What spells should a high level caster ALWAYS have running?

[SkyHaussmann]

I have a 15th level sorcerer, and I've read often that a high level caster should not walk out the door in the morning without an array of spells running either through casting or magic items, other then obvious stuff like mage armor, possibly nondetection, what are we talking about here?

EDIT: It just occurred to me contingency should be a good one.

[Ravingdork]

My 15th-level abjurer has the following written on his character sheet:

Ongoing Spells You have cast the contingency spell upon yourself. Should you ever be made helpless against your will (such as when knocked unconscious, paralyzed, petrified, securely bound, or forcefully put to sleep), you are immediately teleported (as per the teleport spell) to the nearest known temple dedicated to your deity. Your person carries upon it a note with detailed instructions for the temple’s priests should you not be in a position to direct them to your aid personally. Additionally, you have used the permanency spell to make the following spell effects permanent in regards to yourself: arcane sight, greater darkvision, see invisibility, and tongues. The following spells are also regularly active upon your person: countless eyes, cushioning bands, delay pain, greater false life, mind blank, moment of prescience, overland flight, protection from arrows, and ride the waves. All ongoing spell effects function at 15th-caster level (and thus require a DC 26 caster level check to dispel) and their effects are included in the above stats where appropriate.

When I made the character, I searched the PFSRD database for EVERY long duration spell he was capable of casting and then I put it on him. At high levels even 10 min./level spells can last HOURS. Stacked with Extend Spell (or a metamagic rod of the same) you can have all sorts of buffs lasting through the entire adventuring day. Out of the 10 minute crowd, I highly recommend heroism.

[A Ninja]

Ravingdork pretty much summed it up quite well.

[SkyHaussmann]

Many praises!

Thats a great list. Have to rearrange spells known a bit to accommodate some of that, but those all seem like good choices, and the permanency options are discrete enough they shouldn't be the target of dispels too often.

[asthyril]

Ravingdork wrote:

My 15th-level abjurer has the following written on his character sheet:

Ongoing Spells You have cast the contingency spell upon yourself. Should you ever be made helpless against your will (such as when knocked unconscious, paralyzed, petrified, securely bound, or forcefully put to sleep), you are immediately teleported (as per the teleport spell) to the nearest known temple dedicated to your deity. Your person carries upon it a note with detailed instructions for the temple’s priests should you not be in a position to direct them to your aid personally. Additionally, you have used the permanency spell to make the following spell effects permanent in regards to yourself: arcane sight, greater darkvision, see invisibility, and tongues. The following spells are also regularly active upon your person: countless eyes, cushioning bands, delay pain, greater false life, mind blank, moment of prescience, overland flight, protection from arrows, and ride the waves. All ongoing spell effects function at 15th-caster level (and thus require a DC 26 caster level check to dispel) and their effects are included in the above stats where appropriate.

When I made the character, I searched the PFSRD database for EVERY long duration spell he was capable of casting and then I put it on him. At high levels even 10 min./level spells can last HOURS. Stacked with Extend Spell (or a metamagic rod of the same) you can have all sorts of buffs lasting through the entire adventuring day. Out of the 10 minute crowd, I highly recommend heroism.

i am surprised nondetection isn't on your list, it is a very good spell with a long duration that will (usually)stop creatures with see invisible from seeing you when you are invisible, along with any other divinations used against you.

[Abyssian]

RD, you are a horrible, horrible min-maxer. Thank you.

[Weirdo]

asthyril wrote:

i am surprised nondetection isn't on your list, it is a very good spell with a long duration that will (usually)stop creatures with see invisible from seeing you when you are invisible, along with any other divinations used against you.

He doesn't need Nondetection when he has Mind Blank. That spell doesn't just block See Invisibility, it blocks True Seeing.

SkyHaussmann wrote:

Thats a great list. Have to rearrange spells known a bit to accommodate some of that, but those all seem like good choices, and the permanency options are discrete enough they shouldn't be the target of dispels too often.[/url]

Do Permanent spells have to be targeted specifically with Dispel Magic? I was under the impression that if the caster of Dispel Magic doesn't specify an effect he's dispelling he just gets rid of the highest-level effect he can, Permanency or no (assuming he's a higher level than you were when you cast Permanency and is therefore capable of dispelling the effect at all).

