JustKneller
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I daresay, I have made another terrible mistake. There is another rule from B/X D&D involving magic-users (or mages) that I forgot to implement. In AD&D, the number of known spells per level are based on Int. In B/X, you can only know as many spells per level as you can cast. So, at first level, you only cast one spell AND only know one spell. At fifth level, you can only cast 4/2/1 first/second/level spells and can only know that many as well.
I don't know if I'm going to retcon/restart over this. On one hand, a lot of fights would have gone quite differently if I didn't have the 'extra' spells I had. On the other hand, if I keep restarting, I'll never finish this run. At the very least, I need to work out my 'final' spell list for Aethelis. With this challenge, I basically have to plan him out like a sorcerer. I'm open to input here. Keep in mind, this is classic, so I don't have the EE spells (whatever they are).
Right off the bat, I'm generally ignoring touch, cone, and ray spells. While being a fighter/mage increases the chances of landing a hit (for a touch spell), these spells are too fussy and (cone/ray spells) are sometimes not party friendly. I'm also de-prioritizing personal abjuration (armor, shield, even stoneskin). They are great rescue spells, but it should be so rare that I need them that I can just use a scroll. Here is where my head is at. I have the order of my picks (and character levels I'll get them) after the headings.
This is what I came up with and I am looking for input. I especially need a fifth level 5 spell.
Level 1 - Friends (1), Identify (2), Chromatic Orb (4), Magic Missile (5), Charm Person (13)
Charm Person - it might be a contender, but there are a lot of undead in the game. Also, it's a save or suck.
Chromatic Orb - probably not bad for a 5th first level pick. It's mostly save or suck, but at high levels it's a cheap finger of death and guaranteed 4 rounds even if the save is made.
Friends - This is just a money saver, but it also fits the concept really well. If there is one spell a magical merchant would have, it's this one. There is the Scarab of Goodwill, but that might barely pay for itself in time.
Grease - Not terrible for low level crowd control, but small AoE and save or suck.
Identify - another money saver, but kind of a big one since everyone is going to have terrible lore.
Magic Missile - it's a classic.
Sleep - actually probably not worth it after the beginning of the game. There is one scroll at Pomab's. Maybe I just need to make it count.
Level 2 - Invisibility (3), Web (4), Cat's Grace (7), Acid Arrow (10), Horror (13)
Blindness - a really useful effect against a heavy hitter, but save or suck.
Cat's Grace - for this party, actually good at higher levels, but really only for Eldon.
Horror - good way to thin out a crowd. Undead have immunity, but clerics can just turn them.
Invisibility - must have.
Knock - I was thinking of getting it this run and letting Falda ignore locks for a bit, but considering how precious slots are now, it is redundant.
Melf's Acid Arrow - solid spellcaster disrupter, decent damage for the level.
Stinking Cloud - good crowd control and the undead can fight in it. However, lots of enemies will be immune.
Strength - less useful than Cat's Grace due to how it handles percentiles. Only helps Eldon, and only gives him +2 damage.
Web - good crowd control, and works on basically everything, including my own undead. Need free action (limited supply if I don't steal) for the fighters so they can fight in it.
Level 3 - Slow (5), Skull Trap (6), Haste (8), Fire Arrow (11), Icelance (13)
Dire Charm - I think this actually functions no different than charm person in this game.
Dispel Magic - super useful, but I also have two clerics.
Fireball - it's a classic but might actually be one to pass on here. (see skull trap).
Fire Arrow - not a bad way to load a lot of damage to a single target. How many heavy hitters have fire resistance, though?
Greater Malison - I just looked it up and see it is only -2 to saves instead of the -4 from BG. Kinda takes the wind out of its sails.
Haste - definitely useful.
Hold Person - clerics have it at a lower level.
Icelance - not terrible, guaranteed single target damage with the risk of stun
Monster Summoning (any) - kinda B-level when you have other options with clerics.
