'Worst' mage specialization school.
SionIV
Member Posts: 2,689
So i'm thinking about making a half-elf F/M and would like to find out what people see as the 'worst' mage specialization. The reason i have for this is that i'm finding myself using the same spells on most of my mages and would like to pick a specialization that will lock me out of the most 'used' spells. The only specialization i won't play is abjurer because i won't give up on my sequencers and spell triggers in BG2.
I want to RP him and prevent too much power gaming so his stats will reflect the specialization he takes.
Here is an example of a Diviner but while i love the whole idea of the Diviner, i don't feel that losing out on Conjuration would be that big of a deal.
Half-Elf
F/M
Diviner
STR - 15
DEX - 18
CON - 13
INT - 18
WIS - 17
CHA - 11
So which specialization do you think is the 'worst' one in the game? Which do you feel would force you to use completely different spells from the ones you're used to playing with?
[Edited] : Wrote wrong and should have written Enchanter instead of Abjurer.
I want to RP him and prevent too much power gaming so his stats will reflect the specialization he takes.
Here is an example of a Diviner but while i love the whole idea of the Diviner, i don't feel that losing out on Conjuration would be that big of a deal.
Half-Elf
F/M
Diviner
STR - 15
DEX - 18
CON - 13
INT - 18
WIS - 17
CHA - 11
So which specialization do you think is the 'worst' one in the game? Which do you feel would force you to use completely different spells from the ones you're used to playing with?
[Edited] : Wrote wrong and should have written Enchanter instead of Abjurer.
Post edited by SionIV on
3
Comments
Enchanters are also pretty weak in BG2, and Illusionists miss some great spells for late/mid game.
IIRC, Enchanters are the ones who can't use Sequencers, since, IIRC, Contingencies are from two different schools.
Being an Abjurer, and therefore losing Alteration spells, would preclude the wonderful Stoneskin spell. However, the sequencers and triggers (and contingencies) are Invocation spells, so it's Enchanters who lose those, not Abjurers. So maybe you could try an Abjurer and try to survive without Stoneskin, that'll certainly make it tougher.
Alternatively, I find ADHW very useful at higher levels, which is Necromancy, as are several other powerful spells (Animate Dead, WotB, etc.) It's Illusionists who are forbidden from Necromancy, so maybe you could try that. (And in that case, you could play a Gnome instead of a Half-Elf and get a Fighter/Illusionist legally, without even having to resort to an editor!)
On the third hand (?!), a Transmuter loses Abjuration spells, which knocks out various defences and also knocks out Dispel Magic and Remove Magic. I'd find that might be really crippling to a Mage, so I reckon a Transmuter might be the weakest. But as I said in the first place, what you'll miss most depends upon how you most often use a mage, which we don't know.
The reason for the sequencers and contingencies is because i'm playing no-reload games. Having those is like having a backup plan to get me out of rough situations, especially when up against enemies in melee. And while i used them a lot in BG2, it's not so much them as the spells i'm using IN them.
BGEE: Invoker. Sleep is an awesome spell and while you can get a wand for it the spell is much better (and frankly given its a save or nothing spell a penalty to their saving throw against it is very handy in a no-reload run). The two big spells you miss out on that I can think of are Minor Sequencer and Cloudkill (since you can get a wand of fire for fireball/scorcher), but I kind of view it as being worth it.
BG2EE: A non-gnome illusionist (with the illusionist you miss out on some really good spells and the saving throw bonus you get against illusion spells isn't all that useful) otherwise for a no-reload challenge I'd probably go with a conjurer.
Obviously particularly around levels 4 and 6 the conjurer gets a bunch of good conjuration spells, but if you got to max level in BGEE then you should at least have a few Animate Dead spells available. Plus you can create a bunch of different summons from using figurines. Mordenkainen's Sword and Animate Dead however are not conjuration spells, so even a Diviner can use them. The conjurer however missing out on Farsight (there are a few encounters where this is better to use than Wizard Eye), Wizard Eye, and True Sight (which he can make up for with items). I consider Wizard Eye to be a particularly big loss because I figure in a no-reload run scouting is probably fairly important.
- Solo vs. with a party of __ ?
- for the entire saga? Just BGEE? Just BG2EE?
- how much adherence to the specialization school?
- no reload? minimal reload? reload at will?
- no-metagaming?
Re: the degree of running with specialization, let's say that you set a rule that the character must fill more than half of his spell slots (total, for the entire book) with specialization school spells, and at least half the slots for each spell level must be from the specialization school.
That would make soloing really tough. And if you're soloing, then losing Conjuration as a Diviner is a pretty major loss (that said, I can't recall what BG2 SCS enemy spellcasters do to counter summoned creatures).
Which takes me to: Only in BG2 were Mages elevated to playing a game of spell defence chess, which (while being nothing too visually entertaining) were just wonderful! If your Mage can't do it, no one can. Except Keldorn, but he's got a wife and kids most of the time.
From personal experience I'm inclined to agree with @recklessheart: I find the Abjuration spells the most useful, at least in BG2, which would make specialists prohibited from casting those spells, i.e. Transmuters, the hardest to play for me (supposing there won't be two more mages casting Abjuration spells for me all the time).
1.)
Blind
Sleep
Magic Missile
Find Familiar
Friends
Protection from Evil
Sleep
2.)
Blur
Glitterdust
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Melf's Acid Arrow
Web
Strength
3.)
Flame Arrow
Haste
Melf's Minute Meteors
Protection from Fire
Remove Magic
Skulltrap
4.)
Confusion
Enchanted Weapon
Fireshield Blue/Red
Greater Malison
Improved Invisibility
Minor Globe of Invulnerability
Minor Sequencer
Polymorph Self
Stoneskin
The plan was to mostly run solo with him, it's a no-reload and i'm not sure yet if i'll play with improved mages (SCS) or not. He's a F/M so he'll be in close combat himself instead of standing safely behind a group.
So maybe Abjurer or Necromancer for you?
Diviner
Abjurer
Transmuter
Enchanter (I could always cheat in the sequencers...)
[Edited] : Anyone know how it works with spells that are part of two schools?
Fireshield - Alteration, Evocation.
Wish - Conjuration, Evocation.
Does that mean that an Abjurer and Enchanter can't use Fireshield? And a Diviner and Enchanter can't use Wish?
I'd recommend you to create an Enchanter and edit Fireshield and Wish into your inventory, see if they're usable or not. Or wait for a sage like @elminster to answer this specific question.
Edit: Both Fire Shields are from Evocation/Invocation, so you can't use them as an Enchanter.
Half Elf - Because Elf doesn't make sense from a RP perspective.
Lawful Neutral - Fits very well in with candlekeep and the strict rules they have there.
Fighter - Many guards around Candlekeep that could/would train Gorians ward.
Mage - Gorian is a mage and in my opinion CHARNAME makes the most sense being a mage or bard.
Diviner - We're in Candlekeep, so much lore in this place and many scribes that would teach you. He's also a follower of Oghma.
Thank you all for the help, i'll probably run a Transmuter and Enchanter the next time i'm playing a single class mage.
A vision/dream sounds a little more divine than arcane, perhaps. My guess is that if it was a tabletop game a DM would say use the spell.
I mean that said, I like premise, though, that the Diviner gets "flashes" like that that are sort of psychic (and could come in dreams, more shamanistically). The character is soon going to develop Bhaalspawn special abilities, so perhaps this could be one as well. (Why not?)