Any sufficiently prepared Wizard is indistinguishable from an adventuring party

[BeholderSlayer]

Well, potentially highly controversial issues like item creation costs, material-plane-blindly moving etheral nightmares, RAW-dodging shrink item and secret page uses aside, a major question for Endarire:
When your character and your cohort start out at the beginning of the dungeon at level 8 and 6 respectively, what would be your starting spells learned?
Meanwhile, I'll think on what I would recommend...

- Giacomo

...highly controversial...

Quote author=Sir Giacomo

 

I think this one deserves a:
Hi Welcome

[solara]

Does Unearthed Arcana count as Core? It's in the SRD, so my group calls it "Core." If so, I'd skip specializing (and Red Wizard) entirely and go for a Domain Wizard. Many of the benefits of a specialist, none of the lost schools. If you want a prestige class, I guess you would be limited to Loremaster and Archmage, but honestly you might be better with Wizard 20 or Wizard 15/Archmage 5.

Just my two cents, of course. The Circle Magic ability of the Red Wizard is quite nice and versatile, so it's really up to you what seems more fun/versatile.

[Sunic_Flames]

Well, potentially highly controversial issues like item creation costs, material-plane-blindly moving etheral nightmares, RAW-dodging shrink item and secret page uses aside, a major question for Endarire:
When your character and your cohort start out at the beginning of the dungeon at level 8 and 6 respectively, what would be your starting spells learned?
Meanwhile, I'll think on what I would recommend...

- Giacomo

...highly controversial...

Quote author=Sir Giacomo

 

I think this one deserves a:
Hi Welcome

Hi Welcome and GFY.

[Endarire]

"Core" includes Player's Handbook I, Dungeon Master's Guide I, and Monster Manual I.  We use the latest errata for each.

Does the Red Wizard's CL boost apply to his specialty school or all schools?

Red Wizard's Spell Power
At 2nd level, a Red Wizard gains a bonus that increases his effective caster level for purposes of determining level-dependent spell variables and for caster level checks. The bonus starts at +1 and increases at higher levels, (+1 CL/2 Red Wizard levels). 

This implies that it's a specialty school only bonus.  Let's check the Archmage's spell power.

Archmage's Spell Power

[spacemonkey555]

The original FR red wizard only got the boost with respect to his chosen school, when they cut and pasted it into the dmg they either screwed up and left out that restricting clause or chose to leave it out. The stacking sentence at the end of the dmg rule just specifies they stack, but it doesn't restrict when it applies.

They left the red wizard out of pgtf, so the only 3.5 red wizard is the dmg one, which lacks the restricting clause.

[BeholderSlayer]

Circle Magic is broken as fuck. The fact that you can heighten your spells to level 19150912580912850985 if you have enough time....yeah. If you're level 20, and your sims are running circle magic, your spells get irresistable fairly quickly.

[Endarire]

I thought the absolute max for Circle Magic was level 20 spells at caster level 40 + CL boosters.  Explain how I can surpass this.

[Sir Giacomo]

Well, potentially highly controversial issues like item creation costs, material-plane-blindly moving etheral nightmares, RAW-dodging shrink item and secret page uses aside, a major question for Endarire:
When your character and your cohort start out at the beginning of the dungeon at level 8 and 6 respectively, what would be your starting spells learned?
Meanwhile, I'll think on what I would recommend...

- Giacomo

...highly controversial...

Quote author=Sir Giacomo

 

I think this one deserves a:
Hi Welcome

Hi Welcome and GFY.

Come on... you can do better than that! 

- Giacomo

[Solo]

They probably would, if it was important.

[Sir Giacomo]

They probably would, if it was important.

True.

- Giacomo

[Sunic_Flames]

They probably would, if it was important.

This. Clown Monks are not important, as they have automatically invalidated themselves.

[Twylyghte]

Hi everyone, long time reader, first time poster

While polymorph is indeed powerful, it won't help your undead minions as it requires a living target.  Maybe polymorph your summoned mount?

[Sir Giacomo]

This. Clown Monks are not important, as they have automatically invalidated themselves.

You may wish to address "clown monk" questions elsewhere - I guess this is not the thread to do it.

- Giacomo

[Solo]

This is also not the thread to tell people that they could "do better than that", and a number of other things.

[X-Codes]

God damn, Giacomo, Sunic, and BS in a clusterfuck of idiocy.  The hell has this forum come to?

[Sir Giacomo]

This is also not the thread to tell people that they could "do better than that", and a number of other things.

[Lycanthromancer]

For such a stealthy wizard, max hide and move silently, DEX before INT and use halfling as a race.

- Giacomo

HEATHEN!

[Sir Giacomo]

I'd also second the idea mentioned earlier to get a small earth elemental via the improved familiar feat...excellent scout in a dungeon ... and fairly safe from attacks, too...could also be augmented to a large elemental via polymorph.

- Giacomo

[Sir Giacomo]

It appears that Endarire got what he wanted...

Would be great to get to know about what happened in that group with your build, though!

- Giacomo

[Endarire]

The DM backed down from the challenge before I even explained my plan.

I consider it a victory.