Welcome to the final part of my Conjurer build, a master of creation! With this build I take on an unusual challenge, as I make a Wizard that does not focus on Int. This affects spell selections and preparations in a unique way, and definitely makes this build different than the other Wizard builds I've presented on this channel. If you missed part 1, I discuss the beginning levels : ua-cam.com/video/4o94H_rCatg/v-deo.html Part 2 discusses levels 5-10: ua-cam.com/video/L0yZnC-aoNI/v-deo.html For the final build, you take take a look how it all turns out here: ddb.ac/characters/16450677/w9...
All of these older videos are still really good and relevant. Making a wizard that does not increase intelligence is just outstanding. Who would’ve ever thought a build like this would work so well? It would play extremely well with a party that had group tactics in mind. With another wizard or a sorcerer that’s more traditional, it would be amazing. Great work!
Hey Treantmonk, great video! Since you are doing the illusionist/arcane trickster build next week, I wanted to share a tip and trick I used with my 6th level illusionist just last week: Here’s the tip: BRING A DRILL WITH YOU on adventures! Why? Here’s the trick: We came up to a door that was barred on the other side. I drilled a hole into the door (making a stealth roll), and peeked into the next room. This room was a short hallway with a dozen bad guys in the room down the hall. I summoned my familiar onto the far side of the door. I then Looked out my familiar’s eyes to see what the back of the door looked like. I used that information to cast a Silent Image OF THE DOOR 3 feet behind the door creating a screen that covered line of site for those 12 bad guys. Finally I Misty Stepped into the space between my door and the illusion and lifted the bar. Now my party was able to attack the bad guys with surprise and we wiped them out in 2 rounds. It cost my a 1st level slot and a 2nd level slot, but when I did this my whole table just looked at me like I had done a magic trick for real. Even without the illusion, the drill should be standard equipment for anyone who can cast misty step. It’s makes breaking and entering so easy. Anyway thanks again for the great content, and keep up the good work!
@@TreantmonksTemple Just an ordinary crank wood hand drill (if you want it in game mechanics terms, consider it a "woodworking tool.") If you google hand drill it is basically just a hand-held device with a drill bit at one end and a "U" in it's center that you can use to crank the drill manually. It's about the size of a crowbar.
Before even looking at this build guide, I had created a character very similar. He was originally going to be a goblin Illusionist, but I decided to do the goblin conjurer instead. The difference is I had rolled for my stats and got pretty good stats with two 17s, a 16, a 12, 11, and 10. I also decided to take a level or Rogue at level 1 to get four skills instead of two and taking expertise in Slight of Hand and Stealth. My character is an Urchin and it felt better to start with a level of Rogue for those features. Thank you for the build guide, though, as it helped me to decide how to precede with this character after level 3. I will have a bit better Int than you did for this character and my DM has implemented a way to go to school and earn skill and tool proficiencies or to take languages or even feats. I'll be picking up Skill Expert to round out my 17 to 18 in INT and pick up a third expertise. This is good now that Tasha's is out. When you did this build you didn't have access to that book yet or those feat choices.
This was a great set of videos. I really enjoy your content but this was the first time it really got me thinking of playing a conjurer. Thank you for it, and congrats on 10K subs!
The key take away is that you can build a perfectly functional wizard that doesn’t focus on Int. This means that Int scores of 16 and 18 are also fully playable with a few tweaks. This has significant repercussions for MC builds and also for just flavor.
you need keep in mind that animated dead can mantain up to 4 undead per 3 lvl slot, so at lvl 20 you will be a couple of skeletons for just using your lvl 3 spels
@treantmonk What are your thoughts on taking 1 level of rogue at the onset, so to get additional skills, expertise, and additional damage on ranged attacks. Is this sacrificing anything significant?
I think it's fine, and you've basically figured out next week's build. Yeah, you sacrifice being a level behind constantly on spellcasting. Might be worth it, depending on what you want out of your character.
> Plane Shift I could have used that yesterday when I had to fly and was stuck in O'Hare during "weather events" (they had something called "rain." So of course they weren't prepared for it).
