Best Homebrew Wizard/Sorcerer Spells

[CowardlyPaladin]

I am rewriting the Wizard for my game and I was curious, does anybody have any particular homebrew Wizard spells that they just really love or always try to use in game, particularly those that fill a certain niche? If so, can you provide them?
I was specifically thinking 3.5/Pathfinder

[Cisturn]

I have two that I really liked using from a campaign a while ago. I'm not sure how useful they are, but I had a lot of fun using them.

Cisturn's Ebon Whip
First Level Spell.
Duration: Concentration,
Short Range.
Ranged Touch Attack.
Requires Line of Sight
A whip of crackling dark energy appears in the Casters hands. On a successful attack this spell does 1d4+X damage. Where X is equal to 1/2 Caster level. In addition, the target takes X damage in blood loss each round until the target receives magical healing, or a DC 15 Heal Check.

Cisturn's Thunderclap
First Level Spell
Duration: Instant
Medium Range
Reflex Save Negates
If the target fails their reflex save, they drop 3 spaces in initiative. If they cannot drop 3 spaces in initiative, they drop to last in initiative.

[jqavins]

I don't have stat details available, and they were under previous versions anyway, so I'll just give general descriptions.

Comfy Chair
Creates a plush recliner, with the legs' lengths adjusted to keep it stable and level. It lasts long enough for a fight of typical to somewhat long duration.
(Invented by a friend of mine just to annoy another player who complained about him wasting resources. He would cast it in round one of a fight and then throw combat spells in comfort.)

Bind Familiar
Level 1
The caster acquires an normal animal, whether by trapping, purchasing from a breeder, Animal Friendship or a similar spell, camping in its vicinity until trusted, or any other appropriate means. The caster, after gaining the animal's trust, casts the spell using two matching pieces of jewelry (and the animal). He will wear one piece, and the animal will wear the other. The animal is then bound to the caster as a familiar, according to the same rules that apply to familiars gained by the conventional Find Familiar spell.
(I invented this when a MU character of mine failed his chance to know spell for Find Familiar, so I needed an alternative. It's harder work, but had the advantage of letting me pick my familiar; I had a wolf.)

Faithful Steed
Level 2
(Invented by the same character)
Binds an animal to the caster in a manner similar to, but weaker than the Bind Familiar spell. The caster and the animal have an empathic bond, but none of the other benefits of the familiar bond. The animal can be psychically called from a great distance (this was never established in play) and will come to the caster as quickly as possible. The caster may have up to one animal so bound per level, including a familiar. That is, a fifth level wizard with a familiar (using the Bind Familiar spell above) may have up to four more animals bound by this spell. The spell's name comes from the original use that inspired it, but it may be used with any animal. (I had both a horse and a bear.)

These spells both used a technique of summoning the animals' "spirit forms" as well as the caster's own, and connecting them. So I had that character experiment with these spirit forms some more, and came up with the following.

Deep Slumber
Level 1
The caster summons up his own spirit form and merges his material form with it. He then falls into a very deep, sound sleep which lasts for one to four hours by the casters choice. Each hour spend asleep this way has all the effects of four hours of normal sleep, in terms of restfulness, healing, spell recovery, and all other aspects. The caster can not be awakened by any means except taking damage (or more powerful magic.)

Observe Spirit
Level 2
A subject's spirit form is made visible to the caster. Certain qualities of the spirit may become observable, such as state of health or other things. I tried testing the effects of the spell in game, but only managed to discover that it is not a substitute for Detect Lies, is not a substitute for Know Alignment, yet probably is good for something.

Spirit Grapple
Level 3 (or higher?)
The caster calls forth both her own spirit form and that of a target creature. The caster may then attack the subject in the spirit realm as if in a hand-to-hand fight. (Note: this spell was conceived and named under a system that did not use "grapple" with specific meaning.) The concept is that the caster's and target's mental attributes would substitute for their physical ones, and vice-versa. The victor's perception would return to normal once the fight is over, and the vanquished would be left unconscious. I never completed the spell and tested it.

[CowardlyPaladin]

Lowing the enemies INt and summoning a comfortable chair are both really imaginative

[rferries]

The army-into-pigs spell from Willow.

Baleful Polymorph, Mass
Transmutation (Evil)
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target: 1 or more creatures
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates, Will partial; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

Calling upon the powers of black magic, you can transform entire armies into simple beasts. This spell has two versions:

Polymorph Nemeses
As baleful polymorph, save that it affects 1 creature per caster level within the spell's range.

Polymorph Army
As baleful polymorph, save that it affects 10 creatures per caster level within the spell's range and no creature with 13 or more HD can be affected.

[Morphic tide]

Well, while digging through the earliest pages of this forum, from the days the Giant himself hosted contests and before the days of thread prefixes, there was a themed spell contest.

One of these contestants in those long gone days of 2004 entered a group of Wizard spells themed around versatility, with the fluff of being crafted by a Wizard who despised the restrictions of prepared spellcasting.

The 2nd level spell of the group is what I shall speak of: A spell that is as Shield, but also allows the launching of ten Magic Missiles throughout the duration of the Shield. One commenter upon this ancient thread remarked that it would be better to have the launching of a missile reduce the duration of the spell by one round instead of ending the spell upon the tenth missile launched.

Given the existence of Persist Metamagic, this would have been a bad move.

[Mlmiii]

I don't remember the specifics, as these were from the comments section of the Friendship is Dragons webcomic and not any game I played, so I've elaborated a bit

Sheep
Conjuration [Creation]
Level: Wiz/Sorc 3 (though there's no reason to not have it elsewhere)
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 Round
Range: 0'
Target: Enough empty or fluid-filled space to fit a Medium creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: No
SR: No
Upon casting this spell, a live adult sheep appears in the designated space. Its only remarkable quality is that it did not exist six seconds ago.

Cone of Lobsters
Conjuration [Creation]
Level: Wiz/Sorc 3 (again, no reason it couldn't be elsewhere)
Components: M (some amount of butter)
Casting time: 1 Standard Action
Range: 20' (iirc) cone
Duration: Instantaneous, 1 round/2 CL
Saving Throw: Reflex
SR: No
A cone of space rapidly fills with lobsters, dealing 1d6 per caster level (probably max 10d6 based on how these normally work). These lobsters remain in the area for a number of rounds equal to half the caster's caster level, acting as caltrops until the duration expires.