Scuplt Spell and Mastery of Shaping?

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'm building a 17th level character currently and he will have 1 level in Archmage for Mastery of Shaping.  The DM has allowed a single non-core feat pending his approval from his rather limited book list.  For the purposes of a wizard, C.Arcane, PHB2, and the various dragon books (Races of, Dragon Magic, Draconomicon) are the only useful ones available.  I was thinking of taking Scuplt Spell, but I'm not sure how important it is when I'll already have MoS.  Bear in mind, other than Familiar Pocket (which I begged for so my pet isn't just a lost level waiting to happen), I'm being limited to core spells only.  So other than grease, there aren't many spells that can get a drastic size increase from it.  So, at least in that scenario, would you say Sculpt is still worth it, or would I be better off getting Improved Initiative, Extend Spell, Still Spell, or some other non-core feat instead?

These are my currently planned feats.  Any that look like a complete waste of space are there for PrC requirements (DM allowed a single non-core prestige class; I chose Initiate of the Seven Fold Veil).

1 Scribe Scroll [Wizard]
1 Spell Focus (Abjuration)
3 Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
5 Quicken Spell [Wizard]
6 Greater Spell Focus (Abjuration)
9 Sculpt Spell
12 Flyby Attack
15 Spell Focus (something else)

[Rebel7284]

Arcane Thesis is in PHB2

As you pointed out Sculpt spell isn't that great when you have half of its utility from a class feature already.. plus rods of sculpting are cheap if your DM lets you buy them.

[sirpercival]

Persistent Spell is CArc...

[StreamOfTheSky]

Can't have items outside core, so buying them is not an option, that's probably the only reason the feat appeals to me.  Rods would be dirt cheap.

Arcane Thesis has three problems: 1) The massive amount of sucky feats my prestige classes require leave me without much space for metamagic feats to actually reduce cost with; 2) I have no idea what sort of standby spell I would pick in the first place; 3) It's the type of feat that can easily get really cheesy and this DM has a low cheese tolerance.  I plan to be very careful to not make him hate IotSFV and note that all of its abilities are defensive.

RE: Persistent Spell: I ban it in my own games, so I wouldn't bring it into someone else's game.

[kremti]

How about...

Craft Contingent Spell (CArc)
Spell-Linked Familar (PHB II)
Dragon Familiar (Dragonimicon, I think...yeah, I love familiars, what can I say  )

Too bad Cityscape is out...Invisible Spell is fun.

Yeah, Scuplt Spell doesn't sound too hot...

-K

[CantripN]

Look at: Reserves of Strength (Dragonlance Campaign Setting), Elder Giant Magic (SoX), Energy Abjuration (CM), Energy Gestalt (CM), Acidic Splatter (CM), Insightful Divination (CM), Minor Shapeshift (CM), Summon Elemental (CM).

[altpersona]

Spellfire

[kremti]

Look at: Reserves of Strength (Dragonlance Campaign Setting), Elder Giant Magic (SoX), Energy Abjuration (CM), Energy Gestalt (CM), Acidic Splatter (CM), Insightful Divination (CM), Minor Shapeshift (CM), Summon Elemental (CM).

The DM has allowed a single non-core feat pending his approval from his rather limited book list.  For the purposes of a wizard, C.Arcane, PHB2, and the various dragon books (Races of, Dragon Magic, Draconomicon) are the only useful ones available.

He's got quite restricted list...

Maybe Chain or Repeat spells might be useful...maybe.

-K

[CantripN]

Arcane Mastery isn't bad, to ignore lowish SR, I suppose.

[X-Codes]

Arcane Mastery isn't bad, to ignore lowish SR, I suppose.

If he boosts his caster level then it can work to ignore SR of creatures a few CR's higher than the Wizard's ECL, as well.

Another option is Practical Metamagic (or whatever it's called) from Races of the Dragon to reduce Quicken from a +4 metamagic to +3, definitely making it more practical.

[StreamOfTheSky]

- What is Spellfire?  If it's an Immediate Magic ACF, then it's out, already asked for alt. class features and was told none allowed.

