Meele Mages

[Malau]

Allow mages to craft book straps from animal hides to hold several grimoires together and turn them into eldritch flails of magical death!

[Nomine Vacans]

Personally, I also really want wizards to be able to slam enemies across the face with their grimoires.

And with grimoire heavy enough, who needs those silly spells? =P

[anek]

Yes, wizards will also be able to use melee weapons, though you would have to spend character resources to not be horribly outclassed by a character of equivalent level that is more focused on melee combat.

 

How about spells that give Wizards really good melee fighting capabilities for a short time, like "Tenser's Transformation" in BG2?

[Tamerlane]

Yes, wizards will also be able to use melee weapons, though you would have to spend character resources to not be horribly outclassed by a character of equivalent level that is more focused on melee combat.

 

How about spells that give Wizards really good melee fighting capabilities for a short time, like "Tenser's Transformation" in BG2?

You have to be careful in that regard. Wizards get pretty ****ing lame when they start getting spells like "be a fighter" and "be a rogue".

[Utukka]

As for stacking spellcasters, I wouldn't consider that proving anything, even the Zulu almost won against the UK overwhelming redcoats with "stacked" spearmen

 

I'm going to disagree on this one. Just because they managed to win the battle of Isandlwana in convincing fashion, you still have to factor in that the British didn't even bother with fortifying their position and didn't even take the threat seriously. Even if the Zulus had pressed their luck and pushed the British all the way back and out of Capetown, the British would've rolled back even larger than they did to take back such a strategic military position/trade route. Lets not discount the political ramifications of letting the Zulus walk away with the win. There's a reason the official "war" was so short. Hell, the Zulus had a hard enough time with the Boers, yet alone the true strength of the British Empire.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Utukka

[Atreides]

If I'm a mage that knows I'll be closed down and shot, I'd try to set up illusion decoys or spells that increase my evasion.

[kabaliero]

can't hold it in anymore

 

Arcane Barbarians

Edited November 16, 2012 by kabaliero

[General Balls]

I like the idea of Spellswords, but only as some kind of rogue.

 

The issue is that you need to provide a gameplay experience that is noticeably unique and cool to bother having that kind of 'class' in the game. From my experience, so many RPGs tend to make melee mages either flat-out better (Dragon Age had Arcane Warriors able to tank far better than a fighter ever could, as well as cast world-ending storms), flat-out worse (whee, no health, and my chance to hit just barely outclasses my odds of living through this fight!), or just gave you something to do if you didn't want to waste spells (how I liked to Wizard in NWN2). In all of these cases, being a melee mage added nothing particularly interesting to the game, apart from the ability to multi-task.

 

Spellswords I've always wanted to see as some kind of displacement character. A character that uses mundane weaponry (shortswords, daggers, and other single-handed weapons), focusing on deception and sleight of hand in order to confuse and methodically dispatch his enemies. My ideal spellsword is a glass cannon, who cannot take many hits, but has a number of blink, shadow, and confusion abilities which set him up to strike quickly. Whereas a 'normal' Rogue would use grace, speed, and underhanded tricks in order to trip up their opponent and gain the advantage in single combat, the Spellsword uses his magical abilities to perform feats of movement and deception that set up a single, devastating blow from a completely unexpected direction.

 

Each ability of my ideal Spellsword would increase his target's "confusion". Conjured shadows that disappear under the swing of their blade, pinpoints of light that distract and disturb, temporary possession to turn blades on allies, the disappearance of an enemy who has blinked behind you - every opponent who sees/is subject to these effects becomes more and more confused. This confusion is used by the Spellsword to strike the perfect blow, their next melee attack against that opponent increasing vastly in damage, in line with the confusion level of the hapless target. Through misdirection and guile, the spellsword controls what their enemies perceive, and through that creates situations in which they can methodically kill every one of them.

 

In my mind, this keeps the idea of both worlds: the visceral adrenaline of front-line combat; the fragile 'nuking' power of a Mage; and the skill-based element of a unique class that excels in a very specific situation (when attacking a confused character) and spends its time trying to create that niche within combat environments and enemies that can vary greatly.

[TrashMan]

Would EVERYONE be able to hit that confused enemy for more damange then, not just the spellsword?

[Jorian Drake]

Yes, wizards will also be able to use melee weapons, though you would have to spend character resources to not be horribly outclassed by a character of equivalent level that is more focused on melee combat.

If resources include spells to make one stronger/get better magical weapons and armor then it is okay with me

Same with just stunning the opposition before stabbing the frozen enemy to death with a pointy stick