How do I know which spells I should memorize

[Atalius]

I have a Witch character and I often find myself memorizing the wrong spells for the day. At certain times a beautifully placed Web would work wonders but instead I have something like Blindness memorized. Other times I have Web memorized when a lipstitch would have been the better choice. I wish I could cast according to the situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Val'bryn2]

It's the common problem with prepared casters, if your gm will work with you divination spells could help. Divination, gathering info on what to expect, etc.

Not a valid combat tactic, but remember you can leave spell slots unfilled to prepare later. Takes 15 minutes, but with smart use of your hexes, you could leave up to half your slots empty to be filled later.

[Tarik Blackhands]

Ideally, you can recon some time prior to know what the coming encounter is going to be and prepare your spells accordingly, of course this is ideal and not going to happen even 25% of the time unless your GM is a complete pushover.

Other options include packing scrolls of more situational spells that can be game changers if they come up but aren't likely to appear for general adventure (See Invisibility is a good example). Alternatively you can leave a spell slot or two open and prepare more fitting spells if you have enough preparation time although that runs the risk of being caught with your pants down so to speak (although as a witch, you have hexes as a fine default option).

Lastly, just take a good look at what you have and avoid redundancy. For example, most witches pack slumber and later ice prison/agony, therefore a suck/save like blindness/deafness is going to be a fairly niche spell since your hexes will do largely the same at a better DC and unlimited times a day (to different targets). Party composition also factors into this. Blast spells are wasted if you have a hyper offensive party that decimates everything inside 2 turns for instance while black tentacles may not be the best idea if you have a primarily melee party.

[GM Hands of Fate]

send the scout out to gather intel before marching in.

[Matthew Downie]

Atalius wrote:

Ant advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unless nests are particularly troublesome, ants are best left alone. If a colony is destroyed it is likely that its place will be taken by incoming queen ants, which take over the territory and establish even more new nests.

(EDIT: Tsk. Next time I make a joke based on someone's typo, I'm waiting until their edit-ability times out first...)

[Chess Pwn]

My advice, don't worry and look at what you maybe COULD have done and missing out on.
Prepare spells that you feel are useful and then try to find uses for them.
Cause look at it this way, were you a spontaneous caster you could probably only know 1 of either web, lipstitch, or blindness and then you could be complaining that you picked the wrong spell to learn as your only spell known for your highest spell level.

[Dave Justus]

At lot of it is just learning from experience. You will learn a pretty good 'general purpose' spell memorization plan, and others can give you advice on that, but the hardest thing, that I don't think you can particularly shortcut is learning when it is best to customize your list. Obviously things like divinations, scouting and other ways of gathering intelligence play a part, but a lot of it is just getting a feel for what is likely to come up, what you are likely to be facing, based on pretty limited and usually incomplete hard information. You can get a 'feel' for when the adventure is going to be a dungeon delve with a powerful caster big bad or when it is going to be more open area encounters with mostly physical monster threats. And often a group of encounters (a dungeon or other related encounters) will share a theme, like undead, and sometimes you can figure that out ahead of time too.

Usually customizing a list if you know what you will face is pretty easy, but figuring that out ahead of time is hard, and often more art then science.

One obvious thing though, is that it gets easier as you level up, because having more spells means it is a lot easier to diversify for different situations, so even if you don't have the 'perfect' one, you have a pretty darn good option. Another real advantage is to make sure to invest in a few pearls of power. Then when you find you are in 'Undead Dungeon' with just your general list you can use the few good spells you have against them more times.

[Grandlounge]

There are some ways you can guide yourself via context. Fire plane use ice spells, infiltration of a fort filled with soldiers target will saves and groups, ths same with wilderness areas with animals. Churches and cults contain cleic so target will saves. On a boat prepare for swimming. Fighting a big creature target touch ac.

Get a wand of enlarge person, scrolls of situational spells, leave slots open for the healing and condition removal you can do. Get people in your group to get spell storing ioun stones, armor, or weapons this way you can use your extra spells to fill them.

[Mathmuse]

When I play a prepared caster, I make three lists for the most common adventuring situations I will encounter. The "Dungeon" list is for heavy combat with my best buffing and battlefield control spells. The "On the Road" list is for travel and will have flexible spells to aid in travel, camping, and random encounters. The "In Town" list is for when the hazards are subtle and usually humans who can appear innocent. Divination is an important ability in town. I pick one of the three lists in the morning based on the party's plans.

Also, I modify my chosen daily list based on gathered information. The ruined castle is rumored to be haunted? Then I check my spell list for a spell against incorporeal undead and prepare that instead of a spell on the daily list that might be useless in an old ruin.

The third preparation is storing spells. This is why Scribe Scroll is a wizard class ability, though your witch might prefer Brew Potion (via Cauldron hex) or Craft Wand. Store infrequently-needed spells on a scroll so that they are available without taking up any spell slots. Or the witch could buy scrolls and wands to save on feats. A Ring of Spell Storing or spell storing on a weapon is another way to store spells. Pearls of Power mean never having to prepare a great spell twice, leaving a slot available for more variety.

[Orfamay Quest]

Atalius wrote:

I have a Witch character and I often find myself memorizing the wrong spells for the day. At certain times a beautifully placed Web would work wonders but instead I have something like Blindness memorized. Other times I have Web memorized when a lipstitch would have been the better choice. I wish I could cast according to the situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rex Stout's fictional detective has a wonderful epigram for this. "Intelligence guided by experience." This is the sort of thing that people learn, and it's part of the puzzle-solving aspect of playing a prepared caster that makes some people love witches and wizards, and others hate them.

I can offer you some general pointers, though.

* Don't bother doubling up on effects. If you have one single-target save-or-suck spell that targets Fortitude, you don't normally need a second. This means that, for example, Blindness, Pox Pustules, and Baleful Polymorph do much the same thing, and you only need one of them.

* Look for spells that have multiple effects. For example, the summon monster line lets you summon what you need right now, so you actually have a dozen spells in one. Similarly, Glitterdust not only acts as a save or suck area effect blindness spell, but it also acts as a counter to invisibility. Web can act as as an emergency wall, providing cover and blocking charge lanes, but also can entangle foes.

* Target a variety of attack surfaces. Some monsters have strong Will saves but little Fort, some are the opposite. Ideally, you want to be able to attack any saving throw as well as [touch] AC and CMD.

* Ask questions. Remember to roll your Knowledge skills and use those to figure out what the best spells are going to be. Use divination magic to figure out what you're going to face tomorrow so you can prepare appropriate spells. If all else fails, make the rogue or bard scout ahead.

* Don't be afraid to use scrolls, especially for utility spells. There's no reason to burn a spell slot on Unseen Servant or even Lesser Restoration.