Importance of items
Tresset
Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
This discussion was created from comments split from: 12 Bandit ambush.
1
Comments
I still think good archmagi robes are the lowest priority expensive item around. Almost all of the time it is sufficient to simply keep the wizard at the back of the party out of harms way. In the instances that he does get attacked like in an ambush you can have a single use of shield though bracers of defense+evasive items will keep him safe anyway.
If you compare the benefit of the AC for a character that shouldn't get attacked often anyway to buying an item like Dagger of Venom, Army Scythe or the Ring of Gaxx I just don't see any contest.
Higher priority than what? Your reasoning seems to be that if there is no other expensive item to buy and you your protagonist is a specific class and alignment combination (as no NPC is a FM and there are neutral and evil robes available) then the robes are good to buy ... Which is perfectly true.
The list of items that I'd prefer to buy first is quite long though and includes picks from Ulgoth's Beard, High Hedge, Beregost and even Nashkel.
And thieves are incredibly powerful in BG1 and not just for locks and traps (what other class can kill Drizzt at level 1 in an efficient method?).
I think to survive a bandit ambush one needs to run as fast as possible.
Claw - definitely, it's one of the best items in the game
Shadow Armour - definitely, it let's a thief with 0 points in stealth, well, stealth (when combined with boots)
Dagger of Venom - definitely, as above, any thief should be steal thing and backstabbing
Army Scythe - should have someone with this as heaps of good ammo
Large Shield +1 - (just to backup my mentioning of Nashkel)
Wands - because win
Greenstone Amulet
Cloak of Displacement
+3 Staff - don't always have someone that can use this but ...
Amulet of Protection +1
Composite Longbow +1
Necklace of Fireballs
Shield Amulet - perfect replacement for the robes in the short term
Probably the only expensive item that the Rones trump for me is the Sandthief Ring.
Perhaps it's a play style thing as well? 1 shield spell is plenty even though I only rarely rest as most of the time micromanagement and positioning is enough to keep the wizard out of harms way. In the event that he is targeted there are spells and consumables for those rare occurrences. A fighter/Mage for instance would usually stick to ranged weapons for most of BG1.
Another thing to consider is that if you are a wizard protagonist you would generally be better off with a neutral or evil alignment to maximise the use of the familiar.
Neutral Magi robe is pretty accessible with a wand of paralysation.
I also don't really like killing non-hostile NPCs just because I want their loot. That seems problematic to me unless I'm playing a remarkably homicidal character, in which case (ironically) I'm probably just taking the robe from Daevorn. But honestly, even if I am playing evil, I'm pretty inclined to just buy it. Even with the wand of paralysis, the amount of money involved is insubstantial quite quickly.
All in all, I honestly do find, quite often, that the Robes of the Archmagi are the most useful expensive item that isn't easily replaced by loot.
The list above is a mixed bag but generally offer some combination of:
- offensive power
- bonus AC for front line fighters
- missile defence
- immunity or significant bonuses to disablers
The AM robes on the other hand primarily offer AC for a character that shouldn't be attacked anyway.
The 4 points above can make a massive difference to what encounters the party can complete or what encounters will drain significant resources.
Consider that 12 Bandit Ambush. By the time you can afford the AM robes this encounter won't be a threat anymore but if instead the focus is on missile defense items like Cloak of Displacement, Claw and Shield Amulet then the encounter stops being a threat much sooner (especially when combined with looted items like Boots of Avoidance and Elfs Bane).
Other encounters are similar. The sooner that you can take on the Sirines and Flesh Golems, Ankhegs or Durlags Tower the sooner that you get the powerful items associated with the encounters and the main determinant of a parties success in these encounters is some combination of the ability to take them down quickly, immunity to abilities and enough AC to tank their attacks.
I'm sure that it would be easier to agree to disagree but where's the fun in that?
I will grant that the Greenstone Amulet is quite strong in certain encounters (particularly against sirines), although I'd hardly call it necessary, even for a no-reloads run. Still, I can understand why you might prioritize it.
Now, with regards to encounters such as the 12 bandit ambush, I actually think situations like this are a prime example of when the robes are useful. Your mages are being targeted, and basically they just have to live long enough to fire off a disabler or a mirror image. Persistent AC that doesn't take a casting action is really helpful, here. Now, you note that this particular ambush tends to be pretty trivial by the time you can afford the AM robes, and I agree. The thing is, this particular encounter tends to be pretty trivial by the time you can afford anything at all. By the time you're 2nd or 3rd level, your mages are only likely to die in this encounter if they get crit in the first couple seconds. No item in the game can stop that from happening. And if you decide to take a stroll through basilisk territory (and from a powergaming prospective, why wouldn't you?), you will be 2nd or 3rd level before you have enough money for anything expensive.
From a role playing perspective it just makes a lot of sense to buy and carry a potion of invisibility. Maybe keep a potion of explosions in the pack as well (easy to encounter before you get the necklace or wand or scroll that do the same thing).