Starting a new game w/ some variety of mage
BelleSorciere
Member Posts: 2,108
Either a mage/cleric or a pure mage or a mage specialist.
I'm hung up on analysis paralysis: Which mage spells should I pick to start?
I've played Baldur's Gate before but only with rangers and fighters and NPC party members as mages.
I'm hung up on analysis paralysis: Which mage spells should I pick to start?
I've played Baldur's Gate before but only with rangers and fighters and NPC party members as mages.
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Also, even though their scrolls are fairly common, Identify is a great spell to have. Saves you some coin in the long run when you can just load up your mage with Identify spells, rest, identify all magical items, reset your spell memorization and then rest again.
The initial choice is only to give you some spells immediately without the need to scribe from scrolls first.
For wizard spells, personal taste plays a big role. I assume you will accept companions soon, so building a party based wizard may differ from building a solo wizard (such as a solo sorcerer).
Blindness, Chromatic Orb (or Magic Missile if you cannot live without this low-level damage spell), Shield (to protect against magic missiles if you want that), Invisibility, Grease, Sleep (against weak enemy groups, such as goblins), and Spook are helpful level 1 spells.
I am thinking Sleep and Identify. I usually have one mage with identify at the start in IWD, so yeah.
I'm torn on sleep on sorcerers. Is giving up on a level 1 slot worth it since it makes portions of the beginning a breeze to play? Probably.
On level one strictly speaking Larlochs Minor Health Drain is probably the most potent damage spell, but it fizzles out of relevancy soon thereafter, because of its lack of scaling. (again, no recommendation for sorcerers)
Since you should find scrolls reasonably quickly (as loot or for sale), I'd recommend for mages:
1. Find Familiar
2. Sleep
(3. If your a specialist: The most useful spell of your school, since you'll have to pick at least one)
This is just my two cents.
So: Find Familiar, Sleep, possible third spell due to specialty, and get Identify from Firebead's quest.
That sounds like a fairly strong start.
I usually do get the guards involved but he nearly always gets his spell off at which point I get to watch him kill my character while the guards attack nearly ineffectually.
Plus as invoker your evocation spells hit with -2 penalties. So Web has a total of -4 to resist. I can tell you I've beaten many hard caster fights by webbing and letting my party range them down like fish in a barrel. Web and summon spiders ftw!
And thanks. Invokers are definitely something I want to try sometime.
If you are a specialist and get that extra spell slot then something offensive like magic missile or chromatic orb - but they do so little damage at the first couple of level - so chromatic orb might be a better choice as it does damage + has effects.
If you are a cleric/mage - then the spells for a mage is the same but you add command (for battle), cure light wounds or bless as your cleric choices. But cleric spells can be easily changed unlike mage spells at first level.
If you want some randomness thrown into your casting as a specialist mage - then a wild mage is something to try although there is Neera in the game for you to try if you haven't decided on your NPCs.
Remember to hit and run as a low level mage or have some companions to help.
Thanks much for advice, too.