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A buddy of mine is starting a campaign and he is has laid down the law. CORE BOOK ONLY! Bummer huh. I am planning on making a specialist wizard conjuration school, starting level is 4. For opposition schools going with enchantment(of course), but the other one not so sure evocation or necromancy. Race going with either elf or human. The rest of the group are human rouge, half elf druid, and human fighter. Looking for some advice on what to pick for this caster; race, op schools, feats, spells, and gear. Remember CORE ONLY. All those other books and can't use them, grumbles. Thanks for any of the tips!
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Elf (You get a bonus to your two most important stats and Spell Penetration, try to offset your Con penalty)
Be neutral
Do your best to start with a 20 int.
OP Schools: Enchantment and either Abjuration or Divination. I like Divination although it will make Detect Magic use up 2 cantrips, but it's worth it IMHO
Get a familiar, since Greensting Scorpion is out, go with Rat or Rave. It has no purpose other than to allow you to take improved familiar
1st Feat: Spell Focus, Conjuration
2nd Feat: Improved Initiative
3rd Feat: Augmented Summoning
7th level Feat: Improved Familiar (Imp)
At some point you should probably get Toughness and Craft Wonderous Item
Make sure to put points into UMD for your familiar
As for gear:
Get a Rod of Extend Spell and a Headband of Int +2 and a Ring of Sustenance ASAP
1st Level spells:
Grease
Color Spray
Mage Armor
Shield
Sleep
Protection From Evil
Silent Image
Enlarge Person
Unseen Servant
2nd Level Spells
Invisibility
Glitterdust
Resist Energy
Web
Mirror Image
Levitate
Pyrotechnics
Rope Trick
3rd Level
Magic Circle Against Evil
Stinking Cloud
Summon Monster 3
Fly
Haste
Slow
Get a wand of:
Protection Evil
Shield
Obscurring Mist
Enlarge Person
Identify
Magic Missile
When you get your Imp at 7th level, get him an efficient quiver, stick all your 1st level wands in it, and make him your wand b****. It's like having a 2nd wizard on the field pulling buff duty except that wizard has fly and invisibility at will.
With the spells you picked should I just pick evocation as an op school?
An imp familiar would be awesome, but I've got a strong suspicion that the rule will be no evil familiars. Thanks for the tips Elamdri, much appreciated.
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I say don't sac evocation (and Necromancy) because it has some good spells in it.
Early on, there's not a whole of lot juicy stuff. However, later on evocation gets:
Wall of Force
The Hand Spells (Interposing, Grasping, Crushing, ect.)
Chain Lightning
Necromancy gets stuff like
Waves of Fatigue/Exhaustion
Magic Jar
Enervation
And those are good spells you will use a lot. And they're higher level, and you don't have a whole lot of slots at higher level.
Divination has some nice stuff, but rarely anything you prepare daily besides Detect Magic, and to be honest, you can get by with one less cantrip.
Most of the good stuff in Abjuration makes a fine Wand or Scroll.
Shield: Wand
Protection From Evil: Wand
Resist Energy: Scroll or Staff
Dispel Magic: Scroll
Magic Circle: Scroll
Dimensional Anchor: Scroll
Stoneskin: Scroll
Dispel Magic, Greater: Scroll
Spell Turning: Scroll
Mind Blank: Scroll
Heck, the only spells in abjuration I really wouldn't want to see on a scroll are Prismatic Wall, Prismatic Sphere and Mage's Disjunction.
No evil familiars is a houserule. The rule simply says that if you can only select a familiar that is one step away from you on the alignment axis (which is one of the reasons you chose neutral. The other being that if you are neutral, you can chose whether to apply the celestial or fiendish templates when summoning and can summon all outsiders). If your DM is going to houserule it, find out in advance.
If you can't have a Imp, go with a Mephit. The familiar is important because it buys you action economy, and action economy is king.
Without a familiar, you can either active that 1st level wand and buff someone or you can cast that 5th level spell the party needs.
WITH the familiar, you can delegate the wand to the familiar and cast the spell you need yourself, giving yourself 2 actions a round.
Use the Rod of Extend spell to extend some of your hour/level duration spells like Mage Armor and Rope Trick and Phantom Steed.
