[3.5] Optimized Incantatrix

[Pippin]

Hello,

so this is my first try on the Incantatrix class. I would like to have a level 20 generalist wizard with 10 levels of Incantatrix and, well, the last 5 levels are up to debate. I give up Enchantment. I wanted to try this class because it's still more DM-friendly than Artificers, and because it allows to toy all day long with Shapechange, Ghostform, Dimensional Jumper, Greater, Detect Thoughts and many other spells that haven't crossed my mind yet. There's probably no need to persist both Shapechange and Ghostform in the same day though.

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Race: Wild Gnome
Score Points: 32


Code: (Initial Stats) [Select]

Str 08 (-1)
Dex 15 (+2)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 08 (-1)
Cha 08 (-1)


Code: (Boosts) [Select]

Racial -02 /     / +02 / +02 /     / -02
Level 20     /     /     / +05 /     /   
Wishes +04 / +05 / +05 / +05 / +04 /    [inherent]
Visage of the Deity, Greater +04 / +04 / +02 / +04 /     / +02 [untyped]
Necrotic Emporment     / +08 /     / +08 / +08 /    [enhancement]
Bite of the Werebear +16 / +02 / +08 /     /     /    [enhancement]
Total +22 / +17 / +17 / +24 / +12 / +00


Code: (Final Stats) [Select]

Str 30 (+10)
Dex 32 (+11)
Con 32 (+11)
Int 42 (+16)
Wis 20 (+05)
Cha 08 (-01)


Code: (Feats) [Select]

Item Familiar (Lv01 feat)
Extend Spell (Lv03 feat)
Iron Will (Otyugh Hole feat)
Maximize Spell (Lv05 Wizard feat)
Invisible Spell (Lv01 Incantatrix feat)
Widen Spell (Lv06 feat)
Quicken Spell (Lv04 Incantatrix feat)
Summon Elemental (Lv09 feat)
Persistent Spell (Lv07 Incancatrix feat)
Mother Cyst (Lv12 feat)
Twin Spell (Lv10 Incantatrix feat)
Spell Mastery (Lv15 feat)
Uncanny Forethought (Lv18 feat)


Code: (Magic Items) [Select]

Stone of Good Luck
Ioun Stones (Dusty Rose, Pale Green, Orange)


Code: (Saving Throws) [Select]

Stats +11 / +11 / +05
Wizard Lv05 +01 / +01 / +04
Incantatrix Lv10 +03 / +03 / +07
Archmage Lv05 +01 / +01 / +04
Resistance, Superior +06 / +06 / +06
Iron Will +00 / +00 / +02
Mother Cyst +00 / +05 / +00
Pale Green Ioun Stone +01 / +01 / +01
Stone of Good Luck +01 / +01 / +01
Total +24 / +29 / +30


Code: (Armor Class) [Select]

Dex. +11
Mother Cyst +08 [natural]
Bite of the Werebear +07 [enhancement]
Mage Armor, Superior +06 [resistance]
Dusty Rose Ioun Stone +01 [insight]
Total +33

AC: 43 (Probably irrelevant.)

Code: (Spellcraft Checks) [Select]

Level+3 23
Int. mod 16
Divine Insight 15
Skill Focus 03
Arcana Synergy 02
Stone of Good Luck 01
Pale Green Ioun Stone 01
Take 10 10

Total: 71

Alright... I'm not sure how many levels of Archmage I should take. I don't know if there's an interesting Prestige Class that would supply nice things within only 2-3 levels. In the meantime, if someone has better ideas regarding the spells I chose for the Archmage SLAs, or regading anything else (metamagic feats, other feats, easy ways to increase STs, CA, CL that I forgot...) feel free to speak your mind.

[Pippin]

I found this which is extremely helpful. There are many PrCs there that are worth a read. I was sad to see that the Metaphysical Spell Shaper PrC was part of the Book of Erotic Fantasy, which frankly is quite inappropriate to me. (Fortunately, that thing didn't get the d20 license.)

The Recaster PrC looked nice but taking it means I lose a CL, and I can't be a Gray Elf. So that's two less 9th-level spells at level 20...

