Battlemage: What does it take?

Instead of following up in someone else's thread , i decided for a clean start.

So , what makes a battlemage , for you?

I agree with the guidelines of: 100Ma , Harm , 5 Dodge and Melee

But what do we use to get to those 100Ma without the Dark Helm crutch? What followers? What Items? Chip in! Voice your opinion!

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My own opinion:
Half-Elf (dex,ma , no elf str penalty) Sold Your Soul/???? (Can't think of a terribly great good aligned backround)

Harm Fireflash Tempus Fugit
Bangellian Scourge/???

I think i'm in love <3

I have some ideas for jewelry , but i don't really know where to find the Jewel of Hebe/Ring of Poison Resistance/Ring of Protection/Ring of Influence etc attire. Help?
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My battlemage was an Elf throwing expert, dodge/melee master,
Force master
Disarm, Unlocking Cantrip
Fireflash
Stone Throw
Tempus Fugit
And Illuminate to shave off some of the lighting penalties.

Magick Chainmail, later replaced with Caladon Crusading Chain
Helm of Light
Dorian Amulet.
Ring of Protection
Ring of Poison Resistance
Shield of Force. Later Replaced with an ARcane Shield.
Ahzram's Star
Filament Sword
Arcane Gauntlets
And I don't remember if I had Elven Boots, or Enchanted War Boots..

I also had the Army Training background, and 100 MA

Party was Dog, Virgil, Raven and Perriman Smythe, Although I had Gar for a while.

 

Jewel of Hebe is in the chest in the Panarii temple in Tarant. Ring of influence is worn by a gnome in a tavern in Tarant (the one who makes you a Master in haggle. Ring of poison resistance, I believe, is in the Dangeon of the Dragon Pool, but I'm not sure. Ring of protection can be found randomly, or stolen from an innkeeper in Roseborough (the other innkeeper there has an Arcane ring. That Roseborough inn is a nice place, nearly everyone has something worthy of pick pocketing). When you get Raven, she has Ring of protection.

My idea of a battle mage:

Elf/half elf, "sold your soul" background.
Skills: Melee+dodge, with bow or throwing dodge is optional.
Weapons:
For melee (if chosen)- Sword of Baltar, Arcane swords, Bangellian Scourge, barbarian heavy blade (Stillwater blade would be a bit out of character, even though with 100%MA you can stand back and let the bunnies fight),
For bow (if chosen) Ellemun's bow, Bow of the Ecclesiastes (never seen an Arcane bow so I don't know if its worth it)
For throwing- Azram's star, Mystical chakram (never seen an Arcane one again), grenades and acid if found or can be made by followers.
Armor: Arcane traveller's cloak/leather armor, Elven chainmail (preferably the one you get for Bedokaan quest), mithril chain mail. Dread Armor if you can afford reduced reaction. All magickal plate mail sucks- armor class and resistances too low to make up for the huge weight. The same with Arcane chain mail from Dernholm palace- not worth it.
Helmets: Arcane helm from Stringy Pete, Mystic helm, Geleam's helm, Fleet helm for throwing characters (VERY weak defense, but at least doesn't reduce perception), Helm of Yakazar's coast for archer mage.
Jewelry: Jewel of Hebe and Ring of Influence for those who want a big party; Dorian's amulet for combat (amulet N'tala if you need a +1 ST+1CH bonus and you don't expect magic attacks); Arcane rings, Rings of protection, Ring of poison resistance- whatever you can get your hands on.
Gloves: Gloves of Dexterity
Boots-Enchanted war boots.
Shield: Shield of Force, Arcane shield, there is also a shield that gives 30AC +10DR that can be stolen somewhere, from Stillwater blacksmith I think
Suggested spells (trying to keep our character a fighter rather than a spellcaster): Strength of Earth, Agility of Fire, Shield of Protection, Disarm, UC, Haste, Stun or Flash. Entangle or Wall of Force strongly recommended for archers and throwing characters. If more spells needed to boost the MA up without the Dark Helm- Temporal and Conveyance to the top.
Party: at least one healer (preferably Dante or Raven as best fighter mages avaliable) and the dog, the rest is optional
P.S. I wouldn't recommend taking Gar. There's plenty of non-tech melee fighters you can get but by taking Gar you lose a fate point, which might be useful for stealing equipment. If you don't have VERY high pick pocketing you will need 3 fate points for stealing all the Arcane stuff off Stringy Pete, another one to steal Sword of Baltar from Lianna.