- Cantrip, none of those are available to me.  Well, I don't know what SoX is, but pretty sure whatever it is, it's out.  Here is all the books the DM has, if you think any have something of use besides C.Arc, PHB 2, and the dragon ones:
[spoiler]Player's Handbook 2
Complete Warrior
Complete Arcane
Planar Handbook
Races of the Dragon
Dragon Magic
Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords
Tome of Magic
Magic of Incarnum
Stormwrack

Monster Manual 2 and 4
Draconomicon
Libris Mortis
Fiendish Codex 1 and 2
Fiend Folio
Exemplars of Evil
Elder Evils
[/spoiler]
Just note, even though ToB is on the list, DM is squeamish about it for some reason and would rather not have material used from it.  Also, due to party composition and the unique rules of the setting, being good aligned is VERY important (not being good aligned bones you HARD if you die and need to be raised).

- Arcane Mastery was one of my interests.  Not sure it'll be enough to auto win many SR checks, monsters at higher levels tend to have them ramped up pretty fast track, IME.  I have the iuon stone for +1 CL so CL is 18, might go Archmage at 18th level to get another +1, though current build is Transmuter 9, so the bonus feat seems more appealing.  It might be useful for dispelling, though.

- Practical Metamagic is basically a sorcerer feat, it requires spontaneous casting and dragonblooded.  You may have been thinking of Easy Metamagic, from one of the dragon magazines.

- Craft Contingent Spell is possible...  Can you have that active AND a regular contingency?  I have Greater Shadow Evocation precisely for Contingency already.

- Familiar stuff: What kinds of familiars would be useful, you think?  I'm just really afraid of my familiar dying and was mostly content with a Hawk sinc it can ferry people across chasms in a bag of holding in a pinch and as a bird gets a massive duration factor if I PAO it into a T-Rex or something.

[altpersona]

i dont think spellfire is an option, i just wanted to throw it out...

if it is an option, is a forgotten realms thing, you absorb spells based on your con score.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Ah, then no.  The game has its own setting, The 13 Kingdoms, with its own assortment of stupid setting-specific feats and rules.

[snakeman830]

I suggest Chain Spell.  It's useful on a number of core spells, and your party will definitely not say no to a Chained Greater Magic Weapon each day (although you're perfectly within your rights to ask for them to chip in and buy a Pearl of Power).

[SneeR]

Scuplt Spell affects any Area of Effect spell. That includes cones like burning hands and waves of exhaustion or sleetstorm. You can drastically increase the size of such things for s small increase in level. I love the thing.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Chain Spell is interesting, but how many good spells are there in core that can be chained?  The -4 DC and +3 spell levels makes it seem like a not so great idea for offense, so that leaves buff spells, or ones with no save or an irrelevant save.

What are some good spells I could chain?  I see Greater Magic Weapon and Levitate.  Command Undead if we just happen to run into a horde of unintelligent undead (who then don't get saving throws), but I'd have to expect such a scenario to justify preparing that.  Pyrotechnics likewise has a nice technicality in that a fire source doesn't get a save in the first place, but all targets have to be within 30 ft, so unless it lets me force MANY overlapping saves, I don't see the utility in this.  Keen Edge?  Hmm, Fabricate is a valid spell, as long as Chain Spell let me effect multiple masses of the spell's volumetric limit...  Knock can benefit, if ever there were a room that had that many locks in such close proximity.

The fact it doesn't work on touch range spells is surprisingly limiting.  If I read the feat correctly, no ray spells work because they dont actually have a "target" line.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Scuplt Spell affects any Area of Effect spell. That includes cones like burning hands and waves of exhaustion or sleetstorm. You can drastically increase the size of such things for s small increase in level. I love the thing.

You're still limited by the spell's range entry, which limits the benefit in many cases.  Like both cones you mentioned have range entries limiting them to the cone length.  Less of an issue w/ Waves of exhaustion's 60 ft cone (though any new shape will be at best barely bigger in area than that), but with something like burning hands or color spray, that's a huge drawback.

[BruceLeeroy]

chain spell + dispel to shut off all of a characters items.

[CantripN]

Are you guys missing the fact that he has the books for Uncanny Forethought? Take this. No question.
This feat is the best feat ever printed for a Wizard, so it's not a real question.

Source = Exemplars of Evil, pg. 26.

[StreamOfTheSky]

chain spell + dispel to shut off all of a characters items.

Hmm, at our level, you need Greater Dispel to reasonably affect most things.  Items SHOULD be easy pickings, but I'm not going to count on that.... That'd be a 9th level slot for 1d4 rounds of hilarity.  I do like the idea of following Kaleidoscopic Doom with that, but not sure its worth it.  Perhaps if I risked using regular dispel in a 6th level slot, with a lesser extend rod to make it 2d4 rounds...