What Stats for Sorc. Solo?

[Annatar]

Hey you guys,,,

just wandering (saw a lot of topics about the mighty sorcerer...

need some help from you guys,, ive playing to go solo (first time) with the sorcerer (I never used him/her) and wanna know what stats I need (obviously Intelligence but what else?) and wich mage spells I must pick at the beginning..

Have al the new patches installed and also have TDD installed (deleting that soon i think )

and also... what kind of items I should use with my sorc. (cloaks/weapons/rings/ ect.)

thx for the help

[Sir Exxon]

Actually, Intelligence isn't that much a given. Because, accoding to true AD&D, the Sorcerer gain their spells from how charismatic they are. This is because magi is not something they learn fromstudyng, it comes to them naturally. [img]smile.gif[/img] This also applies for Bards.
I suggest something like this:
10 Str
14 Dex
15 Con
17 Int
14 Wis
17 Cha
This is an 87, and shouldn't be that hard to get. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Equipment... Well, there's alot of good equipment for a Sorcerer in BG2, and there's a very few which really are outstanding compared to the others. From the top of my head, though, I suggest these:
Staff of the Magi
Cloak of Mirroring
Robe of Vecna
Ring of Gaxx
Ring of Wizardry
Pale Green Ioun Stone
Boots of Speed
Everards Sling

[SilverBear]

It is my understanding that Sorcerers main attribute is charisma not intelligence. However I have never noticed a high charisma score making any sort of difference in spell casting with sorcerers. I still recommend having charisma on the high side. I know you can get the ring of human influence very early in the game but there are so many other great rings and apparently in the world of Baldur’s Gate people only have one finger per hand.

You do need an intelligence of at lest 10 so you can read scrolls but not much more. The only time intelligence plays a role for a non-mage seems to be in the Underdark when your conversing with Solaufein about the Mindflayers.

I would rather pump up Wisdom, makes limited wish and wish provide better results. There are also several conversations such as with the Spectator Beholder that are based on Wisdom. Wisdom also modifies saving roles.

If you are soloing make sure your Strength and Dexterity are high as possible. They make for better THAC0 and provide a damage and AC bonus. You can max out your constitution at 16, only fighters gain bonus hit points after 16.

The only thing I would add to Sir Exxon’s equipment list are gauntlets of AC3.

[Pyrenk]

Sorcerer+Melee=Festering hand.

You use a sorc for magic, not melee.

[SilverBear]

As for spells: everyone has their own opinions on what is useful and what is not. It depends on your playing style.
Spells to forget Fireball, Cloudkill, Horror, Cone of cold, Haste, Invisible, Lightning, Monster summoning (there are wands and potions for these effects, use them instead) Also forget protection from whatever, acid, cold, undead, fire and so on. (use scrolls) Also never memorize find familiar, you’ll only use that spell once.
Identify ( get the glasses and work on your lore)

My favorites sorcerer spells:
Level 1: Magic Missile (who doesn’t have magic missile? Well Nalia for one)
Friends (merchants will love you)
Chromatic Orb (becomes one of the most powerful spells in your arsenal)
Shocking Grasp (increasing amounts of damage as you level up)
Spook, (The saving throw for spook is based on the caster’s level so the better you are the worse your enemy’s saves)

Level 2: Melf’s acid arrow (gonna fry me some trolls, it also hinders spell casting in its victiums)
Resist fear (a terrified solo sorcerer is a dead solo sorcerer)
Knock (if you are going solo someone has to open those locks)
Blur (give you a +1 to your saves and a -3 to your enemies to hit)
Web (Nothing better for immobilizing nasties and in a web spiders have automatic to hit)

Level 3: Skull Trap ( a personal favorite – 1-6 HP of damage per level of caster)
Melf’s Minute Meteors (has +5 bonus on attack rolls)
Flame arrow (increases in damage done as you level up)
Slow (a slow opponent is one that is easy to hit +4 penalty to AC and -4 penalty on attacks)
Spell Thrust (gets rid of ALL spell protections less than 5th level)

Level 4: Stoneskin ( a must have for any magic user)
Spider spawn (everyone needs pets and these make great allies)
Greater Malison (put this in a sequencer with lower resistance to take down very big, very bad monsters)
Fireshield (either red or blue, I prefer blue as your more likely to find fire based enemies)
Wizard Eye (no better tank in the game, it can’t be killed and bad guys will attack it wasting their best spells while you stay far away and safe)

