I was wondering, i know it may be seem as powergaiming but i like to get the additional spellslot. Wizards are very limited as they are in EFU:A, they are strong yes, but in between 3 fireballs and 2 fireballs there is a world of diference. Wich is why i specialise in a spell school. Always.
But loosing the spells hurts, most time at least. The choice is in between necromancy and illusion, depending on what kind of wizard i'm building, but i wonder what are the RP implications of it?
What does specialising in a spell school means? I have to use majorly spells of that school? Drop a couple feats in spell focus of the same school? If i wanted to make a Wiazard who was specialised in the school: Necromancy he'd have to be a corpse raiser and negative energy ray thrower? If another was specialised in Illusion, but he'd use evocation spells over everyhting else, limiting himself to a few but good illusion spells, would that be fine?
It means you excel at your chosen school of magic and disregard spells from your opposed school. You don't HAVE to cast any spells from your chosen school, but you should KNOW situations where spells from your chosen school are useful or not.
It's open to your interpretation, you sacrament a school of magic for that spell slot so its not like it's a massive advantage with no disadvantage. Did you know you can't use raise dead or ressurection scrolls if your forbidden school is conjuration for example!
Specialization represents the school of magic in which your wizard has had formal training, or around which your character's studies focused. When doctors specialize, they will spend years studying one specific subject to become more proficient in treating patients with a specific illness. I think it's safe to say if your wizard is a specialist, you should roleplay knowing more about the school than any other, and frequently using spells of that school. Necromancy may your favorite school mechanically, but you should not be a necromancy specialist just because you want to cancel out divination, and then never roleplay doing anything necromantic.
Poor wizards, they all die so easily, does it really matter what spec they are? No wizard could stand up to any melee class even if they got the jump so to speak. :p
Memorize my buffs, lore my phat lewts k thks!
Quote from: Morgrim;128628Poor wizards, they all die so easily, does it really matter what spec they are? No wizard could stand up to any melee class even if they got the jump so to speak. :p
I beg to differ.
*Hold Person Fireball LightningBolt ScintilliatingSphere*
bamfurdead
Quote from: The Crimson Magician;128635I beg to differ.
*Hold Person Fireball LightningBolt ScintilliatingSphere*
bamfurdead
You don't need to go that far. Sleep will let you coup de grace all 4 or lower PCs. As good as finger of death. A buffed melee mage will kill an unbuffed fighter most times also, especially with +1 weapons being so rare.
I fully support those that doubt the power of a wizard prepared for the eventuality of taking on Fighters, provided I'm playing a wizard.
QuotePoor wizards, they all die so easily, does it really matter what spec they are? No wizard could stand up to any melee class even if they got the jump so to speak. :razz:
Wizards are incredibly effective, unless of course you have a 10 or 8 con wizard with very low HP. The concealment spells combined with DR spells and expeditious retreat/haste are not as easy to kill as you'd think.
QuoteYou don't need to go that far. Sleep will let you coup de grace all 4 or lower PCs. As good as finger of death. A buffed melee mage will kill an unbuffed fighter most times also, especially with +1 weapons being so rare.
You can't group de graces PCs.
Even a buffed melee mage will have a difficult time with an unbuffed fighter. Unless the mage uses some sorts of disabling spells, more often than not, he'll be screwed.
From an RP point of view, make sure it makes sense for the PC. My main, Ahmed is a non-evil Necromancer who doesn't animate the dead, but really enjoys dropping Fear spells on things. Remember that a specialisation represents what your PC chose, and that unless forced into that study, they will have a reason to have done so. The Illusionist who specialised because he enjoys the thrill of moving about unseen. The Conjurer who wants minions to do his bidding. Daniel Hull was a Transmuter who wanted to use transmutations to hold on to his youth and keep sailing and adventuring. Ahmed even wrote a book on why he chose to specialise in Necromancy.
