Anti-Protection Spells and other questions

[Lemmy]

What's the conventional wisdom for anti-protection spells? I'm not sure exactly which spells I should be aiming to get. Spellstrike, for example, seems quite nice. But is it completely necessary for a solo Sorcerer, or will something like Ruby Ray of Reversal or Pierce Shield work just as well? I presently do not have any protection-dispelling magic; I've been using scrolls for that purpose.

(Rest of post contains references to Mind Flayers, Bodhi, Planar Sphere, and the Planar Prison quest. Blah blah blah, if you haven't encountered these things before and don't want any tidbits spoiled, don't read on.)

Does anything protect against Mind Flayers' mind devouring? I have an Improved Mind Flayer mod installed, but I've been largely unable to take down the hordes of them in the Sewers dungeon. The primary reason being that when I cast Time Stop they continue to take certain actions. Lots of Dimension Dooring (thereby making them impossible to target with Lower Resistances), Mazes, Dominations, Disintegrates, etc. Rotten little buggers. Anyway, the Time Stop does little to allow me to kill them and eventually they Dimension Door next to me and chow on my brains. It almost makes me wish I hadn't left Anomen in the Abyss (via Planar Sphere quest) so I could drag him along for the Devourers to lunch on.

Is there a time frame in which one is supposed to meet Bodhi? I meant to meet up with her, but now when I go visit (at night) she's never there. I know where she's supposed to be, but she just isn't. Could I have taken too long to go see her? (I am, indeed, still in Chapter 2.)

Is there anything, besides the Boots of Speed, that I'd miss if I skipped the Planar Prison quest? I can get the Boots elsewhere, but I don't remember if there's something else there a mage would want but be unable to get anywhere else. (The current plan involves something most regrettable happening to Haer'Dalis which would result in being unable to do the quest.)

-Lem

[Dar'tanian]

For your first question i ould sav your lvl 9's and us ruby ray of reversal it is prfectly good and visit dundees site for perfect infrences on solo socerer spells i dont have a link but someone will.

[Dar'tanian]

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and for your other ones the best thing for protection againt mind flayers is mind focusing potion ecspeciallly for your stupid tanks but are soloing cause it is still usefull. also death spell kills all umber hulks just in case you wanna get them out of the way.

If you have already signd with linval then she wont meet you and in that case you dont meet her untill u have to kll her later other wise i dont know what hapeed.

there is nothing that incrases movment rate all the time other than the boots but i dont think there is any in that quest anyway.

[Lemmy]

"also death spell kills all umber hulks just in case you wanna get them out of the way."

Yes, I use Death Spell quite extensively.

*You have been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself.*
Hetre- Casts Death Spell
*collect booty and exit encounter*

"If you have already signd with linval then she wont meet you and in that case you dont meet her untill u have to kll her later other wise i dont know what hapeed."

I haven't visited him at all, nor have I paid money to his little lackey.

"there is nothing that incrases movment rate all the time other than the boots"

Right, or at least not that a mage can wear (and not in SoA).

"but i dont think there is any in that quest anyway. "

I was pretty sure there was a pair of BoS in that quest (on one of the thugs you kill when you first arrive). I was wondering if there were any other worthwhile items I'd miss.

-Lem

[Dar'tanian]

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all i know is hear'dalis is my favorite caracter in the game and there is many exp points and mounds of gold a few different wands but the best is the rod of ressurection wich u get if you decide to kill the mage that is in the far room if u let him go u lose the item it. is in the barrel at the back of the room or on the stove that is the best item relating to the quest.

[Dundee Slaytern]

You can also get a pair of Boots of Speed in Bodhi's Gauntlet, ala Spellhold. It costs 15 Mithril Tokens.

Protection from Magical Weapons will render you immuned to the Mind Flayers' INT-Drain attacks. Use Skeleton Warriors and Mordenkainen's Swords to slice and dice the Mind Flayers. Haste them for a much greater effect.

