Help me create a Mage in BG1

Jeddite

Hey guys, this is my first-ish serious attempt at beating BG1, and I need your help in creating a Mage. Note that I do not play enhanced edition. I created a mage with these stats:
Str: 10
Dex: 11
Con: 15
Int: 18
Wis: 18
Cha: 10

will these stats be enough to pull through the whole game without any problems? I am in Candlekeep at the moment, so I can reroll anytime now now, the second question: what party combination would you recommend for a Mage? Are there any powerful staves in the game? Where can I get my first serious set of robes? And what tips on playing as a mage would you give me?

Thanks in advance!

Artona

Those stats are fine, @Jeddite, but I'd consider few rerolls to get higher Dexterity, as it will lower your AC and make you harder to hit. It's especially important for those squishy mages. But it's not like it's impossible or anything to finish entire saga with stats like that.
As for the party - in BG1 bows rule, so fighter like Minsc, Khalid, Kivan and Coran are treasure, because they can snipe pretty much anything; you'll get best thief in the game very soon, and Jaheira can cover your cleric needs. What character your mage is?
I don't think there are many good staves for mage in BG1, considering that you'll want to keep distance from enemies, and first robes are possible to buy in High Hedge, not far east from Candlekeep.
Hope you'll have fun with the game.

Jeddite

I am going for an all around mage, I couldn't decide which 'mastery' should I pick. Thank you! I actually rerolled and created another mage with higher dex. As for the companions - isn't Minsc tied to Dynaheir, who is also a mage, and isn't 2 mages a little bit too much?

Artona

...Man, I actually forgot about that.
Yes he is, but I don't think it would overkill. I personally prefer to have more than one arcane caster. But it's sufficient to have one, so you can go with Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Kivan, Coran.

Jeddite

I am actually thinking a lot about that. Having two casters would be nice, because that means more powerful spells to cast, but I would be afraid more of survival factor. So, a party that would consist of:
Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Dynaheir, Minsc (which is probably one of the most popular party combinations from what I've seen) would be sufficient? and the one that you've said, that is Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Kivan, Coran, would be good as well? I am kind of torn between these two

Artona

As long as you have one fighter, one thief, one priest and one mage you should finish the game without much hassle. Truth be told, you can run entire saga with every kind of setup, even with solo warrior, but that requires some meta-knowledge.
So don't worry, whatever you pick will be fine. I would recommend Minsc and Dynaheir route simply because it's the most classic, canon party, and it'll give you good insight what classes you like, so the next time you play (assuming you'll enjoy the game, of course), you'll like know if you'd prefer more melee-heavy party, or more divine support, or whatever.

tbone1

Artona said:

...Man, I actually forgot about that.
Yes he is, but I don't think it would overkill. I personally prefer to have more than one arcane caster. But it's sufficient to have one, so you can go with Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Kivan, Coran.

The only problem with that party is keeping them in arrows. Pretty deadly combo.

Artona

It's definitely easier now than in old days when you could only stack them up to 20.

Skatan

I too think that character is good enough to play with, but if this is your first time then rerolling to get a 18 DEX is advisable for those times you forget to buff with a decent armor spell and stray arrows come your way. Also, choose and cast Find Familiar at the start to get some more HP from the get-go and stash the little critter in your backpack to avoid it dying by mistake whenever it feels dangerous.

So you can play on and do well, your stats are not bad at all, but you could also aim for a 10/18/16/18/X/10. Personally I'd rather have less WIS and higher DEX and CON since you can raise WIS with 3 points during BG1 but the other stats with only 1. When it comes to mages 18 WIS is only really necessary for a single spell (or actually two, but they are similar), to my knowledge and you probably won't use that until BG2 (if you continue on with the same char). So aiming for 21 WIS is overkill. I'm not 100% sure though since I never use wish-spam.

Anyways, welcome to the forum and I hope you struggle through this time. Cheers.

Jeddite

Thank y'all so much! Another question: which spells would you recommend to use in BG1 and which ones also should I buy that could be useful in BG2?

abacus

Over the course of the game, you'll collect all of them if you search thoroughly and you'll accumulate enough money to afford all the buyable ones.

Early game, I'd prioritise Sleep... it's devastating for about 2/3 or BG1... it's also a good indicator that crowd control generally beats damage for spells.

Artona

Sleep, Find Familiar and Magic Missile would be my first 1st level spells (pun not intented). On 2nd level Web, Mirror Image, Horror.
But @abacus is right - you'll find loads of scrolls that you can scribe, so I strongly recommend memorising different spells and experimenting on them. I think community would agree that there are some close-to-useless spells (Friends) and spells that are great up to the end of saga (Magic Missile), but it's also a matter of personal preference. I'm sure there are people here who love Fire Arrow, but I don't use it often.
So venture forth and good luck! ^^

Grond0

Artona said:

I think community would agree that there are some close-to-useless spells (Friends) and spells that are great up to the end of saga (Magic Missile), but it's also a matter of personal preference.

@Artona you may find agreement that there are some close-to-useless spells, but I don't think friends would be numbered among them by most people . That can be handy in a whole range of contexts for opening up quests and increasing rewards for quests completed. It can also help in recruiting NPCs and is the easiest way to push charisma up to 20 in order to get the minimum possible shop prices for buying equipment.