Sorcerer spell choises for soloing Ascension

[nos]

Seems to be quite a common topic. I noticed that there are some recent threads about the sorcerer spell picks on this forum but I didn't think it would be polite to hijack them or revive older ones.

Therefore I thought it would be best to create a new one...

I'm planning on soloing the trilogy playing a sorcerer with the Ascension mod and the fixpacks installed but otherwise a vanilla game. I have already quite sucessfully played through Tutu without too much effort/reloads. Now in BG2 I'm not certain what spells to pick since I have never soloed Ascension before.

The sorcerer will eventually be wearing the usual (?) sorcerer equipment:

Robe of Vecna
Amulet of Power
Pale Green Ioun Stone, later the Circlet
Boots of Speed
Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise (Mainly for the Energy Blades)
Ring of Gaxx, Wizardy
Cloak of Protection +2
Staff of the Magi
Belt of Inertial Barrier (I have 19 strength because of the tome in BG1

Greenstone Amulet and Brine Potions to protect agains some effects that can't be avoided with spells or saving throws.


Level 1:
Magic Missile
Shield: AC for BG1 and immunity to MM.
Protection from Petrification: Basilisks in BG1
Identify
Spook

Level 2:
Invisibility: Important for staying alive in BG1.
Mirror Image
Resist Fear
Knock: Since I'm soloing
Melf's Acid Arrow

Level 3:
Skull Trap
Haste: Better summons, mostly from the wands in BG1 and Swords later.
Slow
Flame Arrow
Remove Magic

Level 4:
Stone Skin
Minor Sequencer
Farsight
Spirit Armor: Best AC for a sorcerer and +3 bonus on spell saving throws.
Greater Malison

Level 5:
Spell Immunity
Breach
Lower Resistance
Spell Shield: Probably important for a solo sorcerer in Ascension to keep protections intact a little longer.
Sunfire: Very useful to bypass magic resistance.

Considerations:
Protection from Acid: It would be very nice to have immunity to all energy damage later on, and this one coupled with "Protection from Magic Energy", "Protection From Energy" and and "Belt of Inertial Barrier" will do it. This could be achieved with PI:s and scrolls, but it would be convinient to not resorting to such tactics...
Animate Dead: Very nice summon, but quite useless in the tougher battles I think.

Level 6:
Mislead: I'm not sure how useful this is. The tougher enemies can all target me with spells anyway since they can see through invisibility, right?
Protection from Magical Weapons
True Sight
Contingency
Improved Haste: Movement rate stacks with Boots of Speed. Very useful for keeping distance from enemies.

Considerations:
Protection from Magic Energy: I want the immunity, but I think "Protection From Energy" and "Belt of Inertial Barrier" will suffice.
Death Spell: Good to kill enemy summons, but only for that I think.

Level 7:
Project Image
Mordenkainen’s Sword
Spell Sequencer
Protection from Elements
Finger of Death

Considerations:
Ruby Ray of Reversal: It might be necessary with more spell debuffs than Breach and Pierce Shield for Ascension?

Level 8:
Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
Pierce Shield
Protection from Energy
Spell Trigger

Considerations:
Simulacrum: Can do a lot of things...
Incendiary Cloud: Solid fire damage

Level 9:
Timestop
Chain Contigency
Imprisonment
Wish

Basically I want to be able to protect the sorcerer from most, if not all damage and spell effects at pretty much all times while having some solid offensive spells.
As I wrote before, I don't really like having to duplicate scrolls with PI and therefore would like to keep the energy protection spells if possible. Still, there are some very useful spells that could be taken instead of them... With the listed spells and items I would be able to be protected from everything but acid.

Anyway, some input would be very welcome.

[JWD]

I'm basically doing the exact same thing you are - soloing with a Sorcerer through the entire Trilogy. Here is what I have to say, and this comes with the disclaimer that I have never played Ascension before (not there yet with this sorc).

1. Gear looks good, there shouldn't be too much debate here. One thing I'm not sure of is why you bothered to max STR. Seems like those points would be much more useful in WIS (for Wish spells) or even CHA (for store prices, encounters) or INT (for Lore).

2. Spells

----- Level 1 -----
Drop Protection from Petrification. If you need it to fight Basilisks (you CAN just put some summons out there and have the Basi blast them with its gaze instead of you) then just buy it as a scroll from High Hedge or some other store. Don't waste a spell slot on a spell you will only use maybe three times in the entire BG saga.

Shield is really useful until you get to level four, when Minor Globe eclipses it. Then at level seven you get Protection from Magical Energy, which basically owns all over the place because of its duration. So, this is up to you: sac a level one slot for a spell that will only be useful very early in the Trilogy? Your call. I chose not to.

Spook is overrated IMO, since creatures that won't save against it are pretty much one-hit kills for you at higher levels anyway (one L3 damage spell will wipe them out). Why scare them when you can just massacre them? Wimpy tactics!

I chose Friends, Chromatic Orb, and Protection from Evil in place of these three spells.

Friends will get you ridiculously low store prices which are really important for recharging wands throughout BG1 (rechargeable wand of summons is basically GG no re and keeps even the most powerful mobs busy through BG2).

Chromatic Orb + Greater Malison is pretty much as good as Finger of Death once you pass level 12, which is pretty amazing for a level one spell if you think about it. BG1 mobs with low intelligence but high hit points (ogres, etc.) will just crumble to this spell. The real thing that makes it useful, though, is that even if they do save against dying, they'll still take just about as much damage as a magic missile spell deals. Hard to lose out there.

The one spell that you absolutely cannot do without at level one through the entire game is Protection from Evil. +2 to AC and saves is godly powerful for a L1 spell and will be useful throughout the Trilogy. DO NOT pass on this just because of Staff of the Magi. It will be a long time before you snag that staff, and you'll definitely want this simple buff in the meantime. The fact that you can cast it on other people makes it useful (in a niche application) even after you get the Staff.

