I still have lightning-phobia in Baldur's Gate 2: ToB, having conquered Sarevok, Irenicus, Yaga-Shura, Sendai and even Demogorgon! I still twitch nervously before attempting to use any charged item or spell with the word 'lightning' in it. Even using that item or spell safely before does not relieve the stress that something might go wrong this time.
The source of this psychological trauma was due to:
1) The first time I used a Wand of Lightning. It a crypt with an ettercap and a Web trap. My party stumbled in and immediately got trapped by Web, which was distressing enough, as they started to get shredded by the ettercap one at a time. In desperation, in the moment that Charname was free of Web, with Khalid already down, and Jaheira about to succumb, he decided to try the Wand in his hand and zap the monstrosity into oblivion. The lightning rebounded around the small confined crypt multiple times... it killed the ettercap, but also fried Charname and the entire party.
2) When it rains in Faerun, there will be Lightning, and it will be lethal. In real life I sometimes don't mind a little rain. (I live in England, you gotta get used to it). In Faerun, I run for a cave or inn the moment I see a drizzle starting.
There is so many spells that i love : - level 1 magic missile (come on guys, chromatic orb is fun when the enemy fails the save, but 95% of the time, a magic missile is much better) : useful from the begining of BG1 until the end of TOB (ok i am exaggerating a little) - level 2 : web. Insanely powerful when you play solo and have a free action ring. Cast 2-3 of these and nobody can move. Proceed then to kill them with whatever you want (spiders are nice for that) - Level 3 MMM : I cannot understand people that do not use that spell. Late game it is not that useful (thaco is to bad) but early game it turns your mage into the best archer and allows you to tackle some tough ennemies very early on - Level 4 : stoneskin. I have it active all the time (as anyone i guess) - Level 5 : animate dead. level 15 is one the most important breakpoint for an spell caster. From that point, you can just summon 2-3 skellies and shred most monsters to pieces without breaking a sweat - Level 6 : death spell. Umber hulks, mind flayers,... - Level 7 : project image. I hate resting. With project image you almost never have to. - Level 8 : horrid witling : once you get it, the game is almost over - Level 9 : time stop : now, the game is over
This is the spell you cast as a giant middle finger to the rest of the world and it's the way every wizard should die.
I can see it now... a fighter and a thief sitting around at a tavern alone, half-drank mugs of ale on the bartop. The thief lets out a sigh and reaches for another sip. He lets the golden-brown liquid flow slowly down his throat, and without a sound he lets the mug come to rest on the table again. The bartender silently dries a mug at the opposite end of the bar. The fighter looks up, tears in his eyes, and breaks the silence.
"Well... it's how he always wanted to go."
The thief turns his head in disgust.
"What the hell man, he was fried by 10 million volts of electricity. He went into cardiac arrest. He was literally having seizures."
The fighter takes a big gulp of ale and loudly exhales.
I'm joining the chromatic orb-loving party. It's almost too good a spell. In one of my games, Imoen was the official dragon killer. Pop a Greater Malison, a Doom from Jaheira (don't know how much that spell contributed, but it seemed like a good idea), and Chromatic Orb insta-killed dragons. It was almost too easy.
Bah! He asked for *irrational* love, yet all I see is "I love this spell because it is powerful"!
So far the only relevant post was my completely idiotic view of stone to flesh and the Antichickenator (with large fries and a diet coke) by @Coutelier !!!!!!
On Chromatic orb : If i make no mistake : - doom + greater malison yields a -6 penalty to saves - Chromatic orb gives a +6 penalty to save
Therefore the dragon (or anything else) would have to roll a normal save. I don't know how much is the save of a dragon but i doubt it is much higher than 3-4. Therefore, unless you get very lucky, you just wasted 2 rounds of casting for nothing.
Feel free to correct me if i am wrong (i am not 100% sure of the facts)
On Chromatic orb : If i make no mistake : - doom + greater malison yields a -6 penalty to saves - Chromatic orb gives a +6 penalty to save
Therefore the dragon (or anything else) would have to roll a normal save. I don't know how much is the save of a dragon but i doubt it is much higher than 3-4. Therefore, unless you get very lucky, you just wasted 2 rounds of casting for nothing.
Feel free to correct me if i am wrong (i am not 100% sure of the facts)
The four SoA dragons have a Save vs. Spell of 6 (30% death chance) so it's not an unreliable tactic considering you've got 4-5 Chromatic Orbs to fling. Sometimes you'll strike out but you only need one character spamming Orbs, the others can still be fighting the dragon normally (unless it's a solo run).
