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Well, this is inspired by a comment on another thread for sorcerer spell selection. The commentator pointed out that the sorcerer did not have enough protection spells on their spell list. They had mirror image, levitate, overland flight and invisibility.
How many protection spells, for either a wizard or a sorc, is enough? Many of the protection spells in the game are not worth casting due to their standard action casting times and round per level durations. So how many should an arcane caster have prepared or known in order to keep themselves alive? This is not in regards to any particular build, just a general discussion.
Well, this is inspired by a comment on another thread for sorcerer spell selection. The commentator pointed out that the sorcerer did not have enough protection spells on their spell list. They had mirror image, levitate, overland flight and invisibility.
How many protection spells, for either a wizard or a sorc, is enough? Many of the protection spells in the game are not worth casting due to their standard action casting times and round per level durations. So how many should an arcane caster have prepared or known in order to keep themselves alive? This is not in regards to any particular build, just a general discussion.
Define "protection spells", as there are numerous spells that can aid with the general direction of protection, and there are options that I can suggest based on this.
Mage Armor, Shield, Haste (gives extra movement +1 Dodge AC for kiting purposes), PFA, Resist Energy, Blur, are all prime low level examples of actual defense spells.
However, spells that inhibit targets affecting you, such as Bungle, Darkness, Stone Call, etc. are also good in raw protection, in that the bad guy isn't casting spells at you or is swinging at your face.
A Wizard (that is, after the first few levels) can take a couple hits, so saying they cannot get hit at all isn't an issue. Even a Melee class with the highest AC can still get hit by spells or melee attacks, regardless of how high it is. The purpose of AC is to reduce the amount of physical attacks that actually hit you. There is still that margin where further AC becomes pointless, and cannot protect you from actual hits/critical threats, or spells.
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I completely understand. I think i'm talking about damage mitigation and avoidance. Stuff like mirror image, stoneskin, etc. How many angles should be covered. DR, miss chance, images, AC, resistances, etc etc. I'm thinking personally a miss chance of some kind, some DR, and elemental resistances are key.
Every round you spend casting spells for your own defense is a round your buddies are taking a beating. I'm all for surviving, but when the fighting starts, rounds spent on personal protection are generally rounds poorly spent.
This is why spells with 10min/level or 1 hour/level (or more) are the best options. You won't be casting them in a fight, but long, long before the fight starts. Minute/level spells are only really good if you have advance warning, but they can create a false urgency that can get you into trouble (by trying to get in as many encounters as possible before your spells run out - which leads to bad or no recon/tactics).
I run a rule of thumb for arcane casters of 1 self prot or escape for every 3 spell levels, plus one. So basically two, until I can start casting 4th level spells. Then three, until 7th level spells become available.
Any additional defensive spells, along with some utility are in the form of a cache of scrolls.
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Alright, thanks guys, that helps, and is in line with my own thinking. as a rules, i tend to have mirror image, resist energy, stoneskin, moment of presence, and programmed image/contingency, depending on what i'm playing. invis or a ring of invis helps a lot. which i think is more than enough protection.
It depends on what you're up against. Some foes (e.g., fire-breathing dragons) need you to have types of protection that others don't. Likewise, if you have lots of friends you may not need as many protective spells as people with fewer allies.
Generally,I like to cast protective spells before combat, and spells that affect the combat insome way during it. Hence long-duration spells are very attractive for most spell-casters I play. And as a sorcerer I like flexible spells, ones that can help me or my friends (so, for example, blur and displacement rather than mirror image).
I would also recommend Emergency Force Sphere as a good spell to keep on hand. It has saved a character more then once in my games.
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My advice would be to play the character's concept as defined and pick as many protection spells as the character would have picked, knowing what the character would know, and acting as the character would act.
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adamantine dragon, you are a man.. dragon... dragon man? after my own heart. that's why my sorc doesnt have haste (and we have a wizard) he's a rougish type and doesnt take spells for others really. blur and displacement are good, but mirror image is just amazing for keeping you alive for a turn or two. so yeah, i'm the same as you AD, i generally pick what the character would pick, but keep enough stuff to keep the character alive.
I have a Sorcere in my party whre i play, with a few protection spells. But most of the time he does'nt take the time to cast them. He just Blast things down. His argument is: I have a Constituion of 34 thats my protection. (Level 20 campaign).
I had a low level sorceress and everyone thought I was mad, but she spent money on a lot of smokesticks and took Mage Armor, then took scribe scroll as one of her feats and finally spent her remaining money on scroll creation after their first big score.
From level 1-3 a standard and life-saving maneuver was mage armor scroll on myself, the ranger and the thief, then all combat spells/actions; to cover retreats or s/up sneak attacks: smokestick. Great low level defenses for not so much money (though if I had to do it all over again I'd have saved up for a wand...)
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If I make a sorcerer, I usually give them Mage Armor and Shield at the first opportunity. if i have room, later I add Protection from Evil, when mind-control becomes a bigger issue. After that, I pick up Resist Energy, Invisibility, maybe Mirror Image if I have the space, and some other minor defensive magics. But usually, I keep the defensive magic simple, and at low levels, mainly because that's when they're most needed. After level 5 or so I can just get Craft Wondrous Items and make myself Bracers of Armor or something similar and not bother, or pick up enchanted ceremonial armor or some-such. Basically, I have a few "defensive" spells at the beginning, and i pick up at least 1 such spell every spell level (Fly at 3rd, Dimension Door at 4th, Wall of Stone at 5th, etc.), but at this point I'm more concerned for their versatility than for their use as purely defensive magic.