1. Do the first-level mage spell Reflected Image and the second-level mage spell Mirror Image stack? They seem to be identical except for the fact that Reflected Image creates one reflection regardless of the caster's level.
I am curious because I'm working on a Sorcerer to solo the entire BG saga and as far as I can tell, Reflected Image is one of the few first-level spells that will be useful throughout (Magic Missile, Identify, Friends, Find Familiar being the others).
2. Do you guys have different suggestions for level one Sorceror spells? Most of the offensive ones are useless against high-level enemies (MM the exception) and the defensive ones become useless when good armor for mages becomes available in SoA. I suppose I'm willing to compromise on Friends because gold also isn't really an issue if you're soloing, but sometimes the CHA boost is useful for quests and encounters.
3. Is INT useful for anything as a Sorceror? I thought it increased your spell count, but then I read somewhere this only applies to mages? It seems sort of silly to have a 9 INT Sorceror.
Thanks!
A Few Sorcerer-Related Questions
Apart from it's usefulness against Mind Flayers (true for any character of course) the answer's no.JWD wrote:3. Is INT useful for anything as a Sorceror? I thought it increased your spell count, but then I read somewhere this only applies to mages? It seems sort of silly to have a 9 INT Sorceror.
PS I usually take Chromatic Orb, useful for finishing off Trolls, plus instant kill possibilities at level 12+; Find Familiar; Friends and Protection from Evil as well as MM.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
Friends is useful for getting to charisma 25. (when shopping)
Shield is probably more useful than Reflect Image because it lowers your AC without bracers and makes it harder to strip your stoneskins and actual mirror images.
Spook is a good save or else spell because it has a good minus to save that when combined with malison is useful. I like its save or else works from level 1 and also any enemy that warrants such a weird tactic (dragon?) you would rather have a greater minus to save than have instant death imho. In other words your not gonna cast spook on someone you would ignore, but as soon as they are spooked your gonna concentrate fire on them (strip defenses etc).
Prot Evil is good
Do NOT take find familiar. You can cast it from a scroll and you will only need to cast once in your career if it doesn't die.
Shield is probably more useful than Reflect Image because it lowers your AC without bracers and makes it harder to strip your stoneskins and actual mirror images.
Spook is a good save or else spell because it has a good minus to save that when combined with malison is useful. I like its save or else works from level 1 and also any enemy that warrants such a weird tactic (dragon?) you would rather have a greater minus to save than have instant death imho. In other words your not gonna cast spook on someone you would ignore, but as soon as they are spooked your gonna concentrate fire on them (strip defenses etc).
Prot Evil is good
Do NOT take find familiar. You can cast it from a scroll and you will only need to cast once in your career if it doesn't die.
Right Speech has four aspects: 1. Not lying, but speaking the truth, 2. Avoiding rude and coarse words, but using gentle speech beneficial to the listener, 3. Not slandering, but promoting friendliness and unity, 4. Avoiding frivolous speech, but saying only what is appropriate and beneficial.
Curry hit it square on the head, and it's in BG1 that the extra 12 HPs come most in handy.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
Ahh I started this madness with 2. Sorry for giving bad info. Still you might wait till 2 for the HP and pick another spell that will help you in 1. I have borrowed 1 for a little while and archery was pretty prominent tactic. What about a grease spell?
Right Speech has four aspects: 1. Not lying, but speaking the truth, 2. Avoiding rude and coarse words, but using gentle speech beneficial to the listener, 3. Not slandering, but promoting friendliness and unity, 4. Avoiding frivolous speech, but saying only what is appropriate and beneficial.
Friends is a useless spell. There are certain items which increase your Charisma high enough(more than 20 is a waste anyway) - the Ring of Human Influence sets Cha to 18 and the Nymph Cloak adds +2 on top of that. That's sufficient for shopping, and 18 is sufficient for any quests/encounters - so keep the Ring of Human influence in your Gem Bag and use it when needed.
Chromatic orb isn't my favourite spell - the saves are made with +6, meaning that the most powerful enemies will save(or be immune to sudden death effects). Spook is much more useful, since it allows saving throw at -6(meaning it almost always works).
