How to use Sequencer and Contingency.

Heindrich

After a 3 month break I have returned to my courageous heroes battling through the perils of the Underdark, and finally decided to read up on the higher level Arcane Spells and binge-studied all the high level scrolls I saved up up to this point. With more toys to play with as my arcane casters (Fighter/Mage Charname, Aerie and Imoen) level up, I am struggling to develop some new magical strategies to deal with the increasingly dangerous foes they face...

I have some questions regarding Spell Sequencers, Contingency and spells of that type.

1) For contingency, I currently have it set to 'when I lose control of character', and trigger either invisibility or Oteluke's Sphere. Are there better ways to use this? For spells like this, do they fail if you manually cast the spell required for the Contingency? For example Aerie's Contingency is Oteluke's, but if she casts it on a beserking Minsc, and then gets Chaos'd herself, will her Contingency still kick in?

2) I'd appreciate some suggestions for Spell Sequencers. I currently only have Minor Spell Sequencer, and I've only ever used it to fire off 'double shot Magic Missiles'. I feel like I am missing something...

Basillicum

Heindrich1988 said:

1) For contingency, I currently have it set to 'when I lose control of character', and trigger either invisibility or Oteluke's Sphere. Are there better ways to use this? For spells like this, do they fail if you manually cast the spell required for the Contingency? For example Aerie's Contingency is Oteluke's, but if she casts it on a beserking Minsc, and then gets Chaos'd herself, will her Contingency still kick in?

When casting Contingency or Sequencer the spells you pick are spent then and there. They do not need to be memorized at the moment the contingency or sequencer takes effect, meaning you can replenish spells by rest after spending spells to prepare the contingency or sequencer.

Heindrich1988 said:

2) I'd appreciate some suggestions for Spell Sequencers. I currently only have Minor Spell Sequencer, and I've only ever used it to fire off 'double shot Magic Missiles'. I feel like I am missing something...

Double-shooting Magic Missiles is neat and effective, but it's often more fun preparing a mash of disabling spells, or a combination of disabling and damaging.
Suggestions:
Stinking Cloud/Horror/Hold Person & Fireball
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere & Hold Person
Remove Magic & Flame Arrow

ryuken87

1) Upon casting Contingency and selecting Otiluke's, that selection of Otiluke's will count as cast for the day so you won't be able to cast it on Minsc.

2) Regular Contingency I find most useful as a defensive option (although I don't use it much at all) with a Stoneskin or something when hit or at 50%.

Minor Sequencer you can either go for the chunk of direct damage with MM, or go for a double whammy of disabling spells such as Web and Glitterdust.

Spell Sequencer, Spell Trigger and Chain Contingency have many potential uses but are mostly about nuking whatever comes your way with 3x Skull Trap or ADHW. 2x Lower Resistance and a Malison is another good option.

Corvino

"On helpless" in contingency spells allows a couple of neat tricks. You become helpless whenever you Project Image, so you can trigger the contingency whenever you want.

Aerie gets a couple of neat combos as she's a cleric/mage. Try a Minor sequencer with Doom + Spook for a good chance to fear enemies with good saves. Feared enemies won't usually cast, so it's a nice way to take out mages. With Sequencer you can throw out a Greater Malison + Doom + Slow for a nice disable with a -10 to Saves.

ryuken87

Another Aerie combo I like is loading a Sequencer with 3x Holy Smite as it can be a great party-friendly nuking (so long as you don't have evil characters).

Basillicum

ryuken87 said:

Another Aerie combo I like is loading a Sequencer with 3x Holy Smite as it can be a great party-friendly nuking (so long as you don't have evil characters).

Yes oh yes! Such overkill. Simple damage-dealing sequencers often work out great, because they require little planning while they still possibly determine the end of the battle right away.

[Deleted User]

I like the "lose control->Dispel Magic" contingency, as it gives you a good chance of getting control back swiftly. Invisibility has the problem that certain kinds of control loss might cause you to break it (e.g. confusion) and Otiluke's takes you out of the fight for an extended period of time (basically doing the disabler's job for them).

Frosty

I like to load the minor sequencer with glitter dust, and horror. They disable a large group of enemy's instantly right from the start.