[asthyril]

Weirdo wrote:

asthyril wrote:

i am surprised nondetection isn't on your list, it is a very good spell with a long duration that will (usually)stop creatures with see invisible from seeing you when you are invisible, along with any other divinations used against you.

He doesn't need Nondetection when he has Mind Blank. That spell doesn't just block See Invisibility, it blocks True Seeing.

ahh i hadn't looked at that spell description in a long long time, i just assumed it was like the 2nd ed. version and just blanked any attempt at mind reading. nice to know it now works on all divination spells.

[Weirdo]

It's a very good spell. Ought to be, for 8th level. (And I see we've messed up our quite formattings...)

[Ravingdork]

If anybody's interested, here's the abjurer in question: Angol Ceredir.

[Kthulhu]

Question for you, RD. When picking your spells for the day, do you pick the full complement, or do you remember that about 10 or so slots are taken up by all of that?

[james maissen]

Ravingdork wrote:

My 15th-level abjurer has the following written on his character sheet:

You forgot having a permanent say resistance or detect magic up at a CL one level higher than all the rest. If you invest in a number of permanency spells then I would suggest a number of dispel magic defenses comparable with the number you figure a greater dispel will hit..

Likewise having some scrying defenses, misdirections, and the like are nice to have, etc.

When you get higher levels consider whom you might be facing, and see what you can do about it.

One thing if you are talking say a different arcane caster, say a wizard (or Rammirian sorcerer-priest, etc) are spells that you can cast at the end of one day that will go through-out the next. Giving you your cake and eating it too in terms of spell slots. (For the wizard you leave a number open, then fill at night, or in the middle of a hard pressed day).

-James

[Bigtuna]

mage armor

[LazarX]

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I have a 15th level sorcerer, and I've read often that a high level caster should not walk out the door in the morning without an array of spells running either through casting or magic items, other then obvious stuff like mage armor, possibly nondetection, what are we talking about here?

EDIT: It just occurred to me contingency should be a good one.

Most of that advice dates from 3.0 where you had tons of buff spells that had hours per level durations or greater. In fact there were quite a few buff and shower morning jokes lampshading that.

However 3.5 nerfed many of those durations to minutes per level. So most long duration protections are handled by magic items these days.

Remember that permanent spells CAN be dispelled. or disjoined, the latter with no save against it. So don't become overly dependent on them.

[LazarX]

Ravingdork wrote:

My 15th-level abjurer has the following written on his character sheet:

Ongoing Spells You have cast the contingency spell upon yourself. Should you ever be made helpless against your will (such as when knocked unconscious, paralyzed, petrified, securely bound, or forcefully put to sleep), you are immediately teleported (as per the teleport spell) to the nearest known temple dedicated to your deity. Your person carries upon it a note with detailed instructions for the temple’s priests should you not be in a position to direct them to your aid personally. Additionally, you have used the permanency spell to make the following spell effects permanent in regards to yourself: arcane sight, greater darkvision, see invisibility, and tongues. The following spells are also regularly active upon your person: countless eyes, cushioning bands, delay pain, greater false life, mind blank, moment of prescience, overland flight, protection from arrows, and ride the waves. All ongoing spell effects function at 15th-caster level (and thus require a DC 26 caster level check to dispel) and their effects are included in the above stats where appropriate.

When I made the character, I searched the PFSRD database for EVERY long duration spell he was capable of casting and then I put it on him. At high levels even 10 min./level spells can last HOURS. Stacked with Extend Spell (or a metamagic rod of the same) you can have all sorts of buffs lasting through the entire adventuring day. Out of the 10 minute crowd, I highly recommend heroism.

You didn't actually play this character up to that level, did you? Also keep in mind that a dimensional anchor spell or any barrier against teleport pretty much puts your contingency out of business.

Also keep in mind that all that preparation comes at a cost. In the sample character involved all the 8th level spell slots are spoken for, save one.

[SkyHaussmann]

Well since my guy in question is a sorcerer, not wizard, I've only got access to 7-th levels at this point, and the spell slots used for daily prep based on which of RD's suggestions i think I'll need are 4 2nd's, 1 3rd, 1 4th, 1 5th, and one 6th/two weeks for contingency

That seems okay, when you've got more casting per day of the spells than wizard, using up a bunch of lower level ones seems fine.

