Here's an idea for an awesome mage... Equip him with boots of speed(auto-haste) and the robe of Veccna (casting time reduced by 4). Now he can fire off any spell faster than most mages cast magic missile, and he can run all over the place (out of the way) really fast!

Haste dosen't effect casting. (sadly) Nice idea though

Jon, you're right but the robe of Veccna does- very awesome mage robe.

Is the robe of Vecana available in the normal version of BG II or only in the collectors edition??

collector's edition only... as far as I know. The boots of Speed simply add to the fun. Letting your mage run in and out of enemies at will, while quickly hitting them with spells.

No, it's only available with the collector's edition, which you can get by clicking here.