| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ahoy friends and fellow magicians, I have a dilemma. I'm at level 11 with a wizard who predominantly focusses on battlefield control and summoning things to do damage. I believe my most used spell is probably summon monster, with my feat selections focussing on that (Augmented summoning, Conjuration school increasing length of summons,etc..., so with Summon Monster 5, I bring in a strong elemental to aid in combat and eat hits for about the whole length of combat.
If my party isn't cheering on the elemental, or it seems like over kill, I'll create some pits to trap enemies, lay down obscuring mist to cover our support pcs, etc...
Core group has a Magus and a fighter who deal most of the damage, with a rogue who occassionally swings by, so I drop buffs as well, Haste and Enlarge Person are favourites for the party.
Now with my 6th level spell selections, I'm torn between the following options, if you could offer up any advice as to ones that are traps, or sub-standard, I'd appreciate it.
1. Chain Lightning, Direct damage to multiple enemies, Reflex Saves which puts most of our giant foes in the "easy hit category" but usually we aren't facing 11 enemies at the same time, granted that sort of damage is just amazing. Then again, I'm not a primary damage dealer, but I feel like I should have a blast spell on hand when I need it.
2.Conjure Black Pudding: I love it, and it works with my summoning tactics. The fact that as it gets hit it multiplies, causing more area denial and damage, as well as soaking up more hits makes it something I'm really jazzed about, only problem is that it doesn't respond to direct commands, but if I plop it behind enemy lines, muahahahahahaha
3. Form of the Dragon I: Who DOESN'T want to then again, as a small caster, medium is still a size boost.
4.Permanent Image: Probably suboptimal,but I like the idea of being able to create a permanent image of myself gloating, or blowing up the BBEG as a way to commemorate our battle. Or casting it on our travel wagon so that the wagon seems super impressive and intimidating, etc... over all, it's just really varied in it's uses, though the novelty may not be worth the slot.
5.Planar Binding: Seems natural for a summoning based wizard, being able to bring 12 HD creatures into this realm, but I could say long-term maintenance being problematic.
6. Summon Monster VI: Been my bread and butter thus far, I feel like I should stick with it, plus Huge elementals are Fun!
7. Transformation: A nice ace up the sleeve if I'm ever seperated from the party, but then again, if I have a 6th level spell free, why would I do this when I could just pop a Huge Elemental between me and the bad guy. I'm predominantly liking this because of the looks on the party's faces when I become an archer, lol.
8.Vengeful Outrage: What better form of control than turning one enemy against the other? Will saves are low for the brutish foes we may face, and I like having spells that can target enemy weaknesses.
9. Wall of Iron: I'm not too sure how effective this would be for battle field control. I've used wall of stone a few times to prevent reinforcements from getting into the fight too soon, but it usually only buys us a round or two. I mean, a wall with an area of 55ft would be good cover, and with 2 inches of thickness, it could eat 60 points of damage, which would otherwise come at the party but is this on par with the other spells listed here?
So of those, I can choose upto 2, what are your thoughts and opinions?
One vote for Summon Monster VI = this is the Summon Monster Level with so many Spell Like Abilities, Lilend (instant party bard), Succubus (instant enchanter), Shadow Demon PLUS Huge Elementals, Pouncy Dire Tigers and meat shield dinosaurs. Great versatility.
Other contenders for 6th level spells imo would be Greater Dispel Magic and Contingency
My party aren't the type to be down with a plan that involves retreating, we'd rather spend 20 minutes sweating it out trying to figure out how on earth we're going to do the impossible. Plus, I'd have to use both my 6th level slots to set up and use the getaway, by which point I could have two black puddings, or two SM VIs up to cinch the victory. Plus a minute casting time wouldn't be much help in a fight or high stakes situation, granted it could have some use, just not sure if it would be ideal.
But I need to parse this list down to 2, not add more, lol. Darn wizards having so many options! I'm pretty much sold on SMVI so it's the others left vying for position.
Are those the only options? Definitely SM VI and I guess the black pudding, then.
Transformation is a trap; you are not a fighter, and that spell does not make you one. Chain Lightning is better than most direct damage, but still a subpar option. Form of the Dragon: What benefits would you actually benefit from significantly? Planar Binding I've never been a fan of, it's costly and can backfire on you. Wall of Stone is generally better BFC than wall of iron; wall of iron is mostly good for producing large quantities of iron to sell or craft into things.
Other options to look at: Greater Dispel Magic, Battlemind Link, Mass Suggestion, Sirocco, Disintigrate (especially great vs. undead, constructs, and to "interior decorate" with), Flesh to Stone, and Mage's Lucubration.
Also, having Contingency to use on days you're not adventuring is a good idea.
Those are the options I looked at and that stuck, I skimmed other spells but had to draw the line somewhere.
I hear you on transformation, I figured going archer would be better than greatsword since your dex and str go up, and my ac would still be low to wade into melee, but valid point StreamoftheSky, I've taken it out of the running for the simple reason that it doesn't play to my strength.
What's subpar about chain lighting? 11d6 against up to 11 opponents, and targets reflex, which is the weakness of most big bad monstrosities.
Form of the Dragon, I take your point, it's a nice thematic choice with lots of flavour and could be cool, but it's not a daily use spell.
I take your point on Planar binding too, not a fan of something that offers multiple saves and could bite me in the butt, especially when I can just summon things with SM. I liked it's potency on the first reading, but after consideration it's off the list.
We're not a crafting heavy party, plus the spell description says the iron isn't sufficient quality for crafting or selling. I just figured the wall of iron is stronger than the stone, and so better as a barrier. The flatplane limitation and having to be anchored into two points is a limitation, but for narrow corridors I can't help but picture sealing the blast doors.
