The Wonders of Grease
BelgarathMTH
Member Posts: 5,653
Hi, just wanted to share this.
Based on some advice about sorcerer spell picks here in the forum, I finally got around to trying the Grease spell with my IWD sorcerer.
Good grief, Grease is good.
I was such a hard sell on this spell, I've spent since 1998 on the EE games without ever trying it, always reading the spell description and saying "meh - I'll pass".
Grease has got to be one of the most under-used and underappreciated spells in the game.
Here's why it's so good: Even if creatures within its AoE make their save against falling down, they are still under the effects of the spell's slow movement. And, that slow movement is *really, really, really* slow. As in, the creatures within the Grease field might as well be Entangled for all intents and purposes.
I think now that Grease is even better than Entangle, because even if the enemies choose to stand there and cast spells or use ranged attacks, which they can do freely while Entangled, with a Grease spell, they still have to keep saving every round or fall down, interrupting spells or taking out a whole round's worth of ranged attacks.
I look forward to seeing if this spell is as effective in Baldur's Gate as it is in Icewind Dale. If so, I think that Grease is going to become a staple of my first level spell repertoire. I'm starting to think that Alveus Malcanter himself could become useful to a party using only the Grease spell.
EDIT: Apparently I was wrong about Grease causing "fall down" on a failed save. A successful save is supposed to completely negate the effects of the spell. But, my experience with the spell in practice is that it is much, much more effective than the spell description would lead one to believe. I assumed the "fall down" effect based on observed behavior in the game. I was testing against Icewind Dale lizardmen, who may just have very lousy saves. I'll keep testing. Judging by the amount of agreement I got based on this apparently mistaken post, a lot of other people have found that the Grease spell is much more effective than advertised, for whatever reason.
Based on some advice about sorcerer spell picks here in the forum, I finally got around to trying the Grease spell with my IWD sorcerer.
Good grief, Grease is good.
I was such a hard sell on this spell, I've spent since 1998 on the EE games without ever trying it, always reading the spell description and saying "meh - I'll pass".
Grease has got to be one of the most under-used and underappreciated spells in the game.
Here's why it's so good: Even if creatures within its AoE make their save against falling down, they are still under the effects of the spell's slow movement. And, that slow movement is *really, really, really* slow. As in, the creatures within the Grease field might as well be Entangled for all intents and purposes.
I think now that Grease is even better than Entangle, because even if the enemies choose to stand there and cast spells or use ranged attacks, which they can do freely while Entangled, with a Grease spell, they still have to keep saving every round or fall down, interrupting spells or taking out a whole round's worth of ranged attacks.
I look forward to seeing if this spell is as effective in Baldur's Gate as it is in Icewind Dale. If so, I think that Grease is going to become a staple of my first level spell repertoire. I'm starting to think that Alveus Malcanter himself could become useful to a party using only the Grease spell.
EDIT: Apparently I was wrong about Grease causing "fall down" on a failed save. A successful save is supposed to completely negate the effects of the spell. But, my experience with the spell in practice is that it is much, much more effective than the spell description would lead one to believe. I assumed the "fall down" effect based on observed behavior in the game. I was testing against Icewind Dale lizardmen, who may just have very lousy saves. I'll keep testing. Judging by the amount of agreement I got based on this apparently mistaken post, a lot of other people have found that the Grease spell is much more effective than advertised, for whatever reason.
Post edited by BelgarathMTH on
19
Comments
Some call it overkill. I call it tactical advantage. >:D
If the spell description is wrong, then no wonder the spell is underrated.
EDIT: When the enemies fail a save, they freeze in the Grease field, as though held by a Web. I'll keep testing. Maybe the lizardmen I was fighting when I came to this conclusion just have lousy saves or something. Or, perhaps their programmed AI has them prioritize getting out of the field over any other action. Somehow, though, it's much more effective than the spell description would lead one to believe.
However, the duration of the grease effect on a failed save is a bit weird, as once a member failed a save and greased, and then she succeded in the next round, she was still greased for a few seconds before breaking free. I guess the grease effect lasts slightly longer than a full round.
In bg it behaves exactly the same, but the area of effect is bigger and the save is easier to make. In the screenshot only Karan, the blue suited elf cleric, made the save and is seen fleeing the area quickly, while others have black grease animation under their feet, and are struggling to move.
And this is a first level spell. Of which my sorcerer can keep casting them almost all day. Heck, yeah!
Grease is the word!
Thanks so much for this inspiring thread, @BelgarathMTH . Again