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Elf (You get a bonus to your two most important stats and Spell Penetration, try to offset your Con penalty)
Con and dex are your two secondary stats. You will be dumping one to boost the other. Conjuration is the one school of magic with a ton of spells that bypass spell resistance.
Do your best to start with a 20 int.
Don't take a 20 intelligence at the expense of everything else. That +1 DC is seldom worth dumping all your other stats. You really need to understand all the implications of stat dumping before you try min/maxing.
Example: we had a player at our table today that min/max'd for combat, dumping int and cha for a 20 str. He fell asleep from boredom during a lengthy non-combat encounter. Having negatives on all social rolls, one of the other characters escorted him out of the room before he could hurt diplomacy efforts....again.
In actual play: I've found a stat higher than 16 is seldom required to be effective.
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Elf (You get a bonus to your two most important stats and Spell Penetration, try to offset your Con penalty)Con and dex are your two secondary stats. You will be dumping one to boost the other. Conjuration is the one school of magic with a ton of spells that bypass spell resistance.
Con's not quite as important as Dex because Dex determines your initiative. Going first as a wizard is incredibly important. Con is nice, but as a wizard, you should be proactively putting yourself in a position where enemies can't harm you in the 1st place.
Do your best to start with a 20 int.Don't take a 20 intelligence at the expense of everything else. That +1 DC is seldom worth dumping all your other stats. You really need to understand all the implications of stat dumping before you try min/maxing.
You can get a 20 int and only have to dump Charisma. As a wizard, your saves are EVERYTHING. Granted, some of the best spells don't offer saves, but you are going to have to make an enemy save during your career and you want the best chance. Besides that, you're still a good skill money due to your 20 int. Unlike other characters, you can use spells to shore up your shortcomings.
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You can get a 20 int and only have to dump Charisma.
In the game I was in today, you would have been the one escorted from the room. Or, at the least, asked by the other characters not to intervene while we were trying to be diplomatic.
But you would have been very secure in the knowledge that your spells would have been most effective, when needed.
Meanwhile, with my lousy 16 casting stat, I was more than able to cripple the earth elementals we eventually fought.
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You can get a 20 int and only have to dump Charisma.
In the game I was in today, you would have been the one escorted from the room. Or, at the least, asked by the other characters not to intervene while we were trying to be diplomatic.
But you would have been very secure in the knowledge that your spells would have been most effective, when needed.
Since when is it my job as the wizard to be the party face? No Bard, Summoner, Sorcerer, Paladin, Rogue?
Not every class is designed to do every job. Diplomacy isn't even a class skill for a wizard.
And, if it's really that big of a deal, I have charm person.
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And, if it's really that big of a deal, I have charm person.
Yep, that would have accomplished something.
How many charm person spells did you have memorized?
Any class can be the party face. My magus is frequently the party face. All it took was a 12 charisma and a modest resource investment. If I had started with a 20 dexterity I would have been a one-trick pony. As stands, I can contribute meaningfully in all aspects of the game.
Even if not "the best" at diplomacy, anybody can reliably contribute with only a modest investment. Something the wizard can well afford given the number of skill points he has available. Aid another is not difficult, unless you've stat dumped.
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And, if it's really that big of a deal, I have charm person.Yep, that would have accomplished something.
How many charm person spells did you have memorized?
Any class can be the party face. My magus is frequently the party face. All it took was a 12 charisma and a modest resource investment. If I had started with a 20 dexterity I would have been a one-trick pony. As stands, I can contribute meaningfully in all aspects of the game.
Even if not "the best" at diplomacy, anybody can reliably contribute with only a modest investment. Something the wizard can well afford given the number of skill points he has available. Aid another is not difficult, unless you've stat dumped.
I just think I'd rather be really good at the things I'm really good at and leave the stuff I'm bad at to the people who are good at them.
I think it's a better strategy than trying to be good at everything and winding up being just mediocre at everything.
Hell, if it's a really big deal, I can summon an angel from heaven to make my case for me.
Hmm human with the extra feat seems better. As for opposition schools thinking enchantment( too many monsters have resist or immune) and between divination and abjuration as the other.
And, if it's really that big of a deal, I have charm person.Yep, that would have accomplished something.
How many charm person spells did you have memorized?
