Wizard's: School of choice

[Drakill Tannan]

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?

[TheImpossibleDream]

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!

[AKMatt]

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.

[Morgrim]

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

[Morgrim]

Memorize my buffs, lore my phat lewts k thks!

[The Crimson Magician]

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

I beg to differ.

*Hold Person Fireball LightningBolt ScintilliatingSphere*

bamfurdead

[Drakill Tannan]

I 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.

[Skrillix]

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.

[AfroMullet]

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. :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.

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.

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.

[Egon the Monkey]

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.

[SkillFocuspwn]

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.

[Letsplayforfun]

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.

[Drakill Tannan]

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.

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)

[MrGrendel]

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.

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.

[Mort]

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.