What is the easier wizard school for a newbie? What are the common opposition schools for evocation?
Personally I usually take Enchantment and Necromancy. I've always found enchantment mostly useless. Necromancy has some cool spells, but I just like the other schools better, so necromancy loses out. The games i play in tend to frown upon making undead anyway.
What is the easier wizard school for a newbie? What are the common opposition schools for evocation?When I played an Evocation specialist. For roleplaying reasons I got rid of illusion and enchantment. "Why assault the mind when you can assault the body!?" was his logic.
Illusion is a close 3rd for schools I'd give up, but I really like invisiblity. ;-)
I've been having a lot of fun going with Void with fire as the off-school, then picking up opposition research at level 9 to get rid your only opposition school.
I've been having a lot of fun going with Void with fire as the off-school, then picking up opposition research at level 9 to get rid your only opposition school.
non-elemental schools have 2 opposition schools, but it's not a bad plan.
Take Conjuration. Prohibit Divination and Abjuration. Abjuration is mostly defensive spells and dispel, which a newb probably won't see much value in. Divination...a newbie simply won't likely find much use in this; I certainly didn't for YEARS. Scry-n-die isn't the sort of tactic that comes naturally or is found in many other games, IME...
I was thinking in evocation cause the "force missile". I am trying to create a wizard that use as much magic as possible.
I know that a level 1 wizard is very limited but using a club and Hand of the Apprentice looks more mundane than force missiles.
I was thinking:
1 level spell + 1 bonus inteligence spell + 1 school spell + 1 arcane bond spell + 7 force missile (+4 Inteligence) + 3 cantrips + 1 bonus school cantrip = 11 level 1 spells + 4 cantrips.
Any recomendation about creating a "heavy magic user level 1 wizard"?
The problem is, force missile really isn't all that good, and it doesn't scale well at all in comparison to some of the other skills (shift for example). It's a trap that a lot of new players fall into, it's just that, in terms of straight up damage, the wizard isn't all that good. You get to do 1d4+1 damage 7 times a day. Yay, your fighter/ranger/barbarian can do more than twice that consistently with a Greatsword. Use your fighter/Barbarian/Rogue/Ranger as your weapon. At level 1, that means Enlarge Person, then sit back and plink away with a crossbow or just laze around.
The wizard is a buffer, debuffer and battlefield controller, not a damage dealer, you won't be able to keep with others that are better suited for damage. A properly slotted wizard can win the fight whenever he or she wants to. Don't go for damage, pick up a buff/debuff spell and go for that. Void is amazing for this in truth, you can wreck an enemy's day by knocking off 1 to their AC and saves for a round if done at the proper time, and it's ability scales better as you go along. At level 20, -10 to AC means that it is very well possible that every attack in a full attack will hit, and they're basically unable to make any sort of save, meaning your casters will love you.
With Force Missile, you get to do 1d4+1 (2-5 damage, average 3.5) at level 1, and 1d4+10 (11-14 damage, avg. 12.5) at level 20. Compare this to a basic level 1 ranger with a furious focus power attacking greatsword at 2d6+9 (11-21 damage, 16 damage average), with about a greater than 50% chance to-hit normally, more if he's flanking. You need to be able to use Force Missile 5 times for every one of his attacks that hit in order to outdamage the Ranger. Or you can buff him up with Enlarge Person and make him do 3d6+10 (13-28, 20.5 average) points of damage, which will last all combat. Throw Grease down and cause his target to fall prone, or debuff him with Reveal Weakness and have everyone that's attacking him have extra chances to hit him.
The wizard is much better at affecting the battlefield through buffs/debuffs/control than he is through damage. Don't fall into that trap. Also, you don't get a bonus school cantrip.
You can still spec for damage if you want and still contribute, just know that you're going to be less effective if you decide to pick shocking grasp over enlarge person.
The wizard is a buffer, debuffer and battlefield controller, not a damage dealer
Taking that in consideration. What schools you recommend?
I noticed in the advanced players guide replacement powers for every school but the universalist.
There is any book with alternate powers for the universalist school?
Void is a great elemental school for buffing and debuffing, as it gives insight bonuses to allies, as well as a no-save penalty to enemies. Throw in the fact of only 1 opposition school (Void is elemental) that can be removed at level 9, it becomes a solid choice.
Teleportation doesn't directly relate to it, but it helps you move if you want to move after using your move and standard, as well as give you a nice lengthy buff to your summon spells, which are great for control by giving extra bodies.
The Foresight subschool gives a great bonus to initiative, and going higher in the initiative order means that you can buff/debuff/control faster, it, and prescience isn't bad either, if you plan on making an attack. It's, on average, a +5 to the dice roll that you make. Luck bonuses are always nice as well. The original divination spell school is pretty good as well.
Enchantment's schools are quite good if you know you'll be playing in a campaign where you're not going to be fighting too many monsters that are immune to mind-effecting effects. They make fairly good infiltrators, and if you are playing with the Controller subschool, you don't even have to speak the same language to issue commands.
