I am in need of assistance. I have a 16th level human universalist wizard, and I need to get my equipment updated to address the needs of a long-haul adventuring sequence away from civilization. I'll outline my build and current gear list as quickly as I can, point out a couple of elements that are central to the character concept, and then leave it to this fine community to help me spend a sizable amount of coin.
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The Build
1) Class Feats: Reach Spell, Widen Spell, Cantrip Expansion, Counterspell, Steady Spellcasting, Bond Conservation, Quickened Casting, Magic Sense, Superior Bond, Effortless Concentration
2) Other Feats: Bon Mot, Multilingual, Assured Identification, Hobnobber, Cognitive Crossover (Arcana/Occult), Quick Identification, Magical Shorthand, Incredible Initiative, Discreet Inquiry, Canny Acumen (Perception), Clever Improviser, open feat slot (level 9) currently held by Multitalented --> Sorcerer Dedication (Imperial bloodline) but that should probably be replaced, Advanced General Training (Evangelize), Shameless Request, Unified Theory, Entourage
The Gear
1) Invested Items: Diplomat's Badge, Golem Stylus, Lifting Belt, Ring of Wizardry III, Greater Ring of the Ram, Stole of Civility, Ventriloquist's Ring
2) Consumables: Greater Bravo's Brew, Moderate Elixir of Life
3) Implements: Staff of Fire, Greater Staff of Impossible Visions
4) Cash on Hand: 5182.10 gp
The Concept
1) Multipurpose arcane casting -- battlefield control, damage output, team buffs, problem-solving; everything and nothing
2) The 'Party Face' -- plain and simple: this guy does the most important talking, but with subtlety
3) Third-Action Critical Aid King -- I have a generous GM who has kept the DC for Aid checks at 20, and so long as I can justify the attempt narratively, I can spam my +31 Arcana checks to help the rest of the team succeed.
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I've been running with Mage Armor as my primary means of defense, with occasional castings of Shield at critical junctures. I have no focus spells. My spellbook can be revised at the drop of a hat, simply because we're trying to make sure that everyone is having fun. I have no runes on any of my equipment, at all. My feat selection can be as fluid as my spellbook.
I have a little bit of trade value in the gear that I've kept and earned, and I have over 5000 gold I can spend.
PF2 continues to be a daunting system in terms of evaluating "best options" for me (insufficient time to do all the research), so I really need to crowdsource some ideas.
Please, and thank you.
Yes, pure spellcasters (Wizard, Sorcerer, and Witch) often don't have much in the way of weapons and armor.
I don't know if you have one and just failed to mention it or not, but getting a Wand for Mage Armor would free up a high level spell slot.
3) Implements: Staff of Fire, Greater Staff of Impossible Visions
You are normally not able to attune both staves on the same day. You can choose one during morning preparations, so having both isn't excessive.
Other than that, I generally use equipment either to let me do things more often (such as wands), or to enable doing something that is not otherwise accessible. So look at your allies too and see if there are any problem points that you have encountered that you might be able to handle if you had some piece of equipment to assist and enable you with.
getting a Wand for Mage Armor would free up a high level spell slot.
'High level' is a bit debatable. 5000 GP won't afford an 8th level wand, so the 6th level version of Mage Armor is the best that could be had. If Syrus wants the 8th level version of Mage Armor, then an 8th level spell slot each day is probably the only option still.
But it would still free up a 6th level spell slot with the Wand for 3000 GP.
I'd start off by selling the items that are no longer useful to improve your budget with the staff of fire and greater ring of the ram really standing out.
I don't know if your gm tracks rations, but consider learning create food and create water to eliminate those concerns. Similarly, I assume you already know one of the various hut/house spells but if you don't, grab one of those too. Between those, being away from civilization shouldn't be an issue.
After that, I'd pick up a manifold missile wand or two. Setting up persistent force damage for an entire fight with a single action that can't be saved against or be flat checked away is a good option to have for more difficult fights.
If you don't want the wands, consider some items like goggles of night to fix your inferior human vision and give you a perception item bonus or a storyteller's opus to make your illusions better and give you a strong reaction in combat (unless your gm has essentially given you one for all for free). You already have skill boosting items so there's not much to recommend on that front aside from a greater hat of the magi or something.
If you don't want gear, I'd focus on buying scrolls of any utility spell you can get your hands on that can't be replicated by any other caster in the party. You never know what random stuff the gm will throw at you so just skim the spell list and pick what you think your gm will try to catch you with.