I have a very odd, co-dependant relationship with Wondrous Recall: it requires me, otherwise it will go entirely unused by the community, and I require it because with Jaheira's Druid level progression stagnating for a long time in late SoA, Wondrous Recall provides me with extra Iron Skins, Mass Cures, and Insect Plagues, rather than giving me a Physical Mirror or a Conjure Bears. Being able to cast 2 extra Level 5 spells seems more valuable than one cast of the rather unremarkable set of spells Druids get at Level 6, with the exception perhaps of Heal, and certainly with the exception of Harm come ToB.
In addition: Totally agree with @nano because I definitely need to get braver in using Lightning Bolt. It's one of the perfect Mage spells. Doesn't it seem as though anytime the enemy uses it though it always seems to perfect manage to pile up on 2 or 3 party members, yet when you use it you nail a hobgoblin and then it just wanders off? :P
Yeah, Lightning Bolt totally wanders around with its undies on its head.
If Death Spell is Edwin, Lightning Bolt is definitely Xzar...
I would have said the opposite...
Emotion: Hopelessness is ALL about Xan (obvious reasons) Skull Trap is for Xzar (I feel like he keeps a bunch of skulls in his pack for... experiments) Fireball for Dynaheir (fiery, confident personality) Cloudkill for Edwin (the pure asshole spell) Invisibility for Imoen (fits with the thief) Identify for Quayle (since he's so smart... plus he has glasses) Lighting Bolt for Eldoth (the character who just screams "I don't give a F^%*" more than anyone else) Infravision for Garrick (he thinks its really useful)
From the high level spells I have to go for Timestop. Cz I am a sucker for time related spells. As a child I used to play second edition rules with an unofficial book that added a Time Domainl of Magic.
I am partial to finger of death on my necromancer. I just love the concept of pointing your finger at someone and shooting them full of red electricity that kills them.
Snillocs snowball swarm is a cool spell I think it is much more fun to use than fireball even if it is less effective.
Black Blade of Disaster. That spell is not the best, even if it has it uses (killing some immune ennemies with the level drain / Backstabbing) but it is so damn cool.
You summon your own blade of pure dark destruction to slain your ennemies, so badass.
Just a thought on this topic. Isn't all love Irrational by it's very nature? If it were rational it wouldn't have the passion or the fire of Love.
Oh, and Magic Missile is my go to favorite. It's a good solid spell at any level, but there are times when I will cast it instead of something more substantial that would do the trick better.
one of my favourites is hold monster, back in vanilla it could affect ANYONE ( unless they had a specific immunity likes dragons) and it even affected undead as well, that -2 penalty to the save really helps, and even in bg2ee i still like using it ( it doesnt affect undead anymore) and this spell still rocks, but when it comes to irrationality, back when i first played bg1 in the 90s, i had a hell of a time finding magical weapons so i used spells like magic stone to kill enemies immune to magic weapons, ah good times those
I actually have an irrational love for haste. I used to cast it just so my characters can run around faster and then rest because I am impatient. Now I just cluaconsole in some boots of speed
@booinoyureyes Sphere of Chaos for me and Prismatic Spray for Neera. Besides Ice Storm for Sarevok (FEEL ITS ICY BREATH!) since that spell is killer in low levels SoA, throw one, lock the door (and your enemies will be able to sing "ALL DEAD, ALL DEAD" with Freddy Mercury).
@crevsdaak its funny, I've run into multiple posts in which you try to summon me but you always spell my name wrong You better watch out, if you make an error in your summoning spell you might end up gating in a demon. Boolor or a Galbreboo :O
Since I'm an Invoker/Evoker at heart, I'm going to go with:
Level 1: Magic Missile, although Chromatic Orb is close Level 2: Web PERIOD (Agannazar's scorcher is my distant second) Level 3: I love Fireball and Lightning Bolt here Level 4: Ice Storm even though I rarely find a time to use it Level 5: Cloudkill is fun, Sunfire as well, although its usually a last ditch spell Level 6: Chain lightning
Oh heck pretty much if it is an evocation spell, I love it.
Comments
The source of this psychological trauma was due to:
1) The first time I used a Wand of Lightning. It a crypt with an ettercap and a Web trap. My party stumbled in and immediately got trapped by Web, which was distressing enough, as they started to get shredded by the ettercap one at a time. In desperation, in the moment that Charname was free of Web, with Khalid already down, and Jaheira about to succumb, he decided to try the Wand in his hand and zap the monstrosity into oblivion. The lightning rebounded around the small confined crypt multiple times... it killed the ettercap, but also fried Charname and the entire party.
