Is soloing a mage impossible in BG1?

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:41 pm

You can kill Tazok at the Bandit's camp if you offer to join 'em. And, if you lure Saverok to come to the Temple entrance you will have to fight only him and the mage.

Idioteque · Post by **Idioteque** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 12:32 am

Be sure to save potion of storm giant strength

Moleman · Post by **Moleman** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 1:17 pm

Originally posted by Curry
You can kill Tazok at the Bandit's camp if you offer to join 'em. And, if you lure Saverok to come to the Temple entrance you will have to fight only him and the mage.

Is it really possible to kill Tazok at that point? I tried but he always left before I could finish him off.

CrownHead · Post by **CrownHead** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 11:47 pm

Best way is using the axe you get from Prat and the boots of speed. If you can lure Sarevok out alone (it's possible) then run from one side of the temple to the other (sideways) while Sarevok is chasing you, throw the axe every chance you get (this tactic worked with me and I didn't even have one star in the axe profiency) eventually he'll die. It just takes a whole lot of patience.

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:13 am

Originally posted by Moleman
Is it really possible to kill Tazok at that point? I tried but he always left before I could finish him off.

Yes it is possible. Gave me 400xp, gauntlets of weapon expertise, two-handed sword +1 and some potions. And BTW, the bandits won't turn hostile if you kill him.

Latro · Post by **Latro** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:24 am

Soloing as a mage would be very difficult in the beginning but as others have commented you can get a serious boost from various magical items. When i played i found two rings that gave you the ability to memorize twice as many first level spells and you could equip both (for, i think, 20 first level spells at the highest level).

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:43 am

No, the spell cap is 12 per level even if you got two Rings of Wizardy. And, in patches version of BG the one at FAI will be removed.

Moleman · Post by **Moleman** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 9:32 am

Is it really possible to kill Tazok at that point?
...
Originally posted by Curry
Yes it is possible.

OK, did you tie him up with some spell (command, sleep, entangle etc.) or did you just kill him so fast he didn't have time to leave?

(Little off-topic, sorry!)

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 11:25 am

With archers of course

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 11:28 am

Click here for the pic of Tazok's death

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 3:43 am

Curry, congrats for stomping Tazok, but where did you get the portrait you're using for your pc? That's one very cute girl.

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 12:09 pm

Sorry I don't remember where I got those but let me zip my portraits-folder. Click here to download (~5mb).

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 4:24 pm

Thanks, Curry! There's a couple of really nice portraits I've never seen before.

Hesperus · Post by **Hesperus** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 12:06 am

solo mage stragegy question spoilers below

So I got excited and started a solo mage for the first time. Blindness works like a charm, hehe. I've soloed a f/t and I agree it was quicker than a full party. I am shooting for the whole ToSC show, the difficulties I forsee are in ToSC werewolf island (pesky MR and getting swarmed in b's ship) and the cult's demon (don't remember the name off hand) upon returning to Ulgoth after durlag's tower. potions of mirror eyes will prevent the death gaze, but that sucker has a lot of HPs and some solid MR. Summons are of course key with the wand, I was thinking malison, multiple webs (yea ring of free action) and cloud kills (sorry summons), along with all the MM and skull traps (with the good old minor globe for prot) that can be mustered. And darts of biting/staff of striking for those lousy vessel cult guys. Anyone pulled off that fight with a solo mage?

Hesperus · Post by **Hesperus** » Wed Aug 20, 2003 11:01 pm

spoilers below, solo conjuror report

Spoilers below for ToSC

Since the thread is still relatively recent, I thought I'd put up a follow up on my inspired by this thread solo BGI conjuror, Lanolak the Weak, with whom I just finished the game. Was a worthwhile experience overall. Only drank at most 20 healing potions the entire game, mostly thanks to skeletal warriors and greater dopplegangers. He pulled durlag's tower without a lot of sweat/reloads. Between mirror image and minor globe of invulnerability, skull trap, web, magic missle, and wands, my 10-11th level mage was a serious threat.