And if you don't want to go down that route either, perhaps just give your money to another party member. Maybe your martials have been neglecting to make their weapons cold iron or need some more silversheen. Or maybe the rogue couldn't afford to get items to boost all his skills. Maybe you just want to get the cleric a nice birthday present.
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Yes. A Wand of Cozy Cabin. Great for camping trips.
Hey, Eoran. It's like a version of Pet Cache meant for you.
Yes, and once I can cast level 8 spells, I may have you cast it instead so that you can be the one locked inside it for the duration.
Hmm... Maybe pay the extra cost for an Explorer's Yurt then. 880 GP for the Yurt instead of 360 GP for a 3rd level wand.
Oh, I also just remembered the Grimoires. Getting one of those would be quite useful for you.
You already have a Ring of Wizardry, but I don't see any reason that you couldn't also use an Endless Grimoire.
And depending on your spell selection and enemies that you will likely be fighting that day, a Book of Lingering Blaze could be useful.
Things like that.
But like the staff, you can only use one of them each day.
We have, essentially, as much downtime as we'd like before we begin the next part of the campaign. That being said, though, from an in-character perspective I'm pushing for complete haste -- there's a thing to do, by God, and it needs doing NOW!!
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Heh. "One for All" . . . "for free." Pardon my chuckling.
All that feat does is allow a perfectly reasonable Aid action while also enabling the swashbuckler to gain panache. My wizard does not use panache.
That said, though, I understand what you mean -- and I imagine that the full answer from your perspective would be "Yes!" Our GM allows complete player agency in using narration to describe how a specific check is used to Aid an ally. In my particular case, I make Arcana checks tied to the spells I have prepared, and unused, and that could reasonably have impact sufficient to supply an easier target to a teammate.
As an example: of course I have taken reverse gravity, and as long as I still have that spell in an unspent spell slot, I can use an Arcana check to influence gravity just enough on a single target to move that enemy more into the path of an ally's attack.
A bit of a callback to the 3.5 reserve feats and DSS's Spheres of Power system, frankly -- and this "limitation" is entirely my own creation.
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I may well go with the cozy cabin wand . . . though I've gotten magnificent mansion already.
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The lifting belt, greater ring of the ram, and golem stylus have all, at one point or another, proven to be absolutely clutch. Well, the stylus was more a fun-time one-off, but still . . . . I'm not very interested in ridding myself of them without swapping up to a strict upgrade.
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The staff of fire, is, at this point, worth neither the effort to sell it, nor the kindling to which it could be reduced. It is simply a holdover of the fact that no staff we encountered throughout the campaign appealed to me in any way until the GM put the other staff in a loot hoard specifically for me.
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The party already has access to a bag of holding, and we have a cleric on the team, as well. Food and storage aren't major concerns for us.
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Thanks for all the feedback, folks! Keep the suggestions coming, please!!
Back to the topic, if you already have a magnificent mansion... well forget about the cozy cabin!
The wand of Cozy Cabin wouldn't cost a spell slot each day though. It is definitely less benefit than the Mansion, but it is usually sufficient.
Upgrading the Ring of Wizardry would be expensive. The Endless Grimoire is similar, and doesn't appear to be incompatible, so if it is sufficient, it would also be much less cost.
It's 2.5g to upgrade the ring vs 4k for the grimoire, about of 60% extra golds.
They both have value ( depends the personal preferences ), and I wouldn't dismiss improving the ring that easily.
Oh. I was looking at the level 10 version of the Grimoire for 900 GP. Sorry I didn't specify that. With that and the Type III ring you would have two 3rd level and one 2nd level slots.
Just the Type IV ring would give two 4th level and one 3rd level - which is definitely better. But also more expensive. How much more expensive depends on whether the old ring has to be sold at 10% value and a new ring purchased, or if the old ring can be upgraded to the higher level ring without losing any of its current value.
With sufficient gold you could get both the Type IV ring and the level 14 Grimoire and end up with one extra 5th level, two 4th level, and one 3rd level spell slots. But I think that is outside the budget given.
Okay -- my timetable has been advanced. I have less than 24 hours to finalize any and all decisions on this score.
I hate to ask this, but I have no time due to work concerns: will any of you interested persons give a breakdown on the costs of these various items (and upgrading the ring of wizardry), as well as any consumables that are worth mention?
Also: any input at all on effective spell selection would be welcomed. I am planning to prepare a couple of true strikes and at least one polar ray, so another "big gun" attack roll spell might be worth suggesting. Though, of course, since I can get a doubled casting of the polar ray, it might not be necessary.