@James: good idea about the permanency having a sacrificial spell one level higher, though the permanency spells in question are all pretty low level, and not easily detectable, save for Arcane sight's glowy eyes

[Kayerloth]

I usually had Detect Scrying running as well. Do to a very good Will save, Moment of Prescience, plus circumstances in game meant it wasn't uncommon to be without Mind Blank already active (though of course I had it available to cast it if needed). When I didn't have Mind Blank up I would be running Nondetection.

My wizard also had a permanent Telepathic Bond with his wife and often the other members of his party plus the spell-like ability to use Empowered Magic Missile 2/day (an Archmage ability).

[Wiggz]

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I have a 15th level sorcerer, and I've read often that a high level caster should not walk out the door in the morning without an array of spells running either through casting or magic items, other then obvious stuff like mage armor, possibly nondetection, what are we talking about here?

EDIT: It just occurred to me contingency should be a good one.

Unseen Servant seems too useful and too easy a spell to leave home without it functioning. In fact, wizards/sorcerers in our group even at low levels always have it and Mage Armor cast when they get out of bed.

[Kayerloth]

Wiggz wrote:

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I have a 15th level sorcerer, and I've read often that a high level caster should not walk out the door in the morning without an array of spells running either through casting or magic items, other then obvious stuff like mage armor, possibly nondetection, what are we talking about here?

EDIT: It just occurred to me contingency should be a good one.

Unseen Servant seems too useful and too easy a spell to leave home without it functioning. In fact, wizards/sorcerers in our group even at low levels always have it and Mage Armor cast when they get out of bed.

Not to go off track too far but curious as to what you would use Unseen Servant for that you find indispensable (not that I haven't got ideas but ... )?

[Roberta Yang]

If I'm playing a Wizard, flavor alone is reason enough for me to have Unseen Servant up at the start of each day. I am far too important to be bothered with such mundane trivialities as pulling up my own chair.

The downside is that it pretty much dies the instant anything pulls out any sort of area-of-effect attack.

[Kayerloth]

Roberta Yang wrote:

If I'm playing a Wizard, flavor alone is reason enough for me to have Unseen Servant up at the start of each day. I am far too important to be bothered with such mundane trivialities as pulling up my own chair.

The downside is that it pretty much dies the instant anything pulls out any sort of area-of-effect attack.

*chuckles* Thanks for the smile. It's why I often had either Magnificent Mansion or Secure Shelter memorized.

[Ravingdork]

Kthulhu wrote:

Question for you, RD. When picking your spells for the day, do you pick the full complement, or do you remember that about 10 or so slots are taken up by all of that?

I do NOT cross out spell slots that are for spells with durations greater than one day (I assume I cast it yesterday or a few days ago) or for permanent spells (via duration or permanency).

For spells that last hour/level or 10 min./level I DO cross out a day's slot.

LazarX wrote:

You didn't actually play this character up to that level, did you?

I have never played this character.

LazarX wrote:

Also keep in mind that a dimensional anchor spell or any barrier against teleport pretty much puts your contingency out of business.

I've never seen dimensional anchor cast by an NPC. I have only ever encountered a "teleport doesn't work here" in a 20th-level one-shot game (in a lich's castle).

LazarX wrote:

Also keep in mind that all that preparation comes at a cost. In the sample character involved all the 8th level spell slots, save one.

What more would anyone need beyond Summon Monster VIII? The 8th-level spell list is fairly lackluster for the most part. Good combat spells that stand out to me are Summon Monster, Polymorph Any Object, and Form of the Dragon III.

[Kayerloth]

I'd add Horrid Wilting to the list of offensive 8th level spells for a couple reasons if nothing else. First it's non elemental. Second it is a Fort save hence Evasion/Improved Evasion won't work. It's also roughly going to be a 30ft radius (no two targets more than 60ft apart)

And then there's Sunburst. If you see a lot of Undead (or Oozes, Molds, Fungi and Slimes) this one would be almost a must as well.

[Waruko]

Roberta Yang wrote:

If I'm playing a Wizard, flavor alone is reason enough for me to have Unseen Servant up at the start of each day. I am far too important to be bothered with such mundane trivialities as pulling up my own chair.

The downside is that it pretty much dies the instant anything pulls out any sort of area-of-effect attack.

I had mine set up my tent every night in Kingmarker.

[Silent Saturn]

As early as level 12, you can keep a Secure Shelter going continuously.

