Utility Magic

[Username17]

Utility Magic for Wizards and Sorcerers

D&D is a game about breaking into peoples' homes, stabbing them in the face, taking their treasure and becoming more powerful. The use of Combat Magic is fairly self explanatory (it's the magic that you use during the face stabbing), and buff magic is likewise (it's the magic you cast when you aren't even in combat that will let you be better at the face stabbing when it comes up). But Utility Spells occupy a special place in our hearts - they are the spells that allow us to defeat challenges, and gain power and treasure, when we aren't ever in combat at all.

Spells in D&D do just about everything you can imagine, and virtually any impediment can be bypassed or destroyed without ever rolling intitiative. Here are a small sample of challenges:

Terrain: Whether it's a spooky forest, a river of lava, or tremendous cliff, or a desert of salt - the D&D world is filled with crap that you're supposed to climb, jummp, or balance on. That's cool looking, but it's dangerous, and the right spell can teleport you from one side to the other or minor create a bridge.

Doors: Magical or physical, there are a number of passages in D&D that one is supposed to go on quests to open. Personally, I'd rather go through the wall with a stoneshape or simply enter through the 4th dimension via a dimension door.

Glyphs: Magical traps cause explosions or worse contingent effects when you go into areas or perform specific actions. They can be dispelled or just covered up with wood shape.

Social Shenanigans: Maybe you have to convince someone to do something or get somebody on your side. The DCs to convince people the normal way can be quite prohibitive (DC 40 in a recent Dungeon Magazine). But with charm person the DC goes down to 15, and of course you can convince people of just about anything with a suggestion and a failed Will save.

Rewards: If you're seriously adventuring to "get loot" you have problems. Not the least of which is that there are spells that simply give you wealth directly without having to fight Umber Hulks for it like fabricate and planar binding.

So what is this list? It's a list of spells that would come in handy

Level 1

• charm person
  
• comprehend languages
  
• disguise self
  
• feather fall
  
• identify
  
• silent image
  

Level 2

• alter self
  
• detect thoughts
  
• continual flame
  
• locate object
  
• invisibility
  
• rope trick
  
• see invisibility
  
• shatter
  

Level 3

• blink
  
• clairvoyance
  
• fireball
  
• fly
  
• secret page
  
• shrink item
  
• suggestion
  
• tongues
  

Level 4

• animate dead
  
• bestow curse
  
• charm monster
  
• dimension door
  
• halicinatory terrain
  
• locate creature
  
• minor creation
  
• polymorph
  
• scrying
  
• stone shape
  

Level 5

• break enchantment
  
• contact other plane
  
• fabricate
  
• leomund's secret chest
  
• magic jar
  
• major creation
  
• lesser planar binding
  
• permanency
  
• sending
  
• teleport
  
• transmute rock to mud
  
• wall of stone
  

Level 6

• antimagic field
  
• contingency
  
• disintegrate
  
• flesh to stone
  
• legend lore
  
• move earth
  
• permanent image
  
• planar binding
  
• shadow walk
  
• stone to flesh
  
• mass suggestion
  
• wall of iron
  

Level 7

• control weather
  
• limited wish
  
• mordenkainen's magnificent mansion
  
• greater scrying
  
• sequester
  
• simulacrum
  
• greater teleport
  
• teleport object
  

Level 8

• binding
  
• mass charm
  
• demand
  
• dimensional lock
  
• discern location
  
• mindblank
  
• polymorph any object
  
• screen
  
• temporal stasis
  
• trap the soul
  

Level 9

• freedom
  
• gate
  
• mordenkainen's disjunction
  
• refuge
  
• shades
  
• shapechange
  
• soul bind
  
• teleportation circle
  
• wish
  

OK, you may notice that some spells like polymorph any object and shapechange are classified as offensive combat spells and as utility spells. That's because those spells are awesome and useful in diverse circumstances. A wall of stone can be used to trap enemies forever in stone, and it can also be used as a building material to make bridges or structures.

Note also that a lot of spells are not on this list only because the Cleric can cast them earlier, cheaper, and better. So you'd seriously be better off taking the Leadership feat and having a Cleric cohort who cast true seeing than to learn it yourself. There's nothing wrong with the spell, there's something wrong with getting it off the Sorcerer/Wizard list. Similarly, summon monster spells are pretty marginal at the best of times - but casting them as a Wizard is amazingly not the best of times.

-Username17

[User3]

You rock. Hard.

[Catharz]

Fireball because it's so effective at property damage?

[Username17]

1172211505[/unixtime]]Fireball because it's so effective at property damage?