The Residual Magic feat was colored as "cheesy" but I'm not sure how cheesy it really is. I can't think of any situation in which you'd love to cast the same spell again. Also, I wasn't sure to take the Uncanny Forethought feat yesterday, but since then I've noticed how fantastic it is with Arcane Spellsurge. I've also noticed that I need not take Iron Will as I can earn it by visiting an Otyugh Hole. So I can take one more feat and I'm not sure which one I should take. Also, about Otyugh Hole, CS says:

Duration: The emotional scars, and the resulting personality change, resulting from confinement in an otyugh hole are permanent.

I'm not sure if there is any consequence besides the story of my character.

[Rebel7284]

How are you qualifying for archmage?  It requires Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus in two schools of magic.

Also, why the +6 Wis Item?  I do not see any abilities that rely on wisdom besides your already high will save...

[Pippin]

That's true, I completely forgot about the prerequisites of the Archmage PrC... Well now it's official, I will take a different PrC.

As for the +6 Wis item, why not? It's always nice to have better STs.

[Shadowhunter]

You should have a look in Libris Mortis and consider the Mother Cyst feat at level 15. The reason is simple, this spell:

Necrotic Empowerment
Necromancy[Evil]
Level: Cleric 8, sorcerer/wizard 8
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 Standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level

You call upon the mother cyst that your body hosts, drawing from it strength, vigor, speed and vicious certainty.
While the spell is in effect, you gain a +8 enhancement bonus to Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom, a +8 natural armor bonus to Armor Class as your skin briefly crusts and hardens, a +5 competence bonus on Fortitude saves, and 100 temporary hit points.
While the empowerment lasts, you are unable to cast any other mother cysts feat-enabled spell.
Focus: Caster must possess a mother cysts.

That would save you a lot of cash on stat boosting items. Personally, I'd fluff it that the Otyugh Hole switched his/her alignment from NG to TN upon living through it, thus having no qualms in casting Evil spells.

Secondly, have a look in Complete Divine and Races of Destiny. The reasons are the Arcane Disciple feat from Complete Divine and the Destiny cleric domain from RoD.
More specifically, this spell:

CHOOSE DESTINY
Divination
Level: Destiny 9
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level
You gain a limited ability to discern a successful path for your actions. For the duration of the spell, any time
you make an attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw, you may roll twice and select which die roll to use.

As for boosting Spellcraft, have a look in Dragon Magazine 335:

Loresong
Divination
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level

You gain temporary mastery in a skill, even one that you have never studied before. When you complete this spell, select a single skill (other than Speak Language). You gain a +4 competence bonus on all checks with it, with an additional +1 bonus for every 2 caster levels, and you may use it untrained.

It could be an alternative to Item Familiar, or a complementary thing.

The one thing those three spells have in common is that they are all Personal range, thus persistable.

Now, there's nothing preventing you from Extending a Persistent Spell (apart from maybe good taste and a wish to avoid books thrown at you) so that each spell lasts 48 hours. That means that in any given day, you'll have 2 days worth of buffs on you (the ones you cast that morning, and the ones you cast yesterday).

[Pippin]

You should have a look in Libris Mortis and consider the Mother Cyst feat at level 15. The reason is simple, this spell:

Wow. It's truly awesome. Thank you for pointing it out. If I cast it once every (two) day(s) at the same time, I reach some 38 INT score. That's... pretty decent. I'll update the OP right away. One question though. The description reads:

Prerequisite: Caster level 1st, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks.

Doesn't this mean I can only take it at level 1?

Secondly, have a look in Complete Divine and Races of Destiny. The reasons are the Arcane Disciple feat from Complete Divine and the Destiny cleric domain from RoD.
More specifically, this spell:

Well, maybe I'm stupid but I'm not 100% convinced this is worth a feat and a 9th level spell slot. I mean, my STs are already insanely high (+23 / +25 / +30 thanks to Cyst Empowerment), and my CA now reaches 35. But maybe I'm overlooking something.

As for boosting Spellcraft, have a look in Dragon Magazine 335:

It could be an alternative to Item Familiar, or a complementary thing.

The one thing those three spells have in common is that they are all Personal range, thus persistable.

Now, there's nothing preventing you from Extending a Persistent Spell (apart from maybe good taste and a wish to avoid books thrown at you) so that each spell lasts 48 hours. That means that in any given day, you'll have 2 days worth of buffs on you (the ones you cast that morning, and the ones you cast yesterday).

Thank you for pointing this one out, but I'd rather not use things that come from magazines. I don't know, I don't find them as 'official'. I'd rather try to find a way to make my Item Familiar indestructible.