Drink a Potion of Clarity to avoid the Psionic Charm and the Umber Hulks' Confusions. Drink a Potion of Freedom and/or Potion of Invulnerability to boost your saves against Psionic Stun.

The Improved Mind Flayers can see through invisibility, so run in circles around your summons. Drink an Oil of Speed potion beforehand to boost your movement speed.

Have a Contingency with Protection from Magical Weapons, set to trigger when helpless. Either use Potions of Genius, or Potions of Mind Focusing to maintain an INT of 25.

Potions can be all bought at the Sewer Merchant.

[Zarr]

Originally posted by Lemmy: Is there a time frame in which one is supposed to meet Bodhi? I meant to meet up with her, but now when I go visit (at night) she's never there. I know where she's supposed to be, but she just isn't. Could I have taken too long to go see her? (I am, indeed, still in Chapter 2.) -Lem

This happened to me in one game as well, Bodhi never turned up because I took about thirty days to visit the graveyard so yes I believe there is a time limit although I'm not sure how long it is.

[Lemmy]

"You can also get a pair of Boots of Speed in Bodhi's Gauntlet, ala Spellhold. It costs 15 Mithril Tokens."

Yes, of course. Locating another pair was not a concern. At any rate, I've already done the dastardly deed to Haerry so if something highly useful *was* in the Planar Prison it's gone now. But it was worth it to see him scream horribly when he somehow psychically knew that his friends were dead. Teehee.

"Protection from Magical Weapons will render you immuned to the Mind Flayers' INT-Drain attacks."

AH! Good. I just gained that spell.

"Use Skeleton Warriors and Mordenkainen's Swords to slice and dice the Mind Flayers. Haste them for a much greater effect."

The Flayers largely ignore my Warriors, preferring instead to Dimension Door next to me and chow on my brains. Perhaps I will invest in a scroll of Haste, though.

"Drink a Potion of Clarity to avoid the Psionic Charm and the Umber Hulks' Confusions. Drink a Potion of Freedom and/or Potion of Invulnerability to boost your saves against Psionic Stun."

I've been drinking Potions of Clarity already.
Does Psionic Stun "hold" you or knock you out? My saves have been good enough to avoid "hold", but KO is rather irritating.

"The Improved Mind Flayers can see through invisibility, so run in circles around your summons. Drink an Oil of Speed potion beforehand to boost your movement speed."

I knew they could see invisible, so I've not relied on it. (Their seeing invisible hasn't been what's been thwarting me.) I've tried to stay *back*, but they DD next to me anyway. Highly annoying.

"Have a Contingency with Protection from Magical Weapons, set to trigger when helpless. Either use Potions of Genius, or Potions of Mind Focusing to maintain an INT of 25."

Part of strategy is remembering what one has at one's disposal. D'oh!
*pulls the 10-odd bottles of Genius potions out of his potion bag*
Though with a half-dozen Mind Flayers munching on me, I don't know if I'll last long.

New question:
WHAT is the deal with Arkanis Gath? Prot. Mag Weaps gave me time to do some experimening on him, but eventually I run out of spells and he's still at Near Dead. I suspect some evil person slapped an Imoen's Belt on him and eqipped him with a Vorpal weapon. I am not fond of unkillable creatures. They demand being put in their place! So, what would be effective? Level draining? Direct damage is worthless, as is Imprisonment. Speaking of Imprisonment, I hope Wellyn isn't getting too lonely in the bowels of the earth.

-Lem

[Zarr]

Your right Arkanis Gauth has something that makes him unkillable by normal means. He is there to stop you ruining the game by killing the shadow thieves when you sided with them. There is a way to kill him however, if you have time stop and shapechange you can use timestop and shapechange into a mindflayer and suck his brains out.

[ 11-16-2002, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: Zarr ]

[Lemmy]

Well that's odd. I've not sided with the Thieves yet. I was merely freeing Edwin from Mae'Var's clutches so that I could do something despicable to him.

I'll have to re-visit Arkanis and suck his brains out when I learn Shapechange.

-Lem