Wizard Tricks

[Ravingdork]

I'm looking to brainstorm a few "wizard tricks"--preplanned combos, strategies, and ideas that really make the wizard seem deserving of their genius level intellect.

Any advice you can offer would be most appreciated. Ince this is meant to be a community project, not just for me, but for the community, I'll start with a few of my own:

- Wear a teepee like tent on your head. Use shrink item to get it to fit. Not only does it serve as portable shelter, but it can serve as instant total cover, or a defense against those times when you stumble into an antimagic field (it falls around you, granting total cover, and allowing you to retain your magic long enough to escape a bad situation).

- Cast node of blasting on everything. Your spellbook. The lock on your spellbook. The key to the lock on your spellbook. The hundreds of pebbles in your pouch (when upturned and scattered on the ground, it makes an instant minefield). On your crossbow bolts. Heck, just fling over a dozen noded objects at an enemy with telekinesis. 90d6 damage is nothing to sneeze at! ADDENDUM: I know node of blasting isn't a wizard spell, but there are ways to get access. Scrolls, psychic friends, or the Pathfinder Savant prestige class to name a few.

- Never draw or load anything. Have your unseen servant do it. Especially handy for things like trapped items not even you can touch (such as the above warded spellbook).

- Symbol spells are your friend. Hold up a cloth covered mirror and tear the cloth away to reveal the symbol of mirroring underneath. Or the symbol of death. Or whatever. Instant bluffs and/or attacks as a move action are easily managed this way. ADDENDUM: The mirror was merely an example. You can use anything. Put a symbol of persuasion on your tabard, cover it up with your cloak, and start flashing people if you wish.

- Buffs and contingencies galore! Like duh.

- Keep scrolls loaded with explosive runes. You never know when they can come in handy. Mix them in with your regular scrolls to deter thieves.

I'll post more as they come to me. I look forward to seeing a lot of wizard tricks from the community as well!

[Kayerloth]

DOT

[blahpers]

Re: node of blasting, a lot of those situations involve touching a creature with the object (as opposed to a creature touching the object). The distinction might matter to some GMs (including me).

Wanna have some real fun? Start crafting magical traps with clever triggers. } : D You can really break the game with automatic resetting spell traps, which is why the trap creation rules need even more GM scrutiny than the usual magic item creation rules. ("No, you can't trap your clothes to cast magic missile every time you see a goblin.")

[Ravingdork]

blahpers wrote:

Re: node of blasting, a lot of those situations involve touching a creature with the object (as opposed to a creature touching the object). The distinction might matter to some GMs (including me).

I've actually had one such GM rule that way already. :(

In any case, this thread is for generating ideas, not criticizing the particulars of those already submitted. I'm not saying that you were doing that, but I want to go ahead and get that out there now. People aren't going to submit ideas if they think they're going to get negative reactions for them. Some things might work for some tables and not others, and that's fine, and generally understood by most. No need to call it out.

[Xenocrat]

Using Veil to cover up Prismatic Wall traps.

Using Force Punch, Telekinesis, Forceful Hand, Grasping Hand, Clenched Fist, or Crushing Hand to throw/push enemies into a Prismatic Wall.

Deja Vu as a quickened Spell Perfection no save to make the target repeat its actions next turn (1st round) on the following round (2nd) and take advantage of that foreknowledge. Works great with classes that have Polar Midnight (which the Wizard doesn't) - as soon as they don't take any movement on their first round of Deja Vu, you drop a Polar Midnight, and they can't move on their next round, forcing them to be encased in ice, helpless, and unable to breath, no save. (The only class that can cast both Deja Vu and a Polar Midnight is a 18+ level Shadow discipline Psychic, so you're probably safe out there.)

[Ravingdork]

Throw a handful of gravel at a wall of sound, while several enemies are adjacent to it. Makes for a LOT of damage.

[Meirril]

Casting a bunch of node of blasting sounds like a recipe for killing yourself the next time you go digging around for some chalk.

Also Symbol spells sound good, till you realize that you need to preplan who isn't effected by it. I used this idea in a Kingmaker game with a symbol of fear and it took my wizard 3 days to create the symbol because he wanted a group of 50 rangers to carry it. Also, symbols are expensive to cast. Each one is effectively a one shot item.