I don't like Sirrocco, it targets fort, a strong save for most of the bestiary and deals fire damage, again the most common resistance. A low DC 15 fly check, and I figure any flying creature we come across at CR11 or so will likely beat that easily, negating any sort of air traffic control ability.
I hadn't considered Mass Suggestion, but it could be useful, we just don't spend much time chatting up enemies. I hadn't seen disintigrate but it looks amazing, provided my DC 22 can beat their fort save (I'm not built for blasting, recall). I liked Flesh to Stone too, but figured I had to cut the list somewhere.
SM VI is a done deal, so one from the revised list:
1.Conjure Black Pudding
2.Mass Sugestion
3.Disintegrate
4.Vengeful Outrage
What would I use contingency for? Most of my spells are BFC or utility that are situational, and if I needed them, I'd just use them.
That's why I dislike wall of iron. It may be stronger, but its much less shapeable than the stone.
Again with disintegrate, you should mainly use it for "blasting" against undead and constructs since they tend to have poor fortitude saves (but hardly ever need to roll them) and otherwise use it to say... create your own doorway into a room or the like. Using it on cubes of inanimate objects/material doesn't give a save to greatly nerf the damage, it just works. Also handy to escape walls/prisons/spheres of force quickly.
Mass Suggestion is not just out of combat. I use suggestion effects in combat frequently, if you put a modicum of effort into the suggestion, you can at the very least remove a foe from the combat for hour/level or until the party goes to fight him individually after offing all his allies.
Contingency is great to use either as a free extra spell per day or for an emergency. Having one to dimension door you out of harm/grapple is common, for example. Or one to teleport your body and gear back to the temple of your deity should you die. It depends on your CL of course, since that limits your max spell level to pick from. My high level wizard has a contingency to cast Mage's Lucubration when she declares, "I came re-prepared for this!" That way if she should cast some level 1-5 spell and suddenly find the party desperately needs it again, right now, she has it.
If you can get some divine/cleric spells somehow contingency gets even better as you can contingent heal or breath of life or whatever. Not an option for most, though.
Ah, ok I see contingency's use now, but I think I'll wait for the next level or two as so far my spell list isn't designed around those types of things.
I'm leaning super strongly towards black pudding, but Disintegrate has me pretty sold on it too, maybe I'll roll a d20 for symbolism sake, evens=black pudding, odds= Disintegrate, lol.
Uh...you don't have any access to other wizards' spellbooks or purchasable level 6 scrolls to copy into your own spellbook?
I've acquired a few other spellbooks and such from others, it's a lowish magic campaign so we really only come across scrolls as occasional loot and usually they aren't very high caster level. When we come across wizards though I generally take their books while the party bickers over their magic ring or amulet.
I wouldn't expect to find a 6th level spell lying around in a spellbook anytime soon. He's big on story, world building, and things "making IC sense", nuclear weapons are rarely on sale at wal-mart, right?
Ah, fair enough. That makes sense. Proceed. =)
And on topic: I've never gotten to play a caster to 11th level, so I have no hands-on experience with spells at that level, but I'd vote for Disintegrate as your second spell, just because it's the most versatile of your options, other than Contingency.
Thanks to the other posters for helping me see that: I've been following this thread for the great replies!
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The important thing to keep in mind is that a spell is a solution to a problem.
What kinds of problems do you want to have a solution to? Chain lightning is a solution that shortens the fight against groups of mooks. Sometimes this is a great solution. Certainly it is one that comes up often.
Obviously the rest of your spell load-out matters a lot here, but I think Streemofthesky has the right idea. think about the kinds of problems you will be called on to solve, and plan accordingly.
That said, you will never regret taking disintegrate. It's one of the most useful spells in the game.
|
GET CONTINGENCY! Check out the duration on that thing: days per level. That means you prepare it on a non-adventuring day, and you get a free quickened spell the next at no spell slots! For example, Mirror Image/ Invisibility/Displacement when someone rolls an attack at you, or Protection From Energy when you get blasted with fire. Then you can use double the SMVI the next day! (Summon a bard; parties love bards.) Unless your party is adventuring 24/7, it's a fantastic boost to a wizard's action economy, and automatic magical defense really sets apart high-level wizards from low-level ones. (As does Overland Flight.)
Usually I'm a fan of diversifying, so I wouldn't take Black Slime alongside SMVI. Of the other ones, do note that Vengeful Outrage gives the target another save if they are forced to fight a friend/loved one, and that it has a 1 round casting time. I quite like Mass Suggestion as a way to incapacitate a number of mooks at once, but check with your GM - some are fickle about this type of thing.
If I may make a suggestion: Enemy Hammer is one of my favorites at this level. It lets you stretch a 6th-level spell over several rounds, has a long range, and most importantly is frickin' hilarious. It works best when there's a team of roughly equal enemies instead of one big bad and a buttload of mooks, but it was rare I regretted preparing it.
PS: Consider taking Greater Dispel Magic next level; you're going to want it for the upper levels.
Flesh to stone is pretty awesome because its a save or loose combat and wake up later in a place where ill wizard-badger you about stuff. Permanent image is neat for downtime of you don't have any other projects mostly because you can start making wired illusion dungeon getaways. Depends on your game though and whether you can get the other members of the party to sit and wait for downtime to happen.
What about spiked pit(3) or acid pit (4)? conjuration spells, you do damage AND take out enemies from the field
That's awesome
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The thread's been dead for about three and a half years, tanklin.