However, the greater dopplegangers were a real pain in the neck, as their saves are really low you overall need to blast them with damage rather than charm, etc. Lanolak had to take some evasive manueuvers at times. On the 2nd dungon level when you meet 3 at a time, he set up 4 skull traps to loosen then up, but such a strategy was not always possible. Skeletal warriors were a pain, potions of strength and haste with hit and run with the +3 q staff from Ulgoth's beard. The fight with Avarice, Greed, Fear, and such at the end of the level was exciting. A lot of summons, chaos (got one of them), charmed the theif (Greed I think) with Algernon's cloak (big help), magic missle cast and attack with darts of stunning was a key. And some running around to try to take one at a time.

On the 3rd dungeon level, where you get hit with 3 g dopples at a time along with a cloud kill and a stinking cloud all in the same room, Kiel's throne room I think... it was pretty funny, here's the evasive maneuver: I ran out of the room with boot of speed while having mirror image and minor globe up to dodge the traps, I teleported across the chasm past the torture room and just shot fireballs with the wand, as they all followed me. Cheesy, I know, but it was a life or death situation there. Turned out being 5 g dopplers all told, including the two that spawn from the torture room. I mean, if I were a solo mage and had that way out, I would have taken it.

In the 4th level, I wimped out on the 3 or 4 greater wyverns and just stayed to the sidelines. The frost challenge was initially a pain as they kept freezing poor Lanolak stiff, but the remedy was chaos, and then he pulled a crisp-down with the wand of fire. The chess game was easy: 2 webs and 2 cloud kills, with magic missles to finish the king. Killed just about every last player before the King...

5th level was easy enough, until the demon knight below. Good old prot undead, but the crypt crawlers are fast but the darts of stunning and MM prevailed.

The demon knight was a bear as his MR is really high, dispells your buffs, and power word stuns you (bypassing the ring of free action). Multiple web and cloud kills were virtually useless, well not quite but no more than 15 damage I think. Yikes. So it took some running, a lot of fodder summons with the wand, MM, but he went down on the 3rd try.

Now the demon on the return to Ulgoth, ugh. That nasty demon... too many hit points, too low an AC, and too high a MR. Since I started the quest, I ended it but totally cheesed it by opening S/K'er to refresh Lanolak's spell book and give more potions of mirror eyes and scrolls of MM. You just can't take spells like lower resistance and stone skin for granted in BGII. And I felt awful about opening S/K, but it was that or let a demon loose on the sword coast

. I have a save before the fight that I think I'll try again after taking a little time off. The key is no summons, as he vampiric touches them left and right and gives himself loads of HPs. So to answer my last thread's query, I think it'll take: potions of mirrored eyes, haste potion, potion of power for the cast and attack with the +3 sling, ring of free action, mirror image, and minor globe to stop the vampy touches. And may as well take 5 MM scrolls and 5 skull trap scrolls. Had some success with point blank skull trap while safe inside the minor globe. And then run up stairs to refresh mirror image and globe ... Easily the hardest fight for a solo mage, IMHO, in the whole game. One of the hardest fights anyway... But a f/m could wipe him out no problem with cast and attack while protected with mirror image and minor globe... Same for a bard, maybe next solo mission...

Didn't do wolf island, pesky MR doggies that chew your toes while you sleep... but did the quest for Shandalar, as it had a few fun mage duels.

By the end Lanolak was close to level 12, as I didn't do every possible quest/XP possibility in the game, mainly hit the big stuff for the plot and Durlags as I said. As has been said for solo magic casters, blindness (and later chromatic orb) and darts got Lanolak through most of the game. Now for a new career as wild mage in BGII...

CrownHead · Post by **CrownHead** » Wed Aug 20, 2003 11:52 pm

Too bad for me I never got to fight the Cult Demon cause I seem to have a bug where the Cult Members at the beginning of the town keep appearing every five seconds.

Hesperus · Post by **Hesperus** » Thu Aug 21, 2003 9:35 pm

Bummer, too bad I don't know what it takes to get to the bottom of it. I remember there being about 9, maybe a few more, of them when you get to Ulgoth's, and about 9 in the ground floor of the warehouse before you go downstairs to the challenge...