Edwin is overpowered!

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We have always considered Edwin to be the most powerful mage in the game, what with his necklace and all.
But I never really realized how much of a power gaming pure mage he was.

The specialist wizard schools in BG II all have one opposing school only, which is the school of spells the specialist cannot cast. The List is as under:
(ABJURATION) . <-> (TRANSMUTATION)
(CONJURATION) <-> (DIVINATION)
(ENCHANTMENT)<-> (EVOCATION)
(ILLUSION) . . . .<->(NECROMANCY)

The number of spells a mage can cast per level, of each school are:
(ABJURATION) . . . 3 1 8 3 8 5 4 4 5 = 41
(CONJURATION). . .3 3 3 2 4 8 7 6 2 = 38
(EVOCATION) . . . .3 3 3 4 4 3 3 2 3 = 28
(TRANSMUTATION)2 3 2 6 _ 5 2 _ 2 = 22
(NECROMANCY) . . 2 2 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 = 16
(ENCHANTMENT). .3 2 2 4 4 _ _ _ _ = 15
(ILLUSION) . . . . . 3 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 _ = 14
(DIVINATION) . . . .2 3 2 2 1 1 _ _ _ = 11

With his 18 Int, Edwin can scribe as many scrolls as he can find. As a Conjurer Edwin’s school of opposition is Divination which, conveniently, is the school with the least number of spells. Of the few spells from that school Farsight (L4), Oracle (L5) and True Sight (L6) are the only spells that you might probably miss.
Too bad I can never get myself to have Keldron and Edwin in the same party.

Damn it! Edwin could probably give a Sorcerer a run for his money. Now I really will have to make that evil party I always wanted to.

I admit. I have way too much time on my hands right now.
P. S. Absolutely hate what UBB is doing to my formatting.

[ February 21, 2005, 05:35: Message edited by: Shrikant ]

 

That's not including the amulet he gets.

He gets what...2-3 spells extra per level? And he's funny as hell to boot!

He's easily the best mage in the game.

 

My only problems are the identify et true seing spells not present. But anyway, nobody's perfect.

 

Never had Edwin in your party because of Keldorn? Somebody give this jerk a banana! He is just the funniest AND the most powerful mage in the game, i prefer him over any other mage (and over a certain sorcerer too)

 

@LeFleur-rotflmao, my favorite line.

 

True Sight can be cast by any cleric (not sure if by druids too), which means that in an evil party with Viconia you can still cast that. Identify will not be missed: there are 2 glasses of identification in the game, so you can identify 6 items per day, not to mention Edwin's lore gets pretty high later on.

The only thing I really miss is Farsight, and that's why I usually keep Imoen with me. She takes care of Divinations and general backup spells, and Edwin lets loose his offensive arsenal. Amazing

 

Both Clerics and Druids get Farsight(L4) and True Sight(L5). So all original romance options can cast both.
Its Oracle that you miss out on if there is no other arcane caster. I guess Edwin will have to remember a couple of copies of Spell Immunity: Divination then
This guy is worse than I thought.

 

Oracle? Surely that spell is not a necessity? I've never cast it.

 

Its not but its useful.
True Sight dispells all illusions in the area. Oracle only strips illusions from your enemies.
However Oracle is effective for just an instant unlike True Sight which remains for quite a few rounds.

I was just showing how a party with Edwin as the only arcane caster hardly misses anything of any worth.
And in return gets atleast 3 extra spells per almost every level as compared to any other mage.

 

Bah...I've got better things to do with my lvl 5 spells than Oracle...like Sunfire maybe!!

Seriously though, Edwin is powerful enough to solo the game!

 

I've never used Sunfire either. I don't think I've ever even seen it.

 

Ah, time to go into Sunfire praise mod!

Sunfire is just like Fireball, with 2 exceptions: it doesn't cap in SOA (Fireball caps at 12d6, Sunfire keeps going up all the way to 20d6), and it's centered on the caster instead of being "thrown". The first point is pretty obvious: more killing power, so longer spell longevity. The second one makes the spell's real power though. Cast the usual protection spells (Stoneskin, Improved Invisibility, Mirror Image, etc), and send Edwin ALONE. Once he gets surrounded with lots of enemies, cast Sunfire. Repeat the last step until everyone on the map is dead

This strategy works with any mage of course, as long as the opponents aren't resistant to fire. However, Edwin can really use it to its full potential because of the ridiculous number of castings he get (4 Sunfire at only level 9 is no laughing matter)

 

I think I'm going to start a Undead Hunter next time and take Edwin instead of Aeire. Fun.