Any class can be the party face. My magus is frequently the party face. All it took was a 12 charisma and a modest resource investment. If I had started with a 20 dexterity I would have been a one-trick pony. As stands, I can contribute meaningfully in all aspects of the game.
Even if not "the best" at diplomacy, anybody can reliably contribute with only a modest investment. Something the wizard can well afford given the number of skill points he has available. Aid another is not difficult, unless you've stat dumped.
Your group doesn't sound like it likes role-playing with obnoxious/socially awkward characters.
Have you ever watched House? Think of a 20 Int/7 Cha wizard as House, and all those 16 Int/12 Cha wizards as his assistants--the patients may like the assistants better, their boss may prefer dealing with them, but at the end of the show, it's House who is making the logical connections that save peoples' lives, not the other ones.
That's why you have a TEAM. Sure, you can build a group with a lot of overlap, where everyone can contribute a bit to some key facets of the group (like Diplomacy), but you WON'T have overlap on a wizard's spells per day or spell DCs. So which is more important? Having two people that can talk well, and having one that wields a spellbook like a boss, or one that talks well and one that wields a spellbook like a god?
Also, keep in mind that the wizard with a 20 Int instead of the 16 is more likely to be able to afford ranks in Diplomacy, or pick up additional Knowledge skills, or languages via Linguistics, which will, in the long run, probably be far more valuable than a 12 Cha. What skills or items is your 12 Cha wizard giving up in order to invest in Diplomacy?
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Also, keep in mind that the wizard with a 20 Int instead of the 16 is more likely to be able to afford ranks in Diplomacy, or pick up additional Knowledge skills, or languages via Linguistics, which will, in the long run, probably be far more valuable than a 12 Cha. What skills or items is your 12 Cha wizard giving up in order to invest in Diplomacy?
The 12 charisma example I was using was my PFS magus.
My highest starting stat was a 17 and I've never had an issue with combat effectiveness. If anything I've had the opposite problem.
Out of combat, I have always been able to contribute to some degree. As I progress in level, my high number of skill points has allowed me to continue to diversify.
As for my group. The social encounters this weekend were PFS. Different group makeup every game. Sometimes I'm the only person at the table with social skills. Sometimes we have multiple bards. Even with a bard taking the lead, I can contribute, either by aid another or making my own attempt if the bard rolls badly.
I won't argue the absolute effectiveness of a min/maxed character at the one trick they have been optimized for. What I am arguing is the effectiveness of that character when his one trick is not applicable to the scenario at hand. Breadth of ability allows you to make meaningful contributions in a far wider array of scenarios.
Of course: If your playing a pure combat campaign, go for it. Why build for anything else if that is all you intend to do.
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And, if it's really that big of a deal, I have charm person.Yep, that would have accomplished something.
How many charm person spells did you have memorized?
Any class can be the party face. My magus is frequently the party face. All it took was a 12 charisma and a modest resource investment. If I had started with a 20 dexterity I would have been a one-trick pony. As stands, I can contribute meaningfully in all aspects of the game.
Even if not "the best" at diplomacy, anybody can reliably contribute with only a modest investment. Something the wizard can well afford given the number of skill points he has available. Aid another is not difficult, unless you've stat dumped.
Your group doesn't sound like it likes role-playing with obnoxious/socially awkward characters.
Have you ever watched House? Think of a 20 Int/7 Cha wizard as House, and all those 16 Int/12 Cha wizards as his assistants--the patients may like the assistants better, their boss may prefer dealing with them, but at the end of the show, it's House who is making the logical connections that save peoples' lives, not the other ones.
That's why you have a TEAM. Sure, you can build a group with a lot of overlap, where everyone can contribute a bit to some key facets of the group (like Diplomacy), but you WON'T have overlap on a wizard's spells per day or spell DCs. So which is more important? Having two people that can talk well, and having one that wields a spellbook like a boss, or one that talks well and one that wields a spellbook like a god?
Also, keep in mind that the wizard with a 20 Int instead of the 16 is more likely to be able to afford ranks in Diplomacy, or pick up additional Knowledge skills, or languages via Linguistics, which will, in the long run, probably be far more valuable than a 12 Cha. What skills or items is your 12 Cha wizard giving up in order to invest in Diplomacy?
That's a good analogy, I like it a lot.
Although I think Arthantos does make a good point in that the arguments that I made and yeti made assume a group exists. In PFS, you don't always have a set group and have to deal with a different table composition night to night.