----- Level 2 -----
When you're soloing, you will run level 2 out solely with Knocks and Mirror Images, so your other choices are pretty insignificant here IMO. Resist Fear has very limited application early in the game (before your saves are high, which won't be long buffs included) and you would be really surprised how much Melf's blows against anything but the weeniest of enemy mages. I would substitute Blur for Melf's because buffs are always useful and the + to saves from Blur makes it useful throughout. You won't use it often, but you'll use it a hell of a lot more than Melf's.

----- Level 3 -----
I'd substitute Dispel Magic for Remove Magic. As a solo sorcerer, you'll probably be back from the action hurling in area of effect spells and summons anyway, so you won't have to worry about debuffing yourself (you'll be out of the Dispel's area of effect) or party members (they don't exist). Dispel Magic is occasionally useful for dealing with debuffs left over after a fight. Basically, there's no disadvantages to choosing it over Remove but a small advantage. So go with Dispel.

Slow is a decent spell, but Melf's Minute Meteors is far, far, FAR more powerful. Especially in BG1, Melf's absolutely eats up low-level monsters with its high rate of fire. It will also give you something to do between casts, which is pretty crucial before you get to Improved Alacrity. Melf's saves you wasting spells on near-dead monsters and it is one of the only ways for a low-level Sorcerer to beat through magic-immune or resistant creatures such as Oozes. Melf's also disrupts other mages when you're mid-round and don't have the time to cast a magic missile before that nasty Confusion or what have you pops out. Scales with your levels as well. Yes, once again I know you would like to be using your Staff later in the game - but you won't get there for a very long time. This spell is too useful in BG1 to pass up.

Haste has its uses, but I chose lightning instead for one reason, and one reason alone: Time Stop + indoor area + Improved Alacrity + Minor Globe + 8x lightning and wand of lightning. This is just fun as hell.

----- Level 4 -----
Farsight over Wizard Eye? Why? The wizard eye can move around and scout an entire dungeon OR stay in one spot and achieve the same purpose as farsight. It works perfectly to herd summons and it will not be attacked or detected in almost all cases (sometimes area of effect spells get it, but not often). Also, with Wizard Eye your Project Image is actually useful and can venture into a dungeon and begin fighting for you. Not possible with Farsight.

Sequencers are for mages. We're tough Sorcerers, we don't need to waste a spell slot so we can cast a few very low-level spells at once. Vecna + Alacrity pretty much renders this spell obsolete in any case, since you'll be able to launch 50 magic missiles and 50 mirror images in the time that you could launch your sequencer i.e. 0 seconds. It's not a BAD spell, it's just that there are much more useful spells....specifically Minor Globe of Invulnerability.

Minor Globe basically makes you invincible against BG1 spellcasters, period. I'm not sure if this is true with the mods you're using but I am playing with SCS and all of the mages use Melf's Minute Meteors profusely. It used to drive me nuts but Minor Globe solved this problem. Not to mention Melf's, Magic Missile, Fireball, etc. and the added bonus that once you get this baby up you can cast area of effect spells with impunity. Even high-level casters will try the occasional Melf's or Magic Missile, so this spell retains its usefulness through BG2.

----- Level 5 -----
Spell Shield will occupy an enemy mage for one more round of casting, but it won't see you through a Time Stop and it can't deal damage.

Animate Dead on the other hand....you really underrate this spell. Once you hit level 12, Animate Dead calls a Skeleton Warrior, which has a magical weapon, tons of HP, low thac0, and, most crucially, 95% magic resistance. Summon five of these bad boys before a battle with enemy mages and they will waste their entire arsenal of spells trying to take them down. I fell in love with this spell during the final battle of The Grey Clan Mod, which pits me against one very fast, very tough fighter and two high-level mages. I was Power Word stunned very early in the battle, but I watched on in amazement as my five Skeleton Warriors plowed through the fighter and then just beat at the mages' protections until they died. Very, very powerful warriors that will protect you from far more spells than just one Spell Shield. With Haste they become ridiculous.

----- Level 6 -----
I'm not sure what you're going for at this level. Once again, I don't recommend contingencies because as a sorcerer your spell slots are better-used at enhancing your versatility IMO. Having both Improved Haste and Haste is unnecessarily redundant, and Boots of Speed are fast enough to escape any enemy (especially with the AI's slow pathing) so the extra movement rate isn't really necessary I don't think.

Mislead is basically just a weaker Project Image, and is not a good choice. Unable to buff itself, your Misled image will die in about two seconds and your gambit will be up. Actually, you'll probably have to kill it yourself with area of effect spells. You will have a hard time avoiding it considering it will be attracting all of your enemies.

Protection from Magical Weapons is a very powerful spell, but its duration is extremely short and does not scale with your level. You will spend one round casting it and enjoy its protection for just four rounds, which is not really worth your time IMO. For a sorcerer with Boots of Speed, it's generally possible to run away from baddies with magical weapons rather than stand in one place and have to protect yourself from them magically. Use summons and hit-and-run tactics and this spell becomes quite obsolete, especially because Blur will help you avoid magical ranged weapons pretty well.

There are two crucial spells you're missing at this level, and they are Protection from Magic Energy and Death Fog. At 1 turn/level, Protection from Magic Energy is a once-a-day buff like Stoneskin which will save you from Magic Missile, Skull Trap (your own included, which is key), and, perhaps most importantly, Horrid Wilting which is pretty much omnipresent in later BG2 and ToB. A great deal of a spell. Death Fog looks weak (and, truth be told, it is lame against most enemies you'll encounter) but the reason it is necessary is dispelling summons. Throw one of these up over a group of enemy clerics or mages and any monsters they call to the battle will immediately vanish as long as it's there. That means no demons, swords, or other annoying mobs in your face. It's easily possible to keep your own summons out of the cloud.

[JWD]

----- Level 7 -----
I'm not so hot on contingencies and items can easily help you with protection from the elements, so I would at least one of Sequencer and Protection from the Elements for Limited Wish. If you have the WIS to support it (at least 18 for best usage) this is an extremely versatile spell. The repeatable options include re-memorize some of your already-cast spells (I'm pretty sure it's one per level, real useful for that extra Knock spell here and there or whatever) and also heal all party members to full. Instead of chugging potions for an hour, cast this spell. Definitely worth the slot.

