Handy spells to have on scrolls for a specific scenario? [closed]

Question

My situation:

• I'm rolling up a 10th level Pathfinder witch, using all Paizo products
• standard starting wealth (62K GP) plus and the ability to choose Scribe Scroll if it turns out to be worth the cost of a feat
• a ratling familiar (with the ability to cast any spell of any class/level from a scroll, no UMD needed. Note that this compares reasonably well to a Rod of Quicken Spell since the ratling and the PC can both cast in the same turn. Ill Omen is particularly useful for this sort of role...but there must be more good options (on any class spell list) that folks have thought of and can share.)
• joining an existing party where the only other casters are a blaster-sorcerer, a master summoner, and some paladins with wands of CLW (no full divine casters).
• Heading into the Worldwound on a crusade (not based on any published AP) where I expect a broad mix of evil foes including demons, giants, dragons, plus plenty of random others.
• In terms of quantities, we can expect to be out of town for weeks at a time...though I'll know Teleport if needed.

This is my first time playing a witch, and my first time playing any full caster at this level. I plan to focus on battlefield control and debuffing but want to provide useful general utility as well.

The classes of scrolls I'm considering so far:

• ones I'd like my ratling familiar using while I'm taking other actions (e.g. I'm considering crafting many Ill Omen scrolls for my familiar to use immediately before I cast a save-or-suck spell.)
• ones that typically aren't worth preparing but are very handy in niche cases (e.g. maybe something like Neutralize Poison or Dismissal?)
• important divine spells that the party won't otherwise have access to (but that could be used as scrolls by the ratling).

I'm looking for:

• specific scroll suggestions (e.g. "one or two of A & B, and ten+ of C & D") and
• general principles for how to make these decisions (e.g. "In addition to the three reasons for bringing scrolls you mention, I'd also be thinking about X")
• feel free to suggest ones that are of any level and/or on any class list, since the ratling can use scrolls from any class, and if you believe a single use high level scroll is worth the cost I'd like to know.

Since it seems folks may be put off by the time investment needed to answer this comprehensively, let me add:

• a brief answer with a few great ideas may be better than a comprehensive one so don't feel that your choices are answer comprehensively or not at all.

Answer 1

Let's start with the easy ones:

• Protection from Evil (Communal). There is also a "Magic Circle" variant but it's more expensive and it only has a range of 10ft around you. Yes you can definitely memorize this spell, but it's not always easy to memorize "enough".
• Invisibility Purge is very situational, when you need it, you really need it. If your familiar can be mobile and hide behind the paladins, this may be even more useful on it :) Faerie Fire only works for one Cleric domain and Glitterdust only works for Arcane casters.
• Death Ward is absolutely huge around evil monsters. It is quite likely that you will memorize one of these, but when you need multiple, it's nice to have extras around.
• Restoration spells. Again it is quite likely that you will have one or more of these memorized, but it really sucks when you "run out".
• Take a look at Breath of Life and Raise Dead (note raise dead scroll is +5k gp). Honestly, Breath of Life is pretty good and you may just memorize it anyways. But it is annoying to burn a 5th level slot on Raise Dead that's only useful if somebody dies. At 10th level, the odds are pretty good that somebody is going to die, but you never know if that's going to be today or tomorrow or next week. Because of Raise Dead's cost, it's typically the type of thing where the party pitches in for the scroll, so feel free to ask the party to help fund this scroll.
• The removes: Remove Disease, Remove Curse, Neutralize Poison. These are all great to have when you really need them, but they are annoying places in which to "burn slots". Again however, these spells are all really to the party's benefit. This is the type of thing that you may want the party to pitch in for. Note that two of these are accessible to the Sorcerer who may want a copy as well, you should coordinate.
• Delay Poison is handy fail-safe compared to the 4th level spell Neutralize Poison. The Delay is "hours/level". So it's enough to clear a fight or possibly two before getting to safety or casting the full version.
• Speak with Dead is great way to gather information, but again you're never going to memorize it for that one day the mystery starts.

@Jacob Proffitt has a very extensive list, but that's also a lot of cash on Scrolls. I would start with this smaller list as the odds of using any of these scrolls within a few levels is pretty high.

Answer 2

I like scrolls for storing potential—mainly for things that are situation-specific that you don't want to clog up a regular spell slot for. I also tend to steer clear of offensive spells (mostly because bought scrolls DCs are on the low side).

I think Scribe Scroll is a decent feat for a witch as you can build up your scroll supplies over time, plus you use your own stats for spell DCs. That said, remember that scribing a spell above the base caster level needed for the spell affects the material cost for the scroll (so again, offensive spells have a different utility/cost trade-off). Bear in mind that you're essentially cutting your scroll costs in half with the feat and if you use a lot of scrolls, that can be quite valuable. The flip side of that, of course, is that if you have/use a lot of scrolls, it doesn't take long to tie up (and eventually burn) a substantial amount of cash in them.