[Pippin]

I apologize for the double post. Now that Shadowhunter showed me how to be over 36 INT, I reconsidered my stance on the Recaster PrC. Even if I'm no longer a Gray Elf, I still reach the 36 INT score at level 20 so I still get an additional 9th-level spell slot. The only drawback is that I don't gain a caster level when I get my first level of Recaster.

And I find that PrC really interesting. (See Races of Eberron, page 157)

Starting level 1, I have Eschew Materials for free and can use Sudden Silent or Sudden Still on my spells up to class_level per day. I might not use both at the same time, on the same spell though.
Starting level 2, I can use Sudden Maximize / Sudden Extend on my spells up to class_level per day.
Starting level 3, I can use Sudden Quicken on my spells up to thrice per day. The duration of that spell becomes 1 round though.
Starting level 4, I can use Sudden Extend / Sudden Maximize on my spells up to class_level per day.
And when I reach level 5, I can use "Sudden Sculpt Spell" and "Sudden Reach Spell" up to 5 times per day.

Did I get something wrong? My class level is my Wizard level + my Incantatrix level + my Recaster level, right? That sounds terribly unbalanced, especially the level 2/4 thing. The level 3 thing might not be as good as it sounds since the duration of the spell becomes 1 round. Besides blast, I'm not sure it's useful.

[phaedrusxy]

Class level for a class = only levels in that class. So for any Recaster ability that says class level, that means your Recaster level only.

[Shadowhunter]

1: You can take Mother Cyst at any time, provided you fulfill the prerequisites. You are confusing "Can only be taken at 1st" with "Needs 1 caster level", which you fulfill automatically by being a wizard. Look at Weapon Finesse for example, it requires you to have a base attack bonus of +1. What it really requires is a base attack bonus of at least 1, otherwise you wouldn't be able to pick it at any other point than when you have exactly 1 BAB. So no, you can pick it up at a later point 

2: Depends, but remember that you always fail saves on natural 1's. I wouldn't pick it up until level 18 to be honest, especially since you probably will need Necrotic Empowerment to have the Wisdom score required to cast it in the first place. Between Choose Destiny and Warp Destiny (the level 6 Destiny Domain spell exclusive), the odds of you failing that Save-or-Die spell that you know you're going to be hit with are pretty low.

Something also worth considering is that it allows you to re-roll attack rolls, which can come in handy if you use spells that require them. Disintegrate for example. Or Avasculate for that matter. I like that spell... oh you succeeded on your Fort save? Congrats, you're not stunned for a round. You still loose half your HP. Might not be the best spells, those two, but they're both a guilty pleasure I admit.

It would also allow you to roll twice your spellcraft checks, for more certainty of success on your Incanta-trixing.

3: Alright, I can understand that.. Hey, now you know what you'll use for your Phylactery when you become a Lich down the line, right? 

[Pippin]

Class level for a class = only levels in that class. So for any Recaster ability that says class level, that means your Recaster level only.

Alright thanks.

1: You can take Mother Cyst at any time, provided you fulfill the prerequisites. You are confusing "Can only be taken at 1st" with "Needs 1 caster level", which you fulfill automatically by being a wizard. Look at Weapon Finesse for example, it requires you to have a base attack bonus of +1. What it really requires is a base attack bonus of at least 1, otherwise you wouldn't be able to pick it at any other point than when you have exactly 1 BAB. So no, you can pick it up at a later point 

2: Depends, but remember that you always fail saves on natural 1's. I wouldn't pick it up until level 18 to be honest, especially since you probably will need Necrotic Empowerment to have the Wisdom score required to cast it in the first place. Between Choose Destiny and Warp Destiny (the level 6 Destiny Domain spell exclusive), the odds of you failing that Save-or-Die spell that you know you're going to be hit with are pretty low.

Something also worth considering is that it allows you to re-roll attack rolls, which can come in handy if you use spells that require them. Disintegrate for example. Or Avasculate for that matter. I like that spell... oh you succeeded on your Fort save? Congrats, you're not stunned for a round. You still loose half your HP. Might not be the best spells, those two, but they're both a guilty pleasure I admit.

It would also allow you to roll twice your spellcraft checks, for more certainty of success on your Incanta-trixing.

3: Alright, I can understand that.. Hey, now you know what you'll use for your Phylactery when you become a Lich down the line, right? 