The single most helpful thing to make a Wizard into the utility class people believe it is was to select an item bond instead of a familiar. Being able to cast any spell in your spellbook on demand means those really obscure nitch spells are worth scribbing.

Summons really are the most versatile spell you can cast. Just being able to order a creature to do stuff you wouldn't want to do yourself is worth it. Being able to gain temporary access to various modes of movement and special abilities depending on what you summon puts those spell over the top.

Simulacrum is a spell that comes relatively late in a caster's career, but it is really broken. Copy monsters with SU abilities and they usually retain them. Hags are particularly broken. The coven spells they can throw are stronger than the individual members. You can use 3 casting of Simulacrum to give your entire party Mind Blank every day.

And then there are items that allow you to create an unlimited amount of anything. You can get in so much trouble messing with things like Decanters of Endless Water. Hopefully your GM has a good sense of humor.

[Ryze Kuja]

Always let your Unseen Servant open doors for you, or use Open/Close to open doors (because traps). Once the door is open, you can Mage Hand a mirror to look past the door for ambushes/traps.

Find a trap that you can't deactivate without getting pulverized? Summon Monster I.

Dazing Fireballs are one of the best late-game crowd control spells. Even on a save, they still take damage, and now they're dazed for 3 rounds.

Black Tentacles + Stinking Cloud will lockdown just about any area.

If you're being chased, use Arcane Lock on a door to buy yourself a little breathing room.

Whenever you're facing an Enemy Spellcaster, cast ANYTHING that can be used to Blind them (glitterdust, blindness, etc.). Almost every spell that's truly dangerous to you or your group requires line of sight.

Always keep a Dispel Magic spell handy for "end-of-the-day" Counterspelling, sometimes you really need a Counterspell but it's the end of the day and you've already exhausted a lot of spells and now you don't have the needed spell to counterspell it, and Dispel Magic is sort of a "catch-all" spell for being able to counterspell. It requires a CL check so it won't always work, but you've at least got a chance to counterspell it.

Contingency spells are your friend. One of my all time favorite Contingencies is "if someone uses a Conjuration (Teleport) spell that ends within 30ft of me, cast Dimension Door on myself."

For combat-casting Wizards, one of the best traits to get is Desperate Resolve. Desperate Resolve - You gain a +1 trait bonus on concentration checks. This trait bonus increases to + 4 when you are grappled, pinned, in violent weather, or entangled. As a Wizard, being Grappled, Pinned, or Entangled is when you REALLY need that spell to be successful.

If someone Grapples you, cast Dimension Door and see if your Grappler wants to be a willing target to teleport with you. Rather than teleporting to somewhere on land, instead go straight up into the air as high as you can go. Now cast Feather Fall or Fly on yourself, and break the Grapple either with Escape Artist or another spell. Your Grappler is now plummeting towards the earth at a rate of 120 ft per second and you get +10 Style Points for the kill.

[Ryze Kuja]

Learn how to whittle and make a bunch of tiny wooden/soap busts of yourself that are to your "likeness" and then leave them everywhere you want to keep an eye on things, then cast Enter Image (range is 50ft/lvl). Alternatively, if you have a lenient GM, see if you can get your Arcane Mark to bear your "likeness", then go around placing invisible Arcane Marks everywhere and do the same thing.

[avr]

Or in Kingmaker or any other situation where you might gain temporal power, get coins made with your likeness for that enter image. Get the party archer to attach a quick sketch to an arrow. Heck, get a rubber stamp made and carry an ink pad around.

Your parties' rogue might not always be able to talk back to you even with the message cantrip. Enter image on a sketch they carry lets you at least know if they've been taken out while out scouting.

Great spell, once you're at the point you can throw 3rd level spells around casually.

[deuxhero]

Even though you are literally the only class in the game (sans possibly Commoner) to not be proficient in it, you can use a sling to make the rock you cast Light on go really far (or give the rock to anyone else the same size as you in the party and have them sling it for you). Check with your GM what color light Light produces and if you can select which kind. If you can pick, you've can use different colors to communicate over long distances at night if you inform your viewer what each means ahead of time (and if you're really crafty you can can invent morse code)

[Meirril]

Ryze Kuja wrote:

Dazing Fireballs are one of the best late-game crowd control spells. Even on a save, they still take damage, and now they're dazed for 3 rounds.