If you're looking at how to evaluate, here's my weight list for the Witch spell list for level 2 through 5 spells. Bear in mind that I'd filter this by party needs and utility so the numbers here are more of a weight than a purchase suggestion.

5th

• Break Enchantment — 2 to 5
• Overland Flight — 1 or 2
• Prying Eyes — 1 or 2
• Truespeak 1 or 2

4th

• Arcane Eye 1 or 2
• Death Ward 6+ (when useful, generally useful for much of the party)
• Dimension Door 2 or 3 (this might be better as a personal spell)
• Divination 2 or 3 or 6+ depending on GM tolerance for revealing their hand
• Locate Creature 3 to 5
• Neutralize Poison 2 or 3
• Ride the Waves 0 to 2
• Secure Shelter 1 to 3 (unless things are really bad, but then you might be better with a wand)
• Shadow Step 0 to 3
• Threefold Aspect 0 to 2
• Tongues, Communal 6+ (unless your party isn't into the talky-talk)
• Wandering Star Motes 0 to 2 (this is just a fun effect)

3rd

• Clairaudience/Clairvoyance 2 to 5
• Countless Eyes 0 to 6 depending on how your party benefits
• Delay Poison, Communal 2ish (not going to want it often, but when you do...)
• Fly 3ish (for emergencies — if you want fly more often, use your own)
• Locate Object 3 to 6 (creative use of this one can be extremely useful)
• Rage depends on if your party can/will use it
• Remove Curse 2 to 4
• Remove Disease 3 to 6
• Seek Thoughts 1 or 2
• Speak with Dead 2 to 6 (if you use it a lot, consider keeping one of your own loaded)
• Tongues 2 or 3
• Water Walk 3 to 6
• Witness 0 to 3 (consider using with your allies)

2nd

• Alter Self 2 to 6 (don't forget this is a good way to pick up scent, swim, or darkvision)
• Carry Companion 0 to 3 depending on if you have willing beasts
• Delay Pain 2ish
• Delay Poison 4 to 6+
• Detect Thoughts 2ish
• Fog Cloud 2ish (depending on usefulness in party tactics)
• Gentle Repose 2 (any more is begging for disaster)
• Glide 2ish (better/cheaper than fly if all you want is down)
• Glitterdust 3ish (this is the perfect scroll—useless to have memorized all the time, but extremely useful when faced with something invisible)
• Levitate 3ish (like glide only going up)
• Mount, Communal 3ish again, useful when needed, but not often needed
• See Invisibility 2ish
• Soothing Word 1 to 6 depending on how irked the party is by condition effects
• Squeeze 2 to 6 depending on how often you're in relevant circumstances
• Touch of Idiocy 2 to 5 (I know, I said no attack spells. This one has no save, though)

1st

You get the idea and I'll leave the first level spells to you. Bear in mind that if you use them a lot, wands are more cost effective.

Answer 3

None. Magical consumables are extremely and universally overpriced in D&D 3.x, and Pathfinder inherited this problem in full. They're fine for casual play, and can be very thematic depending on the character and the world, but for any game with even very moderate optimization levels, the only consumables people should be carrying are ones that are to be used with a specific ability combo (and if that combo doesn't involve making them non-consumed, give it a real thorough review for gp efficiency), and maybe a couple of healing potions to revive the healer in extreme emergencies if you don't have a group full of people with just enough incidental healing ability to cover that kind of situation.

All of this, of course, assumes that you are playing with by-the-book prices and that the GM bases treasure rewards on the treasure guidelines rather than the wealth ones. In the first case, obviously, if your GM reduces consumables prices enough, then they will cease to be overpriced and may become worth using. In the latter case, if the GM gives treasure by looking at your current total wealth and giving the amount that will bring you up to the guidelines, then the total value of all your gear is effectively immutable, since every scroll you read will cause coins equalling its replacement cost to magically materialize in the next pile of treasure you're destined to come into possession of. In that case, there's little reason to ever conserve cash in any way. Just ignore your spells per day, buy 10 scrolls of every spell you ever use and 50 of the staple spells, per day you expect to be out, and blast away.

Answer 4

A few additional spells/scrolls, divided by situational, and ratling taking action while PC otherwise focused.

Situational:

• Allfood(Ranger2/APG)
• Tiny Hut(Sorc/Wiz3/Core)
• Protection from Arrows Communal(Sorc/Wiz3/UC)
• Protection From Energy Communal(Sorc/Wiz4/UC)
• Nap Stack(Cleric3/APG)

Ratling:

• King's Castle(Paladin4/APG)
• Control Summoned Creature(Sorc/Wiz4/UM)
• any of the cure mass spells

The situational are mostly defensive or intended to give a party a chance to rest/heal in greater safety while the Ratling are offensive(King's Castle+Ratling Burrow=flanking full attack) or intended to mess with demons who tend to like to summon more demons to the fight. The mass cures are simply to replace/supplement the lack of burst healing(Without taking offense away from the paladins).

In addition, two rather critical spells to have are Restoration and Lesser Restoration. Demons(with poison) tend to rather painfully affect ability scores(at least they do to my characters)