Burning hands because I really hate swarms.Elemental Aura, because PFS loves swarms. (My magus carries a couple in scroll form)
For lowlevel swarms snapdragon fireworks is nice to reduce collateral damage. It targets a single square, deals damage to everything in that square and can be used for several turns in a row with one casting.
For higher levels the low damage which doesn't increase is just too weak.Before I forget it: It's nice vs trolls and the like, too. If the melees pound it for good 1 point of fire damage per round is all you need to keep it down.
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Burning hands because I really hate swarms.Elemental Aura, because PFS loves swarms. (My magus carries a couple in scroll form)For lowlevel swarms snapdragon fireworks is nice to reduce collateral damage. It targets a single square, deals damage to everything in that square and can be used for several turns in a row with one casting.
For higher levels the low damage which doesn't increase is just too weak.
Before I forget it: It's nice vs trolls and the like, too. If the melees pound it for good 1 point of fire damage per round is all you need to keep it down.
Elemental Aura has secondary effects that can be useful in other circumstances.
For example, Lightning staggers opponents on a failed reflex save.
I'm unreasonable fond of SM II, because Elementals. Earth Gliding earth elementals, Air elementals just messing everybody up, Lightning Elementals charging guys in metal armor for +20 to trip or disarm (even with a GM who reads the bonuses as replacements, it's still +15), Mud Elementals using Entrap, Magma Elementals because lightning fires in the middle of the enemy fortification is just great, Ice elementals... the smoke elemental is missing.
I have a wand of that on my current character that I use to great effect.
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I once had a character who became obsessed with the idea that Dancing Lights can be made into a humanoid shape:
Depending on the version selected, you create up to four lights that resemble lanterns or torches (and cast that amount of light), or up to four glowing spheres of light (which look like will-o'-wisps), or one faintly glowing, vaguely humanoid shape.
So I cast Permanency on it. We named him, quite simply, Dancing Lights Man. Occasionally he would respond to questions via Ghost Sound, and occasionally he would wear a hat using Mage Hand.
The real fun was seeing exactly how many commoners could be convinced that this thing was indeed a real creature, perhaps cursed or transformed in some way.
Invigorate is a bard only spell that allows barbarians to rage-cycle at will, as they become immune to fatigue, and it lasts a good long while too.
Sirocco has been used to great effect in my games. Applying fatigue and exhaustion as well as knocking clumsy fliers to the ground just screams controller wizard.
Acute Senses gives +20 to perception already at lv8. Does not last very long, but it makes even the "LOL I am invisible, +20 to stealth!" checks possible. Getting good use of it in the ninja-infested Jade Regent.
Good Hope is amazing for my bard. Stacks with inspire courage, lasts 10 minutes/level and gives +2 to virtually every roll, for everyone in the party. Good stuff.
Blistering Invective has already been mentioned. It is pretty darn awesome. A big debuff that sets people on fire. What is not to like?
Arcane Concordance has been amazing for me, since I am in a group with two other arcane casters with said bard. +1 to DCs is nice, but freely applying stuff like Silent, Still or Extend Spell to everything cast in the duration allows us to get a LOT of milage out of buffs, or undo the downside of circumstances that restrict us or silence us.
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Already mentioned, but I never get tired of all the awesome that Prestidigitation can be used for. Never.
I also love Fabricate.
And Polymorph Any Object. (It can solve anything, given enough time.)
My sorcerer/paladin (working for Dragon Disciple) uses prestidigitation to have coins float around her head in social situations.
I once used magic jar to great effect.
The king was hosting a grandiose ball and, via disguise self, I managed to infiltrate it as nobility. Straight away I went work mingling with the crowd and discreetly poisoned several people's drinks--including my own. Then I went to the bar and cast a silent/stilled/eschewed magic jar spell. To onlookers, I was a young man who had over-indulged, rather than the haggard old crone of my true form.
