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Wizard Slayer Race

JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
edited May 2016 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
The idea popped up in my head about doing a Wizard Slayer run from the anti-self roleplay challenge. I do love magic so, so making a character a slayer of magic, and unable to benefit from so much of it, poses an interesting challenge. On that note, here I am with a poll to see what race would best fit a SINGLE class Wizard Slayer.

My options are pretty simple. A Short Race (doesn't really matter which,) for the bonus to their saving throws for when they can't resist magic, Elves for their sword THAC0 and AC bonus to help them fight non-mages slightly better (and stick it to mages easier too,) and Half-Orcs for their ability to just out-power non-mages and out-right absorb any non-resisted spell through HP.
  1. Wizard Slayer Race34 votes
    1. Short Race (For those Shorty Saving Throws)
      64.71%
    2. Elves (Bonus Sword THAC0 and Dexterity for AC)
      20.59%
    3. Half-Orc (Bonus Strength and Constitution)
      14.71%

Comments

  • ArtonaArtona Member Posts: 1,077
    Magic-hating elf can be really interesting and fresh approach on the subject and I think it gives great roleplaying opportunities.
  • PteranPteran Member Posts: 388
    Dwarf or Half-Orc seem like the most likely candidates for magic hating. They seem likely to trust magic only from their gods, so Clerics/Shamans would be alright in their books.
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Artona said:

    Magic-hating elf can be really interesting and fresh approach on the subject and I think it gives great roleplaying opportunities.

    You know, that actually sounds like it would play out as an interesting story. And since one's subrace isn't particularly stated (that I know of,) I could totally work in as a wood elf rather than the more common moon elf.

    Yes... *evil beard stroke* Possibilities...
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,760
    HAHA!

    This is probably the only poll where short folks are winning with a great margin! One of my characters I fondly remember is Valthur Blackrock, a dwarf wizard-slayer.

    Val means Magic/Magical and Thur means Hunter.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    Wait, can wizard slayers use stat tomes? I've never played one long enough to find out, but it seems like that makes a big difference in terms of whether half-orcs are a good choice (since 18-19 is a way bigger jump than 19-20 for strength).
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Depends on how tall you are though.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,760
    Jarrakul said:

    Wait, can wizard slayers use stat tomes? I've never played one long enough to find out, but it seems like that makes a big difference in terms of whether half-orcs are a good choice (since 18-19 is a way bigger jump than 19-20 for strength).

    Yes, they can use stat tomes. But if you're soloing, you won't be able to get the STR tome - https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/31270/interesting-discovery-its-not-possible-to-get-the-str-and-wis-tomes-from-catacombs
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Now I'm having the weird idea of a gnomish wizard slayer, he doesn't really hate magic, per se, he just find the whole idea of learning how to fight magic oddly amusing (having grown up in Candlekeep) and an interesting use of his time. He's a gnome, he's allowed to be weird.

    Why gnome? Well, Wand and Spell are the more common saving throws, and the shorty bonus doesn't get any better above 18, but extra AC is always nice to have against non-spell slingers. And unlike halflings, they don't loose out on strength.
  • ChnapyChnapy Member Posts: 360
    WS Halfling. Because everything Halfling.
  • jtthjtth Member Posts: 171
    In this vein, does anyone have experience playing the modded vs unmodded WS? Which is more fun? I want to start a Wizard Slayer/Thief (keepered) but I'm not sure which way to go.
  • FlashburnFlashburn Member Posts: 1,847
    jtth said:

    In this vein, does anyone have experience playing the modded vs unmodded WS? Which is more fun? I want to start a Wizard Slayer/Thief (keepered) but I'm not sure which way to go.

    Wizard Slayer Rebalancing is pretty fun and is far more tolerable to play than vanilla Wizard Slayers. Pretty sure you can still Keeper it into a thief multiclass despite the kit telling you that you can't dual-class it now.
  • Yulaw9460Yulaw9460 Member Posts: 634
    edited November 2018
    Deleted.
    Post edited by Yulaw9460 on
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    Surprised how hard I had to think about this - great question!

    If we can't get the Tomes in BG1, I would pick a half-orc, but I assumed a party making it easy to grab all 8 in BG1.

    The most important stat-gain for a fighter type is the 19 STR, which can be achieved with a Tome, plus 20 Con for regen, which means either half-orc or dwarf. I was tempted by the +1 sword bonus for elves, but wizard slayers /are/ allowed magic weapons, so I hope to get enough of a bonus with the right choice there. The +1 dex from elves is tempting, but 19 dex is not significantly enough better than 18 to out-weigh the dwarven saves. With a wizard slayer, we are hoping that magic resistance will make saves un-necessary, but it is always nice to have a back-up plan, especially at low levels. So while saves are a nice bonus, they are of reduced importance in this build, while still useful.