A level 12 character can probably afford to just buy a house that's nicer than the cottage Secure Shelter provides, but if you're the type to take pride in a house you built/conjured yourself (or want a guest house/summer cottage/etc.) it's not a bad choice. I'm a little disappointed it's not on Permanency's list, but I think most DMs would allow it-- you do still have to own the land that the Shelter is on, after all.

[Ravingdork]

I prefer Mage's Magnificent Mansion on my sorcerers. Always having any home you want is pretty cool. The fact that it can be cast as a standard action (unlike Secure Shelter) and is an inaccessible fortress makes it a terrific boon as well.

You could be trapped in a room with no escape, water filling the space to drawn you and your party. Cast this spell and you can escape it for over a day. Rest, recuperate, prepare Water Breathing and Control Water and get back to work the following day.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

As Ravingdork said, MMM is a fantastic get out of trouble spell.

Also, subject to DM fiat, if you're high enough to cast MMM you can probably also prepare plane shift. Unless there's a rule that I unaware of you can plane shift from inside the MMM to wherever you want to go on the prime material plane (or any other).

[james maissen]

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

As Ravingdork said, MMM is a fantastic get out of trouble spell.

Also, subject to DM fiat, if you're high enough to cast MMM you can probably also prepare plane shift. Unless there's a rule that I unaware of you can plane shift from inside the MMM to wherever you want to go on the prime material plane (or any other).

Ignoring the issue of planar travel from MMM for a second...

Plane shift doesn't control destination location beyond the level of 'this plane'.

Thus if you go to the prime material plane, you could be ANYWHERE.

-James

[Kayerloth]

It will place you within 5-500 miles of your intended destination on the target plane. So while you'll never go exactly where you want you do have some control and won't literally end up anywhere on the plane (unless, of course, the plane in only 500 x 500 miles or smaller).

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/spells/planeShift.html#_plane-shift

Edit: rather than Plane Shift I would carry Limited Wish (both being 7th lvl Sor/Wiz) which could if needed double as a Plane Shift (granted the divine version) as well as all sorts of other 'get out of jail' potentials.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

james maissen wrote:

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

As Ravingdork said, MMM is a fantastic get out of trouble spell.

Also, subject to DM fiat, if you're high enough to cast MMM you can probably also prepare plane shift. Unless there's a rule that I unaware of you can plane shift from inside the MMM to wherever you want to go on the prime material plane (or any other).

Ignoring the issue of planar travel from MMM for a second...

What's the issue? You're in a separate (pocket plane) that is clearly not the prime material. Why can you not plane shift out and end up 5-500 miles from your intended destination on the prime (or whichever plane)?

[Kayerloth]

And clearly no worse (and likely much better) than in the trap RD is describing ... sounds like a wonderful use of MMM to me.

[Silent Saturn]

Ravingdork wrote:

I prefer Mage's Magnificent Mansion on my sorcerers. Always having any home you want is pretty cool. The fact that it can be cast as a standard action (unlike Secure Shelter) and is an inaccessible fortress makes it a terrific boon as well.

You could be trapped in a room with no escape, water filling the space to drawn you and your party. Cast this spell and you can escape it for over a day. Rest, recuperate, prepare Water Breathing and Control Water and get back to work the following day.

MMM may be a better spell overall, but we're talking about spells you'd ALWAYS have running. If MMM's strong suit is that it can be cast as a standard action, that doesn't really matter if you have it going all the time and/or re-cast it as soon as you wake up each morning.

Granted, the Mansion is a much nicer place to live than the Shelter, but the Shelter ties up a lower spell slot.

There's also the question of whether or not you can multiple Shelters or Mansions simultaneously. If not, I'd keep the Shelter going constantly and reserve the Mansion for situations like this.

[johnlocke90]

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I have a 15th level sorcerer, and I've read often that a high level caster should not walk out the door in the morning without an array of spells running either through casting or magic items, other then obvious stuff like mage armor, possibly nondetection, what are we talking about here?

EDIT: It just occurred to me contingency should be a good one.

Animate Dead is also a good one. Free monsters that protect you. Also, your 15th level Arcane Discovery should be True Name. Bind a high level extraplanar protector that you can summon at your beck and call.

[SkyHaussmann]

I thought arcane discoveries were wizard-only?