----- Level 8 -----
Level 8 is somewhat like level 2, because you're going to be using Horrid Wilting so often that your other choices here really don't matter too much. I have no idea why you'd choose both Protection from the Elements AND Protection from Energy, considering that the latter is just a slightly expanded version of the former. Protection from Energy is pretty legit, but the problem is that if you're a solo Sorcerer 75% resistance really isn't enough. First off, you have extremely low HP for your level and even 25% of a high-level fireball or Horrid Wilting is pretty much enough to own you. Second, any damage you take will interrupt casting, no matter how small. That's why I'd lean away from this spell and towards the Protection from Magical Energy at level 6 + scrolls/items to deal with elemental damage.

---- Level 9 ----
Just say no to Imprisonment. Without Freedom (i.e. they're gone forever) you won't get XP or items for the guy you send away, which is a big problem because XP and items are the only reasons to battle enemies in the first place. WITH Freedom, this just becomes a really, really expensive stun spell. No thanks.

Go with Spellstrike instead. It's the one-size-fits-all Mage debuffer and can replace many lower-level debuffing spells that you currently have in your list (I'm eyeing Pierce Shield at level 8).

Unfortunately, all level nine spells aside from Time Stop, Wish, and Spellstrike are pretty insignificant because you'll be using your level nine slots for HLAs...wait, I just realized you may not have ToB installed? Sacrelige! If so, disregard whenever I mention Alacrity and your contingency, trigger spells etc. become slightly more useful.

Hope this helps!

[nos]

Thanks for a very in-depth response and good luck on your solo run.

1. I got a powergame roll with just a few clicks when I created the sorcerer:

str 18 - For carrying loot
dex 19 - To hit with darts
con 16 - Possible to get the maximum 6hp/lvl
int 9 - Useless except for reading scrolls and getting lore. I will have the Identify spell though.
wis 15 - I will use Wish later
cha 15 - Worthless except for getting stuff cheaper in BG1 but there was plenty of gp left over in the end..

so after BG1 and tomes:

str 19
dex 20 - can lose one point in hell and still get good missile adjustment
con 17
int 10 - can lose one to the dream demon in SoA
wis 18
cha 16

2.

----- Level 1 -----
I never thought of using summons to protect from basilisks for some reason. Thanks for the suggestion. The scroll from HH didn't seem reliable enough, since I would run out of spells before all basilisks were dead, and not be patient enough to melee or dart them to death.

You are right about Shield and Spook too. Both are useless later on.

Don't care much about Friends since I can always buy or find the scroll before any large purchases. And there was always hordes of cash left in the end.

The only use I have found for Chromatic Orb is to inflict acid damage. Even with Malision I have only seen the save or else effect in like 5% of the times. I rather just spam Magic Missiles. Though a lot of mages in SCS seem protected with Shield...

You are right about Protection from Evil too. I guess it's more useful than both Shield and Spook.


----- Level 2 -----
True. I chose Acid Arrow to be able to inflict acid damage. It makes sense to choose blur instead.


----- Level 3 -----
Actually, I did write Remove Magic.

I can see how MMM is a good choice for BG1. Might take it instead of Haste if I replay BG1 which I will probably do with SCS installed this time.

The combo with Lightning bolt does seem fun but in the end most of my level three spells will probably be used for Skull Trap.


----- Level 4 -----
Hmm, I can see your point about Wizard Eye however, Farsight can't be dispelled or killed by creatures who can see through invisibility or by Death Fog. I think I would rather use Farsight.

I chose all the sequencer spells simply because I wanted as many spells per day as possible. Minor globe might be more useful on this level though when I think about it. I tried playing through SCS solo but gave up and uninstalled it simply because mage fights were too hard. Minor Globe would take care of them. Now I'm tempted to try again.

----- Level 5 -----
I chose Spell Shield simply because last time I played through Ascension (with a party) the enemies in the last battle had a LOT of Pierce Magic/Shield, Ruby Rays and Spellstrikes to play with. While it will only protect against the first such spell, it will make an enormous difference for a solo character if you recast it now and then. Regarding Time Stop, that won't be much of a problem in the final battle, but I won't write any more spoilers if you haven't played through it yet.

Animate dead is nice through most of the game but WILL be useless in the final Ascension battle (And probably in the other Ascension battles). And no, summons will not protect you from any spells in Ascension whatsoever. The enemies will kill them with death spells or ignore them and target you instead as far as I remember.

----- Level 6 -----
Regarding the Mislead image being killed, all you have to do is cast it before a battle and let it hide at the other end of the map. Though I don't think I will pick it because it will be useless against enemies who can see through invisibility, which is pretty much everyone in ToB.

I couldn't think of a way to beat the Ravager in ToB without Protection from Magical Weapons, so that would be a show stopper. It's immune to Time Stop and it (and it's buddies) will tear you to shreds while you are trying to empty your spell book on it. You can't cast spells while running and there is nowhere to run in that small space anyway. How will you beat it JWD?

Protection from Magic Energy will be redundant:

Protection From The Elements:
Fire 75%
Cold 75%
Lightning 75%

Protection From Energy:
Fire 75%
Cold 75%
Lightning 75%
Acid 75%
Magic Energy 75%

Belt of Inertial Barrier:
Magic Energy 50%

Combined:
Fire 127%
Cold 127%
Lightning 127%
Acid 75%
Magic Energy 127%

The only thing not above 100% is acid but I'll have to use a scroll for that since losing any of the level 5 spells would be too difficult. Acid damage is not very common fortunately and Minor Globe would protect against Melf's Acid Arrow. Or, I could skip all the energy protection spells and provide them with scrolls from Project Image...

Death Fog would be a better choice than Mislead though and I guess Contingency is not useful enough to pick...

I believe Improved haste would be very useful, particularly against tougher Abazigal and his horde of underlings. I will stick with it but might remove level 3 Haste and pick Minute Meteors instead.