However, I would also counter that PFS is atypical in that you usually do not see games where failure at an out of combat scenario cannot be rectified. And even in PFS, this is typically only during faction missions. That isn't to say that bungling a diplomacy roll never has consequences, but rarely are those consequences "you lose, game over"
Also, as I said earlier. Wizards and by extension sorcerers, are kinda unique in that they can easily overcome obstacles that would trouble other characters by emulating abilities using spells.
For example: A well prepared wizard could just as easily sneak into a building and recover an important document as a rogue with a high stealth score and disable device simply by using invisibility and knock.
Likewise, a wizard can easily bargain with the local innkeeper for information as well as the bard or paladin by casting charm person.
Now, usually these require preparation and foresight, which gives a skill monkey character a certain advantage. However, a learned wizard will learn quickly to keep certain staple spells on hand that might not come up often, but will be handy when needed AND will encourage the party to take the time to prepare if time is available in order to best select the spells for the job.
quicken rod is the next item to get after extend, and int headbands. If youg gm allows, Craft Wondrous is the best of the crafts to bother with (aside from scrolls because you get the feat for free).
Side note, the spell pen an elf gets for free stacks with the spell pen feat.
Logically, why would a Wizard choose Charisma as a dump stat? The best stat for dump as a Wizard is Strength, since no sane Wizard would stand toe to toe with a beastie for long!
I agree with the choice of Elf as a race. Too many bennies to ignore. To compensate for the Con loss, try having your favored class bonus be +1 hp, and you should grab Great Fortitude in the early levels as well, but the first feat any primary spellcaster would take is Combat Casting, ESPECIALLY when you know you will be dungeon crawling! Real estate is limited, so you are going to be right next to an enemy while casting, bank on it.
Never liked Conjurers in the first place, as having to roll for various crappy beasties isn't my cup of tea. I tend to prefer Universalists, Evokers, and Necromancers.
As a Wizard, you are going to want Dexterity as your second best stat, not just for things like Init, but also for ranged touch spells and especially AC. Stick your lowest into Strength; the Fighter can carry your heavy stuff.
Here's a neat trick: Try casting Mage Armor, Shield, and Protection from Evil in succession, then a reusable touch spell like Chill Touch. Makes you damned hard to hit, and you can annoy the heck out of the DM. Also, Sleep, Color Spray, and Grease are your friend. I once consternated my GM by winning armwrestling contests using Sleep, kept winning "hands down". Have a dagger on you so that you can slit throats of unconscious Orcs. Later on, combine spells like the 2nd level Int pumper with any that hose over your opponents spell save DC's like a friendly cleric casting Doom etc. Then hit opponents with something nasty.
That's precisely why poisons that do Con damage are so lethal, if you fail a save, your ability to resist future saves drops. Basically, put your opponents in a bad situation and try to make it worse. Get a ton of lantern oil on your opponent and hit them with a fire spell, but only after after you've penalized their Dexterity. See?
Always have a spare few potions of Cure Light on hand, and one of Invisibility (for quick getaways).
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Never liked Conjurers in the first place, as having to roll for various crappy beasties isn't my cup of tea. I tend to prefer Universalists, Evokers, and Necromancers.
Conjurers are good because:
A: Many of their best spells offer no saves
B: Almost none of their spells offer SR
C: Low level summons aren't that great, but some stuff like Tigers are crazy. Or even better, Tyrannosaurus.
Let's take a look at two different arrays for a human wizard:
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 10
vs.
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 8
For a Wizard, strength only matters for carrying capacity. The difference between 10 and 8 for strength is 33 lb. light load vs 26 lb. light load carrying capacity. But really, what does a wizard carry? You don't wear armor, you don't really carry a weapon (maybe a dagger). You have your spell book plus component pouch, plus maybe a dozen pounds in things like food and supplies. And in a few levels you'll have a handysack anyway.
Also, for a wizard, charisma only matters for skills. There are 7 charisma based skills: bluff, diplomacy, disguise, handle animal, intimidate, perform and use magic device. Of these, the only one that really matters for a wizard is diplomacy. So, going to an int 20 means you get an extra skill point, which you can drop right into the diplomacy skill, making up for the -1 charisma. If you really care, you can pick up one of the dozen traits that gives you diplomacy as a class skill and a +1 trait bonus.