As party guests began to show signs of being poisoned, I managed to possess one of the weak-willed guards, which was fortunate in that he had a weapon I could readily use. I walked straight up to the king, as if to warn him of the impending danger. Other guards began to notice the foul brewing of my plot, and so too went to usher their dear king to safety. I leaned over, as if to whisper some important note into the king's ear--a warning and an urging to flee perhaps. Then I decapitated him with the guard's long sword, whose engraving bore an oath to protect the royal family.
The surrounding guards froze and the party went deathly quite, with only the thump, thump, thump sound of the king's head rolling to a stop at the base of the stairs before his throne.
Suddenly, all hell broke lose as the guests fell into complete panic and the other guards charged the assassin, quickly killing my host body. As the guard lay dying, I managed to say something about the king's bloody war and the loss of too many loved ones before my spirit moved on to another body.
The great hall was emptied soon enough, with the bodies of the poison victims carried away in a cart to be buried--the poison long having been discovered in the chalice next to my "corpse." There, in the cart I awoke in my true form, garroted the driver in a dark alley, and made my escape.
The heroes looking to stop the king's assassination never stood a chance.
I've loved magic jar ever since. It has allowed my witch, Hama, to possess everything from small children to great giants and dire hyenas.
Sleep... Simple but effective.
"You enter a large, open area in the caves you've been exploring. A number of kobold miners spot you (2d4+2). Everyone roll initiative. Elven Enchanter Wizard, you go first."
"I cast SLEEP (DC 17)"
"All the kobolds fall to the ground and start snoring. Hmm... never saw that coming."
I found acid orb incredibly useful in the first few Kingmaker books. So many trolls. The fighter and the ranger could cut the trolls down but couldn't keep them down. One simple 0-level spell is all it took to shut down the trolls' regeneration and end the fights in a flash. It did tend to make me the primary target, though.
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I found acid orb incredibly useful in the first few Kingmaker books. So many trolls. The fighter and the ranger could cut the trolls down but couldn't keep them down. One simple 0-level spell is all it took to shut down the trolls' regeneration and end the fights in a flash. It did tend to make me the primary target, though.
Acid Splash is a great cantrip for rogues. Yup, you read that correctly. Rogues. Use the minor magic rogue trick to get it as a spell like ability 3 times per day. Then as long as you're within 30 feet of an enemy in a surprise round, you can sneak attack with it, against touch, flat footed AC, without the need to spend a move action drawing a ranged weapon. The fact that it ignores DR and SR is just gravy (and also why it's better than Ray of Frost).
I haven't used it yet... but I'm itching to cast ghoul hunger.
Haste+shield (not surprising tough).That was about the best opening move in 3.0 (+11 AC!)
Me too, I aways did that in round one of every fight in 3.0
I still like both spells even though they have been nerfed too much.
I once used magic jar to great effect.
The king was hosting a grandiose ball and, via disguise self, I managed to infiltrate it as nobility. Straight away I went work mingling with the crowd and discreetly poisoned several people's drinks--including my own. Then I went to the bar and cast a silent/stilled/eschewed magic jar spell. To onlookers, I was a young man who had over-indulged, rather than the haggard old crone of my true form.
As party guests began to show signs of being poisoned, I managed to possess one of the weak-willed guards, which was fortunate in that he had a weapon I could readily use. I walked straight up to the king, as if to warn him of the impending danger. Other guards began to notice the foul brewing of my plot, and so too went to usher their dear king to safety. I leaned over, as if to whisper some important note into the king's ear--a warning and an urging to flee perhaps. Then I decapitated him with the guard's long sword, whose engraving bore an oath to protect the royal family.
The surrounding guards froze and the party went deathly quite, with only the thump, thump, thump sound of the king's head rolling to a stop at the base of the stairs before his throne.
Suddenly, all hell broke lose as the guests fell into complete panic and the other guards charged the assassin, quickly killing my host body. As the guard lay dying, I managed to say something about the king's bloody war and the loss of too many loved ones before my spirit moved on to another body.