I know Ravingdork said not to bust ideas, but this one is obviously wrong. Dazing Spell says if you save vs the attached spell you don't get dazed. And if the spell doesn't have a save, the targets get to make a will save.

Fireball is a great idea for Dazing, but other spells that have multi round duration become a nightmare. Flaming Sphere becomes the spongy rolling ball of daze. The normally sub-optimal Call Lightning becomes a nightmarish control spell. Dazing Mad Monkeys becomes a disaster.

[avr]

For some real no-save nastiness combine deja vu and authoritative spell; with no save it can be made into a scroll and still be effective so long as SR isn't happening. Or rime spell and a cold damage spell, though that trick probably wants real saves/caster level for general damage. These can come online a bit faster than dazing fireball too.

On the dazing spell shenanigans note acid arrow (to bypass SR and keep the dazelock going) and burning gaze (ideally shared with a familiar who can control it). Several otherwise forgettable 1st level spells e.g. snapdragon fireworks, burning disarm & burning sands may also be worth considering. Also remember that any of these, or authoritative spell, are for high powered games only.

[Sir Gavvin]

The Full Pouch spell.... alchemical items usefulness fall off pretty quickly because of low DCs. Duplicates made with Full Pouch use the spell DC if it is higher than the original object. With high INT and appropriate feats, you can make alchemical items that are relevant well into high-middle levels.

If you took a familiar with hands, give them their very own Handy Haversack filled with alchemical goodies.

As far as Dazing spells, I am partial to Wall of Fire.

[Temperans]

I always figured a silent image or mayor image of yourself displaced by some feets to be a great trick. Same with making an illusionary hill and hiding inside it while the enemy pass by.

Shadow spells are so under used (from what I hear), yet they can literally allow you to cast a ton of spell practically for free.

Using an unseen servant to haunt the enemy camp sounds hilarious.

[Kayerloth]

Used to play a Mystic Theurge who had lots of metamagic and often used Gaseous Form inside her Black Tentacles or Solid Fog with some form of special sight and use Ray attacks on her foes.

[Cevah]

Ravingdork wrote:

- Cast node of blasting on everything. Your spellbook. The lock on your spellbook. The key to the lock on your spellbook. The hundreds of pebbles in your pouch (when upturned and scattered on the ground, it makes an instant minefield). On your crossbow bolts. Heck, just fling over a dozen noded objects at an enemy with telekinesis. 90d6 damage is nothing to sneeze at! ADDENDUM: I know node of blasting isn't a wizard spell, but there are ways to get access. Scrolls, psychic friends, or the Pathfinder Savant prestige class to name a few.

- Never draw or load anything. Have your unseen servant do it. Especially handy for things like trapped items not even you can touch (such as the above warded spellbook).

Oooohhh. I like this spell. However, as others say, you don't want these traps on you. So buy a Poppet for 310 gp.

An Occultist gets this spell as a 2nd level spell at 4th level, making a wand only 6,000 gp.

As I currently have a poppet, I will be looking into using this combo.

I like the combo Garden of Peril with Thorny Entanglement. The GoP creates plants, and the TE makes them dangerous. [TE is not a Wizard spell, but both are Witch spells, and I even managed to get that combo off in Skull & Shackles. Too bad the ship I targeted had a Druid at the helm.]

/cevah

[Mark Hoover 330]

Money, lots of money, from the very start of the game, beginning with the Mending and Prestidigitation cantrips. Also keep scrolls of Ant Haul or Floating Disk around.

The first couple levels of the game you fight against a lot of Small sized creatures. You also have high Int and can use Craft untrained. Repairing items requires Mending, Make Whole, or time and the Craft skill.

Collect Small or Medium sized gear. Use Downtime to repair it, cast Mending, Prestidigitation and such to get it oiled, clean and in good working order. Use Ant Haul to load yourself or a companion (Familiar) up with the stuff or put it on Floating Disks to carry it.

Constantly be selling everything you find. This doesn't just end with goblin swords or orc armor either. Dungeon dressing, old books, candle stubs... ANYTHING you can fix up start hoarding it and selling it back. Yeah, you only make half value of these things but in some instances that's free money if you spent only cantrips to get it to market.

