NecroMaster - Wiz(26), ASC(3), PM(1)

Description
The NecroMaster is an Arcanist who has pushed herself to the very edges of her abilities to muster the most powerful and difficult to resist spells. Boasting unholy spell penetration and DCs that could knock down a Paladin, this is really a character who shines on Persistent worlds where enemy saves will scale with your ability.

Pro Con
 * Necromancy DCs as high as 41 (46 Epic), with others as high as 38 (43 Epic)
 * A variety of powerful spells, including direct damage, save-or-die, and mass debuffs
 * Access to Epic Spell: Vampiric Feast and one other of your choosing
 * Spell Resistance is a breeze with Epic Spell Penetration and a natural 30 caster level
 * High-save builds can overcome your best spells
 * Loss of Enchantment means you lose out on some great party buffs
 * Saves are rather poor
 * Terrible BAB

Character Creation
Sun Elf I prefer to play non-ECL races due to ease of leveling and server restrictions. However, any race that receives a bonus to Intelligence will work fantastically. This build is such that no race will suffer multiclassing penalties. Drow is a great choice due to the Spell Resistance, and Tieflings can start with a higher Constitution.
 * +2 Int -2 Con

Stats These can really be played around with. The essential part here is that you have 20 Int.
 * 20 Int

Wizard Specializing in Illusion means that you must give up the school of Enchantment, a school that is generally considered weak. Necromancy, odd as it may seem, would be an incredibly poor choice due to losing Divination (Premonition). If you feel you really must keep Enchantment then you can opt to specialize in a school that loses Conjuration. Conjuration is a great school to have, but greatly loses its power as you near level 20 and beyond, and is hardly of use into Epic levels.
 * Specialization: Illusion

Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep We pick up ASoC to get access to Improved Empower Spell. Many people swear by all 10 levels of Arcane Scholar, but I find Maximize to be a waste of spell slots and quicken to be even more so. An empowered fireball does an average of 52.5 damage, while a maximized fireball does 60 damage. That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me. Improved Empower Spell allows us to get Empowered Horrid Wilting for 30d6 damage over a colossal area.
 * Why?

Palemaster The build leaves us with 1 spare level in which nothing will come of Wizard or Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep. So instead, we fill it with this to gain continued spellcasting and a +2 bonus to your natural armor for a little boost in your defenses.
 * Why?

Character Progression

 * Character builds
 * Arcane Character builds
 * Magic Character builds
 * Power Builds