Shield is a very useful 1st level spell. I usually don't have the place for Spirit Armor spell in my selection(which is the ultimate armor for a Sorcerer btw), so Shield is a good choice for a sorcerer.
Protection from Evil is good, but the sorcerer's primary weapon is the Staff of the Magi, which offers permanent Protection from Evil anyway.
Blindness is a great 1-st level spell. Save allowed at -4, casting speed 1, duration 10 turns, and enemies are pretty much disabled after it takes effect.
So, in conclusion, the best picks for a solo Sorc are Magic Missile, Shield, Blindness, Spook and Protection from Petrification(a nice and helpful buff).
Chromatic orb isn't my favourite spell - the saves are made with +6, meaning that the most powerful enemies will save(or be immune to sudden death effects). Spook is much more useful, since it allows saving throw at -6(meaning it almost always works).
Shield is a very useful 1st level spell. I usually don't have the place for Spirit Armor spell in my selection(which is the ultimate armor for a Sorcerer btw), so Shield is a good choice for a sorcerer.
Protection from Evil is good, but the sorcerer's primary weapon is the Staff of the Magi, which offers permanent Protection from Evil anyway.
Blindness is a great 1-st level spell. Save allowed at -4, casting speed 1, duration 10 turns, and enemies are pretty much disabled after it takes effect.
So, in conclusion, the best picks for a solo Sorc are Magic Missile, Shield, Blindness, Spook and Protection from Petrification(a nice and helpful buff).
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wise grimwald
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You seem to have neglected to read the entire post. He is starting the entire saga which means that he won't have staff of the magi, ring of human influence etc. By the way there is a similar ring in BG1 if you have the right mod and your charisma is low enough. I've asked a question re that on the BG1 forum which might be helpful as more answers come in. However, if playing the unmodded game, friends will definitely be useful, particularly as the staff that raises charisma to 25 isn't available in BG1. I think that those who play the saga just have to live with the fact that not all spells will be useful throughout the game.
That is true, but at lower levels it's a bit more useful than Magic Missile. And when you reach higher levels you can use it in combination with other spells that weaken the target's magic resistance and defenses.Saros wrote: Chromatic orb isn't my favourite spell - the saves are made with +6, meaning that the most powerful enemies will save(or be immune to sudden death effects).
She says: Lou, it's the Beginning of a Great Adventure
True for mages, but we are discussing Sorcerers here!Flarhoon wrote:Intelligence determines your chance of memorizing a scroll. My charismatic but dim sorcerer, Melithuan the Red, needs two potions of genius to get up to a reasonable 96% chance to memorize spells.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
Potions of Genius
These potions let you id magic items too! Good thing, because I lost my glasses. My sorc has to memorize spells... ? Most don't? He is an Enchanter. I just got Project Self memorized in Spellhold! (For Nalia too, but she is going to do some Limited Wishing for a while--no evocation for enchanter Melithuan).
These potions let you id magic items too! Good thing, because I lost my glasses. My sorc has to memorize spells... ? Most don't? He is an Enchanter. I just got Project Self memorized in Spellhold! (For Nalia too, but she is going to do some Limited Wishing for a while--no evocation for enchanter Melithuan).
Identify:
You can pay merchants and priests to identify for you. If you want to save on money at the beginning of the game, find a container in an inn and put all your unidentified in there.
Reflect Image:
Having one clone of yourself won't protect you from much. Mirror Image makes (I believe) half your level of clones (not 2d4 like in the description), so it may serve you better.
Friends:
You can buy scrolls instead and do most of your expensive purchases in bulk. There are also plenty of items that raise charisma in the game, for example, you can use your familiar to pickpocket Algernon in Beregost for a +2cha cloak. Also, you may want to just start out with a high charisma.
Find Familiar:
With Tutu, you can buy the scroll at High Hedge. Without Tutu, use the console to grab it when you get to High Hedge (or right away if you don't mind cheese). You can roleplay it, reasoning that HH *would* have it.
Also, you may consider consoling in a bag of holding (if you RP it, Gorion found one in his adventuring days and gave it to you) and a scroll case (which should have been in BGI anyhow). It's a bore for most people to have to deal with inventory problems.