Another handy low-level tip: Arcane Mark everything. On objects this is permanent and even on people it's 30 days. Use the invisible version plus Detect Magic to find ammo lost after use, retrace your steps through a dungeon, detect forgeries, etc. If your campaign involves a lot of subterfuge and body doubles, always guarantee your friends are YOUR friends, 30 days at a time.

Share Language + Familiar - do away with that pesky "your familiar can't speak" issue for 24 hours at a time. Build the right TYPE of familiar, now it's got about a 50/50 chance to UMD any scroll you've got handy.

Magic Mouth and Alarm on every important object you own. Locate Object handy to track those Arcane Marked items that still get stolen.

Extend Spell + Visualization of the Mind. Since its such an expensive spell but it in turn delivers a +5 untyped bonus to any one mental attribute's skill checks, getting 48 hours/casting is KIND of a big deal. For best results I suggest putting it on that Familiar you've built to use the UMD skill.

I'm a big fan of Wizards, permanent abilities and Survival. A particularly fun suite of spells is Expeditious Construction, Expeditious Excavation, and Mending/Make Whole. With enough time and castings of these spell you can construct a dugout survival shelter, 5' down into the ground, with hide coverings over the windows and doorway, packed earth floor, and sufficient venting to have a fire that you can ALWAYS start (Spark cantrip).

Write. Write down EVERYTHING. Craft, again, is an Int based skill you can use untrained. Using Craft you can make maps, paper, books, and write with calligraphy. Consider all the bizarre places your adventures take you. Having other spells, such as Prestidigitation, to illuminate your works or to create 2d images of what you've seen means that you can make highly accurate records of these places. Sell these for money; keep them and study them for +2 Knowledge checks (GM allowing); furnish your own library to grow into the heart of a new adventuring scholars guild.

[Ravingdork]

Now we're talking! :D

[Ryze Kuja]

Crazy No Save BBEG Debuffing Spell Combos:

Quickened True Strike (5th lvl) + Empowered Enervation (6th lvl) or Maximized Enervation (8th lvl) = 1d4+50% Neg lvls (or 4 Neg lvls), or if you're playing with Mythic Enervation: 1d6+50% Neg lvls (or 6 Neg lvls)

Quickened True Strike (5th lvl) + Maximized Empowered Touch of Idiocy (8th lvl) = -9 to Int, Wis, and Cha

[deuxhero]

Mark Hoover 330 wrote:

Share Language + Familiar - do away with that pesky "your familiar can't speak" issue for 24 hours at a time. Build the right TYPE of familiar, now it's got about a 50/50 chance to UMD any scroll you've got handy.

There's a right type of non-improved familiar besides Raven (which doesn't need this) and the initiative boosters (which still lack hands)?

Actually, speaking of raven that reminds me of one. The ability to literally get a birds eye view of stuff and communicate it clearly is really useful if you aren't traveling underground or heavy woods. Send your raven up above the "abandoned" fort and get its layout. Have it look at the road ahead (and behind!) you to watch for ambushes. While lone birds are somewhat suspicious in a world where animal companions and familiars exist, range penalties prevent most enemies (at least those before flight) from doing much in flight.

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

A lower level trick -

The reason fly is better than levitate is that you can move around while flying, but not while levitating. The reason conjuration (teleportation) is a better choice of specialization school than conjuration (acid splash) is that it lets you move around.

The obvious use is to levitate yourself and teleport around. It’s a poor wizard’s flight, available two levels early.

[Blue_Sky]

This took an entire team to make work, but here goes.

Huge cavern with dragon sleeping at the bottom. Summon however many walls of stone you can above it. Make sure the thickness of the walls aren't too thick for one blow to lower them. Buff alchemist and BSFs with fly, and let them smash the rubble down. Transmute rock to mud, then transmute it back to rock to seal the dragon in place. The dragon was young, and we didn't have netting, but it worked. Good for capturing and not killing.