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

Silent Saturn wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

I prefer Mage's Magnificent Mansion on my sorcerers. Always having any home you want is pretty cool. The fact that it can be cast as a standard action (unlike Secure Shelter) and is an inaccessible fortress makes it a terrific boon as well.

You could be trapped in a room with no escape, water filling the space to drawn you and your party. Cast this spell and you can escape it for over a day. Rest, recuperate, prepare Water Breathing and Control Water and get back to work the following day.

MMM may be a better spell overall, but we're talking about spells you'd ALWAYS have running. If MMM's strong suit is that it can be cast as a standard action, that doesn't really matter if you have it going all the time and/or re-cast it as soon as you wake up each morning.

Granted, the Mansion is a much nicer place to live than the Shelter, but the Shelter ties up a lower spell slot.

There's also the question of whether or not you can multiple Shelters or Mansions simultaneously. If not, I'd keep the Shelter going constantly and reserve the Mansion for situations like this.

If you can cast it more than once why could you not create more than one? It's not a video game.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I thought arcane discoveries were wizard-only?

Indeed they are. Single class wizards (non-PRC) only.

[Ismodai]

what about cleric spells? any suggestions?

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

Ismodai wrote:

what about cleric spells? any suggestions?

Wind walk is the only thing that comes to mind.

[Ravingdork]

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I thought arcane discoveries were wizard-only?

Indeed they are. Single class wizards (non-PRC) only.

Just to be clear, multiclassed wizards can take them to, but their prerequisite levels must all be wizard.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

Ravingdork wrote:

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

SkyHaussmann wrote:

I thought arcane discoveries were wizard-only?

Indeed they are. Single class wizards (non-PRC) only.

Just to be clear, multiclassed wizards can take them to, but their prerequisite levels must all be wizard.

Right.

[Gluttony]

Let's see... Spells my theurge has on her at all times (some via permanency):

- Detect Magic
- Read Magic
- Resistance
- Comprehend Languages
- Feather Step (Not actually on her at all times, but it lasts a little over 2 and a half hours, so it goes up pretty quickly when danger becomes a possibility)
- Unseen Servant
- Barkskin (same "cast when danger appears" setup as Feather step)
- Darkvision
- Detect thoughts (via helm of telepathy)
- False Life
- Resist Energy (By default, is set to resist cold, same "cast when danger appears" setup as Feather step)
- See Invisibility
- Tongues
- Echolocation (same "cast when danger appears" setup as Feather step)
- Freedom of Movement (same "cast when danger appears" setup as Feather step)
- Control Winds (same "cast when danger appears" setup as Feather step)
- Telepathic Bond (originally with fellow party members, now with her apprentices)
- Contingency (teleport, as Ravingdork's suggestion. Word of Recall is always ready and waiting to be cast as well.)

[Ravingdork]

Another neat trick I learned elsewhere on this forums is to always have a conical wizard's hat--a teepee like structure that is effected by a permanent shrink item spell.

That way, if you ever stumble into an antimagic field or similar situation, the magic in the hat is dispelled, causing it to fall around you breaking line of effect. With line of effect broken, you can teleport out of the antimagic zone to safety.

Roberta Yang wrote:

I am far too important to be bothered with such mundane trivialities as pulling up my own chair.

Hah. That's nothing. My wizard doesn't even WALK. He glides.

[LazarX]

Ravingdork wrote:

Another neat trick I learned elsewhere on this forums is to always have a conical wizard's hat--a teepee like structure that is effected by a permanent shrink item spell.

That way, if you ever stumble into an antimagic field or similar situation, the magic in the hat is dispelled, causing it to fall around you breaking line of effect. With line of effect broken, you can teleport out of the antimagic zone to safety.

You're still in an Anti-Magic zone, which means NO MAGIC within it's borders. Line of effect is not an issue here because it's a standing spell effect, not something being cast at you.

[LazarX]

Ravingdork wrote:

Another neat trick I learned elsewhere on this forums is to always have a conical wizard's hat--a teepee like structure that is effected by a permanent shrink item spell.

That way, if you ever stumble into an antimagic field or similar situation, the magic in the hat is dispelled, causing it to fall around you breaking line of effect. With line of effect broken, you can teleport out of the antimagic zone to safety.

Roberta Yang wrote:

I am far too important to be bothered with such mundane trivialities as pulling up my own chair.

