1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Animate Dead and Giant Vermin: a quick reference

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale 2' started by JT, Jan 11, 2006.

  1. JT Gems: 12/31
    Latest gem: Moonstone

     ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2005
    Messages:
    498
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    11
    Gender:
    Male
    Remove all ads!
    [​IMG] With most summon spells, the creatures summoned don't improve with caster level. Summon Monster One produces the same beetles and goblins for a level 30 caster that it does for a level one caster (although the duration increases). There are some exceptions to this rule, so I decided to list them here. This data is for the patched version of the game.

    Animate Dead:
    5-6 : Chosen Zombie, Armored Skeleton
    7-8 : Poison Zombie, Boneguard Skeleton
    9+ : Zombie Lord, Greater Boneguard

    Giant Vermin:
    7-8 : Fire Beetle
    9-10 : Beetle
    11-12: Bombardier Beetle
    13-14: Boring Beetle
    15+ : Rhinocerous Beetle

    Shadow Conjurion, Greater Shadow Conjurion, and Shades behave similarly, which is explained at: http://www.sorcerers.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/14/2598.html
     
    JT, Jan 11, 2006
    #1

  2. General Ghoul Gems: 8/31
    Latest gem: Skydrop

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2004
    Messages:
    279
    Likes Received:
    3
    I always use the undead, but what about the vermin. Are they anygood? At 15th level, does the rhino beetle stand up to anything?
     
    General Ghoul, Jan 11, 2006
    #2

  3. JT Gems: 12/31
    Latest gem: Moonstone

     ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2005
    Messages:
    498
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    11
    Gender:
    Male
    The rhino beetle seems to deal about as much damage as a Greater Boneguard. Maybe a little more; I don't pay careful attention. It definitely has more HP than the boneguard, but unfortunately not the damage resistances.

    It takes up a ton of space, which is bad when you've trying to move through narrow passages, but good for building a wall between you and the enemy.

    It doesn't have the super-long duration of undead.

    Later on in HoF it just doesn't last long against enemies, and I switch most of the 4th level spell slots to Recitation.
     
    JT, Jan 11, 2006
    #3
  4. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29
    Yeah, the Rhino Beetle isn't the nastiest summons around, but it's rather large and has a lot of HP. if you're looking for a large cannon fodder summons when you're in an open area, a Rhino Beetle is pretty good.

    But if you're looking for a summons with LONG endurance, stick with Animate Dead undead summons.

    I love using Animate Dead summons to add additional bodies while exploring new areas, because their endurance let's them hang around so long. I love letting any enemies discovered attack my undead "scouts", instead of my real scout. ;)
     
    crucis, Jan 11, 2006
    #4

  5. kmonster Gems: 24/31
    Latest gem: Water Opal

     Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2005
    Messages:
    1,917
    Likes Received:
    28
    I hardly used the spell (giant vermin) any more after my priests reached level 15.
    I wish they had capped it at level 13, boring beetles are great !
     
    kmonster, Jan 11, 2006
    #5
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.