Enchanter Wizard Feats

[cavernshark]

I'm in need of a little advice. After a bit of a crisis of faith with my wizard, I'm back on track and just made it to level 5. Unfortunately, in the process of feeling out how I like to play my wizard I've sort of ended up at a weird cross-roads where I'm not sure where to take him from here. Also unfortunately, due to an untimely -- though heroic -- death in the Halls of the Flesh Eaters, I'm low on prestige. So any recommendations should keep retraining to a minimum (though I am open to it).

Short term, I need a 5th level feat and my wizard bonus feat. Long term, I need some advice on where to go on my way to 12th (this is for PFS). In combat, I've mostly been using Enchantment and Conjuration to control the battlefield and Illusion to protect myself. I plan to use most of my 3rd level slots for Heroism and Haste/Slow. My really strong social and knowledge skills help out of combat. I've always seen this character as a bit like a bard in function, but with obviously more emphasis on spells.

That said, I don't feel like I know what I'm building towards at this point. The obvious thing to do is to stay Wizard, but I'm not sure what feats I should go with moving forward especially given how hit or miss offensive enchantment spells are. Additional Traits seems like a safe feat at 5. I'm looking at Deathtouched (thematic given my death, and +1 Fort Saves is nice) and Magical Lineage if I want to start tricking out a signature spell with metamagic, or Magical Knack if I decide to dip outside of wizard. I don't really have a single particular tactic to beef up with Spell Specialization or metamagic, however, so I'm not sure what to pair here. If I don't pick up a metamagic feat, that really just leaves me with Spell Mastery or an Arcane Discovery, none of which seem all that useful at this level. (I'm open to being convinced otherwise here).

I'm also considering focusing more on summoning (since I've gone down that path to some extent). This could entail just picking up Augment Summoning - but I could go as far as pick up Scholar at 5, Spell Mastery for my bonus feat and then go Collegiate Arcanist at 6th with Sacred Summons right after.

Lastly, I could go for a big departure and maybe do a Hellknight Enforcer. This path would require the biggest investment in retraining or a dip in a martial class to get the armor proficiencies, but there's something about being a spell caster in a giant suit of armor with an imposing mask trying to beguile people that is sort of fun.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Just trying to get a sense of what others might do.

[Fruian Thistlefoot]

As an Enchanting Specialist you should have:

Spell Focus- Enchantment
Greater Spell Focus- Enchantment
Improved Initiative
Persistent Spell
Spell Penetration

Good things to have after above:
Spell Focus - Secondary School (Evocation, Conjuration, and Necromancy are typically best spell focus)
More Meta-magics

Everything else would just be gravy and/or High level content which you need to get to.

[cavernshark]

Fruian Thistlefoot wrote:

As an Enchanting Specialist you should have:

Spell Focus- Enchantment
Greater Spell Focus- Enchantment
Improved Initiative
Persistent Spell
Spell Penetration

Good things to have after above:
Spell Focus - Secondary School (Evocation, Conjuration, and Necromancy are typically best spell focus)
More Meta-magics

Everything else would just be gravy and/or High level content which you need to get to.

So I've got:

Improved Initiative
Spell Focus- Enchantment
Spell Focus - Conjuration (Secondary School)

I was looking at Persistent Metamagic, but since this is PFS and that's a +2 level metamagic, am I wrong to think I'd be better served by getting a rod than taking it as a bonus feat? At my level, I would only be able to use it on a level 1 spell and it's hard to imagine any 1st level spell competing with a lot of the stuff just naturally sitting at 3rd level (Haste, Fly, Summon Monster III)

The only other way I think it might work would be to take Magical Lineage (via Additional Traits), but as I noted, I don't have a good signature spell to toss it on currently (level 1 to 2). The enchantment spells I'm most keen on using offensively are at level 4 (Confusion or Charm Monster). As it stands, the enchantment spells I'm using are mostly Charm Person (when appropriate), and Hideous Laughter. I'm probably going to take Suggestion at 5, but am mostly planning on using my bonus slot for Heroism.

I guess I'm just having a really hard time finding something I can actually get value out of immediately it in the level 5 bonus feat. Most options I'm considering feel either like dead weight or something I have to really focus in to make effective. I went enchanter for flavor knowing full well that I wouldn't necessarily be able to affect everything with my spells, but it seems like trying to avoid specializing really shoots the efficacy of metamagic in the foot.

[Fruian Thistlefoot]

It is up to your Persistent SPell really grows on you once you get 4th level spells.

Persistent Glitterdust is just brutal.

Persistent Grease is not bad at all to nerf a creature who uses a single big weapon. You really hurt his damage output.

But once you reach 5th level spells having a Persistent A. Orb is just Brutal.

You can either buy a rod of it or just take it as there is very little in PFS that you want at early levels. You typically see 5 encounters a day so using meta magic is not all that bad because wizards do get a decent number of spells with high INT score. And there is a Neck slot item that if used as an arcane bond lets you prepare more spells a day. I would look into that item because Natural armor really doesn't do much and a Wizard uses Miss chances or DR to mitigate damage over a Huge AC.

What do you really want to be spending your money on is the question.