Level 5: Animate dead (very powerful summons)
Lower resistance (weapon #1 against powerful enemies)
Spell immunity (use this and use it often no need to go berserk to prevent imprisonment)
Feeblemind (stupid opponents make for dead opponents and yes it works on dragons)
Breech (very helpful)

Level 6 Chain lightning (fry a dozen or so enemies with one spell)
Death fog (gets rid of those pesky summoned creatures, just keep your out of it)
True sight (thieves can be annoying, you will need this, and often)
Tenser’s Transformation (for the solo Sorcerer going up against regenerating creatures)
Protection from magical weapons (incredibly useful and doubly so in ToB. This assumes you have been a good little sorcerer and gained immunity to normal weapons at the end of SoA. Combined means no weapon can hurt you)

Level 7: Finger of Death (I call this Bigby’s middle digit)
Mordenkainen’s sword (a great tank and you can summons several at once)
Summon Hakeashar (let this pet deal with those lichs and high level wizards)
Spell sequencer
Ruby Ray of reversal (removes most potent protection first and has shorter casting time than Khelben’s Wardign Whip)

Level 8:Abi-Dalzim’s Horid wilting (devastating spell that gets better as you level up)
Incendiary cloud (tons of damage)
Maze (perfect for clearing out an over crowded field or protecting someone in a fight)
Simulacrum (Dr. Evil has Mini Me, why not you?)
Pierce shild (in addition to removing spell protections it lowers magic resistance 10% +1% per level of caster)

Level 9: Time stop (it doesn’t get any better than this)
Wish (I wish for an open ended wish…but I’ll settle for remembering all my spells)
Meteor swarm (got to admit…it looks damn impressive)
Spell trap (go ahead and hit me with those magic missiles)
Shape change (Admit it, you always wanted to be a mind flayer)

[Zarr]

No project image picked for level seven spells?! That seems to be a error in your sorcerors spell picks as it's if used correctly can be the most powerful spell for a solo socerer as experencied magic users like Dundee, Alson et al will tell you [img]smile.gif[/img] .

[Brennihelvete]

And what about chain contigency and the spellsequencer?

Btw can somone clarify what effect greater CHAR will have for the sorcerors spellcasting abilites?

[SilverBear]

No project image picked for level seven spells?! That seems to be a error in your sorcerors spell picks

Project Image is not a great spell, I’d much rather fill a precious spell slot with Simulacrum. Project image cannot engage in any physical attacks no bonking heads with Staff of the Magi. Worse while it is up and running your sort of stuck where you were standing, there are times when I want to make a quiet exit from an area while my clone is occupying whatever it is that I want to avoid. Further Project Image fails when hit with dispel magic or worse when true sight is cast. To many of those bad guy mages cast true sight like it was their best friend.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Silverbear, Project Image illusions can attack physically, if you use them properly in conjunction with another spell. Project Image is the number one reason why Sorcerers are the easiest pureclass to solo with. Project Images can cast the high level spells, Simulacrums cannot.

Project Image is the keystone in the PRATI tactic, the endless spells tactics, the reason why Weimer laments they have too easy a time in his Improved Mods, etc... ...

Spells are power, and Project Image enforces that concept.

Spell Immunityivination renders your PI immuned to True Sight by the way. To dismiss Project Image as not a great spell, is to not know the true extent of the Mage/Sorcerer's capabilities.

Personal opinion ahead,

STR: 12+
DEX: 18
CON: 16
INT: 10
WIS: 18
CHA: 08

A total of 82 stat points. Extremely easy to get.

[Jim]

Btw can somone clarify what effect greater CHAR will have for the sorcerors spellcasting abilites?

Absolutely non what so ever! Sorcerers pick spells as they level up, and they recieve a definate amout of spells/castings regardless of any stat. This is why sorcerers don't need INT likes mages do!

In 3rd edition rules (implemented in NWN and IWD2), Charisma is massively important for sorcerers. It determines how many bonus spells they can cast, and the difficulty check for opponents resisting your spells. I had a sorcerer in IWD2 reach level 28, with a CHA or around 30 (unbuffed) with spell focus in evocation, and even the toughest baddest enemies (even on HoF) had trouble saving against her level 1 chromatic orbs! But, sadly, in BG2 CHA merely grants you some bonus dialog and anywhere between a 5% and 25% discount on goods bought at stores.

[ 01-14-2003, 12:19 PM: Message edited by: Jim ]