[Zoin]

- Buy a small hand crank drill. Pierce a hole in a dungeon door. Cast Cloudkill and block the door (arcane lock, wall of stone/iron, BSF hold the door etc ...). Wait for them dying.
- Stinking cloud (nauseated = 1 move action per round max) + web (need a simple action to get out) = stucked.
- Magic Jar. (not a trick, but so overpowered).
- Cloud spells + ghost mask or lenses of fog cutting is a very fun combo. If you have craft wonderous, craft some for everyone in your team.
- Arcane lock wand can enable you to lock down a "dungeon". Go on recon with your improved familiar/arcane eye/one way window, and lock each room with any kind of opposition with an arcane lock wand. It's a great investment, and limits greatly the possibility of backup for any nasties you need to fight.

[Ravingdork]

Zoin wrote:

- Buy a small hand crank drill. Pierce a hole in a dungeon door. Cast Cloudkill and block the door (arcane lock, wall of stone/iron, BSF hold the door etc ...). Wait for them dying.

We've done something similar ourselves, with a cave full of giant demonic harpies. Sent in the cloud, rolled a boulder in front of the entrance.

You would need a big drill though, as line of sight requires a hole 1-foot square I believe.

Zoin wrote:

- Stinking cloud (nauseated = 1 move action per round max) + web (need a simple action to get out) = stucked.

Nice!

Zoin wrote:

- Magic Jar. (not a trick, but so overpowered).

A good combo with this is to get a set of Osirian spirit jars (allows for up to three bodies, and the victims can never escape). Also works well with the Penetrating Possession and Spirit Vision feats.

Zoin wrote:

- Cloud spells + ghost mask or lenses of fog cutting is a very fun combo. If you have craft wonderous, craft some for everyone in your team.

I GM'd a camppaign where the players did this. Every encounter save 2 became complete cake walks as a result.

[deuxhero]

As an amenddum to my above about light on slings, an arrow works and gives longer range, but is more expensive and if you're using it to see what is down a dungeon's hallway a rock holds up better to hitting the wall.

[Tryn]

I like the magic which is no magic.

Make your character look like a wizard, then paint some magic symbols on a chest/mount/whatever and speak some words in draconic.
Tell the guard/commoner/whatever to never touch the item because it's cursed now.

[Ravingdork]

Tryn wrote:

I like the magic which is no magic.

Make your character look like a wizard, then paint some magic symbols on a chest/mount/whatever and speak some words in draconic.
Tell the guard/commoner/whatever to never touch the item because it's cursed now.

Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid.

- Zeddicus "Zed" Zu'l Zorander, First Wizard of the First Order

[Jeven]

Before you type anything, beware!, NPCs are looking over your shoulder!

Whatever you can do, they can too!

[deuxhero]

False. Only PCs are immune to diplomacy.

[Temperans]

I remembered recently, eclipse, umbral, and shadow grasp metamagiced spells are great utility.

First Umbral to make 10 ft radius darkness using arcane mark.
Then use eclipse to inverse the darkness effect to gain a potentially cantrip version of continual flame (If you remove the caster level increase from umbral somehow).
Else, using shadow grasp allow the stone to entangle in 10 ft radius. this means that you can make a land mine of entangling 10 ft radius arcane marks.

Using higher level spells allows you to make high DC entangling dazing persistent fireballs for example.

[deuxhero]

Speaking of metamagic, one very dirty trick is that metamagic doesn't actually raise a spell's level aside from Heighten. Normally that's a bad thing, but several things only effect spells up to X level, not things of X spell slot.

Uses include.
Metamagic Rods
Spellstoring stuff
Metamagic Cantrips can still be cast infinitely
Collaborative Thaumaturgy
Magic item creation costs (These require a higher caster level, but not a higher spell level)

[avr]

deuxhero wrote:

Speaking of metamagic, one very dirty trick is that metamagic doesn't actually raise a spell's level aside from Heighten. Normally that's a bad thing, but several things only effect spells up to X level, not things of X spell slot.

Uses include.
Metamagic Rods
Spellstoring stuff
Metamagic Cantrips can still be cast infinitely
Collaborative Thaumaturgy
Magic item creation costs (These require a higher caster level, but not a higher spell level)

This is almost entirely untrue. For most purposes you take whichever is worse for the caster, of the base spell level or the metamagiced spell level. See the FAQ.

[Slim Jim]

My 1st-level gnome sorcerer made a flying machine out of rope, lumber, and Floating Disk.

[deuxhero]

Well it was true, it has just been FAQed away and I didn't know about that FAQ.

