Mages and how to join them

[Delia]

I am not intending to give too much information or anything too specific here, merely gather the various tidbits around the forum in one place and supply some basic info about what you are getting into. Also, wizzies/admins do step in should I divulge too much. I rarely have good sense about these sort of things

Mages have a coded requirement for joining that cannot be bypassed with leadership sayso's. That is, a mage requires very good mentals. INT specifically. You might be looking into months of(or even more if you are not obsessive)RL time during which you preferably do quests with stat prefs set on INT and improve INT-skills.

A mage needs his/her mentals be higher than physical stats as well. This does not mean there cannot be buff mages. If you have ludicrously good mentals you can have nice physical stats as well but godlike fighter physicals are realistically out of reach.

You do not need to be a mage to know magic. Learning some might be a good idea before you start pestering a mage master.

Mages have limited membership slots, in a way. You need to apprentice under a master and those slots when filled, can remain occupied for quite a while.

Geas magic is not like AD&D magic where mages hide behind inpenetrable barriers and summoned monsters while flinging endless volleys of magic missiles and fireballs at your foes. Combat magic surely exists and can be powerful but even when you are at the point where you can cast something meaningfully harmful reliably, you will not even be blasting yourself through a goblin camp. Even less so if your character has puny physical stats and lacking combat skills. A mage getting hit is easily toast, or at best your spells become interrupted. Actual combat skills help here.

More later.

[Crosis]

Would you say joining the Scribes guild is a prerequisite to joining the Mages? From what I have learned they seem very similar.

[Delia]

It surely helps, but is not required. Mages and scribes are not really connected. Also I can say as much that it is not a fast lane(all paths are slow)towards mages. You are most likely looking at becoming a masterscribe first and even after that it would take time. Also, mages are a main guild so you'll have to consider your guild slots accordingly.

[Delia]

You should aim for ingenious INT when joining(aim EPIC!). You will want to raise your INT much, much higher though. Some WIS and DIS are required too but this is not problematic. Heavy preference on mentals and both WIS and DIS are good for a mage but INT is your by far best stat.

A mage can have good physical stats though, that will only mean that his/her mental stats just have to be higher. So investing into good agi, or good con is not stupid. STR also helps because mages do not enjoy encumbrance and deflect always helps if you have any.

[Delia]

The new abilities will help. Picking improved INT is not a waste and it will help you reach those reqs faster if you are not there already. Do not necessarily go for INT x 2 at once. You will have use for the points.

Quick awake 2 is good as you will meditate a lot.

Quick refresh mana...need I even say anything?

[Delia]

Mages suck at PvE without combat skills so this is a trade off you will want to consider. Good combat skills will tax your magic learning and you will not see high end magic skills unless you are a Geas fanatic of mythical proportions. Either way, training both magic and combat skills at the same time is very slow.

Mages can be EXCELLENT PvP support though.

You will want to train staff, but I suggest having a second weapon. Hitting stuff with your staff will ultimately make you cry as staves are grindable as they very slowly improve with use. Until you crit fail and break it, or it burns, or...

So having an actual weapon is nice. As I cannot stress it enough...you cannot PvE with magic alone. Just do not over extend yourself and go silly with all the specials. Pick and choose. You cannot have everything. Unless you plan to grind for years and years.

[Delia]

Mages do support druid-like pacifist characters though (to a degree)so you are not completely left out if you go this route.

But unlike druids, mages are more than willing to exploit Mother Nature. It is not mandatory though. Getting to the good stuff requires fighter skills in Geas, or getting help.

[Delia]

Mages are also allergic to metal armours.

[Olrane]

Thanks a ton for the writeup, Delia! Things like this that bring down barriers to play and stop people from sinking time into "ruined" characters are such a big deal.

[Delia]

Just ask if there are any questions! I will be happy to answer

I really hope a character or two reaches this point. There are three potential guild slots available at the moment so there is room. If we get all filled we can really start making Forostar all upside down. Or force the angry mobs with pitchforks out

[Delia]

I have been thinking about the improved stats ability: intelligence and I am very convinced it is a good buy.

1) you will reach mage join prereqs easier this way
2) it will push your physical vs. mental a bit towards the mental side
3) more INT means more spell slots for a mage. So INT is a gift that keeps on giving for your mage character all the way up to mythical.
4) mana is mana is mana

The amount gained is a flat amount so an elf will see less of an improvement than a human might.

You might also be interested in patching a hole your character has, like choosing STR, AGI, or CON but INT really is just that good you should not divert yourself.

(and yes, I am beaming after gaining a spell slot)

[Delia]

A small tip to those who meddle...

After casting a spell you might end up with something completely different.

If you type 'abort' while not casting, you will get a list of your active spells. Very useful.

If you type 'abort' while casting you will abort your spell.

You can type 'abort X'(abort 1, for example)to abort the #1 spell on your active spells list.

If you type 'abort 3', for example and do not have three active spells, you will get a list of your active spells even when casting.

[Delia]

Few obvious pointers...

Explore as much as possible and try to do quests whenever you can. Neglecting these two sources of exp will seriously hamper your progress towards magejoin enabled.

Of course, remember to set those statprefs to favour int and other mentals too.

Mages have some use for physical stats too, so completely neglecting them might harm your play in the future.

I would advice in power training any INT skills you have. If you are a scribe, abuse the books and rush to master scribe and beyond.

The only other real option(to power training)is to potentially add years of RL play time before you reach your goal.

[Delia]

Reincarnating a fighter character is not necessarily automatically bad idea as you will most likely have all the weapon skills a mage ever needs and you can go full mentals from the start when doing those quests.