It's long range and does about 21 points of damage to a big area, ignoring the hardness of flamable stuff.

That means that it is often structurally the same as invisibility for the whole party - there's a group of sentries way over there and you can either run forward and engage them, try to sneak past, or you can just fireball their camp and not have to worry about it.

Things that you use to remove enemies when they are too far away to bother rolling initiative are not combat spells in any meaningful way. Indeed, actually using fireball in combat is madness. But a 6th level Warmage can throw that bad boy at targets over 600 feet away - making it an overland damaging spell. The thigs you hurt with it aren't even miniatures on the battle map.

-Username17

[Judging__Eagle]

What I said about your last thread, yeah I'm taking this.

You know what's dumber?

I haven't even read this thread yet. Will do so now.

Edit: seriously, wtf?

The WoTC boards are down like a chickenhead that found a ten on the floor.

[bitnine]

Another solid list. I'd also like to give a "shout out" to pretty much any summoning spell, particularly if your DM allows for the usage of custom lists or template application. Because remember: when you're casting a summon spell you're not just casting a spell, your casting every spell-like ability that every summon's ever 'been with'.

[Judging__Eagle]

bitnine, you so derty

[Josh_Kablack]

1172242926[/unixtime]]Another solid list. I'd also like to give a "shout out" to pretty much any summoning spell,

As much as I'm down with Grapplemancy and the whole Summon Meat Shield series for its swiss-army knife like spell versatility and its extensive uses in aggro management and battlefield control applications, Frank is right in that wizards generally have much better things to do with their spell slots.

[User3]

1172280317[/unixtime]]

1172242926[/unixtime]]Another solid list. I'd also like to give a "shout out" to pretty much any summoning spell,

As much as I'm down with Grapplemancy and the whole Summon Meat Shield series for its swiss-army knife like spell versatility and its extensive uses in aggro management and battlefield control applications, Frank is right in that wizards generally have much better things to do with their spell slots.

True. Although with all the recent sourcebooks that have been cranked out as of late, there are some shit-hot highly-optimized wizard summoner builds that are capable of being created.

[User3]

Yeah, but if a Cleric wants to specialize in those spells, they can take some ridiculous domains (plus many of the same feats) and pretty much trump the summons-focused wizard.

[User3]

1172290294[/unixtime]]Yeah, but if a Cleric wants to specialize in those spells, they can take some ridiculous domains (plus many of the same feats) and pretty much trump the summons-focused wizard.

You don't sound like you are up on the recent tech.

While the Shifter druid (using the alternate rules to cast standard action SNA's) and clerics with the Spontaneous Domain feat and the Summoning domain are awesome summoners -- the top tier wizard conjuration specialists are right up with the cleric summoning specialists in terms of overall efficacy, firepower, and versatility.

Wizards (and sorcerors, etc.) casting summon spells in routine conditions are clearly casting a spell much better suited for your run-of-the-mill cleric. Primarily due to the 1 round casting time (vulnerability issues).

[Catharz]

1172345345[/unixtime]]the top tier wizard conjuration specialists are right up with the cleric summoning specialists in terms of overall efficacy, firepower, and versatility.

What are the top-tier conjuration specialists?

[erik]

Nice thing about wizard summoners is that they have some useful options for Imbued Summonings.

The 1st-3rd level spells a cleric or druid could throw on a summoned critter often won't compare favorably to haste. [edit: haste isn't even a legal option... ugh, imbued spells are range-touch only]

I'm sure there's better spells to imbue with, haven't had sufficient time to think about it much.

My wife's LG wizard is a conjurer who will someday be summoning stuff (has augment summoning now), with the intent of throwing down battlefield control options then having the summoned critters clean up afterwards. The summoned creatures would be better if we could depend on playing with characters who summon stuff, but since we can't it's a option to have once you have neutered the enemy.

Wizards have a very slight advantage in that they get a bonus feat, which can go towards either rapid spell or imbued summoning, or one of the other summoning metamagic feats. Then pick up Metamagic School Focus to make those +1 level metamagics free, 3 times daily. That should be enough to suit your needs most days.

[User3]

The use of Combat Magic is fairly self explanatory (it's the magic that you use during the face stabbing), and buff magic is likewise (it's the magic you cast when you aren't even in combat that will let you be better at the face stabbing when it comes up).

If you have time, a list of good buffs would be amazing too.

[bitnine]

1172280317[/unixtime]]As much as I'm down with Grapplemancy and the whole Summon Meat Shield series for its swiss-army knife like spell versatility and its extensive uses in aggro management and battlefield control applications, Frank is right in that wizards generally have much better things to do with their spell slots.