----- Level 7 -----
Hmm, I might take Limited Wish instead of Spell Sequencer, but it's very nice to cast three Skull Traps at once, especially against dangerous enemies with lots of HP, like the Ascension dragons. Still, Limited wish would always refill level 1-4 while Wish only works sometimes... I'll have to think about it.


----- Level 8 -----
Regarding Protection from Energy, see Level 6.


----- Level 9 -----
I will not say no to Imprisonment in a solo run. You will actually get the XP but won't need it when soloing. You won't get the items but won't need them when soloing. Just remember to not use the spell against enemies that drop the useful items. And if you are soloing you most likely know the game well enough to remember where all the good items are. This spell will be invaluable when fighting Tougher Abazigal to remove all the Salamanders, Wyverns-things, Baby Dragons or whatever that would take too long too kill (they are all resistant to elemental damage). While you are trying to kill Tamah and Abazigal they will kill you (or vice versa).

Spellstrike is nice, but doesn't lower magic resistance like Pierce Shield. When fighting the Ravager who is immune to Lower Resistance, this is the only way to lower magic resistance AFAIK. Having both Spellstrike and Pierce Shield seems unnecessary.

I do have ToB installed, otherwise I wouldn't be playing Ascension.

I didn't care to include the HLAs since you get them all anyway.

It seems I will have to make some changes and decide if the energy protections are necessary or can be provided with scrolls and PIs. Will you only be using scrolls for that JWD? What items do you mean will help with elemental protections?

Thanks a lot for all your comments! Would you care to write down your own spell list? It would be interesting to see.

[JWD]

Very excellent points, I forgot about your Belt of Inertial Barrier which really makes Protection from Energy worth choosing over Protection from Magic Energy. Still, isn't Protection from Elements AND Protection from Energy redundant?

One more thing is that I'm not exactly sure how Wish works, but I think you need at least 18 wisdom to get the best results. Now, I understand you're going to use tomes but I'm not sure how you'll get three tomes? I'm pretty sure there are three in the game, but you have to give one to the Water Lady at the Temple of Umberlee to avoid dying by Marek's poison, correct?

Also, the info about Ascension does make some of my advice moot. As you can see, I don't even know enough about it to know it's a ToB mod :O.

I know BG1 like the back of my hand and BG2 I've played through several times, but ToB I've only gone through once so I don't remember specific enemies like the Ravager. My initial reaction is that a) yes, you can run from melee enemies in a small area while still casting spells. With Vecna and Amulet of Power even high-level spells are instant casts so you hardly have to stop to fire them off. This is my experience anyway - even against enemies who match my speed with the Boots, they cannot get an attack in if I dodge around enough. b) is to use summons. Even enemies that one-hit kill your summons will have to stop to do so and sometimes they'll continue to target you, meaning that you can just run around behind your "summons wall" waiting for another round of spellcasting while your enemy tries to reach you. However, like I said I don't remember the Ravager so you know better than me and now I myself am considering Protection from Magical Weapons and Pierce Shield for niche applications such as this. To be honest, I wouldn't have to sacrifice much to add them to my list because in general higher levels only have one must-need spell per level.

OK here is my spell list, and it's been revised quite a bit based on what you've said. All good points. Spells are in order of how often I find I'm using them.

------ Level 1 ------
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Identify
Friends
Chromatic Orb

I think Chromatic Orb is still useful against those dumb, high hitpoint enemies that are all over BG1 and BG2. When I cast it on these guys (ogres, ogrillons, half-ogres, ogre berserkers, flinds, orcs, orogs) I get a kill 50% of the time and can save a bunch of Magic Missiles.

------ Level 2 ------
Mirror Image
Knock
Blur
Melf's Acid Arrow
Web

After Mirror Image, Knock, and Blur, level 2 is pretty much a crapshoot. I chose Melf's just for an extra damage spell if needed. Web is very rarely useful for dealing with large groups of enemies who are resistant to my area of effects.

------ Level 3 ------
Skull Trap
Flame Arrow
Melf's Minute Meteors
Haste
Lightning

Skull traps and flame arrows usually eat up all my slots here, with the occasional MMM thrown in there.

------ Level 4 ------
Stoneskin
Minor Globe of Invulnerability
Greater Malison
Wizard Eye
Fireshield: Red

The only spell I use seldom enough to make me willing to change here is the Fireshield, but occasionally this one is the only way to deal with nasty melee attackers that are highly magic resistant. I have found that the most effective way to take down sand golems, for example, is just to sit in once place with mirror image and stoneskin up and let them all fireshield themselves to death. This was especially important in BG1 before I had Lower Resistance. The added fire resistance is also useful here and there.

Taking a better look at Spirit Armor, however, I have a hard time defending Fireshield. Spirit Armor means an extra +4 to AC over Vecna and the +3 to magic saves are a good deal. My main beef with it is that its duration does not scale with your level.

Also, I thought of one more reason Minor Globe is essential: traps. As a solo sorcerer you're just going to have to grin and bear traps, and though mirror image and stoneskins will protect you from all of the physical damage (arrows), the vast majority of traps are lightning bolts, magic missiles, and fireballs, all of which eat through your protections fast. Minor Globe basically makes BG1 and early BG2 traps no problem.

------ Level 5 ------
Sunfire
Lower Resistance
Spell Shield
Breach
Spell Immunity

Level five is the toughest call. Animate Dead or Spell Shield? I love those skellies, but your argument and knowledge of Ascension made me decide to go with Spell Shield instead. The 3 rounds/level duration makes up for the fact that, at least in BG1, protection-breaching spells are rare. I'll be sad to see my Skeleton Warriors go, however.

------ Level 6 ------
True Sight
Protection from Magical Weapons
Death Fog
Chain Lightning
Contingency

Wow, does this level suck. After True Sight, Magical Weapons, and Fog I wasn't sure what to do. Your plan with the Belt and Protection from Energy makes Protection from Magic Energy unnecessary so I decided to mix things up with Chain Lighting - which is a quite weak spell but at least adds one damage-dealer to level six - and Contingency, which might save my ass once or twice.

