Is A Pixie Dodging Its Own Spells?

[Radek]

A few weeks ago, I complained about defensive magic unreliability in W&W. That time, I played a Pixie and I had serious problems with casting Armorplate and similar spells. I tried to cast, got no icon, tried again with the same result and so on.
Now, I am playing and Elf. The game advanced to the stage where I had the problems already but I haven't experienced similar problems so far. I dare to suggest an answer.
We know that a Pixie is dodging not only blows but also spells. Is a Pixie dodging its own spells? Was my problem with Armorplate, etc., caused by the following: cast Armorplate - dodged - cast Armorplate - dodged - cast Armorplate - ? Suppose it was. Then why was a Pixie much more successful with casting in dungeons than in the wilderness?

[Wyvern]

Radek -

A very interesting idea! I suppose it could be true, but wouldn't it also prove true in groups as well as on solo runs? Maybe those who ran parties with many pixies will have opinions to offer on this!

Wyv

[KRI]

Quite interesting...

If you allow me to put some hypothesis:

1/I do not suppose "dodging" has anything to do with
spells (being purely physical activity).

2/On the other hand each race has some specific
race traits like for example different levels of
"magic resistance" ; death resistance
and so on;
these traits depend on will and even more so on race
(possibly on profession, on sex, on inteligence, on spirituality ???).
Could be that pixie (being creature of magic)
has enormous resistances to magic...

3/I was nether playing with pixie but allow me
to give some advice:
create completely new party (say human, elf, pixie, dwarf, gnome)
each one the same profesion (!!!) and of the same sex.
Then look at their statistics (i.e. resistances to
fire, cold, magic, poison, etc, etc,)

4/So to summarize: I would blame the curious behavior of your pixie
on his magic resistance and not on his "dodging" trait.
Still what you reported seems to me nothing else but
one another bug on the side of game programmers.

5/One of thelast factors to take into account...
Almost anybody encoutered some temporary troubles with magic;
some magic spell fizzles, or you have to cast it twice or three
times before it works (this I have seen for humans and for dwarfs)
Could be (???) that these phenomena are random (just like
respawning rate of the monsters), when at some times you see no monsters
for a long, long time and at some other time you see enormous crowds of them
appearing like on a purpose. Such phenomena might look like
some regularity but in fact they are not - but to prove it you need
much better statistics than just one or two games....

6/Now I will add very last fact to you statistics:
I was playing with plenty of cheating (using save game editor...)
Each one of my party was assigned dodge trait from the very beginning.
(Humans and dwarfs). I indeed saw that
dodging helps a lot while during fighting and at the same time
I did not encouter similar probles you happen to report in you post.

Hope I did not bore you too much...


Greetings !!!
KRI

[Radek]

The phenomenon is not a matter of magic resistance. A pixie is not super resistant to magic. Moreover, if it were a matter of resistance then we could not cast any protective spells after casting Merlin's Shield, which fortifies the magic resistance greatly. This is not true.
A pixie do dodge spells. I bet it! I have a lot of experience with pixies and I have seen many helpless spellcasters trying to hit my pixie with spells with no effect. The spells missed the pixie - it was not an effect of magic resistance. I was so bold sometimes that I turned back in the spell crossfire and observed the spells flying around my pixie. Then I turned back and put an end on the theatre. It is only now - while I am playing an elf - when I begin to understand what all can the monsters do to me.

[sageridder]

Originally posted by Radek: I was so bold sometimes that I turned back in the spell crossfire and observed the spells flying around my pixie.

Is there an option to play not in first person view?

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Trust is indeed a shiny jewel,set in the stone of friendship.And much like any other stone can be use to crush the skulls of those unsuspecting.To clear the path for me to claim my rightfull place as master of all I survey.

..........O,_
......_.L.=\_:
~~(_)==(_)


[This message has been edited by sageridder (edited 06-29-2001).]

[KRI]

Thanks Radek for wiping out my false
preconception about pixie and "dodge" trait.
Could be that will help when I decide play pixie...
KRI

I noticed the same thing about my pixie when I ran through the game the first time. Towards the end of the game, when she was much more of a bad-a$$, spells like Merlin's Shield would never stick.

[andora20]

On my second playthru' I played a female pixie in my group. Early on she picked up a cursed side dagger. We are now on the way to Boogre caves and she has yet to loose any hitpoints due to the dagger, I wonder does this work for other cursed weapons like the skull dager?

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Carpe Diem, Carpe Jugulem

[Radek]

Andora20, go to the temple and let the temple to uncurse your Pixie - this will remove the damned dagger from his hand. And do not forget to sell the dagger immediately (at least some usage and you will not be able to equip it again).