[Meirril]

One more wizard trick. If you use Telekinesis to throw weapons, you get the base damage of the weapon. Telekinesis doesn't care if you are proficient, or if the weapon is an inappropriate size for your character.

I had a wizard that made a Ring of Telekinesis and carried around a bucket filled with Large Cold Iron Chakram because they did 2d6 and only cost 4gp each. He also carried around another bucket filled with 1 pound silver ingots (75gp each) that only did 1d6 damage each. I wasn't going to bother getting a collection of adamantine weapons because that is just ridiculously expensive.

I could of grabbed silver weapons, but silver ingots are a trade commodity. i.e. I paid 75gp for them and merchants accept them at 75gp each.

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

Large greataxes are 1d6 more efficient. (Large greatswords would have a better crit range, but they’re too heavy.)

I’m stating the obvious here, but rogues get more mileage out of rings of telekinesis than wizards.

[Meirril]

Asmodeus' Advocate wrote:

Large greataxes are 1d6 more efficient. (Large greatswords would have a better crit range, but they’re too heavy.)

I’m stating the obvious here, but rogues get more mileage out of rings of telekinesis than wizards.

While a large greataxe would indeed do 3d6 damage each, how many large great axes can your wizard take out of a handy haversack as a move action? I think its reasonable to withdraw an entire bucket filled with 15 2 pound Chakram. Each Large Greataxe weighs 24 pounds. And if you want to max out your Ring of Telekinesis you'll need 9 of them.

I carried 15 of each projectile because I was sure some would get lost.

As for Rogue vs Wizard, I disagree. Usually a Rogue has something better they can do than make a BAB + Int/Cha mod x9 attack for 2d6 each. Especially when the Wizard has an int mod in the +9-10 range and the rogue has a +2ish maybe? Also the rogue wouldn't get any precision damage from this. Telekinesis isn't going to count for sneak attack like a ray or touch spell would. Well, maybe it would but it would be a lot smarter to get something that hits touch instead of normal AC.

Ring of Telekinesist works out for a wizard because its a free poke every round. For me it replaced Magic Missile as the thing I did when I didn't have anything better to do.

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

Wagons. They’re a poor wizard’s Tenser’s floating disk. Or a thrifty rogue’s.

It’s hard to pass up nine attacks, with sneak attack on each one. Though, as a disclaimer, the only time I’ve ever actually done this I didn’t have to play the build up to the point that I could afford the ring of telekinesis; my CHA was likely higher than would probably be viable 1-20. (I also smote good for good measure, doubling up on that CHA to hit - it was supposed to be a Paladin vs. Antipaladin deathmatch, but the poor schmuck brought a lance to a death by flying greataxes fight.) But even so, I doubt a typical ninja, or even a rogue without the CHA synergy, would have terrible much trouble hitting. After all, they’ve got nine attempts at full bab. Not bad for a full attack! :D

[Meirril]

Asmodeus' Advocate wrote:

Wagons. They’re a poor wizard’s Tenser’s floating disk. Or a thrifty rogue’s.

It’s hard to pass up nine attacks, with sneak attack on each one. Though, as a disclaimer, the only time I’ve ever actually done this I didn’t have to play the build up to the point that I could afford the ring of telekinesis; my CHA was likely higher than would probably be viable 1-20. (I also smote good for good measure, doubling up on that CHA to hit - it was supposed to be a Paladin vs. Antipaladin deathmatch, but the poor schmuck brought a lance to a death by flying greataxes fight.) But even so, I doubt a typical ninja, or even a rogue without the CHA synergy, would have terrible much trouble hitting. After all, they’ve got nine attempts at full bab. Not bad for a full attack! :D

FAQ seems to disagree with the idea of every attack getting sneak attack damage. When all of the attacks happen at once (like with Violent Thrust) you only get the sneak attack on one strike.

I really hate that the PRD is gone, it makes searching for the FAQs much harder than it use to be.

Also as a high level adventurer I'm using teleport to travel most of the time. There is no way I'm using a wagon to carry my goof around toys. But a bucket in a handy haversack means the chakram are just a move action from being deployed. The bucket is important because it is a move action to withdraw an item from the Handy Haversack.

[VRMH]

Equip a Throwing Shield while adventuring. That way, you have a shield bonus while flat-footed; but you can toss it aside as a free action before casting your spells.

