I'm looking for a character to play all the way through, and Im looking for end spellcasting power. Who is better to go all the way through with, a mage or cleric?

You should know there is no answer to that question. Both are very strong spell casters if they are single classed, more so dual classed...less so multiclassed. Why not create a multiplayer game and make both.

I'd say the Cleric on summoning spells... coz you can summon more powerful creatures but the mage can only summon one planetar at a time...

but for dealing damage spells.. take the mage coz he can cast improved alacrity which will let you fire off spells like a machine gun....

Mages are better. They have much more "firepower". There is a high level ability Dragon breath 20d10 damage, doesn't damage allies, casting time: 1.

Multi-class and take both of them, seems to me that having a really high level mage or cleric just isn't worth it compared to a mage/cleric.

Regarding mages having only one planetar at a time - try that again. My sorcerer was playing around with the spell and threw two of them out there - I suppose I could have made a third had it not been for the fact that I had already used my other super-duper spell on something. Besides that, the planetar is so powerful - how many of them do you need at a time anyway?

To the original question - I'd play a mage. You can always bring along Sir Anomen for the clerical punch. If you can't stand Sir Anomen, be a cleric - you still have Imoen for the mage stuff. What a great game!

Are you sure Dragon's Breath is casting time 1? I thought it was 3? Regardless its quick to cast and depending on who your enemies are can give good results or hardly any results.

Alright thanks guys. Im probably gonna go with a mage just because they (to me) are cooler then a cleric because they have their own magical power, instead of feeding off of some god.

If you play multi Mage/Cleric you will not get the 10th level spells for a long time since your mage needs to go up to level 18.

sorcerer is the best of course

agreed. :D :D :D :D :D

i would be a sorcerer. But that's just me.

(or take the advice from above and start a multiplayer game and try a mage and a sorcerer.

sorcerers get less spells, but can cast more of them(and not having to memorize them is great.)
mages get more spells but can cast fewer(and have to memorize before a fight).

[This message has been edited by jack-of-all-trades (edited July 30, 2001).]

Indeed; sorcerers are the best choice for a practical and powerful character. I started a mage and a sorcerer together in multiplayer. The mage's efficency was far lesser than the power of the sorcerer(same level and about the same experience)
So...I definetely would rate them like this:

1.) sorcerer(powerful spells doesn't need to memorize them)
2.) cleric(not so effective spells, but enormous summoning capacity and a LOT of healing capability)
3.) mage(indeed powerful spells compared to the cleric's, but less casting capacity plus they needed to be memorized)


[This message has been edited by TIN_MAN (edited July 30, 2001).]

I didnt like wild mage, so i'd definetly go with sorcerer too

Sorcerors are the best. But I don't agree that Wild mages are bad. They get much more spells than normal mages and only 5% chance of screwing up.

actually, I dont think you can summon more than one Planetar at a time.. in fact.. I cant even summon a Deva and a Planetar at the same time.... maybe if i did.. theyd fight each other..

It says you can't summon more than one type of that creature at one time. I guess that they wouldn't fight (unless you had an evil one and a good one) but you can't get two for one main reason. Game Balance

I think if you're a neutral mage you can have an evil and a good Planetar. Is that right?

If you are a neutral mage or cleric you get to choose which sort you can summon (normal or fallen) but you can only summon one type

What do you think is better Dragon breath or Comet?

Comet because of the knockback factor. It may just be a personal preference, but comet seems to work better everytime for me

The knockback factor is very nice for commet, and has saved me numerous times. However, dragon's breath has the potential for more damage. I'd say use commet if you want to clear out an area, and keep Dragon's Breath to use on powerful enemies. Course that's stating the obvious, but it's my opinion :D I like both by the way.

I prefer comet over dragon's breath for one main reason...fire....fire resistance anyone?
Besides at the high levels you reach in ToB i can afford to slack off and not worry about a few extra 30 points of damage.