Hah. That's nothing. My wizard doesn't even WALK. He glides.

Mine prides himself on his physical fitness. But then again, he's an Arcane Trickster.

My Loremaster on the other hand thinks that frivolous use of magic is best left for those lesser magicians who can't get themselves out of the mindset of an apprentice. The buffs he keeps are protective and utilitarian. If he wants to get somewhere other than by walking...that's what teleport is for.

[Kayerloth]

Ismodai wrote:

what about cleric spells? any suggestions?

Hmmm been a while (like a decade or so) since I ran a truly high level cleric as a PC.

Endure Elements (as needed and appropriate)
Consecrate/Desecrate (as appropriate to ones faith)
Delay Poison (when needed or appropriate)
Gentle Repose (when needed)
Undetectable Alignment
(Deeper Darkness: I see they've change the duration on Deeper Darkness, mine carried this constantly. True Seeing+Deeper Darkness+archer build)
Magic Vestment (potentially)
Water Breathing (as needed)
Greater Magic Weapon (potentially)
Heroes' Feast (only 12 hours but ... )
Wind Walk (as needed for travel etc.)
Refuge (one version or the other I'd have active)

New stuff in PF (or otherwise new to me):
Guiding Star
Planar Adaptation (as needed) and/or the Mass version
Life Bubble (as needed and appropriate)
Treasure Stitching (looks to have potential)
Delay Pain (as needed)
Web Shelter (as needed)
Ride the Waves
Instant Summons/Call Construct (either or both look to have potential)

That would be my first pass list of what I would be looking at for "Always active" spells for a cleric.

[Ravingdork]

LazarX wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

Another neat trick I learned elsewhere on this forums is to always have a conical wizard's hat--a teepee like structure that is effected by a permanent shrink item spell.

That way, if you ever stumble into an antimagic field or similar situation, the magic in the hat is dispelled, causing it to fall around you breaking line of effect. With line of effect broken, you can teleport out of the antimagic zone to safety.

You're still in an Anti-Magic zone, which means NO MAGIC within it's borders. Line of effect is not an issue here because it's a standing spell effect, not something being cast at you.

An antimagic field is an emanation. Emanations function as bursts. Bursts are blocked by total cover and things that break line of effect. Ergo, when the antimagic removes the spell that shrunk your tent, it grows to its normal size breaking all line of effect to you, and thus restoring your magical powers so long as you remain within the enclosure. Conversely, if you were to put the enclosure around the spell's point of origin, you could severely limit its area.

This trick absolutely works.

Outside of the antimagic field spell, null magic doesn't really exist anywhere in the rules except as "dead magic" areas that only really exist on a few personal demiplanes.

A GM saying otherwise likely has a vendetta against the PC spellcasters, or is too lazy to come up with something better.

[james maissen]

Ravingdork wrote:

This trick absolutely works.

Assuming that the shrunk item comes into being in the way that you desire it to.. and that the now no longer shrunk item does block line of effect.

-James

[EvilMinion]

Wiggz wrote:

Unseen Servant seems too useful and too easy a spell to leave home without it functioning. In fact, wizards/sorcerers in our group even at low levels always have it and Mage Armor cast when they get out of bed.

Unseen Servant is not very useful for the adventuring wizard as a long-term 'buff'.

The fact it only moves at a 15, means it will usually get dispelled as soon as you start moving from point A to point B, unless you willingly only ever walk at half speed.

'Tis fine if you're sitting in one spot... lots of suckage once you start traveling.

[Gluttony]

EvilMinion wrote:

Wiggz wrote:

Unseen Servant seems too useful and too easy a spell to leave home without it functioning. In fact, wizards/sorcerers in our group even at low levels always have it and Mage Armor cast when they get out of bed.

Unseen Servant is not very useful for the adventuring wizard as a long-term 'buff'.

The fact it only moves at a 15, means it will usually get dispelled as soon as you start moving from point A to point B, unless you willingly only ever walk at half speed.

'Tis fine if you're sitting in one spot... lots of suckage once you start traveling.

Carry it? It appears to have no weight of its own. Just transport the invisible servant via piggyback and send it out whenever you need something done.

[Silent Saturn]

Can Animate Objects be made permanent? If so, I'd Animate pretty much everything in my house, and quite a few things outside my house too.

Then I'd animate my house.