Elemental Arcane Schools
Instead of specializing in a focused arcane school of magic, a wizard can choose to specialize in one of the elemental schools of magic. Like a normal arcane school, an elemental school grants a number of school powers and one bonus spell slot of each level the wizard can cast, from 1st on up. This bonus spell slot must be used to prepare a spell from the elemental school’s spell list. Unlike a normal arcane school, each elemental school requires the wizard to select his opposed element as his opposition school (air opposes earth, fire opposes water). He does not need to select a second opposition school. He must expend two spell slots to prepare a spell from his opposed elemental school as normal.
Ok so thats great, if you pick the fire school you have to spend more for water spells. But is there a list of spells that it affects? I have a fire mage in my current game and it seems like there is no really down side to this school. Ok i guess he will have to spend more for cone of cold or something but I think I am missing something here. Please if anybody has an idea of what you loss or the down side to this school is please let me know.
Red
yea, you have to spend your bonus spell on a suboptimal blasting spell, when you could spend it on something far better.
Thats the only downside I see.
Ahh ok but the wizard is a blaster so it really plays into what he wants. I guess I see a lot more fire spells then I see water based spells, hence my confusion.
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I coming from this from a slightly different angle. I have just start a Fire elementalist (ie I picked the Fire School also) in Pathfinder Society. Fire Jet (our granted 3+int a day) ability is nice.. even if it is only doing a D6 damage. Well it certainly is at lower levels.
I did notice the Water issue. Its going to more relevant I think at slightly higher levels when there are some nice water type spells. You are right though, picking such a specialised school does seem to have some advantages. However im not complaining.
Fire is also the most resisted element, based on the number of monsters who will be resistant/immune to it.
I've seen a very well-done fireball specialist wizard who picked this school. He's one-shotted enemy and ended fights with one blast (arranged so that party members don't get caught in it). The only hiccup was when we ran into something immune to fire (which, I've been told, is the most common resistance), though buffs like Hates were prepared for those instances.
If you want to blast things with fire, this school is a great way to get it done.
I think there's a way to filer spells so that only water/ice spells would appear, but it's taking me a minute to find it.
Edit: This should work. Sort out spells with the Water descriptor. I think spells with the Cold descriptor are also opposed, but I'm not certain.
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Simply having the water/ice descriptor does not make a spell opposed, for the same reason having the fire descriptor does not make a spell available as a bonus spell.
The complete list of water school spells is:
0th—ray of frost
1st—hydraulic push, obscuring mist, touch of the sea
2nd—accelerate poison, elemental speech, elemental touch, fog cloud, resist energy, slipstream, summon monster II
3rd—aqueous orb, draconic reservoir, elemental aura, hydraulic torrent, protection from energy, sleet storm, water breathing
4th—detonate, dragon's breath, elemental body I, ice storm, solid fog, summon monster IV, wall of ice
5th—cloudkill, cone of cold, elemental body III, geyser, planar adaptation, planar binding, lesser, summon monster V
6th—elemental body III, fluid form, freezing sphere, planar binding, summon monster VI
7th—control weather, elemental body IV, planar adaptation, mass, summon monster VII, vortex
8th—horrid wilting, planar binding, greater, polar ray, seamantle, summon monster VIII
9th—gate, tsunami, world wave
Note: some spells from the water school spell list are included on the fire school spells list. Those will not always be opposed. For example, summon monster is only opposed if used to summon water elementals.
You can feel free to use regular spell slots on spells that affect fire immune opponents. Nothing says the bulk of your list has to be fire based. You can also use a single discovery and have no opposing school, unlike a regular wizard that would require two discoveries to remove his limitations.