You're expected to take Spell Focus in your preferred school over another, but that doesn't mean you can't then focus in another as well (say, a Gnomish Evocator with GSF Illusion AND Evocation) Playing an Enchanter who only buffbots mostly is fine. Playing one who is utterly devoted to Fireballing things and never bothers with a Holding or Confusion is just silly.
This is the school your character has devoted their life to, not a way to get +1 spell slots. It has to make sense for your character, you can't be the guy who prepares the generic buffs and fireballs and nothing else while being a Necromancer, or call yourself an Illusionist specialist because you, like every other Wizard, like casting invisibility/improved invisibility. If you want to fireball everything, choose evocation, that's perfectly cool.
I suggest you post this thread in DM q&a, or you'll get either a wide variety of answers, meaning it won't help you much in terms of 'is there a rule/expectation?', or you'll get an endless debate about how if/how pcs classes are/aren't balanced.
Quote from: AfroMullet;128649You can't group de graces PCs.
Even a buffed melee mage will have a difficult time with an unbuffed fighter. Unless the mage uses some sorts of disabling spells, more often than not, he'll be screwed.
Ah i didn't know that, it's good though i always feared for my life when my own sleep spell got me.
And i differ in that, i've tested it several times, this only works at low levels, yes. At level 3 or 4 for example. But afterwards wizards got hold person, or phantasmal killer.. or something. Of cource, the mage must be build to be a melee mage.
er... more on topic.
So, as i understand the wizard must have had a reason for choosing this school, but not necesarily it to be his school of choice when spell casting, so would it be correct to make a wizard who:
Specialised in enchantment to protect his family against a warlok, or a witch that had them controlled throuhg enchantment spells. But holds no intrest in casting enchantment spells.
Speciallised in necromancy to know how to counter the doings of an evil necromancer, but despices the art and never casts spell of such school.
etc.? I mean, as long as he has a reason why to do it is it alright?
(PS: No, i'm not making a necromancer wizard who cast only fireballs, it really bugs me)
Quote from: Letsplayforfun;128696I suggest you post this thread in DM q&a, or you'll get either a wide variety of answers, meaning it won't help you much in terms of 'is there a rule/expectation?', or you'll get an endless debate about how if/how pcs classes are/aren't balanced.
I'm sure I've seen at least one DM remark in reference to this issue that it would look bad to them if you played a specialized wizard who didn't commonly use spells of that school. So yes, definitely go ask there.
Your specialization is what your wizard should devote his time too. It's like you are doing a M.D. and decide to specialize as a pediatrician. If you do specialize, you still have your general knowledge in some schools, but you shouldn't spend your focus on them.
Specializing in one school and then taking spell focuses in another is not good. Specializing in one school and never casting any spells from that school is not good. Like my analogy above, you should be working as a pediatrician not doing psychiatry...
This does mean that you should focus more on using spells from this school, you should be known as being an advocate of this school similarly to how professionals from one domain are known in real life.
As you level up, you should probably take spells from your specialty school as well as your start spell just to reflect your greater education in that branch of arcane spellcasting.
One small note on necromancy. Necromancy is probably the most feared and hated school of magic. Everyone should be repulsed by it for what it does and everyone should fear it.
No Good Character can/should tolerate necromancy for summoning "Negative Energy" into the Prime Material Plane is an evil act in itself and Necromancy is ALL based on negative energy and its properties.
Negative Energy is the bane of life and every time it is invoked, the world becomes a darker and corrupted place...
It's also one of the most common spellschool used because it has "divination" as opposed school which is 'almost' useless in terms of its low level spell selection in NWN. But if you do select it, it should be to play on those prejudice and hatred and embrace it -- not to get that extra spellslot.
Mort. Ilmater has Suffering Domain. That is ALL Necromancy (Ray of Enfeeblement, Death Armor, Enervation). Which means by that measure *Ilmater* is handing out the Evil like Halloween candy. All Good Deities let you Inflict Wounds. Torm would have to go smite himself over handing that out.
