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No Reloads Solo Game with a Wild Mage (Spoilers)

This is more or less a copy of a challenge that Klorox saw on another forum and is currently working on. Instead of taking a whole party however, I'm going to use a Wild Mage... so I'm going through the game alone. Now, to make it seem like I'm not completely copying the challenge, I'm putting a "Spell Cap" upon myself, which basically strips me of the advantage of being a mage rather than a sorcerer. I can only have five spells or less, per level, at any one given time. The epic spells count toward the Tenth Level so I won't have to erase any level nine spells when I get them. I can however learn more spells, by first erasing one of my current spells for that level. For example, if I want to learn magic missile, but I have five level 1 spells, I'll have to erase one of them in order to learn the aforementioned spell. Although the Wild Mage is still a powerhouse in my opinion, it is a tad trickier to use than a normal mage due to the Wild Surges.

Now, I'm not going to sit here non stop playing this... unfortunately life just doesn't let me. So... yeah,

Anyway, this thread shall serve as a log for me and as a sort of guide for anyone else that wants to do something along those lines or whoever else is interested about reading of my character's adventures.

I will start at the very start of Shadows of Amn and will try to go all the way to the end of Throne of Bhaal.

I have no mods installed, but I do have the latest patch.

Let's do this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Here's my starting information:

Class: Wild Mage

Level: 7

Race: Elf

Strength: 6
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 8

Hit Points: 46

THAC0: 18

Saving Throws:

Paralyze/Poison/Death: 13
Rod/Staff/Wand: 9
Petrify/Morph: 11
Breath Weapon: 13
Spells: 10

Number of Attacks: 1
Lore: 43
Magic Resistance: 0

Spells

Level 1: Identify, Larloch's Minor Drain, Magic Missile, Protection From Evil, Nahal's Reckless Dweomer
Level 2: Chaos Shield, Knock, Melf's Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Strength
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Flame Arrow, Haste, Melf's Minute Meteors, Skull Trap
Level 4: Fire Shield (Blue), Spider Spawn, Spirit Armor, Stoneskin, Wizard Eye
Level 7: Improved Chaos Shield

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 11/6/06

Just got out of Irenicus's Dungeon. Accidentally wandered too far so Illych noticed me. I used Skull Trap twice, which killed the mage and one dwarf. I had a chance to run back, cast Stoneskin on myself and summon a few spiders to finish the group. The cambion was easy as I summoned the spiders, hasted them, and then broke the barrier. Spider Spawn and Haste along with Skull Trap got me through most of the fights. The Air Elemental helped a lot on the Mephit portals. Have to love Nahal's. Stoneskin and Mirror Image got me through all of the traps except the one that paralyzes, but it wasn't lethal. Apparently Spell Trigger doesn't work until you can naturally cast it.

Note: Do not play with 6 Strength.

Level: 10
Experience: 259454
Hit Points: 64
THAC0: 17
Lore: 50

New Spells: Fireball, Conjure Air Elemental, Stone to Flesh, Spell Trigger

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 11/7/06

Didn't get to do much today.

Went through the circus tent, which was easy, no problems there so I won't talk about it unless specifically asked to.

Killed the party at the Den of the Seven Vales. Walked out half dead. I managed to summon an Air Elemental through Nahal's Reckless Dweomer along with about eight or so Sword Spiders by casting Spider Spawn, and having the Area of Effect Wild Surge. After that I hasted the group and went after the mage. While group beat down the mage, I took care of the Barbarian by shooting Fire Arrows and Magic Missiles at him. At the time, the Thief was attacking me as well. I killed the Barbarian after recasting Mirror Image twice and stoneskin once. Pooky was an easy kill. While I was busy with the rogue, the dwarf was pummeling the living hell out of my summons. I took short pauses from casting Melf's Acid Arrow and Fire Arrow on the rogue in order to summon more spiders, to keep the dwarf busy. Lucky for me, the Assassin fled soon. I managed to Skull Trap the dwarf twice, killing three spiders, the rest were summoned and Hasted and once again, got beat as I was spamming Fire Arrow. Let me add that I got one "I Feel Refreshed" Wild Surge, one "Berries In My Pocket" Wild Surge and two Wild Surges that gave me gems. This was a tough fight indeed. Have to say, don't think I could've done it without the opening Wild Surge.