What does Int 20 get you? +1 skill point per level, one of which can be dropped into diplomacy. +1 to all your int based skills (which will be most of them). +1 DC to all your spells. And additional spell slots, including a second bonus first level spell slot, meaning at first level you have 3 spells plus your domain instead of 2.
Winner: Int 20.
Also, keep in mind that the wizard with a 20 Int instead of the 16 is more likely to be able to afford ranks in Diplomacy, or pick up additional Knowledge skills, or languages via Linguistics, which will, in the long run, probably be far more valuable than a 12 Cha. What skills or items is your 12 Cha wizard giving up in order to invest in Diplomacy?The 12 charisma example I was using was my PFS magus.
My highest starting stat was a 17 and I've never had an issue with combat effectiveness. If anything I've had the opposite problem.
Out of combat, I have always been able to contribute to some degree. As I progress in level, my high number of skill points has allowed me to continue to diversify.
As for my group. The social encounters this weekend were PFS. Different group makeup every game. Sometimes I'm the only person at the table with social skills. Sometimes we have multiple bards. Even with a bard taking the lead, I can contribute, either by aid another or making my own attempt if the bard rolls badly.
I won't argue the absolute effectiveness of a min/maxed character at the one trick they have been optimized for. What I am arguing is the effectiveness of that character when his one trick is not applicable to the scenario at hand. Breadth of ability allows you to make meaningful contributions in a far wider array of scenarios.
Of course: If your playing a pure combat campaign, go for it. Why build for anything else if that is all you intend to do.
I think PFS is a special case that cannot be used to make suggestions about non-PFS play in this regard. In a normal group, there is probably some effort to get roles covered across the various characters in the group. That may well mean that the wizard dumps a little Int to be more proficient at other things, but I'd still assert that dumping Cha and maxing Int would still yield a better socializing character.
Are all of your social encounters Diplomacy rolls? Do Knowledge, Spellcraft, or Appraise checks ever come up? Or are those hand waved away? I'd rather have the same set of Knowledge skills at 20 Int as I would at 16, say, or 18, and spend a point per level on Diplomacy, and than take 1 or 2 fewer Knowledges and start with a higher Cha, or even worse, 2 or 3 fewer in order to squeeze in Diplomacy. You're just getting a better bargain at the higher Int in every case, and I'm talking out of combat here.
I also hate to cripple my stats just to get that 20 in INT, especially since the GM's I am playing with only allow a 15 point buy. An 18 is good enough for a Wizard, IMHO.
An 18 is excellent, a 20 is better. My wizard has Str 7 (currently 5 because of ability damage), and is doing fine with that (though my marbles were getting a bit heavy). I'm not entirely sure if I also dumped my Cha. My Dex is 16, my Con doesn't suck. Of course we did have high point buy. With a low point buy, Int 20 might not be feasible.
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There are a bunch of threads and advice on building conjuration wizards including Treantmonk's guide to Wizards
I have played a couple of conjuration wizards. Enchantment seems the favorite opposition school and then one other. I tend to pick Necromancy and am tempted by Evocation though there are several reasonable choices. You can fill in gaps with consumables to an extent (scrolls, wands). "Losing" the opposition cantrips can be annoying (e.g. Light, Detect Magic)
I prefer a bonded item to a familiar but that depends on the flavour you want. One extra contingency spell of your highest level per day seems strong.
Summons you can take or leave. To use them effectively means a lot more bookkeeping for you to know which one to use in any given cicumstance and how to use them well. If that's your thing its worth it - and its good GM training learning how to use all those creatures.
Priority Items: headband, cloak of resistance.
Plan ahead for the skills you will get with the headband.
Elf, int as high as you can tolerate by lowering other stats to improve that save DC and get bonus spells per day. Feats: Improved initiative, spell focus, greater spell focus. Craft wondrous maybe later - depends on how targeted your GM does treasure allcoation.
Never liked Conjurers in the first place, as having to roll for various crappy beasties isn't my cup of tea. I tend to prefer Universalists, Evokers, and Necromancers.Conjurers are good because:
A: Many of their best spells offer no saves
B: Almost none of their spells offer SR
C: Low level summons aren't that great, but some stuff like Tigers are crazy. Or even better, Tyrannosaurus.