Generally, perhaps. I was mainly talking about the idea of reserving a single slot for the wildcard usefulness, mainly for out of combat utility. Perhaps I'm an oddball, but I've found the range of usefullness to oftentimes warrant the devotion of a (highest level-1) slot or so.

Sometimes it's your standard climb, fly, move, track, ohnoessavemefromdrowning sort of deal. Other times its getting a spell of the same level (from another list why not) out of a casting. Certainly sometimes it's making the most out of the Latern Archon's ability to at-will teleport for a handy messaging/ferrying/scouting service. Randomly pulling out the wind wall, pyrotechnics, soften earth and stone, or stinking cloud.

Or it's using a dretch as a telepathic relay (with darkvision), a fire elemental as a delayed firestarter, an earth elemental to earth glide through a stone dungeon and unlock a door or grab something. Maybe have a few Lemures wade through waist-deep lava and carry you across or something.

I ain't gonna pretend that this stuff comes up all the time, or that any given particular summons are always a good idea. But the summon list and derived abilities therein are so broad that it's the closest (at that particular level and availability) you get to just making crap up on the spot and have it be a spell. You just need to be aware of the breadth of abilities when a situation comes up. Try ignoring the distracting body (particularly in noncombat utility situations where it is less of a liability) and consider the end result of what you can accomplish.

And, as I said above, if templates or custom lists in particular are allowed you can clear out the chaff summons and expand the versatility further.

[User3]

For noncombat utility, though, you can just leave the slot empty and spend 15 minutes picking whatever is actually the best spell for the job.

[Judging__Eagle]

1172609027[/unixtime]]For noncombat utility, though, you can just leave the slot empty and spend 15 minutes picking whatever is actually the best spell for the job.

No, you make scrolls for stuff like that. Why do you think wizards get Scribe Scroll at 1st lvl and ... 'supposedly' the least spells per spell level?

[bitnine]

1172609027[/unixtime]]For noncombat utility, though, you can just leave the slot empty and spend 15 minutes picking whatever is actually the best spell for the job.

For some cases of noncombat utility, this is indeed likely true. Even in situations where a spell is not on your list or using a summon monster IV/Lantern Archon to deliver a series of messages might be superior to sending, you can usually stop and memorize the spell.

But previously I've found the at-the-moment flexibility to be worth the investment. I've used a few dretches as a telepathic sensor grid to check for an ambush, an aquatic summon to help keep an ally from drowning, even water elementals to head off a fire. And I could see situations where be able to fire off a group of individually targeted nauseating clouds or wind walls might be worth the full-round time, but not allow for 15 minutes.

In the one game I was in I generally thought of it as the 'take advantage of the Latern Archon' slot, as in particular I wanted to keep the ability to send away a plot sensitive artifact if it looked like a capture scenario was brewing. I happened to know the various spells and monster abilities and how they could be used, and it was real handy to basically feel like I was fudging a spell and saying, "Uh, I do this now."

However, giving it some thought, a good stock of scrolls and investing into learning all the important spells may end up a superior option in many situations.

[Judging__Eagle]

Myself; I'm more a fan of writing scrolls of spells that don't tend to rely on caster level so much (and, actually a lot of debuff, buff and summons could fall under this; as could most SoDs).

I tend to keep level dependant spells, or spells that I'll use a lot in my slots; combat power-ups like the "bite of the were-"; Magic Vestment; Mirror Image.

Spells that I'll use almost always and don't want to be regularly paying cash for.

On the other hand, I keep scrolls of Dispel Magic on me since I know I'll have to use the spell more than once and having 5-10 scrolls at CL 5 is better than 1 prepared at CL 7. I tend to relegate damage spells to scroll format since I can keep them forever and damage really isn't always that useful, while Dark Tentacles I can definately use often in almost any combat situation.

Phantasmal Killer or Blindness, on the other hand, usually means one thing, and I'm more likely to capture than kill, so I only keep a pair of scrolls of each.

Really it's a matter of ensuring that the tools you will need will be availible in the manner with which you normally use them in game.

Personal combat buffs are useless to a cleric who won't use them and likes to party buff instead; but are great to carry as scrolls for when they need to hulk out.

Lots of group buffs are great, but are easier to pack in scroll form if your group wants Haste, Prayer and Good Hope every non-minor fight (I get the party to buy at least one scroll of each after an adventure; 7 scrolls of each should be well more than enough).

Damage spells tend to suck such balls that scroll format is really the way to go; a Haste that affects the whole party and then two cheap 5d6 fireball scrolls are better for a wizard than prepping actual fireballs.

