What is your favorite mage class for protagonist, and why?

Demonoid_Limewire

I want to know, if you create an arcane spellcaster for main character, what class or combination of classes you give to it! Also, please give out some more details, as to what race you choose (and why), at what level you dual (and why it is a good idea to choose that level), and so on!

Skaffen

Sorcerer - perfect for the lazy & always prepared.

Silverstar

Sorcerer! More spesifically, (Red) Dragon Disciple.

A smaller spell selection works just fine for me and being able to use whichever spell fits the situation is great. It also makes level drain much less annoying (up until the point you get Amulet of Power and it ceases to be an issue anyway) and there's no need to lug Potions of Genius around to learn more spells. Also saves me tons of scroll money.

I choose human because, well, I'm human, elves are tree-hugging pansies and half-elves use the elf model. I suppose I could use EE Keeper to change the latter but it's much more convenient just picking human.

O_Bruce

Just mage. No specialisation. A very versirable class. It's not as powerful as the Wild Mage, but a mage without a control over his/her own power it's not really my thing. And I dislike Sorcerors for being lazy asses who relly on innate talent rather than studies and practice.

Lesse

Sorceror.

After playing them in NWN 1 and 2, I made one in the Enhanced Editions too. I'm surprised it wasn't an option here

Silverstar

Lesse said:

I'm surprised it wasn't an option here

Well technically it does say Mages rather than Wizards; wizards being the category mages, specialist mages and bards shared in AD&D, and Sorcerers starting with BGII. Maybe Demonoid_Limewire only had "proper" mages in mind and worded it that way spesifically. *shrug*

Lesse

...That would make a lot of sense lol. Oh well, I prefer sorcerors to wizards in later games, and haven't played mages as much. Just love 'em

element

I use wild mages and general mages about the same I like both

jackjack

No Bard option?

CrevsDaak

Mage/Thief are the class with the best utility in the game, only because Mage/Cleric/Thief isn't an option.
They might cause problem in battle, well, I can say that Swashbuckler->Mage is very powerful too, maybe in ToB it doesn't make a difference but it is a very good combo in BG1 and in SoA.

elminster

Fighter/Illusionist gnome. Just because its a fun character to play.

KidCarnival

Either bard, with a slight preference for Jester, or vanilla sorcerer.

Bard because in BG1, the jester song is just way too much fun, and I like playing a utility character. I often play (kitted) thieves, too. As a bard, I can try out many weapons that mages can't use, so it's very versatile. Even more so on higher levels with Use Any Item. I also like the flavor of the class; it makes sense for charname. Someone who grew up in a library knows many tales and legends, picked up a few skills from a guard here, a few spells from a mage there and turns out to be a jack of all trades with high lore.

Sorcerer for Black Pits, to save gold for scrolls.

Silverstar

KidCarnival said:

Someone who grew up in a library knows many tales and legends, picked up a few skills from a guard here, a few spells from a mage there and turns out to be a jack of all trades with high lore.

That makes a lot of sense.

Flashburn

Specifically Fighter/Illusionist. Shorties rock.

Demonoid_Limewire

No one as of yet mentioned the Kensai mage, Berserker mage? I see someone already said Swashbuckler Mage... Popular choices not too popular 'round these parts?!? :O

ChildofBhaal599

meh I dislike playing mages, that simple. I will get some mage NPCs for the arcane power, but my charname will not be a mage. wanted to see results though I guess. I just hate the roleplaying of it

HerrderGezeiten

Heal, Raise Dead, Protection from,....

The power to prevent you friends from fading away is ... addictive.

And the wisdom to wish is nice.

Combos and it get`s real crazy.
-> Wondrous Recall worked on Archane the last time i tested.

TheElf

Currently running a priest of talos dualed after getting 6th lvl spells. Maybe not as good a multi, but I can't resist the kits. Probably play plain mage most.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Nonnahswriter

If we're talking about the "canon" of the protagonist, I'd have to go with fighter/mage. Either dualed human, or my personal favorite, elven multi-class.

My other favorite renditions are the sorcerer and mage/cleric.

Caradoc

Actually one of my alltime favourite character builds is fighter-mage. There is no really anything he can't do. You simply can't go wrong creating elven fighter-mage dual wielding longswords.

If I had not picked the fighter-mage, i'd have voted the sorceror.

Third option would be likely cleric-mage.