2) When it rains in Faerun, there will be Lightning, and it will be lethal. In real life I sometimes don't mind a little rain. (I live in England, you gotta get used to it). In Faerun, I run for a cave or inn the moment I see a drizzle starting.
- level 1 magic missile (come on guys, chromatic orb is fun when the enemy fails the save, but 95% of the time, a magic missile is much better) : useful from the begining of BG1 until the end of TOB (ok i am exaggerating a little)
- level 2 : web. Insanely powerful when you play solo and have a free action ring. Cast 2-3 of these and nobody can move. Proceed then to kill them with whatever you want (spiders are nice for that)
- Level 3 MMM : I cannot understand people that do not use that spell. Late game it is not that useful (thaco is to bad) but early game it turns your mage into the best archer and allows you to tackle some tough ennemies very early on
- Level 4 : stoneskin. I have it active all the time (as anyone i guess)
- Level 5 : animate dead. level 15 is one the most important breakpoint for an spell caster. From that point, you can just summon 2-3 skellies and shred most monsters to pieces without breaking a sweat
- Level 6 : death spell. Umber hulks, mind flayers,...
- Level 7 : project image. I hate resting. With project image you almost never have to.
- Level 8 : horrid witling : once you get it, the game is almost over
- Level 9 : time stop : now, the game is over
"Well... it's how he always wanted to go."
The thief turns his head in disgust.
"What the hell man, he was fried by 10 million volts of electricity. He went into cardiac arrest. He was literally having seizures."
The fighter takes a big gulp of ale and loudly exhales.
"Yeah..."
So far the only relevant post was my completely idiotic view of stone to flesh and the Antichickenator (with large fries and a diet coke) by @Coutelier !!!!!!
On Chromatic orb :
If i make no mistake :
- doom + greater malison yields a -6 penalty to saves
- Chromatic orb gives a +6 penalty to save
Therefore the dragon (or anything else) would have to roll a normal save. I don't know how much is the save of a dragon but i doubt it is much higher than 3-4. Therefore, unless you get very lucky, you just wasted 2 rounds of casting for nothing.
Feel free to correct me if i am wrong (i am not 100% sure of the facts)
Damn they have bad saving throws...
In addition: Totally agree with @nano because I definitely need to get braver in using Lightning Bolt. It's one of the perfect Mage spells. Doesn't it seem as though anytime the enemy uses it though it always seems to perfect manage to pile up on 2 or 3 party members, yet when you use it you nail a hobgoblin and then it just wanders off? :P
If Death Spell is Edwin, Lightning Bolt is definitely Xzar...
Emotion: Hopelessness is ALL about Xan (obvious reasons)
Skull Trap is for Xzar (I feel like he keeps a bunch of skulls in his pack for... experiments)
Fireball for Dynaheir (fiery, confident personality)
Cloudkill for Edwin (the pure asshole spell)
Invisibility for Imoen (fits with the thief)
Identify for Quayle (since he's so smart... plus he has glasses)
Lighting Bolt for Eldoth (the character who just screams "I don't give a F^%*" more than anyone else)
Infravision for Garrick (he thinks its really useful)
From the high level spells I have to go for Timestop. Cz I am a sucker for time related spells. As a child I used to play second edition rules with an unofficial book that added a Time Domainl of Magic.
Snillocs snowball swarm is a cool spell I think it is much more fun to use than fireball even if it is less effective.
You summon your own blade of pure dark destruction to slain your ennemies, so badass.
Oh, and Magic Missile is my go to favorite. It's a good solid spell at any level, but there are times when I will cast it instead of something more substantial that would do the trick better.
Now if we can find a yellow, pink and black...
Besides Ice Storm for Sarevok (FEEL ITS ICY BREATH!) since that spell is killer in low levels SoA, throw one, lock the door (and your enemies will be able to sing "ALL DEAD, ALL DEAD" with Freddy Mercury).
Sarevok: Face ME! FACE THE NEW LORD OF MURDE-holycrapthatisalotofgnolls
CHARNAME: Yep. By the way, that magic resistance doesn't work against Magic Missile, right?
Sarevok:...I'm not sure I want to have this fight anymore.
Level 1: Magic Missile, although Chromatic Orb is close
Level 2: Web PERIOD (Agannazar's scorcher is my distant second)
Level 3: I love Fireball and Lightning Bolt here
Level 4: Ice Storm even though I rarely find a time to use it
Level 5: Cloudkill is fun, Sunfire as well, although its usually a last ditch spell
Level 6: Chain lightning
Oh heck pretty much if it is an evocation spell, I love it.
Btw I just finished the Cold Days earlier. Now I'm stuck waiting till May like the rest of you dresdin lovers