You'd never be able to fit a Tyrannosaurus, or any beastie bigger than Medium, in most dungeons. That was discovered by one of my players who had a disreputable Barbarian half ogre once. Kept getting pounded on since he was the biggest target, and the others had difficulty moving around him sometimes.
I don't have much experience with upper level Pathfinder characters yet, since while I have extensive experience running past versions of D&D, we've only gotten to 2nd level in the current campaign. So while I can read and I've got a goodly portion of the books, I don't feel confident in citing upper level spells just yet.
I prefer a bonded item to a familiar but that depends on the flavour you want. One extra contingency spell of your highest level per day seems strong.
Priority Items: headband, cloak of resistance.
Plan ahead for the skills you will get with the headband.
Elf, int as high as you can tolerate by lowering other stats to improve that save DC and get bonus spells per day. Feats: Improved initiative, spell focus, greater spell focus. Craft wondrous maybe later - depends on how targeted your GM does treasure allcoation.
Grab Knowledges the rest of the group doesn't have first. If you have a cleric that went into Planes and Religion, it doesn't make sense to buy those. Always make your character while keeping in mind the other characters in your group, and the environment the game is in. It's better to think defensive when choosing feats than offensive, as staying in one piece is more crucial than coming up with boom in the long run. You can do plenty of damage with a simple dagger to slit throats and a Sleep or Color Spray spell, chill.
Naw. First off, the crucial thing for most Wizards is getting one of those Blessed Books. Saves TONS of gold in the long run, and weight too. But, I can think of other things most would want immediately.
How about a Ring of Sustenance? Free food and water, and you only have to sleep 2 hours so you can take watch like the rest of the group, meaning you can travel or adventure longer each day.
A masterwork Backpack from the APG is perfect for your typical Wizard, as their Strength is low. Yeah, it weighs more, but it's more than compensated for with the increased weight limits. Later on, grab a Handy Haversack, and ensure the group invests in a wand of Cure Light and a Portable Hole (the latter holds as much as a Type 1 and 4 combined plus 2 extra cubic feet, and no weight limit, so looting is easy), or a wagon with a pair of horses and a NPC hireling cook/driver. Those Int boosters are great, don't get me wrong, but the practicality of everyday life trumps all else.
As for feats, Imp Init is nice but don't bother until the mid levels, and the Spell Focus feats aren't needed until later on. I'm more concerned with Great Fortitude (fort saves are everywhere in this game), Combat Casting (dungeons are notorious for lack of space) and Dodge (AC is frightfully necessary for a Wizard, so Mage Armor, Shield, Protection from Evil are musts). When you get into the teens for level, grab the Spell Penetration feats to get past SR, you'll be grateful you did.
You'd never be able to fit a Tyrannosaurus, or any beastie bigger than Medium, in most dungeons. That was discovered by one of my players who had a disreputable Barbarian half ogre once. Kept getting pounded on since he was the biggest target, and the others had difficulty moving around him sometimes.I see people say this a lot and it isnt really true. If it was you wouldnt find yourself fighting lots of ogres or trolls or other large monsters in a dungeon.
A large or even huge sized summon works wonders for both controlling the battlefield and acting as a damage sponge.
It's precisely that those monsters are already there, and the limited space of the dungeon maps that it's a bad idea to take a Large summoned monster into them. Think about it. You hose over the rest of the party way too quickly if they can't move.
Enlarge Person is one of the most useless spells ever for combat. All you end up getting is +1 to melee damage rolls.
Rope Trick is nice, but wait for it. You need to be relatively high level to use the spell for a full nights rest. Check the duration on the spell description.
Strength isn't as important to a Wizard as you seem to think, andreww. Just have the party warrior carry whatever your Wizard can't. Get a masterwork backpack, and you should be fine. Or grab a Handy Haversack with a potion of Invisibility and one of Fly for emergencies.
Those caster level checks are important, that's a good point. I wouldn't mind having most divination or abjuration spells on a scroll of some sort, personally. They tend to be pretty situational.
Enlarge Person is one of the most useless spells ever for combat. All you end up getting is +1 to melee damage rolls.
You don't play melees ever, do you?
Enlarge person is one of THE best buff spells for a melee character. Depending on build, I'd even argue that it's better than Haste.