The great hall was emptied soon enough, with the bodies of the poison victims carried away in a cart to be buried--the poison long having been discovered in the chalice next to my "corpse." There, in the cart I awoke in my true form, garroted the driver in a dark alley, and made my escape.
The heroes looking to stop the king's assassination never stood a chance.
I've loved magic jar ever since. It has allowed my witch, Hama, to possess everything from small children to great giants...
Truly a great story, and a really awesome spell. I agree wholeheartedly!
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Silent Image-> I have a blueblood sorcerer who uses it for powerpoint presentations and interactive battlemaps.
@Scott : It's different in Pathfinder, because Toads have 1 HD (nothing have fractionnal HD anymore).
Also, creatures in a sack would have total cover against sleep. ;)
Rope trick. I don't know why.
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Burning Disarm - No matter what, the weapon wielder is screwed.
Stalwart resolve - Need a low level way around poison ability damage, here it is. Usually lasts long enough to get those saving throws made.
Blindness/Deafness - My goto spell for my necromancer.
Glitterdust - for the resons mentioned earlier in the thread.
Snapdragon fireworks - as mentioned above, great for swarms, has LONG range, and lasts several turns.
Another good point about it, after the inital casting, it is a move action to throw the remaining rounds. SO on round 1 cast and throw 1st Snapdragon Fireworks. Round 2 cast and throw snap dragon spell #2, then as move action throw the second volley form #1.
Everyone seems to miss that sleep has a full round casting time. So the battle lasts at least a round, even if it works perfectly.
Do you not realize what full round action means? It takes my full turn to cast, no different than a full-round attack. If it works perfectly, everyone is asleep before they even get a turn.
Also, it was 3.5 and the Kobolds had 1/3 HD each.
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Sepia snake sigil. If anyone asks you what you are doing, tell them you have written permission... Ask if they would like to see your papers.
Everyone seems to miss that sleep has a full round casting time. So the battle lasts at least a round, even if it works perfectly.Do you not realize what full round action means? It takes my full turn to cast, no different than a full-round attack. If it works perfectly, everyone is asleep before they even get a turn.
1 round casting time =/= 1 full-round action.
The spell goes off just before the start of your NEXT turn, not on the same turn you begin casting.
Casting Time
Most spells have a casting time of 1 standard action. Others take 1 round or more, while a few require only a swift action.
A spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed.
A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, you are casting a spell as a full-round action, just as noted above for 1-round casting times). These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails.
When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the concentration from the current round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell.
A spell with a casting time of 1 swift action doesn't count against your normal limit of one spell per round. However, you may cast such a spell only once per round. Casting a spell with a casting time of 1 swift action doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.
You make all pertinent decisions about a spell (range, target, area, effect, version, and so forth) when the spell comes into effect.
...
Injury: If you take damage while trying to cast a spell, you must make a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + the damage taken + the level of the spell you're casting. If you fail the check, you lose the spell without effect. The interrupting event strikes during spellcasting if it comes between the time you started and the time you complete a spell (for a spell with a casting time of 1 full round or more) or if it comes in response to your casting the spell (such as an attack of opportunity provoked by the spell or a contingent attack, such as a readied action).
Do you not realize what full round action means? It takes my full turn to cast, no different than a full-round attack. If it works perfectly, everyone is asleep before they even get a turn.
The casting time is 1 round, the same as summon spells, it doesn't take effect until the start of your next turn.
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Illusory script. It's semi-useful for relaying secret messages, but its real "kick" is in the suggestion it can impose on anyone "attempting to read the script". The spell description really doesn't do justice to this part of the spell, with suggestions such as "go away" or "forget this note".
Write an Illusory Script on a wall: "dance naked in the streets". Now that's a party! Write it on a big banner: "stop hiding!", and never be ambushed again (by people who can read, anyway).
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I don't see a lot of love here for divine spells - almost all arcane.
And favorite divine spells????
When I play Clerics, I get good mileage out of Command. Nerfed as it is from the 3.5 days, you can still make an opponent waste his turn provoking AoO's. A battle cleric with a polearm would LOVE to use it on an enemy archer.
