please share your spellcasting strategies for SCSII

[Saros]

Just thought I'd mention a couple more strategies that I found useful.

 

The spells that mages use never protect them from all melee weapons. For instance, if they cast protection from magical weapons, you can beat on them with nonmagical weapons (requires some patience because you'll still have to deplete their stoneskins).

 

Protection from magical weapons: +1 through +infinity (+6 is the highest in TOB)

Mantle: 0 through +2

Improved mantle: 0 through +3

Absolute immunity: 0 through +5

 

Of course, liches are immune to normal weapons, so when they cast Protection from magical weapons that means no weapon can hit them....and if you avoided the breachable liches component like I did that pretty much means you have to wait for them to run out of that particular spell.

 

Mantle and Improved mantle are usually under-used spells, which may be useful in many fights still. I've noticed that most humanoid opponents use +2/+3 weapons max.

 

Liches cannot (and should not) be breached. However, their spells can be dispelled via Remove/Dispel magic provided that they have their SI:Abjuration removed. As far as I know, DavidW has drastically increased some monster levels, so for this to work, is required a very high-leveled mage (or simply an Inquisitor).

[Guest amanasleep]

Just thought I'd mention a couple more strategies that I found useful.

 

The spells that mages use never protect them from all melee weapons. For instance, if they cast protection from magical weapons, you can beat on them with nonmagical weapons (requires some patience because you'll still have to deplete their stoneskins).

 

Protection from magical weapons: +1 through +infinity (+6 is the highest in TOB)

Mantle: 0 through +2

Improved mantle: 0 through +3

Absolute immunity: 0 through +5

 

Of course, liches are immune to normal weapons, so when they cast Protection from magical weapons that means no weapon can hit them....and if you avoided the breachable liches component like I did that pretty much means you have to wait for them to run out of that particular spell.

 

Mantle and Improved mantle are usually under-used spells, which may be useful in many fights still. I've noticed that most humanoid opponents use +2/+3 weapons max.

 

They would be useful if PfMW was not a lower level spell or if the AI used normal weapons when confronted by PfMW, or if the PC did not gain immunity to normal weapons at the end of SoA anyway. I think it would be really awesome if:

 

A) PfMW was removed from the game entirely.

B) Mantle and Improved Mantle protections were bumped up by 1 to +3 and +4.

C) The PfMW slot at 6th Level Arcane was replaced by "Lesser" Mantle that protects up to +2.

D) SCSII AI would be adjusted to compensate.

 

Liches cannot (and should not) be breached. However, their spells can be dispelled via Remove/Dispel magic provided that they have their SI:Abjuration removed. As far as I know, DavidW has drastically increased some monster levels, so for this to work, is required a very high-leveled mage (or simply an Inquisitor).

 

A mage high level enough to successfully dispel Liches in SCSII may need to break the level cap. In any event, a Time Stop cast on the 3rd round of duration should be enough to beat any combat protections. If operating under SoA level cap, then Maze and Power Word: Blind can serve a similar purpose.