Protection from Normal Missiles - actually not that bad if I cast it on Eldon and let him pull aggro from the many archers in the game, but still niche.
Skull Trap - I think this is better than fireball. It's magical damage, not elemental. There's no cap. And it uses a weaker save (breath instead of spells). It has slightly lower AoE, but that's worth the cost.
Slow - this is a solid one. It's save or suck, but it's not going to fatigue my party after. Plus, the party is often outnumbered, especially when the enemy calls for help.
Level 4 - Emotion: Hope (7), Emotion: Courage (8), Improved Invisibility (11), Vitriolic Sphere (12), Stoneskin (15)
Bentalyn's Burning Blood - This could be a possible mage disabler. It's save or suck, but save every round. Kinda pricey for level 4, though.
Confusion - save or suck, with a penalty, but can be decent crowd control. charm so the undead and constructs would be immune.
Emotion: Courage - a great party buff.
Emotion: Hope - a great party buff.
Improved Invisibility - can be great for getting Eldon/Curgek into place and then the defensive bonus helps with aggro.
M's Force Missiles - more powerful than MM, but save or suck (at level 4), pass.
O's Resilient Sphere - can be handy to save a near dead ally or take a heavy hitter out of commission while the party deals with the riffraff.
Stoneskin - classic but I can probably live without it.
Vitriolic Sphere - not terrible damage and then save or suck for more damage, plus (small radius) splash damage.
Level 5 - Cloudkill (9), Chaos (10), Domination (11), Lower Resistance (12), ??? (13)
Chaos - Confusion with -4 to the save.
Cloudkill - no use against undead, but definitely will shut down a mage. good damage for those it affects. pairs well with Web.
Conjure ??? Elemental - kinda tempting. The fire one is pretty tough.
Contact Other Plane - there is one really good use for this spell. There is one scroll. Coincidence? I think not.
Domination - charm, but works with any living creature and has a penalty
Feeblemind - potential mage disabler with a save penalty. Chaos is a little stronger, but
Hold Monster - useful, but save or suck and I bet the creatures you really want to hold (bosses) are going to be immune.
Lower Resistance - not bad, but you get it late. plus, this party is not going to have a lot of blasters, most damage will come from Curgek and Eldon.
Shroud of Flames - that one could go badly.
Sunfire - A fireball centered on my caster that's behind the party? No, thanks.
Level 6 - Death Fog (12), Flesh to Stone (13), Darts of Bone (16), Antimagic Shell (20), Shades (22)
Antimagic Shell - can troll mages, but shuts down Aethelis' spellcasting.
Chain Lightning - not party friendly at all.
Darts of Bone - I think this is the IWD version of MMM. Not bad, decent damage potential if the target doesn't save.
Death Fog - a stronger Cloudkill. Also pairs well with Web.
Disintegrate - classic, but save or suck and might destroy loot
Flesh to Stone - basically Disintegrate but doesn't destroy loot
O's Freezing Sphere - very weak for the level.
Power Word Silence - no save is great. two rounds duration is not great.
Shades - not a bad summon, not much else good at this level
Soul Eater - need other spell tricks to make it worthwhile and the benefit isn't great for a back line caster/archer
Tenser's Transformation - not as great for a fighter/mage
Trollish Fortitude - meh. If I could cast it on Eldon or Curgek, it would be another story.
Level 7 - Mass Invisibility (14), Acid Storm (16), Finger of Death (17), Seven Eyes (24), Power Word, Stun (28)
Acid Storm - DoT like Cloudkill, but follows the enemy if they leave the AoE, pretty good.
Finger of Death - it's kind of a weaker Disintegrate. Both allow a save, but Disintegrate works on anything, not just the living. The damage on save for FoD is insignificant at that point. But also doesn't destroy loot
Mass Invisibility - Improved invisiblity for everyone? Sure thing!
M's Sword - not bad, but would be better if it could use Aethelis' fighter levels.
Power Word, Stun - not terrible, but the more you want it, the less it works.