Generation's abilities are great if you want to fiddle around with Wall Spells, which are quite good in their own right, it allows you to maintain them for longer periods of time, further more, you get pseudo-telekenisis, so get someone to carry around a colossal greatsword and start hurling it at people once combat starts to do massive amounts of damage. (It's a ranged touch attack, so as long as you don't have negative dex, you'll probably hit your target)
The Illusion school and subschools all have some good abilities. The Core School gets greater invisibility and blinding/dazzling, Phantasm gets a touch fear attack (not so great at higher levels where monster HD are likely to be greater than your own), and the ability to cause enemies to be flanked/slowed and unable to take AoOs. Shadow gets the ability to take an enemy out of a fight for a round and a pseudo dimension door. They all get lengthened illusion spells as well, so if you choose these, get ready to be creative.
Skip Necromancy and transmutation, despite transmutation being the ultimate buff school, it's specialization abilities really aren't all that great.
For opposition schools, Divination, Enchantment and Necromancy are all safe bets to take- you'll get one of them back at level 9 (if you pick Divination as an opposition school, I recommend taking that). If you pick the latter two as your opposition schools, think about what the campaign is like if you take opposition research at level 9. If you are going against a lot of creature that are immune to mind-afflicting spells, get rid of necromancy as an opposition school. If you find that you're fighting a lot more humanoids and other things that aren't mindless, get rid of enchantment as an opposition school.
For elemental schools,your opposition school is chosen for you, except for Void. If you pick up void, I recommend taking fire, as you can live without fireball and pyrotechnics for nine levels.
f.e: for universalists, the Inner Sea Primer has the Arcanamirium Crafter, which can be useful if you plan on going into scroll scholar or the Arclord of Nex PrC. Otherwise, the universalist school and it's subschool isn't considered to be all that great.
I will analyze your tips. Thanks
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further more, you get pseudo-telekenisis, so get someone to carry around a colossal greatsword and start hurling it at people once combat starts to do massive amounts of damage. (It's a ranged touch attack, so as long as you don't have negative dex, you'll probably hit your target)
Wind Servant doesn't do this, sadly. It's limited to a 1b. item / wizard level, and doesn't throw something hard enough to do damage.
Hand of the Acolyte or Hand of the Apprentice should be able to be used to throw oversized weapons, 'though, at the usual -2 attack roll penalty per size class over your normal weapon size (and -4 if you aren't proficient). An elven universalist, automatically proficient with the longsword, could benefit from carrying an 8 lb. Large longsword around and flinging it with Hand of the Apprentice as a ranged attack -2 (using Int instead of Dex for the attack roll, and 2d6 + Str mod damage). A huge longsword would weigh 16 lbs (I think, the weapon weight suggestions don't really go past Large...), and have a -4 to the attack roll (and do 3d6 damage) which might be worth it once he's able to get some Muleback Cords to bump up his carrying capacity.
Set: Wouldn't the rules on appropriate wielding sizes apply, such that you cannot use large falchions (for half-orcs) or huge longswords (for elves)?
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What is the easier wizard school for a newbie? What are the common opposition schools for evocation?
Is this the players first time playing, or their first time playing an arcane caster?
I usually advise a first timer, especially someone who doesn't have a broad RPG background, play a sorcerer over an wizard. If they want the "wizard" feel I suggest the arcane bloodline. The suggestion comes from trying to mitigate complexity the player is dealing with for a first time. First picking the spells to add to their spell book, and then trying to make tactically sound decisions on which to memorize, and then actually mastering the effects of the spells that they have. I've found that by directing people to a sorcerer they are better able to pick, and master their smaller spell list, and never find themselves frustrated by not having the right one memorized. I acknowledge they aren't as versatile, but it is a good place to start with arcane casters. (I would give the same advice of oracle over cleric for divine casters.)
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Set: Wouldn't the rules on appropriate wielding sizes apply, such that you cannot use large falchions (for half-orcs) or huge longswords (for elves)?
I hadn't noticed before that the 'size type' (light, one handed, two handed) also went up with each size increase, so yeah, the best you could get would be a Large longsword for an elf or a Large dwarven waraxe for a dwarf (or a Large morningstar or heavy mace for simple weapon users, like clerics using Hand of the Acolyte)
Good catch!
What is the easier wizard school for a newbie?
Hogwarts.
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Set: Wouldn't the rules on appropriate wielding sizes apply, such that you cannot use large falchions (for half-orcs) or huge longswords (for elves)?I hadn't noticed before that the 'size type' (light, one handed, two handed) also went up with each size increase, so yeah, the best you could get would be a Large longsword for an elf or a Large dwarven waraxe for a dwarf (or a Large morningstar or heavy mace for simple weapon users, like clerics using Hand of the Acolyte)
Good catch!
Don't forget your wizard still needs to carry said item, a large long sword weighs 8 lbs, and large dwarves axe, heavy mace, or falcon 16.
I usually not dump str, giving a carrying capacity of 30 without encumbrance, once you stack on a basic kit your situational hand of the Mage weapon would leave you dragging your feet behind the party.