good wizard builds

superkurt13

First Post
Could you please suggest some good wizards builds for me? I'm starting off with an 8th level character but I plan on playing him until 20. The one that one of my freinds recommeded to me was wizard 5/incantatrix 10/archmage 5. I'd appreciate any other good ones you could recommend.
 

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If you're going to be a specialist wizard, it's worth looking at the various variants from Unearthed Arcana. The conjurer, in particular is quite handy.

Pinotage
 

superkurt13 said:
Could you please suggest some good wizards builds for me? I'm starting off with an 8th level character but I plan on playing him until 20. The one that one of my freinds recommeded to me was wizard 5/incantatrix 10/archmage 5. I'd appreciate any other good ones you could recommend.

Did you have something specific you wanted the wizard to do?

If by "good build" you mean "powerful" then a straight wizard 20 or possibly wizard 15/archmage 20 is plenty powerful.

Grab Craft Wonderous Item and Craft Staff with your bonus feats.
 

Wolfwood2 said:
wizard 15/archmage 20

I'm assuming this is supposed to be archmage 5, right? :)

But yes, Archmage is a good PrC, especially if you are looking for pure offensive prowess. I personally like the Loremaster. You don't have to give up spellcasting prowess, and in my opinion you more than make up for the feats that you lose. But then again I like to play very knowledgable Abjurers, Diviners, and Enchanters.
 


I have had success with wizards following only two simple rules:

1) Do not specialize.

2) Do not take levels in any prestige class that does not grant a caster level with every level of the PrC.
 


Incantatrix is, along with Dweomerkeeper, considered by many to be the best Prestige Class. That said, there are many, many other great builds.

One main decision would be whether to focus or be versatile.

A focused build is centered on the idea that more of the same adds up -- have a look at focused conjurer specialists, for instance. At the end of the road are the single-spell builds who basically add up metamagic cost reducers to throw quickened, empowered, twinned, split ray enervations all day. Arguably incredibly powerful, one drawback of this strategy is that it can often be more easily caught off guard -- plus, it can get boring at times and feel like a one-trick pony.

A versatile build tries to accumulate different abilities to excel in diverse situations. Although Incantatrix and Dweomerkeeper are sometimes used for focused builds because of the sheer power they bring to the table, they make great versatile builds. One special subset of versatile builds is to build a character that combines the benefits of wizards with the sorcerer's flexibility -- mainly by using Prestige Classes (Mage of the Arcane Order), Feats and ACFs (Sponaneous Divination). Magic items nicely support this, too.

Everybody who enjoys playing arcane casters has his/her favourite builds. Some stick to similar concepts all the time, while others try radically different approaches. Personally, in a real campaign, I prefer to keep as many schools as I can. As most aspects of the game, this one really depends on the campaign, and the party, as well. I prefer a versatile spellcaster, because that is what the campaigns I play in demand. In a large group, as a secondary spellcaster, you might want to go a very focused road.

Some people have put a lot of work into these aspects and consolidated best practices into these guides which you might know:

Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards: Being a God

The Logicninja's Guide to Wizards: Being Batman

The Wizard's Handbook by Dictuum Mortem

While I disagree with all of the guides on some specific issues, there is great advice in all of them. If you want to plan a build and consider your building blocks, read all three of them, and then continue to the more specialized handbooks (conjurer's handbook, etc.).
 

If the DM's stupid enough to allow Abrupt Jaunt (PHB 2) without any nerfs, there's no reason to ever not be a conjuration specialist.

If you're staying in Wizard for 5 levels or more, I think it's well worth the lost bonus feat to get the ability to spontaneously cast any divination spell you know, which a C.Champion variant grants.

If you're specializing, always look to Master Specialist when planning your build. For certain specialties, it's actually possibly worth all ten levels, for everyone else, it's a way to ditch Wizard after only 3 levels, and get some nifty class features along with full casting progression. It also gives free Skill Focus (Spellcraft) very early on, making qualifying for Archmage later on easier.
 

I have had success with wizards following only two simple rules:

1) Do not specialize.

Others would disagree on this point:

Power Gamer's 3.5 Wizard Strategy Guide, The

Caveat: that book provides statistical analysis as to why you should specialize- a desire to maximize flexibility being the only mechanical counterpoint- but only covers the PHB. Later supplements may have an impact on their conclusions.
 
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