For Druids, Shillelagh makes me want to roll up a monk who dips druid. Cast it on your quarterstaff, and flurry with what is effectively a +1 greatsword.
For Inquisitors, I enjoyed Confess quite a bit. My GM rules that you can tell if the creature is taking reduced or full damage, so it makes a great prisoner interrogation spell. The best part is that the target takes the full force of the spell EVEN if they can't answer you. Would make a pretty twisted combo with Lipstitch!
I've also had alchemists and wizards take Blood Transcription. It's just so much fun to Mega-Man-style steal spells known from your dead enemies. Just make sure the Paladin hasn't put any ranks in Spellcraft.
Like Blood Transcription, I've been eyeing Create Treasure Map and Blood Biography, but those really come down to GM fiat. Biography usually just tells you something you already knew (that you just killed this thing), and Create Treasure Map is either a great way to help your GM give you plot hooks or a great way to waste time looking for piles of rotting meat and photos of other people's loved ones.
Divine spells: reincarnate. The best way to achieve immortality (especially if you have access to polymorph any object).
all-time favorite spell: Dispel Magic (even with PF nerfs)
So many bad situations are negated by liberal dispel magic use.
Floating disk. Level 1 and you can cross rivers without a bridge, lava pits, thorny brambles, or float around it in battle despite having a turd movement speed. Metfolk no longer have any weakness!
+1 rope trick. With extend spell the wizard can rest in total safety at level 4 the whole night.
Ghost Sound is so utilitarian its way OP for a cantrip. So awesome to combine with...
+1 silent image. Duplicate fog clouds. Or other concealment spells. Why ever prep darkness or obscuring cloud? You can't blow this away or daylight it if you make the "darkness" blue, say. Not to mention mysterious walls appearing to help escap. So amazing.
Floating disk. Level 1 and you can cross rivers without a bridge, lava pits, thorny brambles, or float around it in battle despite having a turd movement speed. Metfolk no longer have any weakness!
+1 rope trick. With extend spell the wizard can rest in total safety at level 4 the whole night.
Ghost Sound is so utilitarian its way OP for a cantrip. So awesome to combine with...
+1 silent image. Duplicate fog clouds. Or other concealment spells. Why ever prep darkness or obscuring cloud? You can't blow this away or daylight it if you make the "darkness" blue, say. Not to mention mysterious walls appearing to help escap. So amazing.
Not to burst your bubble, but floating disk only floats over ground, not liquids.
Floating Disk
School: evocation [force]
Level: sorcerer/wizard 1, magus 1
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, M (a drop of mercury)
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: 3-ft.-diameter disk of force
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: none
Spell Resistance: no
You create a slightly concave, circular plane of force that follows you about and carries loads for you. The disk is 3 feet in diameter and 1 inch deep at its center. It can hold 100 pounds of weight per caster level. If used to transport a liquid, its capacity is 2 gallons. The disk floats approximately 3 feet above the ground at all times and remains level. It floats along horizontally within spell range and will accompany you at a rate of no more than your normal speed each round. If not otherwise directed, it maintains a constant interval of 5 feet between itself and you.
The disk winks out of existence when the spell duration expires.
The disk also winks out if you move beyond its range or try to take the disk more than 3 feet away from the surface beneath it.
When the disk winks out, whatever it was supporting falls to the surface beneath it.
Liquids have a surface. Bugs sit on it constantly. That is really subject to DM interpretation.
The movement speed does ruin the merfolk idea, however, unless he's chilling with a quickling that cast the spell with a wand, lol.
Liquids have a surface. Bugs sit on it constantly. That is really subject to DM interpretation.
The movement speed does ruin the merfolk idea, however, unless he's chilling with a quickling that cast the spell with a wand, lol.
And if the spell said "surface" you would be correct. Emphasis mine
The disk floats approximately 3 feet above the ground at all times and remains level."
