Wizard build questions

[xeno121]

houserules:
Forgotten Realms, all hardcover except Tome of Battle (no eberron, pathfinder, dragonlance)
2 flaws, you gain feats at each odd level instead of every 3rd level
starts at lv2, max of 1LA with buyoff


I've been reading through the wizard  guides and am currently trying to come up with something that works.

Full caster vs. Gish?  The guide to being God denounces such a thing, but with bonus feats and as long as I keep full CL would it really be a detriment?  Would a Wizard/incantatrix be better than a wizard/abjurant champion/gish PrC

PrC, I was looking at incantatrix but I'm curious how to make such high Concentration saves

Spell Selection: There's a whole lot of choices there with specializations and such and I'm not sure which is the best.

Alter self/polymorph: "Now the night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting, that's pride fuckin' with ya. Fuck pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps. Fight through that shit. 'Cause a year from now, when you're kickin' it in the Caribbean you're gonna say, "Alter Self/Polymorph was right."

Should I even use them?

Feats: with my 2 flaws, I could use Tome of Magic feats to Bind Naberius I believe it is that recovers stat damage, and use the BoED sanctified spells that give bigger AC boosts than mage armor/shield, combine that with abjurant champion and it gets even better.

[KellKheraptis]

Despite all my love of gish, an Incantatrix will absolutely pound them in terms of raw power.  Combine with Circle Magic (Halruuan Elder) and if it's available early entry Metaphysical Spellshaper (BoEF) and take over the planet (or all of them if you'd like).

[melinore]

I think most people would say that Incantatrix would defeat a gish in due to their spellcasting, but there is something to be said for the gish in terms of playstyle and I figure that's what it comes down to for you. Which do you prefer in terms of character concept and playstyle would most likely guide your choice for which path you take.

And for Incantatrix do you mean get your Spellcraft checks really high? In order to fuel their metamagic abilities you need Spellcraft. There are a number of ways to do that.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=6339.0

That thread has some handy ways with which to increase your Spellcraft check. Spontaneous Divination from Complete Champion is a really nice feat that I quite enjoy if you can tolerate the bookkeeping and trying to remember that you have this incredibly powerful ability.

[xeno121]

I wanted to try a Gish but hitting things with a sword seems to be useless since they lack a way to make their melee do more damage like charging.  So going all spells and using spells to pump AC/miss chances seem to be the best route.

[KellKheraptis]

I wanted to try a Gish but hitting things with a sword seems to be useless since they lack a way to make their melee do more damage like charging.  So going all spells and using spells to pump AC/miss chances seem to be the best route.

Also bear in mind there is nothing preventing said Incantaluuran Spellshaper from doing something like...casting mirror move to pick up whatever gish options they want, combined with divine power and polymorph to make the actual fighters cry, while slinging arcana that makes the gish cry too.  If you throw in War Weaver as well, you can actually play all 4 GOD roles at once (BFC, Blasting, Buffing, Debuffing).

[gorfnad]

I could use Tome of Magic feats to Bind Naberius I believe it is that recovers stat damage, and use the BoED sanctified spells that give bigger AC boosts than mage armor/shield, combine that with abjurant champion and it gets even better.

Sadly that's not how the bind vestige feat works. You only get the bind vestige abilities listed on the chart on page 74 of Tome of Magic. To get the full effects of Naberius, as in the stat recovery, you need to bind him normally which means taking a level of Binder. However this can lead into the Anima Mage prestige class which works great with Incantatrix.

[xeno121]

I wanted to try a Gish but hitting things with a sword seems to be useless since they lack a way to make their melee do more damage like charging.  So going all spells and using spells to pump AC/miss chances seem to be the best route.

Also bear in mind there is nothing preventing said Incantaluuran Spellshaper from doing something like...casting mirror move to pick up whatever gish options they want, combined with divine power and polymorph to make the actual fighters cry, while slinging arcana that makes the gish cry too.  If you throw in War Weaver as well, you can actually play all 4 GOD roles at once (BFC, Blasting, Buffing, Debuffing).

few questions: what book is mirror move from and how do you gain accesss to divine power? polymorph/shapechange into something with cleric casting?

[KellKheraptis]

I wanted to try a Gish but hitting things with a sword seems to be useless since they lack a way to make their melee do more damage like charging.  So going all spells and using spells to pump AC/miss chances seem to be the best route.

Also bear in mind there is nothing preventing said Incantaluuran Spellshaper from doing something like...casting mirror move to pick up whatever gish options they want, combined with divine power and polymorph to make the actual fighters cry, while slinging arcana that makes the gish cry too.  If you throw in War Weaver as well, you can actually play all 4 GOD roles at once (BFC, Blasting, Buffing, Debuffing).

few questions: what book is mirror move from and how do you gain accesss to divine power? polymorph/shapechange into something with cleric casting?

Mirror move is from the Wizards website, and either polymorph, which my personal fav is PAO into a Planetar permanently, or Arcane Disciple (Kickass domain with divine power).  Planar Touchstone can also do it, while also having a TON of other options available.  Maybe snag it with that, cast it into a Ring of Spell Storing, and prep it normally from there?

[xeno121]

you wouldn't happen to have a link to mirror move would you?

[KellKheraptis]

you wouldn't happen to have a link to mirror move would you?

Here you go!

[DavidWL]

Given that you are starting at level 2, it matters quite a lot how long you think the game will go ... what levels over which you want to optimize.

With that many feats, a shadowcraft mage would be really, really good.  (They are traditionally very feat starved).

Best,
David

[KellKheraptis]

Given that you are starting at level 2, it matters quite a lot how long you think the game will go ... what levels over which you want to optimize.

With that many feats, a shadowcraft mage would be really, really good.  (They are traditionally very feat starved).

Best,
David

SCM and MPSS both, for that matter, as the latter acts as Incantatrix-lite.  Really, since you can get one spell to do the work of every other one eventually, the fact that it only applies once isn't a whole lot of detriment.  Also, about the gish option and specifically whether to use polymorph and friends...nothing says you have to get your hands dirty at all   After all, if you're missing a BSF/Glass Cannon, summon or bind one.  Particularly if you go with War Weaver for buffing, your summons can rival a malconvoker's easily.

[DavidWL]

MPSS is 3rd party, so he may or may not have access.

I really do like the idea of a summoner/buffer. 

Best,
David

[KellKheraptis]

MPSS is 3rd party, so he may or may not have access.

I really do like the idea of a summoner/buffer.  

Best,
David

Well running with that, weren't you the one who originated the Chain Reach "War Weaver?"  Combine the "offensive tapestry" with a real one from War Weaver, and you can Chain Summon then blow the tapestry to make the small army into an unstoppable force of death

EDIT : Oh yeah, and since IIRC this incarnation is also an incantatrix, if you find a combination you like, persist the summons with metamagic effect.

[DavidWL]

Well running with that, weren't you the one who originated the Chain Reach "War Weaver?"  Combine the "offensive tapestry" with a real one from War Weaver, and you can Chain Summon then blow the tapestry to make the small army into an unstoppable force of death

Yup, that was me.  I do like your tactics ... it seems to me to be quite powerful ... a more subtle way of breaking the action economy.

Best,
David