Lemernis

Multiclass Fighter/Mage gets my vote because you get the thrill of melee and spellcasting, both, without the bother of dual-classing downtime to get original class skills back. Next most favorite for me is generalist mage.

Twani

Sorcerers!

Fun class to play.

Necomancer

I'm surprised Wild Mage got so few votes. I usually play a sorcerer, but thats because I like a sorcerer's method of casting better then a mage's. Honestly, if they made a wild mage variant of the sorcerer I would immediately make a character and proceed to turn into a squirrel every 5 seconds.

Quartz

ZelgadisGW said:

Just mage. No specialisation. A very versirable class. It's not as powerful as the Wild Mage, but a mage without a control over his/her own power it's not really my thing. And I dislike Sorcerors for being lazy asses who relly on innate talent rather than studies and practice.

Aye. With Wild Mage, the extra spells you get are going to outweigh the number of times Wild Magic fizzles your spell, but honestly it seems like whenever it *does* come into play, it's at the worst possible time. Haha :P

SethDavis

modify the summoning 2da for a summon limit of 20, mass raise dead and animal summoning, win game... or crash....

Thrasymachus

I'll take a specialist mage, either an invoker or an illusionist. And a human so that my PC will have the nicely trimmed beard and fashionable robes.

Not the most 'powerful' option, but the one I think makes the most RP sense, having been Gorion's ward and all (and certainly not a 'weak' option).

I like the mage/thief (either multi- or dual-), and the mage/fighter (multi-class) options as well. Wild mages are fun, but a tad too unpredictable for my tastes.

I dislike sorcerers, as I don't think they make any sense (they know spells 'innately', yet those spells exactly resemble mage spells; and they somehow can use scrolls too, despite not 'learning' magic, and all the same magic items…). Sure they're powerful, but … bleah.

Quartz

Mage/Thief or Illusionist/Thief because anything else bores me. I like to have a PC who I'm invested in constantly, or else I just feel like re-rolling and starting over, LOL.

Even Fighter/Mage -- can't do it, it feels wrong somehow. Probably because it's like; armor, no armor?! augh!!

Awong124

I usually don't prefer playing mages (just not really interested in that style of play), but if I do I like to dual from Swashbuckler level 10 to Mage. Bonus 2AC from level 10 Swash, proficient in single weapon style for another bonus 1AC, specialize in katana to use Dak'kon's Zerth Blade for another bonus 1AC and bonus spells.

Kaltzor

I feel that A Necromancer is storywise the most fitting kind of mage for the Bhaalspawn...

Silverstar

Thrasymachus said:

I dislike sorcerers, as I don't think they make any sense (they know spells 'innately', yet those spells exactly resemble mage spells; and they somehow can use scrolls too, despite not 'learning' magic, and all the same magic items…). Sure they're powerful, but … bleah.

I think the idea that Sorcerers doesn't spend any time studying magic is a common and terrible misconception. Just because they don't have to to the same degree as other wizards doesn't mean they don't study at all. The games even suggest Sorcerers still have/choose to study to some degree:

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions biography said:

Inspired by your foster father's knowledge of the magical arts, you took steps to duplicate his abilities. Uninterested in a structured study of magic, you chose instead to harness raw magic and use it how you saw fit. Gorion was kind enough to give pointers here and there, but was never entirely comfortable with your reckless approach to magic. After years of practice, you now feel that you are a capable sorcerer, but could be so much more if you were to travel the realms in search of greater knowledge.

In 3E they get the Simple Weapons proficiency since they get to skip the time spent on mental training or memorization to cast spells but if they didn't need to spend any time on their spellcasting at all they probably would have had Martial Weapons thrown in as well no? Surely they still have to figure out just exactly -how- to shape and manipulate the pure magical energy before it does anything useful.

Personally I like the "less studying, more pew pew" mentality to a certain degree and roleplay that by not picking "named" spells (Melf's, Otiluke's, Larloch's etc.) as I imagine those are especially studious ones but also due to the idea that when you're casting spells you're casting them your way. I have trouble imagining that there's only one way to cast evocation, enchantment and illusion spells in particular though I agree it makes sense that say conjuration spells, which pulls spesific creatures from spesific planes, requires a bit of study. Not being able to yank a fire elemental from the fire plane and dominate its mind by pure knowhow shouldn't exclude the ability of forming a blob of fire and sending that on its merry way into a crowd though.