Suggestions for Spell Mastery... (3.5)

[J.Gellert]

I'm planning a wizard character that should have the Uncanny Forethought feat (exemplars of evil). This requires Spell Mastery, so I will be picking that as well.

The problem... We're starting the campaign at level 5, so the usual suspects for Spell Mastery (Polymorph, Teleport) are unavailable...

Which top three spells from levels 1-3 would you pick for Spell Mastery? No Illusions or Divinations, can't cast from these schools.

[Fax Celestis]

Prestidigitation.

[Collin152]

Alarm.
Really, when you don't have your spellbook, you really don't want to be snuck up on.

[Aneantir]

Which top three spells from levels 1-3 would you pick for Spell Mastery? No Illusions or Divinations, can't cast from these schools.

Divination as a banned school? Sorry, friend, unless your DM is lenient you aren't allowed to ban Divination.

[monty]

...no divination? I'd be curious to see how you got that.

[drengnikrafe]

My first campaign, neither me nor my DM noticed that you couldn't ban Divination. Thus, I was an Evoker with Divination and Necromacy Banned.

What, it was my first time? You can't blame me... much.

[J.Gellert]

I'm not going to play a specialist, that's why I didn't say I "banned" them. Can't cast them for other reasons. Chose them purely on flavor.

Edit: But it's also a lenient DM. Last campaign, my Necromancer had banned only Divination. Did a 2nd-ed-style School vs School circle. Long story.

Less talk, more Spell Mastery spells

[monty]

Well, my suggestions were going to be divinations to figure out what happened to your spellbook, but if you can't cast them...you're looking for stuff to keep you alive until you can find your/another spellbook.

[Saph]

Mmm, let's see.

You want spells of multiple levels, so that you can fill up your spell roster. With that in mind, probably Grease, Alter Self, and Haste. That'll keep you mobile and still pretty effective in combat, even without your spellbook.

- Saph

[Collin152]

Also, Charm Person and/or Suggestion. Makes it easier to function sans-spells.

[Jack Zander]

No spells levels 1-3 will help you find your lost spellbook (except locate object but that's a divination). Therefore, we need to find spells that are going to be the most versatile and we need one from each level. You can already prepare read magic from memory (unless that's banned too since it's divination), so we only need three spells, and anything extra is personal preference. Let's try to get you a battlefield control, a save or suck/lose, and a buff. Preferably we need to target different saves with the first two.

The best buffs of each level are Enlarge Person (level 1) Bull's Strength/Cat's Grace/etc. (level 2, and depending on your party), and Fly (level 3). While all of these are great, I recommend getting enlarge person. Your want your save or suck/lose and your battlefield control to be a higher level so they work more often. Enlarge person has a short duration so it won't hurt to have multiple castings a day of it. If your fighter type person does use melee or strength, go with Shield instead. With our level one spell chosen, we only have to worry about levels 2 and three now.

The best save or suck/lose each level are Glitterdust (level 2), and Slow (level 3). The best battlefield control spells are Web (level 2), and Stinking Cloud (level 3). Stinking Cloud doubles as a save or suck, so I recommend that. That leaves you with Web as your 2nd level spell which targets Reflex, so that works out pretty well.

tl;dr: Enlarge Person, Web, and Stinking Cloud.

[Kaihaku]

Edit: But it's also a lenient DM. Last campaign, my Necromancer had banned only Divination. Did a 2nd-ed-style School vs School circle. Long story.

That's probably what I miss most from 2e. That and flippable spells like Cure and Inflict.

Mount - For transportation
Expeditious Retreat - For running away
Invisibility - For sneaking, running away, etc.

[streakster]

Shrink Item
Alter Self
Charm Person

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Look at this as similar to a Sorc/Bard spell list. You care more about Versatility than power. A list of books would be nice, but in just core...
Magic Missile-Objectionable, but you will rarely be in a situation that can't be solved by hitting someone till they break.
Alter Self-Any number of combat/movement/survival forms. Pick when cast. Great when you have nothing else.
Major Image-Depends on the DM, but you can use Illusions to make the enemy do anything if you think about it.

[Crow]

What about Scorching Ray instead of magic missile?

[Kaihaku]

Shrink Item

Ah excellent, with a little imagination that can be an amazingly useful spell.

[monty]

I'd go with Lesser Orb of <insert favorite element> over Magic Missile, just in case you run into something with spell resistance.

[Curmudgeon]

1. Magic Missile
2. Alter Self
3. Gaseous Form

[Chronos]

For your first level spell, you might consider Reduce Person instead of Enlarge. Reduce is as good for rogue-types as Enlarge is for brutes, but in a pinch, you can also use it as a save-or-suck against some opponents. Then again, though, it'd only be good versus humanoid melee types (I don't know how common those are in your game), and the save for a 1st-level spell is pretty low.

For the second-level spell, I'd go either Web or Alter Self. Web will give you cover and seriously hamper enemies, and the saving throw on it is almost irrelevant (even if they save, they're still entangled, and have a very difficult time moving). Alter Self isn't as powerful, but it's more versatile: It can be used for a disguise, or to give you a ton of natural armor, or to fly or breathe water.

For third, Shrink Item all the way. It's one of my top three favorite spells. You can use it to get obstacles out of your way, or to carry around big awkward things (either equipment you brought from home, or loot you're taking back with you), or you can throw bonfires or colossal darts in combat. When everyone else is sitting around the campfire and pulls harmonicas out of their pockets, you pull a grand piano out of your pocket. Plus, it has a duration of days, so you can cast it for several days before starting on an adventure, and have magic available that doesn't count against your usual spells-per-day limits.

[Paul H]

Hi

My suggestions:

1) Lssr Orb, or Whelm
2) Alter Self, Invis or Glitterdust
3) Fireball, Haste, Heart of Water

Orb spells (SpC Ranged touch attack, no save, no SR) are good elemental attacks. Whelm (PHBII - SR, save negates) is good for non-lethal damage. I use it a lot with Unsettling Enchantment (-2AC/Attack for one rnd). tThe 2nd lvl spells shouldn't need introductions.

Fireball & Haste also good bets, but Heart of Water is part of 'Heart' series from CM. You gain swim speed, (includes +8 racial bonus to swim), Waterbreathing, plus +5 enhancement to Escape Artist. Lasts 1hr/lvl. Also grants Freedom of Movement as Swift action, but reduces duration to 1rnd/lvl.
(Heart of Earth at 4th grants extra HP, bonus vs Bullrush, etc, and Stoneskin as swift action, but wth NO expensive spell components)!

Cheers
Paul H