 

First , how did throwing work for you? Was it just for novelty or do you consider it the best physical attack?
Also , i'd think , with a ranged attack , that you'd try to minimize the damage spells , yet you did exactly the opposite , having a total of 5 (!) spells available. Found any advantage in that plan?
Also , how well did illuminate work? I find lighting effects slow down my computer tremendously , but if its just for combat i guess it would be ok.

Sol: Hey cool another long winded type such as myself Seriously though , thanks for the comprehensive list.

Questions: What about a good battlemage?
It doesn't look like the battlemage you described would have pickpocketing , think there would be trouble getting everything you mentioned needed to be stolen?

-Dread Armor caps AC very very quickly , but reaction isn't really a problem , just put the smoking jacket back on when needed

-Do you really find weight to be a problem with a meleer/thrower? From what i remember , Arcane Plate/Chain seemed very nice.

- Gloves of dexterity? For a finished character? I guess you can never have enough green lights

- You suggested alot of spells that require maintenance , do you use Agility of Fire/Strength of the Earth until you cap Str/Dex and then move on to Haste/Shield of Protection? Do you raise Intelligence?

- Stun/Flash? Useful?

Heh this might seem like alot of stuff , but i agree with most everything.

 

I didn't mention pick pocketing mostly because its optional. You can get most of the equipment I mentioned in a number of ways- from wasting a fate point to simply killing the man who carries the item.

The weight might be a problem for a thrower/archer, if you decide to invest CPs on other stats rathewr than ST. Melee character would be fine with it. Still, there's a problem of low resistances of all types of heavy Arcane armor.

Saves 2 CPs. Plain simple.

With INT 12 you can maintain AoF+SoE+Haste-more than enough. With another four INT points you can add Shield of Protection. There is no need to boost it further, unless you're a summoner or a Stillwater Blade addict. Also, I'm yet to figure out how much speed I can get by boosting DX to maximum +Haste+ potion of speed.

Very, especially if you don't use powerful direct damage spells. Some monsters have way too much hit points and resistances, its nice to have them stand peacefully while you're running them through with your sword.

 

Figured as much , not quite an option for a good battlemage though.

Oh , i thought throwers would benefit from strength like meleers. My bad.

At the cost of protection. I tend to simply spend the cp's on dex/str and use equiptment and magic for the protection. It sounds viable either way.

Yes but where are these points coming from? Saving points with spells to spend points in mantaining them? Of course you can simply not cast some of them , i'm just not sure its worth it.

About stun/flash: if you're going up to Haste anyway , why not use stasis? Though i am going against my own logic in terms of mantaining spells :| Guess i'll have to try it. Or i can hope i can kill them before my hasten green lights run out

 

1)Pick pocketing is extremely useful for everyone, especially for spellcasters and battle mages. Just check the inventory of almost all magick traders and people in the inns- they have rings, weapons, helmets and other handy stuff. A tech can also pick pocket some valuable items- Looking Glass rifle, Mechanized gun, Hand Cannon, Sharpshooter's pistol, Long Range pistol, small Elite and Machined plates, half a dozen of featherweight axes- the list is long.
2)I'm not sure if throwers benefit from strength. I just assumed that throwing works like othe ranged weapons, but you might be right and it can be more like melee.
3)The logic of saving CPs with Gloves of dexterity is simple. You can get 20 AC or +40 all resistances just from rings if you desperately need it. By putting on better gloves you gain maximum 5 more armor class points, while losing 2 CPs you could spend on learning two more spells or boosting up ST and combat skills. Not worth it.
4)I chose stun or flash because they don't need maintaining. Stasis can be an extremely useful spell when I think about it, instead of boosting up your stats and protection with spells one could simply put a whole group of enemies into freeze and take his time slicing them into pieces. Got to try it in the next game...
5)Boosting INT to maintain spells or spending them on learning new ones is a choice depending on your combat style. Some people prefer going into combat fully prepared, with spells activated; others can't be bothered and rush in quickly, relying on "one shot" spells. I tihnk both ways are equally effective.

