Strategy regarding the confrontation with the wizard school

[Stranng]

Hey I was thinking that when we come up against the wizards at the school we should take a few measures to ensure we dont recieve another clobbering. I know that dealing with the school is probably two sessions away but I had a couple of ideas I wanted to run by the "Ring of Steel".

1. I for one am sick of some cocky, wind bag of a wizard giving us a tongue lashing then sprinkling some ground black pearl dust and leaching the life out of me before I can say "Hey im gonna stick that circle of death up your.....", then dissappearing. So I was thinking that if we get the time we should consider fortifing ourselves against death effects. If we have access to it and if Jaskyn would be so kind we could purchase death ward scrolls for bout 700 gp and have him cast it on us prior to the battle. At first I was just thinking of Stranng Jaskyn ang Garrick because we are all under 9th level and are suceptable to the dreaded circle of death...then I took a look at finger of death...well you all can take a look at it and see how you feel about a death ward.

2. I was thinking that since we already met one of the wizards, Stranng could take scry and spy him or perhaps them out before the fight. I was also thinking that perhaps the magic casters of the group can come together collectivly to try and foul the wizards attempts at casting spells. If Gwyllin, Jaskyn and Stranng all took dispell in as many slots as we could and various other spells that impeded spell casting we could inhibit, counterspell or plain stop the wizards from casting while Lynliss, Merilin, Einkill, Garrick and Stythill ripped em to pieces. We also could try and get our hands on dispell magic scrolls so we can keep it up for a couple of rounds. With Dispell magic we could actually try and counter what the wizards were casting...we could also cast other spells that made life hard on them like summon swarm that would impede them from casting anything while in the middle of it or perhaps something like insect plague. Anyway if Jaskyn, Gwylin and Stranng had a number of dispell magic spells on hand we could simply ready actions while the rest of the party went to town, while we provide magical defense. And if we were all fortified against death spells we may live through this one. I believe the encounter witht the wizard school will be the gravest challenge we have dealt with up until this point...we should take this one seriously and map out our strategy before we go waltzin in their. Well what do you all think?

[Stranng]

I think my spelling is for the beas

[Starshadow]

I think Stanng is wise to discuss strategy. I think it wise to discuss options that may not even be available. But I do want you to be aware of possible limitations that may arise. While the Thieves' Guild can fence armor and weapons and the temples can sell you healing spells, certain other things may be harder or impossible to come by. Friday's game should shed more light on that.

While some or all of you may be aware of this, I wanted to clarify about Dispel Magic. While it is great to remove a darkness spell from an area or hold spell from a person, it cannot be used as a counterspell, and has no effect over quick spells like Fireball and Lightning Bolt. They are primarily useful only for duration spells.

But keep planning. An Einkil type plan may indeed work. But advance prep as Stranng suggests can never hurt.

[Lyssandra]

Ranged weapons are one of the best methods to deal with wizards IMO. If we beat their initiatives and lay into them with arrows, crossbow bolts and sling stones, they'll have to make Concentration checks each turn to keep spells up. Actual damage doesn't really matter much if you do that course as the spell is wasted if the check fails, and cannot be reused. Even at 1 hp per hit, if the wizards fail all their rolls (Doom and Bane can help there), they'll run out of spells in 9 or 10 turns.

[Stranng]

yes this is true, certain magical scrolls, potions, etc may not be available to us. Although I think the last part of the description of dispell magic describes how dispell magic may be used as a counter spell. It is a confusing description because it appears this particular spell may be used in several different ways. The first way magic may be disrupted by this spell specifically states that certain spell effects will take place before dispell magic can operate. But if you go through the second way the spell may be used, and read the third way in which the spell can be used you will see that it can operate as a counterspell. Although it is limited and there is a dc to roll against to see if the disspell takes effect.

[Stranng]

Ranged weapons may work...but if we are dealing with high level wizards odds are they have a high concentration rank.. Remember that when we faced the wizard of the eyes...he about six arrows sticking out of him as he cast his spells at us...just something to think about.

[Lyssandra]

Yes, I know. Gwylln has a high Concentration score too for her level. [img]smile.gif[/img] Summoned animals and monsters are also useful as fodder for Death spells and the like, but in the long run when dealing with spellcasters, especially in large numbers (There are possibly 13 or more in the Cabal at the Devonshire School), you have to grit your teeth and bear it. Character death IS part of the game.

[Stranng]

ahha...true....no one knows about death(in this campaign) more than the players of Andrin/Jaskyn and Stranng we have succumb to death twice!!! I'm just saying that the spell casters should work synergisticlly to thwart spell casting during the confrontation with the many wizards. Three dispells cast in one round would be a formidable defense. Three spells that inhibit spell casting thrown out in one round would also be good [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img]

[otherlleft]

I think discussing strategy for this week's game is an excellent idea - if we played tabletop we would be doing this all the time. And we have the advantage of our DM generally having the time and inclination to offer his opinion on our plans. So let's focus on what we CAN do, rather than "gritting our teeth" and assuming the worst.
I think Stranng's right that we have to stop these casters in their tracks, and that injuring isn't guaranteed to do so. I hadn't realized there are so many spells that can foil casting, such as dispel magic (pending DM interpretation) and all those bug-oriented spells. I would propose that our casters foil them in such ways, and our stronger ranged-weapon folks support the effort with arrows and the like - this will leave those of our character who are best at melee to be the only ones putting themselves at highest risk and allowing for maximum damage. I'm willing to put Einkil on the line in this fashion, because I think it would be for best effect.

[Starshadow]

There are some answers that, as a DM, I am disinclined to reveal, for obvious plot or surprise reasons. Then there are those things that I believe your characters would know, even if their players do not remember.

Since you are on the subject of spellcasting, you should be aware that certain spells can be countered magically. Unlike dispel magic, an attempt at countering, if the Spellcraft check reveals the spell, is automatic. That is the the good news. The bad news is that you must actually have the countering spell prepared. So if, for example, Mialee casts a fireball into your midst, Gwyln can counter it if she has also prepared fireball. This is not to say that is always a good thing. A fireball as a spell may work even better than as a counterspell, when you consider that a wizard might be slain by a single damaging spell with more likelihood than a warrior of the same level. Then again, they may also be more likely to be immune to fire.

So many options...food for thought.