I saw your message on Discord but could not message back because you were no longer a member of the server. I didn't witness what happened (I tend to only read the messages I'm pinged on), and I'm really sorry you had a bad experience. Is it something I can fix?
@@TreantmonksTemple Nah; I'm pretty sure Everice is going to keep looking for excuses to have a go at me and then being as sharp-elbowed about it as possible, no matter what, as he was in #questions yesterday afternoon. I'm really not into being the center of drama. I prefer the lulz.
Quick question. Let’s say you did get some better intelligence for this character, either because you chose another race or rolled good stats. Any major changes you’d recommend? Flaming Sphere? Sleet Storm? Anything in particular?
That was a nice change of pace compared to the wizard builds I am used to seeing. A lot of your choices confused me at first. Such as ''why is he not taking invisibility instead of levitate and why does he bother with misty step?''. Or, ''why not take greater invisibility for when surprised and stuff?''. But your explanations made sense in the end. One thing I am very skeptical about is not including counterspell. I am thinking that it could easily replace one of summon greater demon or animated objects. Both are good spells when we get them, but do we really need both of these when can already have conjure minor elementals and conjure elemental at level 10 (and especially at level 14)? Consider that counterspell would be great in this build too. Maybe due to use wanting to hide it will be challenging sometimes to be within range (although we can certainly try to achieve that), but the big benefit is using counterspell when we are successfully hidden. It wont break our stealth (cause it's only a somatic component) and the enemy casters wont be able to defend from it assuming they have it too.
I'm working on a backup wizard and had a question. So, hypothetically if I wanted to squeeze some Shepherd Druid in this build, how deep into Druid would you go? And when would you put the levels in?
shepherd druids get the best summon-related feature at lvl 6. That is a huge commitment. But that is restricted to beasts and fey. If you want to use the spirit totem thing, the more useful spirits rely on druidlevel. You CAN make it work, but it would be a very specialized build, and with no guarantee that a single class character couldnt fulfill the same role
This video gave me a good look ahead for my Conjuration wizard. Correct me if I am wrong, but one 2nd level conjuration spell you didn't mention is Flock of Familiars. Any reason why? It's from the module Lost Laboratory of Kwalish so it may be hard to get your hands on mind you. I got it on a random scroll the DM put in as part of a side encounter. www.dndbeyond.com/spells/flock-of-familiars
Welcome to the final part of my Conjurer build, a master of creation! With this build I take on an unusual challenge, as I make a Wizard that does not focus on Int. This affects spell selections and preparations in a unique way, and definitely makes this build different than the other Wizard builds I've presented on this channel.
If you missed part 1, I discuss the beginning levels : ua-cam.com/video/4o94H_rCatg/v-deo.html
Part 2 discusses levels 5-10: ua-cam.com/video/L0yZnC-aoNI/v-deo.html
For the final build, you take take a look how it all turns out here: ddb.ac/characters/16450677/w9...
I think the dndbeyond link is broken
All of these older videos are still really good and relevant. Making a wizard that does not increase intelligence is just outstanding. Who would’ve ever thought a build like this would work so well?
It would play extremely well with a party that had group tactics in mind. With another wizard or a sorcerer that’s more traditional, it would be amazing.
Great work!
Summary
1: Goblin. PB 8/14/15/14/12/8. Wizard 1: Arcana, History, Minor Illusion, Message, Mage Hand, Find Familiar, Detect Magic, Unseen Servant, Shield*, Fog Cloud*, Sleep*. Sage: Perception, Stealth, Primordial, Abyssal/Infernal. Dagger, Component Pouch, Explorer’s Pack, Sling+Bullet upgrade: Light Crossbow.