    And of course, thematically, dwarves vs. magic is a familiar trope.

    So on balance, I edge in favor of the dwarf, but it was surprisingly close.

    Thematically, it might be fun to have a magic-hating gnome, resenting all those back-firing magical devices from home and going on a crusade of vengeance...
  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    I am playing a multi class Dwarf Wizard Slayer/Thief using @subtledoctor 's mod. I am getting ready to head to Cloakwood. *SWS **Dagger *SS *TWS. Throwing daggers ranged and now dagger of venom melee. Was can use boots, helmets, armour. I am usin WSR mod. So far so good.
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    I will also say this for elf lovers: elves usually come from magically dominant cultures as they are attuned to magic use. It makes sense for an elven fighter to specialize in fighting magic users.

    If you do an elven icewind dale run I highly recommend an elven wizard slayer as your front line. There are very few amulets/bracers/rings of note. Also a wizard slayer can still wear some of the mundane elven items (I believe it is the elven gloves that give cold resistance). So unlike BG you don't miss out on many good items.

    Also some of the more difficult fights involve mages. A wizard slayer is useful for those fights (looking at you, Mavalon).

    Finally icewind dale 2 has an elf only shield that is a guaranteed drop. It gives the bearer +25% magic resistance. The perfect item for a wizard slayer. Add in that the best weapon in the game is a guaranteed drop is a longsword (longsword of action +4, gives slashing resistance and +1 apr), and he is set. It's like the developers wanted you to use an elven wizard slayer!
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    "Familiarity breeds contempt" is an old phrase.

    Plus you could just be pragmatic. Sure, you're surrounded by spellcasters as you grow up, but you know (Gorion does tell you stories, after all,) that there are not-so-nice spell casters out there, doing very not-so-nice things, who are in need of a good ol' fashioned spanking. And so you train up to fight them.
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    "Who is this Lord of Murder fella and why won't these idiots stop singing about him?"
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    GreenWarlock said:

    @gangler I think it is worth keeping the distinction that Candlekeep is full of scholars, not mages. While many mages often spend time in research as scholars, I did not get the impression that the majority of resident scholars of Candlekeep were mages. More historians, and keepers of prophesy. And if you were living with the chant of Alaundo all day, every day, for 16 years or so, you might be a little crotchety...

    What makes you say that? Candlekeep itself is brimming with spells on every shelf. Seems like a very Mage heavy place to me.
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    edited May 2016
    Surrounded by books and Watchers, raised by a mage, hanging out with your devious thief friend, and old man Winthrop always ready with a bawdy tale. Seems like the perfect environment for a budding Bard to me.

    Then again, if Firebead Elvenhair doesn't inspire one to train as a Wizard Slayer, nothing else will.
  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    edited May 2016
    Human.

    You can't hide/duck from or wash spells like water off a ducks back the way a shorty can. You don't have the exceptional strength and fortitude of an orc to absorb magical damage. And you don't have the range bonuses with your arrows of dispelling, or the resistance to charm, that an elf gets.

    Seems to me that if you were human, mages would really start to piss you off.

    But I suppose if you must choose one of the lad-di-da 'Look at me I'm so special' races then my answer would vary depending on playstyle.

    My initial and personal thought:

    Halfling: +1 to slings. Darts and slings fit halflings, and the poison darts and (eventually) wild sling fits the wizard slayer premise. Give proficiencies in warhammers for the wild hammer as well. Knock out their spell casting, or make them surge if they get one off.

    Half Orc: Power axe time. Orcs and axes. Bala's axe is a nice axe, one of the few weapons made better by non-enchantment. Protection from magical weapons is more common than mantle. Extra to-hit and extra damage bonuses.

    Elf: Nobody likes elves. They look like they're wearing shoulder pads under their full plate. But aside from what I think is an awful sprite, if you're an arrow person and you don't like getting charmed and want to dispell/poison then an elf is exceptional at it. It's extremely deadly, especially in BG1 but also good in BG2 and beyond.
  • dok0zhivagodok0zhivago Member Posts: 82
    A failure at becoming a mage, coming fom a family of magic users. Envious at his more successful kin. Black sheep of the family.
    Resentful and hateful chaotic evil elf.
    Time to write a biography for a new Icewind dale character :)
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