Mage 101
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Since we seem to have picked a few new faces recently I though I post this as a bit of mechanical advice for people unused to playing mages who want to see the fugue plane less, other people feel free to add points and argue.
Stats
Str Mostly a dump stat. As your unlikely to kill anything with your stick!
Dex Ac and effects skills of use to a mage
Con As you have D4 hit dice this stat can make a huge impact on your hp
Int effects spell dc, bonus spell and max spells for wizard, hence is important. Also gives skill points.
Wis Rp relevant only
Cha Rp relevant only, unless your a sorcerer!General strategy
Mages tend to be fragile and spell reliant. Therefore you need to learn to avoid getting in too much trouble and making your spells count for more. Also trying to make yourself less fragile and spell reliant isn't a wasted effort.
Stealth is therefore useful as it allows you to avoid attention and aim your spells with more thought room and less orcs charging at you. Your unlikely to be ever as good as a rogue or a ranger, but if it takes 2 rounds for that goblin archer to realise your there, then he'll be shooting someone else!
There 3 feats that help with stealth (+ 5), a parasite ( + 10), easy to acquire equipment and more tricky to acquire equipment (+ 1- 6). You can also be a Halfling or Gnome (+ 4) have a half decent dex ( + 2-3) and buy ranks ( + 2 - 6). Put some or all of these together and its easy to hit 10+ … enough to avoid that first round of attention.
Combat wise you want to avoid running away too much and ensure you have good enough defences to last a few rounds with rank and file spawns. Elite spawns are what you run away from, but if every goblin causes your level 8 to wet himself, then your a bit of liability for the rest of the party.
It easy enough to get a so so ac. Half decent dex, mage armour and a shield spell will do early on. Latter on you will want barkskin potions and blur (the DR help protects your hp). Endurance is also a good spell if your facing foes with high damage capabilities (like minos with greataxes) as it stops you being one shotted so easy.
If you want to get more ac, consider expertise and improved expertise. While they both kill your already low ab, they give you a better ac, which is often far far more important to a mage. Also get high enough ac and the AI will start ignoring you :wink:
Combat Mage
Unlike most mages, this kind of mage likes fighting up close, with a early fighter class level being common , before picking up polymorph latter on when the fighter level doesn't go far enough anymore. Unlike most mages, strength does matter, and you should focus on making up for the weak hp and ab of a mage by having strong stats and feats that help in combat. Spell feat wise, still and extend are your friends along with SF and GSS transmutation. Spellwise, focus on spells that clerics don't have, like shield and blur, along with mixing in combat spells (especially point blank ones).
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I don't think I agree with this post…
I would much rather see a post on how to RP a wizard and develop wizardly concepts that work within forgotten realms. Not explore MMORPG concepts....
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Its just basic mechanics to help people get there mage working as useful party member, since I know sometimes wizards can get killed rather easy with the new AI and the general changes in Arabel from the single player game, and well we've not all been playing Arabel for ten years or more, so I just thought I level playing field on more mechanical stuff.
I likely write some ic book with Chand on good practice for wizards from bias point of view at some point anyway :wink: .
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While I understand the thought, Alice. I am sure that encouraging mechanical based builds is not what we are looking for.
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Though there is nothing wrong with some ooc hints on how to stay alive since many people struggle to do that with wizards on this server.
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Though there is nothing wrong with some ooc hints on how to stay alive since many people struggle to do that with wizards on this server.
To be honest, the best way to stay alive is to have friends. With any class
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I get were your coming from, I've just find useful to have rough mechanical templates you can grab and tweak to fit your concept, and rules you can work with (or knowingly ignore) to make a character work in game. I should likely put some basic advice at the top about the information merely being a tool to make a character work, and not a tool to make a character through in hindsight.
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To be honest, the best way to stay alive is to have friends. With any class
True! But finding people with any class on this server can be soooo hard.
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Think it's fair enough, it's not like the OP promotes pure mechanics but more a mix of role-play and mechanics which is a fine idea. Nevertheless, everyone talks mechanics, even those who won't admit it! I for instance could've used topics about mechanics when I started playing nwn/coa.. I was totally lost and had to ask several of what did what (had never played nwn or pnp). So either one relies purely on IRC or/and friends one already knew before starting nwn.
So can't see what should disturb something as minor like this being on the forum :/ -
I think this is an awesome thread and very helpful for those seeking some OOC mechanical tips and tricks.
I'm very dumb mechanically and stuff like this is always helpful.
I tend to not tell people my build stats cos I get laughed at >_>
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To be honest, the best way to stay alive is to have friends. With any class
Instead of learning how to handle combat situations with your character effectively, find someone who already knows and just make it his problem to keep you alive? :P
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To be honest, the best way to stay alive is to have friends. With any class
Instead of learning how to handle combat situations with your character effectively, find someone who already knows and just make it his problem to keep you alive? :P
Not really, just easier to stay alive if others got your back if you are in trouble.
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Disagreeing greatly with the STR as a stat dump in this - especially on CoA. A Magi will eat poop and die horribly if he/she ever decides to adventure anywhere not flat without str. I'd actually recommend at least a 10-12 str for any mage. For the simple fact that climb checks are retarded stupid and will kill you almost as quick as a cranky bear who's looking for a fleshy snack.
There's also the inevitable fact that you're going to become encumbered with no strength. Hell - I have 14 on my current mage and I'm still encumbered all the time. Wasting a bull's strength on myself is hardly beneficial to others in the group.
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I refuse to make any character with less than 12 strength by principle. Not being able to carry your own weight sucks, and so does failing every climb check ever….
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Tips are fine. I get (or got) enough flak as Willow for not being as useful as other mages, though, to think that there is already a "cookie-cutter" mentality that doesn't need reinforcement; so I don't agree with the in-depth OP.
Best tip to survive, in my experience? Break line of sight. Don't do anything when there is a little lag, or grizzlies who are ten yards away will appear far until they swipe you down.
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I would challenge any of you to make a more mechanically inept character than I do. I've taken the concept of "rp build" to the illogical extreme. There are those rare occasions when I long for my character to be useful…
Maybe I'll role a wizard.
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@H:
Tips are fine. I get (or got) enough flak as Willow for not being as useful as other mages, though, to think that there is already a "cookie-cutter" mentality that doesn't need reinforcement; so I don't agree with the in-depth OP.
Best tip to survive, in my experience? Break line of sight. Don't do anything when there is a little lag, or grizzlies who are ten yards away will appear far until they swipe you down.
Oh there just templates, real fun breaking those templates or using some of the logic in them to make something that shouldn't work… work.
Try divine might paladin archer sometime! :wink:
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Dude.. have you ever seen my characters? lol
I would challenge any of you to make a more mechanically inept character than I do. I've taken the concept of "rp build" to the illogical extreme. There are those rare occasions when I long for my character to be useful…
Maybe I'll role a wizard.
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Dude.. have you ever seen my characters? lol
I would challenge any of you to make a more mechanically inept character than I do. I've taken the concept of "rp build" to the illogical extreme. There are those rare occasions when I long for my character to be useful…
Maybe I'll role a wizard.
I have!
:DWe could start a club for the mechanically disinclined.
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I'll join, as two of my last plot-characters have been horribly, embarassingly inept in any sort of combat…