------ Level 7 ------
Finger of Death
Limited Wish
Project Image
Mordenkainen's Sword
Spell Sequencer

I'm not sure why you want Protection from Elements AND Protection from Energy. Protection from Energy "includes" Protection from Elements. Plus, Limited Wish is a fun spell. Re-memorize, heal, get powerful buffs, and cool things like the quest.

------ Level 8 ------
Abi Dalzim's
Protection from Energy
Pierce Shield
????

After these three, I'm not even really sure what to do. Power Word: Blind has no save and affects a 10-foot radius. Spell Trigger...I'm not so hot on but you might be able to sell me on it. What about Maze?

------ Level 9 ------
Time Stop
Spellstrike
Wish
Imprisonment

You've sold me on Pierce Shield and Imprisonment, but I'm still not willing to let go of Spellstrike, which knocks off all spell protections at once and therefore makes it possible to both completely debuff and annihilate a good caster from within a single Time Stop. With Pierce Shield in my arsenal I am a bit more willing to look at other options...have you thought about Spell Trap? 30 levels of spells is a real ****load, and with Spell Shield up as well it would be pretty difficult to have this baby brought down.



EDIT: There's one more thing I'd like to add about gear, and that is that I chose to put more attribute points into INT and CHA and opt to wear the Gauntlets of Ogre Power to get my STR above where I have it now (8). Bags of holding basically make carrying capacity an unnecessary luxury, and the thaco and damage bonuses from the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise are a small price to pay for 10 more points between INT and CHA.

[nos]

I think Protection from Elements and Protection from Energy are both necessary if you don't want to duplicate scrolls with PI and for me that is an annoying way to deal with it. Multiple castings of Protection from Energy will not stack, so it will always only protect from 75% of the different kinds of damage. The Elements spell (and the belt) does stack with it however and brings the resistance over 100% for all (127% is the highest) except for acid.

On a side note, you can get 20% resistance to fire, cold and electricity in the Pride test in hell before the final battle with Irenicus. Unfortunately it won't be enough for me to skip Protection from Elements (95% res. when combined)

Yes, you can get all three wisdom books and still finish the Lothandar poison quest. When you talk with the Water Lady you can tell her you don't trust her and she will hand over the geas removal scroll (charisma check?). You can then lie and say you don't have the book. She and her priestesess will attack you and you can kill them all without loss of reputation. Umberlee is an evil god after all...

I agree about Protection from Magical Weapons vs. running out of reach. I rarely have to cast it in BG2 but I think that spell is necessary in ToB. Another situation it is very useful for is against archers, especially the bhaalspawn Illasera and her Arrows of Dispelling. If you don't have that spell she will remove all your protection spells and shoot you full of arrows. Unless you manage to cast Time Stop and kill her before I guess.

About Level 1, 2, 3 I will take pretty much the same spells. As the game drags on they don't matter much anyway.

Level 4 spells: Fireshield is a nice spell in BG1 and sometimes in BG2 but it relies on enemies hitting you to be useful which you probably don't want in the more difficult battles. The same goes for the AC part of Spirit Armor but better save vs. spells is still nice. If you already have good saving throws it is probably not necessary. Be aware that some powerful enemies cast Greater Malision in Ascension though.

Lightning traps and enemy mages were the harder part for me in BG1 with and without SCS. I can see how Minor Globe is a good choice.

Level 5: I can't say I have good knowledge about Ascension since I only played it once and with a party. I got the feeling that Spell Shield would be very helpful and skeletons would not. In the unmodded game Spell Shield would probably be unnecessary.

Level 6: It might be good to have a damage spell on this level. Usually when I have played a spellcaster this level doesn't get used much. I have never used Chain Lightning but it might come in handy. Improved Haste is of course better than Haste because it won't fatigue you but you can probably do without it. Contingency has a default casting time of 1 turn so you can only really cast it once before the battle begins.

Level 7: Because of the stacking effect I think I'll stick with Protection from Elements. Limited Wish is nice though.

Level 8: Well, I'm not trying to sell you anything of course. Pick the spells you know how to use efficiently... I like to load Spell Trigger with three Lower Resistance to quickly get rid of magic resistance. Three Sunfires is also nice for blasting resistant enemies. Though it's not so much about casting time as getting more spells per day/rest. I have actually never used Power Word Blind but if it doesn't allow a save it's probably powerful. Does it bypass magic resistance? Maze is also a pretty good spell but it's hard to tell when the mazed creature will return. As I wrote, pick the spells you know how to use best.

Level 9: I agree that Spellstrike is very useful, but so are Time Stop, Wish, Imprisonment and Chain Contingency. Losing Spellstrike can be compensated with Pierce Shield and Breach but the other ones can't really be compensated for. Spell Trap can be provided by Staff of the Magi once per day which will have to be enough for me.

Chain Contingency is very useful offensively even in the middle of a battle: "3 Abi Dalzim's, on nearest enemy, when enemy sighted", "3 Mordenkainen's Sword, on myself, when enemy sighted", 2 Pierce Shield and 1 Breach will remove both most (all?) spell protections and lower MR if you can 'aim' it right. And many other possibilities. If you don't have the G3 fixpack installed you can set "3 Project Image, on myself, when helpless", summon a PI and get three more, which will wipe out everything in sight. This is considered a bug/exploit though and it's easy to see why.

Unfortunately, the Gauntlets of Ogre Power can't be worn by Mages and Thieves (and Sorcerers). Otherwise it would be a good strategy.

[Saros]

Might I add a few suggestions? Although, do keep in mind that I have never played BG1, and haven't played much with the SCS mod either.

------ Level 1 ------
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Identify
Friends
Chromatic Orb

I'd rather drop Identify, because there are Glasses in BG2, and(I suppose) enough scrolls in BG1.
Friends(with your godly roll which allows your Cha to be 15) is useless.
I never liked Chromatic Orb.