NG Druids use necromantic spells like Maggots. Considering I'm playing a non-evil necromancer who draws a line at the evil part, being told "yeah, after 6 months, concept not valid", bit of a kick.
One of Ahmed's main goals was disproving necromancy=evil, and I wanted in uphill struggle, that's why I chose the school, went and wrote his book etc.
Quote from: Mort;128726One small note on necromancy. Necromancy is probably the most feared and hated school of magic. Everyone should be repulsed by it for what it does and everyone should fear it.
No Good Character can/should tolerate necromancy for summoning "Negative Energy" into the Prime Material Plane is an evil act in itself and Necromancy is ALL based on negative energy and its properties.
Negative Energy is the bane of life and every time it is invoked, the world becomes a darker and corrupted place...
Negative energy has a corrupting and draining effect, but it is not by itself evil.
There are several examples of good aligned undead creatures. Baelnorns and archliches most notably, which have induced the undeath by themselves. In no way are they made evil by the use of negative energy. Nor is it considered evil.
Additionally, many negative energy spells do not have the evil descriptor. Enervation and other draining spells do not, nor do inflict spells, which were originally conjuration anyways.
Quote from: Egon the Monkey;128745Mort. Ilmater has Suffering Domain. That is ALL Necromancy. Which means by that measure *Ilmater* is handing out the Evil like Halloween candy. All Good Deities let you Inflict Wounds. Torm would have to go smite himself over handing that out.
NG Druids use necromantic spells like Maggots. Considering I'm playing a non-evil necromancer who draws a line at the evil part, being told "yeah, after 6 months, concept not valid", bit of a kick.
One of Ahmed's main goals was disproving necromancy=evil, and I wanted in uphill struggle, that's why I chose the school, went and wrote his book etc.
Inflict spells are supposed to be conjuration I believe, though nwn may have them as necromancy.
Seeing how druids can call forth necromantic spells, and how negative energy still has place in the natural world i don't see how it has to be strictly evil. It is however unbalancing. I belive druids avoid it because it is a dangerous thing, it could create great imbalance if not used right, wich would explain why druids can use it, while they won't let any other use it.
But it is also powerfull. Probably the most powerfull school when used right, i can imagine all sorts of wizards that hunger for power to study this because it grants much power very fast, and because they are unwise they tend to use it for personal benefit, therefore making people associate Necromancy with evil.
What mort said, is IMO what almost every PC/NPC should think of necromancy, but not the truth.
Of cource, he is the DM so i'll just stick to his rules. Just givng out my 2 cetns.
QuoteInflict spells are supposed to be conjuration I believe, though nwn may have them as necromancy.
They were conjuration in older editions. Now they are necromancy.
Quote from: Drakill Tannan;128766Seeing how druids can call forth necromantic spells, and how negative energy still has place in the natural world i don't see how it has to be strictly evil. It is however unbalancing. I belive druids avoid it because it is a dangerous thing, it could create great imbalance if not used right, wich would explain why druids can use it, while they won't let any other use it.
But it is also powerfull. Probably the most powerfull school when used right, i can imagine all sorts of wizards that hunger for power to study this because it grants much power very fast, and because they are unwise they tend to use it for personal benefit, therefore making people associate Necromancy with evil.
What mort said, is IMO what almost every PC/NPC should think of necromancy, but not the truth.
Of cource, he is the DM so i'll just stick to his rules. Just givng out my 2 cetns.
Necromancy is the creation, and the detruction of life.
Of all classes, druids are the ones who have the best reason to take Greater Spell Focus Necromancy.
Quote from: Thomas_Not_very_wise;128855Necromancy is the creation, and the detruction of life.
Of all classes, druids are the ones who have the best reason to take Greater Spell Focus Necromancy.
Quote from: SRDNecromancy spells manipulate the power of death, unlife, and the life force.
I think a druid would only care much at all for the spells that manipulate the life force, not so much death and unlife. I can't really see them specializing in necromancy tbh.