Seven Eyes - I kinda like this spell. It packs in 18 levels of potentially useful spells into one
Suffocate - It's basically Slow with some extra damage, but lower duration and no save penalty.
I don't know if I'm going to retcon/restart over this. On one hand, a lot of fights would have gone quite differently if I didn't have the 'extra' spells I had. On the other hand, if I keep restarting, I'll never finish this run. At the very least, I need to work out my 'final' spell list for Aethelis. With this challenge, I basically have to plan him out like a sorcerer. I'm open to input here. Keep in mind, this is classic, so I don't have the EE spells (whatever they are).
Right off the bat, I'm generally ignoring touch, cone, and ray spells. While being a fighter/mage increases the chances of landing a hit (for a touch spell), these spells are too fussy and (cone/ray spells) are sometimes not party friendly. I'm also de-prioritizing personal abjuration (armor, shield, even stoneskin). They are great rescue spells, but it should be so rare that I need them that I can just use a scroll. Here is where my head is at. I have the order of my picks (and character levels I'll get them) after the headings.
This is what I came up with and I am looking for input. I especially need a fifth level 5 spell.
Level 1 - Friends (1), Identify (2), Chromatic Orb (4), Magic Missile (5), Charm Person (13)
Charm Person - it might be a contender, but there are a lot of undead in the game. Also, it's a save or suck.
Chromatic Orb - probably not bad for a 5th first level pick. It's mostly save or suck, but at high levels it's a cheap finger of death and guaranteed 4 rounds even if the save is made.
Friends - This is just a money saver, but it also fits the concept really well. If there is one spell a magical merchant would have, it's this one. There is the Scarab of Goodwill, but that might barely pay for itself in time.
Grease - Not terrible for low level crowd control, but small AoE and save or suck.
Identify - another money saver, but kind of a big one since everyone is going to have terrible lore.
Magic Missile - it's a classic.
Sleep - actually probably not worth it after the beginning of the game. There is one scroll at Pomab's. Maybe I just need to make it count.
Level 2 - Invisibility (3), Web (4), Cat's Grace (7), Acid Arrow (10), Horror (13)
Blindness - a really useful effect against a heavy hitter, but save or suck.
Cat's Grace - for this party, actually good at higher levels, but really only for Eldon.
Horror - good way to thin out a crowd. Undead have immunity, but clerics can just turn them.
Invisibility - must have.
Knock - I was thinking of getting it this run and letting Falda ignore locks for a bit, but considering how precious slots are now, it is redundant.
Melf's Acid Arrow - solid spellcaster disrupter, decent damage for the level.
Stinking Cloud - good crowd control and the undead can fight in it. However, lots of enemies will be immune.
Strength - less useful than Cat's Grace due to how it handles percentiles. Only helps Eldon, and only gives him +2 damage.
Web - good crowd control, and works on basically everything, including my own undead. Need free action (limited supply if I don't steal) for the fighters so they can fight in it.
Level 3 - Slow (5), Skull Trap (6), Haste (8), Fire Arrow (11), Icelance (13)
Dire Charm - I think this actually functions no different than charm person in this game.
Dispel Magic - super useful, but I also have two clerics.
Fireball - it's a classic but might actually be one to pass on here. (see skull trap).
Fire Arrow - not a bad way to load a lot of damage to a single target. How many heavy hitters have fire resistance, though?
Greater Malison - I just looked it up and see it is only -2 to saves instead of the -4 from BG. Kinda takes the wind out of its sails.
Haste - definitely useful.
Hold Person - clerics have it at a lower level.
Icelance - not terrible, guaranteed single target damage with the risk of stun
Monster Summoning (any) - kinda B-level when you have other options with clerics.
Protection from Normal Missiles - actually not that bad if I cast it on Eldon and let him pull aggro from the many archers in the game, but still niche.
Skull Trap - I think this is better than fireball. It's magical damage, not elemental. There's no cap. And it uses a weaker save (breath instead of spells). It has slightly lower AoE, but that's worth the cost.