Thank you for your detailed answer, although I'm not knowledgeable enough to understand what your last comment meant.

I found this online and the guy puzzled me with his 15 int mod. How is it possible, even with a Gray Elf? Polymorph cheese? I've always thought the best INT score one could ever reach without level adjustment was 36 (, and now 38). I should probably look for all the spells that boost INT...

There is also this persistable spell he mentioned that looks amazing:

Veil Of Undeath
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 8, sorcerer/wizard 8
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 minutes/level

Upon completion of the spell, you exhale your last breath and accept a brief embrace from death.

You gain many of the traits common to undead creatures. While the spell lasts, you have immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death, extra damage from critical hits, nonlethal damage, death from massive damage, ability drain, energy drain, fatigue, exhaustion, damage to physical ability scores, and any effect requiring a Fortitude save unless it is harmless or affects objects. You need not breathe, eat, or sleep.
Like an undead creature, you are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict spells. You don’t actually gain the undead type from casting this spell.

Material Component: A finger from a zombie.

SpC

In other words the spell grants you all the advantages of being an undead, without the drawbacks, but I don't get the orange part. The newbie that I am would tend to think that it means they can't touch you at all (since they can't inflict damage to you if that wouldn't kill you, and they can't kill you from massive damage either...)

I'm sorry for the stupid questions, I'm sure this thread is boring to you all since optimizing the best Wizard PrC is nothing but casual DnD. Especially now that this game receives no more updates and fewer people play it.

[kitep]

nonlethal damage, death from massive damage,

The death from massive damage is a rule that says if you take more than 50 points of damage in a single blow, you have to make a Fortitude save or die, even if you still have hit points left over.

PHB, page 145

Massive Damage: If you ever sustain damage so massive that a
single attack deals 50 points of damage or more and it doesn’t kill
you outright, you must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If this saving
throw fails, you die regardless of your current hit points. This
amount of damage represents a single trauma so major that it has a
chance to kill even the toughest creature. If you take 50 points of
damage or more from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt 50 or
more points of damage itself, the massive damage rule does not
apply.

Nonlethal damage is damage that is meant to knock-out instead of kill, eg hitting with the flat of the sword instead of the sharp blade.  It won't kill you, but if non-lethal + lethal exceed your hit points, you're unconscious.

[Shadowhunter]

A Lich is an undead wizard who achieves near immortality by sealing his soul into something called a Phylactery. I was just making a joke that if you already have an indestructible item familiar, you know what to use when/if you get the Lich urge

15 Int mod means 40 Int. 18 base, +5 levels, +5 tome, +8 enhancement. Presumably a +2 Int race, we're hitting that 38 you mentioned. Remember that aging affects your stats. At middle age you get -1 to all physical stats and +1 to all mental ones. Players Handbook 109. Presumably, once you have access to Shapechange you don't care about the -3 to physical stats since you gain +2 to your mental ones. Well, appart from maybe not liking that your Con mod dropped, but there are remedies for that.
Other than that, I'm sure something more in here can be applied, if desired:
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=176.msg573#msg573


Also, don't worry that you're asking questions. We were all new at this at one point. Heck, I'm probably only 60% as good at making a high-level wizard than some around here and that's mostly because I picked up on things along the way. I still am terribly average when it comes to knowing which spells to pick.
Take it from someone who is also prone to being self-deprecating and apologetic for "being a bother" in many scenarios, it's fine. As long as a new player seems genuinely interested in learning and makes some effort him/herself, there's plenty of people that'll chip in their two proverbial cents. Also it's nice to see some activity on the board, even if it's similar to what's been asked before. Heck, it's almost a competition between Jackinthegreen and me these days to see which one of us will first chip in on the subject of adding Dex to damage for a build when the topic comes up.
He's mostly winning. I honestly don't think he's even aware of it, but I am. It used to be my shtick, but he's beaten me to it too many times over the last two years or so for it to be my shtick anymore. Grumble grumble 

As for the notion that everything has already been discovered, I'd direct your attention to the various "Fun Finds" threads that span 50 pages each where we stumble across gems to this day. 3.5 has a staggering amount of sourcebooks.

And yes, Veil of Undeath is definetely a great spell.