Anyway, I went for the Slums district, freed Hendak and advanced to level 11, with 489839 experience and found a Mass Invisibility scroll on one of the guards.

Just attempted to do the Slaver Stockade, but after the opening battle decided that it was too risky due to the traps, so instead, I went ahead and killed the pirate group at the docks. The pirate battle caused me some problems as the pirates' rapid attack rates got rid of my Stoneskin rather quickly. I retreated, cast Mass Invisibility on Myself, went back, cast death fog along with skull traps, but let the summons, the spiders and the Nishruu, take care of the Pirate Mage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 11/10/06

Level:12
Experience: 1101507
Next Level: 1125000

Spells

Level 1: Magic Missile, Protection From Evil, Nahal's Reckless Dweomer
Level 2: Knock, Mirror Image, Chaos Shield
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Flame Arrow, Haste, Skull Trap
Level 4: Fire Shield (Blue), Spider Spawn, Stoneskin, Improved Invisibility
Level 5: Lower Resistance,
Level 6: Chain Lightning, Conjure Air Elemental, Death Fog, Summon Nishruu
Level 7: Improved Chaos Shield, Mass Invisibility, Sphere of Chaos
Level 8: Spell Trigger

Haven't played much due to time constraints. I managed to kill the Elemental Lich at the Bridge District and the Lich at the City Gates for 22k experience each. I handled the Elemental Lich by summoning a bunch of Air Elementals, Hasting Them, Casting Protection from Evil on them as well as Mass Invisibility and Skull Trapping the spawn point. I hurled all my single target spells at him, until I was forced to retreat and let my elementals finish the job.

The lich at the City Gates was harder because it doesn't spawn. As he cast Time Stop, I quickly ran out of the tomb, which put me out of his sight. I cast a Dispel Magic on him, then Lower Resistance and then I summoned some spiders to hold him down while I threw Magic Missiles. The Dispel Magic canceled his Protection From Evil, so he was forced to slay the summoned demon. As I was casting knock on the chest, after the battle, I had a "Wild Surge: Gate" nice, isn't it? Good thing I had Protection from Evil.

Went to the sewers, got the cloak. Went to Trademeet, did the Dao Djinn quest, for the Rogue Stone.

Had about 45k, which I spent on the Robe of Vecna and a Girdle of Hill Giant Strength... although I had to sell most of the items I was carrying to pay for the belt.

After that I went to fight the party at the Temple District, the one within the estate. The battle was easy and straight forward. I ran into the doorway so that I could be approached by no more than two people at one time and cast several Death Fogs, which took out the Cleric and the Mage.

The Orog and the Minotaur died before they got to me, from a barrage of Fire Arrows. The Kensai and the Rogue made me go through several Stoneskins and Mirror Images. The Kensai died from Skull Traps, Fire Arrows and Magic Missiles. The Rogue was annoying as she kept disappearing, thus preventing me from casting spells on her. One Fire Arrow took care of her once I timed it right. The loot brought me to over 15k.

To be honest, I can't see the point in putting restrictions on your spellbook. Simply making the decision to play a solo character instead of hiding behind a full party sets your adventure apart from Klorox's and makes it significantly more challenging. I don't see how you're going to survive, so I'm interested in seeing how you pull it off.

Best of luck.

Heh. Thanks. I'm doing it out of interest I guess. XD I've soloed the game many times before, but I never really put restrictions and limitations on myself.

Also, just so everyone knows:

The only time that I will have more than five spells per level will be at the very start, when I am *forced* to pick more. To remedy that, right after the first piece of dialogue, I'll erase the extra spells so that my rule will be kept.

The only time I will have part member is at the start, when Imoen joins me.

I'd rather not bring Shadowkeeper or any other programs into this. I think what I proposed will do.

Wow, good luck! You're defintely putting some heavy restrictions on yourself there!

BW, for the record, it's never been my idea, it's part of a "challenge" on another forum.

