Spell Selection Advice

[Gregory Connolly]

I have a campaign I'm going to play in that I have been told is a 1st to 20th(10th mythic tier) 80 week affair. I'm looking into a few different builds depending on what the group needs and one I like very much at the moment is Menhir Savant 13/Arcane(Pathfinder) Savant 7. The thing is I don't really know how to judge what to steal for Esoteric Magic. I have it narrowed down to the following list (levels are for me, not the original.)

2nd: Ill Omen
4th: Dimensional Anchor, Speak With Dead
5th: Enervation, Freedom of Movement, Modify Memory, Spite, Wandering Star Motes
6th: Fabricate, Permanency, Plane Shift, Simulacrum, Smite Abomination, Spell Turning
7th: Binding, Contingency, Dominate Monster, Greater Planar Binding, Irresistable Dance, Overwhelming Presence, Project Image, Summon Monster VIII, Teleportation Circle
8th: Limited Wish
9th: Clone, Mind Blank, Moment of Prescience, Polymorph Any Object

I only get 6 of them and they come in at levels 15-20. I welcome any other suggestions, for reference I already have the whole druid list and if I rob it from another class it counts as one level higher.

[andreww]

You have a lot of what I would suggest on your list although you do not need freedom of movement. I would skip Enervation as really not being all that good. It was great in 3.5 with split and twin ray but in PF it is barely worth the standard action. If you plan on using dazing spell at all I would strongly consider adding something like chain lightning. Otherwise I imagine your GM might give you the stink eye over grabbing early access summoner spells. You also might want to consider some powerful divinations, commune or discern location primarily. A *Word spell might not be a bad idea either for the area banishment effect.

Also if you want to Planar Bind then you also need access to the various Magic Circle spells. They are not part of the normal druid spell list.

[Gregory Connolly]

I do realize about the Planar Binding needing Magic Circle & Dimensional Anchor, but one of the prerequisites of Arcane Savant is UMD ranks and one of the first benefits is being able to take 10 on UMD. So while Dimensional Anchor is something I might use anyway, I am just gonna buy scrolls of the various Magic Circle spells as needed.
Not sure if it would be worth going the Eldritch Heritage line to get maybe Fabricate, Simulacrum, Time Stop. I can't think of another way to get Time Stop though, and it could be a win button at 18-20, which I have never played.

[Gregory Connolly]

Hmmm revised list without using the Magus & Summoner lists:

2nd: Ill Omen
4th: Speak With Dead
5th: Dimensional Anchor, Modify Memory, Spite, Wandering Star Motes
6th: Fabricate, Permanency, Plane Shift, Smite Abomination
7th: Contingency, Irresistable Dance, Overwhelming Presence, Project Image
8th: Limited Wish, Simulacrum, Spell Turning
9th: Binding, Clone, Greater Planar Binding, Mind Blank, Moment of Prescience, Polymorph Any Object

[andreww]

Speak with Dead is 3rd. If you have high UMD you could just use time stop scrolls although having it as an available spell would be better. None of the domains grant it. Greater Eldritch Heritage is an awful lot of feats and stat points to invest to get t.

[Gregory Connolly]

Next cut, thanks andreww this is helping:

2nd: Ill Omen
5th: Modify Memory, Spite
6th: Fabricate, Permanency, Plane Shift
7th: Contingency, Irresistable Dance, Overwhelming Presence, Project Image
8th: Limited Wish, Simulacrum, Spell Turning
9th: Clone, Greater Planar Binding, Mind Blank, Moment of Prescience, Polymorph Any Object

I can buy scrolls of most lower level stuff, Ill Omen is for Quickened Ill Omen basically.

[andreww]

Hmm, I would avoid ill omen at the level you get it honestly. At level 15 you have access to spell perfection. That means you will be using your swift action to cast whatever your preferred spell perfection spell is with quicken attached. Depending on what it is you might also be attaching persistent spell forcing them to save twice anyway.

Of the others you wont be casting permanency very often, it can be better done with a scroll or maybe limited wish. As you are going mythic you may well have removed the cost of limited wish with mythic abilities. You could also pick up blood money instead.

Polymorph any Object is very strong but you already get baleful polymorph as an offensive transmutation. I like spell turning but it only affects a small number of spells and your saves as a druid should be very high already. Plane Shift exists as a level 5 cleric spell so can be copied by limited wish. If someone put a gun to my head and said pick six I would probably go for:

Contingency - just too useful and the mythic version is crazy
Simulacrum - even if you aren't abusing it for free wishes making your own pet behemoths can be handy
Greater Planar Binding - who doesn't like having friendly planetars on hand
Limited Wish - exceptionally flexible, the mythic version lets you cast it while helpless
Dominate Person - the druid list lacks much mental control and the mythic version goes through protective effects
** Word - the mythic versus adds your tier to your caster level meaning you will be forcing planar enemies back where they came from or killing them outright. If you are playing WotR I would definitely be tempted by this.

[Cevah]

Ill Omen scales with level. Getting 3-4 forced rerolls on an enemy can be really useful.
Vomit Swarm is *cool*. You can be in your own swarm, and take no damage.
Sow Thought lets them think it was their idea anyway. Better for story parts.

/cevah

[Gregory Connolly]

The thought on Ill Omen was to hit people with Quickened Ill Omen and Persistent Baleful Polymorph in the same round causing a nasty interaction that effectively forces the target to make 4 Fort saves and have to pass them all, then if they fail make 4 Will saves needing to pass them all or game over. I hate to waste one of the 6 Esoteric Magics on it, but it is a really hard spell to get on your spell list and I don't really know of another way for this character.

It will not be an adventure path, this is a custom setting that has some leeway as it was published 3pp back in 3.5 and we are updating it to Pathfinder. I don't know all the details but I recall planar travel and summoning are messed up, with some kind of clause that summoned monsters get trapped here and go free rather than return home. I'm pretty sure that Transport Via Plants will work but Plane Shift can only get you so far as there is some kind of magic black hole that traps us close by. I'm not explaining it very well, but I think that Planar Binding/Ally spells end up with outsiders who are very angry at not being able to go home when they are done and Plane Shift can only get you to the Astral, Ethereal and Shadow planes. So while I can summon creatures with the SNA spells, we will most likely have to fight any who live through the combat as after the spell ends they don't disappear but go uncontrolled instead. It makes any kind of summoning risky and specializing in it a very risky choice.