2: Wizard 2: Conjuration, Absorb Elements, Mage Armor*
3: Wizard 3: Cloud of Daggers*, Misty Step*, Sleep(*)
4: Wizard 4: Skulker, Mending, Magic Mouth, Levitate*
5: Wizard 5: Animate Dead*, Summon Lesser Demons*, Cloud of Daggers(*)
6: Wizard 6: Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Water Breathing, Absorb Elements*
7: Wizard 7: Polymorph*, Summon Greater Demon*, Summon Lesser Demon(*)
8: Wizard 8: Alert, Conjure Minor Elementals*, Arcane Eye*, Fog Cloud(*)
9: Wizard 9: Wall of Force*, Rary’s Telepathic Bond
10: Wizard 10: Prestidigitation, Conjure Elemental*, Animate Objects*, Levitate(*)
12: Wizard 12: Lucky, Contingency, Dimension Door, Soul Cage*, True Seeing*
14: Wizard 14: Simulacrum, Force Cage*, Etherealness*, Teleport
16: Wizard 16: ASI DEX x2, Maze*, Antimagic Field*, Clone, Demi plane
18: Wizard 18: Spell Mastery: Misty Step, Shield. Misty Step(*), Levitate*. Wish*, True Polymorph, Prismatic Wall*, Gate
20: Wizard: ASI DEX x2. Signature Spells: Animate Dead, Summon Lesser Demons. Mind Blank, Plane Shift*, Create Homunculus, Scatter*
Hey Treantmonk, great video! Since you are doing the illusionist/arcane trickster build next week, I
wanted to share a tip and trick I used with my 6th level illusionist just last week:
Here’s the tip: BRING A DRILL WITH YOU on adventures!
Why? Here’s the trick:
We came up to a door that was barred on the other side. I drilled a hole into the door (making a
stealth roll), and peeked into the next room. This room was a short hallway with a dozen bad guys in the room down the hall.
I summoned my familiar onto the far side of the door.
I then Looked out my familiar’s eyes to see what the back of the door looked like.
I used that information to cast a Silent Image OF THE DOOR 3 feet behind the door creating a screen that covered line of site for those 12 bad guys.
Finally I Misty Stepped into the space between my door and the illusion and lifted the bar.
Now my party was able to attack the bad guys with surprise and we wiped them out in 2 rounds.
It cost my a 1st level slot and a 2nd level slot, but when I did this my whole table just looked at me like I had done a magic trick for real.
Even without the illusion, the drill should be standard equipment for anyone who can cast misty
step. It’s makes breaking and entering so easy.
Anyway thanks again for the great content, and keep up the good work!
This does sound really cool. What kind of drill? Pump drill? Not sure what kind is appropriate for most D&D settings.
@@TreantmonksTemple Just an ordinary crank wood hand drill (if you want it in game mechanics terms, consider it a "woodworking tool.") If you google hand drill it is basically just a hand-held device with a drill bit at one end and a "U" in it's center that you can use to crank the drill manually. It's about the size of a crowbar.
@@psusac Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about, my Dad had one of those.
Before even looking at this build guide, I had created a character very similar. He was originally going to be a goblin Illusionist, but I decided to do the goblin conjurer instead. The difference is I had rolled for my stats and got pretty good stats with two 17s, a 16, a 12, 11, and 10. I also decided to take a level or Rogue at level 1 to get four skills instead of two and taking expertise in Slight of Hand and Stealth. My character is an Urchin and it felt better to start with a level of Rogue for those features. Thank you for the build guide, though, as it helped me to decide how to precede with this character after level 3. I will have a bit better Int than you did for this character and my DM has implemented a way to go to school and earn skill and tool proficiencies or to take languages or even feats. I'll be picking up Skill Expert to round out my 17 to 18 in INT and pick up a third expertise. This is good now that Tasha's is out. When you did this build you didn't have access to that book yet or those feat choices.
This was a great set of videos. I really enjoy your content but this was the first time it really got me thinking of playing a conjurer. Thank you for it, and congrats on 10K subs!
The key take away is that you can build a perfectly functional wizard that doesn’t focus on Int. This means that Int scores of 16 and 18 are also fully playable with a few tweaks.
This has significant repercussions for MC builds and also for just flavor.
Congrats on 10k subs!
Thank you!
you need keep in mind that animated dead can mantain up to 4 undead per 3 lvl slot, so at lvl 20 you will be a couple of skeletons for just using your lvl 3 spels
That misty step benign transposition combo and that force cage/conjure fire Elemental are pretty tricksy
Just the kind of shenanigans you expect from a goblin!
You can put the cage around your enemy and your GWF so the enemy can’t get away either.
@treantmonk What are your thoughts on taking 1 level of rogue at the onset, so to get additional skills, expertise, and additional damage on ranged attacks. Is this sacrificing anything significant?