By the way, does the damage of the Sword of Baltar (from Lianna Pel Dar in Dernholm) depend on MA? it doesn't have (+X) markings, just damage stats. If it's not MA dependant, a battle mage doesn't even have to be 100%MA.

 

1- Not saying it isn't useful , but unfortunatly it lowers alignement by 1 everytime you use it , which might not be conveniant for Good aligned characters.
There are many other useful skills as well , but if their benefit is reduced compared to the core skills/spells , it would probably best to leave those extra cp's for roleplaying/personal preference purposes , and not try to discuss a potentially infinite point

3- I can't really argue with that , i'm a sucker for free CP's Acessory equipment is in so little danger in this game that it really isn't much of a liability. *note to self: buy gloves of Dex at Elven Trader*

That's what i was thinking, and Stasis isn't available to everyone depending on Int restrictions , but it is an option and i'm glad it got you thinking

As for point 5 , i believe i fit into the middle of the spectrum you proposed , i think it would be a waste not to use the starting intelligence , but i probably won't go out of my way to increase it either. I adjust the amount of spells that require maintaining i use accordingly.

Again , thanks for a wonderful participation.

 

Well lots of replies..that's good..

I did manage to get through without a pickpocket skill, but there were times when it would've come in real handy.

I'm not sure if there is a str bonus for throwing, tho I think you should. But I like throwing simply because it allows for use of a shield and/or torch. Not to mention for things like chakrams and boomerangs..you need no ammo...don't have to worry about running out of bullets or arrows in the middle of Thanatos Plus my own personal preferences. I just think thrown weapons are cool!

I found the Magick Chain among the more useful and protective armours I've run across. It has better defense than the Caladon crusading Chain, but I wanted the extra followers to take into the Void.

I usually tend to take a high strength anyway cuz it means I get to carry more goodies.

And actually, I took force master simply because I wanted to play with those spells. For the longest time I didn't go past Jolt...handy when you get swarmed..The advantages were..well insta-dead..Plus I liked using disintegrate on things like gore guards. I have issues with them bastards!

Illuminate is very helpful with a ranged weapon. For both the main character and the party. If it's glowing, it's a lot easier to hit..Although it outlives its usefulness when you hit...master was it? Since it negates the lighting penalties. But early on it's helpful.

Well I hope this makes a little sense...Tough to keep track of all the replies sometimes..

 

Where do I get either of them?

 

I found the magick chain in Ancient Maze I believe. The Caladon crusading chain is tricky to explain. I'll try my best.

In Caladon, across from the park/zoo there's a little grey square pumphouse type building with a locked door. Inside there's a trap door that leads into a basement. It's like an emergency bunker or something down there. There's some critters, mostly rats I think, but there could've been a couple undead. There's all sorts of chests and barrels with assorted goodies in them. I don't remember all of them, cuz I only took the chainmail, but I think there's also a couple swords, maybe a shield. and a barrel full of wine. I found it late in the game, and had lots of other goodies and more gold than I could spend, so I wasn't really treasure hunting. I also had a character editor by that time, and got sick of hunting down the wise-women to get everything ID'd,--especially since some of them aren't real easy to get to...most notably the one in Tarant, (with a magick character who can't use the steamrail she's a pain in the ass to get to). So I gave myself Divine Magick. I'd identify things, and if they weren't better than anything I had, I'd leave them.
I stumbled across it by accident, while trying to solve the Whytechurch murders. I hadn't talked to the guy at the university, and was quite confused by that time, but I knew I had to get into the sealed sewers, and was looking for a way into them.

The Crusading Chain isn't great. I got better AC from the magick chain, BUT The Crusading Chain boosts your CHA, and BEA, it might also up DEX, or strength but I don't remember what other items I had affecting stats. I'll have to look at it in a bit.and allows one more max follower.

Pickpocekting does lower your alignment, but it's easy enough to get it back. Just play Robin Hood. Pickpocket someone, then go give a begger some coins. It gives you back one alignment point. But I've only really started experimenting with pickpocket on my latest character, a human tech. Keep forgetting I have it, and that people carry stuff that you can lift. I don't usually play theif-y characters.

