I can confirm that with Mode 2 of the item randomizer mod, a lot of store-exclusive items will also be randomized, this is more likely if you choose to shuffle items that are being used by other mods.
(Key words: more likely.)
As for advice for SCS, be prepared to start using spells you never thought useful before! For myself, that was spells like Doom, Command and Charm Person (especially from
lord foreshadow's ring
, if you use the NPC project which I highly recommend).
(This is mostly from a solo perspective, but should mostly apply to partly play, I think.)
One point I haven't seen made forcefully enough, I think, is: WANDS WANDS WANDS. There has been mention of the Wand of Summoning (in those linked-to threads), but even better than that IMO is the Wand of Paralysis(*). The thing that most people don't take into account is that enemies mostly obey the same rules that you do (esp. in BG1 and early BG2), so their saves are going to be roughly equivalent. Guess which type of character has lousy saves vs. Wand: Fighters. That means that, for example, Drasus falls very easily to the Wand of Paralysis. Same goes for Melium, Greywolf and numerous other fighter types. Of course you may get unlucky and their first move will be to quaff a Potion of Freedom... but in that case you can gain another advantage: You can quaff a Potion of Speed and outrun them and pelt them with missile weapons. (If you have a party, just make sure your party is well away so that they don't get targeted by the fighter-in-question.)
Btw, for no-reload purposes "designated-wand-wielder" is also a great role for a Wild Mage... since wands aren't subject to wild surges and cast as level 10, i.e. higher than your mage is going to be during BG1.
(*) I refuse to call it "Paralyzation". Seriously?
EDIT: Oh, and a little side note wrt. saves: Mages have terrible saves vs. Death generally, so Stinking Cloud may prove surprisingly effective. Especially if you have a few of them stashed away in sequencers...
I loved my wands:) Got a lucky fear off on daevorn (cloakwood guy?) from neeras wand, fight was suddenly a walk in the park. Wand of summoning makes great distractions.. And we all know how cheesy wand of fire can be at sarevok
Always have an invisibility spell/potion memorized for your mages , as they will usually be targeted by most enemies .
Also, this spell/potion is 100% needed for travelling between areas because the moment you're waylaid by a group of bounty hunters with instant casting of hold/horror towards your party the only way to save your character (if not the whole party, at least the charname) is to use an invisibility spell/potion.
Comments
I can confirm that with Mode 2 of the item randomizer mod, a lot of store-exclusive items will also be randomized, this is more likely if you choose to shuffle items that are being used by other mods.
(Key words: more likely.)
As for advice for SCS, be prepared to start using spells you never thought useful before! For myself, that was spells like Doom, Command and Charm Person (especially from
One point I haven't seen made forcefully enough, I think, is: WANDS WANDS WANDS. There has been mention of the Wand of Summoning (in those linked-to threads), but even better than that IMO is the Wand of Paralysis(*). The thing that most people don't take into account is that enemies mostly obey the same rules that you do (esp. in BG1 and early BG2), so their saves are going to be roughly equivalent. Guess which type of character has lousy saves vs. Wand: Fighters. That means that, for example, Drasus falls very easily to the Wand of Paralysis. Same goes for Melium, Greywolf and numerous other fighter types. Of course you may get unlucky and their first move will be to quaff a Potion of Freedom... but in that case you can gain another advantage: You can quaff a Potion of Speed and outrun them and pelt them with missile weapons. (If you have a party, just make sure your party is well away so that they don't get targeted by the fighter-in-question.)
Btw, for no-reload purposes "designated-wand-wielder" is also a great role for a Wild Mage... since wands aren't subject to wild surges and cast as level 10, i.e. higher than your mage is going to be during BG1.
(*) I refuse to call it "Paralyzation". Seriously?
EDIT: Oh, and a little side note wrt. saves: Mages have terrible saves vs. Death generally, so Stinking Cloud may prove surprisingly effective. Especially if you have a few of them stashed away in sequencers...