For enlarge person, you get +1 to +2 damage (if you're wielding a two-hander and your Str goes to a bracket that grants an additional point from the +1/2).
A potentially sizable boost in damage thanks to your weapon dice increasing. A greatsword goes from 2d6 to 3d6 I believe, which is an increase of 3.5 damage per swing.
So we're looking at +4.5 to +5.5 damage per swing. That's not insignificant.
You're also getting a boost to your CMB and CMD, and are able to use your maneuvers on larger creatures now than you could as a medium-sized character.
Finally, and most importantly, you now threaten either 5-10 ft. now with your standard weapons, or 15-20 ft. with a reach weapon. If you have ANY focus at all on attacks of opportunity, this is a TREMENDOUS benefit. You're far more likely to get at least one extra attack of opportunity a round while Enlarged than you would otherwise, because you went from threatening 8 or 12 squares (reach), to threatening 32 to 44 spaces, or if you can threaten with both a normal and a reach weapon, 20 squares vs. 76. That's a pretty big deal. It means that a small, or heavily armored character that takes a move action to get away from you (20 ft.) is still within a 5 ft. step of your full-attack. It means that enemies on two sides of you probably can't both benefit from their allies' buff spells (often things like 10, 20, or 30 ft. bursts, or multiple targets no two of which can be more than 25 or 30 ft. apart).
It means you're almost never going to have someone within your threatened area who gets to 5 ft. step to close with your for their own full attack. For example, let's say you are threatening someone with our longspear as a medium-sized character. All they have to do is 5 ft. step and now they can reach you, and you may not even be able to attack them back unless you 5 ft. step on your turn. In any case, the advantage of your reach has been eliminated. The same isn't true for a large creature, who either forces their opponent to eat AoOs approaching them, or never reach them, since if they 5 ft. step, you can to, continuing to keep 10-20 ft. between.
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Sadly its core only other wise id state that any melee that wants to be large should invest there feats in Elderich Heritage Ork Bloodline which would grant a lot more damage than the spell and the ability specifically states character level not class level in its duration making it awesome. Also some of the things obtained on the way of achieving the feat are very nice like nat armor. I dont dump my fighters cha if i going the 2h build since those feats are amazing especially since u get a free +6 inherit bonus to str saving a lot of cash on a tome and netting u an extra point above that. But sadly it is core only so the spell is the best rought to go and it is nice only because its core only.
Sadly its core only other wise id state that any melee that wants to be large should invest there feats in Elderich Heritage Ork Bloodline which would grant a lot more damage than the spell and the ability specifically states character level not class level in its duration making it awesome. Also some of the things obtained on the way of achieving the feat are very nice like nat armor. I dont dump my fighters cha if i going the 2h build since those feats are amazing especially since u get a free +6 inherit bonus to str saving a lot of cash on a tome and netting u an extra point above that. But sadly it is core only so the spell is the best rought to go and it is nice only because its core only.
Even outside of Core-only games, Enlarge Person is worthwhile. It still provides a list of excellent benefits to anyone swinging away in melee, and is a 1st level spell, which means it requires little or no investment. Eldritch Heritage may be quite excellent, but it requires a rather heavy investment of feats and ability points, not to mention some consideration regarding your character's background.
There are few TWFers, or barbarians, say, that would be able to fit the Heritage feats, but would still benefit from becoming Enlarged. Are there better spells? Sure! But it's a first level spell, and is already granting much more significant benefits than most other 1st level spells...how much more do you want it to do?
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7th level Feat: Improved Familiar (Imp)Imps come with a GM license to screw with you because the imp profits if you die while evil. You've also made a deal with a devil. The GM is within his rights to treat having an imp familiar as a continuing evil act, which will put you in an evil alignment over time.
The Arbiter is a far superior choice for roleplaying purposes as a neutral character, and is in many ways mechanically superior. It has slightly less variety in SLAs and poorer flight maneuverability, but has hands with which to UMD and is better at touch spell delivery because it has flyby attack and regeneration. The Arbiter also has
Constructed (Ex): Although inevitables are living outsiders , their bodies are constructed of physical components, and in many ways they function as constructs. For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger’s favored enemy and bane weapons), inevitables count as both outsiders and constructs. They are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Inevitables are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. They are not at risk of death from massive damage. They have bonus hit points as constructs of their size.which makes them immune to quite a few of the things that regeneration doesn't protect them from.