Finally: I am still trying to learn this system -- I think I've played 3.x/PF1 for way too long, and I'm still having difficulty transitioning to this new mode of spellcasting. If you have *any* general tips, I would love to read them.
People, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the time and effort you've put in on this! I truly appreciate it!s
One thing to keep in mind for this edition is that equipment is generally secondary to your character build choices - feats and skill choices and such. Equipment generally provides either a minor boost to something that you already do, or enables you to do something poorly that you otherwise couldn't do at all.
The exception to that is equipment that keeps you on track for the game balance math. The easiest way to check for that is to look on the Automatic Bonus Progression table and make sure your equipment is giving you something equivalent. Since your character doesn't use weapons or armor, and you have the skill boosting equipment already, you should be good to go on that.
So basically, don't stress too much about your choices. Your character seems to already be doing quite well. Equipment is just gravy.
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One other thing that I would note is that "upgrading" the ring of wizardry is a bit questionable. I don't think there are actually rules for upgrading equipment. There are rules for upgrading Runes though, and a lot of GMs will extrapolate from that to make rules for upgrading equipment.
Strict rules, I think you have to sell the old equipment for 10% of its cost and buy new equipment. A more typical rate for upgrade is either 50% of the cost of the old equipment or even 100% of the cost of the old equipment going towards the cost of the new equipment.
Though I might be wrong on that. There might actually be rules for upgrading equipment. I'm not nearly as well versed in equipment rules as I am in other things.
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Now, with the GM corner out of the way...
Since you don't really use armor or weapons, you are probably wanting to power up your spellcasting more. So you are probably looking for more spells able to cast. There really aren't any items that will allow you to increase your bonuses for attacking with spells.
You already have a Ring of Wizardry type III. That gives you one 3rd level and one 2nd level spell slot. Upgrading that to a type IV will increase the level of each spell slot by 1 to be two 4th and one 3rd level spell slots.
If you have to sell it for 10% and buy a type IV ring, that will cost a net value of 4300 GP. Basically your entire budget.
If you can recover 50% of the value of the old ring in components to build the type IV ring, then it would be 3500 GP.
If you can recover 100% of the value of the old ring, then the new one will be 2500 GP.
Alternatively getting the level 10 Endless Grimoire will give one 3rd level spell slot and cost 900 GP. Getting the level 14 Endless Grimoire will give a 5th level slot, but will also take nearly your entire budget at 4000 GP.
Common Spell wands are a standard price based on the spell level. So a 2nd level Longstrider wand would be 160 GP and would give a 10 foot status bonus to your Stride speed all day. A 3rd level wand of Cozy Cabin would cost 360 GP.
The Wand of Manifold Missiles is another popular option. It is a specific wand though rather than a general purpose one. The 3rd level spell version costs 700 GP and the 5th level spell version is 3000 GP.
There are also things like the Healer's Gloves that will allow you to do some emergency healing once per day. The better ones cost 700 GP.
So with all of this, for the 5000 GP budget, you could get (as an example):
* The upgraded Ring of Wizardry - If you can upgrade the Ring of Wizardry for 100% of its original value, then 2500 GP
* The Endless Grimoire with a 3rd level slot for 900 GP
* The Wand of 2nd level Longstrider for 160 GP
* The Wand of 3rd level Cozy Cabin for 360 GP
All for 3920 GP total
You could still afford that even if you only get 50% of the value from your current Ring of Wizardry. That would be 4920 GP.
If you do get the 100% cost of the Ring of Wizardry as part of the upgrade, then you will also have funds left to get:
* The Wand of Manifold Missiles (spell level 3) for 700 GP
Bringing the total to 4620 GP
And with a bit of scrounging, you could probably even get:
* The Healer's Gloves (greater) for 700 GP
Bringing the total to 5320 GP
One more minor note: It may be tempting to try and use wands or scrolls for combat spells. It does work, but it costs actions to draw them as well as storage space in a case or bandolier where they are accessible.
So while you could buy five wands of level 1 True Strike for 300 GP, the action cost to draw the wand means that you could only cast True Strike from one on every second round. And that is only if you don't have to move or do something else defensive with that action.
Just an update.
I got the explorer's yurt, the 5th-level wand of manifold missiles, a handful of consumables, and the shadow signet.
We haven't yet had an encounter suitable for me to truly put the new toys and tricks to the test, but it should be happening next weekend.
Once more: thanks to all of you for your input! You were a great help!