I need some advice about Spell Focusing

Zoltan · 10-19-2002, 04:42 AM

I'm a little bit undecided about which SF feats to take and also elemental focuses. (aegis of rime etc)

IMO, For mages, GSF Evocation is great! Lots of damage spells are from this school.

SF Enchantment is not necessary. It's good for clerics. Mages dont have many enchantment spells.

SF Transmutation too. There isnt any useful transmutation spells.

Necromancy may be useful because there's good necromancy spells.

For cleric,

SF Evocation is not a good option. They dont have many evo spells. They're mostly defensive. Enchantment is good option.

about elemantal specialization feats. Only acid, electric and fire (aegis,scion of storms spirit of flame) are useful. cold based spells are not really useful..

can you give me some advice? correct me if I'm wrong. all comments welcome..

Nightowl2 · 10-19-2002, 12:33 PM

Yeah, evocation is definitely one to have. I usually take that along with the Fire and Acid specials, as I find myself using a lot of spells from that category. Necromancy is also useful, especially once you get up to things like Finger of Death and Horrid Wilting.

Enchantment is handy if you like doing spells from the charm/dominate class. Otherwise not really worth taking. Transmutation I never bothered with.

Nightowl2

Kygon-Jo · 10-21-2002, 10:34 AM

I think I starting to get the feel for the Feat system. As I progressed through the game I realized that I did not allocate the feats for my Characters very well. I have Spirit of Flame and Spell penetration. I respectfully disagree with your statement about the cold spells. I have Ice Storm, Ice lance and snowball swarm. I used the feat Aegis of Rhime early on and it did increase the damage done. This feat also gives (5% I think) permanent cold resistance.

I also missunderstood the skill system. If you assign skill points to a class and it is not part of what that class can do, You only get the equivalent of a half of the skill point. IE. Early in the game i assinged each of my chararcters a skill which I would load up on every timeI leveled up. Mr Ranger had Search, Cleric had wilderness lore. Rogue had HIDE and Lock pick. I gave my second tank Disable traps. He ahd 14 points assigned but in the later levels he could not disable a trap well because it was not part of the fighter class.

I am going to go through in HOF Mode with a different party and I hope to allocate my Feats and skills better. I must say I like the system overall.

Nightowl2 · 10-21-2002, 12:21 PM

Yeah, the skill system can be a little tricky when you first come to it. Generally, it's best for each class to stick with its own skills as much as possible. This is especially true for the thief. Search, detrap and lockpick are the big ones.

Also keep in mind that many skills are modified by stats. For example, the chance to detrap is d20 + skill rank + int bonus (if any). A low int (less than 10) would actually decrease your chance. Rogues need to be smart and dexterous above all.

Unfortunately, there aren't many good skills for the fighter class.

Nightowl2

P.S. You're perfectly correct about the ice spells. I just like fire/acid better myself.

Zoltan · 10-21-2002, 01:34 PM

10 int is ok for a rogue/ranger (if human!) if your rogue is not human keep your int 12. Critical skills are disable trap, search, lock pick. That's all. With 12 int, I maximize all my critical skills and keep move silently and hide at a good level.

One more thing, 10 levels of rogue is enough in my opinion. Dont take any more rogue levels.

And about Spell penetration. let me see if I'm wrong or right. Spell penetration is the primary skill? right? I mean before you take SF or GSF first you have to take SP. because SP adds +2 to all spells but SF effects only that school right??

Nightowl2 · 10-21-2002, 05:07 PM

Umm, not exactly. Spell penetration just gives you a small plus to get past a critter's magic resistance, if they have any.

Spell Focus makes your spells harder to save against by either 2 or 4, depending on how many times you take the feat. You have to choose your focuses carefully, going with those that apply to the spells you cast most often.

For instance, a sorc with CHA 18 casts a fireball. Normal save DC is 17. With two levels of the evocation focus, that becomes 21. You can see where this becomes very important with those high-level spells.

BTW, DC is 10 + spell level + stat modifier (CHA for sorc, INT for wiz).

And no, yuo don't have to take spell penetration first. You can take any spell focus as soon as it becomes available on the feats list.