[Azothath]

Teepee hat or similar item. Doesn't work exactly as proposed. Why? It assumes there's an order to the way things are affected, and there is based upon your GM's tastes. 1) everything is affected, 2) Dispel order, 3) Items Affected by Magical Attacks order(Shield, Armour, Helmet/hat/headband, ... then choose top 4 and roll randomly amongst them), or 4)totally random order. None of those start with the hat slot though #3 does favor it (25%) for wizards and monks. Sadly Antimagic field isn't an attack as there's no rolled 1 on a save. Disjunction has instructions.

Unfortunately you'll have to take some rocks thrown at ideas that don't work as otherwise it's false advertising or implausible suggestions mixed in with plausible ones. I'm just shooting down a few.

[Azothath]

Symbols are a huge waste of time, effort and money UNLESS you are trying to affect creatures 4 or more CRs below you. Honestly, why bother, the fighter or bard can handle them.

Glyph and Greater Glyph are one shot options more suitable for small groups or thieves. Fer instance, I put a glyph on the inside of a platinum ring. When the wrong finger enters the 'portal' and dons the ring *BLAM*.

[Azothath]

Always tension, cock, and load your crossbow, put a ribbon on it to hold the bolt in place, and store it in your handy haversack or on your back. Disarm your crossbow when you are back home safe and sound.
It is a myth that spring steel or iron crossbows bend or warp with time unless we are talking years. The leaf springs on your car are loaded and in 20 years your car doesn't bottom out... wood is more susceptible to fatigue but a mwk crossbow should not be near it's load or working limit. Still due to pervasive misconceptions you'll have to get your GM to agree.

I wholeheartedly agree that an Unseen Servant can spend its actions getting it out, cranking away, and handing it to you. This is why you need 2 masterwork heavy crossbows.

Only buy regular cold iron ammo and apply silver blanch to it. Don't leave home without it.

4 cold iron bear traps are also excellent.

[Azothath]

buy dull gray ioun stones and paint them to resemble active stones.
Paint some glyphs on it them and add an Explosive rune.
Then cast heightened Continual Flame on it.
It'll be rare when activated but you can be pretty sure it'll blast someone you wanted to blast that is examining the stone.

there are lists of these kind of things going back 20 years...

[Azothath]

Floating Disk gets its share of misuse. It's not a magical surfboard for the caster. However, through a familiars share spells ability the caster can be made to be the familiar and thus small shenanigans can happen. If a caster violates the terms or requirements of a spell, generally the spell simply ends.

[Slim Jim]

Azothath wrote:

Floating Disk gets its share of misuse. It's not a magical surfboard for the caster.

If you don't weigh very much, it can be. (But watch out for crevices!)

[Temperans]

Well floating disk is a surfboard, all you need is the magic trick feat. Then you can get 50ft fly 1 rd/lv/casting with no height limit.

[HetBlik]

As a low level abjuration specialist, I found the schools innate resistance power pretty helpful. With resistance 5 against fire, it's decently harmless to just light yourself on fire to deter attackers and more.

With the fire resistance writing Incendiary Runes upon yourself becomes a good emergency fail-save and a form of fast self combustion. Write the runes on your arm, below your sleeves or so and in case of emergency flash it towards the enemy or a hopefully helpful teammate.

Are you grappled? Flash your Incendiary Runes, fail your own save on purpose and you're now on fire. There aren't much things at low level that would like to keep you grappled while you are on fire.

Annoying swarms to deal with? Have a teammate trigger the Incendiary Runes (from a hopefully save distance for them) or douse yourself in lamp oil and light yourself on fire. The swarm suddenly really won't like to share your square.

Need to intimidate some punks? It should be easy to convince your GM that lighting yourself on fire should carry a bonus to the check. What sane person would light themself on fire and then just stand there without flinching? (Just don't roll a 6 on the D6)

[Azothath]

Slim Jim wrote:

Azothath wrote:

Floating Disk gets its share of misuse. It's not a magical surfboard for the caster.

If you don't weigh very much, it can be. (But watch out for crevices!)

for me, I'd say no... but I can see home game GMs letting it go.

I'd agree that spending a feat on Magic Trick will let you ride the disk etc.