Character Creation — Mages and their kits
 | MAGE Race: Elf, Half-Elf, Human Alignment: Any Description: Instead of granting spells in exchange for worship, Mystra created the entire magic system and its source, the Weave, and allowed mortal scholars to develop their own spells. Understanding how material components, hand gestures, and words of power correlate to form a spell is no easy task, so only those with swift and powerful brains have the capacity to grasp the intricacies of arcane magic. Those individuals, however, are Mages, with a potential as great as the Weave itself, and with mastery of the proper spells they are indeed a terrifying force on the battlefield. Mages scorn all physical combat and even its tools; why bother practicing archery when there are spellbooks to be studied? |
STRENGTHS:
| » » » » | Can cast all Wizard spells, from Levels 1 through 9
Can cast Wizard spells from scrolls and use Wizard-specific Wands Can be combined with the classes of Fighter, Cleric, and Thief Guaranteed at least 9 Intelligence |
| » » » » » » » » | Weakest combat stats (THAC0, AC, ApR, hitpoints, etc.) in the game
Gains EXP levels relatively slowly Cannot wear Helmets, any type of Shield, or any form of armor except Mage Robes Cannot use any type of weapons except Daggers, Darts, Slings, and Staves Restricted to Proficiency (*) in any weapon proficiency Cannot place proficiency points in any Weapon Style Has no Thieving skills Cannot read Priest scrolls or use Priest-specific Wands |
| Notes: The "Strengths" and "Weaknesses" listed for each base class are intended both as a general description of the class, and compared to the other classes of the same superclass. In the descriptions of the kits, however, the Advantages and Disadvantages
are always directly relative to their base class. In the table to the right, the columns are as follows— Level: The Experience Level of the Mage. EXP: The Experience Points required for a Mage to reach that level. Hitpoints: The hitpoints that a Mage would gain at that level. "+CON" means the additional hitpoint bonus from having a high (or possibly low) Constitution stat. THAC0: The base THAC0 (before any modifiers) of a Mage at that level. ApR: The base Attacks per Round (before any modifiers) of a Mage at that level. Profs: The number of Proficiency Points a Mage would gain at the given level. Saving Throws: The Saves (given in this order: vs. Death, vs. Wands, vs. Polymorph, vs. Breath, and vs. Spell) of a Mage at the indicated level. Spells: The number of spellslots (of each spell level) possessed by a Mage of that EXP level. |
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 | SPECIALIST MAGE Class: Mage Race: Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Human Alignment: Any Description: There are actually eight types of Specialist Mage, not just one, and each is named after the School of magic for which its practitioners have the greatest affinity. Due to their concentration, all Specialists are able to memorize and cast more spells than generalist Mages, but because each School of magic is diametrically opposed to at least one other School, being a Specialist in one school means one cannot ever learn spells of one's Opposition school. The Specialist Mages are the only kits that are available in BG1. |
ADVANTAGES:
| » » | Has 1 more spellslot of each (available) Spell Level than a pureclassed Mage
Guarantees a high value for at least 1 basic stat (see Notes) |
| » » | Cannot scribe spells of one's Opposition School to one's Spellbook
Cannot read Wizard spells from one's Opposition School from scrolls (not enforced in BG1) |
Notes: The individual kits, their Specialization, their Opposition Schools, and their stat requirements are as follows:
ABJURER: Specializes in Abjuration, the practice of using spells that shield from harmful effects—or that tear down other spells of a similarly protective nature.
Opposed to Alteration. Guarantees at least 15 Wisdom.
CONJURER: Specializes in Conjuration, the practice of summoning forth creatures or objects to aid the caster in battle.
Opposed to Divination. Guarantees at least 15 Constitution.
DIVINER: Specializes in Divination, the practice of spells that reveal what is hidden or determine that which is unknown.
Opposed to Conjuration. Guarantees at least 16 Wisdom.
ENCHANTER: Specializes in Enchantment, the practice of making subtle shifts in a creature's mental state or interactions.
Opposed to Evocation. Guarantees at least 16 Charisma.
ILLUSIONIST: Specializes in Illusion, the practice of concealing what is present or creating false mirages of what is not.
Opposed to Necromancy. Guarantees at least 16 Dexterity.
INVOKER: Specializes in Evocation, the practice of manipulating sheer elemental energy.
Opposed to Enchantment (and, in BG1, Conjuration as well). Guarantees at least 16 Constitution.
NECROMANCER: Specializes in Necromancy, the practice of magics that affect life and death by drawing on the Positive and Negative Energy Planes.
Opposed to Illusion. Guarantees at least 16 Wisdom.
TRANSMUTER: Specializes in Alteration, the practice of causing some fundamental change in the nature of a creature or object.
Opposed to Abjuration (and, in BG1, Necromancy too). Guarantees at least 15 Dexterity.
There are some racial restrictions as far as Specialization is concerned: All Gnomish Mages are Illusionists, no matter what. Elves are allowed to be Diviners and Enchanters, but no other Specialist. Half-Elves may choose to be Conjurers, Diviners, Enchanters or Transmuters.
In-game, several spells will claim to be from more than one spell school. This is a holdover from PnP, wherein a Mage had to have access to both/all of a spells's Schools in order to master the spell itself. In BG, however, each spell can belong to only one School (at least as far as Spell Immunity is concerned), and this Guide documents the spells according to their actual in-game functionality.
* The Fun Rating for Specialist Mages as a whole is actually the average of those for each of the 8 individual Specialists, which are popularly judged to have widely varying levels of playability. The Conjurer is by far the most commonly chosen, with the Illusionist and Necromancer roughly tied for second place, and the Enchanter & Invoker are a step or two below that. Abjurers, Diviners, and Transmuters are not mentioned in polite conversation.
 | WILD MAGE Class: Mage Race: Elf, Half-Elf, Human Alignment: Any Description: Upon Mystra's death during the Time of Troubles, shock waves went rippling through the Weave, tearing it in many places. These have, with time, healed somewhat, but some of the ruptures have given rise to Wild Magic, a condition that can cause unpredictable and frequently very dangerous side effects to any kind of magical spell. Certain magic-users, possessing more ambition and curiosity than good sense, have opted to explore this new field of magic, to see what opportunities it can create for them. |
ADVANTAGES:
| » » » | Has 1 more spellslot of each (available) Spell Level than a pureclassed Mage
Has access to the Level 1 spell of Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, which allows the Wild Mage to instantly cast any spell he has scribed to his spellbook, but with a 100% chance of a Wild Surge Has access to the spells of Chaos Shield (Level 2) and Improved Chaos Shield (Level 7), which make a Wild Surge less likely to have negative effects. |
| » » | Every spell the Wild Mage casts has a 1% chance to cause a Wild Surge
Every time the Wild Mage casts a spell, his effective Casting Level is randomized, anywhere from 5 levels below to 5 levels above his actual EXP level |
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