[Pippin]

Wow another amazing thread I hadn't browsed yet. Thanks a lot for your input. As for age, I usually don't take it into account. If I do, then one day my DM might tell me I just died. Not taking it into account implicitly makes age irrelevant for our adventures, so I may keep my character for ever. (=My character is immortal.)

It seems that the Cleric spell Visage Of The Deity Greater grants +4 INT (among other things!) to evil people, but I'm not sure at all if there's a way to learn it for a Wizard. We could use the feat you mentioned earlier, Arcane Disciple, but there seems to be absolutely NO deity with the evil alignment among the domains Competition, Mysticism, Purification...

Assuming we find a way to learn this spell, a character with no racial INT bonus reaches 40 INT with this spell. That's awesome. Interistingly, I found on this thread another way to boost my CON with Bite of the Werebear which grants +8 CON and... ... +16 STR. If your character is a Wild Gnome (better than a Gray Elf it seems... I found this race on the thread you linked too), if you optimize as much as you can (except maybe for Cha which is absolutely useless), you can reach this:

(click to show/hide)

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Initial Stats/
Str 08 (-1)
Dex 15 (+2)
Con 15 (+2)
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 08 (-1)
Cha 08 (-1)

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Bonuses/
Racial -02 /     / +02 / +02 /     / -02
Level 20     /     /     / +05 /     /   
Wishes +04 / +05 / +05 / +05 / +04 /    [inherent]
Visage of the Deity, Greater +04 / +04 / +02 / +04 /     / +02 [untyped]
Necrotic Emporment     / +08 /     / +08 / +08 /    [enhancement]
Bite of the Werebear +16 / +02 / +08 /     /     /    [enhancement]
Total +22 / +17 / +17 / +24 / +12 / +00

Code: [Select]

Final Stats/
Str 30 (+10)
Dex 32 (+11)
Con 32 (+11)
Int 42 (+16)
Wis 20 (+05)
Cha 08 (-01)

Isn't a Str 30 Wizard hilarious?

Now, I still struggle for my second PrC after Incantatrix. I don't know, I feel like I can find better:

• On the one hand, there is the Recaster PrC.
  
  • Pros: He grants you Sudden Maximize/Widen/Extend (pick 2) five times per day at Lv5, Eschew Materials, Sudden Quicken three times per day at Lv3, he allows you to use Sculpt Spell and Arcane Reach for free 5 times per day at Lv5. Also he allows you to learn one spell (Lv8 spell max) from any class twice (at Lv2 and Lv4).
  • Cons: First level doesn't give you +1 CL. The Quickened spells have a 1 round duration, so it's pretty useless. Sculpt Spell or Arcana Reach 5 times per day may not be enough. You must be a changeling.
• On the other hand, there is the Archmage PrC.
• Pros: He gives you unlimited Arcane Reach, Mastery of Shaping and other things. You can be a Wild Gnome.
• Cons: Prerequisites are THREE not-so-useful feats. Everytime you take 1 High Arcana, you give up 1 spell-slot.

The Recaster PrC has better pros, but it has 4 heavy cons; the Archmage PrC has fewer pros, but only 1 heavy con... So I'm still looking either for ways to improve one of the two PrCs above, or for another PrC. I might not need the last level of Incantatrix, because I don't really plan to use metamagic feats by raw. But the 7th and 9th levels are very nice and I will probably keep them unless some great PrC shows up.

Edit : I would have a few questions regarding Polymorph any Object. If I decide at Lv15 to permanently change myself into a Sarrukh, I gain its abilities...

• But what about the ability points I gained at Lv4/8/12, do they reapply afterward? And what about my racial bonus points?
• If I read a Tome of Clear Thought beforehand, would the +5 bonus be lost?
• My STs and HP remain the same even though my ability points changed, is that right?
• If I die and am later revived, am I still under the effect of PaO?

