[D&D3.X] Incantrix, which school to bar?

[Tvtyrant]

Very, very poorly. Using higher level slots. Which, for the worthwhile Evocation spells, take an extra four or six Wizard levels to access. The only situation I can think of Shadow Evocation and its greater counterpart being at all worthwhile is Contingency, which is replicated earlier and better with a feat. If you're controlling the battlefield with it, Shadow Evocation's added clauses turn them into pure ineffective garbage. If you're blasting with it, what are you doing, man?

Real Evocations actually have some merit to them. Shadow Evocation is entirely worthless; don't spread misinformation. If you'd played a Wizard, banned Evocation and actually tried to substitute this line of spells (of which there are only two, at 5th level and 8th level) for any good Evocation spells you'd know how useless it is.

Yes, Evocation is easy to ban because good spells just aren't common enough on its list. But they do exist and you are giving up something when you ban it, it's not just a free pass where you trade nothing for something.

Unless your a Shadowcraft Gnome who is also a Noctumancer and uses Flood of Shadows to gain empowerment on all of her shadow spells and uses the Powerful Image ability to have 100% real Shadow Spells. So with one level 6 spell you get completely real and empowered shadow spells for free, and you only have to prepare Greater Shadow Evocation rather then a bunch of different evocation spells. It gets even better when you add the Shadow Craft ability Shadow Illusion which allows you to cast things like Major Image as if it were both Shadow Conjuration and Shadow Evocation; with its normal abilities still possible as well. And they get the +20% real effect from the Shadow Illusion class ability, and the bonuses from Flood of Shadow.

Your right that they aren't normally as good as straight evocation, but with a little optimizing they are actually better.

[Kurald Galain]

Unless your a Shadowcraft Gnome who is also a Noctumancer and uses Flood of Shadows to gain empowerment on all of her shadow spells and uses the Powerful Image ability to have 100% real Shadow Spells.

Yes, because DMs commonly allow that particular bit of cheese...

[Optimator]

I always choose enchantment for my banned school.

[The Glyphstone]

Yes, because DMs commonly allow that particular bit of cheese...

If a DM is allowing the Shadowcraft Mage-grade cheese in the first place, it's unlikely that adding Noctumancer cheese makes the situation any worse.

[Tvtyrant]

Yes, because DMs commonly allow that particular bit of cheese...

? A prestige class? Its not nearly as broken as core is; it grants you some bonus blasting. I'm not even using the cheesey "more real then real" tricks.

Edit: I mean I am honestly stumped at what is considered cheesy here.

[FMArthur]

Most Wizards aren't Shadowcraft Mages. It's a prestige class that replaces and enhances shadow-school illusions, which are ordinarily complete rubbish.

[Defiant]

The XP cost for a contingent spell is 4 x caster level x spell level. Unoptimized.

Don't think you'll be breaking the XP bank any time soon. Especially considering the fact that lower level characters get more XP, and that you'll be saving on resurrections.

So if I want a 5th level spell contingency, that's close to 200xp out the window. That's like 1/4 or 1/3 of an encounter's XP gains. And assuming that you actually use it as it was intended, to put more than just one contingency, you'll be bleeding XP out the wazoo.

Better to stay at party level and get those juicy high-level spells faster, than to barely even make XP on encounters.

Don't get me wrong, Craft Contingent Spell is awesome conceptually, just like animated objects work great for a non-party wizard. But it just doesn't fit well within the party dynamics. (Though, I guess, you being a wizard and all, a few levels behind won't hurt that much)

[Gralamin]

So if I want a 5th level spell contingency, that's close to 200xp out the window. That's like 1/4 or 1/3 of an encounter's XP gains. And assuming that you actually use it as it was intended, to put more than just one contingency, you'll be bleeding XP out the wazoo.

Better to stay at party level and get those juicy high-level spells faster, than to barely even make XP on encounters.

Don't get me wrong, Craft Contingent Spell is awesome conceptually, just like animated objects work great for a non-party wizard. But it just doesn't fit well within the party dynamics. (Though, I guess, you being a wizard and all, a few levels behind won't hurt that much)

Statistically, if you always craft so you are a single level behind the party, you will catch up rather quickly with a lot of bonus loot (Due to lower level characters getting more XP). This is the idea behind the term "XP is a river". It works best with artificers, who can give up XP and loot to get spells the Wizard cannot even cast yet, which is usually a much larger performance gain.