Your Favourite Level 5 Wizard Enchantment Spell
Rik_Kirtaniya
Member Posts: 1,742
Enchantment spells can be very powerful, especially at lower levels, if used properly. It's sad that there are no Wizard Enchantment spells above Level 5, making this level a kind of cap for these spells. Still, these are quite powerful. Which one is your favourite?
The spells are linked below (from the wiki) for ease of reviewing the critical parameters:
The spells are linked below (from the wiki) for ease of reviewing the critical parameters:
- Your Favourite Level 5 Wizard Enchantment Spell39 votes
- Chaos46.15%
- Domination7.69%
- Feeblemind35.90%
- Hold Monster10.26%
2
Comments
Also interesting, feeblemind, according to the wiki, has a duration of 1000 IRL hours. That means someone was so invested in a fight, he left his computer on for 17 days.
Also like DrakeICN said it lasts 1000 hrs.
Any battle usually is a bunch of weakling and one or two major threats. Chaos makes the battle harder as you have to chase the weakling around the map and they may eventually land an attack.
Domination needs to micromanage AoE spells and gives you one more character to manage. On top of that, if someone kills the dominated enemy you lose the XP.
Hold Monster is a close call, but Feeblemind lasts way longer, so you can just have a beer and have absolutely no worries about the length of a fight.
It also helps that a landed feeblemind is death.
In-combat, feeblemind vs. chaos is an interesting debate. Chaos is AoE, which makes it easier to aim, able to hit creatures who are otherwise untargetable, able to hit multiple enemies, and more likely to produce an effect (since casting it on a crowd makes it more likely that *someone* fails a save). On the other hand, its actual effect is useful-but-annoying.
Feeblemind is just a one shot thing. Either the target saves or the target fails its save. If the target saves, you get nothing. If the target fails its save, the target is dead. (For all intents and purposes; you still have to go over and actually kill it, but it will gladly stand around forever just waiting for you to do so. Or you can not do so in instances where it would negatively impact your reputation!)
Strictly in combat, I'd lean feeblemind just because of immunities. Lots of enemies are immune to mind-affecting spells. Almost nothing is immune to feeblemind, (offhand, I only know of Mordenk's Swords, Divas/Planetars, and anything that's just immune to level 5 spells like demiliches).
But combat accounts for maybe 20% of the gameplay in BG, and outside of combat Chaos is useless while Feeblemind is on par with Identify and Invisibility for general utility.
If you cast feeblemind on a neutral NPC and the spell fails, the NPC doesn't go hostile. If you cast feeblemind on a neutral NPC and the spell succeeds... the NPC still doesn't go hostile, because he's now officially Too Stupid To Live. This is known as the Firkraag, after your ability to spam Feebleminds at dragons until one sticks and then poke them to death with a stick.
What else is a feebleminded NPC too stupid to do?
1. Alert the authorities if you rob them, even if you fail a pickpocket check, (what's up, random nobleman on the street with a high-level spell scroll in his pocket).
2. Alert their companions if you try to kill them, (Nice boots of speed, Renal. Better luck next time, Arkanis).
3. Respond to calls to actions, (what's up, crew of Mencar Pebblecrusher, Tarnor the Hatchetman, and Mae'Var).
4. Initiate annoying / inconvenient conversations, (don't feel like dealing with you today, Baron Ployer).
Seriously, everyone should roll an enchanter at least once in their life and then feeblemind literally everything. In a world of idiots, a half-wit is king!
-10 penalty will assure that Feeblemind lands over anything.
I've had this idea of doing an rp-run with a chaos mage, using only the most chaotic and random of spells (hello Lightning bolt!). Then there would be Chaos and chaos a'plenty.
Flash some pretty lights at a group, sorta like the Statue of Liberty's torch neuralyzer from Men in Black, and bam, the whole lot of 'em just stand there doing nothing ( for the aforementioned 1000 hrs, just for good measure).
I’ll also say the spell would be a moderate nerf to Archers, because the ability to stack huge save maluses with Called Shot is their best feature by Throne of Bhaal.
If only I could actually make this spell...
By the way, I have always wondered, can (Minor) Spell Turning rebound Imprisonment back to the caster? I've never used that spell much, but if it can do this, I'll be sure to use it next time.
Enchant an Item is a 6th level Enchantment Spell but basically unsuitable for the game since you can just save scum the risk of penalties away, I get why they didn't implement that.
Eyebite is a 6th level Enchantment spell and I believe our good friend @Raduziel actually implemented a version of this in one of his wonderful mods.
Mass Suggestion is also 6th level and would function mostly like a Chaos or Confusion spell, only since you are making them follow your suggestion they would all be performing one action rather than a randomized assortment of them.
Charm Plants is a 7th level Enchantment spell and I suppose if you really need to stop the passing Shambling Mound it works...it can also be used as an entangle spell on normal plants with a -4 penalty. Still, very underwhelming.
Antipathy-Sympathy 8th level. Duration 2 hrs/level. This starts to get interesting. Choose which effect, Antipathy or Sympathy. Antipathy makes all enemies save vs. spell and if they fail they flee the 10 ft. area. If they save vs. spell they can stay with a Dex point loss per round until they lose 4 (but no less than 3).
Sympathy makes all enemies save vs. spell and if they fail stay in the area. If they succeed, nothing happens, but must make another saving throw 1D6 turns later. (we'd probably have to settle on a fixed amount like 3 for implementation but what do I know)
Binding is 8th level and seems to work on everything, even extraplanars, but you need a circle of binding for them specifically so maybe not for implementation in game. You choose one from a number of effects, from holding to sleep to shrinking, but they are all basically death sentences because the duration lasts insanely long such as 1 YEAR per level. For simplicities sake i'd go with the first effect, Chaining. Target is held until literally the end of time and radiates an Antipathy spell as described above.
Mass Charm 8th level and self explanatory 30 foot cube -2 saves
The idea @Rik_Kirtaniya had for an auto-fail save effect is actually implemented in a level 8 Enchantment spell, Otto's Irresistible Dance. You can't stop dancing (so no taking actions), you can't make saves unless you roll a 20, and lose -4 to AC. But it's a touch effect, so your wizard has to land it. 1D4 +1 rounds. Not per level, just 1D4+1 rounds. No saving throw for the effect itself.
There are no usable Enchantment spells of the 9th level. You already gain the effect of the only 9th lvl Enchantment spell, Succor, by your Pocket Plane ability come TOB.