Thanks.

I see. I'll add that to the opening post.

Are they really that heavy? Well, soloing, that's straight forward. I will probably avoid some quests... but... I'm taking a risk here, but I'm planning to do Kangaxx. As soon as I get the appropriate equipment and level, which should probably be somewhere before I end Chapter 2.

For my log, I'll probably keep editing the opening post and just post a notification every few updates, unless someone has a batter idea.

Aside from the wild surges, a Wild Mage is much like a sorcerer, if not better, as Nahal's let's you cast any spell you know, so that Air Elemental scroll in the dungeon is pretty useful early on.

EDIT: I think you have it harder than I do in some ways because of the fact that you have six party members. It'll pay off on the end, but at the start and the middle in can be a tad challenging.

Just to make sure everyone knows, I'm updating the main post to show my progress. Because of that, the thread won't appear to be updated. So, if you want to know where I am and what not, you can either check the first post, or actually send me a message asking about something.

Yep.

So here's an updated post.

Apparently there is a character limit for posts, so I have to start a new one. I'll make a compilation after and if I finish.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 11/26/06

Level:15
Experience: 1903440
Next Level: 2250000

Spells

Level 1: Magic Missile, Protection From Evil, Nahal's Reckless Dweomer
Level 2: Knock, Mirror Image, Chaos Shield
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Flame Arrow, Haste, Skull Trap
Level 4: Fire Shield (Blue), Fire Shield (Red), Spider Spawn, Stoneskin, Wizard Eye
Level 5: Lower Resistance,
Level 6: Chain Lightning, Death Fog, Summon Nishruu, Contingency
Level 7: Improved Chaos Shield, Mass Invisibility
Level 8: Spell Trigger

Well, against my better judgement I went to Windspear Hills... to fight Firkraag, as per my standard solo procedure. I cashed in my acorns for a nice XP reward and then decided to go inside the dragon's lair. The first level was easy, with the exception of the Mists. On the second floor I had more trouble. The orcs were easy. The party of Salia were easy as well... nothing that a few well placed Skulltraps couldn't take care of... oh, my character turned into a male for a day. I was fortunate enough not to encounter any golems... but I met some vampires. Improved Invisibility protects against their domination spells... which are game enders if you're soloing. I had some trouble getting my Improved Chaos Shield up... made my weapon glow in the process and cast the spell normally. The swarm died after four Skulltraps and two Chain Lightnings, rewarding me with XP ranging from 4k to 8.5k. I collected all of the mask pieces, the only problem however was the director. Fire Arrow was good about disrupting his spells. Low level spells in general, combined with the Robe of Vecna are great interrupts. I messed up on the guardian, so after using two Skulltraps, I was forced to fight him in Troll form (through the Cloak of the Sewers) and then beat him with the staff.

After taking a well deserved rest, I went to fight the Wolfweres. One thing: PAUSE and Lower Magic Resistance ARE YOUR FRIENDS. Those were some reallyy annoying fights. The Greater Wolfweres made me cast Lower Magic Resistance on them at least three times each so I could hurt them. Spider Spawn and Summon Nishruu spells were used for tanks. Summon Nishruu is very good for tanking if you use area of effect spells as it hurts your enemies and heals the Nishruu. I used the trademark Skull Trap, followed by Flame Arrow, Chain Lightning and Magic Missle. They regenerate VERY quickly (three points per second if I'm correct) so be sure to hit them with everything you have. After this series of fights was over, I killed another Guardian for the helm, fought Tazok and Dig-dag... which was fairly easy and straight to the point. Here's some advice: Don't horde spells, learn them for the experience. If you're a mage, you need it... badly. As soon as you get that Planetar, your life will be so much easier. The mage I killed in Firkraag's lair by spamming Flame Arrow before he had the chance to retaliate... this did cause Firkraag to become hostile on the spot. He didn't see me outright however so I summoned a few spiders, lowered his magic resistance three times while he was too busy protecting himself, managed to pull off two death fogs and managed to kill him with Magic Missiles and Skulltraps. I kept a Nishruu around so that the dragon wouldn't move from the spot, taking damage from the fog while the summon kept getting healed. He used his breath... which didn't really hurt as I had my newly acquired Fire Shield (Red) on along with the Ring of Fire Resistance I picked up from the Rakshaasa on the first floor. Anyway, I killed him, after a lengthy and tedious battle... with wasted spells due to Wild Surges, I got my reward from the kid and Garren. I hauled the loot to Waukeen's Promenade, got my gold up to 33.8k and went off to rescue Haer' Dalis. The lair was easy enough... I pulled of one Skulltrap with the Umber Hulk group, which put them to "Near Dead" at which point they confused be and killed themselves on my Fire Shield (Blue). I attacked the mage first, he died right after his dialog. I freed the Blade, got what loot I needed and went out of the sewers.