Slow - this is a solid one. It's save or suck, but it's not going to fatigue my party after. Plus, the party is often outnumbered, especially when the enemy calls for help.
Level 4 - Emotion: Hope (7), Emotion: Courage (8), Improved Invisibility (11), Vitriolic Sphere (12), Stoneskin (15)
Bentalyn's Burning Blood - This could be a possible mage disabler. It's save or suck, but save every round. Kinda pricey for level 4, though.
Confusion - save or suck, with a penalty, but can be decent crowd control. charm so the undead and constructs would be immune.
Emotion: Courage - a great party buff.
Emotion: Hope - a great party buff.
Improved Invisibility - can be great for getting Eldon/Curgek into place and then the defensive bonus helps with aggro.
M's Force Missiles - more powerful than MM, but save or suck (at level 4), pass.
O's Resilient Sphere - can be handy to save a near dead ally or take a heavy hitter out of commission while the party deals with the riffraff.
Stoneskin - classic but I can probably live without it.
Vitriolic Sphere - not terrible damage and then save or suck for more damage, plus (small radius) splash damage.
Level 5 - Cloudkill (9), Chaos (10), Domination (11), Lower Resistance (12), ??? (13)
Chaos - Confusion with -4 to the save.
Cloudkill - no use against undead, but definitely will shut down a mage. good damage for those it affects. pairs well with Web.
Conjure ??? Elemental - kinda tempting. The fire one is pretty tough.
Contact Other Plane - there is one really good use for this spell. There is one scroll. Coincidence? I think not.
Domination - charm, but works with any living creature and has a penalty
Feeblemind - potential mage disabler with a save penalty. Chaos is a little stronger, but
Hold Monster - useful, but save or suck and I bet the creatures you really want to hold (bosses) are going to be immune.
Lower Resistance - not bad, but you get it late. plus, this party is not going to have a lot of blasters, most damage will come from Curgek and Eldon.
Shroud of Flames - that one could go badly.
Sunfire - A fireball centered on my caster that's behind the party? No, thanks.
Level 6 - Death Fog (12), Flesh to Stone (13), Darts of Bone (16), Antimagic Shell (20), Shades (22)
Antimagic Shell - can troll mages, but shuts down Aethelis' spellcasting.
Chain Lightning - not party friendly at all.
Darts of Bone - I think this is the IWD version of MMM. Not bad, decent damage potential if the target doesn't save.
Death Fog - a stronger Cloudkill. Also pairs well with Web.
Disintegrate - classic, but save or suck and might destroy loot
Flesh to Stone - basically Disintegrate but doesn't destroy loot
O's Freezing Sphere - very weak for the level.
Power Word Silence - no save is great. two rounds duration is not great.
Shades - not a bad summon, not much else good at this level
Soul Eater - need other spell tricks to make it worthwhile and the benefit isn't great for a back line caster/archer
Tenser's Transformation - not as great for a fighter/mage
Trollish Fortitude - meh. If I could cast it on Eldon or Curgek, it would be another story.
Level 7 - Mass Invisibility (14), Acid Storm (16), Finger of Death (17), Seven Eyes (24), Power Word, Stun (28)
Acid Storm - DoT like Cloudkill, but follows the enemy if they leave the AoE, pretty good.
Finger of Death - it's kind of a weaker Disintegrate. Both allow a save, but Disintegrate works on anything, not just the living. The damage on save for FoD is insignificant at that point. But also doesn't destroy loot
Mass Invisibility - Improved invisiblity for everyone? Sure thing!
M's Sword - not bad, but would be better if it could use Aethelis' fighter levels.
Power Word, Stun - not terrible, but the more you want it, the less it works.
Seven Eyes - I kinda like this spell. It packs in 18 levels of potentially useful spells into one
Suffocate - It's basically Slow with some extra damage, but lower duration and no save penalty.