Shrink // Harden Hands // Speak to Dead questions

ok first of all in shrink's description if does not give the slightest clue about what does being half size does; less STR, more DEX ? and it requiring lvl 5 prevented me from experimenting with it (dont use editor) does anyone know what exactly does this spell do on friendly and aggresive NPC ?

second wanted to check some different magic colleges; black necromancy second spell grants speaking with dead. I was wondering does this prove to be useful in ANY part of game that other characters can not do? like if we kill a NPC and use that skill can we have a unique dialog "You murdered me! ....." and leads to maybe some other thing, or is it there to use one time maybe on the P. and sons in Tarant (incase we kill his sons and want to talk to him rather than getting the document from drawers). If this skill leads to hidden dialog options (like dumb dialogs provide) I would love to try a char maybe even killing everyone to see what they will say afterwards? (oh I am tempted to use it on Virgils corpse in Caladon now!)

about Hardened Hands; I know that melee apprentice does NOT give the 5 speed bonus to hand to hand combat; this information is right, right? (I experiemented with it and appears so, still.. ) Then being a melee figther with hand to hands (maybe machined gauntlets) with Hardened Hands could pay off. so tried to see the effect of that spell with different MA. to my surprise with 60 MA (elf,daymage,spell set) the effect of the spell was ... NOTHING !! it does not increase the hand to hand damage in Inventory damage shower (1-4 before and after spell). also no change in Character Sheet neither. Is that skill is bugged or is its effect hidden? to my further experiments on rats near steam machine; damage I deal with or without the spell does vary between 1 hit kill or 1/3 or so damage which means with my 1-4 damage the effect of even 1 damage bonus would be very significant yet.. it MAY be increasing the damage with %. So here comes the questions; is it bugged? if not what is its effect? does it vary with MA?

thanks for your time!

 

Conjure Spirit is quite fun to use on an evil playthrough. Quite a few plot essentially NPC's, and some non-essentially NPC's do have new dialogue if you murder them. It doesn't lead to any drastic change in the plot flow, but can get you around a few quests. I would only really recommend grabbing it if you planned to play through as evil in the first place though, as a good aligned Living One I've found that the chances are to use it beyond getting "No! Please let me go!" are pretty strictly limited.

I don't know about Shrink or Hardened Hands off the top of my head. I don't think Shrink changes any stats, and even if it does the change is probably negligible. I do know, however, that there is a side quest in a cave somewhere that you can only get into as a minute race or with Shrink. No clue at all about Hardened Hands.

Sorry I can't help more, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable then me will lend a hand though.

 

Hardened Hands simply adds +2 normal damage per hit, regardless of your MTA. The bonus is applied at each hit, so you can't see it on the paper doll.

 

Not sure what stats Shrink affect (apart from movement speed), but it is really useful if you have a full magical character and you still want to deal with tech shopkeepers. Their dialog is bugged, after the initial dissing about your size, they go on normally, instead of screaming at you to get out of their shops. It seems the spell shrinks magical aura as well

 

Neither, really. Shrink, apart from making a character smaller and lowering his movement speed (but not the speed parameter), halves the bonus damage coming from strength regardless of the caster's aptitude. Amusingly enough, this means shrink actually increases the melee damage of characters with a strength of ≤8, seeing how their strength bonus is a negative number which is greater when halved.

Right. Unarmed attacks always require 5 APs regardless of training levels, which means their attack speed is an invariable number between 9 and 11.

It should also be said that while small, the bonus to unarmed attacks ignores damage caps, so it takes full effect no matter how great the user's strength.

 

Using Conjure Spirit on P Schuyler is useless, he only talks if his sons are there. Using it on Virgil in Caladon is also a non-event.

It is one of the most colourful spells around, though, along with Charm Animal, it changes the PC's relationship with the world significantly. If you're evil, it can shortcut a lot of quests, and there's plenty of occassions for an evil cackle.

To avoid running errands, use it on:-

Spoiler

Bates; Loghaire; Myrth and; the Whytechurch victim(s).

For interesting dialogue, use it on:-

Spoiler

Raven. This may be relevant to the final dialogue with Kerghan. "I've spoken with spirits who are not in pain."

For evil colour use it on:-

Spoiler

anyone ("Arrgh, the pain!") starting with the corpse in the cave at the crash site, after you've released him. "I just wanted you to know I can bring you back at any time." Mwahahaha.

 

thanks for all the replies! I may try speak to dead in some gameplay, as for shrink.. I guess I will skip it as the only visible effect is a new dialog options with shopkeepers. for Hardened Hands.. I have a RP I wanted to play I guess will use it still

 

Shrink also allows you to access a certain location otherwise only available to dwarves/halflings/gnomes.

 

is this also the case with the "normally" small races?

 

Indeed it is.