Solo sorceror...has anyone done it?

[Stripes55]

Just wondering - I was going to try to make it through IWD II with a solo sorceror, as I've heard it can be done. Can anyone provide any advice on race, starting stats, skills, feats, spells, etc.? Is it beneificial to throw in another level of something else (paladin, perhaps, and at what point)?

I've tried a couple of attempts myself, but I keep getting annihilated by the goblins in the tunnels in the Targos docks.

[Marty4]

I've done it, though I honestly don't remember if I finished the game (it was a while ago). Still, I got pretty far.

A few suggestions:

While your focus should be on spellcasting, you also want to be formidable in a melee. You don't need to add in other classes to do this, just be the right race with the right equipment.

I'd recomend Drow for your race, and dual wield short swords and daggers. The stats should look something like this:

STR 12
DEX 20
CON 16
INT 6
WIS 6
CHA 20

At first, you want to get the weapon finesse, two weapon fighting, and ambidextry feats. This will give you an extra attack and +5 to hit early on. Supplement your dual blades with a bow, and you won't need to rely on magic in the early game. As you progress, gradually transition into the sorcerer that you are. Take feats like Spirit of Flame and Spell penetration. Continue increasing your charisma for more spells, and don't overlook the defensive enchantments. Your goal is to have a very high AC, combined with stoneskin, both fireshields, shield, and mirror image. When you have this defensive array, you can blast away with AoE spells all day long, or cast Tenser's Transformation to turn into a warrior.

Also, it helps to have beaten the game already if you havent )

Good luck!

[Stripes55]

Marty,

Thanks for the tips...one question, though: won't the low INT score cause problems when trying to build up skill ranks?

[Assassin]

The thing with Drow is that they don't get the Human 1 extra skill point per level. Which means that, because they need both Concentration and Spellcraft, at least 12 INT will be needed for the Drow, while only 3 INT will be needed for the human. That means that in essence, you save 5 attribute points as a Human, despite the extra attribute points that drow get.

So, IMO, your best bet is:
Human Sorcerer
Str: 9
Dex: 18
Con: 18
Int: 3
Wis: 10
Cha: 18

A concern will be your WIS, so take Iron Will feat ASAP to buff that up (you don't want to die to a charm). However, other than that, just play the character out normally. You'll need to use ranged weapons, of course. That's a given, for the early game. Quite possibly take a few more summon spells than your standard party nuker as well. And, of course, buff yourself up to hell and back before every fight.

Another consideration is to go Drow Fighter(4)/Wizard(x)/Ranger(1). Let's take a look:

Str: 15
Dex: 16
Con: 16
Int: 20
Wis: 8
Cha: 5

You'll not be all that popular, but you can probably get the job done, with a fair bit of buffing. You're not going to mind the 20% exp penalty when you're soloing, as you'll be levelling up fairly quickly anyways. The thing about being a Ranger is that you get Ambi/Two Weapon Fighting automatically, saving you a couple of skills. Of course, that's if you want to dual-wield at all. Again, that Wis is very much a concern, but in this case, as you have your MR, it doesn't really matter as much.

[ 01-03-2006, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Assassin ]

[ZFR]

Originally posted by Assassin: The thing with Drow is that they don't get the Human 1 extra skill point per level. Which means that, because they need both Concentration and Spellcraft,

Why need spellcraft?? Only for those special feats? I don't think it is that necessary.

I would stick with the drow for the magic resistance. And keep intelligence low.

[Luvian]

In my opinion, any character with min-maxed stats is cheating and anything he do doesn't count.

In D&D dogs have an intelligence of 2, a character with 3 would be extremly stupid, he could barely speak some words. A character with a charisma of 5 would be so repulsive almost no one would ever want to talk to him. They certainly wouldn't want to become friends with him.

But is there any consequence for it in the computer game? No. You're just abusing the engine. I bet if I cheated at poker I would win too...

Using up all your spells every fights and then resting to get them back before moving on to the next fight is abuse too. No one ever sleep 8 hours every 15 minutes awake. If the devs wanted us to have all our spells every fights, they would have given us infinite casting.

Solo the game with a balanced character, rest only when your character has the tired status, and now you'll have something to be proud of. Everyone can solo while cheating.

[Marty4]

Originally posted by Luvian: In my opinion, any character with min-maxed stats is cheating and anything he do doesn't count. In D&D dogs have an intelligence of 2, a character with 3 would be extremly stupid, he could barely speak some words. A character with a charisma of 5 would be so repulsive almost no one would ever want to talk to him. They certainly wouldn't want to become friends with him. But is there any consequence for it in the computer game? No. You're just abusing the engine. I bet if I cheated at poker I would win too... Using up all your spells every fights and then resting to get them back before moving on to the next fight is abuse too. No one ever sleep 8 hours every 15 minutes awake. If the devs wanted us to have all our spells every fights, they would have given us infinite casting. Solo the game with a balanced character, rest only when your character has the tired status, and now you'll have something to be proud of. Everyone can solo while cheating.