Save or Dies don't have their DCs increase with caster lvl; so they're great as scrolled auto-killers; plus you are more likely to have more than one, so when Lord von Longwhiskers makes his save; you whip cast the 2nd Phatasmal Killer that was on the scroll.




Oh, that's an other thing.

You can have more than one spell per scroll. So, if you're not going to spend 1000 gp on the scroll; you can toss on an other spell so that you can scribe more spells at the same time.

I've got a DM who's really finicky on time between adventures, meaning I don't have a lot of time to prep between adventures. So I've learned tricks like that.

[the_taken]

1172627989[/unixtime]]Oh, that's an other thing.

You can have more than one spell per scroll. So, if you're not going to spend 1000 gp on the scroll; you can toss on an other spell so that you can scribe more spells at the same time.

I've got a DM who's really finicky on time between adventures, meaning I don't have a lot of time to prep between adventures. So I've learned tricks like that.

This is my first post on this forumn. Let it be forever known that I'm here. Lurking, learning... eating your cheatos...

I greatly appreciate all the tips you guys have lying around here. It's a great resource. And fun to read. (Spells that fvcking kill people. heh.) This one I'm actually gonna write down.

[Brobdingnagian]

I'm not to familiar with the rules of researching spells, so feel free to correct if I'm wrong about the following.

I notice that you don't have Glibness on the list. Obviously, since it's a Bard spell. But couldn't a wizard or sorcerer research or, more accurately, create the spell for themselves?

I'm just saying, because even without any ranks in the skill, a +30 to Bluff checks means you can walk right up to the treasury guards, say, "I'm the king", and they'll believe you. They'll keep believing you even as you walk away with all their stuff.

That's just something to note, if I understand the spell researching system correctly.

[User3]

1172627989[/unixtime]]
Save or Dies don't have their DCs increase with caster lvl; so they're great as scrolled auto-killers; plus you are more likely to have more than one, so when Lord von Longwhiskers makes his save; you whip cast the 2nd Phatasmal Killer that was on the scroll.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it looks as though you said something utterly crazy- that save or dies from scrolls are a good idea. In what universe does this prove true?

Scrolls use the minimum ability modifier needed in casting to set the DC when crafted. They also don't benefit from stuff like spell focus or gnome racial boosts, etc. A save or die from a scroll will have a pathetically low save DC, and almost never be worth it.

In the example given there, Lord Von Longwhiskers has to fail two DC 16 saves to be affected by your 700 gp scroll. Sad thing is that this is as good as it gets, since the even levels are a "sweet spot" for this tactic, DC-wise. If this were a 3rd level spell instead of a 4th for the example then the DC would only be 14. I'd rather hit him with a tanglefoot bag.

[Brobdingnagian]

Scrolls use what for their DC?

As far as my experience goes, and I may be wrong about this, but scrolls use their creator's ability modifier when crafting to set the DC. Not to mention that most seem to allow a caster using a scroll to use their own ability modifier for the DC. And while we're at it, nobody plays gnomes (really, I'll do the smart thing and play a human or dwarf illusionist instead of a gnome, or if we're using RoW, hell, even a Tiefling) and anybody who's picking up Spell Focus obviously has no idea what they're doing in the first place. There's better ways to get your save DC's to go up than throwing your feats into the fire.

[Cielingcat]

1172640825[/unixtime]]I'm not to familiar with the rules of researching spells, so feel free to correct if I'm wrong about the following.

I notice that you don't have Glibness on the list. Obviously, since it's a Bard spell. But couldn't a wizard or sorcerer research or, more accurately, create the spell for themselves?

I'm just saying, because even without any ranks in the skill, a +30 to Bluff checks means you can walk right up to the treasury guards, say, "I'm the king", and they'll believe you. They'll keep believing you even as you walk away with all their stuff.

That's just something to note, if I understand the spell researching system correctly.

The actual method is to get a scroll of Glibness, decipher* it (Spellcraft check DC 23), spend a day studying it (Spellcraft DC 18), then scribe it into your book. And by "scribe" I mean "Secret Page."

*Spellcraft cannot decipher non-arcane spells; for that you need Read Magic, which automatically deciphers all magical writings.

[Brobdingnagian]

Okay, so wizards and sorcerers, or wizards at least, can easily enough pick up bard spells. That answers my question.

Might as well add Sympathetic Vibration to the list. That's a neat one for getting people out of a building fast. Or just vandalism. Whatever.

Suddenly Wu-Jen specific spells aren't so specific anymore...