Hey all, really liking the 5e Abjuration Wizard and projected ward in that game, and am about to start up a pathfinder 1e game. I want to play a caster that shields their allies and themselves with wards and shields in close range, but I'm having trouble deciding how to go about it effectively.
Our DM is pretty hardcore and combats are tough, so any advice would be very much appreciated! Doesn't have to be a wizard, also looking at arcanist and others :)
See title. Anything printed in a source book is legal, no UA. Oh, Artificer is randomly banned. Kinda sucks, but I'm not going to grumble about it. We are using point buy. I'm not too worried about that stats, I can message them about for multi classing later. Here's what I have so far.
I've come across the Armor of Agathy's + Ward combo. Love it so much that I'm forgoing my free feat at level one so I can be a d'Kundarak Dwarf. The Eldritch Adept (might have the name wrong, but the one that gives you warlock Invocation) feat is how I intend to get Shadow Armor to top off my ward at will between combats. Sure, I can take a two level dip into Warlock, but I want to save my dips for another silly idea:
I want to use Shillelagh. One of my players gravitated to the spell immediately when 5e was released, but he never revisited it through all of these content releases we've had over the years! Also we have the benefit of being nearly SAD as well! My first thought is taking up Hunter's Mark since it's a "free" d6 of damage (it's a shame our cantrip doesn't scale with levels, but oh well) and situationally using Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade since they do. It's only a single level dip and I still have access to those juicy level 6 spells. Granted, that does mean my damage mitigation spells are going to be limited to not requiring concentration, so that means Blink and Mirror Image.
But I feel like there's a bigger-brained idea here. Maybe foregoing the Hunter's Mark dip for a two level dip into Paladin instead? But that option, while bursty, isn't as resource light as Hunter's Mark, but idk. Haven't even looked into the world of three level dips at the moment.
Current feats: Eldritch Adept, Polearm Master, and the ASI's are for topping out stats.
But that's why I'm asking for pitches from you lovelies! Someone always has a better idea than I do. Cheers!
Edit: Oh, I forgot we get a choice of magic weapon, I'm thinking the Gulthias Staff
Edit 2: Oh, I also forgot that Wizard's don't get Shillelagh from Tasha, I guess we're burning a feat for Magic Initiate.
Hello fellow dungeon delvers,
after having gotten inspired by colby on abjuration tankzard, i was a little discouraged by the tradeoffs made for the survivability we gained here (heavy multiclassing, late 3rd level spells) and looked for a solution.
Funnily enough, a comment mentioned tortles, and after looking through some options a budget variant of the elaborate setup took shape.
If you start as a tortle warlock, with a low charisma score (which is a bit weird, but bear with me here) Edit: has to be at least 13 due to how multiclassing works, rip dex you can be a hexblade for shield proficiency and gain access to Booming Blade as a cantrip, along with Shield both as a spell and an item alongside Armor of Agathys. This combined with your high natural armor means you will have a resting ac of 17 [Edit: After asking in discord about it, if your dm allows it you can fudge around with your free item interact to "lean the staff against you" cast a bb on it then pick it up and attack, which allows you to run shield for 19 ac immediately, however to due how fudgy that is your dm might disallow this or have you roll acrobatics or sth] (on demand 22), alongside a thorn aura and Booming Blade to draw fire at level 1!
However you will dearly miss the 1 ac from warforged, alongside the better cons modifier coupled with the ability to access heavy armor master later on.
From there it is straight forward wizard leveling (since you speced into int and cons most likely) and from level 3 onwards you have the full juggernaut setup unlocked (Armor of Agathys behind an arcane ward for spike damage).
At level 4 you gain access to the supreme disabling/spamspell of tashas mind whip, and on level 5 you gain access to war caster and your shield and are basically fully online.
So to summarize:
- You trade good racial scores for a free 17 ac
- You come online much faster (only 1 lv multiclass required)
- A lot less gold intensive (all you need is a good shield, which means more money for spells)
- You are only slightly behind the curve as far as your spells are concerned
- It falls off lategame, since your ac can only benefit from better shields
- Having no dex means you move late, so it might not be as effective in practice as it in on paper
If there is anything i missed with the concept (for example the weight being a problem, or some other limitations), let me know.
Otherwise, thank you for your time.
Starting a new campaign at level 1 and trying to plan ahead. A little about my character: Currently taking first level Artificer for Con saves, medium armor, and shields without sacrificing spell slots. Going with a Forest Gnome mainly to get the Gnome Cunning magic resistance that I thought looked really good, especially with my loss of WIS save proficiency.
My question: From reading tons of threads on here and elsewhere, it seems like Abjuration is considered a pretty great pick, and that War Magic can be a little bland and overrated. Abjuration obviously speaks for itself. Arcane ward, counterspell bonus, and magic resistance are fantastic. However; given my build, I do worry that the awesome 14th-level magic resistance from Abjuration is a little bit wasted, even though it's obviously better than Gnome Cunning. Also I'm wondering if War Magic might compliment my high AC with the medium armor and shield, pushing it to 21 if concentrating (or 23 on reaction) by my 10th wizard level, which sounds amazing. The bonus +2 to saves (+6 on reaction) and extra initiative sound fantastic too.
Please help an over-thinker make a choice.
My level 3 Eladrin Abjuration wizard is coming up on level 4, and with an Intelligence of 17, I’m looking for a half-feat to get me some utility and up to 18 for my int. I’m leaning towards skill expert, telekinetic, or telepathic. I’m in a party of 3, with a Paladin 2/Archfey Warlock 1, and an Artillerist Artificer 3.
Pretty much title, I'm focusing on abjuration spells and counterspelling
the abjuration wizard can take eldritch adept to get the armour of shadows feat, how exactly does this interact with the wizards second level feature? does it allow for infinite temporary hp? can i do a second level dip in wizard as a warlock to achieve the same effect? thanks
I'll be playing an Artificier 1/Wizard 19 (Abjuration) multiclass in an upcoming campaign.
Since I'll be wearing medium armor, I wanted to know if I'd have to remove my armor every time I wanted to refill my Arcane Ward with Mage Armor (through the Armor of Shadows Eldritch Adept feat).
I tried looking into this, but couldn't find a specific answer, so help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
There's a ton of +Mind/Enchantment DC items, a couple +Necro, and maybe one +Transmutation I've seen. Any +Abujration? Granted, there are only like 2 offensive Abj. spells, but they can trivialize fights.
Sosiel is actually starting to be useful by Dismissing/Banishing demons and Dispelling if you give him some Abjuration focuses and Spell Pen. Any other ways to increase Abjuration DC?
Coming back again and cleaning up my plethora of boxes I realized I have a ton of the abjurations laying around for the different items like feet legs hands etc from back in the day. Are they at all worth keeping around anymore now that there is 117-119 gear?
Warmest Greetings People of 3d6,
I have just learned about the interaction between the Warlock invocation "Armor of Shadows" and the School of Abjuration Wizard Ability "Arcane Ward" which allows you to stack a bunch of extra Hitpoints onto your typically frail Caster Class. I am intrigued by this combo and plan to potentially play it in an upcoming Campaign, so i would like to ask you fine people for your Recommendations on Race, Warlock Subclass and Level Distribution.
Many thanks in advance
