Mage Armor.
I already have a Wand of Infernal Healing to handle out of combat healing, and now I have enough cash to get my second wand.
Right now I'm trying to decide between:
Enlarge Person
Protection From Evil
Shieldbut if anyone else has a suggestion, happy to entertain it!
We know nothing else about your party, but...
If you have melee types who like being large (i.e. don't mind the AC penalty), then Enlarge Person is the winner. I love that spell.
Protection from Evil is also good, but offense is more fun than defense, divine casters have Protection from Evil on their spell lists, and at low level you're generally not getting full use out of Protection from Evil (i.e. you don't need the mental control protection much at that level). So this is a good wand, but it comes in second behind Enlarge Person.
Shield doesn't seem necessary unless you're forced into melee with frequency.
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It's a PFS character, so I don't really have a set party.
I was leaning for Enlarge Person because typically there is always someone who needs it during combat.
I like Protection from Evil too, I find that it typically comes in handy for saving the day. I do agree however that Enlarge Person is a bit better.
not to sound too selfish, but when it comes to 'not for me, but for the party' wands in PFS, I will use em on you, but I am not spending my PP on you. That is kinda my philosophy, unless you are under level 3 isn, in which case I will use anything I have to keep you up, but I will give you the 'this is PFS, it is considered polity to BYOW'
speech.
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I find that a wand of Magic Missiles, for a 1st level PFS PC who can use it, is not a bad option.
Gives you a never miss option during combat, and lets you use your own spells for other things until third level, when you start getting multiple missiles from your casts.
1st level wands that retain utility:
Endure Elements
Protection from Evil
Abundant Ammunition (if you use a ranged weapon often)
Anything that has little change in effect by level.
Enlarge Person from a wand still takes as long to cast as if you did it yourself. Potions are a much better option for this spell.
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Well, the way I typically build a wizard is to have a master toolkit
You have so precious few spell slots, you have to save them for the spells that really matter. If I prepare an enlarge person spell that day, that's a slot that could have gone to Grease or Color Spray.
The difference obviously being Enlarge Person doesn't care if it's a wand or not. Grease and Color Spray do however.
Eventually I'll have all the good 1st level wands. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what would be the optimum order to obtain them.
I would prioritize Magic Missile over Protection from Evil. Both are great wands, but one is always useful, and the other is circumstantial (even if those circumstances are manifold.)
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As a pfs 8th level fighter, I will always have my own cure wand on hand, but I take the damage and hold the line while you cast you super mega spell, which you'd never get off if I hadn't taken improved iniatives and combat reflexes and lunge and power attack and spent 25k on armor and shields and weapons to make sure the pouncing dire lion doesn't go straight for the squishy. So you can give me the speech, but I may just step out of the way of that charging dread knight next time.
Do you have a familiar? Do you plan on taking Improved Familiar?
Some wands that loose usefulness as you level might gain it again in the hands of a familiar, such as Mage Armor or Magic Missles.
I would also go with the Magic Missile wand. It really helps to have a 'yes' button. Demons? Yes. Constructs? Yes. Elementals? Yes. Humanoids? Yes. Aquatic? Yes. Flying? Yes. Dragons? Yes. Undead? Yes. It works on everything but shielded targets, which do exist, but are rare enough to make it very worthwhile to pick one up.
I personally like Shield, but for best over all 1 lvl wand I will second a Magic Missile. Even one d4+1 auto bang is nice. Granted lvl 3 or higher cast version of it are better, but go with what you get.
is it common to have enough gold for a wand at first level? or is this just about first level wands?
is it common to have enough gold for a wand at first level? or is this just about first level wands?
In PFS you can trade 2 prestige points for an object worth up to 750 gp (conveniently, the exact price of a level 1 wand.) If you complete both your faction missions, you should be able to get a free wand after each adventure if that's how you choose to spend your PP.
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You know, I wasn't really considering having the fighters get their own wands of Enlarge Person. I typically open up a fight by pre-buffing someone with Enlarge Person every chance I get, which is why I was thinking about the wand.
I like the Silent Image idea.
Is the Auto 1d4+1 of the Magic Missile wand really that great?
I'm not a fan of Wand of Mage Armor because once you get to about 5th level with a Rod of Extend, it basically lasts the entire adventuring day if you just cast it.
Who can afford to buy metamagic rods at 5th level?
Is the Auto 1d4+1 of the Magic Missile wand really that great?
Not really, but it's auto damage once you've cast Enlarge, or whatever spells you cast at the start of an encounter. Use it liberally, and you're hurting all kinds of enemies without a miss chance.
Fire it into melee, grapples, at incorporeals, or whatever, and you're contributing enough damage to make a difference for the first 2 or 3 levels.
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Well, right now my prepared slots are being dedicated pretty much to Grease and Color Spray and sometimes summon monster 1.
The build I'm going for is your standard conjurer controller mage.
Typically, before combat I will prebuff with an Enlarge Person and a Shield if I have the time.
Once in combat, I'll throw out either a Grease or a Color Spray, depending on the situation.
Once I do that...well usually the battle is "Won" by that point.
Either the enemies are unconscious, prone with my allies around them, or the BBEG's sword just went flying across the room.
Right now, I'm looking for things to A: Open up spell slots for spells where DCs are important and B: Looking for stuff to do once the battle is under control.
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Well, long term plans are to eventually get a Lyrakien Azata at level 7, and what I'd like is have an efficient quiver full of 1st level wands to dump on her, so that SHE can take care of all that jazz while I go be awesome.
But also, I'm trying to increase my arsenal. I don't mind the scrolls, they are cheap, but I can get the wands free with prestige and I don't really mind spending the prestige on the wands, it's one of the most cost effective ways to spend it.
Also, I'm a Tiefling with a prehensile tail, so I can retrieve the wands as a swift action.
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Yeah, but right now I'm trying to build up my wands first before working on scrolls.
It's rough being a 1st level wizard, I've got 4 spell slots and 8 hit points and I can't even make good use of spells like Vanish yet.
Right now it's my wits that are keeping me alive and while that's fine, I like to have an answer for everything.