Here are some other sound choices though:
Shield(back to it): as far as I remember, SCSII mages tend to use Magic Missile to break your casting concentration. Even with 127% Magical damage resistance, an enemy Magic Missile can still hit and fail your casting.
Besides, shield provides great AC bonuses. Plus(since I tend to drop Spirit armor) it is the base defensive spell for my Sorcerer the whole game.

Blindness: a great save or else 1st level spell, which solves some very tough fights(for example, blind Ascension Abazigal in Dragon form and that's it for him). Its duration is 10 turns(WoW), and, when cast successfully, it lowers enemy's saving throws by 4 in addition to Malinson's effects.

(Spook: used to like it, not anymore. Blindness is way better.)

The fifth slot is optional. Since I like protection spells, I choose prot from petrification. But it's lame. So, it's up to you! Pick whatever you want.

------ Level 2 ------
Mirror Image
Knock
Blur
Melf's Acid Arrow
Web

Web is a good spell, unfortunately not as good as Glitterdust. This spell is awesome: AoE, party(summons) friendly, detects invisible enemies, blinds enemies...


------ Level 3 ------
Skull Trap
Flame Arrow
Melf's Minute Meteors
Haste
Lightning

Seems you like Lightning spells a lot. Well, how about Remove Magic instead? Way more useful than a Bolt.


------ Level 4 ------
Stoneskin
Minor Globe of Invulnerability
Greater Malison
Wizard Eye
Fireshield: Red

Fireshield? strange.

Farsight over Wizard Eye. Although Farsight cannot move(or cheesily engage an enemy), it's way better in the last ascension fight, when a single Projected Image, with IA, Vecna and AoP can lit the whole enormous battlefield for more than 2 turns, using 5 or 6 Farsight spells in an instant. This helps a sorcerer to better guide his summons and plan his actions(plus, no more wondering about where a certain member of the Five or Mel has hidden).

The Minor globe seems convincing for BG1 with SCS. So no argument there.

About the rest of the spells: doesn't anyone use Improved Invisibility nowadays? The spell grants 4 bonus AC, 4 to saving throws, and makes the caster non-targetable by single target spells under SI: D (well, at least by most of the enemies).

So, IMO, over the fireshield take Improved Invisibility.

Plus, here is a very important choice that has to be made...a very important spell vs Ascension Yaga-Shura... he can be damaged by Ice/Poison spells effectively only, or be substitute(but not Int) drained. So, unless you wanna hurl Darts at him for the time being, I'd suggest picking either Ice Storm or Contagion over the Minor Globe(of course, I don't know how you will survive BG1 and SCS without the MGoI)

------ Level 5 ------
Sunfire
Lower Resistance
Spell Shield
Breach
Spell Immunity

No comments. This is my own spell selection here. No place for anything else.
Spell shield has one more crucial use: vs Beholders and their Anti-Magic rays! And indeed, in the last Ascension battle, vs Mel, the Breaching demons, Azi and Sendai it's a life saver.


------ Level 6 ------
True Sight
Protection from Magical Weapons
Death Fog
Chain Lightning
Contingency

Again, the lightning spell. Sixth level is one of the toughest(much like 5th or 8th), and you waste a slot on Chain Lightning? Death fog is great not only vs summons, but also vs Liches and other enemies. How about Tenser's Transformation instead. Could be immensely helpful, especially in conjuction with Trigger/Contingency and Shapeshift...

Another very great spell in conjuction with Shapechange is Improved Haste: imagine a Mind Flayer with 8 Int draining APR under Time stop, where every attack hits. So, you may want to sacrifice Contingency or Death Fog for Improved Haste.


------ Level 7 ------
Finger of Death
Limited Wish
Project Image
Mordenkainen's Sword
Spell Sequencer

Never liked FoD. Save or else...most Ascension tough enemies are immune to Instakill effects...no thanx. The rest of the spells are good(Limited wish for the distracting bunnies, and, it can transform into an additional Chain Contingency, Shapeshift or Time Stop in the last Ascension battle). I'dtake Delayed Blast Fireball instead of FoD. The spell is great(can damage enemies immune to 5th level spells like Sunfire), and also, it can be used to lay great traps. How about lowering the Five's MR and then luring them all toghether to a place where you've previously set 30,40, 50 or more Delayed Blast Fireballs?

Ruby Ray is another great option, since I cannot afford to have Spellstrike, and Ruby Ray(unlike Pierce shield) has an effective casting time of 0. Still, those 7-th level spells are better used for PI, Limited Wish and swords.


------ Level 8 ------
Abi Dalzim's
Protection from Energy
Pierce Shield
????

Well, this level has some essential spells which neither of you seems to like. These are Simulacrum and Spell Trigger.
The Trigger is a Must. The simulacrum means a powerful ally spellcaster, who also can use quick-slot items and equipped items like SoTM, vecna, AoP, plus(unlike Projected Image), the Simulacrum works together with the caster. Surely, he cannot cast 9-th level spells, but this is no argument about him being replaced by another spell.

Pierce Shield is a must vs Tougher Demogorgon and vs The Ravager.

Horrid Wilting or Incendiary Cloud...well, I always liked Incendiary cloud in Ascension better, because even Mel is immune to Magical and somewhat vulnerable to Fire damage, as are her 2 Fallen Solars.

So the question is: Protection from Energy vs Simulacrum, and Horrid Wilting vs Incendiary Cloud. I'd take ProEnergy and Incendiary Cloud, if I don't resort to the scroll multiplication tactic with PI.


------ Level 9 ------
Time Stop
Spellstrike
Wish
Imprisonment

Imprisonment is useful in some situations, but then again, using scrolls with PI or Simmy is enough. If you don't wanna resort to such tactics, then, in the most important fight where Imprisonment is needed(Abazigal's lair), your PC may buff either with green or blue protection scrolls(not via PI, you should've collected enough till now to sacrifice some), thus making your sorcerer immune to the elemental damage of enemies inside, and by using ProMW, to gain additional immunity to physical attacks, thus your PC may forget about the lesser dragons and quickly kill Tamah. Afterwards, the small ones may be defeated via Time Stop/Shapechange Mind Flayer/Int drain.