Is it possible to solo the game with a balanced character? I know it is in the BG games due to less-crowded fights and more quest experience possibilities, but in IWD2 the main source of xp comes from fighting. My hat is off to you if you have completed the game with a "believable" character, but I played as a solo sorcerer and every one of those stat-points was needed for me.

As for the human vs. drow debate...

I'd still go with drow. With the approbriate spell protections in place, you won't be taking hits enough to worry about concentration, so it is safe to throw the first 12 skill points into spellcraft for the elemental mastery feats. After that, concentration is the logical choice for the remaining points. If you are scared of the early game with few protections, take a few concentration points early and then get spellcraft. Personally, I don't think I was ever interupted past 15-ish concentration.

[Assassin]

Personally, I don't think I was ever interupted past 15-ish concentration.

With 10 in Spellcraft and 15 in Concentration, that's level 25 with only one skill point per level. [img]redface.gif[/img]

Why need spellcraft?? Only for those special feats? I don't think it is that necessary.

20% extra damage goes a helluva long way after enough spells. But I suppose that if you want to go the route of a Fighter/x, where you want to use feats on Amoured Arcana and the like, then I suppose that Spellcraft isn't really necessary, as your (admittedly minimal) melee abilities will make up for it.

Does a Sorcerer gain enough combat power to really lay down the law with only melee/ranged weapons? According to my manual, levels 12 and 22 are the breakpoints for extra attacks. 2 or 3 ApR with a fairly low BaB and probably low damage, as you won't really by pumping up Dex/Str...

Using up all your spells every fights and then resting to get them back before moving on to the next fight is abuse too. No one ever sleep 8 hours every 15 minutes awake. If the devs wanted us to have all our spells every fights, they would have given us infinite casting.

But they gave us infinite resting ability. If they didn't want us to use it, then they would've slapped on a time limit or barred resting unless everyone was tired (which, btw, happen after two hours real time. Do you honestly play through 2 hours real time before resting? If so, sir, I applaud you). Not to mention that usually, a Sorcerer can get through at least a few fights before having to rest because a couple of Fireballs at a low level is really that powerful. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

BTW, is the landscape really... to scale? I mean, it can't possibly only take 5 minutes walk to get to Torak from where you start out. No, it'd probably be something like ten kilometers at least away from where they started out. In that light, the fact that they only way to renew spells is by resting, and the condensed time in the game (12 game : 1 real), resting after every few battles is certainly reasonable. After all, you want to make camp after you get sliced across the belly by an orc sword, right?

Solo the game with a balanced character, rest only when your character has the tired status, and now you'll have something to be proud of. Everyone can solo while cheating.

... Well, each to his/her own. Have you tried doing that?

[ 01-04-2006, 07:20 PM: Message edited by: Assassin ]

[Luvian]

My sorcerers, mages and priests keep their spells for emergencies only. I'm not going to use a fireball on a group or orcs, that would be a waste. I think there isn't a single game I rested more than 5-6 times beside the times the game force you to.

Travelling between some areas take time. A map is probably a 20 minutes encounter, the rest of the time is spent travelling without fighting. Your characters will get tired travelling between maps.

Not only is sleeping 8 hours every 15 mins unrealistic, it actually make no sense story wise. There is a horde or goblins/orcs beseiging the town, they are about to make a mass attack, and you take 2 months getting to the fortress!? The horde is heading toward a bridge as fast as they can, you hurry up to get there before them, and it take you a month? This is totally breaking the storyline. Had the devs been wise, they should have added a time limit like in fallout, but the Infinity engine is old and not very powerfull.

When they did BG1, I don't think they expected people to abuse the engine so much. They gave you the ability to rest any time so that you could camp outdoor when needed, or maybe have a long rest every once in a while, but having full spell power every fight is unbalancing and unrealistic (and do you reload when your party get woken up by mobs while trying to sleep?). Same thing for min/maxed attributes. They gave you a random rolling system to stay true to the game, not so that you could spend 30 mins rolling untill you get crazy stats.

BG1 could be said to be the first real computer rpg of that genre. Since then other games took step to fix those problems. In Arcanum, if you have low int you can't speak, low charisma and npc pretty much attack you on sight. Pool or Radiance 2 limited ressting to certain room/places etc.

[Gimli]

NWN I remember also would make your character talk like a simpleton if your INT was low, and the NPCs would react to you accordingly