Icewind Dale Hints

Mage Spells (1st-4th Levels)

• 1ST LEVEL
  
  Charm Person -- Temporarily increases a target's reaction towards you. Essentially, you gain an ally in the creature you cast it on (if they fail a save). This is ridiculously useful in large battles where hordes of enemies are charging you. Cast this spell on a couple of them, and if you get lucky, turmoil in the enemy ranks! Most, if not all, of your enemies that are still enemies will turn and attack your charmed creatures, allowing you plenty of time to demolish them.
  
  Chromatic Orb -- Fires a magical orb at one target. This spell is so amazingly useful once your characters have achieved moderately high levels. As long as the target fails their save (which they usually seem to), they'll take a decent amount of damage and suffer a nasty debilitating effect. Eventually it gets to the point that no matter whether they save or not, they're going to be paralyzed, which is wonderful when you're fighting giants and the like. Make sure every Mage knows this spell.
  
  Identify -- Reveals the properties of a magic item. Don't leave town without it, or else none of the awesome treasure you find will be particularly awesome until your bring it back to town, which can be a huge pain. Be sure at least one of your Mages has this memorized at least once; you can always rest if you need to ID more than one item in a day.
  
  Larloch's Minor Drain -- This spell will drain 1-4 life from the target and give it to the caster. This nifty little spell is great for disrupting Mages' spells, not only because it's quick to fire, but also because it will heal a little bit of damage the caster has taken -- it can even put them over their max. It's useful mostly in the early going.
  
  Magic Missile -- Shoots magic missiles, 1 at level 1, and another for every 2 levels after that, which deal 1-4+1 damage each. This is the best level-1 spell, by far. Not only does it still deal a decently useful amount of damage at higher levels, it is without a doubt the best possible spell to use against mages, since it will quickly eliminate annoying spells such as mirror image. It will also have a very, very large chance of disrupting any spellcasting, since it hits multiple times. It's great, so make sure every Mage has it memorized at least once.
  
  Shield -- Creates a magical shield for the caster, which grants improved AC. This spell is really useful, mainly because it gives an excellent bonus to AC against missile weapons (base AC of 2) and makes you immune to Magic Missiles, a Mage's worst enemy. Cast this spell if you know you're about to go into battle with Wights, or with archers. You'll most likely be happy you did.
  
  
  2ND LEVEL
  
  Agannazar's Scorcher -- Creates a jet of flame from the caster to the target, damaging it and all creatures in the jet. This spell is really nice if you're facing a very large group of enemies. Target a creature in the back, and a whole line of enemies will be taking damage. The only downside is that is will hurt your party members too. Be sure to create a nice funnel for a Mage to cast into.
  
  Horror -- Causes all enemies in area of effect to run in terror if save is failed. This spell is just a really nice way to turn the tides of battle in your favor. If you lured a very large group of enemies towards your party, or you have come up against a group of creatures that is just too tough to handle, cast this spell, and you'll send at least some of them running. It can be a lifesaver.
  
  Knock -- Opens a locked, held, or wizard-locked door or chest. Use this to open stuff that none of your Thieves are good enough to pick. This can be especially useful in situations where you come across a door that has a key that's on a character, but you don't want to have to kill them just yet.
  
  Melf's Acid Arrow -- Creates a magic arrow that flies towards its target and does normal arrow damage, plus 2-8 acid, and lasts for an extra round for every 3 caster levels. Although this spell doesn't deal out boatloads of damage, it can be a huge help in taking down powerful enemies over time, since it does continuous damage. It's also one of the better ways to deal with trolls.
  
  Mirror Image -- Creates a number of duplicates of the caster around them, which will take hits until all are destroyed. There's a % chance based on how many images are left that the actual caster will be hit. This spell is beyond useful. It will keep your Mages alive, keep their spells from being disrupted, and just make them that much better. Cast this before any large combat, and you'll find your Mages are taking a lot less damage than without.
  