You missed the part where he said that it's Core only. If it had not been core only, I would have suggested Lyrakien Azata in a heartbeat.
Also, I don't really see Imp Familiar as giving the GM carte blanch authority to screw with you. You are magically bonded to it after all.
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Resist Energy: Scroll or StaffThis is not a good scroll spell, it is highly dependant on having your caster level at its best at least until level 11.
Dispel Magic: Scroll
Dispel Magic, Greater: ScrollThese require caster level checks to have any effect making them a bad idea on scrolls.
Dimensional Anchor: ScrollWhile it doesnt have a save it does check against SR. Most of the things that you want to stop Teleporting are various outsiders which generally have SR so not a good scroll choice. Its fine for shutting down enemy Wizards.
Well, I'm assuming you're scribing these yourself, so you should have a better caster level.
So Elamdri you think I should go with Enchantment and Abjuration as my opposed schools. This is where I am struggling. I know I'm taking enchantment as one of the op schools, but that second choice is speed bumping me. Of the starting CORE familiars which is more useful?
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I think if you're going to pick an opposition school, you should probably go with Divination over Abjuration if you're really worried about it. It's not that you can't do Abjuration, but it's a bit trickier.
The only thing that's going to stink is that
1: you won't start with Detect Magic and Read Magic in your spellbook, but that's ok because you can pay another wizard to transcribe them into your spellbook and it doesn't cost more than like I think 5g to do so.
2: You take 2 slots to prepare Detect Magic. You don't have to worry about Read Magic since you don't have to prepare it every day (and can even wand it if you like).
That being said, the small hit to your cantrip casting ability isn't going to hurt you in the long run. After all, of the divination spells:
Comprehend Languages makes an excellent scroll
Identify makes an EXCELLENT wand
See Invisibility makes a excellent scroll
Tongues makes an excellent scroll
That covers all the useful spells for your 1st three spell levels in Divination. As long as you keep some of those on hand, you should be fine.
As for Familiars...I would go with either a Rat to boost your Fort Saves or a Raven since they speak and fly, which means you can send them out to scout relatively safely.
Understand that your 1st familiar is NOT a combat pet. It can deliver touch spell. That is a bad idea. It will get killed. If it flies, have it fly safely above combat. If it doesn't, keep it in your backpack, or some other pouch.
Once you get Improved Familiar at 7th level, you can can get a little bolder because the familiar will have stuff you can use to keep it alive. By this point you should have a small arsenal of wands and scrolls to give the familiar.
Don't forget the familiar can also wear magic gear too if it's appropriate! (obviously if the familiar doesn't have feet for example, it can't wear boots). Efficient Quivers for wands are great.
Like I said, if you're worried about the Imp for some reason, go with a Mephit. My advice however would be to ask the GM and ask your party if anyone has a problem with you taking an Imp. If your GM is going to screw with you or if there is a cleric or paladin that will make a big stink, it might be best to go Mephit, but otherwise, I think Imp is best for the Invisibility at will. Also, if you sac divination, your Imp detects magic constantly so it can be your detect magic monkey.
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Well, I'm assuming you're scribing these yourself, so you should have a better caster level.Only if you scribe them at your higher caster level which loses you one of the major benefits of scribe scroll, cheap access to spells.
I've always viewed Scribe Scroll as a way of preserving spell slots using gold. Rarely do I run through all my spells in a given day and so I typically prepare a spell that I don't typically use often and scribe it so that on the odd days where I need it, I have it available.
It's not a perfect remedy, but you're never going to have a perfect remedy as a caster, you just need to make the best with what you have at a given time.
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Depends on the game youi're playing, but dumping enchantment is a really bad idea.
Evocation and Necromancy are probably the easiest schools to dump (especially for a Conjuror).
Are we playing the same game? The same game where 99.99999999999% of all monsters are immune to mind-effecting spells after level 3?
(Ok, maybe that's hyperbole, but enchantment school is kinda not that great compared to others).
Dumping Necro and Evo sucks at higher level play when you want to use spells like Magic Jar and the Bigby spells.
For a Wizard, strength only matters for carrying capacity
Touch attacks?
Getting eaten by shadows?