Get rid of spell writing failure.
Ligg
Member Posts: 187
What archaic rule is this?
Maybe under the beady glare of a die-hard dungeon master this could be enforced. But with quick save/quick load in a computer game I find this feature annoying.
I'm sure there are some who go along with this rule, but I'd bet my granny they're in the minority.
Low intelligence mages get penalised with a spells-per-level cap.
Also - believe this to be bugged. Even with 100% spell learning many spells still fail to write.
Maybe under the beady glare of a die-hard dungeon master this could be enforced. But with quick save/quick load in a computer game I find this feature annoying.
I'm sure there are some who go along with this rule, but I'd bet my granny they're in the minority.
Low intelligence mages get penalised with a spells-per-level cap.
Also - believe this to be bugged. Even with 100% spell learning many spells still fail to write.
2
Comments
@Jalily - as you say, there should be a separate option, that way it's a choice and not an issue.
I do agree, though, that there would have been much better ways to reflect a high intelligence than what was implemented.
To be honest, I think that there ought to be a separate Options menu just for Difficulty, rather than having it buried inside of Gameplay.
I still say they need to implement the int requirement for casting. It's in the 2das already, they just have to enforce it.
For me, since there are some people (like myself) that think it is valid rule, and some people (like yourself) that don't like it, I'd say leave it as it is. I'd be OK if someone put a check box in the config so that you could decide if you wanted it, but even that seems like a lot of coding for a really small gain. As you said, you can simply quick-save to get around it. If you are playing with a 17 or higher INT, your chance of failure is pretty small. so one reload is all you need to be inconvenienced with.
Just my two cents. It works this way in the game as well, but as above, you can get around it with potion of Genius.
Wizard spells are generally more powerful, or at least more offensive. So the process of learning them is a little more complex.
In PNP there was the additional issue that a cleric had to stay "right" with their deity, so it was a little more of a role playing challenge. So part of the trade off for the wizard's more difficult spell acquisition was that what they knew, they knew; and it wasn't determined by ethos or behavior. While a cleric could cast/learn any appropriate spell, but they always had to stay faithful to their religion.
13 int gives a 55% learn chance, which is all you really need. As long as your chance to learn is swung in your favor, however small, that's the best you can hope for if you don't have 100%. So essentially, a mage only really needs 13 int (which also allows 9 known spells per spell level). On the other hand, if they decide to enforce int for casting limits.
9: up to 4th
10-11: 5th
12-13: 6th
14-15: 7th
16-17: 8th
18+: 9th
Which I actually wouldn't mind, truth be told.
As for whether it should or should not...I think it should. You already have the option to play on normal if you wanna wuss out and not play according to the PnP restrictions...otherwise suck it up, and play Core. The chance to fail is there in PnP, and should be here as well, and I would like to see MORE things like in PnP, and I'm the kind of guy who accepts the good with the bad for those kinds of arrangements.
What is it with whiny PC mages and the tiniest inconveniences for a super powerful class?
Just be glad they didn't impliment REAL PnP rules for the game, otherwise you wouldn't be able to cast unless you actually had the components in your inventory.
"Sweet, I found Fireball!"
*click Write Magic*
-This character is currently incapable of learning this spell.-
~Wah, wah, wahhh~
The only rules that are always in effect unless a DM decides to house-rule it are, int-based minimum cast-able levels, int based chance to learn, and gaining a new spell per level.
The only exception are spells that require a minimum gold value, in which case you just had to have the proper amount of gold on hand when you memorized the spell, which is consumed in the casting.
If you're using the component rule, then you must track down and purchase an appropriate item, and then have it on hand when casting the spell. Though unless your DM is a huge dick, just having your component pouch on hand is enough for casting spells with trivial, no listed value components. Though if your pouch is stolen, you can't cast any spells until it's returned or you can acquire a new one...or track down the proper singular items to cast the spells. So...it can be useful to build some tension for an adventure if your party is captured, but if you take it too far and nitpick every single component it becomes a hassle.
As for spell learning in 2nd edition, you are able to attempt the spell again, but it requires you gain at least 1 level before you can reattempt since you obviously didn't have knowledge enough for such an intricate spell at that time, and obviously, you'll need a new copy of the scroll.
Enforcing the int min-castable level rules wouldn't touch BG1. 11+ int is high enough to cast 5th level spells. And even in BG2 it would only be a minor inconvenience since out of all the NPCs, only Edwin could learn 9th/10th level spells without items. The rest would cap out at 8th. Though it would actually give some benefit to using the +1 int ioun stone, or giving companions the int boost from the Machine of Lum. Imeon and Nalia could get 9th level casting with either, and Jan or Aerie could get 9th level with Lum and the Ioun stone.
Restoration ages the caster and target 2 years, Wish ages the caster 5 years, haste (and potions of speed) ages the target by 1 year (but not improved haste, which is one of the benefits), Resurrection ages the caster 3 years and prevents all spell casting for 24 hours.
In other words direct comparison of PnP and BG:EE is almost always apples and oranges - both fruit but too different for a one to one direct comparison to have much if any merit except in the most general terms.
While I generally don't endorse changes that make the game easier, the way scribing works currently leads to some pretty wonky behavior when you play Core No reload. Basically, my mage usually is stuck with L1 spells until he hits L4-5. Why? Because there aren't many L2 scrolls that drop, and even though he generally has 18 INT, you WILL almost certainly fail 2-3 scribes in a row. Potions are the only way out, but they are limited in number and quite expensive so early on. So I hoard scrolls until I have enough to justify spending 1000g on a couple potions.
I quite like the suggestion of instituting INT-dependent max spell level along with 1 new known spell on levelup. It would make INT matter (not for BG1 but there's really not a lot to be done about that), and would lessen the effect of scribing failure without removing it completely.