Oh! And I found the ring of posion resistance in the "forbidden pit" between Tarant and Ashbury.
Ring of Protection...I've got three of them, counting Raven's. But I'll be damned if I can remember where I found them. On the dead Elf in the Quarry for the Stringy Pete/Vooriden quest? I believe that's also where I found an Arcane Bow. Found some kind of wicked bow that I gave to Raven.

 

IMHO, a battlemage does not need Harm. The one on one stuff is handled with a weapon. Fireflash is a good one for when there are a lot of targets. Most battlemages study Temporial. Throwing is good, for reasons well discused above, but for the most dammage with a weapon, try a bow. Really. Check out my thread here: http://community.sierra.com/WebX?14@96. ... 0@.efb251d

 

Funny , my newest battlemage has been doing just that , i'm up to Wall of Fire but haven't taken Harm yet. Now my decisions come down to taking Unlocking Cantrip and Heal Poison or not.

 

Ok, after checking out Shady's thread. I'm intrigued by the archers. I apparently didn't give bows the credit they deserved.

Here's something...and perhaps a bit off-base in this particular thread, but I'm not a user on the other forum, and first impression is that I like this board better.

On the Helm of Yazr's Cost. I did find it, and gave it to Raven. But when I was in the Bangellian Deeps, I was fighting the paladin dudes. Raven cast Body of Water..(for what reason..I have no idea..) But after that...she lost all fatigue, and was poisoned. And the poison kept coming back, even after healing. She remained unconscious, even if I fed her fatigue removers/restorers. It simply would not stop happening. Even after I managed to get her conscious and take the Helm off her. I finally wound up putting it in the furnace to see if it negated the effect. Is this some side-effect of the Helm, or was this a bug that I unearthed? Or is this something else entirely? Has this happened to anyone else?
I reloaded five times, and this happened EVERY time. The only way I could seem to avoid it was to make Raven wait away from the battle, and remove the Helm from her, then grab her on the way out.

 

Its that Expert bonus of shooting doubles that does it. And with only one arrow!

I, and several others, are regulars on both. The Serria forum has a great group of regulars, but I would not give up either forum.

???? I use that thing almost every game, On an archer follower or an archer PC, & have never seen that one.

 

Yay! I may get the hang of this quote thing yet..But anyway, that was just my first impression based solely on the look of the other board. I like the layout of this one a little better.

Maybe it was something else, maybe it was a bug. I do know it puzzled the hell outta me. There were no other hexed items in the group...maybe it was some sort of curse or attack from the paladin guys...I'd never had it happen either of the other two times I faced those creatures, so I simply assumed it had something to do with the helm. It did seem to act like a hexed item, because I got the noise, and the orange hexagram thingee around her whenever she got poisoned and lost fatigue.

Anyhow, this thread has gotten me thinking. I think I'm going to start another game with a battlemage pickpocket archer type. I want to attempt to keep the character close to neutral, but the alignment could shift one way or the other along the way. I don't want to go too evil, but I don't want to go to saint-like goodness. What effect will this have on followers? (Although I don't want a huge party this time, I want to keep the followers around 4) Ie: What characters will/won't join a nuetral-goodish character? I know Geoffrey wn't join if you're too good, but anyone know the 'cutoff' value? And any suggestions for a background for the type of character?

Bit of an aside...Not neccessarily for a battlemage character, but has anyone played halflings? If so how are they? (and if my apparent topic-bouncing is bugging anyone, please speak up. I do tend to wander from topic to topic, being something of a long-winded type myself)

 

Look at the folower guide here: http://www.rpgplanet.com/arcanum/locati ... ions.shtml

There are a lot of them, some want good & some demand evil. Janya is the only one I know of who demands tech.

Try Halfling, Raised by Orcs. Makes a great archer thief, will go tech or magic or both. ST 7, DX 10, PE10, CH 2, + 1/4 all combat skills. Get Apprentice bow from the Halfling guard in SH, & Expert from the bow captian in Dernholm before you talk to Pierce in Blackroot.