I've often wondered what the game would play like had Sarevok not found Gorion outside the walls of Candlekeep. Imagine Gorion and Charname solving the kobold mines, bandit camp, cloakwood, and baldur's gate together.
I've often wondered what the game would play like had Sarevok not found Gorion outside the walls of Candlekeep. Imagine Gorion and Charname solving the kobold mines, bandit camp, cloakwood, and baldur's gate together.
Would be a cool mod.
Want. Mind you, it'd be akward if he followed normal NPC rules. That is to say, is level 1 like you.
Definitely NOT the necromancer PC I just made. For funzies I made the char in ToB then exported him to SoA. Didn't notice that with 12 con at level 16/2.5m XP he has just 27(!) hp. I thought Neera was wimpy, but damn that is some amazingly bad rolling.
It's actually not that terrible for rolling. The average would be 29.5, so it's only a little below that.
Mages really don't get many hitpoints!
That's interesting. I say interesting because every enemy mage seems to have about 80+ hp. Cheats!
As some others have pointed out, the single most powerful non-deity spellcaster would have to be The Srinshee. I believe Ed Greenwood himself gave some "unofficial" 3.0 edition stats for her, and she would be 54+ level caster, thus surpassing both Larloch and Iolaum (as far as my knowledge goes). Of course, as the editions change, the respective levels and stats of the characters change as well, so, it also depends on the edition whose power surpasses whose.
I feel like I am kinda monopolizing this thread and I apologize to everybody, especially @TethorilofLathander. But I like it a lot! I have found this "recent" discussion on Candlekeep.com. Similarly to here, they asked who was the greatest mage that ever lived. Ioulaum and the Srinshee were among the options, as was mortal Azuth. Although much discussion was made on the Karsus-Mystryl situation, Ioulaum won over Karsus.
They bring up the Sojourner, which is another fine point. The Sojourner was powerful enough to not only summon, but imprison planetars and use their bodies to feed his purposes. He created his own plane.
However, Cale and Riven after fighting Kesson Rel state "He's more powerful than the Sojourner." Of course, Rel was not a mage, but a lesser deity.
Yep, he wanted her to have "staggering spellcasting powers" and definitely pointed out that she should be more powerful than Larloch.
It's obvious though that he isn't that proficient with game mechanics, otherwise he would've thought about giving her the Elven High Mage prc and wouldn't write something as funny as Archmage 9
The take on Srinshee you posted - I like it. She is at reasonable level (assuming one ignores those funny Larloch 'the ULTRA-LICH' builds where he has 46 or more levels)
I'm still torn between her and Ioulaum though. Io has 41 levels of spellcasting class and is both a lich and Elder Brain (with it's own powers and abilities) which raises his CR much above Srinshee.
It's also difficult to compare what Greenwood said to what WoTC said. One could say that his take on Srinshee is more powerful in levels than Ioulaum but we haven't seen his take on Ioulaum. Considering his take on Larloch was also different than that in the sourcebooks, we can't really compare.
The Simbul is THE most powerful mage in the Forgotten Realms during the timeline of the Baldur's Gate saga, and even in the aftermath of Mystra's third death in 1385 DR she is still more powerful than any if the other names (and no names) in this poll..
"The Simbul (whose birth name, Alassra, is known only to her few closest allies) rules Aglarond as its Witch-Queen. She is the most powerful wielder of arcane magic in Faerûn, a sorcerer of such unfettered strength that she has single-handedly preserved her realm against the Red Wizards of Thay for generations." -Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 3rd edition
@Darkstar_Aurora I don't know how this passage made it to the campaign setting but it is widely considered as simply exaggerated. Not only did the WotC fail to take into accounts beings several times older than her (Ioulaum, Srinshee) with accomplishments in magic that none so far could dwarf, they also failed to deliver stat-wise.
Someone in WotC should be slapped for that - if I claim to create THE most powerful spellcaster, I don't make him weaker than, say, Elminster or Larloch. And here? Not only is she weaker than both of them from the Campaign Setting but the difference is also visible in the Epic Level Handbook. It's not rocket science to deduce that someone's imagination got the better of them.
I chose Irenicus because of his incredible display when you first leave his dungeon in Waukeen's Promenade. Also what he did to my party in the first battle with him.
Comments
Would be a cool mod.
As some others have pointed out, the single most powerful non-deity spellcaster would have to be The Srinshee. I believe Ed Greenwood himself gave some "unofficial" 3.0 edition stats for her, and she would be 54+ level caster, thus surpassing both Larloch and Iolaum (as far as my knowledge goes). Of course, as the editions change, the respective levels and stats of the characters change as well, so, it also depends on the edition whose power surpasses whose.
I have found this "recent" discussion on Candlekeep.com. Similarly to here, they asked who was the greatest mage that ever lived. Ioulaum and the Srinshee were among the options, as was mortal Azuth. Although much discussion was made on the Karsus-Mystryl situation, Ioulaum won over Karsus.
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15016&results=1
I have also found an interesting take on the Srinshee posted by a user on the wizards board. Here's the link:
http://community.wizards.com/forum/forgotten-realms/threads/2139886
On the other hand, in this discussion: http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/ioulaum-forgotten-realms-vs-the-sojourner-fr.215611/
there's a user that posted an interesting comment: "The Srinshee was statted by Ed as a level 54: Wizard29/Sorcerer16/Archmage9". If these stats are correct, then she might definitely be the most powerful mage on Faerun.
Excuse my repetitive posting...
However, Cale and Riven after fighting Kesson Rel state "He's more powerful than the Sojourner." Of course, Rel was not a mage, but a lesser deity.
All very interesting.
It's obvious though that he isn't that proficient with game mechanics, otherwise he would've thought about giving her the Elven High Mage prc and wouldn't write something as funny as Archmage 9
The take on Srinshee you posted - I like it. She is at reasonable level (assuming one ignores those funny Larloch 'the ULTRA-LICH' builds where he has 46 or more levels)
I'm still torn between her and Ioulaum though. Io has 41 levels of spellcasting class and is both a lich and Elder Brain (with it's own powers and abilities) which raises his CR much above Srinshee.
It's also difficult to compare what Greenwood said to what WoTC said. One could say that his take on Srinshee is more powerful in levels than Ioulaum but we haven't seen his take on Ioulaum. Considering his take on Larloch was also different than that in the sourcebooks, we can't really compare.
"The Simbul (whose birth name, Alassra, is known only to her few closest allies) rules Aglarond as its Witch-Queen. She is the most powerful wielder of arcane magic in Faerûn, a sorcerer of such unfettered strength that she has single-handedly preserved her realm against the Red Wizards of Thay for generations."
-Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 3rd edition
Someone in WotC should be slapped for that - if I claim to create THE most powerful spellcaster, I don't make him weaker than, say, Elminster or Larloch. And here? Not only is she weaker than both of them from the Campaign Setting but the difference is also visible in the Epic Level Handbook. It's not rocket science to deduce that someone's imagination got the better of them.
(I quite liked the novels...)
Permanent spell turning that turns every spell cast against him.
Army of 60+ lichs
Two dozen Ioun stones
It doesn't get much better than that (it probably does, but not much)
Edit: Baldur's Wiki has Gorion listed as a monk, not a mage. I guess he just happens to have magical capability...
Also, if you dont support Shar, she'll tell Viconia to lead you on, right @SharGuidesMyHand ?