  
  3RD LEVEL (The most useful level)
  
  Dire Charm -- Same as the 1st-level spell charm person, except it sends the target into a berserker state. This spell is really nice to cast on a powerful enemy. A good amount of the time they seem to fail their saves, and they will immediately attack the nearest thing that poses a threat to the caster, including former allies. Fun, fun, fun.
  
  Dispel Magic -- Dispels all magic effects in a 30-foot cube. This spell is extremely important to surviving in the later stages of the game. Your characters are going to be hit with a lot of status ailments, and this is the best, quickest way to cure most any given one of them (except poison and disease, which have their own spells).
  
  Fireball -- Shoots out a ball of flame which bursts in a 20-foot circle, dealing 1d6 * caster level damage to all within the radius, with a save for 1/2 damage. This is the core of any good Mage's repertoire. It will weaken a large group of charging enemies, and two casts at once will destroy most standard creatures. Needless to say, all Mages should know this spell. Just be sure you don't hurt your own party members with it.
  
  Haste -- Gives a temporary burst of speed, increasing movement, and adding an attack/round. This spell is great for turning odds in your favor. Cast it before your enemies get to you, and your fighters will be almost unstoppable, and archers will fire at a frightening pace. It will also negate the slow spell, which is quite nice. The only downside is that it fatigues any characters it affects after the effect ends.
  
  Hold Person -- Holds any creatures in radius that fail their save in place, unable to attack. Give this to your utility Mage (the one who casts all the useful effect spells). A good number of creatures around the point of casting will be unable to move, and this makes them easy pickings for your fighters. Note that undead and large creatures can NOT be held -- holding them requires the level-5 spells hold undead or hold monster, respectively.
  
  Ice Lance -- Fires a lance that does 5-30 damage automatically and will stun the target for 1-4 rounds if a save is failed. This spell is nice against bigger enemies, since it will do a fair amount of damage, and any spell that renders an enemy unable to attack you has to be given some credit.
  
  Monster Summoning I -- Summons some weak monsters to fight for you. They're more cannon fodder to take attention away from your party than anything else. Send them in first, and then attack with your party. You'll like the results if you're fighting melee attackers.
  
  Slow -- Slows down your enemies. Gives your enemies fewer attacks, and they get to you slower. What more needs to be said?
  
  
  4TH LEVEL
  
  Dimension Door -- Teleports the caster anywhere they can see. This spell is great because it has a casting time of one. Use it to get your Mage away from melee situations, or to allow them to get away from enemies to better prepare. Be sure all Mages know this, since it's by far the best 4th-level spell in the game.
  
  Emotion Hopelessness -- Causes all creatures in the area of effect to stop doing anything if they fail their save. It's great if you're facing up against a bunch of weaker, but still annoying, creatures, as most will fail their save and allow you to mow them down with ease.
  
  Ice Storm -- Causes shards of ice to drop around the area cast. All within take 3-30 damage every round it's active. This is a great spell for taking out clumps of enemies, especially ranged attackers, since the spell has a fairly large radius. Just be sure none of your party members are in the area of effect, as it will damage them too.
  
  Improved Invisibility -- Causes the target to become invisible, but they can attack and cast spells and remain unseen. This is great for Mages who don't want to be easily hit while casting spells. Combined with Mirror Image, this makes a Mage virtually invincible to all forms of physical attack, for a little while at least.
  
  Monster Summoning II -- Same as Monster Summoning I, just with more powerful monsters.
  
  Stoneskin -- Renders the Mage immune to the next 1-4 successful physical attacks on the caster. This is a ludicrously unfair spell for a high-level Mage to have cast. Once it's set, it probably isn't going to be knocked down for at least 2 rounds, giving the Mage enough time to easily cast two spells, with no chance of being disrupted by attacks. Combined with Globe of Invulnerability, this makes a Mage almost invincible for a short while.
  

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