Good point TCG. I mistook the "disappears off surfaces" paragraph. Well then my players got a free bridge too easily at low levels.
Just because you disbelieve an illusion, Scott, doesn't mean it disappears. It still blocks vision and provided concealment. Disbelieving an illusiory wall will let you run through it, but it still blocks line of sight.
Good point TCG. I mistook the "disappears off surfaces" paragraph. Well then my players got a free bridge too easily at low levels.
Just because you disbelieve an illusion, Scott, doesn't mean it disappears. It still blocks vision and provided concealment. Disbelieving an illusiory wall will let you run through it, but it still blocks line of sight.
No worries. Your post actually got me thinking about that spell again. It's a decent low level travel spell. Not great speed, mind you, but consistent and without tiring your caster. 25miles-ish per 8 hr is respectable for a first level spell. If they could extend it even as low as a 4th level caster could ride all day with only three castings. He could study, read, even nap after directing it where to go. Personally though it would be best to at least have a familiar keep watch whole you ride.
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So I just had this idea. Cast floating disk three times. Place in a triangle formation. Place a triangle shaped board on top. Size will vary with capacity, but an equilateral triangle with 10' sides is a good place to start. Command them to stay in formation and follow the lead disk. Basically whichever point you designate as the lead. Now craft as many pearls of power 1 as you need to keep the platform "afloat" for 24 hrs. This will vary with caster level, but they're cheap and can be made as early as 3rd level. Plus it only takes a day per pearl to make.
Now your party has a mobile camp site that constantly stays on the move. Plus it leaves no tracks.
The caster "drives" by directing the lead disk. They're speed is 30 (generally) and I see no reason they can't double move. So 60' per round, every round for 24 hours. Minus perhaps a few rounds to re-cast as required. Though a clever caster could probably figure a way to do so without stopping.
It's limited by weight, but even at low levels three disks can hold several hundred pounds.
And when you get high enough level that this is no longer valid you can sell the pearls for cost or use them. They'll always be helpful to have.
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Burning Gaze is definitely on the top of my list. The ability to just glare at something and have it burst into flame is just amazing.
As an aside, I also really like the Dancing Flame power (It's the level 8 ability of a Fire Specialist wizard). It allows you to move any non-magical flame within 30 feet of you. I always wanted to use this ability when my party got attacked at night by a group of bandits or something. My pyromancer would take one look at the torch those humans were carrying and raise his hand and declare cockily, "All fire bends to my will!" Then the flame would leave their torch and fly right into my extended palm. I'd raise my hand in front of my face, the fire illuminating me in the darkness so they could see my twisted grin as I followed up with "Lights out!" before crushing the flame in my hand. Then the dwarves and half-orcs in my party would proceed to beat the crap out of all those blind humans.
Alas, the game never got to level 8. :( But I still have my dreams.
Just because you disbelieve an illusion, Scott, doesn't mean it disappears. It still blocks vision and provided concealment. Disbelieving an illusiory wall will let you run through it, but it still blocks line of sight.That’s a specific quality of the Illusory Wall spell. Other figments appear only as translucent outlines to creatures who make their disbelief saves. I suppose a generous GM might grant partial concealment from the translucent outlines.
But you don't get a will save to disbelieve until you -interact- with the spell.
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But you don't get a will save to disbelieve until you -interact- with the spell.
If I try to blow away the illusory Obscuring Mist or cast Daylight at the illusory Darkness, I am indeed interacting with the spell.
And if I enter their area or if I am inside when the spell is cast, I am also interacting with it.
Yes but in either case (or most at least) you have
1. A guarantee'd concealment for at least one round, more if they fail will saves.
2. Arguable partial concealment for the spell's duration if they pass the spell.
3. One spell at level 1 that can duplicate the effects of spellsat and even higher than its own level but with an extra save. This make prepping several for a wizard a great idea and an absolute must for most sorcerers IMO.
4. GREAT escapes. Illusions of almost any part of the landscape after turning a corner or the like can hide you well.
5. So many other tricks.