Skip to content

Wow. Orig. Bigby's Hand Spells were Awesome!

syllogsyllog Member Posts: 158
edited January 2014 in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Was looking through 2e spells [Edit: 1e, but almost identical to 2e] (to see if I really had to give up a familiar for dropping summoning - yes, btw :).
I found out the original Bigby hand spells are AWESOME and NONE of them allow a saving throw.
I realize that the nuance of the spells is difficult to code, but it would have been really nice to have the -no save- part maintained.
As it is (in BGII)- no one uses the spells. There are spells with harder saves that do worse things. :/


Bigby's Crushing Hand
Bigby's Clenched Fist
Bigby's Grasping Hand
Bigby's Forceful Hand


Side note: I don't know why Meteor Swarm was never implemented as written (that's pretty easy to do and not OP compared to other 9th lvl spells - 4 targetable spheres (like the lightening wand) each do 10d4 damage with no save for the targetted creature and a save for nont-targetted creatres.)
Meteor Swarm

Oh, and the full list of core 2e [Edit: 1e, but very similar] spells for anyone interested:
http://pandaria.rpgworlds.info/cant/rules/adnd_spells.htm

[Correction: The links below are to 1st edition spells. I just found a copy of 2nd edition books though and all of the spells in question are essential identical - actually most of the spells are very similar in 1e and 2e (in 2e BFF doesn't require concentration).]
Post edited by syllog on

Comments

  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    Yeah, most of them are a bit disappointing. I do use the 8th level one because it has no save for the hold and you can use it as part of a chain contingency.
  • syllogsyllog Member Posts: 158
    @nano
    Yeah, I just always thought they were disappointing because that's how the original books wrote them. I just assumed the original AD&D spells were really imbalanced (relative to eachother) -- with high-level spells being written mostly for antagonists or something. Turns out a lot of it is just in-game implementation.

    Also: The 1 turn of stun in-game isn't useless - that's certainly true.
  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    The 8th level is certainly better than the 9th level because the 8th level has no save, while the 9th has a save at -4 in the first round. Also, the effect is hold, not stun. You'll be surprised what type of creatures/bosses are NOT immune to being held.


    Melissan
    Ravager
    Yaga Shura
  • syllogsyllog Member Posts: 158
    @bbear

    Good catch. Thanks.
    Also notable: I believe liches *are* immune to hold...

    And yes, the 9th lvl being weaker than 8th lvl is bizarre. (I'd just change the spell myself, but I hate "cheating" my tactics mods. :/ )
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    @bbear Amelyssan made a Feature Request to remove that spell from the game :P.
    Also, Jan Jansen is THE guy to do that, with two of those memorized, just a quick first round with Melissan and done with her in the nexts.
Sign In or Register to comment.

2025 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2025 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.