What can non-spellcasters to against high-level mages?

They can do a variety of things, depending on what you have. A wizard slayer can defeat a high level mage by cutting through spell protections and a berserker in rage can't be effected by mind-influencing spells or Imprisonment. Monks have high magic resistances (or resistances anyway) so they can fight a wizard well, and so forth. So you can really use an asortment of classes to beat wizards.

As for not having a mage in your party, it doesn't matter. It doesn't hamper you if you don't have a guy shooting out fireworks in your party [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Later

<font color="gold">Bash 'em. [img]tongue.gif[/img] By the time you have come far enough in the game to reach really powerful mages, you also probably have found many different potions and scrolls that will protect you partly from magic. Use a the scroll Protection from Magic and a mage will survive only until his protections dies out. ;)

I'm not saying that warriors are more powerful, though, cause they aren't. It's just that with all the good stuff that is included in this game, it isn't as hard to defeat mages as it would seem. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

do you have a paladin? If you do dispel from the casomyr or from an inquisitor, you'll be able to breach there protections you should be able to do ok.

Its quite possible to not use mages, as Pirengle as a all anti magic party.. doesnt even have a cleric.

You just gotta bash thru their protections, and as much as i hate to say it ;) , smash the mages skulls in!

*Points down at his sig*

You know it :D

Well, yes, but so can anyone else who's using a weapon and not a spell. The only weapons that Wizard Slayers currently have against spellcasters are their Magic Resistance (which is lower than the Monk's) and their ability to cause stacking Spell Failure with each hit. For simply whacking Mages, the Inquisitor is better. But ALL Warriors can clean house where spellcasters are concerned, simply because their Saving Throws get SO low, SO fast, that they can shrug off most of the damage and not even flinch.

Note, however, that shrugging off "most of the damage" is not always enough. Wizards, played intelligently, will rock Warriors from one end of Faerun to the other.

Only with the Tactics Mod Six, only with the Tactics Mod :D

Easiest thing to do is stock up on weapons that do energy damage, though some wizards do cast spells that resist energy as well. However, in an unmodified game, their strongest defenses are Stoneskin and the "Mantle spells" (Protection from Magical Weapons, Mantle, Improved Mantle, Absolute Immunity). They also throw up a bunch of anti-magic spells, but those don't mean anything if you are not using magic. Energy weapons will do the energy damage through a Stoneskin, and the "Mantle spells" have notoriously short durations.

Also, traps can do damage through defenses as well, though this can be considered major cheese ("hmmm....the wizard always appears right here, so let me throw a bunch of traps right at the spot he spawns at...").

<font color=white> In a plain vanilla SoA, the mages lack tactics and propper spellcasting abilities.. even the one mage that should be freaking though is a wuss that can be obliterated by a single person (class does not matter).

Without tactics, mages/liches/endbosses are plain cheesyniss.

With tactics, they got some rather goofy tactics to (even cheating tactics if you ask me) but now they are worth it.. they become notorious for there abilities, this was not the thing in plain SoA.

But even with Tactics a non-magic party can clean house with a bunch of liches (its gonna be hard, ofcorse), everything is possible, plain SoA its even easier. </font>

I think that all of this depends on you. And talking about a bunch of liches let me ask you: bunch of people are playing with the liches and you're with your anti-mage party. What will decide the battle ? And also speaking of that the matter with the mages is only to remove their protections - until you're removing their protections they what - will stay and watch - it never have happened. As I can remember most of the many load games were because of the mages and I don't think they are easy. I have not mods installed. I would like to hear foreaxmple how the "rune ones" are beaten without a piece of magic and mods in the pure SoA on the core AD&D rules right after the spellhold.

Watch your battle log. Run (when masive destruction spells are cast - there are spells that cause non-magic damage and spells that affect you only if you are evil aligned foreaxmple) - attack - run(when the spellcaster is trying to come to you - he'll try something nasty inprisonment forexample or drain or harm ) - attack(they all have little hp). There is no mage in SoA that is protected against +5 weapons. Absolute immunity is short. You need at least 'true sight' or they'll become many or you'll hit nothing but air. This of course is the short answer. Hope to help. Happy playing. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-17-2003, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: Merlin from Amber ]

well, I just thought of something: Why not taking an Archer and just shoot at mages first...that ought to duzzle their spell attempts, aint it?

<font color="gold">Not if the mages are stoneskinned or have any other sort of protection. The casting speed of Stoneskin is so fast that I doubt that any arrow can hit the mage before he manages to protect himself. Also, it takes more than just one arrow to kill a character, even if it is a low-HP mage. So, even though you are an Archer, you can't kill a mage before he casts any spells. ;)

Unless we're talking about a Kobold Shaman or something like that. [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>

I tend to keep a regular, non-magic weapon in one of each tank's weapon slots, in addition to to usual magical arsenal. So, when a mage thinks he's smart, and casts protection from magical weapons, we switch, and tear through him like he's wet toilet paper.

Please note that trying this tactic against a lich WILL get your ass handed to you in a trash bag.

I've no solution to the lich problem. I'll admit it, the thought of going without a mage boggles me. I tend to have two when I can. They're my artillery pieces, or, as I like to call them, 'meat tenderizers.' :) So, if you're going without arcane backup, you've more cajones then li'l old me.

Without the tactics mod; archers and assasins can really make mage battles easy. Most of the mages in SoA put up stoneskin as a contingency to being hit. That means the first hit counts. An archer with arrows of biting or an assasin firing arrows using the poison weapon ability will give you several rounds of spell disruption against most mages. And if they manage to throw up a really annoying protection spell, arrows of dispelling are really handy.

If you have the smarter mages from the tactics mod, just lead with the arrows of dispelling and follow with the poison damage. Or just beef up you attacks per round to run through the stoneskins faster.

For the Tactic's Mod, Archers with Arrows of Dispelling or Arrows of Fire. You can get the Arrows of Fire from the Keep. Arrows of Acid work, in my experience, better, as the wizards don't cast Protection from Acid, but they do cast Protection from Fire.

Dispel Magic from an Anti-Paladin or Inquisitor will chew through the protections easily, but the main problem is that they will cast Spell Immunity: Abjuration. Actually, now that I think of it, an Anti-Paladin or a higher level Monk will make any Wizard battle laughable.