Magic use opinions

Just looking for some advice: I've found that using many offensive magic spells (fireball, lightning, Snilloc's, Scorcher, etc) causes me to hit as many party members as enemies. Typically, I lure a few enemies towards me with a hidden thief (and his bow), then I launch a fireball into the midst, but by the time the spell is cast, the monsters are on top of me ant the blast hits us!
Any advice on ways to minimize this effect. My mage is usually at the back of combat, to avoid being shredded by melee attacks, so all the good guys are in the way!

Why not try using your sneaky thief to expose the baddies to the map, but hide in shadows so's they don't follow. Then have a cleric/druid cast entangle to hold them fast, then blast the hell out of them with a fireball!

Fireball is a powerful spell, but it's hard to manage, and if you don't know how to use it, you're just as likely to annihilate your friends as you are your enemies. Being a master of the fireball (or any area effect spell), is that you have to know how to set it up for optimal destruction to your enemy, with minimal (preferrably no) damage to your friends.

When casting fireball, think of it like a roundhouse kick in martial arts... if you try to execute it on an opponent who is coming at you, you're going to get burned. A fireball is most effective if cast on enemies who are unaware (and thus you can precisely guage who you're going to hit when you sling the spell), or who are distracted by something else.

To effectively distract monsters, pick your toughest fighter (dwarves preferred), and have your cleric cast Protection from Fire on him. Then, have him run into the middle of the monsters, getting their attention and causing them to horde around him. Your mage then casts his Fireball directly at the dwarf, who's not likely to take much damage at all (due to magic resistance and fire protection), while the big horde of monsters are ALL in the area of effect, and get quite effectively crispified.

Or you can cast Fire Elementals and cast fireball on him...no damage whatsoever Be sure to have some fire elementals stocked in your cleric inventory. They are weak in melee fighting, but for mages, they are awesome beyond belief!

[Erekose]

It;s not a bad idea to never cast a mass damage spell (eg. Fireball) in the same 'screen' as any of your characters. Work out where the center is and make sure your character aren't there. Cheers