After reviewing the mages entire spell list i've come to a conclusion, necromancer not conjurer is the way to go. What spells do you lose as a conjurer? wizard eye(scout extraordinaire/you use this to guide your summons but if you make a conjurer you lose this spell!), true sight(in every sorcerers spellbook, if they waste a spell slot on it it must be good and it is), identify(if you have an evil party edwin cannot use identify spells either, you're stuck to 3 identifies a day so unless you like resting every other minute goodluck), farsight(very fun spell especially if you've already played through the game and know where everything is, this way you can pinpoint where that enemy mage is before you go into the battle, also another summon guider). Now looking at necromancer, if you go necromancer you lose illusion spells. so you lose what? mirror image? stoneskin is all my mage ever uses. invisibility? yeah, ive cast that a total of 0 times during all of my games. only real spells you lose are project image and simulacrum, simul sucks because of the 60% thing. project image is a loss if you're soloing yes, if not its just a novelty item/spell.

whelp thats just my opinion, comments, feedback?

Why pick necromancer and not Conjurer? Losing one school instead of two? The tactical advantage of PI, Mirror Image, Invisibility, etc. are not little, and should not be underestimated. Don't forget Mislead either, a very useful spell.

Other than roleplay value, there's no reason to pick a Necro over a Conjurer.

and don't forget, a Conjurer will also be able to earn more XP through scribing scrolls, whereas the Necro misses out on a lot!

There are more divination spells than illusion spells, and necromancer only loses out on one spell school. stoneskin is all you need to protect you from attacks until your fighters arrive to save you, mirror image is a joke compared to it. as for invisibility all I have to say is, "Hide in shadows succeeded"

a diviner is the way to go

The thing about Edwin is he does not need those spells, since other party members will be able to cover those roles.

Loosing Mirror Image is a huge thing IMO... I use it all the time to protect my mages from all sorts of directed attacks... Also it works on area effects. Anything that can keep Aerie's low HP from dropping any sooner is great in my book... And stoneskin doesn't help you at all against enemy spells, but the 2 levels lower mirror image does.

Oh, you also left out Mislead. Not only a decent protection, its use as cheese is quite handy, if you want to use it in that way.

Project Image is a awesome spell used wisely... Why bother wasting spells when you can just ditch your body somewhere else and send the image into battle?

For mages (not sorcerers) I also enjoy Simalcrum is still an awesome spell, as it has your items in its quick slots, and even if its level is reduced, it can still provide an extra punch to your combat blasting.

So, I disagree... Conjurer has the advantage since you only loose 1 spell that you would actually use, True Sight, and clerics/druids also recieve that spell. Oh and by the way, there are 3 ID glasses available in the game. One in Gaelan Bayle's house, one via limited wish, and umm the other I forget.. but I know its there ;)

Try PI out a couple times, and you will see it's the most powerful spell in the game. It's damn near bordering on cheating.

I don't think you should pick nec or illusionist, as they are pretty powerful spell groups. I went through as an illusionist, and not having animate dead and Abi's HWilting can really hurt you. And missing out on PI on the other side would cripple you.

I was going to say most alteration spells can be replaced or done without, but Melf's MM says its evocation/alteration. And eventually Time Stop(boy, this is tough....)

Just pick out the spells you use most often(be sure to try out PI) and pick the school that eliminates the fewest of them.

A Conjurer would make a better choice than the Necromancer, if you are looking for power. Personally though, I always choose Necromancer, not because I think it is more powerful, but because it is more me( you know... roleplay and stuff? ;) ).

There are 14 spells belonging to the school of Illusion, and 11 spells belonging to the school of Divination. So actually... there are more Illusion spells than Divination ones.

A Conjurer mainly loses out on 3 spells only, True Sight, Identify and Wizard Eye.

A Necromancer loses out on the following, Mirror Image, Project Image, Mislead, Spook and maybe, Simulacrum.

Mirror Image: It makes your Stoneskin last longer and also takes the hits for you from spells and area of effect spells.

Spook: Ever scared a Dragon before? ;) This spell eventually gets potent because the target has a -6 penalty to its' saving throw.

Mislead: Undispellable invisibility... yummy... if a bit cheesy.

Project Image: :eek: Eyah! :eek: This has to be one of the cheesiest spell a Mage/Sorcerer can have. This spell basically means that your Mage has an additional round of spells minus one.

Simulacrum: Not as powerful as Project Image, but still, it means extra spells if you want it. I do not use it, but others do.

Anyway, if you want to talk about soloing, a Conjurer will have an easier time than the Necromancer. If you have a party though, then the Necromancer is a very viable choice. I played as a Necromancer when I had an Evil party. Heh, heh... petrifying the wildlife was fun.

Conjurers were the number one choice for soloing at the BlackIsle Forums if you wanted to solo a Specialist Mage. Necromancers were second. ;) Just to let you know.

I never use divination spells so a counjerer is the way to go [img]smile.gif[/img] . what use is wizard eye anyway as a spell? all the other divination spells suck too. and anyway the cojuration spells are the best- summon efreti and djinn!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lukivah:
After reviewing the mages entire spell list i've come to a conclusion, necromancer not conjurer is the way to go. What spells do you lose as a conjurer? wizard eye(scout extraordinaire/you use this to guide your summons but if you make a conjurer you lose this spell!), true sight(in every sorcerers spellbook, if they waste a spell slot on it it must be good and it is), identify(if you have an evil party edwin cannot use identify spells either, you're stuck to 3 identifies a day so unless you like resting every other minute goodluck), farsight(very fun spell especially if you've already played through the game and know where everything is, this way you can pinpoint where that enemy mage is before you go into the battle, also another summon guider). Now looking at necromancer, if you go necromancer you lose illusion spells. so you lose what? mirror image? stoneskin is all my mage ever uses. invisibility? yeah, ive cast that a total of 0 times during all of my games. only real spells you lose are project image and simulacrum, simul sucks because of the 60% thing. project image is a loss if you're soloing yes, if not its just a novelty item/spell.

whelp thats just my opinion, comments, feedback?<hr></blockquote>
Illusion spells are some of the best especialy when you tank your self up with all the hiding spells.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Radiant_Memphit:
I never use divination spells so a counjerer is the way to go [img]smile.gif[/img] . what use is wizard eye anyway as a spell? all the other divination spells suck too. and anyway the cojuration spells are the best- summon efreti and djinn!<hr></blockquote>

Wizard Eye: While your party drinks tea and eat some cream puffs, your Wizard Eye can guide your summons to the battlefield, leaving your party characters safely out of sight.

Wizard Eye is also useful for Project Image illusions, because the illusion has no visual range.

Identify: Saves money until your Mage gains enough Lore. This is more applicable to Sorcerers though, since they have very low Lore.

True Sight: You call this spell useless? Rightttt... ...

Conjuration spells are nothing to scream about too. They have a lot of useful spells like Melf's Acid Arrow, Spider Spawn or Wish, but the majority of them will never be used.

It is IMHO that Abjuration and Evocation spells are the most frequently used by Mages. If you strip a Mage of Abj. and Evo. spells, his/her power will drop really, really low.