I think it's fine, and you've basically figured out next week's build. Yeah, you sacrifice being a level behind constantly on spellcasting. Might be worth it, depending on what you want out of your character.
Also spell mastery requires your mastery spells being prepared
Really interesting build
> Plane Shift
I could have used that yesterday when I had to fly and was stuck in O'Hare during "weather events" (they had something called "rain." So of course they weren't prepared for it).
I saw your message on Discord but could not message back because you were no longer a member of the server. I didn't witness what happened (I tend to only read the messages I'm pinged on), and I'm really sorry you had a bad experience. Is it something I can fix?
@@TreantmonksTemple Nah; I'm pretty sure Everice is going to keep looking for excuses to have a go at me and then being as sharp-elbowed about it as possible, no matter what, as he was in #questions yesterday afternoon. I'm really not into being the center of drama. I prefer the lulz.
Quick question. Let’s say you did get some better intelligence for this character, either because you chose another race or rolled good stats. Any major changes you’d recommend? Flaming Sphere? Sleet Storm? Anything in particular?
I would definitely change level 2 and level 3 spells. The other levels I would potentially keep the same spells.
Are there any other elementals, demons or devils you would summon during levels 11-20 once higher level spell slots open up? Which are the standouts?
That was a nice change of pace compared to the wizard builds I am used to seeing. A lot of your choices confused me at first. Such as ''why is he not taking invisibility instead of levitate and why does he bother with misty step?''. Or, ''why not take greater invisibility for when surprised and stuff?''. But your explanations made sense in the end.
One thing I am very skeptical about is not including counterspell. I am thinking that it could easily replace one of summon greater demon or animated objects. Both are good spells when we get them, but do we really need both of these when can already have conjure minor elementals and conjure elemental at level 10 (and especially at level 14)? Consider that counterspell would be great in this build too. Maybe due to use wanting to hide it will be challenging sometimes to be within range (although we can certainly try to achieve that), but the big benefit is using counterspell when we are successfully hidden. It wont break our stealth (cause it's only a somatic component) and the enemy casters wont be able to defend from it assuming they have it too.
You are probably right, I should have done Counterspell
That video needs an update.
If you cast Wish and duplicate a spell from another school that requires concentration does it benefit from your Focused Conjuration ability?
I don't know for sure, but I would imagine it is still a Wish spell, so not conjuration.
Wish is a conjuration spell though.
Thanks again.
If you are willing to start with 1 level of rogue (to get that bonus action hide), is there race you'd prefer over goblin?
You need 2 levels of rogue to get bonus action hide. The build next week does that. (Kenku)
D'oh. You're correct.
I've gotten so used to starting characters at 4th level for new campaigns that I missed that. It all blends together. :)
So it seems like you concentrate on your conjuration but what do you do with your action?
Would you spend a feat on gaining a +1 to Intelligence if you use the standard array.
I don't think so. I think I would live with the one lower preparation.
So for this build, what would be the ideal summon at level 20?
@treantmonk Arcana Domain build guide for gishy fun?
Probably at some point, it's good domain
I'm working on a backup wizard and had a question. So, hypothetically if I wanted to squeeze some Shepherd Druid in this build, how deep into Druid would you go? And when would you put the levels in?
I wouldn't, I would go with one or the other. It's not a very good multiclass I'm afraid even though they do similar things.
shepherd druids get the best summon-related feature at lvl 6. That is a huge commitment.
But that is restricted to beasts and fey.
If you want to use the spirit totem thing, the more useful spirits rely on druidlevel.
You CAN make it work, but it would be a very specialized build, and with no guarantee that a single class character couldnt fulfill the same role
This video gave me a good look ahead for my Conjuration wizard.
Correct me if I am wrong, but one 2nd level conjuration spell you didn't mention is Flock of Familiars. Any reason why? It's from the module Lost Laboratory of Kwalish so it may be hard to get your hands on mind you. I got it on a random scroll the DM put in as part of a side encounter.
www.dndbeyond.com/spells/flock-of-familiars
You have basically answered the question. I try to avoid more obscure material. It's the same reason I don't make any Tortle builds.