When Azi is alone, he's absolutely no match for a solo sorcerer. Blind him(GG). Burn him(again, Incendiary Clouds are better over Wiltings because of the more damage). Lower his resistance. Don't forget his Maze and Imprisonment spells, keep your Immunities running.

Another place where PC may want to effectively use Imprisonment, is creating a personal demon army in the last Ascension fight. However, this is a very cheesy tactic and I doubt someone will wanna use it.

So drop Imprisonment. SpellStrike is useless too, since a good Sorcerer relies on AoE spells to hurt his enemies(and where they don't help, triple Pierce Shield will leave the enemy vulnerable to Magic Missiles). I'd recommend Shapechange and Chain Contingency instead. Shapechange + TS + Impr Haste is almost always sufficient to wreak havoc amongst the enemies, killing the toughest and leaving the weakest to play with later. CC can chain 3 Incendiary clouds, or 3 Pierce shields, plus, 3 additional high-level spells cast freely, and without interruption in the beginning of the combat are always welcome.

Did I mention that Contingency and Chain Contingency are the only spells that work inside the Dead Magic Zones inside WK?
Maybe I also forgot to mention that these spells can be successfully cast even when the sorcerer is under 100% spellcasting failure(Creeping Doom, Beholder's anti-magic ray, Eller Hag's melee attack).

[JWD]

Hm very interesting Saros, your insight about Ascension will definitely affect my spell choices.

One thing I do not really understand is why to bother with "fighting sorcerer" spells like Tenser's and Shapeshift. Sacrificing spellcasting during a huge battle seems like it would be instant death for a sorcerer, I mean how do you deal with the fact that the second you transform some enemy mage is going to dispel all of your protections make you into a sitting duck?

At nos, I'm clearly missing something about Protection from Elements and Protection from Energy. What I am saying is that Protection from Energy INCLUDES Protection from Elements. Why would you need them both? I think you really need to spell this out for me because right now I don't follow.

[nos]

Indeed, interesting points Saros. Thanks.

JWD, yes Protection from Energy includes Protection from Elements but look here:

Cast Protection from Energy 1 time:
Fire 75%
Cold 75%
Lightning 75%
Acid 75%
Magic Energy 75%

Cast Protection from Energy 1 time and directly after, cast it once more:
Fire 75%
Cold 75%
Lightning 75%
Acid 75%
Magic Energy 75%

Cast Protection from Energy 1 time and directly after, cast Protection From the Elements 1 time:
Fire 127%
Cold 127%
Lightning 127%
Acid 75%
Magic Energy 75%

Notice the values for Fire/Cold/Lightning in the above examples. You will not be immune to Fire/Cold/Lightning damage by casting Protection from Energy 1 time, neither by casting it 2 times. You will be immune to Fire/Cold/Lightning by casting Protection from Energy 1 time and directly after, Protection From the Elements 1 time. I don't think I can explain any clearer than that. You could try it out by using the console cheats to level up, get those spells and try damaging yourself with spells.

Or you could duplicate protection scrolls with PI.

Of course, it probably is not completely necessary to be immune to energy damage. I don't think I could deal with that however.

"Improved Haste + Time Stop + Shapechange + Tenser's" is a cool combo and will defeat most creatures quickly. I remember reading that the illithid form only count as +2 weapons but as long as you remove enemies PfMW you are able to kill most creatures with INT drain. Still, I think I would rather choose Imprison than Shapechange.


This will probably be the spell list I'll be using for SCS1&2 and Ascension:

Level 1:
Magic Missile
Shield - I'll skip Spirit Armor, so this one will take care of AC. Immunity to MM will be pointless when I have MGoI though.
Protection from Petrification - Keeping this to be immune to Petrification effects.
Protection from Evil - Can be cast on summons later.
Blindness - Doesn't have a save penalty but is powerful if successful.

Identify/Friends - Convenient in the beginning of BG1 to save money but becomes unnecessary when rich. Most unidentified items can still be used anyway.
Chromatic Orb - Doesn't add enough versatility compared to the other spells.

Level 2:
Invisibility - For BG1. Can be used if MMM is equipped and unable to equip the Staff of Magi.
Mirror Image
Glitterdust - Seems quite solid.
Knock
Melf's Acid Arrow - Small damage, but can kill trolls.

Resist Fear - MGoI will protect from the Horror spell. Power Word: Fear will have to be saved against I guess.

Level 3:
Melf's Minute Meteors
Skull Trap
Slow
Flame Arrow
Remove Magic

Haste - The other spells seem more useful. I'll take Improved Haste anyway.

Level 4:
Stone Skin
Minor Globe of Invulnerability - Takes care of most traps and mages in BG1 and might be good even later.
Farsight
Ice Storm - This combined with poison darts will hopefully take care of Yaga-Shura. Good to have a damage spell on this level too.
Greater Malison

Improved Invisibility - Like Mislead it would be good to have against enemies who can't see through invisibility. The other spells seem more useful though.

Level 5:
Spell Immunity
Breach
Lower Resistance
Sunfire
Spell Shield

Level 6:
Protection from Magical Weapons
Death Fog - Killing summons and for acid damage.
True Sight
Contingency - For safety and casting failure/no magic situations.
Improved Haste - To be able to keep distance from everything, and 6 poison darts/round if that becomes necessary.

Level 7:
Project Image
Mordenkainen’s Sword
Spell Sequencer - More spells per day.
Delayed Blast Fireball - More reliable than Finger of Death. Resistance to fire is common, but so are good saves and immunity to death effects.
Protection from Elements - I'm keeping this to stack it with Protection from Energy and the Belt of Inertial Barrier. A scroll will have to do for acid protection.

Limited Wish - Can't afford to pick this without having to use scrolls for all energy protection which I don't want. Protection from Energy gives only 75% protection.
Ruby Ray - Hopefully not too many enemies are protected from all energy damage and the Spell Trap + SI: Abjuration combo.

