Relationship of bows, torches, shields, and magic

[pincaviglia86]

There is something that I don't quite understand about the relationship of shields, bows, torches, and spell casting. If you are wearing a shield, you cannot hold a torch or cast magic. OKAY, this makes perfect sense, because your weapon is in one hand, and the shield is in the other. Now, suppose you take off the shield, and equip a bow. You will then be able to cast magic, hold a torch, "AND" use the bow (which is a two-handed weapon). Now, if your character is pursuing a path of a bowman or magic user....this is pretty good. However, if you are a fighter, and, after having pumped some of those scarce as hens' teeth skill points into "shields", and
you come across a primo shield in a dark dungeon....then swithcing to weapon set two (with a bow and quiver) , and doing so, just to use a torch or magic.....suddenly the weapon slot 2 option kinda sucks. Why? Because:
(1) Since you are a fighter, your magic is probably not your strongest suit.
(2) Your bow is also probably not your strong suit either.
and finally....(3) not having that really primo shield's defenseive help can spell trouble, if you are not careful. anyone have any comments or ideas on this?

[Randomizer]

Actually if you are holding both a torch and a bow, when you fire the bow then the torch goes out.

Magic is just limited by the weight in your hands when in combat. So unless you are very strong and/or have high concentration, then you need to buff up with spells long before you get into combat range.

Shields are great for the melee fighter that needs the extra base armor to avoid getting hit. A tower shield (base and +3 imbue armor creates an extra 11 base armor (22% less chance of being hit).

[pincaviglia86]

Actually if you are holding both a torch and a bow, when you fire the bow then the torch goes out.

Magic is just limited by the weight in your hands when in combat. So unless you are very strong and/or have high concentration, then you need to buff up with spells long before you get into combat range.

Shields are great for the melee fighter that needs the extra base armor to avoid getting hit. A tower shield (base and +3 imbue armor creates an extra 11 base armor (22% less chance of being hit).

Thanks. What you said makes good sense. I think I need to increase "concentration". That skill is pretty much related to all the other skills. Stupid me....I read all this in the manual, and forgot about what I had read. Oh well, I guess memory loss comes to all of us as we get older.

[Evnissyen]

Okay, now... call me silly, I don't care, but I'm not exactly sure why the weight of your burden should matter in casting spells, or even the fact of whether you have one hand or two.

Are only two-handed people allowed to cast spells? If you get one hand amputated, mangled or cut off: are you then rendered incapable of casting spells?

Honestly, I've also never understood this idea of not being able to wear heavy, bulky armor and cast spells while wearing your heavy, bulky armor.

I mean: are the Magickal Spell Spirits deaf but constantly watching every mage in the world at every possible moment, even when they're doing... well... private things, so that each spell is like a very precise kind of sign language that you just can't get right if your arms aren't freely expressive enough?

(Of course: wearing those conservative robes certainly can't be helpful in clarifying the definition of those arm movements.)

I mean: it seems to me that there're two ways of casting a spell:
1. pronouncing the words, thus calling upon the Spirits of Magickal Spells to execute it, or something, I suppose.
2. just 'knowing' and 'feeling' magic, so that it emerges from your hand or finger, or even your nose, if you merely think about it.

Either way can be practiced with two stumps for arms, I would think... the magic can emerge from the end of one of your stumps.

I've also always hated, in CRPG's, where mages are so hampered with their spells that they can only cast a few per day . . . I mean, what the hell, so what do you do at level 1 once you've exhausted your 3-5 spells? Wait for the Vicious Rat or Rabid Wolf to kill you?

Because in some games supposedly or in actuality you aren't supposed to be allowed -- or literally aren't allowed -- to wield an actual weapon that might actually save your life if you just happen to exhaust your daily allotment of offensive spells.

Magic should be in-born, always, it should be just simply known . . . like the drayks in the game series Geneforge, for example.

Geneforge does it right, methinks: in Geneforge, those adept at casting spells are actually the most powerful characetrs in the game, rather than the weakest.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's always bugged me ever since I was a 14 year old kid, and always it's been this way so why bring it up specifically now, as if I've just come to realize that these are things I should question, even though these spell issues are really just about the oldest of all hats?

Well, because I felt like it.

[Gorgon Rider]

I mean: it seems to me that there're two ways of casting a spell:
1. pronouncing the words, thus calling upon the Spirits of Magickal Spells to execute it, or something, I suppose.
2. just 'knowing' and 'feeling' magic, so that it emerges from your hand or finger, or even your nose, if you merely think about it.

That's the way you view it, and that's fine. But there are other ways of viewing how to cast a spell. I think most of this goes back to D&D where usually spells require a verbal and somatic component. So, while the 'Spirits of Magickal Spells' aren't watching your every move, in order to complete the spell and have it fire, you do need to make the proper movements, sift just the right amount of powdered components, combine just the right amount of ingredients, etc.

Being hampered by wearing something heavy on your arms or carrying something bulky in your hands will make the spell fizzle as you can't make those movements freely or you'll be hampered from combining the ingredients properly.

I've also always hated, in CRPG's, where mages are so hampered with their spells that they can only cast a few per day . . . I mean, what the hell, so what do you do at level 1 once you've exhausted your 3-5 spells? Wait for the Vicious Rat or Rabid Wolf to kill you?

Sounds like you're referring to the D&D mechanic for Wizards which only allow a set number of castings per day (as opposed to the mana system where you can cast as many spells as your mana allows). This is based on the Vancian magic system. This was inspired by the way magic works in Jack Vance's Dying Earth books.

Being an old D&D player, I don't mind the Vancian system and for the longest time I hated mana systems. Now I'm at the point where I like both. They both have their quirks.