As per title. What's the practical benefit? Why exactly should one do it? Taking other schools has obvious advantages of enlarging your spell known with another school of magic.
Is it simply a subpar way to get more spell of a single school, or does it have some merit?
When you take a school's implement, you only select one spell from that school of each level to add to your known spells. So, if you take it twice you gain a second spell from that school of each level.
Also, it allows you to invest mental focus into a new implement and possibly give that to other party members so that they can gain the bonuses attached to those implements, without taking the disadvantages of casting without and implement.
Also, it allows you to invest mental focus into a new implement and possibly give that to other party members so that they can gain the bonuses attached to those implements, without taking the disadvantages of casting without and implement.
Mmmh, this could be good, indeed.
Also, it allows you to invest mental focus into a new implement and possibly give that to other party members so that they can gain the bonuses attached to those implements, without taking the disadvantages of casting without and implement.However, each implement has attached spells that become more difficult to cast when not in your possession.
There's a feat called Strong Implement Link that allows you to cast spells from a single implement from up to 30' away with no problem, and if it's further away the concentration DC is only 15+spell level. Sure it only works with 1 implement (you can take it multiple times), but you're probably not giving away all your implements to allies either.
Some of the schools, like Transmutation for instance, have so many good spells that you want to take that school multiple times so you can take them all. After building a Battle Host occultist (which loses 2 implements by level 6) I can safely say the reduced spells known really hurts.