Magic Missle:
MM does terrible damage, and is only useful when you throw several at a target. If you're throwing so many MMs, you might consider throwing the same number of Chromatic Orbs. You'll do half the damage, but have a bunch of chances at the effects. Just think, at level 7 that means paralysis and you can melee the enemy to death at the end of the fight. After level 9, it means instant death (petrification is close enough). Throw a Glitterdust and or Greater Malison and you'll be able to use CO like Finger of Death until over level 15.
True, at the end of the game, MM still does damage. If you throw five of them, you'll do 87.5 dmg, but that doesn't mean much to me if I can instakill enemies with a level 1 spell until almost level 20.
Consider Charm at lower levels. If whoever you charm is killed by his friends, then you've probably done +20 damage indirectly (better than a lvl9 MM), plus whatever damage your minion did. And you can charm casters and have them waste the spells you don't want them to cast. Algernon's Cloak is infinite charm (I think).
Consider Sleep for dealing with large groups. Works wonders in BGI. Wand of Sleep at High Hedge.
Consider Blind, which will seriously change how your fights go.
Protection from Evil:
Evil enemies get a -2 to attack rolls and you get +2 to saving throws. This translates to +2AC for you, and will help you resist spells. If you have good DEX, then it works almost as well as Shield (your armor vs. missles won't be as good, but vs. melee it can be just as good), except no protection from MM. Plus, PEvil can be used all the way until you get the Staff of the Magi, where as Shield will be made almost useless once you get the 3AC Bracers.
Good luck,
--DT--
You can pay merchants and priests to identify for you. If you want to save on money at the beginning of the game, find a container in an inn and put all your unidentified in there.
Reflect Image:
Having one clone of yourself won't protect you from much. Mirror Image makes (I believe) half your level of clones (not 2d4 like in the description), so it may serve you better.
Friends:
You can buy scrolls instead and do most of your expensive purchases in bulk. There are also plenty of items that raise charisma in the game, for example, you can use your familiar to pickpocket Algernon in Beregost for a +2cha cloak. Also, you may want to just start out with a high charisma.
Find Familiar:
With Tutu, you can buy the scroll at High Hedge. Without Tutu, use the console to grab it when you get to High Hedge (or right away if you don't mind cheese). You can roleplay it, reasoning that HH *would* have it.
Also, you may consider consoling in a bag of holding (if you RP it, Gorion found one in his adventuring days and gave it to you) and a scroll case (which should have been in BGI anyhow). It's a bore for most people to have to deal with inventory problems.
Magic Missle:
MM does terrible damage, and is only useful when you throw several at a target. If you're throwing so many MMs, you might consider throwing the same number of Chromatic Orbs. You'll do half the damage, but have a bunch of chances at the effects. Just think, at level 7 that means paralysis and you can melee the enemy to death at the end of the fight. After level 9, it means instant death (petrification is close enough). Throw a Glitterdust and or Greater Malison and you'll be able to use CO like Finger of Death until over level 15.
True, at the end of the game, MM still does damage. If you throw five of them, you'll do 87.5 dmg, but that doesn't mean much to me if I can instakill enemies with a level 1 spell until almost level 20.
Consider Charm at lower levels. If whoever you charm is killed by his friends, then you've probably done +20 damage indirectly (better than a lvl9 MM), plus whatever damage your minion did. And you can charm casters and have them waste the spells you don't want them to cast. Algernon's Cloak is infinite charm (I think).
Consider Sleep for dealing with large groups. Works wonders in BGI. Wand of Sleep at High Hedge.
Consider Blind, which will seriously change how your fights go.
Protection from Evil:
Evil enemies get a -2 to attack rolls and you get +2 to saving throws. This translates to +2AC for you, and will help you resist spells. If you have good DEX, then it works almost as well as Shield (your armor vs. missles won't be as good, but vs. melee it can be just as good), except no protection from MM. Plus, PEvil can be used all the way until you get the Staff of the Magi, where as Shield will be made almost useless once you get the 3AC Bracers.
Good luck,
--DT--