Poll: Chain Contingency - What is your style?

Remove all ads!

Yeah, chain contingency is a good spell, although not as good as Spell Trigger.

If i know that there will be some huge battle ahead, then I'll set the CC this way:
condition: see enemy
action: horrid wilting, horrid wilting,
HORRID WILTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Mmmhh, came to my mind this very moment: Sadly I had to experience (a week ago) that a PI can't use Triggers. Sigh. Not even pre-casted triggers. It's in the special ability section of the PI, but when chosen - nothing happens.

Maybe a simulacrum could? What about contingencies?

 

Said news indeed Maertyn. Well, I didn't like high level illusion spells anyway.

 

see enemie:
bigbys crushing hand, acid arrow, magic missile.

why I use this:
bigbys crushing hand stops creature in question, doing small amount of damage, possibly holding them longer.

acid arrow poinsons enimie hopefully when held

magic missile hits for more damage.

 

Unfortunately, PIs and simulacrums do not retain any contingencies, chain contingencies, sequencers or triggers. The icons are still in the 'abilities' menu, but attempting to use them does nothing. This may well have been intentional, as a simulacrum can only cast at 60% the level of the caster, whereas up to 8th level spells may be placed in a chain contingency (meaning you could effectively circumvent the reduction in casting ability by storing higher level spells in these abilities).

Oh, and don't have your simulacrum / PI cast a sequencer or contingency, either. I'm not sure if it's true for all sequencer and contingency based spells, but at least some of them result in what amounts to a game lockup - you'll get stuck in the sequencer / contigency screen, and won't be able to get out (you'll need to kill the process off or reboot). The patch may have fixed this - I haven't tested it recently (I will next time I get a chance).

 

Character: Elven fighter thief mage.

Chain contingencies of choice:

When down to 25% hp:

-Stoneskin
-Simulacrum
-Tenser's transformation

or

When down to 25% hp:

-Stoneskin
-Mirroir image
-Simulacrum

I usually use the first one. It matters little, FTMs are definitely powerhouses, and my character rarely falls to 25%, this is however the oomph that makes him godlike

[This message has been edited by Alerias (edited September 16, 2001).]

 

Alerias, this is great!

-Stoneskin
A Standard tactic, that.

-Simulacrum
To get a second mage, but that tactic has beenposted before, too.

-Tenser's transformation
TO GET A FIGHTER (and more hitpoints, of course)!! So in the end you have a mage and a decent fighter! Really the best tactic so long (in my opinion).

 

Hmmm, I dunno. Remember that while tenser's transformation is up, you can't cast, and though it might give you the THAC0 of a fighter, you still have 1 attack per round.

As posted earlier, simulacrums really suck as casters (until you / if you reach a really high level). Unless of course you have some nifty useables on them (abilities from gear, potions, etc).

If I were on 25% health, I'd be after a stoneskin, a mirror image, and a shadow door or mislead. Just my personal preference, but here's my reasoning:

Stoneskin: Self explanatory - it soaks attacks up.
Mirror Image: This is cool, because it can actually save you from things like fireballs, too (which I don't think stoneskin can).
Shadow Door / Mislead: Actually get you out of trouble and give you a chance to flee.

TT *sounds* like a cool spell, but the uses for it are really quite limited. Unless you're soloing through the game and trying to kill something totally immune to magic or trying to improve your THAC0 for something like a backstab (in the case of M/Ts), you're just crippling your mage.

IMHO TT is best used by DC Fighter/Mages who dualled over to mage at level 9+. I'm pretty sure one of my IWD characters broke 300 hitpoints in this way. In conjunction with stoneskin they are arguably the best tanks in the game.

Still, if you find the combination you mentioned works well with your playing style, I encourage you to keep using it.

Just my 2 cents...