures without getting caught themselves.
Fireball--It's a blast spell, but wouldn't it be great to widen the area, make it more powerful for one target, highten/empower/maximize it, or even cast two fireballs in a row? Also, this would be great when fighting foes immune to fire damage--you could use "elemental spell" and use this as your default damage-doing spell.
Likewise, a ray spell such as "scorching ray" would do nicely because of all the new metamagic effects that only work on one target--"disruptive spell," "thundering spell," and "sickening spell," to name a few. This would also work for something like magic missile.
I think the main thing you need to do is make a list of your favorite spells, and figure out how many of the metamagic feats would be useful for each of them. For example, "bull's strength" would work great with "extend spell," but "elemental spell" would be useless on it. By making a list, you can pick a spell that benefits from a large number of metamagic feats and thus would be useful in a larger number of situations.
Also, make sure it's something you'd want to prepare every day!
I've commented a lot on Preferred Spell, but am still torn as to what spells would work best with it. However, I can suggest a couple of things that might go well with it.
First, two traits.
Lore Seeker:
The secrets of the ancient fallen civilization of Thassilon intrigue you, particularly the magical traditions of its highly mystical culture. You’ve studied magic intensely, and hope to increase that knowledge by adding Thassilonian lore. You’ve come to Varisia to pursue that study, and chose Sandpoint as your base because it was out of the way of bigger cities—meaning less competition to study the ancient monuments in the region, you hope! You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (arcana) checks, and Knowledge (arcana) is a class skill for you. If you cast arcane spells, pick three spells on your spell list. You are particularly adept at casting these spells, so they function at +1 caster level when you cast them, and their save DCs (if any) gain a +1 bonus.
Magical Lineage:
One of your parents was a gifted spellcaster who not only used metamagic often, but also developed many magical items and perhaps even a new spell or two—and you have inherited a fragment of this greatness. Pick one spell when you choose this trait. When you apply metamagic feats to this spell, treat its actual level as 1 lower for determining the spell’s final adjusted level.
...and a whole bunch of metamagic. Spells that go well with a lot of metamagic do tend to be blast spells, though. One exception might be Calcific Touch. It works fantastic with Reach Spell and a lot of other stuff.
Of course Quicken is a solid thing to add to your spells with Spell Perfection. Dazing is a fantastic metamagic that may make a blast spell worthwhile. (A fireball that can daze enemies for 3 rounds? I'm all for it.)
Oh! Don't forget the second half of Spell Perfection, because it's powerful. It doubles the power of Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Elemental Focus, Weapon Focus, Augment Summoning, etc. for that spell. Your Preferred Spell might be one to get through to a spell resistant opponent. (+8 vs. spell resistance instead of +4 from the Spell Penetration feats.)
Your Preferred Spell might also be one to get you out of sticky situations. Being able to spontaneously add Still Spell can be nice. As I mentioned earlier, Reach Spell can be awesome especially for touch spells and has the flexibility of changing the range of your spell to any range. Selective Spell seems like a prime candidate if your allies might get caught up in friendly fire.
...there's a lot to consider and a lot depends on how many of your feats you want to invest into your "signature spell," as I like to call it. Good luck finding the right spell!
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I think the shadow line from the illusion school could be pretty powerful. With Shadow Conjuration as your preferred spell, you can spontaneously cast up to 28* different spells. They're semi-real, sure, but that is a LOT of flexibility for a prepared caster.
*28 last time I counted, could be a little off.
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I think the shadow line from the illusion school could be pretty powerful. With Shadow Conjuration as your preferred spell, you can spontaneously cast up to 28* different spells. They're semi-real, sure, but that is a LOT of flexibility for a prepared caster.
*28 last time I counted, could be a little off.
It would be worth building a wizard around that concept. I've never capitalized on shadow conjuration.
I think I have my next wizard concept. :)
Chain ligthning is one level away but with magial linage both dazing Spell and quicken and maximise is posibel. If you want a blast make sure it is reflex based to get full value out of the really good dazing Spell.