Some points here...
Palog wrote:The [Mage] key points are:
- For character management:
- Invest character points asap to get more mana. INT level influences how much mana you get each level, but it isn't retroactive so the sooner you improve your INT the higher your mana will be. A nice goal is to aim INT 31 asap, and after it depends of your choices.
In fact, what you say is true for *PERception* - INT also helps with Mana, but not nearly as much as PER.
My advice is always this: for every character where spellcasting is the focus, either Mage or Healer, a player should roll until they get PER=14 during character creation - you should also roll until your INT=14 as well for Mage - then take the Origin that gives the PER+2 bonus, and then pour all 15 Attribute points into PER - you will start out with PER=31 if you do this, and you will begin the game with 75 Mana Points if you have PER=31 and INT=14. If you put your next three level-ups' Attribute points into PER, you will be at PER=40 and by Level 4 your character should be gaining 10 Mana Points on each level-up; you also will have already maximized your Mana Regeneration (which happens when PER=38).
Long story short - PER is much more important than either INT or WIS for spellcasters. You will need to get INT (or WIS, for Healers) up to INT=20 (or WIS=20), so that you can read Tier Three spell scrolls. (Also, INT=20 will gain Mages another Mana point on level-up...) But, esp. early on, the focus needs to be on PER.
Some of the details about this can be found in these threads
here and
here.
Palog wrote:The [Mage] key points are:
- For character management:
- Choose one weapon skill at creation is a good idea to manage more easily first levels but don't spend much here, soon this will be a useless skill for a mage. 2 points in bludgeoning weapons is a good choice at creation, it will also give you a good tool to break lock until you get the spell to do it.
- Focus first on mage skills is the goal for a mage character but for later level and with a so high mana pool it would be a shame to not spend some points to develop a bit Divination magic.
The first point here really depends on whether you want a spellcasting-only character, or a melee-fighting spellcaster.
I've played both. The first time I played Mage, he was all spellcasting - with that character, I really needed
no melee skill. (Note: This is
not true for Healer characters, but can be true of Mages...)
However, I am currently playing a melee-fighting Mage character, and at character creation I maxed out this character's melee skills - at the start, I still put the 6 Levels into Elemental Magic, but I also put 5 levels into Bludgeoning.
I guess my point is, 2 Levels into a melee skills is likely not enough to be useful, even at the game's start - either go for it and put 5 Levels into a melee skill at character creation, or possibly don't bother with a melee skill at all (or, at most, put just one level into a melee for later use in the game...).
As for your point about Divination - absolutely correct. Mages will
need Divination. For either spellcasting-only or melee-fighting spellcasters, you
must have Divine Heal, as the odds are your HPs are going to be crappy and low if you're a Mage (or Healer). And if you're a melee-fighting spellcaster, you're going to need Bless ASAP as well. (In fact, if you're playing a melee-fighting spellcaster, you probably want to start out as Virtuous axiom so you get the "free" Bless spell at the game's start...)
Palog wrote:Some more tips related to a pure mage character:
- Cat's Eyes or Predator Sight can be good tools for a mage too but not as necessary and spare the mana to sustain them is a good option for mages.
This will depend on whether you're a melee-fighter or not. In general, though, I highly advise getting Gravedigger's Flame and Predator Sight spells for Mages, and Cat Eyes for Healers - you pretty much can't go wrong having any of those three spells.
Anyway, I agree with most everything else you said. I just wanted to comment on these points.