[KellKheraptis]

Ok, how over the top do you want it?  Do you like the idea of shadow miracles being cast from cantrips?  Which are then chain-reached and/or persistified?  How about War Weaver to top it off for both an offensive weave and a regular one, to play 3 of the 4 main wizard roles without even trying (and the 4th is always on tap if you want it)?  Let me know if so, and I will dig up one of my Shadowtrices

[altpersona]

Ok, how over the top do you want it?  Do you like the idea of shadow miracles being cast from cantrips?  Which are then chain-reached and/or persistified?  How about War Weaver to top it off for both an offensive weave and a regular one, to play 3 of the 4 main wizard roles without even trying (and the 4th is always on tap if you want it)?  Let me know if so, and I will dig up one of my Shadowtrices

id like to see the variations

[Pippin]

Ok, how over the top do you want it?  Do you like the idea of shadow miracles being cast from cantrips?  Which are then chain-reached and/or persistified?  How about War Weaver to top it off for both an offensive weave and a regular one, to play 3 of the 4 main wizard roles without even trying (and the 4th is always on tap if you want it)?  Let me know if so, and I will dig up one of my Shadowtrices

Shadowcraft Mages are excellent, but! Even though I usually look for maximal optimization, free miracles are I think a bit too much. My DM will never allow it, and that isn't really fun. I'll look into that later but not now ^^ For now I'm just trying to get the most of my Incantatrix via another PrC, and not getting the most of some PrC via my Incantatrix

Thanks to phaedrusxy who answered my questions regarding PaO here, I know how to get the best INT/HP scores out of Polymorph any Object :

(click to show/hide)

Race: Maeluth, Lesser: +4 con, -2 dex; Player’s Guide to Faerun 191 & Fiend Folio 136
Give a 18+4 CON score to your character at Lv1.
Bonuses from leveling go to CON every time.
At Lv20, CON = 18 + 4 (Racial) + 5 (Levels) + 5 (Wishes) + 8 (Bite of the Werebear) + 2 (Visage of the Deity, Greater) = 42.
CON mod. = 16, so your character has 20x16 + 4 + 19d4 = 371 HP.

Use PaO and turn Sarrukh.
At Lv20, INT = 30 + 5 (Wishes) + 8 (Necrotic Empowerment) + 4 (Visage of the Deity, Greater) = 47.
DEX = 15 + 5 (Wishes) + 8 (Necrotic Empowerment) + 4 (Visage of the Deity, Greater) = 32.
CON = 20 + 5 (Wishes) + 8 (Bite of the Werebear) + 2 (Visage of the Deity, Greater) = 35.

So you have some nice 47 INT score, 371 HP and your base saving throws are +11 for Reflexes and +14 for Fortitude.
Also: STR = 23 + 5 (Wishes) + 16 (Bite of the Werebear) + 4 (Visage of the Deity, Greater) = 48. Hi, I'm a wizard and my highest ability score is STR ^^

That looks nice but the awesomeness of my character stops the second my DM casts Magic Dispel on me... This weakness kind of makes me regret all this, so I think I'm just going to use a Wild Gnome and find other spells to boost his "poor" 42 INT score. I'm confident I can find a persistable cleric/bard/w.e spell that would grant me a luck/morale/insight INT bonus, I just have to search. In the meantime if someone knows one, feel free to chime in.

I also think I'm going to not take Item Familiar as a feat. Rather, I'm going to convince my DM to allow me to find a Divine Insight wand during some adventure. Even if I have to torture or enslave someone to have it created. I'm going to cut Spell Mastery and Uncanny Forethought as well, and take the three feats required for the Archmage PrC. Classic build it is, in the end.

I would also need to take out either Widen Spell or Twin Spell, because I need the Arcane Disciple feat for Visage of the Deity, Greater. Any advice, anyone?

[phaedrusxy]

Oh god... you're going to drop Uncanny Forethought for Archmage? IMO, that sounds like a terrible trade.

Here is a build that I favor:
Spellthief 1/Wizard (Diviner) 5/Incantatrix 4/Unseen Seer 10 (in that order)
Race: Whisper Gnome, Human, other

Flaw: Vulnerable: -1 Armor Class penalty
Trait: Aggressive: +2 Initiative, -1 AC

Feats: Able Learner (flaw), Mercantile Background (Human), Extend Spell (1), Scribe Scroll (wiz1), Item Familiar (3), Spell Mastery (Wiz5), Uncanny Forethought (6), Iron Will (Otyugh Hole), Persistent Spell (Inx1), Alertness (Item Familiar), Master Spellthief (9), Quicken (Inx4), Craven/Insightful Divination/?

Advanced Learning: Hunter's Eye, ?