Nightowl2

10-19-2002, 04:42 AM	#1
Zoltan Symbol of Cyric Join Date: August 17, 2001 Location: Waterdeep Age: 44 Posts: 1,222	I'm a little bit undecided about which SF feats to take and also elemental focuses. (aegis of rime etc) IMO, For mages, GSF Evocation is great! Lots of damage spells are from this school. SF Enchantment is not necessary. It's good for clerics. Mages dont have many enchantment spells. SF Transmutation too. There isnt any useful transmutation spells. Necromancy may be useful because there's good necromancy spells. For cleric, SF Evocation is not a good option. They dont have many evo spells. They're mostly defensive. Enchantment is good option. about elemantal specialization feats. Only acid, electric and fire (aegis,scion of storms spirit of flame) are useful. cold based spells are not really useful.. can you give me some advice? correct me if I'm wrong. all comments welcome.. __________________ I can feel the touch of wind on my face. Strong wind was slapping my face. I can feel the ground shake. The sky roars with vengeance and fury. From the shadows, I heard the Archmage's words:"İbne Fenner!" And then..I can't remember the rest..

10-21-2002, 01:34 PM	#5
Zoltan Symbol of Cyric Join Date: August 17, 2001 Location: Waterdeep Age: 44 Posts: 1,222	10 int is ok for a rogue/ranger (if human!) if your rogue is not human keep your int 12. Critical skills are disable trap, search, lock pick. That's all. With 12 int, I maximize all my critical skills and keep move silently and hide at a good level. One more thing, 10 levels of rogue is enough in my opinion. Dont take any more rogue levels. And about Spell penetration. let me see if I'm wrong or right. Spell penetration is the primary skill? right? I mean before you take SF or GSF first you have to take SP. because SP adds +2 to all spells but SF effects only that school right?? __________________ I can feel the touch of wind on my face. Strong wind was slapping my face. I can feel the ground shake. The sky roars with vengeance and fury. From the shadows, I heard the Archmage's words:"İbne Fenner!" And then..I can't remember the rest..

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10-19-2002, 12:33 PM	#2
Nightowl2 Galvatron Join Date: December 11, 2001 Location: Plateau of Leng Age: 47 Posts: 2,190	Yeah, evocation is definitely one to have. I usually take that along with the Fire and Acid specials, as I find myself using a lot of spells from that category. Necromancy is also useful, especially once you get up to things like Finger of Death and Horrid Wilting. Enchantment is handy if you like doing spells from the charm/dominate class. Otherwise not really worth taking. Transmutation I never bothered with. Nightowl2

10-21-2002, 10:34 AM	#3
Kygon-Jo Dungeon Master Join Date: September 25, 2002 Location: connecticut Age: 57 Posts: 73	I think I starting to get the feel for the Feat system. As I progressed through the game I realized that I did not allocate the feats for my Characters very well. I have Spirit of Flame and Spell penetration. I respectfully disagree with your statement about the cold spells. I have Ice Storm, Ice lance and snowball swarm. I used the feat Aegis of Rhime early on and it did increase the damage done. This feat also gives (5% I think) permanent cold resistance. I also missunderstood the skill system. If you assign skill points to a class and it is not part of what that class can do, You only get the equivalent of a half of the skill point. IE. Early in the game i assinged each of my chararcters a skill which I would load up on every timeI leveled up. Mr Ranger had Search, Cleric had wilderness lore. Rogue had HIDE and Lock pick. I gave my second tank Disable traps. He ahd 14 points assigned but in the later levels he could not disable a trap well because it was not part of the fighter class. I am going to go through in HOF Mode with a different party and I hope to allocate my Feats and skills better. I must say I like the system overall.

10-21-2002, 12:21 PM	#4
Nightowl2 Galvatron Join Date: December 11, 2001 Location: Plateau of Leng Age: 47 Posts: 2,190	Yeah, the skill system can be a little tricky when you first come to it. Generally, it's best for each class to stick with its own skills as much as possible. This is especially true for the thief. Search, detrap and lockpick are the big ones. Also keep in mind that many skills are modified by stats. For example, the chance to detrap is d20 + skill rank + int bonus (if any). A low int (less than 10) would actually decrease your chance. Rogues need to be smart and dexterous above all. Unfortunately, there aren't many good skills for the fighter class. Nightowl2 P.S. You're perfectly correct about the ice spells. I just like fire/acid better myself.

10-21-2002, 05:07 PM	#6
Nightowl2 Galvatron Join Date: December 11, 2001 Location: Plateau of Leng Age: 47 Posts: 2,190	Umm, not exactly. Spell penetration just gives you a small plus to get past a critter's magic resistance, if they have any. Spell Focus makes your spells harder to save against by either 2 or 4, depending on how many times you take the feat. You have to choose your focuses carefully, going with those that apply to the spells you cast most often. For instance, a sorc with CHA 18 casts a fireball. Normal save DC is 17. With two levels of the evocation focus, that becomes 21. You can see where this becomes very important with those high-level spells. BTW, DC is 10 + spell level + stat modifier (CHA for sorc, INT for wiz). And no, yuo don't have to take spell penetration first. You can take any spell focus as soon as it becomes available on the feats list. Nightowl2

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