Level 8:
Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
Pierce Shield
Protection from Energy
Spell Trigger - More spells per day.

Incendiary Cloud - According to Saros this is better than Horrid Wilting in Ascension, but I already have Delayed Blast Fireball and Flame Arrow to deal fire damage. If I didn't pick ADHW only Magic Missile would do magic damage... I will decide which one to pick at a later point.
Simulacrum - Can't afford to pick this.

Level 9:
Timestop
Chain Contingency
Imprisonment
Wish

Shapechange - Cool spell but I would rather have Imprisonment.
Spell Trap - Provided by Staff of the Magi
Spellstrike - Can't afford space for it.

[Saros]

One thing I do not really understand is why to bother with "fighting sorcerer" spells like Tenser's and Shapeshift. Sacrificing spellcasting during a huge battle seems like it would be instant death for a sorcerer, I mean how do you deal with the fact that the second you transform some enemy mage is going to dispel all of your protections make you into a sitting duck?

When you have Shapechange, your sorcerer will also be protected from spells like Breach(via Spell Shield or Improved Invisibility + SI and that's why I think Impr Invis is essential), Remove/Dispel Magic (via SI: Abjuration), Anti-Magic beholder ray(Spell Shield) and melee or missile dispellation attacks(Illasera, Eller Hag, Balthazar) by ProMagicalWeapons. With Improved Alacrity, shapeshifting in and out of your human form can be done in an instant. Under Time Stop, shapeshifting can be also done without interruption.

Greater Malinson in the last spell selection may be absolutely skipped. The only spells you'll want to use it with are Blindness and Glitterdust. And for those particular cases when Blindness has to work(vs Abazigal, for instance), your Sorcerer will anyway have three Power Word: Blind scrolls which require no saving throw, and also enough Scrolls of Greater malinson bought from various merchants.

Slow is better skipped in favour of Haste. Haste works great: first, your sorcerer won't have Improved haste for a long time, and secondly, you'll want to Haste your mordy swords.

Skull Traps deal magical damage, and are Area of Effect spells. They have shorter casting than Horrid Wilting(0 with Vecna and AoP). Plus, Skull Traps have close damage output to a Horrid Wilting(20-120 Skull trap, 20-160 Horrid Wilting). Also, Skull traps can be put in Sequencers. So, with Skull Traps, who needs Horrid Wiltings?
Also, Incendiary clouds deal much more damage over time compared to ADHW(Horrid Wilting 20-160 at damage cap, Incendiary Cloud 20-80 per round at damage cap(total lasting of Cloud 10 rounds, so the total damage is 200-800).
In fact, the Incendiary cloud is the most powerful damage dealing spell: no other spell can compare to it.

I admit that your Sorcerer won't be fully resistant to Fire without the Protection from Elements spell together with ProEnergy. But I advise against skipping Limited Wish: the spell is just too powerful. Maybe, skipping Delayed Blast Fireball is a better option(after all, Skull Traps can also create a great magical trap when needed).

Yet, you must absolutely literally collect as many as possible, even all available, Potions of Fire, of Magic Shielding and Magic resistance, of course(although the last two potions will be used most probably only in the last fights. Potions of Cold resistance and of Absorbtion may be granted from Wish, so no trouble with those. Also, collecting all of the Green Protection elemental scrolls will be of great help. And all of the long-lasting Blue spell scrolls must be assembled also, especially Protection from Fire, from Acid and from Magical Damage, and the scrolls of Ghost/Spirit Armor too, and Resist Fear scrolls.

BtW, potion of Clarity can also be granted as Wish reward, so your character will almost always be protected from Feeblemind, Fear and Confusion.

By collecting all of them, and using them wisely, your Sorcerer will have enough to be protected in all of the important SoA, WK and ToB fights.

The Green protection scrolls' effects cannot be dispelled by Breach, keep that in mind for the last battle. Plus, they last 12 hours!

The Iron Golem form of the Shapechange spell is an excellent fighter against mages(100% MR). Especially, vs Ascension Irenicus. With the Spell Immunities on, of course.
Quickly Changing Shape to Iron Golem may save you from, say, nearing Creeping doom(provided you have no more Spell Immunities or you simply don't wanna waste a 5-th level spell).
The Greater Wolfwere form alone can solve your Ravager fight: it has the weapons, the attacks and the regeneration rate to win. Plus, you can always rely on your sequencers while in Greater Wolfwere form.
Plus, in the last Ascension fight, Shapechange can quickly rid you of 2 enemies: Sarevok and Gromnir are both vulnerable to Int drain(works in the first encounter with Gromnir too). Of course, if you insist on keeping the Imprisonment spell, that's your decision.

The Tenser's transformation may indeed be an overkill, so skipping that is no big deal.

[nos]

Good points. I didn't know the green protection scrolls couldn't be breached. If so, they are probably invaluable. I might have to use scrolls to get Limited Wish.

I will probably take Shapechange instead of Imprisonment since it seems to be much more versatile. I forgot about Skull Trap dealing magic damage, so I will choose Incendiary Cloud instead of Horrid.

It seems that Blindness is an incredibly powerful spell in BG1 and almost makes battles too easy. As long as enemies don't improve their saves with potions, spells or cast MGoI it pretty much always works.

Saros, if you haven't played BG1 I really recommend it. Personally I like it much more than both SoA and ToB. The dialogs are better written and the antagonists are more memorable, to me at least. It feels much less like a hack and slash game than the others and more like an adventure game. Like the others, it doesn't offer much from a roleplaying perspective but that doesn't matter much to me. If you decide to play it some time, install BG1Tutu and SCS for better graphics, pathfinding and harder battles.

[drktmplar]

Played through BGTutu with solo sorc.

Traps: MI does the trick 1000% in BGI and BGII (except for, perhaps, save or die traps -> untested). I could run through traps like it was Christmas with MI on and nothing would hit me.

Also, with MI, I can take a AHW, fireballs, CoCs, Skull Traps all with no to minimal damage. Only problem is Truesight, of course. Is there a way to dispel Truesight?