So this guy can do all the stuff you care about as an Incantatrix, starting as early as levels 8-9, plus he can also perform amazingly well as the party sneak/rogue, and dish out insane damage via his Sneak Attack (especially kicks in at levels 12+, but he's still nasty at the earlier levels). Master Spellthief will let you trade Persists for buffs with your party cleric (and others), meaning you can run around with Persistent Divine Power or whatever other insanity that you want. Make sure to go crazy loading out your spellbook, as you can spontaneously cast anything from it via Uncanny Forethought. Even at 7th level, my guy's spellbook looks like this:

(click to show/hide)

0th: KNOWS ALL and all these are in his spellbook
Detect Magic (x2, 1 in specialist slot)
No Light(BoVD): 20' radius area of magical darkness that creatures with darkvision can see through.
Mage Hand
Dancing Lights
Prestidigitation
Launch Item: "Throw" fine-sized item up to medium range with no range penalty.
Caltrops (SC): Creates caltrops in 5 squares within short range, and they get a +4 to hit (ignores armor, shield, deflection, +2 AC if wearing shoes or armor).
Ghost Sound
Message
Acid Splash
Open/Close
Ray of Frost
Resistance (+1 saves for 1 min)
Touch of Fatigue

1st:
Alarm
Benign Transposition(SC): Two allies within medium range trade places
Comprehend Languages*
Eyes of the Avoral
Feather Fall
Grease
Instant Diversion x2 (RotD, swift action, creates 1 illusory double +1/4lvls (max 5), 1rnd dur)
Lesser Orb of Acid(SC): 5d8 acid damage, short range.
Mage Armor
Magic Missile
Chill Touch
Ray of Enfeeblement
Nerveskitter(SC): Immediate action +5 to initiative
Obscuring Mist
Protection from Evil
Silent Image
Unseen Servant
Wall of Smoke
Uncanny Forethought (x2)

2nd:
Alter Self
Cloud of Bewilderment (basically mini-Stinking Cloud, SC)
Detect Thoughts* (specialist bonus)
False Life
Cloud of Knives
Glitterdust
Gust of Wind
Heroics (SC, 10 min/lvl, gain [Fighter] feat)
Invisibility
Kelgore's Grave Mist(PHB2): medium range, 20' radius, 20' high cloud does 1d6 cold/rnd and fatigues. No save, SR to resist fatigue. Lasts 1 rnd/lvl.
Knock
Chain of Eyes (SpC put this on the Wiz list I think)
Resist Energy
Rope Trick
See Invisible
Spider Climb
Toothed Tentacle
Web
Uncanny Forethought (x2*)

3rd:
Arcane Sight*
Anticipate Teleport(SC): 24 hr duration, range touch, anyone teleporting into a 5'/level radius is delayed 1 round, and target knows they're coming
Blacklight
Dispel Magic
Gaseous Form
Ghost Lantern (CMage, 10 min/lvl, creates a torch that only the spell's targets can see!!)
Shatterfloor (SC): medium range, 15' radius, 1d4 sonic/lvl and area becomes difficult terrain
Clairvoyance/Clairaudience
Heart of Water (Swim speed = land speed, Water Breathing, +5 Escape Artist, can discharge as Swift action for FoM for 1rnd/lvl)
Nondetection
Phantom Steed
Shrink Item
Uncanny Forethought (x2)

6th:
Contingency

Spellbook cost:

(click to show/hide)

1) Instead of buying scrolls, he paid another mage to let him copy his spellbook for all spells above 1st level. This only costs 50 gp per spell level, which is awesome!

1st: 18 total - 9 free = 9 at 25 gp (buy scrolls, 225 gp)

2nd: 17 total - 4 free = 11 at 100 gp (pay spellcaster 1100 gp)

3rd: 13 -4 free = 9 at 150 gp (pay spellcaster 1350)

6th: 1 (pay spellcaster 300 gp)

His spellbook currently only has 43 of its 100 pages filled. The rest of his spells are stored in an Aurora's Shard, which is like half of a Boccob's Blessed Book (can scribe spells into it for free). The shard has 53 of its 500 "pages" filled.

I'm using an owl as his familiar, as I plan to operate mostly at night, which gives me a +3 to Spot and the owl is just insanely good as a scout on this build since it gets to use my ranks in Spot and Hide (which I actually have).

[Endarire]

Remember, going Wizard levels is still useful!  You can probably find better PrCs out there - highly unlikely as a Wizard/Incantatrix/Shadowcraft Mage - but going Wizard after Ix frees your feats and even gives you a bonus feat @Wizard10!