Well, today I managed to get inside the Astral Prison. The battles there were straight forward. I killed the mage right before the Wyvren with a single Fire Arrow. Her friend was a bit tougher, took some spiders to kill him. The Wyvren itself wasn't too hard. I bombarded it with Fire Arrows and Magic Missiles while the Spiders kept him busy. The Master of Thralls gave me trouble however. After squeezing in one Skulltrap, I had Wild Surge that paralyzed me. The Air Elementals attacked me first, but the demon couldn't couldn't get through so he took the long way around. The elementals finished themselves on my Fireshields (I had both on) and by the time the Master arrived, I had a Nishruu summoned. I cast three Skulltraps, which kept healing the Nishruu and killing the demon. In no time he was dead. Went ahead and freed the Thralls, then took a rest. Then, I buffed myself with Mirror Image, Improved Chaos Shield, Stoneskin, Improved Invisibility and managed to pull off a Spell Trap through Nahal's. I summoned three Nishruus, that immediately ent to attack the Warden, before I even uncovered the fog of war. I cast another Improved Invisibility on myself and went to observe. The Warden was powerless against them. Every time he cast a spell, they were healed. Don't forget that the Nishruu also drain spells. Anyway, he was soon dead. I myself couldn't attack him due to Spellturning and high level spells against which I would probably fail to save. After that quest I went over to Umar Hills, searched the cabin, talked to Madulf, did the Mimic quest and the Mayor and hit level 16. After I sold the final piece of loot, I was at 58k.

After a short break, I went back to Umar Hills, killed Valygar's party and went to the temple. By casting Mass Invisibility on myself I sneaked over to the mirror and triggered it, so that the shadows would give me some peace. Inside the temple I traveled with four Sword Spiders and a Wizard Eye in front of me, for safety's sake. The fire didn't hurt me at all as I had a great fire resistance through Fire Shield (Red) and the Ring of Fire Resistance. The battles were pretty easy, with the exception of the two lich groups and the Bone Golem. The first group, near the lava pit, I cast a Wizard Eye and summoned four Nishruu. I went in went in first, invisible, and started with two Skulltraps, sending the Nishruu in afterward. I quickly ran out, so that when the lich would cast Time Stop, he wouldn't focus on me. After the Time Stop phase, I went back in and killed the skeletons through Magic Missiles and an area of effect Chain Lightning. After the lich was out of spells, the battle was pretty much done... until the Bone Golem joined. I summoned up some spiders, hasted them and set them on the golem as the lich is basically harmless when it's without spells. I myself transformed into a troll and went after the lich. Well, the spiders died quicker than I thought and the golem was immune to all of my magic... so I summoned anything I could to finish off the lich, turned invisible through the Ring of Air Elemental Control and retreated to rest. I returned with my spiders, all hasted, and finished the guy off. I rested once more and went to confront the second lich group. The battle was pretty much the same, except that I summoned a Nabassu through a Wild Surge and changed gender three times. Well I felt the need to dispose of the dragon as I was following my philosophy of "As soon as I get the Planetar it's smooth sailing" and that was a significant amount of experience... not to mention that I did win against Firkraag. I summoned four Skeleton Warriors and one Nabassu, prebuffed myself as well as the summons and opened up with about four "Lower Resitance and a Skull Trap and a Spell Trigger filled with Skull Traps.