I'm planning on playing with a full party, and I'm used to using tank-types. This time, I'm going with a complete spellchucker, and any tactical advice is welcome.

Also, which stronghold should I persue?

What kind of spell chucker?

Divine, or Arcane? Or both?

Check the title, mate. ;)

I'm using a multiclassed Gnome Illusionist/Cleric.

In my personal opinion, the mage stronghold is better than the cleric one.

i agree [img]smile.gif[/img] more magical goodies in the mage stronghold

That's putting it mildly [img]tongue.gif[/img]

you might not be getting replies because cleric/mage is such a heavily discussed candidate for Most Powerful Character

lots of spells of course and the excitement of using the cleric spells (including HLA spells) in sequencers and triggers, improved alacrity, robe of vecna and so on and on

adding cleric to illusionist is nice because the cleric spellbook gets you animate dead which the illusionist otherwise doesn't

a cleric/illusionist can tank if you want but with a full party you'll have plenty of other options for that

as i see it you have three main roles that you can specialise / mix as you like

buffing
summoning
artillery

Artillery! Go for Artillery!

You know, eseing as summoned is "limited" in BG II... pft.

Never melee with a mage/cleric (or a sorcerer for that matter). Other classes do the sword-swinging so much better, and IMHO, it's a bit like using an AK-47 as a club. Much better to stand back and blast your opponents while their attention is distracted by the tanks getting in their faces.

I guess you'll have another cleric spell caster in the party. The time I played with a cleric/illusionist I had a ranger/cleric as well who I left virtually all the buffing and summoning to. The ranger/cleric therefore did the pre-fight prep and then leapt into the fray, leaving all the cleric/illusionist's spell slots free for offensive magic.

The cleric/illusionist loses out on horrid wilting, but makes up for it by getting an extra spell per level. Thus the extra time stop or chain contingency make this little old gnome arguably the most powerful class.

[ 10-03-2006, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: Andraste ]

but animate dead is a quintessential cleric spell and project image is an illusionist spell par excellence

it's practically role playing . . .

EDIT: ooh look - i'm a dragon [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 10-04-2006, 05:40 AM: Message edited by: Armen ]

Where are these discussions?

I just finished BG1 with my character, and I want to continue on to BG2! (Unfortunately I don't have BG2 with me, it's in my work locker... LOL!).

Whats cool about my finishing Bg1 is that I did it without reloading even once. I'm going to see how far I can get in the entire trilogy this way!

Eh. I've used a cleric to melee.

Rigteous Magic + DUMH gives you a 1 minute monster.

Of course, that was the Dwarf Fighter/Cleric and the Half-Orc Priest of Talos.

(Said Fighter/Cleric became hideously powerful in ToB. As long as he had Imp Haste on.... whatever he fought went down in seconds. Seriously. He downed the dragon in WK by himself.)

Pure class clerics can melee nicely, and any sort of cleric/fighter cross is devastating, with pride of place going to the ranger/cleric.

I'm sure the mage/cleric can also be buffed up to be very deadly in combat, but as I said, I'm also sure that the AK-47 makes a very deadly club. However, as long as you have a supply of bullets it's much more effective when used as a rifle.

some examples

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...2;t=025521;p=1
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...=025071#000000
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...2;t=024950;p=1
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cg...c;f=2;t=023315
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...2;t=024950;p=1

Early on doom + glitterdust is cute in a minor sequencer. Party friendly, the target enemy has to save vs spells at -2 or be incapacitated for 4 rounds. All other enemies have to save with no bonus or be incapacitated. Unlike horror no one is immune to blindness, and it can only be removed with a dispel. Blinded enemies can only melee at enemies who are right next to them. Move away and they stand there waiting to be killed.

Blind the dragon! Blind the dragon!

:D