Advice on starting as a mage/wizard?

[Light]

I missed out on Baldur's Gate back in the 90's and it has been over ten years since I played Icewind Dale. I now have both this and the GOG versions of BG. As mage type characters are my favorite type to play in other RPG's I would appreciate some advice on how to build a mage character for Baldur's Gate.

[crowbarzero]

Wild mage. Fun and powerful even if it causes you to kill your own party at times. Hit up high Int, Dex & whatever else like con after that.
Fun things to expect or possibly encounter:
-Bovine interventions (falling cows that explode)
-Changes your gender and possibly sets off same sex romance options. (patched??)

[Crazed Possum]

i always liked the sorcerer. Example: if you have 5 lvl 3 spells and you want to cast all fireballs then you have 5 fireballs......simple.or 1 haste 1 fireball and 3 lightning bolts = 5 lvl 3 spells total...again simple.

[Light]

I forgot about the sorcerer. I don't think classic BG had it, only BG2.

Also I think I should clarifiy my question.

1. What are the pros and cons of race with regared to making a magic user?

2. How best are points spent on stats? I have heard that not setting them up correctly at the start can mess up your game later.

3. In many modern Computer RPG I have played Mage and Cleric classes have been mashed toggether into one. Is a Cleric a viable alternitive to a Mage as a spellcasting player character? If so I am a little possible loss of offecive firepower.

[Gaan Cathal]

1. None of them have significant pros or cons beyond multiclassing or restrictions. Gnomes can only be Illusionists and I don't think Dwarves can Mage at all. I don't think anyone actually gets an Int buff though, so stat buffs are a nonissue.

2. Int 18, Dex 18, else to taste (con and wis both good)

3. Mage/Cleric (or Illusionist/Cleric for Gnomes) for non-humans gets you the best of both worlds, for a slower levelling progression.

[almighty_hood]

just pointing out the reroll of your stats is possible so far i have had an 89 as the highest number of combined stats so experiment with it abit to get the most you can ;)

[Jim]

I haven't played this in a while, but I almost always played a mage when I did. They can be tough because of the low hitpoint values. I think the main trick is to remember that you are very weak and squishy, especially at low levels. Try to stay back and use ranged weapons when you can. They may not hit often because of your low combat abilities, but they allow you to stay clear of hard hitting melee types. Long lasting armor boosting spells like mage armor are a good thing.

Now, to your questions.
1. I don't want to say much about race because they changed things a good bit, but if you want to be a pure mage, you are probably best off going human. That said, intelligence bonuses are helpful for extra power early on and for access to higher level spells later.

2. For a mage (not a cleric), Intelligence is your best friend. The other stats are practically meaningless in comparison. That said, if you can manage a high int (I believe there is a max starting value according to race), the next most improtant attribues are dex (for a higher armor class) and constitution (for more hitpoints).

3. The cleric is a very valid class if you like to play with magic but don't want to get squished and have to reload the game a lot. They get better hit point, can wear armor, use better weapons, and can still cast spells. However, in most games, clerics end up playing the healer, because they are the most effective at it, and they don't get to shine much on their own. An offensive cleric can be quite deadly, combinging snares and debuffs with attacking spells and weapon use. It should be noted, however, that the cleric will not replace the mage as heavy artillery. They don't get fireball spells (although they eventually get some weaker versions of those spells if I recall correctly). NOTE: For a cleric, Wisdom is the key stat to keep high.

If I remember correctly, the main reason that stats play a big role for spellcasters in late game is because of a really stupid rule that carried over from pen and paper. It requires that you have a certain minimum primary stat value (intelligence for mages) to cast higher level spells. In the pen and paper version, you still got those higher level slots and you could fill them with lower level spells, so it was painful without being crippling if your stat was at least decent. In most of the computer game versions, they conveniently left out that game mechanic, and so an insufficient primary stat eliminates any further meaningful level progression.

[Light]

Thank you for your replies everyone. Your comments have been most helpful.

[Twin Comet]

Wanted to add something.

Charisma is a stat that is now worth putting points into. The positive or negative reaction rolls you get from it really work now. You don't need to max it out or anything, but if it is super low you may have some npcs not talk with you and miss quests. Anything less than 9 will give you negative reaction. 10-12 is neutral. 13 or more gives a +1 bonus each point added. I play with Charisma 13 just fine.

If you play Half-Orc or IIRC Dwarf race, or you play the new Dragon Sorceror you can obtain 20 constitution along the way if you max it when starting charector, which can grant regenration!

Also there is an in-game way to increase all your stats by 1, in case you wanted to plan ahead that much.

Lastly you can roll a perfect 18 for all your stats at the start. But it will take a month of re-rolling. Getting a roll of 90+ is easy enough though.

[Light]

Thanks for the info about Charisma.

What are you refering to with regared to increase all stats by 1?

[Twin Comet]

Ah. Well... I was trying to be vague so not to spoiler. It's not really a spoiler though I guess.

But there are tomes for each stat. Each one is hidden very well and increase a specific stat by 1 when used. Much like the fallout games.